The Heartwood Dusk Hasday The Twenty-First Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Behind her, soon the snows would come and the passes closed. Ahead then, was everything.
It still didn't mean she had to like the rain. This close to the storms it was a cold rain and hard, just a breath away from sleet and ice. The fact that the shelter was small, that she had to share it with her mount, that a layer of cold air kept the black-blue smoke from her small fire low didn't help make matters any better. The roof of the makeshift structure leaked; dripping down upon her ragged black hair, dampening the awkward sable bow that bound her tresses into a rough and tumble ponytail. From beneath her dagger shorn bangs soft brown eyes followed the descending trail until it vanished into the haze. Until the rain let up and the sun's light dried the ramshackle mountain pass, no matter how nimble the bay mare was it wasn't worth the risk of a tumble, of a limp or worse, a broken leg. Down the mountain she was bound; the waxed parchment, sealed and bound letter in her saddlebag hers to deliver. It was a courier's duty, and Darkmane was her livelihood, her life. That and the pragmatic fact that if anything ever happened the few crowns she could call her own could never ever hope to replace her oldest friend.
She leaned, her shoulder resting against the side of her horse, hugging her heavy woolen cloak about her. It was a practical cut and would not turn any heads upon the cobbles of some rich Keep street, but then the Kirkland markets, high in the hidden valleys above and a handful of days past, never held much stock with finery. It was warm and that was all that mattered. Eyes closing, she let her head rest to the side, her dark hair tangling with the bay's long mane.
The rain, the crack of lightning, the following roll of thunder, was not a good sign. Winter came early to the Black Mountains, and she was riding just ahead of its crest. The sun, She had vanished behind the jagged peaks not to long ago, but the snap of white light that cut jagged shadows into her shelter was brighter than day. For that brief moment the courier was more than shadows, barely protected from the storm by three rough stone stacked walls and the leaky roof tiles. She wasn't tall, far from it, her frame slight yet held with the lanky ruggedness of a farmer's daughter. Beneath the cloak were her heavy tunics, with full sleeves and long skirts quarter slashed for riding. She tended towards creams and browns; the colors were not expensive and then didn't show trail dust too badly. A couple pouches hung from an overly long belt, the extra length falling down in front almost to the hems of her skirts. Her only extravagances were her leather boots and Darkmane's furniture; the saddle, blanket and bridle tucked very protectively into the back corner of the shelter.
Simple. Practical. Just like her. Which made her all the conspicious when she was summoned before Linnell Allaine, the noble family's matriarch, almost month ago.
Her lips curled into a small philosophic smile
It was going to be a long night.
“Mother?”
Khorall Linnell Allaine turned, quietly walking to the parapet wall, coming to a rest beside her daughter. There was no question about how close they were, save but the span of years and they could have passed for each other. They both bore their family’s distinctive crimson locks, worn long and straight both out of fashion and as a touch of heraldry. She lay her hands upon the balcony’s honey colored marble, the hard stone blocks lain uncounted ages ago, of Dawnview Castle.
Of Her Keep.
She didn’t answer, she just looked upon, beyond the bustling court and streets below, across the mountain vales they called their own. If she concentrated, so far in the distance she could just make out the spires of Snowgate Keep, atop the pass into their holdings, where her youngest sister ruled. She closed her eyes for a long set of heartbeats, letting her duties and responsibilities vanish and for a moment tasting the hint of snow in the air. She couldn’t truly escape, however. Despite everything, she did cherish her family’s mountain holdfast. When she and Sasha and Innocence were young, the three sisters played make believe all the time. Now she didn’t, not because her heart had grown too tired or she too old, but that she simply could not see herself, not see herself wanting anything else.
“Mother … the coming storms are going to be hard.” Her daughter’s words were spoken with the gentle clarity, in the domestic surety of laundry or marking out what needed to be acquired from the market stalls below for a comfortable lunch. “Spring is a long and cold time away. And it will get harder well before it will get better.”
“Da, Kisa …” Linnell replied, slowly opening her eyes. It didn’t surprise her that it wasn’t a question. Kisa very rarely asked questions. If she was inquiring, that’s when her daughter world be quietest; listening, learning, considering. She was a shadow in court and it sometimes disturbed the emissaries from the rest of the Little Kingdoms, as if she were some macabre doll or a snow born spectre. But then the rest of the Little Kingdoms didn’t trust the Allaines at all. Oh yes, we were all good Imperial citizens now, for a handful of generations, but they never forgot that while Grand Talantal fell beneath the Imperial crusade, while her greatkin could not prevent the inevitable, Prince Lhannon’s conquering armies never set foot in Dawnview Vale.
In many ways it wasn’t a bad thing. The Empire was an absentee landlord and as long as fealty was held the older, noble houses still maintained their autonomy, their landholdings. The Pax Imperium was the first time in ages that there was not some form of open conflict between the mountain keeps and the Kories of Talantal. That it had lasted over a century was just this side of a miracle. But the Empire also didn’t interfere with the petty squabbles of its nobility; Dawnview hadn’t seen a Viceroy in two generations.
“You should have gone to the Council in Talantal, Mother. You knew the Kories would consider that an insult, and they never forget a wrong. Especially to send a hired sword in your stead. Especially her. That was a calculated twist to an already mortal strike.” Kisa spoke just as gently as her Mother, watching the crowd.
“Da, Kisa …” Linnell replied again, casting her daughter a measuring, sidelongs look.
“Which means you knew they would do something.” Slowly Linnell watched as her daughter started to follow the subtle chains of logic, falling like rocks in an avalanche. “The poor harvest was just an excuse, the cutting of grain shipments was just to hurt us. And then we cut the shipments of steel to the west.”
“Da …” Linnell replied again. “Khorall Hadrian Korie is no fool Kisa and never treat him so. He knows just how to hurt us; and that is to hurt the people under our care. And in return, I know how to hurt him. To deny him the tools to make his dreams of dominion come true.”
“A game of Horses and Castles.” The young redhead replied. Linnell had to stop at that, to give her daughter a measuring look. Seeing far too many moves ahead, Kisa Allaine rarely lost that courtly challenge. Her daughter didn’t continue, instead she looked out across the vale, to the western horizon, beyond the mountain foothills, beyond the rolling tarn, as if considering the far off fields of their oldest rival. Finally, then, she let her gaze fall to plaza below.
“Her. Mother, you know her.” The young redhead pointed out a dark haired lass, arguing with a merchant in the market below, a back and forth over hard tack it seemed. The Khorall turned her attention to her daughter’s quarry and nodded.
“Ekaterina Kirillsdotter. She goes by Katshka and she just delivered a string of destriers from her father’s farm to the Temple. Odd, one rarely finds such an old tongue name coming out of the lowlands, let along the far off coast.” Linnell held her words for a moment, “ … she made the trip herself it seems. No mean accomplishment that, for her father to trust her with that task. One can ransom a manor for a handful of her father’s warhorses and the Priestesses noted not one went missing along the long trip up the Highland Path.”
By then Kisa was already in motion, passing through the tall stained glass doors, retreating from the balcony. Parchment and ink were pressed to service, a short message scribed. Then the Allaine heir carefully folded her missive, sealed it in wax, pressing her ring into the soft material before it hardened.
“She’ll want work to carry her back east.”
Following, Linnell just watched, and when her daughter was about to sweep her way out, to pursue the lowland courier, only then did she speak, “Why?”
Pausing, Kisa looked back over her shoulder.
“Right now, Hadrian Korie thinks he is playing Horses and Castles with you, Mother.” Dark green eyes narrowed, ever so slightly. “It will not end well. You know that as well as I.
“But we can change the battlefield.
“By the time he figures out he’s playing against me it will be too late.”
The Khorall responded with just a nod of her head. Her last question, not much longer, “And why her?”
To that Kisa just smiled. “You saw her horse. Following her through the market.”
The older woman tilted her head at that.. “I saw. A very well confirmed bay. Her father raises them. That does not seem odd.”
“Da …” Kisa replied, holding the small letter in both hands, resting upon the front of her long skirts. “That horse was following her through the market …” There was a pause, a single long beat. “… with it’s reins looped over the saddle.”
“Are the arrangements made?”
The two rested upon their steeds; rugged beasts and even tempered. They were dressed similarly in creams and grays, of several layers of tunics to keep out the approaching cold. They faced each other, one having just come down the path from Cragside, the other waiting patiently in the shadow of the walled town’s gates. Both their horses had a light gray starbust dyed into their strong necks.
“Aye … though the haggling was unexpected.” It was the rider come from the merchant town who replied, dusting his hand through his ragged hair. “I have no doubt that he wanted to trade with us; our crowns have been good for a handful of winters, Cragside is a Kierkegaard holding and Kierkegaard is still stands with Dawnview and he well understands that dependable coin he favors comes from Allaine coffers. But, if I read him right, there were appearances that had to be kept up, matters that had a desperate need to become truths.”
The silence from his companion was an unspoken question.
“The Mark is in town.
“And they are not at all happy we bartered their favorite tavern out from beneath their collective snouts.”
A mountain town in the dead of night is a dark place. But at least Hunter and Silver had just peeked above the jagged skyline, casting shadows of gray and along the empty streets.
Father hadn’t come for dinner.
Father hadn’t come by the barkeep’s last call.
She hugged her cloak tighter about her, looking nervously up and down the black cloaked alleys.
A day's walk is a day's ride. Because, for the most part a good horse and a person amble at around the same pace, the difference, of course, is that the one on top of the horse is less tired than the one walking. Only couriers, those on the run and those chasing them or fools press their horses harder.
The last leg of the trip to Cragside, was, at least as far as thr trail was concerned, was supposed to be an easy walk. A day's out; close enough to see the farms that nestled against the town and keep, to see the rise of the narrow path between town and stone carved keep. The path grey to two carts ride; from the west it was a gentle rise, the last length carven out of stone. From the east the path slowly broadend, forming the small valley that was protected by the House Shannon citadel.
A day's walk, a day's ride.
Until the sun had climbed perhaps a quarter of the way up from the horizon.
That was when the clouds slammed down from the mountains black. It was the wind that struck first, rushing across the ground like a stampede. Those rising from the High Tarn saw it first ripple then flatten the tall brown grasses, wave upon wave, and when it hit the travellers cloaks snapped, the hems of their tunics rustled. Stiff and harsh, one had to bend to push forward. Those coming down the mountain pass heard it first, a dull roar through the tops of the trees until the branches and rising trunks twisted and bent as if they were alive. A herald the wind was, of the tall thunderheads that drove towards the sunset, covering the sky far too quickly. The shadows it cast brought darkness far quicker too.
Luckily the trail was simple and straight.
For then the rain started.
Hard black water, cold as ice, driving straight down as if diven by a sledgehammer. Visibility dropped and evven the warn pass became treacherous. Riding was not wise, so now everyone walked. On the positive side warm cloaks and hoods kept the rain from turning hard into disasterous; even the lost Camelia benefitting from the generousity of Pauli's family and her new companions. Those coming from the Highgaard Reaches were perhaps a little better off, the pragmatism of the Kierkegaard cut of thier cloaks proving its worth.
The true downside was neither the wetness, the coldness, the cut and bite of the wind or how hard it was to press forward. It was that it made the trip ...
... longer.
It was well past sunset when the stragglers finally made it to the gates of Cragside. The walls about the town were crafted from the black rock of the montains which rose up behind it, making it a sable upon bsable shadow in the rain. Not that it was impossible to see; the landscape was illuminated in billiant sillouette with each lightning strike. The path lead up to the gatehouse, which in turn was flanked by two smaller watchtowers. There as a faint glow between the stone crenelations and the wooden battlements; obviously some of the town watch also was not spared their night because of the weather. That, however, didn't change the fact that it was after sunset and the town gates were locked.
Eventually there were ten folks outside the gates, leaning on them, pounding at them, trying to get the guards attention.
Four had come down from the mountains. Three lead fine horses, heads ducked beneath the hoods of their cloaks. The third walked, and for him the rain was just another part of the night. For Cesare, his ward had parted ways somewhere around midday; Karl taking his herds to a farm nestled at the foot of the Cragside. The young lad was probably in front of a warm fire having already had his hot meal.
Six had worked their way up from the High Tarn; this group obviously having an escort in the form of a sturdy Squire and a second swordsman. Two were obviously the escorted, a pair of women bundled in their cloaks and taking shelter against the watchtower walls. The last two were shadows themselves, one all alone and one appropriately, shadowing the swordsman. She was accompanied by a large ruff, who actually looked the worst of all, half his size lost with his thick coat all soaked. But the canine was also the one who looked the least bothered by the cold rain.
It was not surprising that they were being ignored; trying to get a town gate open after hours was harder than a day in the Montague quarries.
Unless.
"Hey, is that you Mikal? Ja, you there ... Mikal ... after the song .. that's you, right?"
"What, are you saying you know that guy?"
"Ja, he rode with me in Cameron's."
"He looks short and wet."
"Come on, he's one of us."
A few words were exchanged and the heavy timber gates were drawn back, allowing the little group into the town.
The mainstreet was dark, pitch black between the shattering of the night's lightning. It was also abandoned, the foul weather driving the night watch under cover; safe in the gatetowers or walking the perimeter of the walls beneath the balustrades. By the time the small group reached a place to pause and try to gain one's bearings they were already a good distance from gates themslves; at least far enough that they were beyond the watch's ken.
Within the flashes of lightning they knew were at least in the right place. Three large buildings faces this part of the street; two story, wattled and daub and framed in heavy timber. Large was only relative, however, only two stories tall and they were not one building but a couple concatonated together in a haphazard, accidental manner. Each had a large sign hanging out into the street. First upon the right, watching over the entrance to the town, it was a simple dark disc with a hole in the center. Opposite, a splash of red and black - that was about all that could be discerned in the night. Last, further up on the right, animalistic heads faced each other.
Then, before, a decision could be made ...
... a bolt of white came down in the town itself; at least it seemed so. For a moment the whole world was illuminated in white light.
There, caught frozen, for that brieft heartbeat, a handful against one was sudenly silouetted, as if frozen in a moment of time.
It was vicious, it was brutal, it was downright mean. Between the small clusters of structures of buildings there were so many alleys, so many little niches and cul-de-sacs. And down this narrow alley a brutal passion play was being played out; one man had been slammed against the mud plastered walls, his body convulsing each time he was struck. He was badly outnumbered and in the brief splashes of storm light there was a glint of metal.
It was hard to tell if he was trying to fight back or if he had become but a rag doll held up only by violence.
The lighting worked both ways, however.
"Tcha ... where did they come from!"
Footpads splashed loud and fast upon the cobbles, in the dark, as the alley shadows turned towards the street.
The sudden, blasting arrival of the brutal storm had sundered apart Darian's plans to try to take some game on the walk in to Cragside. Only two-foots and those that traveled with them were foolish enough to be out in this. There was nothing to do but trudge forward and endure. Her bow was long and tall, strong enough to use as a walking stick, but she would not abuse it so. Longtooth walked close to her side, his footing and eyesight more sure and sharp than hers could ever be. Occasionally her hand would stray to find purchase in his scruff.
They had come to the town walls well past the time of admittance. She was considering a course of action to get her and Longtooth and possibly Mikal shelter from the weather when the gates opened to them. Sodden and wet they slipped through into the town. By same happenstance they all seemed to be headed in the same direction.
She kept her hood low, and her cloak in close as they moved through the streets. It was as much to protect from the storm and the blinding lightning as it was to keep eyes from her. Many may be under shelter, but someone was always watching.
And then came the illuminating strike, showing them something they were not meant to see. It was not in her way to interfere in such matters, and left to her own devices she would have continued on. Predators oft hunted dangerous or large prey in packs, and she saw no reason that it would be different among two-foots.
Yet, those predators attacking their prey in a dark alley under cover of night and storm now turned towards the group with whom she numbered. It was not in her nature to turn and run. That was the way of the prey. She did step away from the others, flinging her cloak back to clear it from her bow and quiver.
She felt Longtooth tense at her side and sensed his growl more than heard it as she drew arrow and notched it. She sighted down and drew bead on an approaching shadow, waiting for another burst of lightning or such to verify her target.
She would rather not draw attention to herself and her skill in this manner, but she would not go down easily. She would not be prey. Perhaps these would turn aside when they saw there were trained fighters in the group they ran toward. This was no Hunt, and her only real interest was to get inside out of the storm even animals took shelter from.
Her first thought when she saw the brutality playing out was Protect! She didn't know who he was... this man being beaten, but it did not matter. What mattered was duty and honor. She dropped Fern's reins, ground tying her, and whispered to the horse, "Stay, aye?"
Drawing Kassia's sword... her sword, she flung her cloak over her shoulder to keep her swordarm free, though the hood she kept over her head to keep the rain from her eyes as much as possible. As she stepped forward, she whispered again, casting the Starlight spell. The area around the small group of travelers was illuminated by a bright circle of light she held in her hand, until she tossed the light forward towards the melee in the alley. The light darted side to side, always in a forward motion, its circle of light about 30 feet in diameter.
Daxia purposefully, quickly strode towards the fight... boots splashing in puddle the only sound she made. She evaluated the group as she neared them; she saw no weapons displayed, only a brutal beating. So no need for a fatal wounding... yet. She swung the sword at the nearest assailant with the intent to slice open the bicep of what appeared to be his dominant arm. It should cause enough pain, and hopefully be bloody enough, that he would be distracted from his current activity so Daxia could do the same to his next closest companion.
The storm was miserable. People would be nursing illness for a while after this if they were foolish enough to be out in it. Foolish enough like they were. But they got in. Lady's Mercy, Mikal was recognized and they were admitted to the town. She hadn't worried as much for herself, though it was nasty out, but they got in. Warmth would be soon.
Comfrey's thoughts revolved around that until the footpads and their victim were seen. Light blossomed and two of those who entered the gate took up attacking positions. Comfrey moved to one side, out of the way but where she could lend aid if needed. Her heart went out for the lone figure.
Camelia had walked, even if she were to have been offered to ride as second upon a horse. Why should a horse be made to suffer for her ill fortune in having been discarded to die by her captors and then not actually do so.
That Mikal had shared with others this song told Camelia it was an important aspect to his personal identity. He had great pride in where he came from and what his name might mean to him. He was proud to have that name. Camelia felt relieved that she hadn't tried to press him into a personal conflict over what was true and what was a regional adaptation.
His connections saw them into this Cragside town, though she was certain had it come to it, the Squire could have pressed his name into service. He had said he came from here and was tasked to bring the Healer to this place.
Once inside, still keeping her cloak tightly pinched against the elements and then there came the lightning flash. There was an instantaneous shock-wave of sorts that came with being that close to large bolts of lightning. The sheer force of the strike and the resulting dispersion of energy, it made the hairs on her arms prickle as she felt the wash of ambient electricity dissipate outwards. That, and it was enough to startle even the most stalwart travelers. Camelia herself had weathered several days with day storms and night storms. The night storms along the Road east, so close to the Dirkwood were the worst. Even with those experiences, she couldn't help but jump in surprise.
But in the flash, there was revelation and it was not a good one. cut-purses and brigands were interrupted in there felonious acts and this only brought the road weary and weather worn group to their attention.
Instinctively, Camelia moved to stand by Comfrey. perhaps she didn't want to get lost in the sudden shuffle and confusion that was sure to follow. More brigands came from the shadows, perhaps as watchers for those in the alley. Whatever the case might be, Camelia was in no position to press forward. Instead, she stepped sideways as Comfrey tried to withdraw, and kept the horses before them.
Others were moving to intercede on the poor man's behalf, and maybe others might well move to protect the group by advancing into the incoming ruffians as well. Camelia would keep with Comfrey, even as she loosed the ties on her borrowed cloak. Maybe she just wanted to be free of the heavy garment should she need to make a run for safety.
Leaving early, he is enjoying the ride, at least until the wind and the driving rains arrive. He pulls his cloak close to stop it from flying open in the gusts and keeps his hood tight.
As he rides, he carries his crossbow, resting across his saddle's pommel. It's steel wire bowstring making it much less vulnerable to the wet weather than a sinew bowstring would be. He has a strap attached to the back of the crossbow whose other end is tied to the pommel horn, so that he can fire it and drop it without losing it.
A short time after the rains start, another group of travelers join them. They travel silently together, the rain making conversation difficult, so he doesn't get to know anything about who they are, and their closed hooded cloaks meaning he hasn't even seen some of their faces.
The weather makes the journey take longer than normal, and it's late when they arrive. Luckily one of the gate guards recognizes him. He can't exactly tell who he was, as he can't see his face, but when he gets a chance he'll look the man up. For now he is grateful they got inside, and he calls a greeting to him, with a promise to come back to talk when he can.
As they pass thru the gate, he dismounts, leading Talia. She is a bit less spirited than normal, surely from the weather. He slides the crossbow into a sheath and looks at the deserted streets as the large group moves deeper into town.
He is considering how to ask about the tavern the innkeeper recommended, not really wanting to aimlessly wander about in this wet searching for it, when they pass by an alleyway. A flash of lighting illuminates the scene, cut-purses or some such accosting a man in the darkness.
He hesitates a second. He feels badly for the man, but it is not his fight. His goal right now is to get himself, and secondarily Darian, to the inn. Besides, who knows whether or not the man did something to deserve being accosted in the alley? However when the footpads turn from the man and begin to advance on him and his traveling companions, and he can see Darian take out her bow and some of the others moving to intercept, his decision is made.
Drawing Sword and Main Gauche, he drops Talia's reins. She is well trained and he knows she will not move. He slips his arms from beneath his cloak and steps up, planning to take a position near the alley mouth, where he can bottleneck the footpads, keeping them inside the narrow alley way where they can only attack one or two at a time while he and his companions have the freedom of space of the larger main street to maneuver in. There he waits, and allows them to close with him. He is hopeful once they see the size of his group they will flee, but if not, and they continue forward, he is ready to strike at the first one who comes close.
The shorter woman was being quiet - her thoughts her own and largely, for the moment, keeping to herself and observing those around her. She didn't like the rain, but the rain was a fact of life. She had been thinking of how to get herself in, when the planning was short circuited by them gaining admittance - rather more easily than she had hoped, given the late hour.
Her 'companions' - as recent as they may be, seemed to be sharing the same road. Well. So be it. For now, it did not hurt to meet and observe new people. New people made life interesting.
Then the lightning struck, and revealed its scene. For a moment, she thought about not getting involved. But only for a moment. As those around her readied to fight, a decision was made.
Quite quickly the small and lithe woman. . . moved. Quickly and smoothly a knife found its way into her hand, and from her hand was thrown in the direction of the nearest of the cutpurses.
"You wish to play? Do you know how to run?"
There was an undertone of. . anger? in her voice. Something here was. .perhaps. . personal.
The journey to Craigside had gone well with this large a group, even though it brought him worries given the story that Cameila had given them.
It was surprising to have the gates open for the hooded man, making him raise an eyebrow and follow them in, checking on Lady Comfrey and Cameila. They were his obligations after all.
The lightning bolt caught him by surprise, making his eyes widen at the sight laid out before them and then the ruffians turning their ill attentions toward them.
He slipped off of his horse and slipped his heater shielf over one arm, drawing his broadsword with the other. His tabbard showing both the symbol of his Lord Rames and that of the Shannon house adorned his cloth.
"I need someone to watch and protect the rear." he said, looking back for a moment to the ladies. "I will be right back." he said, moving toward the oncoming footpads.
"I am Squire Lord Conrad Shannon of my Lord Rames! I give you this chance to lay down your arms and perhaps live!" he called out in a loud, strong voice.
The Heartwood Between Dusk and Dawn, the Town of Cragside Marketday The Twenty-Fourth Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
"Gavka!"
The single sharp expletive snapped out from a ruffian. Not from the pure, deep and harsh blue glare reflecting from Daxia's sword, but from the light itself - the narrow alley suddenly brought into cold starlight. There were five of them left, in the alley, one compatriot already having chosen the better part of valor. They were a mottled group; over tunics and breaches, all dark colors, all soaked by the evening's storms. Some of them seemed stained by something darker, some of them had boots and all of them carried steel. Short blades though, some thick, some thin.
Ohe reaches out, to their victim, yanking something from around his neck.
One took two steps forward; only to be draw himself back with a skid and cycling boots; almost loosing his balance as the light illuminated for him Darian's stout bow, already leveled and aimed. A hand hitting the cobbles he turned, his new path opposite, towards the other end of the alley.
The first cry was one of pain; the one who felt the bite of Daxia's blade. Thin damp cloth shorn, a streak of dark blood following the cut of the blade, and he dodged backwards, one hand slapping over the wound, now his true desire to be somewhere else. He only makes it a few steps before he stumbles, almost falling to the ground. Kadri's blade catches him in the side and its a sharp motion to yank it out, dash it to the street, and chaotically push further down the alley and away.
It is the Squire's call, however, that shatters their morale. Not just authority, but local authority and that, that turns this narrow alley into the last place they want to be.
They break and run, and when they hit the end of the alley vanish in two different directions.
Against the wall, all alone, the lone, battered figure simply slides down the dark toned wall, leaving a streak upon it as wide as he was. He ended upon the wet cold cobblestone, as if sitting.
Seeing the brigands fled, the Huntress unnocked her arrow and returned it to the quiver without looking. She pulled at the cloak edge and flipped it back over, recovering herself and her gear, pulling it tight. The bow was tucked safely under cover as well. She would have to see to the wood and stringing once inside.
Though the obvious danger had passed, Darian kept a hand to her long dagger. Longtooth would warn her if a new threat occured, but it never hurt to be ready. Returning her observance to the street they had been moving down, she saw the sign of the Hart & Hound.
She reached out and offered a brief tap to Mikal's shoulder before pointing to the sign and heading towards it, Longtooth at her side.
Having come to this point in the city with the other travelers, it was impossible not to note that one of them was a Lady of Attera; especially impossible for Daxia not to recognize the white rainment the woman wore. So as she ran to the man's side, light still reflecting a blue glare off her sword, she called over her shoulder, "Lady! Quickly come!"
She knelt beside him, looking first for signs of life... breath, the pulse in the neck... then looking at his wounds. Even should she find him alive, using her own healing spell was uncertain without knowing the full extent of his injuries. Her Lady's magicks were tricky that way. There was no way to know if more harm might be done by trying. "Stay. Help comes," she whispered to the man, then turned to look down the alley in the direction the bandits had fled, sword having never left her hand.
Should they be foolish enough to return, she would be ready.
KAdri quietly watches. . and moves towards the alley, to retrieve the knife - and make sure the brigands had truly left; There was no sense in interfering with the man at this time - it looked as though he were being cared for.
(Editing in to encompass new facts)
As she kneels down to pick up the knife, something else attracts her attention, and she kneels down and picks it up, inspecting it closely, weighing it in her hand and looking at it curiously.
She speaks under her breath.
"Well well. Well. Interesting. Perhaps this is what they were after. . ."
She was already on the move as the brigands fled and the man toppled over. The call spurred her feet a bit faster. She called up the Lady's Mercy as she knelt to touch him and examine his wounds.
Automatically, without thought, she muttered what she had been the entire time with various individuals, "Just Comfrey." It was automatic though - her focus, and hopefully her Lady's, was on the hurt one. She'd wonder what they were after later, though her companions of the road and longer had probably seen more, for now she had one to care for.
Wet and cold and thinking more about finding somewhere warm and dry, Cesare moves in past the guards to the rear of the larger group that had gathered at the gate.
He is about to move up to catch up with the others he had travelled with when there is some commotion, something occuring in an alleyway. Instictively he draws two knives ready to move ahead when one of the mounted riders declares himself a Squire to some noble and moves forward.
So instead, Cesare returns his knives unseen and moves to a place in shadow where he can see better what is occurring. He watches from there.
He stands at the entrance to the alley, weapons drawn, to see how the encounter plays out. He suspects he will not need to bloody his blades today. The group he is with is far too large, and far too well armed, for footpads to assault.
And when Squire Conrad moves up and offers his loud challenge/warning, and some of his less disciplined companions rush ahead to strike at one of the closest footpads, their nerve breaks and they turn and flee, as he thought they would.
He takes a few seconds, with the benefit of the illumination provided by one of the group, to scan the area and make sure there are no other brigands skulking about.
He feels Darian tap him on the shoulder and glancing back he sees her point out the sign of the inn to which they were heading. So, once no more threats materialize, he sheathes his blades and turns and moves back to Talia.
As he moves away he hears a call for the Lady Healer, presumably for the man who'd been assaulted in the alley. He is not sure it will do any good. The man did not look good to him, and the telltale wide strip of blood behind him on the wall did not bode well for his chances, healer or no. But perhaps Lady Comfrey is extremely skilled?
He can also hear some discussion over something found in the alley, though what it could possibly be that justifies standing out here in this miserable wet any longer than necessary is a bit beyond his ken.
Reaching Talia, "Good girl", he says, patting her neck and retrieving her reins, as he finds her exactly where he left her, ears perked up and eyes alert, but calm, with no whites showing.
He can see Darian moving down the street towards the inn. He looks to the group, but they've reached the city, and that was all his agreement with Squire Conrad called for. Still, perhaps he can offer a suggestion?
"Might we be warmer, and drier, talking about the evening's events inside. Out of the weather? If the man can be saved, he'd likewise probably be better off out of the rain."
He pauses a moment, looking as Darian gets closer and closer to being dry, then sighs. "Lady Comfrey. Do you need assistance moving the man?"
He sheathed his broadsword and slung his heater shield over his pummel, and motioned for Cameila to join him to aid Comfrey in case he needed to carry the man. Regardless, he would need to make a report to the town guard.
Once the Lady of Attera arrived to care for the man, she rose and pulled a small rag from her belt pouch to wipe the blood from her blade, though she still did not sheath it. With frequent glances back up the alley where the brigands had fled -- she would protect, yes, but justice was the purview of Rames and Hastur -- she walked over to Kadri.
"What is it?" she asked, nodding towards the item Kadri found.
Camelia required no prompting from the Squire, although he was the only one who had expressed any interest in her welfare after the unseemly and unfortunate affair. Camelia moved in the shadow of the Lady of Aterra. As close to her as she could get without tripping in the Healer's tunic hem.
All of this was a sudden surprise after a long and miserable day walking the road in more rain. At least she had a cloak now, something given her in charity. It made this all a little more bearable... but then the brigands. Camelia had seen her fill of ruffians and brigands to last her a lifetime now. She made it a point to keep herself close to Comfrey. No one was going to deter her.
Obviously she didn't want to be left behind near where she had stood and tried to keep out of the fray, nor did she want to be forgotten while more pressing and emergent matters occupied the group. Besides, who could know what further dangers lurked in shadows.
Celi had completed her business, and the change of attire seemed to have eased the innkeeper's suspicions about her. She had a great deal to learn, and she had to keep reminding herself that everything could be a teacher, if your mind was welcoming.
She had turned over the gray, and delivered the instructions as she had been bade. It had been a pleasant horse, and they had hit it off early on, which made the journey that much more bearable.
She still suffered from her mind wandering, back to Grandmother, who had passed on her own terms, at peace with the land she loved so much... and the Blackwater, along whose banks she had passed many an interesting day.
Her woolgathering was disturbed by the sudden rush of footpads, who quickly realized they had bitten off significantly more than they could chew -- a reason to eschew fancy clothes, Celi told herself. She hadn't drawn either blade at first, simply readying herself, until she realized that such behavior called subtle attention to her *more* than wielding a knife expertly would. So she belatedly drew the two kukri, whirled them deftly into a defensive position, just in time for them not to be needed at all.
That was a good thing, wasn't it? This group had skills. Excellent. She'd readied herself lest someone require assistance, but they hadn't. WHat did this mean? In a subtle manner she had adopted this group, made them worthy of protection, though she wasn't sure why. None of them knew her, none of them liked her, none of the had even met her.
She might have to talk to someone about that. Sadly, her regular companion wasn't likely to be around for quite a while, given the size of this party, which put a serious crimp in her ability to seek counsel.
The others? *If* they would talk to her. On good advice, she had ditched the buckskins she had arrived in, and looked about as normal as it was possible to look: under her scarf, she had short-cropped tousled brown hair. Her clothes consisted of a rude tunic, belted with a rope on which her two knives and her possibles hung, and loose trousers. Sturdy shoes completed the picture. .
She made herself available should someone need assistance, though she didn't hold out much hope that they would seek it. She very much hoped that the passage of time would help her there. Otherwise, this could be one lonely journey.
He walks forward out of the shadows when Kadri talks about the item she picked up.
"May I see it?"
He holds out a hand, his attitude calm but sure.
"I don't know if any of you want to know but the one that fled far too quickly at the beginning went left, two continued on, two more also went to the left.. and the last, injured, went through that right hand door into the large building. If you wanted someone to question, he'd be my choice."
He turns his attention back to the object that Kadri has.
She and the ruff continue on towards the inn, her hood and cloak once again pulled close against the weather. Her steps are slow and measured though as her eyes and ears scan for others like those in the alley. She is making note of her surroundings, concentrating carefully, finding it a bit more difficult in the city between the steady downpour and everything looking alike.
She bowed her head and put her hand gently on his cheek. “May your dance be a gentle one,” was all she said. The other thoughts, if she were faster, more skilled, if… if… stayed within as was proper. Sometimes the last resort was the only one. And he had been dead when they were still at a distance from the looks of him. Heedless of the blood she knelt on the cobblestones near him.
Hearing Mikal’s voice she shook her head. “I do not know the procedures here for the shell once the life has left if twere rudely done. Slashed and stabbed from what I see.”
She looked up and to the others, moving back slightly to reveal an average sized man with auburn hair. She spared a smile for Camelia and her concern in staying so close and a nod for Conrad.
Her glance to the one who called her there included the briefest of nods she would speak, but the distance seemed a bit too far. Perhaps later. Her eyes widened slightly at the groupings. It was amazing how much could happen in a short time. A life could be lost...
(OOC - OK, as I see it, Cesare, Kadri, and Daxia are further down the alley. Comfrey, Conrad, and Camelia are near the dead man. Darian has moved towards the inn. Celi and Mikal are not too far apart near the alley mouth.)
Mikal
He nodded to Lady Comfrey's announcement, replying loudly, so she could hear, "Best to report it to the guard. They will know the procedure." The man did not appear to be dressed in such a manner to suggest that Mikal would take an interest in his final arrangements. And he presumed the Squire would take it upon himself to do the reporting. Squires of Rames were like that.
He glances further down the alley, seeing a few of the others gathered together talking, but he can't hear them and nothing is threatening any longer.
Turning to Celi, standing nearby, Talia's reins in one hand he says. "Care to come with me to the inn?" He nods after the retreating Darian. "I'd like to get out of this damned wet."
Returning her sword to the scabbard at her side, she looked as if she was going to say something more, but then simply shrugged. She noted the Lady's nod, and nodded slightly in return. Glancing to where Fern waited patiently, Daxia said to her companions, "We should seek shelter."
Camelia fell into place at the opposite side of the man from Comfrey while she tried to tend to him. Or whatever it was she would be able to do for him. He looked in a bad way and wasn't moving. She felt very helpless and all she could do was take the man's hand in hers.
Blood didn't scare her. She didn't know why, it just was.
When Comfrey pronounced the man dead Camelia felt a profound sadness for him. She wished she could have done something, anything to help him. She realized that even holding his hand like she was meant nothing, he never felt it. He never knew that anyone was trying to help him in his final moments.
Camelia just stared at the man whose hand she held, refusing to let go. Unable to let go.
The Heartwood Between Dusk and Dawn, the Town of Cragside Marketday The Twenty-Fourth Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
After the last harsh thunderclap he rain seemed to lessen a bit, as if it took its cue from the funereal scene below. Thee driving cold became just a heavy shower, still coming down in sheets but without the hint of fierceness. Perhaps even a few stars peek out through the west bound storm clouds.
A breath, a long set of heartbeats, and the night swallows the brigands, even their footsteps swallows by the rain.
Cesare, overlooking the tragic scene, eyes sharp, watched the threat vanish. to the point that he is fairly assured that the brigands would not reappear soon.
Stepping back from the alley and the closest shelter appears to be the rambling set of buildings marked by the big shield like sign, emblazoned with two proud animalistic heads. With the withdrawal of the thunder what might be conversation drifts out, that and slivers of flickering yellow light can be seen through the cracks of the shutters.
Behind them, the two other big taverns exhibit the same ... the most noise comes form the one on the west side of the street; the eastern tavern is definitely more formal.
All in all the little group seems to be fragmenting. Just a bit. Though the nearest place out of the weather, to where there must be a warm fire, hot food and a place to rest is the one noted by both Darian and Mikal.
That little bit farther ahead, it is Darian who can finally resolve the closest tavern's sign; the two critters upon it are a Hart and Horse.
She is also the first to see the two figures slog down the main street, beneath heavy cloaks, hoods up. They too seem as wary as she and Longtooth as they approach, halting when they see just how big a group they have stumbled across.
"Night watch ..."
One of them grumbles, their posture becoming a mite defensive.
Closest of to the Town Guard, of course, are Darian and Mikal. Next is the Squire and Celi ... with Cesare but a few paces away with Kadri and Daxia. Leaving Comfrey and Camelia keeping the dead man his final company.
She peers up at the sign, now that she can finally see it clearly in the continuing rain. Yes, this was the place the innkeep had told Mikal about. She is only a couple steps closer to the door and the promise of dry warmth when two more catch her eye.
Walking out in the open like they are, they do not seem to be the same sort that just ran. Their words confirm that.
Cesare with Daxia and Kadri, starting to head for the inn
He nods and smiles to both his companions from the previous night.
"Yes, a dry warm inn is certainly calling, especially as rooms may be scarce tonight."
He nods back down the alley towards the others.
"Let's find the inn we were recommended."
The town guard often have no love for his kind and so he inserts himself between Kadri and Daxia, leaving them more in a position to respond should they be challenged.
(Camelia, with Comfrey- still in alley with dead man)
The rain still coming down. And still coming down. It was like there were only two seasons in this part of the world, so far from her own. Rainy, and Monsoon. She longed for the simple aphorism that residents of Trundle on the Hill were wont to share with visitors- 'If you don't like the weather, just wait a bit, it'll change.' It never seemed to change here, not this time of year anyway.
Camelia held the man's hand, staring at his face and wondering who he was. She couldn't shake the weight that came with the understanding that all of this seemed so senseless. What could he have done or known that required so many brigands to hurt him so? Who was he? Did he have a family? Was there a wife and children peering out into the rain and dark wondering when their loved one was coming home?
No answers came to her, as she huddled tighter against the chill, feeling the warmth leave the man's hand, while the rain fell in a steady beating rhythm across her hunched over back.
"I wish we could have done something more... Sooner... A cruel twist of fate, help so close, and yet he would never know. Not close enough."
She nodded at Camelia as she stood unaided, hopefully having indicated to Conrad where his held was needed. After something like this, unless needed, contact was something she avoided. He moved off ahead.
"Camelia, fate is, but humans were the ones who did it. That is all we may be. Come, we must see to what we can. His tending is important, but so is yours." She did not forget the near frantic wolfing of food the other night. Authorities and the like must be informed from the sounds of it. But she was content that Squire Conrad would know the way of it.
She lifted her head at the sound of other voices but couldn't fully make out who or what was going on.
"We can not leave him, not here... not like this," she replied, with her head craned just enough to see Comfrey standing over her and the body from beneath the hood of her cloak.
Celi felt like a drowned rat, and the ordinary furze she was now wearing had little of the water-shedding capabilities of her former attire, the unfortunately-chosen buckskins. Even her sturdy boots squelched when she walked; the only positive thing she could say, was that the rain had damped some of the unfortunate smells of this place.
Sheer happenstance had paired her beside Mikal, who seemed to handle the soaking with remarkable aplomb. She quietly drew on his example, and suffered in silence. She was regretting leaving the comparative pleasantry of the stable to rejoin the group. She had hoped to somehow develop a level of ease with *someone* before hitting the road on the morrow. She was feeling the initial pangs of loneliness, which she knew would just get worse as her alone time attenuated.
She regarded the guardsmen with a critical eye, their presence eliciting one single though from her as she nodded vigorously to Mikal's suggestion ...
As soon as he asks Celi if she wants to come to the inn, a pair of watchmen appear at the end of the street and quickly approach. Circumstances have them reach Darian first, but he leads Talia up the street a short distance until he can speak with them as well.
He nods to Darian's reply to their question, and then adds answers to the rest of it.
"Gate guards let us in. We were heading for the inn when we saw a man being accosted in that alley." He points back over his shoulder to where the rest of the group stands.
"They thought to add us to their list of victims." He adds, not bothering with the obvious answer that they did not succeed at that goal.
He then shrugs. "Man's dead. T'was too late to save him."
"Say, friend, might we continue this indoors? There's a Squire of Rames and a Lady of Attera there near the dead man. I am sure they can tell you whatever you need for your report, but I'd dearly like to get Talia stabled and out of this." He glances upwards at the still falling rain.
"We can not leave him, not here... not like this," she replied, with her head craned just enough to see Comfrey standing over her and the body from beneath the hood of her cloak.
"Go, inside with the others," she urged quietly. "You've not been well and should get dry and warm as soon as possible. I will stay with him until someone comes for him." She spoke with a gentle firmness. "My Lady and I can see to him."
Daxia <with Kadri and Cesare, heading towards Inn>
She nodded, and pulled her cloak more firmly around herself; not just for warmth and to ward off the rain, but to keep her weapon concealed. Not everyone was as nonchalant as her two companions when seeing a woman with a sword. "Even a spot in the loft, as Katshka said, would suit."
Though her first destination was Fern, it appeared that there was already a group of people in front of the building where the mare patiently waited, and which appeared to be their destination.
(Camelia, with Comfrey in the alley with dead man)
Gently Camelia placed the man's hand across his belly and let slip her own from his with a gentleness born out of respect for the passing of life. She had no way to know whether this man was of honorable stock or not, but that didn't really matter. treating the dead with reverence was simply... the right thing to do.
"I am fine," she stated with some firmness, perhaps the first such gesture from the young woman. She stood and her height was a little more than average although she was rather thin of build and body.
"And I owe that to you... and that young child who dragged me inside at Plainsend. And... I know you're concern for me is true, for that I am grateful. But the Squire, he will bring back the watch or the Guard of this town. I am cold, for certain, but I have a reasonable cloak and that is more than I had for days, and I endured that. It would be... improper for me to leave you here alone... The Squire left only knowing that we were in each other's company. It would worry him greatly to know you were in an alley alone."
Camelia had no idea what Squire Conrad might think about anything, let alone this situation. But she said it all the same. She knew she would worry if she had left the healer alone, and she would be heartily concerned if she were left by herself in such a place on a night like this.
<Comfrey, with Camelia in the alley with dead man>
Comfrey looked at her with amazement. "When the Lady is with me, I am never alone. It would be... improper as you say for you to grow wearier due to staying out when there is no need. But it is your choice." Inwardly she smiled at the tone she heard from Camelia. She also planned a nasty tasting tea should the young woman grow ill from this.
She shrugged, "The Squire as you say may think what he likes of my propriety, but I am the one to guard that. Not him or any other." Comfrey chuckled softly, "Though I doubt watch will be needed for long. It would not surprise me to see quick speed for he can be rather firm in his requests."
The tall lean Squire waved toward the town watch, motioning for them to come along and turned back to the mouth of the alley so that he could keep an eye on his two charges.
"The town watch approaches. We will settle this quickly and get ourselves out of the rain to dry. Comfrey, do you think the hospice will have a place for Cameila or should I engage a room in the inn for her?" he asked, awaiting the arrival of the watch.
"He is at that," Camelia agreed with regard to Squire Conrad Shannon. Camelia didn't forget things, especially names. It was a way of life at the Palce. Forgetting something could cost you dearly, or cost someone else who was depending on you to see and hear... everything.
She looked back down at the man, trying to gauge his clothing, rain and blood soaked as it was, and then to Comfrey. She even looked about him and the immediate surroundings to see what else might have been left behind, or dropped... anything to appease her troubled mind about who the man might be, or who might be worried about him right now.
"Who do you think he was, to be out here, this late and in this weather?"
And then the Squire himself was back at the Alley entrance and speaking at Comfrey from a distance, in the rainfall.
<Comfrey (still in the rain!) with Camelia, Conrad and Corpse>
"We'll all go to the tavern here," she said firmly in response to Conrad's question. "The hospice will wait until tomorrow for we've been a whole day in the rain. Warmth, shelter, a fire and food right here is best for everyone."
She looked to Camelia and her face grew briefly troubled before serentiy dropped over it like fog over unfamiliar terrain. "I don't know. He doesn't appear to have been in their hands long, at least not from what I've seen. His wounds seem that of battle and fight. But I don't know. Maybe the Watch or others will be able to tell that."
Celi abruptly realized, as Mikal went to deal with the guard, that in this driving rain and the gloom, there was no way he could hear her head rattle, no matter how vigorously she nodded. So when he finished his word with the guard, she approached, adjusted her scarf so her face was no longer covered, and touched his arm diffidently. "Yes, good sir." White teeth flashed in a brief grin. "I would very much like to come in out of the rain."
He hears Conrad calling the guard to come see to the man in the street and he waits to see if they will leave, or if they need more of him.
In the meantime, the young girl moves up and touches him on the arm. He glances down at her as she addresses him.
Smiling back at her, he chuckles. "Careful how freely you pass out compliments like good sir. You don't know me yet."
He nods ahead to where Darian waits near the inn entrance. "Go ahead and get out of the rain with Darian. I'll see if the Watch needs me, then I have to take care of Talia, so I'll be there in a bit."
"Talia is your horse," Celi said. Her intonation was odd; that was not a question, that was a confirmation. "If you need help, I will be ..." she pointed to where Darian awaited.
"Summon me an' you need aught; I am called Celi (she pronounced it SAY-lee)."
With that she dashed over to where Darian stood, and then watched Mikal like a hawk through the rain.
The guards look distracted enough at the moment. Might be a good opportunity to bypass any delay and get into a warm shelter which is growing in appeal every further second he spends in this downpour.
So unless they are stopped he intends to carry on past the guards, huddled in his cloak as they all are.
Noting Cesare's intent to slip into the inn, Daxia hesitated for an instant -- concern for Fern -- before also heading that way. Fern would not move from where she stood, and it would be helpful to know just where the stables were.
The Heartwood Between Dusk and Dawn, the Town of Cragside Marketday The Twenty-Fourth Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
"Tcha ..."
The first Guardsman tossed back his hood, opening his cloak just enough to show that he did indeed wear the town's livery, before tugging it back around himself against the rain.
"What did we do to deserve this?"
With a chuff of breath they looked down the alley, a curse following and then a deep breath.
"Sure enough. Looks like you got a dead bloke there."
That's when they did take a step back, one of them counting off the folks gathered here on his fingers. The one who spoke then turned, peering through the darkness while his companion took out a hooded lamp from beneath his cloak. With a shuffle of metal over metal he turned the small light's shield so that it provided ... just a minimum of light. Using a hand to shield the punched holes from the rain he raisesed it, turning it to one male figure to the another until.
"You're Khorall Shannon's kid, right?"
He didn't wait for Conrad to answer before he continues.
"You know these folks? You vouch for them? If'n the Judge wants to be talking to them tomorrow, you'll be able to gather them up for us, your Squireship?"
His companion was already kneeling by the fallen gentle, looking at him, this way and that, straightening him out, checking his clothes.
"He don't look like he's from town, Denny. At least I donnae remember seeing him about."
For the others, the warmth of the Hart and Horse began to beckon. A pair of large doors beneath a small wooden eave protected the hall from the storm. At the best guess, from the noise that drifted through the shutters and the cracks in the entrance's heavy timbers it seemed to be nicely crowded; from the pattern of the windows the hall beyond was probably fairly large.
The first guard, the one at the slain stranger, glanced between Conrad and the folks he shared the street with.
"Staying at the Hart? I'll let Day Watch know.
"Me and Denny will take this bloke off to the Church, so as not to put you out. I'm sure the Father and the Judge will be wanting to speak to at least couple of you come the morrow. But come the morrow, aye?
"I don't want to be waking his Judgeship. He tends to get a mite grumpy."
"I am indeed Khorall Shannon's son, Conrad. As to my companions, I can vouch for their part in the events that transpired. I believe that we are all going to the inn over there to warm ourselves and take rooms for the night. I am available to the Judge at his pleasure in the morning." he said with a smile. "And yes, I happen to know for a fact that he is a bit unhappy to be woken in the night."
"Now, if you have no further need of us, I am going to accompany these ladies to the inn so that they can get dry and warm."
Camelia in alley with Comfrey, Conrad, the dead man, & the Watch
She stood behind Squire Conrad, and perhaps even a step off of Comfrey's shoulder as well. They did the right thing and now the dead man, whoever he was, could have his body attended properly and with some measure of respect. If there were people to be told, then these men would see that happening. Camelia was content that she had done the best she could for him. Still it was sad.
The Squire secured their future co-operation, again as was proper in lawful societies, and once they were free to return to their own affairs, she was more than willing and wanting to get to this Inn where she might find warmth and food.
Of course, it never left her mind that she had no money and depended upon the kindness of others. It was a fact of life for her at this point, and a humbling experience... but then again, this being the 7th handful of days since being taken from from Trundle on the Hill she had a lot of humbling experiences with which to compare.
She would wait on her benefactors to lead the way. The squire with his horse and the Healer with her enigmatic words of wisdom. And Camelia smiled within the shadows of her hooded cloak. She was thankful to still be alive, and have found the best of circumstances she could have hoped for...
He leads the way into the inn, a desire to be out of the rain and probably away from the guards hastening his steps.
He stand inside the doorway for just a moment letting his eyes adjust and take in the scene before him. His hooded cloak is drawn close and so not much can be seen of either his attire or his belongings apart from the pack he carries. His dark hair, certainly what is visible, is lank and wet and plastered to his face, emphasising the angular and slightly gaunt look of his face. No excess fat here, no signs of comfortable living. Against the dark swarthy look, his eyes stand out the most. Restless and watchful, calculating even and where his gaze rests, very direct. Trouble perhaps? Someone not to be messed with.. likely.
He turns to glance at Daxia and Kadri, a smile touching and softening his face briefly. People may be rethinking there first impressions. Maybe not trouble. Maybe more than they are seeing first - to be accompanied by two beautiful young women certainly says something.
"I know you will want to see to your horses but we should try for rooms first - maybe before the others arrive."
The is a brief hint of an impish smile now, perhaps hinting back at the first impressions.
Moving forward now, he heads towards the obvious source of rooms, usually the innkeeper.
Kadri is just a couple of inches shy of five feet and looks to top 100 pounds by only a few. She has long black hair, which is very fine framing a rounded face which is pretty, but in many ways childlike - mared mainly by a scar on her right cheek. The hair itself is braided and decorated with a feather here or a bit of cord there. It would be very easy to think she was perhaps twelve or thirteen if you did not look closely - but older if you did. She is dressed functionally, in mostly earth tones of grey and black - although the clothes do look well cared for.
"I already have a room here - and given that, I believe I wish to see Lisica to the stable."
As she entered the inn, Daxia pushed back the hood on her brownish-gray Kierkegaard styled cloak, displaying her fiery red shoulder-length slightly wavy hair. The only other article of clothing evident at this point are her black leather riding boots. Her sapphire blue eyes scanned the room, then looked from Cesare to Kadri and shrugged.
"Happy enough to sleep with Fern, if it gets her comfortable in stable, yes?"
<Comfrey with the 'C group' of Conrad, Camelia, the soon-to-be-left Corpse and the (alliterative only Constables/Watch>
She nodded at Conrad's words. Though the hospice might make more sense for her in one way, the inn made more sense for the current situation. Getting everyone warm was important and she didn't want to leave CAmelia just yet.
Quietly she said to Camelia, "for things in the inn and other places," and passed her a small pouch of coins. She had enough and knew how awkward she could feel without a few bits to her name. She smiled apologetically and added, "In case I must leave quickly."
She had thought of trying to be surreptitious during the day's travel, but had decided that wouldn't be right. With a sigh she shoved an unruly curl away from her face and said more loudly. "The inn sounds perfectly wonderful."
Her glance to the man's body stilled the animation from her face and she briefly closed her eyes.
The guard seemingly satisfied with Mikal's answer passed on by to speak with the squire. They did not look askance at her nor Longtooth, and that was a good thing. She looked about the street once more beofre finally entering the inn.
Just inside the door, at the place meant for it, she gave her cloak a bit of a shake and pushed her hood back. Her skin was burnished dark near to the same shade as her cloak by a lifetime of outdoor living. Whereas the sun had darkened her skin, it had also lightened her long hair to a tawny brown though darker tendrils could be seen peeking from beneath. Amber eyes, sometimes called wolf eyes, took in the common room in a single glance.
It was warm in here, considerable warmer than out in the storm. She pushed her cloak back off hers shoulders, exposing her bow and quiver and an overshirt soaked through at the shoulders. Even wet, though, the pattern of weaving like that of the linen pants, was shades of brown from light to dark. The undershirt was similar. The leather belt and tall leather boots were browns also, and well used. A couple daggers hung from her belt, one utility, likely used to eating and such, the other definitely not.
The large ruff at at her side had fur of an indeterminate color as, at the moment, it was still wet and plasted to him. Moving further in, she did not wait so much for Mikal and Celi as much as she was waiting to gain the innkeep's attention.
Mikal - near entrance to inn, then the stables, then the inn entrance
He nods, and smiles as Celi notes his horse's name. "Celi." He replies, when she gives her name. "And I am called Mikal."
He begins to lead the horse to the back of the inn where the stables typically are, calling back, "I am fine. Been taking care of Talia long enough to do it in my sleep."
Moving around the back, Mikal looks for the inn's stables. He spends some time with the groom there making sure Talia is in good hands and that the horse gets a bucket of oats. He brushes her coat himself, wanting to make sure it is done right. Once that is done, he removes the equipment that he'd prefer to keep close, then turns to head to the inn.
As he works on getting Talia settled, he notes a few of the others who also had horses arrive and get their own mounts settled. He nods in a friendly manner to them, but his desire is to make sure Talia is well cared for and then to get into some dry clothes so he doesn't linger, moving back to the inn once the work is done. Still, the time spent with the horse makes him one of the last to arrive inside the common room.
Stepping inside, and removing his wet cloak, anyone looking can see a light skinned man, with dark hair, worn long, and emerald green eyes. He stands about 6 foot tall, and while he is muscular and well built, he moves lightly on his feet. He wears black leather and ring mail armour and carries a short sword and long dagger with a basket hilt.
His eyes take in the room, noting who else is there and where Darian and the others have settled, before he seeks out the innkeeper to inquire about accommodations.
Celi had entered quietly, occasionally shooting a glance to Darian lest she miss some conversational gambit. Mostly she'd followed Mikal's directions, though she'd secretly hoped he might actually need some help and would call on her. It was considerably drier in here out of the rain, but she was so soaked that steam would rise off her if she got too close to the fire. She'd pulled the scarf away from her face, revealing pleasant, even attractive features though smudged with road dirt and streaked by the rain; green eyes, tawny short-cropped hair. The cheap clothes were so soaked they clung to her slim body here and there, despite their coarse weave.
Tentatively, she made a stab at conversation with Darian. "I am Celi," she said. "The gentleman sent me to await him here. He goes to care for his horse."
The effort was fairly stressful for her; she felt a twinge of alarm and looked down, to avoid causing any insult.
Fortunately, she was saved by the arrival of Mikal. Even if he said nothing, she felt a twinge of relief that the one who had spoken to her was now safe inside.
The Heartwood Between Dusk and Dawn, the Town of Cragside Marketday The Twenty-Fourth Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
It is as respectful as it gets upon a cold rainy evening. One stands watch over the corpse. The other guardsman turns, and ducking beneath the hood of his cloak he turns down the street.
"I'll get a barrow from Tally at the Bar."
The first watchman nods back to Conrad.
"Aye, we are done. No need for all of us to be standing out in the rain, your Lordship. Good eve, lad."
Without thinking, she accepted the pouch from Comfrey. In fact, she didn't even know that it was a pouch. Comfrey put something in her hands, she grasped it and then realized that Comfrey had given her money. The pouch made a quiet clink clink and Camelia knew the feel of coins. Her eyes widened at the realization the the Lady of Aterra continued to bless her beyond her ability to repay or even dole out words of thanksgiving.
The pair of them walked ahead of the Squire who led his horse, Together the three of them followed in the footsteps of the other travelers with whom they had shared the road today. This evening's inn, the Hart nad Horse, was just before them now. The Squire would tend to the stabling of his beautiful horse while she and Comfrey stepped out of the weather and into the comfort of warmth and food.
"I can't take this," she finally had the courage to say. Even in a whisper it seemed impolite. How could she refuse another's generosity. That was rude, but surely she didn't think it fair to have this woman dividing her own coin in any measure whereas she might need it elsewhere or for others even less fortunate than she.
Camelia knew the Healer would not accept the pouch back, and she also knew that Comfrey was likely expecting this rebuttal. But it had to be done. Both knew that Camelia needed a few pennies of her own to be able to have some small measure of self-worth among strangers in a strange place. But the theater of it all had to be observed for customs sake, despite camelia feeling genuine about her gratitude and fear of taxing the Healer by seeming so needy.
She would follow the healer into the tavern, and allowing for Comfrey to clear her cloak's hood and take the proper steps inside before she would do like wise.
The young woman who called herself Camelia had strikingly intense eyes of deep azure blue which were in stark contrast to her pale complexion. Her lips were a soft pink, and just a little pouty. She was perhaps a little too thin and slight of build and proportion, but the standards of a desirous shape and build were not the same everywhere across the Heartwood. She pulled back the cloak's hood as Comfrey was entering the Inn now, and her long, golden blonde hair fell more freely over her shoulders, down her back and across her chest so as to obscure the upper portion of her borrowed tunic. Camelia's eyes scanned the crowd already there, searching the faces for those who had abducted her. That nervousness was as controlled as her fear would be right now. She didn't dare let Comfrey get ahead of her enough to become lost in the crowd, and despite having a few coins, she still felt the need to stay close to the only friendly faces she had met thus far in her difficult travels from the Imperial Palace in Trundle.
The inn wasn't far ahead, and Comfrey could feel the warmth and welcome. She'd never met an inn that hadn't been friendly or people who had been out of bounds rude. Somehow she doubted this one would be it either. Besides, she'd already recognize some of the people in it. She knew an answer to exactly what had happened and why might not be forcoming right away, but she hoped to hear more later. A few steps happened before Camelia spoke.
She smiled back at Camelia at the words, and her eyes danced with some surpressed emotion. "One day, when you are able, pass something like it to another and I've been paid tenfold, hmm? The inn is ahead, and by staying together, none will be alone."
With that she entered and carefully removed her cloak so the dripping wouldn't add too much more to the dampness most likely within. She stepped enough in to let Camelia enter as well and give her time for her eyes to adjust without revealing her to the crowd until she was willing.
The average-sized woman looked around the inn, her brown eyes seeing who was already within and what might be in the ofering for dinner. Camelia still needed more food, warm food. Conrad would be in soon enough as well which was all to the good for now.
With long habit she brushed some of the corkscrewing curls that had escaped the morning's traveling braid out of her face and behind her ears.
"Darian." Celi savored the name, rolled it around on her tongue, then nodded briefly. She regarded Longtooth with a steady gaze, looking him over from head to toe; she seemed to find him interesting.
"Longtooth. He is quite handsome." She quietly tried to scan his body language, insofar as it told her anything about his likes and dislikes, particularly other people touching him. He might tolerate it at Darian's request, but if he didn't like it, Celi would never impose.
Darian & Longtooth with Celi and Mikal, Inn Common Room
The big ruff looked the girl called Celi up and down with a measuring stare, his eyes nearly the same shade as Darian's. His stance remained guarded but he did not growl. One of Darian's hands was in his scruff again. It was not in the manner of an owned pet, but rather two comrades who stood together.
"He thinks so," she said evenly.
She felt his hind quarter bump her knee and looked down to him again. woman and ruff exchanged a look.
"He chose you," Celi hazarded. "Both of you appear justifiably proud. Tell me ... is he full Snarkhound blood? I am not very knowledgeable about the breed, but the conformation is right."
She frowned, then her eyes widened. "If I say a wrong thing, please -- forgive me. No insult is intended. I am merely curious about such a wonder of nature."
Darian & Longtooth with Celi and Mikal, inn common room
At the word snarkhound, her eyes widened a bit and she shook her head vehemently. Longtooth let out a warning growl. Was this girl truly that naive? Was she trying to get them burnt at the stake? The Imperials only turned so much of a blind eye to her kind.
She was fairly sure Mikal suspected, but he had not named the breed. He had not been so unwise. And to say it here, in a room full of people...
"He is a common ruff, nothing more," she said finally, a warning note in her tone.
Celi frowned at the sudden chill in the conversation's tone. She started to inquire, then abruptly, she had an epiphany. "Ah. Yes. I ... umm ... please forgive me. I meant no harm. I just ..."
She pursed her lips in a moue of clear self-disapproval. "I am so terrible at conversation. I am just so used to being alone. When I am with someone, I tend to speak before I ..."
She shivered, stood straight. "I apologize. Clearly I was mistaken, and I will refrain from discussing things about which I am in ignorance."
She turned and locked gazes with Longtooth, crouching so that he did not have to strain to look her in the eye. "And allow me to apologize to you as well."
She didn't thrust out a hand, or make any other "friendly" gestures, but she tried to put herself in a place where she was as open, honest and receptive as she could be, and let Longtooth make his own decision.
The Heartwood Between Dusk and Dawn, the Town of Cragside Marketday The Twenty-Fourth Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Kadri, Daxia and Mikal
Three horses clipclopped down the cobbles, following Kadri who seemed to be the littlest bit familiar with this tavern. Their path slipped downdown a far alley, the last of Daxia's star casting soft blue shadows ahead of them through the rain. Then all it took was a lifting of the simple iron latch and a pull upon the dark metal handle to draw the double doors wide open.
Inside; warmth, the gentle illumination of a single punched tin lamp, mounted both high and very securely to heavy timber post. That and whuffle of horses, the stamp of hooves, the frosting of warm breath upon the cool air.
And not just a few horses. A whole lot of horses. A whole lot of horses, all with a grey starburst splashed upon their necks.
A stable full of horses. Horses everywhere; many stalls holding more than one.
It slowly became apparent, as Kadri, Mikal and Daxia snapped cross ties into bridles, out in the wide aisle. As they brushed off the water, brushed down their horses, shed saddle and blanket, hung them off to dry upon the angled wooden braces where beam and column met.
From the tackroom came the sound of a yawn, a tumble and the rustle of cloth being straightened out. Bleary eyed a young lad, most probably the night time stablehand, looked out into the aisle.
"Hey there who are yah ... we are closed for the ... oh ... is that ... is that you Miss Kadri?"
The lad winced.
"I forgot you had a stall from Ma'am Kelleni. These your friends? And you are? Expecting me too? Tcha!
"Sweet sugar in the mornin' ... aye, aye , aye ... I guess I'll find somewhere for them."
He patiently waited, until the horses were all taken care of. Then he gathered up the reins of each.
"I'll get them watered and fed. Oats too. No room, no space, no stalls, but lots and lots and lots and lots of oats ..."
Which left the three the short walk out the other side of the aisle, beneath the covered walk behind a very very warm and spice scented kitchen - good enough to rumble tummies - and then through the next door and into the commons.
The Heartwood Between Dusk and Dawn, the Town of Cragside Marketday The Twenty-Fourth Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Cesare, Darian, Celi, Comfrey, Camelia and Conrad ... and then Daxia, Kadri and Mikal
<continuing>
Cesare was the first to enter the Hart and Horse.
Followed by Darian and Celi, who were in turned followed by the Imperial cadre; Conrad, Comfrey and Camelia.
It was a different world; or at least one far far removed from stormy trail. it was bright, it was warm, it was a cacaphony. The tavern was more than crowded, it was bustling. The tables and benches were all full, bits and pieces of conversation racing around the room like a ball of yarn after a baby slink had gotten to it. And it was a rough bunch it seemed. The laughter was hard, every now and then a word accented by a first on a table, a punch to the shoulder, sentence fragments highlighted by more than a few expletives. And the swords; while no armor can be seen - well perhaps the smallest hint of riveted leather here, a flash of steel there - almost to a man each had a sword hanging from a second wide leather belt. They also seemed to be a common theme in surcoats, white and grey appearing more often than could be explained by coincidence. Except of course by the serving girls in their warm full tunics; from good wife to good daughter; there was even what looked to be some farmer's daughter back by the far hearth.
The fire was warm, it crackled and dance, the best thing being that there were two of them. One was right near the entrance, a and massive block of field stone masonry. Behind it, immediately to the right, there was a set of stairs leading upwards, obviously up to where the tavern's room for rent were. The other was opposite the long commons hall, the twin to the first, even to the big black iron stew pot bubbling inside it.
It was almost impossible for Cesare to spy the innkeeper through the crowd, it did take a question to one of the lasses carrying a few too many wood and pewter goblets to nod him towards the bar. The barkeep was an older man, in a worn set of tunics and a leather apron. He looked tired, but happy, but how could he not be; stormy weather was always good for business.
When Cesare finally made it to the heavy wooden counter, to press himself between a merchant and short sturdy swordsman, he was met with a smile, a nod and a friendly,
"So what can I be getting you, mister?"
By then, Conrad and Camelia had drifted deeper into the commons, having passed beyond where Darian and Celi were in their tense conversation.
The big snarkhound wrinkled his nose at the conversation, looking into the room speculatively, scenting air. And yes, he does attract a fair amount of attention, true. However it is an attention that Darian recognizes; something vey natural. The attention any canine would get, having just come into a room ... being long haired and soaked to the bone ... and hasn't shook out yet.
About the time the huntress realized this, however, two things happened.
First, the three other traveller return, entering the commons from the side door. Just in time for Conrad to pass by them, the Squire bound for the stables. The door was almost, just almost, closed behind him.
And second ...
"Here luv, apple cider, mulled back in mom's kitchen ..."
A young lass, perhaps a whole fifteen summers, tried to hand Camelia a wooden mug with a warm beverage; deep brown and scented of cinnamon. Her smile was friendly, her words welcoming, in fact familiar.
" ... just like ... you ... like ... like ... like ... like ..."
Her words fell off in a broken stutter, as she realized she has made a mistake. She just looked at Camelia and blinked, once, twice ... her confusion getting a laugh from a near by swordsman until he too stopped short and did a double take. He nudged a companion's shoulder, pointing to the groups lost waif.
It was like a pebble thrown into the center of a pond, sending ripples across the surface.
One by one, there was a nudge, a turn, a tilt of head, the entire bar falling silent.
Each one, their attention focused upon a single person.
Camelia.
By the time half the commons had turned about, someone finally called out, a single words towards the other side of the room,
In fact she loved the smell of cinnamon. It was exotic and it was the essence of the harvest time tastes and scents and it reminded her of Home. Home was a place she dearly longed for, dearly missed, and would do everything she could to get back there.
There were so many people and the noise and the laughter and the powerful smells of foods, besides just the cinnamon, had all conspired to drown her in a sensory overload. Comfrey just ahead of her, she couldn't help but nearly turn full around so that she could see everything as though this were an entirely new experience for her. Simple people, who worked hard and enjoyed themselves and the company of others like themselves. Gone were the seemingly endless games and machinations and the surreptitious glances from corners of rooms, or the calculated stares o'ertop raised glasses in false camraderie and kinship. It was all a new experience for her...
Each step took her deeper into a world so alien to her. She was eager to accept the mug from the overly busy serving woman, and with a wide-eyed smile of appreciation. But with her hand outstretched, the mug never made it to her for the woman froze, stammering, eyes meeting and Camelia counting the blinks as time became a tangible reality that she might have been able to touch in that moment. Everything slowed down for her, and she looked sidelong, first one way and then the other. Alone, even with Comfrey ahead of her and so close. Alone as the universe suddenly sped up and the sounds of the inn, momentarily muted in her mind, were suddenly rushing at her like a cyclone of cacophony, spiralling into an unnatural silence as all eyes fixed themselves upon her... and only her...
"Tcha," she mumbled, mostly to herself, sounding more like a hiss of escaping air.
And she was frozen in place, internally begging and praying to Gods she had heretofore only given lipservice, now suddenly in need of some divine providence and intervention.
Someone's voice shattered the unnatural and uneasy stillness. Camelia wanted to run, hide, but panic began to creep up on her and lock her body and freeze her muscles like some prey animal unable to escape its own moment of indecision.
He stopped and reached back to prevent the door from closing as he heard the sudden silence and the call for the "captain" behind him. Conrad turned to look back in and see what was occuring, the hairs on the back of his neck stirring as a feeling of tension swept through the room.
Darian & Longtooth with Celi, common room ny the Main St fire place
She was accustomed to being around armed men, though not armed in this fashion. Still, each had carried a long dagger in addition to their bow. And the armor was different as well, rivets and ringmail did not lend themselves to the stealth required by a hunter. It seemed there was enough noise in the common room to have drowned out the girl's question about Longtooth. And for that she would bear the press of people.
It was, though, the sudden descent of near utter silence that caused a hand to drop to the hilt of her long dagger and wrap about it. Her bow would do no good here. Only the crackle of the two immense fires could be heard along with the occasional creak of leather as someone shifted. She tensed and looked into the crowd, relaxing only slightly when she noticed all their attention was on the one she had termed prey.
Then the shout for a Captain, and the girl looked more like prey now than she had before, like a hart caught unawares, rooted to the spot and the whites of its eyes showing. She eased back a half step, not wanting to venture back into the cold rainy night, but to do so if she must.
He is already thinking ahead to a hot meal and an ale, a rare luxury but it seems appropriate to mark the beginning of a new chapter in his life. But first things first. Kadri says he has a room. Daxia may plan to sleep in the stables but he doesn't believe an innkeeper will look kindly on someone abusing his hospitality.
Still it is pleasant to be greeted in a friendly way. Not everyone was so enamoured of his kind but then at the moment he represents coin.
"What rooms do you have available and how much?"
He returns the smile, and then, always aware of what is going on around him, immediately picks up that the room is quietening rapidly. Something is going on. He looks back into the room to see what is going on.
Kadri enters, sniffing the air, and stretching slightly.
Home. Or as close to it as she comes right now. Almost relaxing.
And then, the silence and tensions explodes through the room - and then the call. She moves, finding a spot with good access to the door and crouching slightly, looking ready to move at a moments notice - fight or flight, as it were.
It shoudl be alright. She didn't know these people after all.
In the stables, it was good that the woman named 'Kadri', with whom he'd traveled, though had not had time in the weather to speak with, had some sort of connection to this place else he worried he'd have had to go elsewhere. He'd not put Talia outside in this weather unless he was on the road. He notes the starburst symbol on the other horses in the stables, and wonders why this group would be here?
He sees another woman, and hears the name Daxia once or twice attached to her, also currying her horse with he and Kadri, and he nods pleasantly to them both, but concentrates on his work. He wonders again about how many women he seems to have fallen in with. Before this, he could count the number of women he'd traveled with on less than two hands of fingers.
Once finished, he moves quickly to finally get inside. The smells of the kitchen are wonderful, but warmth and dry come first. He nods in passing to Conrad as the Squire heads back to the stables to take care of his mount.
Arriving at the main door, and passing thru, he finds himself entering unsurprisingly with Kadri and Daxia, and Lady Comfrey and Camelia just ahead. He can see Darian and Celi together a bit off to his right, and he pauses a moment, both to take in the welcome warmth and to scan the room for the innkeeper.
After the surprisingly overfull stables, he is not surprised at all to see the crowd of armed men inside the inn. He cannot see the man named Cesare, but in this crowd that's to be expected. He takes in the raucous laughter and boisterousness of the group, bringing back memories, but he has learned to always be wary around a group like this, especially when they are well into their cups, and especially this group.
So he pauses near the door, to better take in the scene, but still he is surprised when it is their 'waif' who seems to bring the room to silence. He unconsciously flicks his shoulder to free his cloak from his sword's sheath, but otherwise his eyes scan the room, looking for whoever will answer to the "Captain" call.
Well, this was odd. Recognition followed by an understanding that you'd made a mistake happened and people were generally fine with it. Stillness and stares, not so much. And a call for Captain, whomever that was, She took a more inclusive glance and her eyebrow raised slightly at the recognition of so many in the same attire.
She stepped closer to Camelia, perhaps in an attempt to shield her from the stares, perhaps to offer support and another person, perhaps merely to establish they were together. Looking at the eyes looking in their direction she said, "Lady's blessing on you this damp night," in the clear, calm tone Lady Artemesia so often used to good effect.
Daxia at the entry from the stables with Kadri and Mikel, in front of Conrad, near C Squared
The sudden silence was deafening as most eyes turned to the young woman with the Lady of Attera. Daxia, however, watched the watchers, particularly the many armed gray and white clad men; eyes searching for the one who would answer the call of 'Captain'. As Kadri moved back and closer to the door, Daxia moved up and a few steps to the side of Mikel. Under her cloak, her hand found the hilt of her sword, though she was not the least bit inclined to display the weapon in this room, with these men. Not yet; not unless it became necessary. Now was the time to watch, listen, learn.
The Heartwood Between Dusk and Dawn, the Town of Cragside Marketday The Twenty-Fourth Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Everybody
Even the barkeep falls quiet, his answer to Cesare not an answer to Cesare.
"Ut ...oh ..."
Heavy boots echoed upon the floorbboards from the far hearth. Accented by the jingle of spurs.
The crowd in the tavern parted, opening a path directly towards Camelia.
For their Captain.
It was the farmer's daughter.
Except no farmer's daughter bound her waist with two white leather belts; the second soundly functional, a long sword safe in its scabbard. Nor did many farmer's daughters wear such an equisite piece of jewelry as she did; a silver star pendant.
The tall woman had strikingly intense eyes of deep azure blue which were in stark contrast to her pale complexion. Her lips were a soft pink, and just a little pouty. She was perhaps a little too thin and slight of build and proportion, but the standards of a desirous shape and build were not the same everywhere across the Heartwood. She rested a hand upon the pommel of her dull black sword and with a shake of her head her long, golden blonde hair fell more freely over her shoulders, down her back and across her chest so as to obscure the upper portion of her white and black tunic. Simple, it was full skirted and quarter cut as any cavalryman's ... cavalry womans. The udertunic was a blue, to complement her eyes, the overtunic a light cream with hem and cuff and collar accented by a dashing sable key pattern.
Comfrey's words get an odd, poignant reply, " ... must be nice, lass."
However, she didn't stop until she was facing her prey, Camelia. Literally nose to nose. The only difference between the two women perhaps a few handful of years.
Her words were sharp, to the point and sure. One used to being obeyed. The tones of her voice ... oddly familiar.
"Sun and stars ... just who in the bloody woods are ..."
She then blinked, starts and stopped. She held up a hand to pause matters for a heartbeat.
"Wait."
She waved her hand back and forth, dismissing her previous words.
The swordswoman, the Wild Horde's Captain, took a step back, rested her hands on her hips, canted them, tilted her head and then very quietly, very sincerely, very earnestly asked the most important question in the world.
His eyebrow rises. He was about to call out to Darian and Celi that it might be best for them to go find another inn, knowing the reputation of this group, when the image of Camelia appeared.
His hand stays near his sword, but a bit of the tension leaves his stance, to be replaced by curiosity. He glances at Camelia, waiting for her reaction.
Darian & Longtooth with Celi, inn common room, by main st fire place
The woman who was captain almost automatically had her respect. She was not prey. She strode with confidence, and Darian thought it highly unlikely the sword was mere decoration. She could be a worthy advesary or possibly ally. And as the swordswoman stopped in front of the one the other innkeep's girl child had found, the huntress looked for the first time closely at the waif's features.
Her eyes went from one to the other several times. The familial resemblance was unmistakable, unquestionable. As a matter of course, Darian did not intrude on other people's affairs, especially those not of her kind. But what was one to do when it was playing out before your very eyes. These two were undoubtedly of the same bloodline, yet so distinctly different.
Daxia <near the entry from the stables with Mikel, in front of Kadri and Conrad, near C Cubed>
At the sight of the Captain, Daxia relaxed and crossed her arms over her chest, allowing her cloak to open just a bit. "Hoi!" she muttered, perhaps loud enough for the Captain to hear... if her ears were sharp. The look on her face was part amusement, part annoyance.
There were ten thousand upon another thousand things a person might think about during 6 handfuls of captivity. And Camelia was no different. She had to be brave, and she was. She had to perform and do her duty, and she did. She had to protect the only true friend she had ever known, and she would. She swore to that. If it meant she act like some wide-eyed doe in order to save her friend's life, then so be it. It was her life and her duty... and it was who she was. But still, a person can't help but wonder about the very nature of who they were when tested the way she was. She faced fears every day and struggled to take another step when she swore the last one was the final one. To keep alive for no other reeason then the belief that her mother understood what lie ahead of her and knew she could survive this ordeal.
To see yourself under the harshest of lights, thrust into the crucible of the self, gave a person a clarity and wisdom about life. She learned more about herself then she ever knew, but never could she have asked the questions of herself, nor anyone else for that matter, that might bring her to a moment where she stared face to face with herself.
It was a surreal experience as if looking into your future, sans the sword maybe, and the jangling boots, and the whole hip canting action. Okay, so staring at an alternate version of yourself, how life might have gone under different circumstance perhaps, was not something to be absorbed lightly like someone commenting on the weather or how many of the married Imperials at court actually had lovers. No, this was a moment where time lost meaning, and all sounds ceased to be important. A reflection without a mirror.
Camelia couldn't help but watch her every movement, eyes darting as she flashed a hand up and cut off her own words and thoughts. To stare at the silver pendant that hung about her neck, like the star upon the Imperial flag. The same? Different? Did that matter?
The eyes were her eyes, the mouth, her mouth, the hair... all of it... It was herself and yet not. Camelia wanted to pinch herself to make sure she was still awake and alive.
This person who was her spoke and asked questions, more out of surprise than anything else but it was just the tone that Camelia heard. The words themselves seemed to mean nothing. Even after the wave off gesture, still her words were soundless to Camelia.
Well now, that's interesting. She looked between the two and stayed silent. There wasn't much else to do. Out of habit her eyes went across the rest of the inn before returning to Camelia and... her sister?
Well this is interesting. He recognises a few of those in the centre as some of the other group that had been involved in the alley incident. And a confrontation of what might be twins.. or sisters. There seems to be some age between them but that might be just down to how they lived.
Information is always valuable and he half turns back to the innkeeper.
"Who are they?"
He waves vaguely in the direction of the small group which has everyones focus.
"And would you be needing assistance if there is trouble?"
He is not offering out of generosity. There may be free board or some money in it. At worst a favour owed and that is often better than coin.
He moved back in a little to see if there was trouble brewing, the crowd in the inn having looked a bit rough for where he would normally bring two ladies. Perhaps it was Comfrey that was gathering the attention. Perhaps one of the sell swords had been injured and they suddenly saw a chance at safety for one of their own.
Whatever the reasons he might have imagined, none of them prepared him for the sight of a slightly older Cameila, sword at hip, coming over to confront the woman that he had accompanied from the inn down below.
His eyebrows rose in surprise and he halted, one hand still on the latch as Conrad paused to see what in the world was going on here.
The Heartwood Between Dusk and Dawn, the Town of Cragside Marketday The Twenty-Fourth Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Everybody
The slender blonde blinked.
The other one.
As if the one word answer was the last thing she ever expected. The swordswoman drew herself up, took a half step forward and set her hands on the other woman's shoulders. Blue eyes locked with brilliant blue, a mirror between the two as the older one's hands turned into fists, each taking in a handful of cloak and tunic shoulder.
"First, stand up straight."
Her words are stern, commanding ... and yet not harsh. There's an amused warmth as she jerks her hands up, an emphasis to her words and to draw Camelia upwards.
"Second, wipe that look of a noble who just made a wrong turn into the Alley right off your face.
"You are better than that."
The older woman nodded once, long blonde locks cascading over her shoulders.
"We are never kicked puppies. We can be penniless and lost and it's still the world that has to look out for us. We fall and we get right back up again. So what if we come home battered and torn, we made it through another day and that means we won. Let other folks die for what ever cause or god they want, we go on because we got important things to live for. We talk back to the Regent, we call Velikii a traitorous bastard to his face because WE are the conscience of the Empire and it doesn't matter if they stripped us of rank, power and holdings because it doesn't change who we are.
"Someone's got to look out folks, because once you get past the Kierkegaards and the Allaines there's only us."
She takes a moment, straightening the collar of Camelia's cloak, adjusting its sturdy brooch.
The Heartwood Between Dusk and Dawn, the Town of Cragside Marketday The Twenty-Fourth Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Everybody
"That's ... that's Captain Koromov and these are her folks."
The barkeep's words to Cesare were quiet, as if careful to not disturb and with a chuff of breath he continued.
"Trouble? Lad, unless the Mark decides to come and bust up the place, next to the Keep and the Cathedral right now this is the safest place in Cragside.
"Even then I'd put my money on Koromov, Ironhand and the Horde."
A bit away, at the door that eventually leads to the stable, another question is answered.
A slice of the stormy wind dashes through the door, past Conrad, to tossle Kadri's hair.
That nagging and haunting sense of familiarity, beyond any visual sense of self standing before her, continued to linger in this woman's voice and tone. Meter and measure to her words took her back to places in her memory that had no light, no sight, save for the vague dimness that only a flicker of nascent memory might bring.
And then there was a fire of liquid brilliant sapphire in her eyes. No one put a hand on her without her leave. Not because of any rank or title she might possess. Indeed, to her knowledge she possessed none. But because she was Camelia Ayyanasdotter, and that was enough. She curled her lip into a slight snarl as this woman addressed her posture and bearing and manner of comportment. This aged reflection, who for all the world looked exactly like her given a few more years, had no more cause to put a hand on her then those brigands she allowed to abduct her from her home. The only difference was she didn't give this woman leave to do so.
She did indeed straighten herself, but not at the woman's grasp or command. Through those narrowed and fiercely independent eyes she make it quite clear she would defend herself.
Camelia brought her hands up, casually, deftly, practiced, like a dancer might perform a complex recital of graceful moves, all to separate herself from the woman... but not by touching her. Instead she too touched the brooch and then let it slip its fastening as she entwined the garment along her wrist and turned inside it, allowing the cloak to swirl around her as she made a full circle to gain two paces distance and now to stand in a defensive posture with her cloak as a shield.
"You have me at a disadvantage... Captain," she replied. This was no shy, retiring, fearful mouse standing in the center of the the Hart and Horse. She knew she was badly outnumbered and likely outmatched, but she would not be toyed with for the benefit of the crowd's amusement.
"My name is Camelia Ayyanasdotter, and my mother, when last I saw her was well and fine."
Her eyes burned with a determination of fierce independence that was like a storm churned Sea of Opals reaching for all the blue of the sky.
As the Captain spoke to the Squire and Lady's ward, Daxia shook her head. Her smile was growing, though it was a wry amusement that reflected on her features. Knowing this to be a more tolerant group than most, she shrugged off her fur-lined cloak and shook off the remaining droplets of water and draped the cloak over her arm. While of a similar style as the Captain's, Daxia's overtunic was a deep brown and her undertunic a tan that was only a few shades darker than the Captain's overtunic. Her belts, too, were white leather; sword within scabbard hung to one side, dagger within sheath and belt pouch on the opposite side.
And as Camelia Ayyanasdotter spun out of her cloak and stepped back to shield herself with it, Daxia merely tilted her head, watching with keen interest.
Watching the interaction, Comfrey stepped to one side, out of the way. Her gaze was thoughtful but her face bore a serene expression. What she might be thinking wasn't easily visible on it.
The good squire moved forward to stand beside Cameila as he was watching over her for now, excusing himself as he brushed past those between them.
"Is there a problem?" he said, his pendant and wet tabbard clearly visable. The cut and quality of his clothing marking him as suredly as did the signet ring he wore.
As the scene progresses, it becomes more and more interesting, though he believes it to be less and less immediately dangerous. Clearly the two women are related, no matter what verbal jousting they seem to be playing at. It looks to be turning into a test of sorts, almost the same as was given to newcomers to the Troop.
Still, he has not lived as long as he has, on his own, by being stupid or by making assumptions that risked his life and safety. So while he does remove his hand from his sword pommel, he stays next to the doorway, in place to block ingress or egress, or to achieve quick exit for himself at need.
Looking across the room, he catches Darian's or Celi's eye, whichever looks his way first, and with an almost imperceptible flick of his eyes and tilt of his head he suggests they move towards him and out of the middle of the room.
Celi caught Mikal's gesture, nudged Derian, then moved through the crowd with catlike sinuosity to reach his side. When she was close enough, she whispered, "Their family reunions must be truly epic."
A small, almost imperceptible shake of her head. She and Longtooth were considerably closer to the door to Main Street and could slip out without drawing undue attention to themselves. She eased back a bit more, staying close to the fireplace, Longtooth beside her.
He nods, acknowledging the innkeeper's opinion. No reason not to trust it and there is a conviction in the man's voice. It confirms a number of things, mainly that this is a regular place for this troop and that the innkeeper has great respect for them. That in turn suggests, leadership, discipline and a level of aceptable behaviour.
"Good to know. Can I trouble you for an ale?"
Nothing much is going to transpire whilst the drama plays out and so he might as well enjoy it. He'll deal with the room issue as soon as it is over.
As far as he is concerned this is free entertainment. He has no relationship with any of those involved other than sharing a few moments at the end of an ally and the same rain cloud and it takes a lot more than that on which to base even a casual relationship.
It might be different if Daxia or Kadri are involved. They had shared food, a night's watch and time on the road but there are definite limits to what he would risk for even a casual acquaintance. People can be just as much a problem load as a fully laden cart of winter beets bogged down in deep mud and fronted by an exhausted and malnourished ox.
He shrugs toward Darian slightly. He offered. She clearly can take care of herself.
He doesn't take his eyes off the scene when Celi arrives, though he grins a bit at her comment. His concentration has sharpened as he heard the discussion between Camelia and her "sister". While he doesn't recognize many of the names mentioned, no one has so many names unless they are a noble, or an Imperial.
And that starts gears turning in his head. If this Captain shares the same mother as Camelia, and if that mother is noble or Imperial, then both Camelia and the Captain could be Imperials. *So why is an Imperial in command of the Horde?*"
"Stay near me." He says softly to Celi. "I hope it won't, but if it all goes to cr-p, get to the stables and find Talia. I will get to you there."
The Heartwood Between Dusk and Dawn, the Town of Cragside Marketday The Twenty-Fourth Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Everybody
The step, the swirl, and the Captain did not stop Camelia from moving away, not at all.
Instead she nodded and ducked her head, peeking back from beneath her bangs, folding her hands together behind her, nestling them against the small of her back.
"Mother taught you that move, didn't she?
"Erika was always better at it than me."
She closed her eyes then, just standing there.
One heartbeat.
Two heartbeats.
Three heartbeats.
The tavern was then completely still, her cadre not speaking, barely moving, looking between the two blondes as if they were in shock. And, more importantly, as if they truly understood what might happen to them if they disturbed this, even in the littlest. Discipline ... and something more. Respect.
Four heartbeats.
Five.
And then she opened her eyes again, looking back to her younger sister.
"Camelia."
She tries out the name, softly.
"Camelia, you understand that if anyone in this room tries to hurt you they have to go through me first, sha?
"Camelia, you also understand you've brought me the best news I have ever had in over fifteen years, sha?"
It was a rush of information. Names and lineages. This woman before her, so much her twin, and yet so different in some ways, and yet so similar in others. That nagging feeling of familiarity haunted the dark shadows of memories she could no longer recollect with clarity.
The best news in 15 years...
Camelia, Cami as her mother called her, would have only been 4 summers.
Erika
Who was that? It was important, a wistful, perhaps melancholy memory or some overture given to commonality in appearance and the belief in shared heritage... but again, for Camelia, there was nothing more than the sense that she might understand could she remember times and places that had no foundation save for the emotional context they served for later memories to be built upon.
Madoka... Madi
She knew her mother only as Madi.
But the lineage tree this woman had spoken made some twisted sense, piecing together glances and half whispered and suddenly cut-off conversations meant to be kept from young ears. It didn't make it true, only that it fit into places where Cami had holes in the understanding of her family's history.
This woman before her worked through the names and as she spoke them for her own benefit, Cami... hearing them herself for the first time, placed them into a memory honed by her years at the Imperial Court in Trundle on the Hill. The verbal sparring and the political machinations gave cami, a tier removed from the direct thrust of such sordid gamesmanship, a finely tuned sense of how the Imperial families operated.
Koromov... She understood that... but there were perspectives that come from understanding what side of history you learn your lessons from. Understanding there are perspectives is a far greater tool, than the actual history you are taught though.
Camelia held her stance, body relaxed as it should be, ready, as it needed to be. This was an art, a dance and the mind and body worked in harmony... action... reaction...
"And she taught me a lot more than that," came her soft and measured reply. "Please understand there is much to discuss before we take to pledges and oaths, sha?"
She didn't pause though. But now she smiled a confidant and more predatory smile.
"Again Captain, I would ask of you your name... I have given you mine, and custom dictates you reciprocate in kind."
"Yes, Mikal." She looked up at him, then back to the family tableau unrolling before them.
She wanted to protest. To say she had his back, that she could handle herself ... only proving it might be a mistake. Better to be ready, and hope she didn't have to prove anything.
She was learning to keep her head down.
She plucked at her damp attire. "can we stand closer to a fire?"
Were she one to believe that there was such a thing as coincidence, then maybe this woman's name coming from her Mother's favorite song and the fact that she just sang the song one evening prior would strike her as an astonishing curiosity... but she didn't believe.
Cami stepped back to straighten herself, keeping a distance as seemed comfortable for the moment. But she relaxed her posture and the inherent agressiveness that came with that. Letting slip the cloak from it's entwining grasp she scooped it with her free hand and laid it over that same left arm.
Still, she wouldn't break the attentive stare. It was her mother's greatest asset in keeping control over tense situations. Meet them directly and hold their eyes with your own. It was a natural tendency of her own, having never had the power to break her mother's stare, she learned more and grew more confidant every time her rebellious free spirit came into conflict with her mother's sense of maternal duty.
"Save for the hill where the daisies still bloom, and dandelions blossom forever," whispered Cami in a sign of her own recognition of this woman's name and namesake. It was one of Cami's favorite songs as well.
She glanced to one side at Comfrey and smiled, it was almost a sadness though. For while she never lied to the Healer she did allow conclusions to be drawn. She was indeed in trouble. She was indeed in fear for her survival, but she wasn't without strength of will and fortitude in reserve. And then to the Squire, for whom his own sense of honor and duty gave her resource of armed security when she had had none for so long these past weeks. It too bore a small expression of her regret for she allowed him to believe she was someone she wasn't, and even with these revelations surprising her, her carefully chosen words and the ruse they created had never been intended to harm or hurt. A life depended on her, a life she was foresworn to giver own to defend. Even if it meant she wore the garments of another, whose station was well above her own.
She resolved to speak with them and explain what she could and what she deemed might not jeopardize her Lady's life. There were too many unanswered questions, and right now, she had just been given a lot more questions to ponder.
Finally she returned her attention back to Dandelion, the Captain of this Wild Horde.
"Then I accept your pleadge and oath of protection... sister. We have much to ask each other... Many questions... But first, drinks are on you, as the host of this... reunion."
There was a part of her, in Camelia's dimness of childhood memories that told her that she had met Dandelion at some point, or better yet, Dandelion had met her.
"My companions, these here, and over there... and there," she said with a graceful gesture around the room to the places they had hied themselves, finally making indication of Comfrey and Conrad at her sides.
"They rescued me from a grim fate and saw me safely here. Courage and honor to take a risk on someone they had no reason to trust nor help. They showed compassion and gave to me of their blessings, when I had none to offer in kind or trade. Make them feel welcome... all of them... this I ask of you and we can retire to a corner to speak. Sha?"
The Heartwood Between Dusk and Dawn, the Town of Cragside Marketday The Twenty-Fourth Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Camelia's demands received a tilt of a head, a blink and a soft laugh.
'Sha ... you are a Koromov at that."
Hands still clasped at the small of her back, Dandelion slowly started to work her way back to towards the far hearth.
"Jake, you will make room for my sister and hers ..."
She called to the barkeep, snaring his attention as he sets a mug of ale before Cesare. The barkeep actually winced, looking back up.
"But Captain Koromov, you have the entire ..."
A raised hands stopped his words
"Even if Rafe has to bunk with Barris."
There was a quick and a very I-just-got-you-back look given to the tall swordsman who had previously spoken the word 'tag'.
"I prefer a place by the fire, don't you? Come, talk, ask ..."
A glance to the side, however, finally pays attention to the room's only redhead.
"You too."
Settling down, then, she stretched out her legs and hooked her ankles together; not the most ladylike manner of relaxing. Her brows narrowed as she looked around for something missing.
"And I should have a mug of mulled cider around here somewhere."
OOC Note - There! The Introduction between Dandy and Camelia is complete. Completion of that conversation now frees everything up for the rest of you folks.
The floor is now open to everyone else; anyone in the group should feel free to come over and ask questions of the nice NPCs ...
Obviously Dandy is one, Jake the barkeep is another. You may also speak to any other member of the Horde that you wish.
Somewhere over the weekend I would like to know what you folks plan to do on the morning of the next day, so I can start outlining the next major piece of action - while this was tense and interesting, the true "next turn" is still ahead of you.
With a nod, maintaining her wry smile, Daxia crossed the room towards the fireplace where the Captain had settled herself. She snagged an empty chair, and pulled it closer... close enough for conversation, but not so close as to infringe upon the intimacy of the two siblings. She draped her cloak over the back of the chair and sat down, ankles crossed and tucked under the chair and arms resting one over the other across her diaphragm.
She regarded the Captain for a moment before speaking. "Well met, Sister. Daxia Yurisdotter," she said, patting her collarbone, then returned her hand to rest upon the opposite arm. The redhead tilted her head slightly and smiled more broadly. "Thinking two Verchovai laughing up sleeves when suggesting Duksheviya include Cragside." She paused a moment, then pointed to the Captain with her chin, a quick jerk of her head. "Allaine Heir also named from same song. Good song for naming, Verchovai Dandelion. Especially for Dayalan, yes?"
As the conversation finishes playing itself out, he relaxes and stands more easily, saying to Celi, "Seems safe, for the moment."
He removes his damp cloak and then looks for a table with a couple of open chairs near one of the fires where he might start drying out and that would have room for Darian and Celi if they want to sit. He nods politely to any of the mercenaries sitting there, and pauses with his hand on a chair, inquiring with a glance if they mind that he and the others joins them.
He doesn't look to go sit with Camelia and the Captain, as whatever just happened between them is interesting, but it's not his business, unless an opportunity for work comes out of it somehow. For the moment, he is mostly interested in some food and drink and getting warm and dry, but as he always does, he keep his eyes and ears open for possibilities. After all, every mercenary he's ever met likes to talk, and to brag, about what they've done, so there's room to find things out amongst the Troop members.
Cami Ayyanasdotter, the name she was given - leaving Conrad and Comfrey to sit with Daxia and Dandelion
Cami addressed Conrad first, "Thank you for the shelter of your name and courage. I must speak with this woman, and fit the pieces together to understand a truth, and then I will return to tell you what I can. I owe you at least that much..."
Then to Comfrey, who she took into her arms and drew her tightly to herself. She whispered into her ear. "There aren't words that I can fashion to express the depth of my gratitude. I didn't deserve the grace and mercy you showed me, but I am blessed by the fact that there are those who offer such to the undeserving all the same. The Fates and destiny have brought me here, for here I was meant to arrive... but I would never have made it without you. That tells me that your presence in my life was part of some greater plan. I would be foolish to think that our role in each other's lives is complete. I will speak with my sister, and like I said to Conrad, I will return to speak with you and tell you who I am and where I am from. I would consider it an honor to call you my friend... If you would have that."
Camelia took her leave, albeit a temporary one, from her friends and benefactors, to sit at her sister's table. So much to learn, so much to tell.
She returned the hug and smiled gently in return, "No words are needed, and you do deserve the good. Even if you don't think it of yourself my friend. As I said before, speak of what you feel is right, there is no necessity for it save you wish it." She never understood this belief in deserving or not. There was need, one helped. Why couldn't people see that? There was more to it of course. Those closer to the heart might tug at one's own more, but the need was to be answered to the best of one's ability. Others might choose differently; she could not. She felt a brief surge of impatience at that, but it was quickly enough replaced with a bit of sadness - then serenity. She would keep working on that.
She would step back then and look about for a place to sit - a place to get warm and eat a bit. Though perhaps the hospice was where to go, for now she didn't feel it was. Perhaps there were those here who needed, and if not? There were times one could find quiet even in the loudest of places.
SHe paused, deciding between just going and getting some food and away from the new strangers..or her curiosity. When it came to that contest, there was no contest - curiosity won. She made her way over to where Comfrey had walked.
"..I didn't have a chance to introduce myself earlier. My name is Kadri djinn Lisica al'Izgon."
Her voice was soft and gentle, and a bit lyrical- and it was obvious that while she spoke it well, this was not her native tongue.
She bows slightly, crossing her arms in front of her, each hand resting on the opposite shoulder.
Her stance relaxed and her hand moved from the hilt of her dagger, far enough to hook her thumb through her belt. She offered a nod to Mikal but wended her way towards the barkeep and signals him. Once she has his attention, she said, "Looking for a place for the night for me and the ruff. A spot on the by the fire would do us fine. A mead for me, water for him, and whatever ye have that's hot to eat."
He is leaning against the bar with his ale when the Captain starts to explain the breakdown of the name she has used earlier. He stiffens. Had the rain really filled his ears with water and dulled his senses?
Now his curiosity is piqued and there might be information here for him - but he needs to learn more.
There is a geneneral invitation made and he sees Daxia move over to sit close to the newly introduced kin. The Fates smile twice. Room forgotten, he takes his ale and moves purposefully over to that area by the fire.
With a smile at Daxia, he takes a seat by her.
"Good choice." He indicates the fire. "Mind if I join you?"
Celi followed Mikal like an imprinted cygnet, stopping when he stopped but staying out of his way, doing her best to learn what she could about his manner and his expedctations. If she was going to be useful, she needed to anticipate others' needs, if they fell within the range of her skills.
"You should sit, and hold our seats. I will order food and drink." That was a fair trade, she thought. If he paid her back for his share. She would do the legwork, which should allow him to learn whatever it was he was hoping to learn.
She could tell by his body language that he was casually absorbing the gist of every conversation within earshot, no doubt selectively retaining those pertinent to his needs. Just being able to sort that much babbling was admirable to her. She had trouble with one at a time.
"Any preferences for supper? Do you want ale? Wine? Water? Cold goat's milk?"
He is about to tell her that there are waitresses who will come and take their order, but she looks so earnest and eager that the words stop before they leave his lips. Instead, he simply says, "Ale. And for food, anything hot. Meat of some kind if it's available, thanks."
He pauses as Celi looks to move off. "Stew is fine if that all there is."
Turning back to the table he introduces himself. "I am Mikal, and that is Celi."
Celi headed for the innkeeper, who was handling one patron after another and seemed inordinately busy. So she tried one of the sharper-looking waitstaffers instead.
"Excuse me. I wanted to order food for two; bread, ale, and milk if you have it, water if you don't. We're over there," she pointed out Mikal. "As far as food goes, what is available?"
Camelia didn't know these other two. In actuality she didn't know Dandelion either, but the claim to kinship was unmistakeable, but it was private time she wanted with her sister. She had little interest in speaking freely before these others. But this wasn't her place nor had she been consulted when the redhead was invited to join. She spoke oddly as though words were missing. Camelia was from trundle on the Hill and even though they spoke Colonial Imperial, there was a custom of diction and clarity of enunciation expected. The Redhead spoke in less than plain vernacular and that made it very hard for her to follow, or even grasp at the idioms she was using.
Then came another who had been at the gate with them, but she didn't know him either. He invited himself and asking for permission after seating yourself was impertinent at best, rude at worst. He presumed much and cared not for that fact either it seemed.
Camelia sat back, not making eye contact, hands in her lap. And while this man addressed the redhead about his invitation and whilst he made himself comfortable, Camelia spoke softly at Dandelion.
"Perhaps I should step away and when there is a better time, we can speak..."
When Cesare invited himself to join the group, Daxia simply looked at him with a raised eyebrow and shrugged. "Nah." Then she turned back to the Captain, noting Camelia's discomfort, and she studied the younger woman for a moment, piercing blue eyes reading demeanor and body language. "You wish to say something to me, Verchovai? Your sister, I think, would like less audience for your reunion, yes?"
He came over to sit with Comfrey but paused as he saw her in conversation with one of the other ladies from their day's travel. He did not want to interrupt a private conversation.
She smiles a bit in return, her mind still processing the past few minutes. "It is nice to meet you," she paused before gamely trying the name as formality appeared call for from the bow, "Kadri djinn Lisica al'Izgon. The weather and then other things made it a bit um... difficult for introductions. I'm Comfrey."
Her gazed stayed on Kadri. Hopefully she'd be able to sit and get something inside herself soon. If not, not. These things happened.
The Heartwood Between Dusk and Dawn, the Town of Cragside Marketday The Twenty-Fourth Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Everybody
The horde's commander blinks, looking across to Daxia, a bit confused at her first statement.
"Isn't that what I had just said?"
She look between Camelia and the younger Dayalan, once, twice and thrice, her lips becoming a thin line.
"It is not common to find our sisters out on the trail. I had thought matters may have been of interest to you, but if not, well ... then ..."
She lets the words fall off, leaning against the back wall and crossing her arms. She then casts a sidelongs glance to Camelia.
"I figure you have all sorts of questions, and I do to, but I don't want to scare you away; me and Erika can be kind of fierce. But It was my understanding that you all came in together; are these not your travelling companions ..."
Her words hold for a minute, then two.
" ... I was hoping they were at the least acquaintances, perhaps compatriots, perhaps even friends. Is there a reason ... you are uncomfortable with them?"
Out in the commons, the conversations start to burble into being again, with several looks in the direction of the hearth, speculation most likely. At the bar a pair of bowls, bread and two ales are set out for Celi, that and a nod towards one of the big stewpots fo filling the bowls.
"There ya go, lass. That should settle you."
For Darian the answer was equally simple.
"Sure enough ..."
Answered one of the bar maids.
"A good bit of these folks should be breaking up in a bit, then there should be a space by the fire. Between me and you, it might be nicer than stuffing you all in one of the rooms upstairs."
"I might suggest some hot Kavas - and the stew here is. . .rather good, actually, as long as you aren't interested in something fancy. It fills well. And. . when you are this wet - that seat right there - "
She motions.
"Tends to stay warm, and avoids any drafts from the main door."
Daxia look at the other Dayalan, eyes narrowing. "Am aware we are few outside the Vale," she said. "Am not aware of matters you speak of, and cannot ask you questions I do not know." A fair bit of anger sparked in her eyes. "Do not wish to play Verchovia Kassia's word games with you, Verchovai Dandelion. Her, I know most of my life, can guess what she wants me to ask. You are stranger to me. You have things to say to me, you say them. Or shall I fetch buckets of water for you instead?"
Everyone's been somewhere but me! Comfrey almost laughs at herself as the indignant thought begins to rise in her head. She's been somewhere too, just not this somewhere. There are many somewheres; few could be to too many of them.
She looks to Conrad, who is near, and arches a silent eyebrow in invitation. Lady Artemisia had told her that while she might be able to find welcome most places, others might not. True or not, that didn't really matter. They were traveling together and it would be ill-mannered not to continue doing such until and unless there was discussion.
"My wants are few," she said frankly to Kadri. "And yous?"
"Hot meals, a good laugh, whatever freedom I can find along the way, to be challenged and be challenging. To find and see new things and marvel at them - whether here or on the road."
SO much for her water. Celi shrugged, smiled. "Thank you. YOu are most kind."
She had no idea when she was supposed to settle up, but she figured they would ask for an accounting when they had finished toting up their ales. She hauled the bread and ales to the table and served Mikal, then took the bowls to the stewpot, where she filled his and put a slightly smaller quantity in her. Back she came; Celi moved like a cat, more of a glide than a stride, reacting almost naturally to traffic and incursions into her travel path, maintaining her balance and her awareness with no difficulty.
"There we have it," she said. "It is hot and it smells very good; it is making my mouth water, in fact. And, there were no dead people stacked around it, so it appears to be edible." She dimpled slightly, showing a hint of mischief that sometimes crept into her otherwise cautious demeanor. As she drew up her chair, she internalized a moment, issuing a brief silent thanks to Nature for Her bounty and Her grace, then dug in with gusto.
She hadn't realized how hungry she was; she had not eaten earlier, and she hadn't shared the gray's oats and hay during her stable stay.
With her mouth still a little full and waving a piece of bread to emphasize her words, Celi asked, "Is it a safe thing to ask where you are bound and what you seek? Tell me all you do not put a price on, and I guarantee rapt attention."
She ignored Dandelion's comments on her associations and acquaintances for the moment. Explaining that would require a bit more patience, especially where the telling of her travels led to meeting five others and then more traveling and then three more all commonly joined in a moment of tension and conflict. No, she hardly knew any of them, a couple better than most and a few barely at all... even to include their names. Did that really matter though? Fate and Destiny were at work.
Camelia remembered what her mother had been doing the night before her abduction, all night... into the wee hours. It was morning when she was woken and hurriedly prepared, understanding little but trusting in her Mother and knowing of her duty. Right now, she wished for her own deck, still safe and secure in her room, and then perhaps she might find some sense of understanding for all of this. Something grave lurked, with tendrils drifting outwards, ensnaring all manner of principles, many even thinking they played the lead in this all. There was no such thing as coincidence.... The truth in that was that those who did, simply couldn't see the grand design unfolding.
"Enough," she said flatly and calmly looking between the women who called themselves Dayalans. That was a word her mother used a few times, but refused to explain it to her. As though her mother believed she were protecting Camelia from some destiny. Foolish that, her Mother knew better than she that destiny claimed whoever it would, and no man nor woman would stop it. Now, here in this place they bandied the words about them as though it were common vernacular. And maybe it was, and Camelia was sheltered from it all.
No longer, from the moment she accepted her role and allowed herself to be taken, from the moment she stepped out from the shadow her Mother cast over her life, she was in charge of her own fate and future.
"You bicker like you were younglings, the pair of you."
Perhaps it was impertinent of her to assert herself in this company, but she was not beholden to either woman, nor in awe of their titles and accomplishments. She had been raised and trained and all the wise counsel and tutelage led her to an understanding of things beyond her years. So many years living the life at the Court, preparing herself in public to serve among them and advise her closest friend, helping her navigate dangerous political paths, and then in private, a double life, training to be more, learning skills that had no practical purpose where she was. But she was dutiful and she was trained to be a leader... even if she had no one to lead... Always looking to the future was her Mother.
She continued, unconcerned by her company demeanor. Her voice low, but firm, as though she were and always had been the person in charge. it was often how she spoke privately with young Lady Deynekko when they both found themselves in circumstances that merited extreme care among her peers.
"I may not know my place in the grand tapestry, nor even see all threads woven against mine, but I can surely foresee that this moment was not chance, nor coincidence. I may well be the youngest at this table, and the youngest in this whole room for that matter, but I am not a simple child either. Look around you, even your own words tell you that this is not a normal affair. But rather, one born to be noticed, as much as the grand conjunctions of the moons. The Fates weave as they will and here we are. Respect our place within it, and accept that we all have been woven for a purpose and a plan into this very time and place."
She finished but looked between each of them women, that arched eyebrow look that asked an unspoken question... Do you understand me?
He had expected some tension in Cami, maybe even the captain but had not thought to see any freom Daxia. He raises one eyebrow slightly, unsure of what to do now. But he can see his opportunity, slim as it probably is, dwindling further. And he hates regretting missed opportunity. He would rather be damned for something he does, rather than not making the most of something.
He clears his throat, partially to divert attention his way, hoping that maybe he might diffuse or at least distract the current edginess.
He directs his remarks directly to the two sisters.
"May I introduce myself?" Again he doesn't wait to be asked. "I am Cesare kha'Jasmine kha'Sayako kha'Twilight kha'Horosha Danika. You named a Rhoni lineage earlier. I am looking for my people. When convenient, perhaps we could talk further?"
He inclines his head respectfully. In some ways these are his kin.
He watches her as she weaves sinuously thru the crowd, balancing bowls and mugs. He exchanges greeting with the other men at the table and settles his wet outer wear on the back of his chair.
When Celi returns with stew and ale and sets them down, he says, "Thank you, Celi. You know, when you're ready for more, those girls", he nods towards the barmaids, "will gladly bring us a re-fill. But t'was nice to not have to wait. 'Tis a busy place and you've saved my stomach from rumbling."
As she asks him about his goals, he pauses. Lifting a spoonful of stew to his mouth, he flicks his eyes meaningfully at their table companions before answering. They are not alone, and besides the fact that he is still not so sure about this group, based on all he's heard over the years, even were they simply a competing Troop, he'd no want to divulge too much lest it cost him later on.
So after washing the spoonful of stew down with a swig of ale, he says simply, "My short-term goal I have reached. 'Twas simply to reach Cragside. Now as I am here, the next step begins."
He reaches to his purse and squeezes it where Celi can see. This much at least anyone could guess. "After taking care of Killian, I am doubtful as I've got enough coin to keep me and Tal thru the winter, so I expect to begin looking around come morning. Fact the gate guard knew me bodes well at least."
He takes another spoon of stew. "And what about you, young lady? Must say I've never run into so many women in a roadside inn, at the same time, before. And the fact none of them seem to have been together makes it even odder."
He leaves it there, not wanting to put her on the spot and ask her for details in front of others. Let her say what she is comfortable saying.
"'Tis no mystery tale. My Grandmother, with whom I lived, passed; I ha' lived all my life on her land, learning and doing such work as was required. Now ... the land required a more expert hand than mine, so I set out, hoping to make my way among other people.
"I was too sanguine, I fear, for I am not used to other people." She rocked her head side to side drolly. "I tend to speak when I *shouldn't* and *not* speak when I *should,* so I am striving to hold my counsel, find a place where my skills are valued, and work hard. I am very good with all animals; farm stock, horses, whatever. Hopefully, where we are going, something will present itself. I just hope to honor my Grandmother's memory, and in some wise repay all the time and effort she put into teaching me the important things in life. I don't suppose you need a squire? Someone to care for your horse. Talia? Polish your sword, oil your boots, fetch your stew. I can hunt. I can protect your back in a squabble..."
She set down her spoon, folded her hands in front of her, and tried to look both optimistic and competent.
The Heartwood Between Dusk and Dawn, the Town of Cragside Marketday The Twenty-Fourth Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Everybody
"About a day's walk downstream and downwind, ma'am ..."
The barmaid replied to Darian. This made sense as the tanning process tended to create bad air and what was left over afterwards tended to be poisonous to the water it usually got dumped in.
"I'd try the merchant's barn come the morrow. You can by and sell most anything there."
At the hearth, the two minor explosions were met with a raised brow and a quirk to her lips. Captan Koromov just looked to Camelia, raised a hand to her chest and pressed her collarbone dimple, a silent but obvious, who, me?
She snorted just once, before answering Daxia. "Poppy Gwynn and Lightning Hooves taught me and I've only had the pleasure of Priestess Kassia's words when she calls me an uncivilized brat and then throws something at me. It has become a comfortable ritual and the only thing I can say about it is that is that my skill at ducking is keeping up with her skill at throwing things.
"This place, even this tavern, is my winter home and has been for many seasons. I'm settled here, Daxia Firetongue, I already know Cragside and the Rock and its folks. So if there are things you wish to know ... I cannot answer questions before they are asked."
Cesare's introduction happily interrupts the two Dayalans, the older one pausing as she followed the chain of names to their end.
"Fair met ... though I think Mother would say if you were meant to find them ... you ... would ... eventually... find ... them. kha'Jasmine, you said?"
Blue eyes turned to meet matching blue.
"You know, you may be right."
Running her fingers through her hair, she finally focused her attention back upon Camelia.
"And of course I bicker. Erika and I grew up in the only place Veilikii wouldn't dare come after us. For I am a brat, sister. An Alley brat to be precise, with the last handful of years - before Erika married Kiel Deynnekko and this strange woman with a sword dragged me off by my ear to the sea and Talesan's Village - believing Mother had died with Da and Uncle Yoska.
"Your sisters are both rough around the edges, dear. You can take us out of the Alley, sha, but you'll never get the Alley out of us. Erika at least remembered our palace holdings. I can't. I was too young.
"Christofer Veilikii wants us dead, Camelia.
"We were hidden in the Trundle Alley.
"Where did she hide you?"
OOC Note to Celi and the rest - There was a reason why beer, ale and even ciders were more prevalent than milk or water in the Middle Ages. Without refrigeration milk goes bad fast and in most cases you really don't want to drink the water unless you are very sure of where it came from (such as certain wells on The Heartwood). Beer, because of the brewing process, not only had good things in the ingredients (much richer than our modern beers) they also tended to be a bit healthier/safer to drink.
Part of her felt guilty for staying, there seemed no need for her here and there were other places she should perhaps be. Inwardly she shrugged, her exterior still placid.
"I'd have no disagreement with that," was all she said.
She cast her gaze around, alighting briefly on each of those she knew, even briefly, from their travels.
"Thank ye," she said as she collected the drinks and bowls for herself and Longtooth.
Looking down at the ruff, she told him to find a spot he was most comfortable with. Following his lead, she ended up at the table with Mikal and the impudent Celi. She had her own theories why.
The big ruff settled at her feet once she put down the food and drink for him. She kept her bow close for safety's sake. Her pack was leaned up against the side of her chair and her cloak draped over the back.
"Yes - the stew is quite good at warming you up, and the beer is palatable. I think that this table. " - she motiond - "Will give you the best cover from drafts from the doors. I like it at any rate."
(OOC - Wolf - Let me know if any of the other Horde members at our table wish to interject or introduce themselves, or if we managed to get a table to ourselves. I had assumed it was too crowded for that.)
Mikal - with Celi and then Darian and Longtooth joining
He listens, with clear interest. Unblinking emerald green eyes drinking in what Celi is saying, nodding every now and then.
"My sympathy on your loss." He says with sincerity. "My own tale is not much different, though 'twas the Montague who took my Father and Uncle, leaving my mother, sister, and I to manage the land. They died trying and I could not do it alone. I was lucky to fall in with a Cavalry Troop who took me in and trained me."
He spoons more stew, considering, as Celi goes on.
"My mother always told me not to fear silence. She said that most people abhor it and will often fill it by speaking things they'd not have otherwise revealed. I have learned things more than once just by sitting quietly."
He nods as Celi lists her abilities and notes she is a hard worker.
"Hard work is good for the soul, not just the coin purse."
As she finishes by asking him if he needs a squire he laughs, then waves his hand to make sure she knows he is not laughing at her.
"Sorry." He chuckles. "I am as far from a Knight as you might find. I am not the pampered son of some noble dandy who can afford to ride a destrier that costs more than I could make in a lifetime and wears enough metal plate to furnish a company of men with good swords. I work for a living. I take care of Tal and my equipment with my own hands."
"Not that I think you couldn't do a good job at it, but I don't want to put on 'airs'. Keeping these things myself makes sure I know every link and pin. Every leather knot. Knowing where there may be a weak ring in my mail stops me from letting a blow hit me there. Knowing Tal and her habits lets me know I can trust her, and she can trust me. I'd not put that off, e'en I could afford to. My life depends on it."
"Now, if I find you can hold your own, I'd not be opposed to your tagging along were I to find work here. But you'd have to be paid for what you do. Either in coin, or training. Since I really don't need anyone to fetch for me, or to care for my equipment, what else can you do?"
"You said you could hunt. I don't suppose you know how to cook too?" This is said with a hopeful tone.
"As for protecting my back, well, we'll have to see about that. I am a bit choosy where my back is concerned. If things work out I'll have to see what you can do in that regard. But tomorrow. Tonight is for rest."
As Darian and Longtooth arrive, he smiles at them. "Have a seat, Darian. Longtooth. I saw you speak to the innkeeper. Does he have rooms available?"
Darian arrived just as Mikal made his comment to Celi about hunting and cooking. An eyebrow arched wondering what outlandish claims the girl had made this time. Perhaps she knew how to set traps. That took no great skill, but true hunting was the purview of her people.
"Seems they may," she replied. "We prefer a spot down here by the fire. His fur will dry better that way."
"Well, much as I'd like a bed, I'm not in the mood to share it, and with this crowd that seems likely. I'll talk to the innkeeper myself and if we're doubling up I might grab my bedroll and join you down here."
She flashed a wry grin. "Consi'ering I don' know any one else 'cept you and Longtooth, I'd not mind the company."
She took a spoonfull of stew and chewed thoughtfully. "Sides, I'm looking to trade the hide and pelts I 'ave. There's a merchant barn I'll check in the morn, an' if he can't help, I'll head down to the tanners."
"Wit' the winter coming hard, you lookin' to shelter here through the season?"
"Better here for me, as well," Celi said. "I am even more soaked than Longtooth. But if the innkeeper will na' allow it, I would be perfectly happy to stay in the stable. I could even keep an eye on Talia, if you would allow it. Nothing untoward, mind you; I would just make sure she isn't disturbed, and should anything of bad fortune occur such as a fire, I would see her free of danger and inform you. Perhaps yon innkeeper would even give me a discount for such accommodations."
"Yes." He nods his head towards Darian. "Or at least that was the half-baked plan I'd come up with one night on the road when I was too tired to be thinking straight. Hoped to find some sort of guard duty to carry my purse through til spring." He shrugs. "Now, since apparently the Gate Guard knew me, perhaps I might get a good word for it."
He looks back over to Celi. "While I appreciate the offer to keep an eye on Tal, I'm not too sure the stable-boy would like that. With how crowded the stalls were there were no empties and most stable-hands don't like people they don't know in with the horses. Good as you might be, it's his job to lose if you spook the mounts. But you can always ask."
He nods towards the fire. "Don't mind if you curl up down here with us. Only downside is you're last to sleep and first to wake down here." He adds, referring to the fact that until all the patrons leave for bed it'd be hard to get to sleep, and as soon as the first ones come down in the morning you'll be woken.
So many questions. She felt uncomfortable sharing her life, for as mundane as she once thought it to be, with strangers. They claim kinship with strings of names that proclaim an ancestry, all of them about her, including Cesare. At least she thinks that was the name he said at the first of his string before she got lost in all the Kha's that came after. She was a schooled listener and a careful study of people. She had to be given where she lived.
And that was exactly what Dandelion wanted to know.
It was still hard to think upon the fact that she had not one sister but two. One was considered notorious. Though it seemed the other carried a rather storied reputation in these parts as well. But Erika Koromov, a name considered anathema and traitorous where she was from. But not for any reason or understanding that Camelia could cite. it was just that way, and those who kept wise counsel accepted it and those who took cue from their elders and peers accepted what they accepted. Camelia only knew of this woman's fearsome reputation and ability to survive the machinations against, still hold position and a titular duty among the Imperials.
So many questions.
"I suppose it was the one place the Veilikki would not think to look... I live in the Imperial Palace," she admitted openly.
Cesare (Ches-ar-ay} with Daxia, Cami and the Captain
He is smiling, nodding his agreement. The Fates will have their way. About to reply, the Captain then starts to talk at length with her new sister but a name in that conversation sings in his ears and refocuses his attention back directly on the two women.
For a few moments he is still, silent, an image he has not thought of in years leaping into his mind as a shiver runs down his back.
It cannot be.
He stares at Cami with an intensity that anyone might find uncomfortable, trying to superimpose one image on another, his head shaking slowly in denial as his mind refuses to take it in but in his soul he feels the icy fingers of the Fates as they toss him in the air. He can only hope for a soft landing.
"When ye go to speak wit' that guard, might I join ye?" she asked Mikal. "Good to get to know who might be there. Thinkin' we may be passing through the gate often."
She first looked at Camelia, when she commented about the exchange she'd been having with the other Dayalan. Both eyebrows raised in manner that clearly said she thought Camelia was rather nervy, as opposed to a look of surprise. She heard the woman's words, but they did not resonate with anything she had yet observed. Then there was a brief glance, and a flash of interest in her eyes, when Cesare rattled off his name... his lineage.
And finally her gaze settled back on Dandelion. She waited through the remainder of the conversation, filing away the various bits of information and setting them aside for further study later, especially Cesare's sudden discomforture as one of the many names was mentioned.
In a moment of silence, and only because she thought Dandelion had the right to know, she spoke in a voice barely above a whisper, though her eyes never left the older woman's face. "Not likely Verchovai Kassia throw things at you again. Probably will join our sisters," she said with a flicker of her eyes skyward before looking the older Dayalan in the eyes again. "A season, perhaps two, she said." She lifted her chin, refusing to allow these strangers to see the mixed and very deep emotions she felt with these words. "Last of many gifts Kassia gave me is this," Daxia said, resting her hand lightly on the pommel of her sword, "her sword." She paused for the space of several heartbeats. "Only one question. For now. Where is town well? Wish to... give proper respect to our Lady in morning."
She'd head where indicated and look to Conrad. "Do you think they will find much in their inspection?" She figured he'd know more about how the watch worked.
If one of the others hadn't, she'd look for a server to signal for some food and drink. They should probably speak of places to sleep here as well.
Celi nodded, expressionless. She was used to disappointment. True, it was frustrating when the world refused to bow to your simplest plans; but you couldn't let it occupy your mind, and continuing to complain never seemed to change the world's mind. She was also learning to add "spending money you don't want to", to the disappointment list.
"With your kind permission, I will stay here with you. And thank you." Her gear-roll would make a satisfactory pillow, and the fire's fingers of warmth were already working on drying her clothing. She suppressed a hint of jealousy for Darian's relationship with Longtooth; that would be a warm snuggle. She thought about Stormrunner, and felt a longing she had been suppressing pretty well until right now.
Keep busy. Find things to occupy your mind.
She had an exercise regimen: Dances that reiterated training. They fully engaged the mind, as well as the body. But ... they were best done alone in the forest.
She sighed. She would just watch and emulate. And try not to do anything silly.
"It is doubtful. Unless the man was important and well known, the town watch will simply file a report, ask a few questions and move on. Unfortunately such things are not as uncommon as they should be." he said with a sigh.
There seems to be a lull in the conversation after Cami declares she lives in the Imperial Palace. Now that tale alone is worth hearing on its own merits but he has a more pressing question that he cannot contain any longer.
Forcing his intense gaze from Cami he look back to the Captain.
"I have a memory, an image, from a long time ago, early in my life. I was a young child at the time. But the vision is sharp because it is the last time I saw my father. Something forced my parents to take different roads, my father leaving with a white haired girl child."
His direct blue eyes slip sideways to look at Cami again.
"His name was Yoska..."
There is a huge question in his voice, a contained intensity in his stance, even sitting the tension is evident.
"It is doubtful. Unless the man was important and well known, the town watch will simply file a report, ask a few questions and move on. Unfortunately such things are not as uncommon as they should be." he said with a sigh.
The tall squire motioned to the innkeeper.
She pauses. . but decides not to bring up the key with Conrad. He might insist it should go straight to the guard. . where, in this case, she felt that perhaps she was. . more qualified. She needed to have a talk with her employer. . .
"If they are available, take the rooms on the right, They stay warmer."
She nodded absently, a bit lost in reflection as she took in the place and the gathered folk.
"Interesting," she murmured and in a louder tone looked back to her companions. To Kadri she queried, "What else can you tell me of this place and folk, you've spent a great deal of time here it seems." To Conrad she asked, "What else should I know of this town?"
Her curiosity was evident in her tone and tilt of her head.
"The introduction is more than enough," Darian told him with a grin. "The rest I will do myself. I don't recall anyone ever turning down a chance at fresh meat."
Once he had the innkeeper's attention, he motioned to Comfrey.
"I wish to inquire if there might be two rooms that I can engage for the night. We will also need dinner and a flagon of wine?" he asked, glancing at his two companions.
Celi was quite amenable. "All I ask, is if I make a mistake, correct me straightaway so I may learn proper comportment. I am too used to being alone.
"You had asked if I could cook. The answer is ... some, if it involves making fire and roasting the food over it, or throwing everything into a camp pot and making a soup or stew. Anything more aggressive than that is over my head. But I can find edible plants, insects, eggs, small animals ... you won't starve if I am with you. You may curse my name after some of the meals, but you won't starve."
"If it doesn't crunch when you eat it when it is not supposed to, nor leave blackened char on your clothes, then it will be an improvement over my own. To be honest, I've taken to eating jerked meat on the trail as it tastes better than what I usually burn."
"As for the rest, let us see how things go." He glances meaningfully to the table where Caemlia, Cesare, Daxia, and the Horde Captain are in earnest conversation. "I can smell the sweet smell of opportunity wafting its way over here from that table, though it is tempered by an underlying stench of Imperial intrigue. Still, it could be the best chance for a good payday left around."
Once he had the innkeeper's attention, he motioned to Comfrey.
"I wish to inquire if there might be two rooms that I can engage for the night. We will also need dinner and a flagon of wine?" he asked, glancing at his two companions.
"Wine. . will do. I don't drink it often. Coin will usually not allow."
She nodded at his silent question and would wait until the innkeeper left to focus her attention on them to answer hers. She didn't need a room to herself, especially with the crowding, but she would wait to see what the innkeeper would say and not embarrass Conrad with a contradiction.
"The barmaid said things are likely to break up soon, perhaps not," Darian commented and shrugged, her glance following Mikal's.
"Are there places that can be had through the season? A winter lodge of some sort?"
She and Longtooth would not travel through the winter if she could help it. It was too late to build their own shelter, and, perhaps, she could learn more about the lay of the land. Perhaps determine a heading in her search for a new territory.
The Heartwood Between Dusk and Dawn, the Town of Cragside Marketday The Twenty-Fourth Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
"Well your lordship ..." Jake answers Conrad as he slowly pours out a row of ales, which are then immediately taken up by one of the barmaid. Tunics swirling she distributes them across the room, taking up a few pennies here and there as she does.
" ... I think I have some wine I can tap back here; it'll not be as nice as up in the Rock and a wooden mug will have to do we as don't keep crystal here; I'll have Beth get you and yours a nice hot bowl of stew. As for the rest I'm sure I can find you a bed to rest in tonight, even if it means the missus and I take our rest in the kitchen; and thats no trouble, its warm on a stormy night and its where we have to be first thing come morning anyhows."
There were some benefit, of course, being of the Family Shannon, not to mention those that came with being a Squire.
" ... the second would be for her Ladyship?"
The barkeep's brow furrowed, consternation and worry as his glance slipped over just how crowded his tavern was this evening. All about it looked, tarrying upon small knots of conversations before returning to one in particular; in fact the small one occurring right there with the Lady Comfrey.
" ... Missus Kadri, you and her Ladyship seem to be getting along; if its all right with her could she share your room this evening? That'd be all right and proper, I suspect and I'd be beholding you and Ma'am Kelleni for the favor."
For Mikal and the small group at the western hearth, the Horde mercenaries do move aside to allow them space at the table, enough for bowls of stew to be set out, a place where the barmaids can put down their drink; and enough room to be siting if one chose - though there is also space on the warm stones directly in front of the fire. Longtooth actually had it best; stretching out underneath one of the long tables kept him close to Darian, close to the fire, and out of the way of accidental footfalls.
There was a nod of welcome, a respect for their own conversation; as if being in a crowded commons was nothing new to them and there was a cultivated manner to not overly eavesdrop on the nearby conversation.
"Mind if I 'ave ah piece of tha' bread?"
"Mind ... give the pot a good stirring, lest you really want a hot soup instead of a thick stew."
Is the manner of unsolicited conversation; simple, pragmatic and not at all unfriendly.
All in all the very last thing one would expect, a respectful camaraderie for the lone New Jvrillian so vastly out numbered within an infamous freelance troop.
On the warm hearthstones of the other fire, the Horde's captain continued her conversations, weaving two, then three, conversations into a single interlocked skein.
"Mother certainly had a skill of hiding things in plain sight."
For a breath she was quiet, eyes closing as if trying to remember back beyond many years.
"Deynnekko would be my first guess, calling on the bindings between her and the House heir; even if their marriage was more fire than festival. Otherwise, I'd suspect a cadet house of Harhmekhan; they'd never stand up directly against House Veilikki, but probably be convinced to hold a secret against them. If you see a familiar looking face with a guitar, that's Keil's youngest brother; he rides with us."
Taking her mulled cider she looked at it for a long set of heartbeats, raised it, held it for a moment before slowly draining it.
It is Cesare, however, that she gives a careful look to first, as she replies to Daxia.
"I suspect that's the very last thing we need now; that there be so very few of us and now to be losing our very best against the Dark Patch."
Her gaze then returned to the flame-maned Dayalan.
"Its our blessing and our curse; the consequences of Her rising and falling.
"Which may make it right, but it doesn't make it pleasant or wanted. But that's just the way the bricks get stacked."
Looking down into her now empty mug, she turned the wooden goblet in her hands.
"Center of the town; just turn right when you step out on the street, don't leave the street and you can't miss it. It's right in front of the Merchanter Guild's market-barn; just if you get there at dawn expect to share it with half the town's goodwives and their daughters. The water is cold and clear and good and folks know it. But it is ours; it bears runes so old I suspect the town grew up around it rather than the other way around.
"As for your gift ... I suspect it should stay beneath your cloak and in your scabbard, lest you attract the attention of those who would covet rather than respect. Marrennen has a large following in this town - and while Lord Shannon holds these lands in the name of Khorall Kierkegaard and the Imperial Court watches over folks souls, for all practical purposes the merchant princes runs this town ... which means his distaff brother is but the fall of night away."
Her gaze did not rise from her goblet.
"I don't believe he was really our uncle; but he was close, and he Father's bext friend. Jazzy was Mother's. I do remember a young lad who slept with his head on his Mother's lap when they'd talk deep into the night; but he was so small I doubt he'd remember that."
She then finally turned her head, looking back with eyes still.
"But you were there?
"Mother never spoke of the why or the how or the wherefore; just that it was important, that it had to be done. After all these years the only thing that I can figure out is that Veilikki was - and still is - playing a dangerous game of brinksmanship for his own fel reasons.
"But a little white haired girl?
"Father was a rascal, infamously so. He had a certain Lady's favor, I suspect. Uncle Yoska's tales were taller that the Black Mountains. But he and Yoska? But Mother and Jazzy?
"I find it hard to believe that they were kidnappers.
She smiled at the barkeep masking her thoughts on the topic of the barkeep, his wife, and their bedroom and the rest. Wine, crystal, mug, ale, oh well, she thought in a brief blur.
"Any small spot would be fine, please." She laughed and her plain features became just a little bit less that way as her eyes sparkled with inner mirth. "You're crowded and sleep is a comfort where ever it is. If you'd not mind, Kadri, I'd be grateful. Else, anywhere there's space."
She shrugged the smallest amount as she looked back at the innkeeper, "Not easy finding more space when you're filled to bursting. And it's just Comfrey, please/"
He nodded at he arrangement for Comfrey to stay with their dinner companion.
"Then if you would not mind. I will provide the room to my other charge, Cameila, for her rest this night. I shall find a corner in which to rest myself." he said, nodding and taking out his heavy purse.
"What is your rate good innkeeper for the rooms and meals, now and in the morrow?"
Celi took the opportunity to relocate to the warm spot in front of the hearth, so that her clothes could dry for once and all. All she had to do was sit tailor-fashion and rotate every few minutes, and she would dried nicely. She thought she smelled a little musty, but then, so did everyone else in the room, and some a lot worse. SHe found the conversation among the Horde near Mikal oddly calming, restoring a certain everyday normalcy to things. She didn't know why she needed restoring, but slowly the tension was drawing out of her shoulders and neck.
Earlier, Mikal had seen to his weapons, so she judged that such activities were not considered rude within the confines of the inn; especially since his weapons were considerably more numerous and more lethal-looking than were hers. So she drew out her kukri, one at a time, and began to clean, oil and hone them. Hers were absolutely ordinary, about eighteen inches long, with age-yellowed horn hilts wrapped in the non-slip pebbled surface of stingray hide. The blades were traditional single-edged forward-hooked, with no fancy weight-reducing fullers and a single blood-notch on the cutting edge near the hilt. The notch served a variety of purposes, some of them apochryphal, but Celi used it to provide edge demarcation for sharpening purposes. Theoretically it prevented blood running onto the hand of the wielder in combat, but she couldn't testify to that. They were solidly crafted and of a style somewhat old, so she had probably purchased or inherited them rather than made them. The sheaths were oiled leather, crafted to fit the weapon, and each had two smaller outside pockets containing a whetstone and a tiny "knife", in actuality a pointed tool for the care and maintenance of the kukri and its sheath.
Celi retrieved a pair of rags from her kit, and assiduously cleaned and dried the hilts, then the blades, then oiled them both lightly; one of the rags was an oilcloth. Then she stoned the blades with a steady and expert wheet, wheet, wheet until she was satisfied, wiped them once more with the oilcloth, and put them away.
Throughout she had been alert and attentive to what happened around her, most particularly any exchanges between Mikal and the Horde, Darian and Mikal, and of course, Longtooth. She was fascinated by the canine, but had no idea how to get to know him better without stepping on Darian's toes. So she simply admired from afar, and reminded herself to call him "a ruff" if asked.
"Deynekko," was all she said and left it at that. She was capable and competent at being a part of the tapestry of activity. This was not her court to hold and despite the alleged bonds of kinship, be it birth to disenfranchised Imperial families, or the familial ways of the Rhoni travelers, Camelia was unaccustomed to being so open with her words, attentions, and intentions. She was raised as an only child, friend to another only child, isolated in a place of families playing games of intrigue. She was solitary by nature in many respects. Not incapable of a more gregarious demeanor, not by any stretch, but given to a need to be reflective. Hers was a world of thoughts and dreams, avenues for her creativity. Places where she could imagine a life of great valor, awe inspiring deeds and far away places like those of the old ballads and tales. She was a romantic at heart, in a world where the cold and hard pragmatism and choleric leadership qualities had to be worn as a mask. And yet, she longed to find a storybook enchantment and become a part of great tales of love and enduring companionship.
She slipped from the Reverie though as she was reminded of a familiar but enigmatic saying of her mother's that Camelia had taken up and given her own sense of meaning. The mention of the passing of some elder that was important to these people whom she knew where hers and yet didn't know at all, she found herself muttering it softly but not looking at anyone save for the table before her with a melancholic expression.
He listens, containing his impatience whilst the Captain also deals with other ongoing conversations, aware that he is butting in but this is so important to him that it cannot be denied.
Although he is most focused on the conversation emanating from the two sisters, he is also aware of Daxia beside him - probably always will be as he finds her so very attractive - and realises that there is a lot more to her than maybe he first thought. The captain mentions the Dark Patch, his interest piqued, he mentally files that away for perhaps a later conversation with Daxia, a brief smile in her direction before his attention is diverted back to the Captain and other information she imparts about the town.
But then she comes to the part that holds his attention completely. He assumes the Jazzy she refers to is his mother Jasmine, hence her earlier question. More pieces to the puzzle that has haunted his growing years. And a poignant reminder that tugs at his grief, always there deep down.
"I have this vision. In truth I don't know if it is mine or one imparted from my mother but it is clear in my mind. I don't understand what it was all about either. You seem to know more than I. I was thinking that the white-haied child might have been your sister?"
He looks again at Cami, this time with sympathy uppermost. This is all of a shock to him but much more so to her he feels, especially as she seems to know least and has come from a sheltered environment by her account. For a second or two he wonders how much different her life has been compared with his.
As he continues, he shakes his head.
"And kidnappers no. They would not have given up each other for profit or gain.. only to aid one of ours."
Of this he is certain and that certainty is in his voice. Then there is a slight waver before he goes on.
"Jasmine died. We had always hoped.. waited.. for my father to rejoin us. He never did. My mother's last wish was that I should find him. Do you know if he is alive..?"
He almost adds the words 'or not' but really doesn't want to hear that answer..
Darian with Mikal, Longtooth, Celi, unnamed Horde members
Her meal finished she looks to see that Longtooth is finished as well and collects his bowls from under the table. After a soft, brief conversation with the ruff, she rights herself and orders more mead for the both of them.
As she waits for the maid's return, she pulls out two scraps of cloth, one large, one small, and a small tin of wax. As she began to first dry and then wax both bow and string, she inquired of their table companions the type of game that could be found nearby.
It would be nice to be on the move only for the Hunt and no other reason. She and Longtooth could both use the time with their Lord.
"Well, unless you know someone who lives here with whom you can room, most find long-term lodging in an inn like this. They are used to providing such during the winter so will have rates reflecting a stay of a month or more." He replies to Darian.
He doesn't mention the other option he has available, as he'd prefer not to take advantage of it, and Darian and Celi would not be welcome there. He'll visit the Guildhouse while here, mostly to see if any Contracts are posted, but he'd rather not stay there. It's too insulated. If he feels like getting some training, which is always a good thing, it can be done during daylight hours. However, unless prices here are discounted or he finds some odd work here and there, he isn't completely sure his coin will last the winter.
When the waitress passes by he asks her what the long-term room rates are here, as even if he, Darian, and Celi spend tonight by the fire, it will not be the most comfortable place to spend weeks of time. He asks her if there are two rooms, glancing between Darian and Celi, wondering if they're OK to share. Or if he can share with one of the men, as long as there's two beds.
"Thank you." He says to the mercenary who advises him on the stew, passing a piece of bread when asked. "I must say your Troop's reputation precedes you, yet I'd have expected a somewhat different reception based on that. Or do you cultivate it to keep away bothersome questions like I am asking?" He smiles as he asks the man this, in case he is indeed pushing where it is not welcome.
"I didn't mean....., I meant for you and Celi to share", he says, a visible blush creeping up his neck. "Umm, unless that is what you mean as well? It'd not be proper else." He takes a large swig of his ale to give him something to do with his hands.
She shook her head, but met his eyes to show no insult was taken or offered.
No, she was not inviting him to be intimate, but she was also trying to not use phrases that were not so blatantly Khannish.
"Where I am from, we had a common winter night lodging for all the ...extended family for both warmth and protection. Even at the leanest there were a couple handfulls of us all together."
"Only since I was sent away has it been only two."
A glance towards the ruff at her feet underscored her meaning.
He nods, a bit relieved, though also a bit disappointed. "I see. Yes. Not too different from me and my Uncle. Our home only had two bedrooms. Mom and Dad slept in one bed, of course, and Uncle and I shared another. My sister slept on a bed in the kitchen, alone, but near the hearth. Still, we'd not ever let a man and woman share a bed who were not married."
Married. The farmers and other outliers did that. It was different among the pack itself. Darian was anomaly, being a woman and one of the Hunters as opposed to a lay member of the pack. But still, marriage was not a requirement for two to lay together in that manner. It was, in fact, highly unusual.
"Another place where our ways are differ."
She meant one thing but qualified it in order to mean another.
"The winter lodging was of a single room for all."
"I lived with my Grandmother alone until she died. Since then I have traveled ..." not always alone, but that is a different story ... "... never in the company of other people. I will stay where you tell me it is permitted. I have no religious sensibilities or moral qualms about non-intimate cohabitation, but I swear I would never disgrace any of you, so if I appear to be doing something that compromises you, just say and I will adjust what I am doing to meet your needs."
"I've asked about a room for you and Darian to share, with Longtooth of course", he replies to Celi. "I don't know about any of the other women we arrived with, but depending on the size of the beds, the more that stay together the lighter it will be on the purse. Price is typically by the room, not by the person."
"I will find accommodations for myself, here, somewhere."
Her amber gaze drifted around the room before returning to Mikal. Pitched only for his ears, she told him, "Sharing a room does not require sharing a bed."
Celi in the common room with Mikal, Darian and Longtooth
WHatever arrangement was made would suffice for Celi, though for a fact, her innate penuriousness made the idea of multiple tenants for a single room much more appealing. Plus, she might get a chance to visit with Longtooth.
"I am happy to abide by your decision," she told Mikal. "But spend no funds on my account; here in the common room is perfectly fine."
He grins at Darian. "You've not spent much time at inns then. Most have a single bed in their rooms that is intended to sleep anywhere from 2 to up to 4. Not roomy, but then as you noted it adds warmth. I have spent several nights in such, only to wake in the morning black and blue from over-restless fellows. It's why I asked the serving girl whether there were separate beds here. If not, with this crowd, I'd expect to be in with 2-3 other men, and it's fairly debatable whether I'd sleep better on the floor down here."
"I must admit, I am most used to the ground and solitude," Celi said. "Ne'er more than straw for a pallet and no company save occasionally some livestock. So for me, such a room as you suggest would be ... umm, softer but a little too populous."
She shrugged, embarrassed because she no doubt sounded like some rube. Which she was, but that was beside the point. She was trying to learn.
She could do little but shrug and incline her head at the other woman's words. Dayala rose each day and Her children lit the night-time sky; seasons followed one upon another; people were born and they died. It was... well, it simply was.
"Ta," she said, thanking Dandelion both for the directions to the well and the information about who truly controlled the town.
It was when Camelia spoke again... spoke her last four words... that Daxia's intense gaze fell upon the younger of the two sisters; studying her, trying to find more than just a tiny snippet of a pattern. "How you know these words? You say, 'always just buying time'. Where you learn this?"
The Heartwood Between Dusk and Dawn, the Town of Cragside Marketday The Twenty-Fourth Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Everybody
"Well let's see ... you haven't started foaming at the mouth, tried to pick a fight or offered us snide comments about who is a real swordsman. That either shows a great deal of common sense seeing that we outnumber you ..."
The Horde mecenary laughed, taking a deep draught of his ale.
" ... or you are a decent bloke. Both of which put you in good stead."
He ducks his head towards the small group at the far fire.
"Besides, what we do reflects upon the Captain, and for that you won't find a sword here to put a mark upon her. Respect begets respect ... stone and stars lad, don't you recognize the short barrel of a man there next to Rafe Dynnekko? That's Barris Ironhand; the man who put together what's now Mohlkavin's Heavy Horse and perhaps the best battlefield tactician that Jvrill ever had.
"The idiot Merchant Guild in Bordertown somehow got them to come after us; something neither if us wanted - its like they had forgotten both the riders of the Greenlands Path and the fact that the Fey come riding in with the spring mists."
The mercenary looked down into his mug, frowning.
"Some folks say it was Korie and Montague coin that bought the merchants that bought the Heavy Horse's contract.
"The problem, well, our Captain knew if she got into a face to face battle with Barris' cavalry we'd lose ... the Merchant princes knew that too.
"But they didn't figure that she wouldn't let him get us there.
"You see, our Captain's a strategist. A killer one."
There was a smile at that as the swordsman continued.
"To make a long story short, Barris was smart enough to figure out that no way we would let ourselves get into a set piece fight and we were slowly tearing his Heavy Horse to pieces in a death of a thousand nibbles.
"Someone wanted blood.
"And when they couldn't get Captain Dandy's, they went after Ironhand."
Shaking his head the Horde mercenary gave Mikal a serious and stern look.
"Merchant coin is good, but never, never trust. They'll turn that punched penny around quicker than a merebeast on a bloodscent."
He took another sip of his drink.
"Now Koromov isn't stupid. The minute she caught wind of this ...
"... she offered him a place here as her second. Harry Mohlkavin bought in; he took over the Horse and his best friend got one straight good contract with us.
"So lad ... we got good respect for you and yours. We just expect to get it in return, sha?"
He raised a hand and summoned a barmaid.
"Hey Nessa! A refill for the Jvrillian here and his friends ... my coin."
At another knot of conversation, the innkeeper nodded to Comfrey, head ducked respectfully.
"Yes, your Ladyship."
His attention is then snared by Conra, head ducking again respectfully.
"The lass talking to the Captain?"
He turned, looking to the far Hearth, a mite speculatively. As Daxia begins to question Camelia he snares Dandelion's attention for a heartbeat. The elder Dayallan points to Camelia, then to herself ... she then taps her collarbone and pats the hearth.
"Oh.
"Looks like she's got the Captain's room tonight. It won't be the first time she's fallen asleep at her spot by the hearth.
"And a handful of pennies for the morning ... but the lass has claimed the Horde's hospitality for you tonight and the Captain, she never even blinked, so I'd not be worried for it."
At the hearth, Dandelion Koromov simply leaned back against the rough worn stones.
"I don't know lad. The four of them left us in Tal's and Kathena's care; a fullhand of days later, as if it were the most natural thing in the world Kathena took us in as if we were hers.
"That's when we knew Father was dead. Mother, Uncle Yoska and Jazzy, we never saw again.
"All for a little girl you say?"
She canted her head, however, as Camelia whispered her final words.
The intensity of their attention was daunting, but Camelia could and would hold her own. It was that same self-sure strength that she carried when she met the Captain's challenge to 'stand straight'. Camelia knew she didn't understand the meaning of the phrase, not for the gravity for which it carried, both in her Mother's eyes, and now in the the expressions of her sister and the redheaded woman.
Camelia looked to the cup before her. The liquid below the rim, placid and serene, rippling only when the forces of it's environment changed and then settling again. Was it part of her people's nature to have an inherent melancholia, knowing a fate awaited them and yet still having to live each day with dignity and purpose? How doubly-so then must it have been for Camelia to know that there was something dark and terrible ahead in her future and to not know what it was... was that better?
"I never knew my father. Not even his name. Save for a story or two, nothing. But I could see that my mother loved him, still does... every day. To grow up knowing that your only kin does not share with you things you deparately want to know, think you should know, believe is your right to know... and yet, no child's argument can sway her. For there are darker things in the shadows of the Imperial Palace then what a child's imagination can dream."
She shrugged.
"That didn't answer your questions, I realize. It is what it is. I grew up and one day realized that there was a deep pain and a sadness in my mother and I resolved to be the light that made each day bearable for her and I absorbed the sadness as best I could. I found ways to deal with the belief I lived two halves of a life that didn't belong with each other. But I learned everything I could from her, everything she would teach me. And I coped with the understanding that I would learn things and not understand why I was learning them. After all, I had a good home. I had more than many did... And as I got older I even understood that somehow it wasn't mine to have... But I took it anyway because somone paid a price for me to have it. Not just my mother, but each day,a little part of her faded just a little bit more. So strong, but she too lived two lives and were I anything but less than what she expected of me, demanded of me, needed of me... then I knew I was betraying a part of me I knew nothing about. She protected me to keep me alive, and only now do I understand how closely she nestled us to our enemy. No child could have known what I am hearing now and not risked themselves in carelessness."
She drew in breath deeply, pursing her lips tightly. Her own sadness at the lingering homesickness weighed upon her. She missed her Mother so much. But this was how it had to be. She had a duty and had to see it through, even if she didn't know where it might end.
"Again, I know I haven't answered your question. But, in truth I have... I have no idea what that saying means, not in any way I haven't conjured in my imagination. My mother told me that... We are the ones always buying time... my father did this, a friend of his as well, and that soon she would have to do the same, and then... so would I."
Camelia shrugged absently and took up the cup before her.
"I needed meaning for that, because it was my fate, and it had to mean something that a 12 year old could understand."
There was more that her mother had said that day. It made no more sense than the part she shared, but it was hard to give up the bits and pieces of what little she knew because she treasured them so much.
"I could never bring myself to ask again. But I memorized her words, and I gave it my own meaning... to buy time, to know that ultimately you would run out of it, and that whatever you were trying to stop would catch you all the same, and then maybe worse for the effort to stave it off... But in the effort, maybe you do some good and help some other who can't make the sacrifice you can."
Camelia put the cup back without ever drinking from it.
She would stand with a faint blush after the innkeeper finished speaking, "Excuse me the both of you. I'll be back in just a bit but...I want to see how his hand is doing." She nodded to Conrad as she explained a bit further, "He had me look at it yestereve and the travel and weather and all..."
She grinned ruefully, "Not sure how I let it slip my mind." And with that she'd head over to where Mikal was sitting with others. She'd try to catch his eye first, asking silent permission to intrude.
Normally she'd trust her judgement of the other day but with the rain and use he'd put it to she'd feel better double checking. They'd traveled the day with the other two he was with but one had appeared to avoid her before so she didn't want to make anyone more uncomfortable.
He nods to the captain, her words not the worst he had braced for but also not the best he had hoped against hope for. In some ways he is no further forward except that he has a part of the puzzle, part of the reason for all of this.. and maybe that would give him a start.
He also realises that it is not just his life that has been affected, sacrifices made by his family. The two sisters here and their family/friends have all suffered a similar past to his.
He looks over at Cami, speaking to her more directly now that she seems to be responding more, perhaps the shock subsiding as the information finds its anchors.
"It sounds like we have had similar experiences in many ways, though the settings very different - and all from the same source, same series of events, which it sounds like none of us know much about."
Darian with Mikal, Horde, Celi and newly arrived Comfrey
Her feet were toasty warm with Longtooth's bulk against them. She moved the toes of one to slowly rub at his fur. She would offer him a good brushing once they had more room, but for now they were both content.
She listened intently to the mervenaries words as she worked the wax into bow and string. Her long brown fingers moved with dexterity and skill to remove the marks the weather had placed upon her weapon.
She knew aught of this Korie he spoke of but the name Montague resonated with erh as she knew it would Mikal. Her eyes went to him briefly, and she murmured, "The Grey men touch many it seems."
Another thing she took note of was the respect the mercenary and his fellows had for their captain. By his words, it was respect born out of her skill, and that she could appreciate. She wondered what had led the woman to be what she was, a part of her assuming she took up her path out of necessity.
He called for more drinks, and she offered him a smile, a nod and a toasting of thanks. The members of this Horde behaved much like a Pack with their tales and jesting and drinking, and she was at ease with them though it did make her long for that which was lost. She closed her eyes briefly against the longing.
When she opened them the healer in white stood by them, waiting it seemed. Darian could not imagine that the woman could possibly be there for her, so she reached out and tapped Mikal's forarm. At his attention turning to her, she nodded towards the woman and simply said, "The Healer."
The man who had invited himself to join her... 'sister' and she, and the woman whom her 'sister' had also invited. Made claim to a kinship with her earlier and now he made claim to a common experience, or at least a shared experience.
She didn't know him. She didn't know any of them. This was all so much to take in and it seemed hard to catch her breath as all of their words pressed in, flooding her senses and her mind.
She could only think back to what her mother had been doing the night before her final sleep in the Palace. She had to trust her Mother, it was all she knew to do right now amidst the chaos that threatened to consume her.
"If there's one thing I have learned, since striking out on my own, it is humility." He answer the man. "There's always someone bigger, stronger, faster, or smarter than you are. When you work alone, your best defense is having your enemy not know who you are and what you can do. So I have learned not to boast about the few things I might boast of. Let my opponent do the boasting, and thereby give me whatever small advantage I might take from it that could mean my life."
"Added to that I try to judge people by their actions and not their words, or their reputations. I hold the shared skill of Jvrillians to heart, but that does not mean I have not met others who were as good and did not follow that path. Default to respect, and let them prove they don't deserve it is how I look at things."
He grins. "Besides. As you so pointedly remarked, I am just slightly outnumbered." He glances around, then shrugs. "I suppose I could take the first 20 or so, but once I get to 50 my arm is likely to tire."
He holds up a hand, chuckling. "Sorry. Joking, not boasting."
At the comment about Barris Ironhand, he looks closer and blinks. He never met the man, but he is a legend among the New Jvrillians, and his description is well known. "Well, well, well." He muses, re-evaluating what he's heard.
At the comment about Montague money hiring the Heavy Horse Company his face tightens. He then nods at the discussion of tactics. "I used to ride with Cameron's Light. Hit and run was our specialty. Standing to the last man is great for the bards, but it's hard on the families of the men. Too many empty saddles."
He nods in agreement to the comment about Merchant coin. "Since striking out alone, I try to take coin from villagers and peasants, mostly. Not as heavy a purse, but it's honestly come by and doesn't stain the soul."
"Hmmm. So Harry Mohlkavin leads the Heavy Horse now, huh?" He files that away for later reference. It might come in handy one day.
He lifts his ale mug in thanks to the man for the next round, and tips the mug to drain it. When the next round arrives, he lifts it and says, "A toast to fallen friends."
As he drinks, Darian touches his arm. He turns his head and see Comfrey approaching. Standing quickly, he pulls a chair from a nearby table and brings it over, holding it for her to sit in before re-seating himself. "Gentlemen", he says to the horde members around the table. "Lady Comfrey, of Attera."
<Comfrey briefly joining Mikal, Celi, Darian, horde and other non alliteratives>
She waved off the chair turning a bit red as she shook her head and holds out one hand in a beckoning gesture. "I just wanted to check on your hand again. After the travel in the rain and all."
She berated herself silently for not checking it earlier but little if any showed in her voice as she continued, "Easier to do once the warmth of the place seeped in. And," she sighed a bit, "just Comfrey."
"Yes, Lady." He replies, standing and rolling up his sleeve to expose the newest scars on his arm. He won't sit if she won't.
She can tell him not to call her 'Lady' all she likes, but he reveres those few Acolytes of Attera he has had the good fortune to meet. Some have saved friends and comrades of his from death and permanent disablement, as well as healing villagers and farmers. To him they are all more worthy of the title than most who demand it.
"She is called where she needs to be. We will have her stew and wine ready for her when she returns." he said, turning to look and see if the girl was coming with the refreshments and happy to see that she was. His stomach was definately empty and rumbling. Once she had put their food and wine down, he poured for the two of them, waiting on Comfrey to come back before pouring for her.
"So tell me about yourself. You are obviously known around here but I have not seen you here in town before."
"Not too much to say. Came here from Amber, by the way of several towns, doing odd jobs along the way. Do some odd jobs around town for the owners, get myself a room and some food in the bargain. Besides. You probably have seen me - probably just never noticed me. Not the noticable sort."
"They have kept me quite busy between my duties at home and my duties for the Order. I am glad to have had the chance to meet you now at least. What kind of work do you do?"
<Comfrey briefly joining Mikal, Celi, Darian, horde and other non alliteratives>
She wrinkled her nose at him and chided humorously, "You're looming." Then she examined the arm again. "It's fine and improved from last night, but I figured it was best to check it again."
She looks at the others and smiles, "Sorry to disturb you all. I'll leave you to your sup and drink."
Celi had finished her weapon care and returned both knives to their sheaths dry, well-oiled and with their edges restored. SHe had been sipping her ale -- she was for a fact not much of a drinker, preferring milk or water to the stronger spirits. The ale wasn't bad, but she had seen what a surfeit of it could do to otherwise meek souls, so she was cautious.
But in the company of friends, when all about you were tossing it down like it was free beer night at the only pub in town, it was hard to show perfect restraint, and she was feeling a little ... buzzed.
So she didn't mind when someone refilled hers at the behest of another. In fact, she couldn't remember how the first one had gotten quite so empty. She stifled a giggle and took another slurp. She felt the urge to Dance, which was her only way of truly expressing her soul. She used to Dance for Stormrunner, when they were alone in the forest. But in here, she decided she would have to consume a *lot* more ale before she would try anything so bold as The Dance.
On a more reasonable note, she found she really enjoyed the cameraderie the Horde and Mikal shared; the rough badinage, the bold tales of warriors she didn't know. She studied Mikal intently. She didn't know *anybody*.
"Oh, odds and ends, really. Errands, running things from place to place, sending messages, deliveries. But it puts food in the stomach, a roof over my head, and leaves me with time of my own. And time of your own is a precious thing, as calls on your time always chase you, hunt you down - leave you without the time to. . make decisions. Follow ideas, pursue dreams. In short, with choices you can make, however small they may be."
She smiles a bit and traces the scar on her cheek with one finger.
Daxia almost seemed to look through Camelia, as if seeing something that wasn't there. She heard the words, tucked them into her memory... those, and Cesare's as well. Her eyes shifted to her sister Dayalan for an instant before focusing again on Camelia.
"Yah. Is what we -- Dayalans -- did in every age. Still do... where, when we can. Stand between harm and those we swear to protect." She smiled. "You know Ballad of Jeminy's Hill, yes? Was Dayalans protecting Risha's children... not men, like some say."
<Comfrey after sojourn with Mikal, Celi, Darian, horde and other non alliteratives going back to Kadri and Conrad>
She headed off, away from the gathering her check up done. Comfrey's gaze was thoughtful. That was twice. Once in the other inn might have been nerves or busyness, or even just not noticing. But twice? After the person she'd been limpeting mostly introduced them?
Mentally shrugging she let the thought of the odd knife-wielding woman slip to the back of her mind and went back to the others and hopefully her dinner.
She'd slip back into her recently discarded chair and smile lopsidedly at her two companions. "Just wanted to double check."
He smiled at the healer and picked up the flagon of wine and poured for her, indicating the recently arrived stew.
"It is your duty Comfrey and I would expect no less from you. quench your thirst and eat. The stew is surprisingly decent." he said. "And our companion was just telling me of her work here in town.
<Comfrey with the alliterators of Kadri and Conrad>
She raised an eyebrow at Conrad's choice of words but merely asked mildly, "surprisingly? Considering his customers I'd be surprised if it wasn't."
She nodded her thanks to Kadri for her understanding and gestured with her spoon after taking a hearty bite and swallowing. "Please don't let me interrupt."
"Oh, not much to tell. I am afraid I am a very simple person."
She said, with a hint of a smile that said exactly the opposite.
"Just me and my horse."
Any glance someone had had at the horse while they had traveled together would have confirmed to anyone who knew horses that the animal was not 'simple' but definitely a quality animal, of quality breeding - if perhaps not battle trained.
She spooned more stew into her mouth as she listened.
Part of her worried away at the puzzles she'd stumbled into. Camelia, this inn, the slain man... so many. And all she'd wanted was to come here for some further teachings so that one day she could find a place that needed her, someone , to open a hospice.
Camelia- with Daxia, Cesare and Dandelion- because she was addressed directly
"I know the song," she replied to the flame haired woman. And then she glanced first at the man who seemed to be watching her as though he was remembering her or trying to make her fit something he remembered. She found that unnerving, his intensity. And then to Dandelion. Was she really her sister? They looked so much alike, as though they were twins, but different in age. Odd that, siblings might favor one another, but to look alike so closely?
The red haired woman who had a tendency to skip words, butchering the language with such inartful force, spoke words that Camelia had only heard or overheard once or twice in all her summers. It was impolite to interrupt and seek definitions and clarifications from people she didn't know. Perhaps later...
"I was taught the song by my Mother. I had heard other versions, she taught me the one you speak of..."
And just last night, Camelia felt led to share that very song, that very version. She knew that there were folks in Trundle who took the telling of that tale seriously and the versions they preferred might well differ. But the one she was taught by her mother was one she had never heard before.
"I would sing it to her some nights... to help her sleep."
"Had her back home since I was young. Back on the plains, you don't have a horse, you aren't anyone. Lisica is the only part of my family I chose to keep or acknowledge. She is mine as I am hers."
(I realize you said him - I have no objection to you going back and editing in 'her' as if he knows horses presumably he realizes she was riding a mare)
"You are of the Plains then. I have heard so many tales of your land. Perhaps when you have eaten and drunk you would tell us of your homeland?" he inquired.
She nodded her interest in the request as well. Tales were something she never heard enough of and one of the reasons she loved inns.
Sometimes sharing a once heard tale brought people together. Briefly she recalled the reaction to Camelia's song. Sometimes it didn't. That one just brought a discussion.
Her eyes wandered around the room again at the thought.
"I will speak of them, although they are home no longer; they are merely where I was born; home is where I am."
After another pause - and then she speaks - addressing it to both of them.
"You are from here, yes? Have you ever been anywhere where. . you cannot see anything between you and the horizon, where only level ground stretches between you and it?"
"No, I can not say that I have. I grew up in The Rock and have spent much of my more recent time here in Cragside or on duty with my Knight. Such a place like you describe...it is almost impossible to imagine." he said.
She smiled a bit and shook her head. Which question it was in answer to was not easy to tell. "Land no. But the sea? That I have seen where the horizon is cradled in arms of tossing grey-green."
"The ocean I have never seen. But a sunrise on the open plains. . .you can see it. . .everywhere. The entire horizon aglow with light, . . ."
Another pause.
"You can bring a horse to full gallop and not stop until both you and she have had their fill - the wind and the horizon your only companions. Where you can race the wind, and, perhaps, with the right horse underneath you, challenge it."
Again, a pause.
"But I would suppose you wish to know of. . the people."
She smiles gently, speaking from her love of stories of almost all sorts. "Whatever you would wish to tell, I would wish to hear."
Horses had always seemed more of a chore to her. Coming to riding late they'd turned her into a passable rider, but she had nothing of the love of the steed that she heard in Kadri and other people's voices at times. But a tale told from one who felt deeply about something was nothing to be passed up.
Daxia smiled and nodded to Camelia. "Bekkah -- older sister -- sang it to me after Papa and Mama died. Helped me sleep, too." She paused, remembering. "Verchovai Kassia is very frightening and intimidating woman, especially to little girls. Bekkah singing? Helped me be brave like Kisa Allaine." The redhead laughed. "Some days, Kassia scare me so much, thought I would die like Kisa Allaine, too." She shook her head ruefully. "Have known Kassia so long... am... missing her." And Daxia looked a little surprised to be saying that.
The Heartwood Between Dusk and Dawn, the Town of Cragside Marketday The Twenty-Fourth Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Everybody
As the night deepens the conversatins fall to theirlittle groups and slowly the commns thins out. Some; townsfolks, hve their morning tasks awaiting them come dawn, others more disciplined duties.
"To not let them be forgotten or their passing to not have meaning." The mercenary tapped his wooden mug to Mikal's, taking his own draught slow and easy.
At the hearth Captain Koromov just listened to Camelia and Daxia converse; listening to both, cantching inflections and connotations.
"Mother always used to talk about the currents of the world, of waves and crests.
"Waves are not kind to m so I had to learn to stand against them, to see them coming before they even realized they were bound my way.
"I think whatever waves Father started, they are still out there, on the horizon but only just. Waiting for the wind to change."
Her head rested against the stone as she finally closed her eyes.
"I miss Poppy too. Now, that I know more, there are so many more things we could speak about. She has her work, i have mine, we look into the sky and see Her above us, and that's enough for now.
"Come tomorrow dawn, I suspect Kassia will be looking for her well, about the same time you are."
Her head simply rolled to the side, eyes opening again, offering Camelia a smile.
As the room became less full, Darian took advantage and moved seats about to sit on the floor with Longtooth as well as to be closer to the hearth. She met each one of her tablemate's eyes and excused herself with a simple, "I must see to my friend's fur. I thank ye for the drink and good company."
As she settled, she pulled from her pack a wide brush that looked much like a curry comb but had fewer and longer teeth. She slipped her hand throug the back strap of the brush and began to see to Longtooth's fur. Their recent travels and much time in the rain gave it matted, snarls.
Among his breed, the hounds would normally do this for each other amongst the Pack, but like her there were no others. At least, not here. Perhaps, someday, they would find another Pack to treat with, and he could mate and engender whelps. She did not know if she would join another Pack or build one of her own. Khannish had not chosen to divulge this information to her. It was something she had to discover on this Hunt.
As she gently but firmly worked the ruff's fur, her gaze wandered over the others there in the common room. She enjoyed the camaraderie of mercenaries, their jokes and stories and songs, most of all even if some of it she did not quite understand. Her bow and quiver were to the side, wrapped protectively from both wandering hands and the drying heat of the fire.
Camelia Ayannasdotter with Daxia, Cesare, and Dandelion
"You should sleep," intoned Cami, soft, and melodic. To see herself, how she might look in a few years, had it's own wonderment and an equal measure of concern. That familiarity would nag at her, in the dark recesses, but it was late in the night now. There had been food and drink. For Cami, it would be only her 2nd night to sleep in warmth after a meal since leaving Trundle on the Hill. She could never have imagined that her life would have taken the turns it did, or that tonight she would sit at a table with kin she never knew she had... So many questions.
Camelia glanced around the room, to those she met the previous night. What was in the future for them all. Waves and Crests indeed. She wished she could read for the currents and the winds that drove those waves and crests. The ripples led to surges and if you knew they were coming, you might know from where the storm approached.
Her eyes fell upon the Healer, an eddy in what might becoming a raging monsoon. She could read that without the use of her Cards. The Squire, with honor and duty emblazoned upon his shield, he would stand against the storm. Would he be able to? These two were the first of those she might call friends. The others had been accepting but only by circumstance were they all together. But it wasn't coincidence. She had said this before, and believed it strongly. There was no such thing as coincidence. Their lives had already begun to entwine about hers. And hers about theirs. All of their fates were woven into the larger tapestry.
Camelia wished she had the view that Destiny did, and could see the picture woven by the Fates themselves, taking all the strands and lives. The warp and the weft, always the shuttle and the loom. What was the image they wove with their lives?
"Thank you," she replied when Captain Koromov... Dandelion... Dand..elion... When her sister spoke the name, adding to it each time she repeated it to weave her own tapestry.
That was the name of her father. If her sister was anything like her, then that would have been the first question she asked. And while it answered only a single question, it was an important one. A place to begin...
"Patterns, yes," Daxia murmured, "they are not complete yet." She regarded the two sisters, and eyed Cesare speculatively as well. And then she looked around the room... seeing her recent traveling companion, Kadri, speaking with the squire and the Lady of Attera; observing the others they'd met at the town's gate and who'd been in the alleyway with them; and watching Dandelion's troop, who were so very interesting. Finally, she turned back to her fellow Dayalan. "Sleeping in common room good for tonight, but you have suggestion for winter quarters in Cragside, Verchovai?"
"Indeed." He agrees, taking a drink of his own mug.
Now a bit drier, he stretches out his feet and relaxes in his chair, watching Celi drink and Darian brush Longtooth, not much differently than he curries Talia.
He loosens the cinches on his armour a bit and watches the crowd, looking to see if the waitress will return with the answers to his questions about rooms.
As he does he tries to piece together the new information he's gotten about the Horde. The fact that Barris Ironhand is here speaks volumes, and gives him room for thought. He's not worked in a Troop for a number of years now, but the chance to serve with Barris is very tempting. Not that he knows there's any such offer available.
He cannot understand Cami's casual attitude unless it is some noble thing about hiding your feelings from everyone. Or maybe a famale thing? Perhaps she feels vulnerable and cannot cope with all this new information. For him he wwants to know more but perhaps he should save that for the morning and talk to the Captain.
Meanwhile food seems the order of the day as there is already talk of settling down for the night as he suspects he has missed his chance of a room tonight. Still small price to pay for the information given.
He beckons a serving girl and turns to Daxia.
"I'm going to order some food. Interested?"
And then in an effort to be sociable he includes the sisters.
She nodded to Cesare. "Stew and... mulled cider. Ta."
Daxia turned her attention back to Dandelion, waiting for the answer to her question, yes. But also an opportunity to study her, to observe the minute ways -- not just the obvious ways already cataloged -- in which Dandelion differed from her other Dayalan sisters.
The younger of the two sisters looked down into her lap as she fumbled in the folds of her tunic, to find the small purse of coins she had been given.
"I have only a Crown," she replied to the man who wanted something of her, some reaction, some sense of understanding that she was unable to give. She was unable to process the flood of information starting with the fact that she had a sister. This man felt something for a certainty and that something scared her. Had he voiced the connection his mind was surely trying to make? She heard his words about the white haired child, but it was absolute silliness to think there was more to that line of speculation. It was too much to accept that she had a sister who just happened to look, not like her... but exactly like her.
"But if food can be had for a few pennies, then I will eat."
The night was winding down and there was so much to ask. She still had her friends to speak with, to at least explain to them what things she knew to be true... or at least hoped them to be so. It was unsettling for Cami, whose life was a known and stable thing to her before, to live with such uncertainty.
"They are. . . proud people. Very sure of themselves, and their future, and willing to do almost anything to make sure that it happens. Both non-traditional - they are not afraid to try new things - and very traditional - some ways are immutable. A strong will and an independent spirit are. . valued. . unless they interfere with those traditions held strongly. You will find few horses to rival - perhaps only few others that belong in the discussion at all."
She nodded at Kadri's words noting the pronoun change. The young woman sipped at the wine and sighed softly in contentment as the warm room continued to work its magic on her once-chilled form.
"It sounds like quite the place, these ppains," she says quietly.
Celi watched Darian care for Longtooth, who tolerated her brushing better than any she had ever observed. Unlike felines, canines did not have a predisposition for personal grooming. For him to accept this showed a great deal of affection for the human partner.
Her estimation of Darian went up another notch; she had somehow replaced his Pack, which was remarkable indeed. Perhaps there was a tale in this. Perhaps if they became friends, she might earn the right to hear her tell it. Celi was always awed by the intricacies of Nature, in all Her ineffable mystery and beauty.
"It does sound like quite the place to visit one day. Perhaps I will hire you to guide me there when that happens." he said with a smile, wiping up the last of the stew with a piece of bread and eating it.
She shook her head minutely, a bit disappointed. The clues had been there but... People followed different trails and a game trail one might see easily she would often miss.
With a last swipe of her bread in her bowl she asked brightly, "So tell me of the home in this town, hmm? Either of you, please. For I am unfamiliar with it."
The Heartwood Between Dusk and Dawn, the Town of Cragside Marketday The Twenty-Fourth Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Everybody
At the western hearth Longtooth suffered patiently, as each stroke tugged at snarled fur. Every now and then, with a particularly stubborn tangle his head would jerk around; but there'd be no growl or teeth, just a look of canine exasperation.
There the conversation quietly continued; the sound of rain still cascading from the roof; but it seems to be lessing as the night deepens.
"I am fine ... for it is far too easy to become fat and lazy come the storm season, a good inn and a warm fire."
Captain Koromov turned down Cesare's offer, though friendly about it.
It is Camelia, however, who got the raised brow.
"Put your crown away, sister; have you forgotten that you have already claimed my hospitality without a even a by your leave?'
She then tempered her words with a true smile, tugging her fine warm cloak about her.
"You are indeed one of us, that's for sure.
"The stew is good, its truly filling and it doesn't need Jake waking his wife to make a special meal; the bread was fresh for dinner and I suspect Nessa will glady get you some cheese if you need.
"You are right, sleep is a good thing, and I'm quite comfortable. Between me and you and you ..."
Dandelion included Daxia in the circle of words.
"This is the best tavern in the town. Jake will find you a space; might take a day or so, but he will. Until then the commons is nice. As for you ..."
Dandelion closed her eyes.
"... when you get tired, Camelia, just ask Nessa or Jake or one of the other lasses here, she'll take you to her room."
Camelia closed her hand back over the small coin bag she had been given by the Healer. Of course, that had been a rude gesture on her part, to mention money after being granted hospitality. She did indeed seek and secure it, but that was really for her companions. An oversight, and a rude one at that...
Camelia watched her 'sister' as she lingered somewhere between consciousness and sleep, fighting the fall from one to the other. She too felt the weariness. Eating the food that would come and the drink before her would surely weigh her into a similar stupor.
"I have been tired for more than 30 days," she replied soft and soothingly, in the same way someone might find the intonation to speak without disturbing the natural rhythm of the sounds around them.
"Tired, cold, and hungry," she continued. "But now... I am fine as well sister." Her words spoke to a larger feeling of well-being and not an acknowledgement of her current state of provision.
As he listens to what people want, he waves a hand dismissively in Cami's direction indicating he had it covered, though this is further qualified by her sister.
He is not sure how much he is included in this arrangement. He has coin but only a limited amount and he knows not what lies ahead. He shrugs mentally. The Fates provide as they see fit and opportunities will ebb and flow as they dictate. He is confident he will always find a way to survive, one way or another.
As the serving girl arrives, he orders three stew with bread and cheese, another ale for himself and mulled cider for Daxia and Cami. He decides that he'll pay only when he is asked to.
Touching his clothing he finds that he is mostly dry now and stands, folding his cloak onto his pack - which is likely to be his pillow again tonight - and settling back down again, finally starting to relax. There are things to find out, decisions to make but for now he is content to eat, rest and maybe enjoy some social company this evening.
Daxia chuckled at the comment made by the sleepy Dandelion. "Never seen lazy Dayalan, not even lay members." The redhead was obviously more relaxed now, more comfortable with the surroundings and people in the common room. She settled into the silence of their small grouping easily, though, while waiting for the server to bring their food. Her eyes never seemed to stop moving, however... watching everything. The swordsman they'd arrived with, who was known well enough to get them through the gates after dark, chatting companionably with Dandelion's men... the young girl sharpening her knives... the other woman brushing out the fur of her ruff. That particular sight brought a smile that even reached her eyes. Kadri with the Squire and Lady... even the proprietor and the servers. It was not the wide-eyed naive stare of a country girl, however, but more a canny cataloging of people, places, connections.
When their food arrived, she thanked the server and, after a spoonful of stew -- Dandy was right, it was quite good -- she turned her deep blue eyes to Camelia, as though she was searching for something. "If you not mind telling, why you leave Imperial palace? How you come to this place... why now?"
Camelia with Daxia, Cesare, and the sleeping Dandelion
Camelia stared at the over-abundance of food placed before her with wide eyes. It was simply a portion larger than she could possibly have eaten. After going so long on thin rations and then days without anything at all, and her first real meal in all that time coming just last night. She couldn't help but stare at the bowl for a moment. And then came the question she expected, but dreaded.
Truths and Lies? Duty or Self?
Those same wide yees, as blue as blue could be looked up at the Red haired woman who also had deeply blue eyes and she suddenly found herself fixed like a prey animal, a hart, all over again.
Camelia had promised to explain everything to Comfrey, but now she had been asked directly. Again she was resting in the comfort of someone else's hospitality. Again, she would have to make a choice.
And a long moment passed between them, hoping that somehow, someway, something would occur around them and she could be saved from having to address this matter.
She shook her head minutely, a bit disappointed. The clues had been there but... People followed different trails and a game trail one might see easily she would often miss.
With a last swipe of her bread in her bowl she asked brightly, "So tell me of the home in this town, hmm? Either of you, please. For I am unfamiliar with it."
"Oh, its pleasant enough, as these places go. Gives me a living. Anything in particular you are looking for?"
Daxia <with Camelia, Cesare and the probably-just-faking-sleep Dandelion>
She sipped the cider as she raised an eyebrow, the only outward reaction to Camelia meeting her eyes... and Daxia's own observation of the look in those eyes. She regarded the younger woman for a moment after lowering the mug.
"Do not mean to... cause discomfort." She ate another spoonful of the stew, chewing and swallowing slowly to give the other woman time. "But," she said finally, "am seeing... patterns, yes? And holes in patterns." Daxia shrugged lightly, but kept her eyes on Camelia. "Thinking maybe you fill part of holes." Her gaze wandered around the room again, lastly stopping at their little group and giving Cesare and Dandelion longer looks, before returning her eyes to Camelia. "Many holes to fill, yes?"
She met Longtooth's gaze evenly every time he gave her that look. She spoke in quite tones to him, words meant only for his ears spoken too softly to be heard over the crackle of the fire or the murmur of other conversations. "It has been too long since your coat was seen to properly, since before Hakar sent us away. I don't suppose you know of any other Packs who might treat with us. These folk seem nice enough, but..."
She longed for the companionship of her Pack, something she had not been able to think of or name until seeing these others here. She was near certain enough that Longtooth felt the same. They were the only ones left. They stood alone against the world.
Finally his fur was untangled. She cleaned the brush and tucked it away then scotted around so he could put his head in her lap if he wanted. Her fingers stroked the fur between his ears, as much a comforting gesture to him as to her.
Her gaze wandered about the commons, occasionally lingering on one or two who reminded her of those she had known. It also went to the sellsword with whom she had struck up an easy rapport.
"Well, you will be working with the Lady Lillisdotter and my own elder sister Heine. The hospice is a warm and well cared for place. i think that you will find it a good home in which to learn and serve." he said to Comfrey.
After tapping mugs together, and before drinking the toast with the mercenary, he tips his glass and spills some ale to the floor. "A partially empty mug for the loss of friends." He says softly. He then drinks his ale down. Thanking the man for his kindness he orders another round for them and pays for it with his own coin. While he waits for it to arrive he notes Celi finishing cleaning and sharpening her weapons.
"Interesting blades, those", he says. "Any story behind them?"
Camelia with Daxia, Cesare, and the 'no doubt shes's faking sleep' Dandelion
"Hmmm," grunted Camelia at Dandelion's interjection.
She looked first to Cesare and then to Daxia, before responding to her 'sister'.
"If you are going to make comments instead of sleep, then maybe I should wait until you are rested, or allow you a moment to refresh yourself. Sha?"
An arched, questioning eyebrow changed to a shake of the head in just a moment. There asa no point in waiting further, for no one would raise a significant enough matter to deter the red-headed woman and she wasn't inclined to be... 'tagged' any further. "Tcha!"
She returned her attention to Daxia and Cesare.
"What I will tell you will be the truth, but not all of it. It is just the way of it. I do not know you, any of you. I do not trust anyone, save for perhaps the lady of Aterra. And I do not mean that with disrespect. Quite the contrary. I am grateful for all that everyone has done for me when I desparately needed help. But a friend of mine is in danger, her life at risk. I accepted my fate to save her, but that threat still exists and anyone, anyone at all might be an agent of a conspiracy. I accept what you say about yourselves, because I have no way to know differently. But, until I came to this place I knew nothing of the things you say. I know not what a Dayalan is, or this word Verchovai, or half of what you speak of when you talk amongst yourselves. You tell me I am a Koromov, and maybe even Rhoni. I am not sure I know what any of that means, save for the fact that being the former could get me killed. I was raised in Trundle on the Hill and taught the way of things there, and to conduct myself as such. My mother taught me things, privately, secretly, but without context or background. I accepted that my mother had secrets, and I kept them as best I knew. I am from Trundle on the Hill. That place is my home, my world. I have never been far beyond the sight of those walls before. It is all I know."
She paused.
"Now that I have said that... I will answer your question. I was abducted from the Deynekko wing of the Imperial Palace, more than six handfuls ago. Dark Riders on White Steeds, all of them. Took me from the Palace, before the dawn, while there was still the dark of night to cover their ill deeds. Bundled through the city and out the gates, I can only suppose. And by conspiracy I mean, who could think to abduct anyone from within the palace and hope to escape less they have help? Who they were, I never knew and where I would be taken... likewise. They abandoned me along the Road East, between the the Black Mountains and the Dirkwood, some days walk from the Plainsend Inn. That is where I met those five who allowed me safe passage here and tended to me when I was near death from exposure and thirst and chill."
"My Grandmother had them before me," Celi said. "She taught me their use, once I had proved myself ready. First I learned to care for them, then to handle them as if they were part of my body, like the softpad's claws. Then I learned ways to defend myself with them; and last, how to kill, when the time comes for such things."
She started to repeat the coven mantra, but realized in the nick of time that outing herself would be very, *very* foolish ... if not even immediately fatal.
"My Grandmother was very thorough, but I have been lucky. I have not had to use them in such fashion. I try to be calm, avoid angering others, and look for ways to accomplish my needs in a more gentle manner.
"What of Talia and your sword? Are there tales in the offing, how thee came to be together? If it is not considered bad manners, I would be most echanted to hear such a telling."
She would have been even more enchanted to hear about Longtooth and Darian, but she feared stepping on toes should she ask that question.
"Talia? She's a mare. No one rides stallions in battle who has any sense." He chuckles at the image.
"Anyway she was payment." He leans back to get more comfortable. Apparently it's not a short story.
"I rode with Cameron's Light Horse for several years, before the Montague forced them to disband. Derrick supposedly was heading this way, so I guess I might run into him again. Josef went West. Haldrick and Jennis were going to hunt gyphons", he shakes his head at that. "I think Haldrick ended up inside one actually."
"Killian the Red and I traveled together for a time. He was my best friend in the Troop. It was he who took me in as a frightened, half-starved farm boy back too many years ago."
"Finding contracts was hard for a pair. Many merchants could only afford one. So after a couple of months we split up. He went North towards Sherman's Keep, or at least that was what he said. I kept to the road. Was going to stop at Highside Heather and then head towards MacMurphy's Tavern."
"One day I was attacked by robbers on the road. I fought them off, but Dallian", he pauses a moment. "Sorry. Dallian was my horse. A nice bay with a gentle gait. Anyway, Dallian shattered her foreleg in a burrow hole during the fight. I had to put her down." He sighs with feeling.
"After packing my gear on my back I walked on for a few days til I came upon a small village on the highlands. The village was run down. The livestock scrawny. The people looked starved. They hid from me at first. I was about to keep going, no matter how much my feet ached, when a woman came out of one of the huts. She was holding a sword."
He laughs. "The sword was a Greatsword, and was as tall as she was. She couldn't even lift it up for more than a few seconds before it's weight dragged the point back to the ground again. She told me to leave or she'd fight me."
"She looked like my mother for a moment, and I was speechless in shock. But, after I recovered from my surprise and assured her I meant her no harm, she hesitantly took me in. She even offered me a bowl of watery soup with two small pieces of carrot floating in it."
"Then she told me her story. Seems a group of bandits had decided that it was easier to keep coming back to this village and stealing food and anything else they had. They kept watch on the only road in and out to make sure the people could not send for help, and honestly the village was so remote that if they got two visitors a season it was a busy year. The bandits took a few of their maidens to make sure they stayed in line."
"I felt bad for them, but I didn't see much I could do alone. But it kept nagging at me how much she resembled my mother. She could see that I hadn't bolted so she told me more. They'd had an Old Jvrillian pass by some months earlier. He had agreed to help them and had ridden off to charge the bandit encampment, screaming battle cries."
"About a day later his horse had come walking back to town, riderless and it's saddle covered in blood. They took it and hid it in a cave outside the town, not wanting the bandits to find it. The woman looked at me and, I swear to Jvrill", his hand slaps his chest, "my mother's voice came from her throat. She said, 'We have nothing to give you to help us, except the horse. Is it enough?'"
"I honestly could not breathe for a few seconds. I took it as a sign from Jvrill. That night she took me to the horse. It was a beautiful Silver Bay Crusader. Cavalry trained. It looked at me." He gazes more intently at Celi. "I am telling you it looked at me as if it was sizing me up." He shakes his head side to side.
"In any case I accepted the contract then and there. As if I had a choice." He smiles ruefully. "It took me almost a month. I had to hide during the day and ambush them at night, and I could not take on more than one or two at a time, nor could I let it look like I was coming from the village or they'd take revenge on them."
"I rescued the maidens first, but I couldn't let them go home. That was hard. Convincing them to stay with me in the cave until it was safe, but I managed. Eventually I'd killed so many of the bandits that they decided to move on. I returned the girls to their families and took the horse. Named her Talia, which is sort of an inside joke. That's the name of the Sister of the Lord of the Montague. Makes me smile every time I mount her." He grins.
"She and I have been together ever since. She's my best, and my most loyal friend. She has saved my life more than once. And that whole episode led me to my current career."
"The rest of the place should hold until tomorrow. It is getting late and I would be off to sleep. I have prayers in the morning and then I must see you delivered safely as promised."
Her eyes began to narrow a bit at his last words but she quickly lowers her lashes and nods acquiescence. "Of course," she murmurs. "May your rest be a comfortable one."
<Comfrey with Kadri and the very polite Squire Conrad>
"That would be most kind," she murmured again and stood. She would look around the room again and if she caught Camelia's eye she would nod her goodnight. Hopefully they could catch up in the morning but it appeared her friend was with those who could provide comfort.
The three of them headed to the Kadri's room and the squire bid them goodnight. The two women went inside. <Kadri/Comfrey convo continued in mesages>
Daxia with Camelia, Cesare and the most-definitely-awake Dandelion
“Most sincere apologies, Camelia Ayannasdotter,” Daxia said with a bow of her head. “Was raised in Dayala’s Temple since four years old, and never left Dawnview Vale –- where all know Dayala -– before end of Scholar.” She shrugged. “So we have in common being away from home for first time, and not knowing so much of the world, yes?
“You not know me, I not know you. Okay not to trust too much. But I tell you things. Dayala? She is Sun. She from First Age. She make order from chaos. She make Chaos Lords very angry. She... begin everything. Dayalans? We Her children. Stars at night? Our sisters who go before us. Verchovai... Imperial word closest is “knight.” Title of respect, yes? Is also...” Head tilted slightly, she eyed the Dayalan who feigned sleep. “Rank, maybe you say? I am Initiate, Dandelion is Verchovai.” Again, the redhead shrugged, then took another sip of her cider.
“What you say before, about ones always buying time? Is what we do, is who we are. Gilly say it more simply: we protect. Like Knights of Rames, only Dayala came first.” She grinned a little at that before becoming serious again. “Will not endanger you or friend; more likely to offer protection, if you want to trust me later. No more questions about that then.”
Daxia studied the young Imperial for several moments, then said, “No new threads for patterns today, but I think I learn something important. I think Imperials I meet today named ‘Koromov’ good people. I like. Might even pester Verchovai Dandelion as much as I pester Verchovai Gillyflower,” she said with a grin. “Am also happy to know others helped you,” nodding towards the others still in the room. “Would be poorer for not meeting you. Look forward to meeting others who help you.”
At the mention of her traveling companions, Camelia flashed a glance towards Comfrey and Conrad. She felt guilty, time was sliding away into the later part of the night already. She had promised them a better understanding of who she believed herself to be, a step closer to the Truth. Truth had suddenly become a very flexible thing though and she no longer felt she had a grasp on it.
The Redhead's explanation of a couple of terms gave her a better understanding, but still she lacked any context. It was like she wanted someone to tell her a history as though it were a story.
The redhead had a name. Of course she did, but saying it made it more personal and doing that committed her to caring. Camelia had a strong emotional connection to her environment and adding to that threatened to upset the careful balance she had fabricated as a defense of herself.
"Thank you," she replied. She didn't receive compliments very well. It made her uncomfortable as though it was unwarranted attention, undeserved in her own eyes.
"You should know that I did not believe my mother used that phrase casually, to describe something as you did. It was not just a concept to her. She was speaking about something in particular. A purpose, a task... Something that happened once and a commitment to 'defend' from then on, one that was hereditary... No Dayalans left in Trundle, and it became the duty of those who came after, to be the ones to keep this promise, this commitment... One that I would have to take up when it was my time... They stole something from a place called the Thousand Towers, and lost it to them again, and all of that came at a cost... Mother would have to pay soon she said, and then it would be my turn. I suppose my whole life has been to make me ready for the day I would have to face the Thousand Towers and buy time."
Celi clapped her hands softly, enjoying the tale. "O most brilliantly recounted, Milord Mikal!" she enthused. " 'Tis as if we were there. You honor yourself in the deed *and* the telling."
She grinned impishly. "It seems the old woman chose wisely... as did Talia. After all, she could ha' rolled her eyes and gone back to grazing.
"Where do the roads lead you now, Milord? What do you seek, besides a post to help you weather the winter?"
Daxia with Camelia, Cesare and the most-definitely-awake Dandelion
Daxia nodded. "No Dayalans left most places. Don't know Thousand Towers, but..." She paused, and seemed to be working out a particularly complicated puzzle. "But you decide you want to trust Daxia Yurisdotter, maybe you have Dayalan to help you, yes?"
The corner of his mouth twitches upwards at the words of praise. "My mother told them better, though this one was mine. Still, my favorite time was sitting at her knee listening to her spin tales of heroes and battle. I suppose some of it rubbed off."
He glances at Darian. "I recall many of them, and when I am in the mood, and there is some quiet time on the road, I have told some to pass the time, hoping to not embarrass my mother's memory while doing so."
Turning to Celi, he admonishes gently. "Please do not call me Lord. Just Mikal. If we come to know each other better you can call me by my given name. Lord is not only incorrect, it could get me into trouble."
He smiles. "As to Talia, I have had time to think on it. The villagers could not let her be seen so she could not go out to graze on her own, and there was nothing for her to graze on in that cave. The bandits had taken the best of the crop from the village so all they could bring her was stunted grass and the coarse leavings of the field. I suspect she saw me as her best chance at ever getting a good meal again. Though, a horse being able to think ahead like that might be even stranger."
"As for the future", he shrugs. "A post to help weather the winter is a good start. Beyond that I have always let Jvrill provide. I have generally wandered and have taken a number of contracts helping out-of-the-beaten-path villagers and less well-to-do merchants. These people are typically ignored by the Knights and don't have enough coin for the typical mercenary to bother with. But they remind me of my home." He shrugs embarrassed.
"Anyway, my word is my bond, and these people have always been taken advantage of by others who were bigger and stronger. Seems those they can trust are few-and-far-between. It's actually helped me from time-to-time. Seems I've become known a bit in those quarters."
"So", he adds, looking at both. "Now that we're here, what are your plans?"
Celi shrugged. "MIkal, please forgive me. My tale is not dissimilar, e'en though my talents lie elsewhere. I would like a post that lets me be as close to nature as may be. I am fond of all animals, and have some skills in caring for them, including some minor healing. I was hoping for something in the country, but... I may be forced into town somewhere. Still, I can pitch in where needed; I can defend myself and an employer reasonably well, and I am a quick learner if aught else is needed..."
He left the ladies upstairs to retire for the evening and returned to the main room to seek out Cameila and make sure that she had a place for the night. Conrad will walk over near her and wait for her to acknowledge him as it would be impolite to interrupt her conversation.
Given that the conversation had died away, Camelia had no trouble speaking with Conrad.
"I am well, Squire Conrad. It is true I am tired. Too many days piled upon one another. But I thank you for your diligence in checking on me. I was told I would have the Cap... My sister's room for this night. I hope that both you and Lady... err, Comfrey have rooms as well?"
"Yes, thank you. Comfrey is staying with one of the other ladies we traveled with. I obtained another room for either your or my use. Are you sure that you have safe lodgings?"
"Then I bid you a good night and will see you in the morning to break our fast. We can speak more then about how best to help you." he said, bowing slightly to her and preparing to leave to find his room for sleep.
The Heartwood Between Dusk and Dawn, the Town of Cragside Marketday The Twenty-Fourth Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Everybody
"I suspect growing up in the Palace taught you things I might never know ..."
Eyes opened, just to soft slits, as the Captain replied to Camelia. Then they closed again.
" ... if one couldn't sleep light, the Alley tended to eat you.
In the Imperial City, most, when given a choice between entering the Alley or facing the brutal Veilikii Imperial Guard, chose the Guard.
A very different set of survival skills were needed, there.
Resting, Camelia's sister listened as the conversations waned and drew to a close. Eventually, the commons was quiet, save for the crackling of wood in the hearths. Sleep came, and for the first time in the longest while, it was a good rest, a warm one, safe.
The clouds cleared and the stars watched over the mountainside town.
The Heartwood Morning, the Town of Cragside Restday The Last Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Everybody
Morning came early to some, later to others. The commons, of course, stirred first, be it from one's own early tasks or being woken by the innkeeper's family as the started their morning chores. Straightening the commons, setting buckets of water upon the hearthstones to warm, Missus Jake examining the twin stewpots and adding the morning vegetables and what little meat they had left.
For the travelers, the hospitality claimed by Camelia the night before seemed to be holding. Breakfast awaited, of fresh bread - though that was a competitive sharing with the Horde's early woken - chopped fruit and bits of cheese. Those with a bit more patience would find some big frying pans set out, simmering with chopped potatoes and vegetables grilled.
That and a couple mercenaries chased from the kitchen by a rolling pinned wielding goodwife.
But even that was done with smiles on all involved. Before long the commons was full again and bustling. On a smaller scale it would have been breakfast in a farmer's homestead; boarding house reaches, sharp teasing from the awake to those still mostly asleep, tidbits passed down the length of a table, sighs of contentment upon a delicious muffin and a roll call of things to be done from supplies to be lain in, gear tended and repaired, and that the sunny day should allow for some sparring and someone should go and hire out the pell up at the Guildhouse.
The only difference being that this family was larger than most.
Captain Koromov was not to be seen; perhaps, like her temple-sister Daxia, her day started a little bit earlier.
She turned back towards the Inn, and strode purposefully down the street in the early morning light. It was not a very far walk, and was far quieter than the walk to the town center had been.
When she re-entered the Inn, she scanned the common room, looking for Kadri... and Camelia. Not seeing either of them, she took off her cloak and found an empty seat where she could wait, and watch... and have some breakfast.
Mikal walks down the street easily, whistling a light tune. He stops at a vendor and buys two apples, then turns back to the inn. Eating one as he walks, when he reaches the inn he goes first to the stables and gives the other to Talia. Patting the mare on the shoulder he then goes inside the common room of the inn.
As he enters he scans the common room. He sees Daxia, but his gaze passes over her. After a moment, seemingly not finding what, or who, he was looking for, it returns to her, and seeing few others about he heads to where she sits.
"Might I join you this fine morning, Mistress Daxia?" He asks.
"Just Daxia," she said with a smile, gesturing to an empty spot at the table. She finished buttering her bread. "Always fine morning when clouds not hide Her light from us, yes?"
She'd nabbed the last couple of fried potatoes from her dish, and shook her head while she finished chewing and swallowing. "Just met last night. But Ver... mmmm... Captain Koromov Temple-sister." Daxia looked at him with a glint of amusement in her eyes. "We Dayalans." She sipped her cider. "They have very complicated family," she said with another shake of her head. "You part of group helping Camelia, yes? She spoke well of group."
"Yes." He nods. "Though Lady Comfrey did most of the needed helping." He says, not wanting to take undue credit for the little he might have done. "Dama Camelia didn't speak much about how she came to be near starved and looking like a drowned slink when she appeared at the inn, but it seemed some hot food and a good fire did most of the work. Rest of it was simply riding together to make sure none bothered her."
He glances to the inn door, checking to see if anyone has returned. "O' course Squire Conrad naturally took it upon himself to be her guardian as well. And none of us knew who she was then." He pauses in thought. "Least I think none knew. Can't be certain."
"I noted you and your group join us on the road, but the weather 'dampened' conversation as well as clothes. Tell me of this 'Dayalan'. Don't think I've heard of it."
She mused over the happenings as she made the walk back to the inn, Longtooth padding at her side. She wondered who she might be able to discuss this with having no experience with city things. Perchance, just perhaps, maybe...
Darian pulled the door open and let Longtooth precede her. She called for mulled cider and let the warmth of the drink and the fire take away the bite of the chill.
As she sipped she turned and looked about the commons, spotted Mikal and Daxia. Venturing over, she asked, "Might we?"
"Camelia's story hers to tell, of course," Daxia said. It looked as if she might want to say more on the subject, but let out a soft sigh instead. She leaned back in her chair, lacing her fingers together, and gave him a measured look. "Dayala." A shadow of... sadness, perhaps?... pass over her features for a moment. She noticed Darian and Longtooth enter the Inn, and when they came over to the table, Daxia nodded. "Yah, join. Welcome. Just telling Mikal about Dayala."
He nods to the comment about Camelia. "Certainly."
He notes Darian as soon as she enters, as he's been keeping one eye on the door. He smiles at her and gestures to an empty seat as Daxia agrees that they should sit.
"When talk with furrier, man of much wealth came up, offered many thousands of crowns for furs if I find stolen key for him. Did not wait for answer only said if key found only give to him or someone hurt."
"Furrier scared of man, act like frightened cony. He say man is much powerful in Cragside."
Darian shrugged.
"I find very odd. He think I fetch for him. I hunt, yes, but not things without life."
Daxia glanced between the two of the, the look on her face... almost angry. "No. Not normal." She shook her head. "Not right." She paused a heartbeat, then two. "I have... odd encounter, too. Two men, bundled tight so can't see faces but not in fancy cloaks, say if want girl to live, get key for them." She narrowed her eyes. "Not sure who they mean, but no one hurt any girl when Dayalan around.
He sighs. *Knew it was too good to be true. My luck could not change that dramatically overnight.*
"So, three different groups. Well two different groups, with at least three messengers, all after the same thing. A thing we hold. Or I should not speak for Kadri. A thing she holds."
"Wonder who the 'girl' is too? If she's one of us, it can't be Kadri, or they'd have the key already. That only leaves Dama Camelia, Celi, or Lady Comfrey. Or someone we, or I at least, don't know."
His eyes blink. "Speaking of which, if any of these know Kadri holds that key, and I presume the key that was found in the alley is the key they mean, she could easily be in danger. Do either of you know where she went to this morning?"
Daxia considered a moment, then said, "Do not think anyone foolish enough to harm Lady of Attera. Hearing Camelia's tale, thinking maybe some want to harm her. But as you say... maybe one we not know." Then she shook her head. "Did not see Kadri come down before leaving." She turned to Darian. "You or Longtooth notice?"
Celi had arisen with the others, then mirrored their behavior where ablutions and breaking fast were concerned, so as not to incur anyone's wrath through ignorance. She was not so rude as to prevail upon anyone's company, so when Mikal went walkabout to get his apples and whatever else he sought, Celi prevailed upon the innkeeper to purchase the use of enough water to perform her minimal ablutions; she would have been perfectly happy with horse-trough water from the stables, if such were all she were allowed.
When she was done, feeling refreshed and awake if not spectacularly full-bath-and-soap clean, and after a walk outside, up and down the main street, she returned to the commons to find Mikal and Darian in conversation with others.
She would never invite herself to someone else's conversation; her nascent companionship had apparently vanished with the sunrise, like the first dew. She found an unoccupied seat, and practiced staying out of everyone else's way, trying not to look longingly at the conversation adcross the room.
OOC Note: your gamemaster, who can't type to save his life, screwed up on Celi's post ... however I would make the following simple suggestion - if its okay with folks - that can bring everything back together again.
In Celi's post change this:
Quote
When she was done, feeling refreshed and awake if not spectacularly full-bath-and-soap clean, she returned to the commons to find Mikal and Darian in conversation with others.
To this:
Quote
When she was done, feeling refreshed and awake if not spectacularly full-bath-and-soap clean, and after a walk outside, up and down the main street, she returned to the commons to find Mikal and Darian in conversation with others.
"She was the one riding the pretty little mare." He adds, then nods as she answers that she did not see her.
"Well, as to it's colour, I couldn't say. I didn't see it myself, but I heard she and Cesare speaking about it in passing. But the man I met who wanted it called it black, and of Darksteel."
Then, he sees Celi come down and sit alone at a table. He frowns slightly, and sighs, then waves in a friendly manner, beckoning her to come to the table he is sharing with Daxia and Darian.
[ooc: previous post edited as requested above, so you can delete the GM post if you wish.]
Celi
Celi of course spotted Mikal's wave and was more than delighted to join them, as it was now clear she wouldn't be intruding. She still had only enough presence to whisper her thanks to Mikal, trying not to blush in embarrassment, before she took a seat in his immediate vicinity where she listened in mannerly fashion to the conversation.
Daxia with Mikal, Darian, Longtooth, Cesare and Celi
"Not offered money," Daxia said, shaking her head. "Just threat. Interesting, that." She looked up at Cesare and gestured for him to sit with them. "This Mikal and Darian," she said as she nodded to each of them, "and careful for Longtooth under table." Then she turned to Celi. "Sorry, not know you. Am Daxia."
"It is my pleasure, Daxia." Celi smiled and raised her hand briefly in greeting. "I am Celi. Umm... this Kadri ... what is it that he -- or she -- has that you seek? I ask only because I might know something ..."
She shrugged, embarrassed at being the center of anyone's attention. BUt perhaps it was nothing, and she need not worry further.
Daxia with Mikal, Darian, Longtooth, Cesare and Celi
Glancing around the table at everyone else first, she said to Celi, "Kadri found key near knife last night. One of murderers drop it, yes?" She looked at Mikal. "Maybe was darksteel, hard to tell in blue spell-light," Daxia said with a smile, then turned again to Celi, raising a questioning eyebrow. "Many people seeem to want key. You know something, maybe?"
Celi nodded. "I ha' been told of the key. A thin man, older, wearing dark clothes, muddy cape and an oily, unctious voice. When he stopped me to speak, we were avoided by those who passed. Of course, that could have just been me.
"Howsomever, he claimed a certain key were stolen from him. He called it a black key, said it were special. Then he offered me a thousand crowns if I recovered it and brought it to him. He told me to go to the Punched Penny, and ask for Davy Lay-me. I think that were how he said the name. I assumed it were his name, but I suppose he could be acting for another.
"I am not one who seeks reward or payment beyond what is fair earned. This seemed ... stout. To me, that said there were sommat false about the key, or the reward, or good sir Lay-me. This is why I ask. If Kadri has the key, and Kadri is a friend, then your friend is likely in dire need of help. I am sure i were not the only person this Davy spoke to, and some may ha' less compunction about believing his tale."
Daxia with Mikal, Darian, Longtooth, Cesare and Celi
"Only know Kadri few days, but inclined to like her. She... very interesting." She thought for a few moments. "Kadri not defenseless or weak," Daxia said, more to herself than the others, "so not bound by vows to help... but am thinking Dayala be displeased if I turn back on Kadri. And Duksheviya for... heh, yah, Duksheviya for learning from this."
She nodded her head, having come to a decision. "I say before... do not like this. If Kadri need help, want help... I help. Men who speak to me say buy goblet from Terry Woodcutter when I have key. What I need goblet for, anyway?"
"Mayhap there is more than one person seeking this key," Celi ventured. "Davy the weasel and Terry the woodcutter need not be the same individual. Do we know the true nature of this key?"
Daxia with Mikal, Darian, Longtooth, Cesare and Celi
She looked again at the group around her. "Seem like maybe five people looking for key. That we know. Maybe they work together, maybe not." Her gaze settled on Mikal. "If man you meet tell truth about key made of darksteel..." She seemed to be puzzling something out, staring down at the table and shaking her head. Finally she shrugged and addressed Celi again. "Not make sense; darksteel rare. Swords, armor... yes, make those from darksteel. But simple key? Only reason can think is hold magic better." Daxia narrowed her eyes, and addressed her next question to the entire group.
He sits as invited but only because it is next to Daxia, he has no intention of remaining long but it seems there is knowledge to share and that is always important. He does however talk to everyone there, nodding with a smile as each is introduced, even reaching down to Longtooth to offer a hand to sniff.
Then he straightens, focusing as he recalls details, leaning forward and keeping his voice low.
"My man was dressed in dark clothes, mud spattered cloak, everything about him was dark. He wore a coin with a hole around his neck. Called himself Willam Darkcloak, dealer in antiquities, says he is known at the market. Wanted a darksteel key, offered me five thousand crown, trying to sell me the dream of owning a horse - which I would like."
He grins.
"However, the offer had no guarantees and I figure if five thousand is the first offer - what this key guards is worth so much more. I saw the key last night, was darksteel I think.."
He looks over to Daxia, another smile.
"You might be right about the magic. I've been trying to figure out why a key could be so valuable as to be worth more than five thousand crown, to be worth a man's life as five took on one. There are many ways of bypassing lock."
He shrugs.
"And the man who died, wasn't wearing good clothes.. not even good boots if the clothes were a disguise. So was he just a carrier, a delivery boy maybe? Kadri though the key was that to a warehouse. I went scouting this morning to see if I could find the lock but came back here a little after encountering the guy. So we should all be worried. We are associated with each other, likely from the inn last night as the alley was dark and I kept to the shadows then. So you can assume we are all being watched - so I think anyone out on their own might be considered fair game. Trying the easy way now but things will get rougher and riskier as factions vie for ownership."
He sits back now to see what their reactions will be, observing carefully, sharp deep blue eyes intense.
Daxia with Mikal, Darian, Longtooth, Cesare and Celi
"Definitely watching," she said to Cesare. "Man tell me they watch me, they find me. More interesting... all offered coin, yes? Except me." She turned to watch the door, a thoughtful look on her face, as she continued. "This tell me they know Dayalans; know protecting someone more important than coin. How they know this when so few outside Dawnview Vale know Dayalans?" Daxia's eyes narrowed, making connections. "Verchovai Dandelion say this her winter quarters; they know her, they study her, think they know all Dayalans from looking at only one." She sighed and shook her head. "Despite many differences between me and Verchovai Dandelion, they right about that. Protecting more important than coin."
Celi had not been introduced to many of this group, so she would normally avoid speaking up in front of them. But she knew Cesare's name from listening to the conversation before Mikal waved her in; and, Daxia had spoken to him with ordinary candor. So she set aside her normal misgivings.
It was somewhat demeaning to have been offered a "mere" thousand gold crowns, when Cesare had been offered five thousand. On the other hand, she probably wouldn't have offered herself *any* gold crowns, so there was that to consider. She certainly did not look like it would take that much gold to induce an act of greed.
"We could put the question to this dark man," Celi said. "Forgive me; you are called Cesare, I believe? I am Celi." She pronounced it SAY-lee. "A pleasure to meet you."
There! She had actually managed an introduction on her own! This was not so hard, after all. She felt a surge of excitement at actually accomplishing something involving another person.
"If he arranged to meet one of us, he might be surprised to find several of us awaiting him. He did not look easily intimidated, however. It might take more than threatening words and numbers to extract any useful information."
"Man's name I met was Eli. Eli Marennenson. Though I am told Marennenson is the family name of the Merchant's guild of this town. He offered me trade rather than coin, but it was a significant trade and worth a lot."
"He knew I was with a group who'd come in last night and asked for me both by name and thru that association."
"He claimed his shop had been broken into a few days ago and the thieves had killed some of his apprentices. He said the key was a family heirloom."
"He said the key was of Darksteel and that the original thief was killed last night by other thieves, which matches what we saw and lends some credence to his other claims."
He shrugs, glancing at Cesare. "I agree Kadri could be in danger, but none seem to know where she went and running around the city looking for her would just draw attention to her. Unless we have a specific destination to look in I'm not sure that's a good idea."
"Here is my suspicion. A thief did indeed steal the key from this Eli, or he became aware the thief had it. He then hired other thieves to get it back, which crime we interrupted last night. The thieves who ran off reported back to him, and perhaps to others who'd listen and who would pay, of our actions, so he and these others are aware we probably have the key, but they don't know which of us it might be."
"It is valuable enough that they're willing to pay for it, although promise of payment and actual payment are two different things. Simple to promise if you have no intent of following thru."
"Anyway, they figure they'll try the easy way first. If that doesn't work, then they'll start coming after us, one by one."
He turns to Daxia. "I'd be interested to know who this 'girl' is they claimed to hold. I doubt it's Kadri, or they'd have the key already. If it's Lady Comfrey, or Dama Camelia, then I'd suspect Squire Conrad is dead, and that brings a whole different level of attention to it. You don't kill Squires of Rames without bringing a lot of attention to yourself. So if it's none of them, then who is it, and why do they think she's important? Or was it just a lie to tempt you, Daxia?"
Daxia with Mikal, Darian, Longtooth, Cesare and Celi
Daxia shook her head at Celi. "Verchovai Dandelion say merchants run town, and hint thieves guild work hand-in-glove with them. Very powerful. Very dangerous."
She considered Mikal's report. "Family name Marennenson very close to name of merchants' god, yes? Very interesting.
"Said already not likely anyone dare harm Lady Comfrey. Well known that mighty wrath fall on those harming Ladies of Attera. Yes, maybe man lied to me. Maybe all us been lied to." She shrugged. "How we know anything they say is true... except that many seem to want key?"
As she had no horse, nor any inclination to remain outside on the road muddying her boots any further, Camelia stepped straight through the front doors of the Hart and Horse as though nothing had ever occurred. In fact, she carried herself as might an Imperial personage would returning from an outing.
Through those doors, to make an entrance. Actually hoping to find Dandelion waiting...
Kadri. . followed briefly after, looking. . rather intense, and focused. Something had her, it would appear, angry - very angry. Seething. Entering. .s he looks around to get a tab on everyone in the establishment - and look for anyone out of place, or who was not a regular.
All these hunting for the key, seemed like the Hunt challenges the pack mates would issue sometimes. She was going to add her two pennies to the conversation when two more arrived. The not so bedraggled anymore waif and the other who she thought was the one being discussed.
"She has returned," she said and pointed towards Kadri. "And looks ready to kick a hornet's nest."
Daxia with Mikal, Darian, Longtooth, Cesare and Celi
Daxia raised an eyebrow as Kadri followed Camelia. "Yah," she murmured, "Not seen anyone so angry since certain small child tell Priestess Kassia reading and writing stupid things to learn."
Conrad had handed his steed over to the stable boy and headed inside, pausing after coming in to look around and spot those that he had traveled with the day before and that had been there with them last night was the man had been killed.
"Well met again." he said, motioning to the wench for a flagon and waiting to find a seat after all the ladies had been seated.
And the eyes were on them. No, not her, on Kadri. Camelia knew the small woman's mood was darkening, but it hadn't looked like this when they were at the hospice nor the ride back. Darkening yes. This was bad... And Camelia didn't know what to say, or do, save for turn around and add her eyes to the collective 'Watch'.
Celi was now able to put a face to the name everyone had been bandying about. She had half-expected a man, given the adventurous nature of what she had overheard.
"Your Kadri looks fierce angry indeed," she agreed. "Is she ... *always* like that?" Celi had encountered people who went through life with a chip on their shoulder, daring the world to knock it off ... which, invariably, it did.
"Not unless you think we can evict all the Horde members from here", he indicates the men lounging around the common room coming and going, "or whoever got a room upstairs can fit the 9 of us in it. Even then, no telling who could hear. Walls in these places are none too thick."
He nods his head towards the rear door. "Best option might be to go to the courtyard outside." Between the stables and the inn is a decent sized open space. "If we keep our voices down it should be fine. And at least we can see if anyone tries to listen to us."
He smiles as Celi introduces herself a little hesitantly. She seems a little shy as she was sitting off to one side before. Then his attention is taken by the two new arrivals.
"We've talked enough here about the events of last night and this morning that it matters not now."
He turns to Kadri.
"Glad to see you safe. We were just talking about you and the others as it seems we have all been offered things.. or threatened.. this morning. Incidentally Mikal, the man I met referred to me as a wind-walker, another name for Rhoni - so he knew what I was if not who I was. It seems if there is so many people out there looking for this key, then there must be a lot of information to be had too. A secret is only a secret when known by just one."
He smiles at Kadri and Cami.
"You might as well add your stories to the pot and we in turn will relate ours."
Camelia could certainly respect the desire for privacy when speaking of personal matters. But it wasn't her room to invite people into, especially people she barely knew. Yes, Dandelion's room was big, too big, for just one person when so many were cramped up with each other. That bit of hospitality had struck her when she entered the room, but there were quite a number of personal effects in that room. It would be presumptuous and ungracious to allow others into the room without leave of Captain Koromov.
"Why are we telling stories?" Wide-eyed and a little innocent. Naive perhaps, since she had no understanding of what was happening here right now. She saw the serious and expectant faces regarding the new arrivals. Hushed, like a conspiracy...
Camelia knew several stories, some of them best suited for an evening and fire and food and drink. But it was the songs that she loved the most, although she had little experience, save for two nights past, in the sharing of them with others... an audience as it were.
Daxia with Mikal, Darian, Longtooth, Cesare, Celi, Kadri, Camelia, Conrad
Daxia gave Cesare an inscrutable look and shook her head. "Not stories for amusement," she said to Camelia. "Reports of... interesting experiences of morning." She turned her gaze back to Kadri. "All reports revolve around Kadri... and thing she possess."
He nods, looking at Kadri. "As Cesare says, all of us have had offers, threats, or warnings of some sort regarding the key you found last night. Substantial ones too. But you seemed ready to spit fire when you entered. Can you tell us why?"
"I do have the key. It is. . .in my possession. There is a reason, however, I will not be returning it. This morning. . as I was tending to Lisica. . . someone snuck up on me. And placed a knife at my back. He told me. . not to give it to anyone else - and to hang it on a nail on Hoffman's Warehouse by sunset. I would not normally be inclined to respond to threats. . however. . ."
There was a pause there, then her voice continued, its temperature rapidly dropping;
"He then continued with. . . 'Or she will pay dearly. You give it to anyone else. She dies. You give it to her. I take my time.'"
She takes a deep breath before continuing.
"I don't care if I am threatened. I will deal with that. That is not important. But . . . how dare he threaten someone else in my name. How dare he threaten that girl. I have seen his type before, and that hunter needs to be the hunted. That predator needs to feel what it is like to be prey. And. . above all. . I can't see that he can be allowed to win."
"Is he true Hunter or only one who plays at hunting?" the huntress asked, in a not so subtle way wanting to know if the one who threatened Kadri was one like her.
"And did he say who this she is or just think you know?"
Then a quick add of, "Oh, I be Darian. Ruff is Longtooth. We be Hunters."
"And who this girl?" Daxia said, sitting forward and leaning on the table. "Men this morning say to me... if you want girl to give, you get us key. Too many people want key. Don't think any should have. But need to know... who should be protected from harm, yes?"
The revelation that Kadri had the key that the girl had talked about and that his companions had been either threatened or attempted to be bribed came as news to the young squire but it was as nothing compared to the threat against the innocent child that he had sent back to her inn earlier.
His blue eyes hardened and he got to his feet. There was an air of menace about him.
"The life of that child was threatened? For this key? This is a deadly serious matter and one that must be taken care of now. Kadri, I require this key. Then I, and any who would go with me, will go secure the girl and her family from their inn and take them to a place of safety." he said firmly.
And the story that everyone wanted to hear unfolded like a vent of steam from a stifled pot and Camelia could only stare at Kadri, this woman that she had understood she knew nothing about, but that became even more evident.
"You lied to her... While she cried, while we listened and she told us about her father..."
There was no question. Not even a tone of surprise. What she felt was matched only in her eyes as she looked to the small woman.
He looks at Conrad, then briefly at Camelia when she adds her comment. But for now he responds to Conrad, as the other topic seems to be a separate issue that doesn't address the problem. It might be important, but he doesn't want to be distracted. "You know where this child is held?" He asks Conrad, nodding at his suggestion.
"Securing that hostage removes one piece of bargaining power, yes, and should be first. But they will just take another. We need to eliminate the threat. But it seems so pervasive that if we just meet one, then there will be a handful more still able to act. We cannot spend all our time rescuing one hostage after another, forever."
"Hmmm. Perhaps, if we each tell the one who contacted us that we have the key and will bring it to a certain place, and for them to meet us there, we can gather all of them together in one place, and strike them at once?"
Celi raised her hand hesitantly. "I did not see the events to which you refer, so I do na' have that evidence. But I would ask ... is it possible that the girl is part of a plan to gull the good squire ... or any of us who might wish to seize the key and mount a rescue?"
What better way to bring the squire around to their side, than a good old-fashioned rescue of a damsel in distress ...
Daxia exchanged one last look with Kadri before resuming her relaxed posture in the chair. She looked at Camelia, eyebrow raised... then Celi, an appraising look... the Squire, with a slight shake of her head, almost sadly... finally to settle her gaze on Mikal.
"You not listening to me, Mikal. So I tell again, so others can hear. You listen this time, yes?" The slightest admonishing smile came and went quickly.
"Merchants, and thieves guild likely, running Cragside. Not Lord Shannon, sad to say," she remarked, looking at Conrad. She looked again around the full group, eyes coming to rest on Kadri. "The ones who approach each of us today? Bullies working for ruling merchants. Many merchants, many bullies, yes?" Her eyes slid to Mikal. "You think eliminating them do any good? No. More just come. And then more again. Innocent people likely get hurt. I not be part of that, letting innocent people be hurt."
Then she looked at Conrad again, leaning forward and resting her arms on the table. "All respect to you, Squire, rushing off to fetch girl only say to ones in charge we making connections, we see pattern, we very smart." She shook her head. "Must think crafty. Must be subtle. Must not let them know we so smart." Daxia tilted her head, regarding the Squire of Rames intently. "Must play game of Doublebluff with them. You play Doublebluff?"
"I agree with Daxia. One advantage they all have over us is they know more. We need to increase our knowledge."
He looks over at the squire, with a touch of disapproval.
"We do not know what we are up against. What resources those people have. To charge into a rescue attempt blindly is plain stupid. Hostages, if that is what they are, could be kiled. And to hand over our best bargaining tool puts us all at risk of the other factions who might not be too happy with us. Playing for time is our best play for now. One person has already dies last night.. this must be important.. very important. We need to know why."
He grins.
"And besides where I come from, Kadri is the current owner of the key. It is her decision."
She looks over at Cesare and Daxia and nods slightly.
She looks over at Darian:
"Does a true hunter murder a man and then threaten to torture his daughter? I think probably your question is answered right there. The man is a true coward. And a bully. I do not like Bullies."
She looks at Camellia
"Her life has been directly threatened if the key goes to her. . or anyone else. And the person who held a knife on me. . he was good. He was professional. He snuck up on me, and I will tell you that that is no easy task. Would it have been a kindness to the girl to tell her that I had the key, but if I gave it to her, there was at least one man who would be trying to find her and kill her -- or worse yet, engage in torture or who knows what else? I would consider that no kindness. I did not tell her a single lie. I intend fully to see the key returned to her and her safe. As I swore. However, the first cannot be accomplished before the second. I will place the welfare of an innocent over truth every time, and I will sleep very well at night doing it, thank you very much."
Then she looks towards Conrad:
"I fully appreciate your sentiments . . sir. . . and share them. However. . . I would be completely remiss in my oath to the lady if I were to go with a plan which could cause her that much. . risk. Right now, they - whomever they may be - know I have the key, and for all they know, am going to give it to them by sunset. Or at least one of them thinks such. For the moment, they should be allowed to continue to think that. . should they not? We know at least one party will not move against her as long as they think I may comply. Thus, for the moment, at least one party to this is frozen in place and held while we figure out what to do. We need to do this in a way that doesn't let them know we are moving against them. If we do let them know. . then we need to do it in such a way that it baits a trap and forces them to move against us at a time and place of our choosing, so they can be drawn from the wound and spat out, like bad blood."
There was an ire in Camelia's expression. Kadri played at words. And meanings. Camelia grew up in the Imperial Court, watching the elders fence with words, and muster meanings within meanings as they tangled themselves within webs of intrigue. She watched as their offspring tangled in the same games, life and death, as sharp as blade were those tongues, and equally as deadly. It was nothing new to her. She could do it quite well herself, and she could tell when others did it. It was a dance, so much like a feat of mental dexterity akin to the greatest of blademasters and their own physical skills. Camelia made no claim to be an expert, but she lived and trained herself among them.
She allowed Kadri to speak fully before stepping forward, a smile that shielded the truth. Eyes that roiled like an ocean.
"But you did lie... Twisting words and ommitting truths is a lie, no matter what the justification. In fact, your efforts to save this child's life might well cost it, for she was allowed to return to a place where you knew her life would be in danger.
"Couched in terms of oaths and promises, you still carried what was her father's... if her story is to be believed, and maybe it should not. But to say that her safety is paramount pales before the truth of actions when we left, three of us no wiser to your actions on the night afore. Thus you endangered us as well. Why could we not have taken the girl back with us, protecting her, and along the way shield her from the exactitudes of the words that reveal full truths and still abide by the intention of your oath? And then, we set to verifying her story and establishing her right to providence?
"Just questions Kadri, just questions... I come from a world of words, I speak them well... I study them... Why, because lives can depend upon them... Truths... Lies... Meanings and Intentions. But again, the girl's life is at risk, and we left her behind, three of us unaware that she was in dire jeopardy... Many factions, Sha? So says Daxia. Fair enough, the tales told bear that out. Two points of leverage... the Key... and the Girl... We could have held them both, and then draw the threats out into the Light of She... So many threats they are, that you assume they won't simply grab her and leverage her now, if for only they were to suspect we favor another.
"You played a dangerous game, with us as your pieces... Just questions Kadri, Just questions."
Daxia looked mildly at Camelia, noting the anger in the woman's eyes. A quick glance at Kadri, but then turning her attention back to the Imperial woman.
"All is dangerous game, Camelia," she said quietly. "You grow up in Imperial court. I spend much time in Allaine court. Think we learn similar lessons, yes? We learn all life is dangerous game." She paused for many heartbeats, watching Camelia. Finally, she said, "Girl safe if one faction think Kadri give them key. Girl safe if one faction think Daxia give them key. No one else threaten girl, yes?" She glanced around the room again, before meeting Camelia's eyes once more.
"I say before to Squire... bring girl here, bullies know we know them. Kadri know this. Must not let bullies know we see their game.
"Yes, we playing game. We ALL here playing game. But WE making rules... not bullies... US. I say we play game. We know how to play game, you and I, yes? Right now... girl safe. So now we make rules, we make plans, yes? You understanding my words, Camelia Ayyanasdotter?"
She sat back at Kadri's response. Yes, angry enough to mess with a hornet given answer.
"I have question for all. How these people know each of us involved somehow? All approached separately. Only thing in common is see thing last night and staying here. Or do they just guess since we all arrive together?"
He grins at Daxia. "Killian would have liked you. He always told me I had two ears and one mouth and it was done on purpose so that I should listen twice as much as I talk. Lesson didn't take too well."
He listens to the other comments, first Cesare's and then others speaking about gaining information and then Camelia's and Kadri's, which while somewhat combative, after being supported by Daxia imply playing at intrigue.
He sighs. "I hate intrigue."
He looks at Daxia. "I know Doublebluff. Prefer Fourstones or Threece. Much more casual. But I know Doublebluff. Can play at need, in both meanings of the term, though it is not my favorite thing."
He looks around. "So. Who has an idea of gaining the information about who, and where, we need?"
He then looks at Conrad. "When the time comes to rescue the girl, if the time comes, I will help you. But can we come up with a better idea than bashing down the front door?"
Celi had to keep closing her mouth in wonder as her gaze swept back and forth from one player to the next, trying to follow the thoughts. No *wonder* the lords feared common intrigue. If a group of virtual strangers could come up with this from an alleyway robbery gone bad ...
Still, Darian had asked the key question: how did all of them get swept up in this, enough to be singled out for approach ...
"Excuse me, but I think Darian's question deserves ... consideration? Even if us being together was enough to send their messengers around to cozen us, how did they know we were together? *Somebody* told them. So they were here among us, and saw..."
He listened to these people that he did not know talk of subterfuge and games and plots.
"I do not know what this key is or what its importance is that so many have an interest in it. But what I do know is that I sent a griefing girl from the relative safety of the hospice to an inn because I was not told of the dangers. Her life is now my responsibility. Her safety is more important than any advantage of subterfuge. I am going to take her to my knight and if needed to the Rock and the protection of my father."
In the midst of the back and forth, when there is a significant pause, Kadri again speaks.
"Fine."
Her voice goes. . rather calm and quiet. And takes on the cadence of someone who had, at some point, been taught to speak, the enunciation very careful, and her language precise.
"When it is decided that anyone else is allowed to be involved in the process, and when the Lady Camellia decides that anyone can differ in opinion from her without calling their motives and character into question, then perhaps we can actually have a discussion, but right now, there seems little chance of that. I had hoped, that by bringing this to all of us, together, we could all act, together, or at least make the attempt, however, there seems to be little interest in doing that at this point. Camellia. . you act as if being in court makes you know everything there is to know, but believe me, there is an entire world outside of the word games of Nobles, and it has its own rough rules of hunter and hunted. I freely admit that I do not know all, but I act as best I can with the knowledge I have, to effect the best result I feel I can secure. You will have to live with that. If you do not care to. . then I do not, honestly, care."
She looks around again, at everyone, one more time.
"Spiriting the girl off and making a big production of it is liable to put her at EXACTLY as much if not more risk than leaving her be. At least for the moment, the fate of the key is in doubt. Since they seem to have a vested interest in not only acquiring it but - as people seem to forget - in keeping it out of her hands - once she has it - or they even assume that she has it - all bets are off. And squire of Rames, I apologize for this, but not even the security of the Rock - as sturdy a redoubt as it may be - is immune from determined professionals with long knives and short morals. The moment these people believe that the key is at immanent risk of being in that girl's hands, all the reason they have to leave her living dissipates like candlesmoke in the wind.""
She turns back, briefly bows - crossing her arms and clutching the opposite shoulder with each hand - for the moment looking exceedingly. . formal - and does not, for the time, resume moving.
The huntress shook her head exasperated with these city folk and their talk.
"Someone let Darian and Longtooth know if they need to do something. I no understand all this talking in circles. We can find other ways to pay for winter shelter if furs no bought."
And the conversations continued, threatening to splinter and create further fractures. Although, truth be told, None of them hardly knew one another. Camelia's closest ties were to Comfrey and Conrad, but she didn't really know them save for finding some similar views of duty and honor and compassion and mercy. That didn't mean that the others didn't possess such traits, Camelia knew them less than the benefactors who had seen her from the Plainsend Inn to Cragside.
She watched Kadri as the woman seethed, and she waited. It wasn't that the woman lied to the girl itself, but rather the lack of clarity and transparency in her motives to do so. The girl was now in danger where it could have been prevented altogether. It was about the fact that Kadri acted on her own while with others, and did so without considering the ramifications of each of their nature's as people. Not Kadri's fault because she didn't know her and Comfrey and Conrad anymore than they knew her. And yet it happened and the machinations of intrigue weighed more importantly than the welfare of the girl. Camelia wanted Kadri to recognize that... For whatever that was worth. It might well never happen. But it was worth waiting to see...
That is until the conversation around her continued to twist and turn and the plotters plotted and sought angles within the machinations as though they had any grounds upon which to stand. All of them in a foreign town, among established players with resources and information... And they had nothing of the sort, save a key, possessed by one individual whose own actions have already shown Camelia that she sees the key and it's mystery to be more important than the girl's life that all agree is in danger.
And then Squire Conrad spoke. He was a man of clear moral instincts and an unwavering sense of duty. But he wasn't wrong, to a point. Camelia was certain the Lady of Aterra would also be similarly entrenched in the view that the girl was the priority. Camelia couldn't disagree.
The young woman lived her life by a code, and having only her mother as a guide to teach her things, she had to accept the way her mother imparted life's lessons. The burgeoning truth about her heritage now weighed upon the young woman, but in truth she had lived her life by principles espoused in the stories her mother took most comfort in. The Ballad of Jeminy Kilkenna, first and foremost.
Was Camelia a Dayalan? She didn't know the full truth of that. But it seemed so, and where once that name was just a title, it had become so much more in just a day. But the foundation for it had always been there.
She was about to speak again, when Kadri quelled the fire and defended herself.
"Of course you care Kadri, or else you would not have acted as you did at the Hospice. You care, or else you would have walked out the door just now. You care, because you take issue with my characterization of you. That is good. It speaks to your motives and that is what I wanted to know. I care as well, I care that if we are now united under a common threat... which we are... Then we must act as one to face the threats... or we will fall one by one to them."
Camelia wanted the floor and walked to the center of the gathering as though she were born to it. In fact, she had been raised around power and influence and it's proper use and misuse. Too long had she privately railed at the latter and lamented the lack of the former.
"We are under threat, as a group for that is how we are seen... all of us now, for agents of numerous factions, all vying for one thing, have identified us."
She looked to Darian and then Ceili, "How they did this might be a matter of grave concern. But we know nothing of the depth and the breadth of the resources aligned against us. We barely know each other. The currents... the crests and the waves of our circumstances would likely drive us apart, and then we would be at our weakest. Our enemies, for that is all I can assume them to be, want this, need this. Separate us and divide our interests. We stand here and can't agree on anything and that threatens us as much as any plot that has a deadline looming right now. It would be our own indecision and independence, our self-reliance that would lead us to sever the ties we need to face these unseen and unnumbered foes."
She turned in place, in the middle of this motley group. She was likely to be the youngest of them and she knew it. They had no reason to listen to her, or to accord her words any value where wisdom and life experience mattered most. All she could do was speak what she felt and hope they understood where that heart was vested.
"Our gathering, now... here, just as we gathered in two separate groups the previous night... is not by coincidence. I have spent a lifetime, however short that might seem to any of you, a lifetime looking at the currents in the Grand Tapestry of the Fates. A curse, a gift... Whatever you might feel about such things... We have been woven together, and the fates weave as they will. Our paths were meant to cross, and challenging that destiny would be to challenge the Fates themselves."
Again she turned to make eye contact with them.
"I am just one person, but I am different than all of you, just as each of you in turn is different than the rest of us. We each have a view and a way of seeing the world that places value and importance on differing things in differing orders. None of them are wrong, just different. And we must find a way to blend them together, or else we will be driven apart to seek our own Path, and I can tell you that the Fates do not take kindly to disturbances in their Tapestry. Easier to remove an errant thread than it is to reweave the whole thing."
"There has to be a way where we can compromise and plan a way to satisfy everyone, whilst staying true to ourselves and ultimately bind our separate Paths together as the Fates have woven... Protect the girl, and uncover the enemy, thwart the evil and learn what it is that we are fighting for in just the act of agreeing to try... Just try to work together. "
"I have lived my life knowing that I didn't belong where I was, but knowing nothing else. I am not sure that I am what seems obvious to some, and disturbing to others. But what I do know, is that I am meant to be here. If I am Dayalan, then I will be Dayalan. I have risked my life to protect another, and I would do it again. I accepted that I might not survive so that another might live. I would do it again. I allowed myself to be abducted, so that the person they came seeking would not fall to their evil. I would do it again."
Leaning back in her chair again, arms crossed, Daxia watched the eddys and currents of conversation, body language, emotional intensity flowing through the room. The words registered, though she gave no outward sign of interest except a raised eyebrow at the Squire's proclamation, a long look at Kadri standing apart, and finally an intense stare edged with worry at Camelia's long speech. She allowed a bit of silence to separate the Imperial's speech and her own words.
When she spoke, her voice took on a different timbre, her accent almost completely gone, her features blank and emotionless. Only Verchovai Dandelion might recognize the tone and cadence as being nearly identical to that of young Lord Allaine. "Your stories shift like the melting snows in spring. You speak fine words of a tapestry woven of our lives, yet your own tapestry is tattered and the pattern unrecognizable. While I can agree to your sentiment, we cannot work in concert until your stories have been settled in stone, and you have repaired what has been torn apart.
And do not mistake me when I tell you this, Camelia kha'Madoka kha'Ayanna kha'Kame kha'Chikato khal'Homura Akemi Koromov. You are not Dayalan." She looked at Camelia for a moment more before her deep blue eyes turned to the squire, and she just stared. For long minutes, she silently scrutinized him, then finally shook her head. She looked... disappointed.
Lastly, she looked between Darian and Celi, her natural Dawnview dialect returning. "Easy to say how they know us. How many men in alley last night? How many run off? All six bring tale to masters of group entering town after gate close. In spell-light, easy to see all. Then simple to listen to guards say travelers stay at Hart and Horse." She looked at Darian. "We walk to town center and women at well know we stay here. In city, gossip travel faster than fastest horse. But most interesting thing," she said, eyes turning to Kadri, "is chattering children asking if Daxia going to get into fight with the Mark, then woman at well saying lucky those in Mark oversleep or they seeing trouble this morning." She raised an eyebrow. "You live here, stable boy know you, so maybe you tell me who Mark is... and why children think I fight them, why woman think trouble happening if any from Mark see Daxia, yes?"
The Heartwood Morning, the Town of Cragside Restday The Last Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Everybody
"What a bunch of fishwives ..."
The words are gruff and low, from a shortish, barrel chested mercenary in the Wild Horde's colors. He passes by carrying a handfull of heavy steins, bound for the father hearth and a knot of his compatriots. Mikal recognizes the sturdy swordsman. The one pointed out to him last night.
Barris Ironhand.
"You folks are sure lucky the Captain has a real thick skin, and it's no surprise she's still on the bloody roof.
"I don't know what trouble you are in, and its not my business, but it sure sounds like you are being out strategized and having been there myself that's the last place you want to be. You better pull yourself together, and fast."
He then pauses, tilting his head.
"The Dark Mark is a troop under Swordlord Connery Michael. The command is mounted, the rank and file foot. Of the three Bordertown troops, Mohlkavin's is the best, Donner's Swords comes next ... and the Mark, well they are hot brawlers, think they are better than they are, and hold no love for our Captain. "
A sharp nod is given in Daxia's direction.
"Guilt by association."
He then looks to the others.
"The curious thing is why are they here?
"Their contract is not held here in Cragside. It's held by the Bordertown Mercantile Guild."
With a shake of his head Ironhand then continues on his way.
A tempest behind a thin smile. Camelia kept a rigid posture, trying to ease the anger. it wasn't the right thing for the place and the time. Unity was needed. She could read that much in the Weaving about them all.
The ranking member of her "Sister's" company of armed men addressed everyone. He wasn't wrong in his assessment, about any of them... all of them.
She would say what she needed to say, what should have been said sooner, more privately and first to Comfrey and Conrad. But now she felt few options, and less connection to any of them. Playing double-bluff, as the analogy was posed, is a losing proposition when you don't know your opponent and how they play. More importantly, if you don't have an end-game, an understanding of what you play for, then you will lose badly, never once controlling the board..."
"Tcha! Is it your intent to be divisive and humiliating with your words? Sha? I tried to find commonality in our gathering. I tried to put a cornerstone down so that we might look past what makes us different and what might keep us separate. I tried. Seeing Kadri stand up and defend herself gave me that insight. That we could work together. I understood her motives. She took the chance to trust someone other than herself. A bridge. Maybe others here would add stones to it. "
And the anger faded as she said what her heart needed to have said and her own ears having heard it allowed a peace to settle. But that peace brought other emotions to the fore.
"Maybe you think I speak funny. So what. And I never claimed to tell a complete story of my life. I do not think any of us have. We all have reasons for the things we do, for ourselves or the ones we love and care about. We all have motives. I never claimed I was Dayalan. I never claimed I was anything. My guilt lies in allowing people I didn't know believe I might be something I wasn't... even at my weakest and most vulnerable, I still had a life to save. I might well have failed as it was, but I can not stop being who I am. It is all I have."
"I am Camelia Ayyanasdotter... Handmaiden to Lady Kristine Melissa Deynekko. I am the Daughter of Madi Ayyanasdotter. I am proud of that, even if I do not know all that I am or where I come from. It is who I am. I can see now that my mother lied to me, about me and herself... to protect me, to keep me alive."
Camelia shook her head, blond tresses flailing. Her voice was sharp and defiant, but not at anyone in particular. Perhaps the whole world, defiant to remind them that it hadn't killed her and it wouldn't beat her. Ever.
"I don't know her reasoning. I just have to trust her. Maybe she thought everything else she ever loved was gone, taken from her. I love my mother and I forgive her because she acted from her heart. I understand her motives."
"So here is my truth, my life... tattered and torn as you so correctly surmise. Brigands were coming to abduct Kristine. I don't know why, but it was a plot, and it had help from within the Palace. My mother read it in the car...."
She choked off the word with a clenched jaw.
In threes, over and over, reading the patterns and seeking the answers in the shifting currents, where the eddies challenged the waves and crests. 'Our secret Cami,' her mother would remind her. 'Our burden to bear.'
"...and it had an origin, a place to which she was to be taken. I don't know the reason? I couldn't see it. I couldn't suss out anything myself. Maybe because I was so deeply woven into it, that I was blind to it altogether. I don't know. It didn't matter at that moment though, for when I accepted my destiny I was bound to see it through. I had to stand in place of my Lady, knowing I might die in the effort. To know that I had accepted whatever cruel fate was intended for Kristine. That I might be killed, or worse. I did this because it was the right thing to do. Because I have only one friend in this whole vicious and angry world, and her life was in danger. I was raised to protect and defend the innocent and the weak. I was raised to stand with my friends, and die for them if I must while I lived for them when I could. Kristine and I... We were raised together. We cried together, we laughed together. Gossiped about boys together. You wanted truth, that's truth."
Camelia's eyes were glistening with tears that she refused to give leave to roll her cheeks.
"So when my efforts failed, thirty days down the Road East, I was threatened with my own death. All I had were my wits and my words and the belief that this was not the fate my Mother saw for me. I had to believe and trust... and dammit, I had to HOPE when I saw none, that I might find a way to live."
"I staggered in the rain, wearing clothes that weren't mine, scared, and alone, no food... no water, except for what I could drink from a puddle. I tried to eat grass, and it made me sick... But I had to survive. I had failed my friend and her enemies knew they had failed. Her life was in danger again. I followed those damn white horses... Until I couldn't go any further. And I stood in the shadows at the edge of the light cast from an Inn, near a well... in the pouring rain... And I knew I wouldn't make it to morning."
"And..."
"And..."
She shook her head. She had only the barest control over her emotions, and they were visibly raw and exposed now.
"My thread was woven back into the Tapestry... and Lady Comfrey and Squire Conrad, and all the others at that Inn.... They took pity and showed compassion. I didn't deserve it... but that is what mercy is, offering hope to those who can do nothing to earn it... a gift."
"My tattered and torn life... there you have it. Any one of you could be a part of the plot to hurt or kill my friend. My only friend I have ever had. I would do anything to protect her... Anything. I did this because it was the right thing to do. Now I have to trust that I have not sealed her death with ill-spoken words to her enemies. I have to trust you all... My life and hers depend on it now. What does that make me, Daxia?"
"Aye, the Fates have a large hand in all of this."
He has stayed quiet during all the recitals, watching reactions, storing information.
"Last night, the injured thief crawled into nearby shelter. I did mention it at the time. We could see if he is still there or maybe trace him via a healer. He may have answers. Others will have information. It is a question of finding the right people, asking the right questions and being prepared to pay the price maybe.."
He looks around at everyone.
"I'd like an explanation about the girl, haven't heard that part of the tale. Then I suggest we make some joint forward looking plans that assume we will be watched and that none of us are safe."
"I have only one more thing to say on the disagreement and then I consider it done, and wish to speak of it no further. We have other things to do. I did not hide the key from those in the 'group' as it were. Until it became obvious that this was deeper, I did not even properly consider this a group. However, I readily showed both Daxia and Ceasare what I had, which until the Hospice was merely a trinket of curiosity from a dead man. Now that dead man has an identity, and a face, and possibly a suffering daughter and wife left behind. That key. Is not a curiosity. It is a life."
She pauses a moment again.
"I repeat, I have had no reason above others to trust you - any of you - nonetheless, I have decided to cast my lot, one way or another, this direction. To cast my lot your way, as the winds may take. We need to not look for bad outside the good we may do. For the time, our horses ride together. We share the same watering hole and campfire, and have pitched our tents against the winds. No more talk of motives, only talk of plans. All of you. Truce. We go to war. And our blades need to be unsheathed elsewhere."
Another pause.
"Please."
She looks over towards Daxia:
She lapses back into a more comfortable speak.
"Mark arrived in Cragside few days before the Wild Horde did. Wintering here, I think. They. .mark with a a splash of blood across a horse's neck."
She pauses, looks to Cesare:
"The lady is Elissa Cragson. The Man, her father, Jeffery. She was at the Hospice when we arrived, and mentioned. . that her father had said that were anything to happen to him, the key would save her and her mother, and that it was made of Darksteel - and requested the squire's aid in securing its return."
After a short pause, she again continues.
“I am familiar with the warehouses. Was going to. . see if I could figure out where the key might be to. What else might others do?”
He sits back, listening to all the arguing and talking. When Barris passes by and comments, he listens intently. This man he knows of, and trusts what he has to say.
The others then continue, as if the man had not spoken. At one point he glances at Darian and Celi and winks, saying, "This is why I hate intrigue."
He nods to Cesare. All this talk of building blocks and tapestries. At least he is trying to focus.
He is about to second the request for an explanation about the girl when Kadri steps forward and offers one.
He nods, then adds, "It sounds like the Mark is the muscle behind this, finding out who they're working for is a good first step too. I can try to make inquiries at the Guildhouse and see if anyone there knows. If their Contract is not held here, there will be curiosity there, and maybe information as well."
He looks around. "I know nothing of building blocks, and tapestries. As Kadri just said, I suggest we focus on the problem and let the relationship building happen or not as it will. There were people in Cameron's I would spit on as soon as speak to, yet when the time came to fight I'd defend their backs to the death, and they mine."
"Thanks. Clearer now. But we should not assume anything we are told by anyone is true. Is there a way to confirm this girl is who she says she is? We are being played. And by the way they think will serve them best. A sob story, a threat, a reward.. And in other circumstances I would have been tempted by four thousand crowns. Would have been nice, if it had transipred."
His tone suggests not likely.
"I had already started scouting for a keyhole this morning. I think that is a good option for one line of investigation - but noone should be out alone - too vulnerable. I would suggest three as a good number."
"The guildhouse another.." he nods to Mikal "..and the wounded man a third. That should do for starters."
Darian was only half listening until Kadri mentioned the name. She sat up then and turned back towards her.
"Kraigsson?" she asked just to make sure. "That be the one the merchant named thief of key. Furrier said merchant be Kaspar Gustafsson, say merchant prince with ear of guildmaster and much influence in Cragside."
Celi raised her hand again. "We have this key; it is special. What it accesses might direct our actions hereafter. Who could examine the key and tell us about it? They would have to have knowledge we do not possess, and I am unsure how such arrangements would go to guarantee their honest efforts."
First he bows slightly to Cameila before speaking.
"You acted nobly in the defense of your friend and took on the danger yourself. That alone proves a nobility of spirit and I am honored to have helped you and to continue to give you what aid I can."
"Secondly, I pose a question. Why darksteel? I have had many keys and seen many more in my duties. Keeps to the vault of the Rock, keys to the church, keys to many things of value and import and yet none of these were made with darksteel. A most rare and expensive metal, difficult to work. I do not think that this key is to some warehouse door. For a key to need to be made with darksteel...it is a most unusual key and most likely fits a most unusual lock."
"And third, some party seeks this key and is using methods most foul to try and obtain it. To threaten the life of a child is the act of a coward. The life of the child must be protected. The family is subect to being taken hostage at this time. They must be moved to a safe location."
"Two things - first - I cannot disagree with your conclusions about darksteel, yet I am fairly confident that this key is formed like a warehouse key - and I do have some experience in this area - whatever its material composition. Second, I agree we need to protect the girl - and threatening a child is the act of a base coward. . . .but we need to find a way to do it that does not leave it obvious what we are doing. because being too obvious could actually cause her. . more danger. Assassins. Remove a layer of protection. How can we move her - and her family - without being obvious. . about moving her?"
It was the Hordesman who provided Daxia with the information she wanted... guilt by association. The rest of his information about the Dark Mark elicited a raised eyebrow and a speculative look. She watched and listened to Camelia, eyes hooded and without reaction. At her question, Daxia simply blinked slowly... the only answer Camelia was going get.
As each member of the group added their thoughts, their questions, their ideas, Daxia patiently watched and listened, showing little emotion... though Mikal's comment caused a thoughtful, though barely perceptible, nod... while at the squire's words, a tensing of her jaw could be seen.
Daxia turned her head to address Kadri. "Yah. I ride with you," was all she said.
The 19 year old girl saw that she was going to be ignored. The red-headed woman castigated her for not be open about herself and then, when she did speak, and against her own sense of judgment, the red headed woman brushed her off as though she had no use for her.
Camelia rolled her eyes with a small shake of her head. Best to leave the 'grownups' to their strategies and plots. Children to the small table... sure.
"That's fine," she said, mostly to herself. it was also the first time she clipped her words and used a conjunction.
"Whatever."
And she turned and walked away, pausing only long enough to address the Squire. "Thank you. I know I have been saying that a lot, but I do mean it."
Camelia retreated to the background of the discussion, and to a part of the room where they were not. Food, maybe, something to drink as well.
Celi lowered her hand, now more confused than ever. She looked to MIkal and then Darian, and got a friendly wink but no clarification. She now was convinced she was watching a verbal joust between Camilia and Daxia, while the rest of their little ad hoc group was only there to be acknowledged or ignored at the pleasure of one or the other of the two verbal duelers.
Even Kadri -- who had apparently "confiscated" the key from the girl's father at some point close on the time of his death -- was trying to claim that keeping it was "in the girl's best interests."
She leaned closer to Mikal and in a low voice said, "Why do we not give the girl her key back, and then offer her such protection as we can until she no longer requires it? Accompany her out of town, say?
"I do not know about these things, I admit. Whny are Camillia and Daxia arguing? I can not follow their philosophic arguments. They make my ears thrum and my brain grow turgid."
Ignoring Camelia's display, ignoring the rest of the group for the moment as well, Daxia's eyes narrowed as her gaze moved slowly between Cesare and Kadri. Head tilted to one side, she had a thoughtful and wary look on her face. "Cesare, you see where man go. He go in home, business, inn? Maybe you see sign?" Flicking her eyes to Kadri, she said, "Where you leave girl?" Her tone was curious, yes, but somewhat suspicious, too.
At Camelia's comments he purses his lips consideringly. *More plots, but are they different plots or the same?* He is about to ask her if she believes her situation ties into this somehow, when she gets up and walks off, clearly annoyed.
He then turns towards Celi and listens to her questions. Pausing a moment to consider his answer, he replies carefully. "First, we really do not know the key belongs to the girl. As much as many of us distrust merchants, the man from the merchant guild claimed the girl's father stole the key from him. He actually said two of his apprentices were killed in the theft. So if he hired men to get it back for him, and we interrupted that last night in the alley, it is possible he was justified. So, at this point, while I lean towards believing the girl, just from past association with merchant guilds, we really do need more proof before we simply turn it over to anyone."
He really is tempted to just give somebody the key, really anybody, and get himself out of the middle of this mess, but he doesn't like some of the tactics being used, and if the girl is telling the truth then he was lied to. In the damn Guildhouse he was offered money in a lie! He suspects the reason Eli did not stick around to Seal the Contract with him is because he had no intention of paying. Otherwise there was no reason not to. And the merchant knows enough about New Jvrillians to know once he'd Sealed Mikal to a Contract he'd have been obliged to follow thru. So no reason not to, unless he planned to cheat Mikal of his payment. Which triggers a thought as he recalls a comment Kadri made earlier. But first....
"As for Camelia and Daxia, it is complicated", he continues to Celi. "I do not know them well enough to speak with any confidence about their particular motives, but I can speak in general. Daxia has spoken about belonging to a military group called 'Dayalan'. Seems like they are tasked to protect those who are defenseless as their prime mission. Yet she seems to have been steeped in learning of intrigue as well. Camelia comes from the Imperial Court. Intrigue flows there like water. She has also just been thru an ordeal, and feels like she is protecting someone else. She doesn't trust anyone right now and wants to build bonds with us to better ensure she can trust us. For some reason they are like oil and water. Could be the simple fact that those who see plots at every turn can never believe anyone is speaking the truth. I can't figure it out just yet, but it will come to me."
He then turns to the group and asks, "I do have two questions. First", he glances at Camelia as she walks off, "does anyone suspect the plots against Dama Camelia and her friend Kristine are linked to this somehow? Just wondering if that adds any new wrinkles to it."
"Second, I believe, Kadri, you said that the man who spoke to you in the stables said to not give the key to anyone else? Do you feel he simply meant the girl, or do you think he meant anyone, like us for example? I ask because if he meant to not give it to us, that statement leads us to a different conclusion than we've had so far."
"If all of these encounters have been men working for the same group, then why would any of them care about which of us returned the key to their masters? Sure, perhaps there was a reward in it for whoever brought it back, but it sounded to me, from Kadri's telling, more like there could be multiple factions in play. Multiple masters. That was why I suggested seeing if we could get them together."
Now they become confused, Celi thought. "The Punched Penny" was the location at which Celi had been instructed to seek out the dark man known as Davy Lay-ey, if she planned to redeem the key for the promise of thousand gold crowns.
Should she speak up, and thereby correct someone? Or would that just make them angry? She did not feel comfortable in her ignorance of conversational graces. They did not appear interested in Celi's counsel, that much was clear, and seemed to hold her opinions in no regard. She relaxed considerably after Mikal explained some of the background behind Daxia and Camilia. SHe could see how being raised in such an environment would affect how you perceived and related to others.
It also made her consider her own upbringing. How had she been colored by Grandmother and her various insistences? She decided she should think carefully before speaking up about anything, lest she weigh down her responses with her own philosophies. She caught MIkal's eye, mouthed a silent 'thank you', and then composed herself. Perhaps they would all take heed, and she would then feel better about things.
He raises an eyebrow as Cami moves away. Maybe her tale did not get the reaction she had hoped. Too self-centered? Her tale would suggest otherwise. But time is important now, time to deal with the issue at hand. There would be time to deal with other things later. He hopes anyway. He is mostly an optimist.
So instead he answers the two things he feels he can contribute something directly. First Mikal.
"Unlikely to be connected. Have to stretch too many coincidences to extremes to place the two together. And we already have enough to deal with and time is always short."
He turns to Daxia, always a smile for the pretty girl.
"Not to his destination no. Didn't think it prudent to follow, showed too much interest and I didn't know how widespead all of this was then. But I do know the direction he went and he suggested he was well know in the markets."
"Oh, I think he very emphatically meant anyone else."
She looks at Ceil.
"I appreciate your sentiment, but as he said - first, we aren't completely sure its hers, and second. . . Handing it over to her might expose her to threats that, while I hold, are directed at me. Ihad been considering announcing I had it. . . and makking myself the bait."
Daxia nodded thoughtfully at Cesare, then turned to Mikal and chuckled. "Half right. World only see Dayalan warriors now; not see priestesses, lay members outside Vale. And for man who not like intrigue, why you look for more? Think Cesare right; enough intrigue here." She looked at Camelia on the other side of the room then back at Mikal with a smile. "Oil and water? Nah. Just dancing, getting to know each other. We work it out. Probably."
Then she looked at the squire once again. "Your job to protect. Mine, too. My oath only say protect defenseless and weak, though. Thinking maybe girl involved in intrigue... like others who speak to rest of us. Katshka say Punched Penny owned by Merchants Guild; coincidence very hard to ignore. Girl sent maybe to trick you, like Cesare say before. Is good way to fool squire of Rames, yes? Very good way. If she part of plan to turn key over one of bullies, that make her defended by Merchants; I not concerned about her protection then. I not know what Rames require of you, though."
Her gaze swept the room again. "Cesare ask, Mikal ask, I ask now... why everyone so interested in key? Many people with many stories of how key come to be lost to them. Many different factions, yes? Hand of merchant guild, maybe thieves guild, everywhere. We not know rightful owner.
"Verchovai Dandelion's Jvrillian right... talk, talk, talk, talk get us nowhere. We act. Biggest question... what worth so much money and life of man? Key is to warehouse Kadri say." She looked at the small woman, studying her for a moment. "Better idea than bait, ok?" Daxia again looked at those around the table. "Think Kadri know what she talking about. We go, we find warehouse, we see what so important for man to die. We go now, yes?"
She fixed her gaze on Conrad again with a smile that held the tiniest bit of mischievousness. "Will you please accompany us on our quest, Squire Conrad?"
Camelia had stared at the bits and pieces, mostly crumbs and leftovers from the morning's breakfast offering. She settled for a crumbly biscuit and two slices of an harvest apple, and with her prizes the young woman retreated to a nearby table to sit and eat.
To her right, the conversation continued in earnest now. Plans to investigate various things. All Camelia saw ahead of her was how she should probably clean up the mess she was making of her biscuit on the table. Maybe ask for a job in the common room here or one of the other inns. She could make beds and clean well, and she even knew how to handle linens and mend clothing, including the finest fabrics.
Nothing left to hide... She was a servant and a long way from her home with no way to get back there. Perhaps after the winter she might have a few crown, maybe enough to ride a merchant wagon to Trundle on the Hill. She had watched Ceili trying to seek work, and how humbling that had to have been for her each time she was rejected. Camelia had never had to seek employment before. She had had a job. A secure one at that. But she wasn't in Trundle, and she wasn't with her Lady. For all Camelia knew, Kristine probably had anew Handmaiden. And Cami now needed to find her own way. Just that lowly prospect before her seemed daunting.
"It has never been my intention to give the key to the girl, at least until true ownership can be established and when it would no longer put her in greater danger. The mystery of this key needs to be resolved and I will aid in that endevour, but I must see that the girl and her mother are placed in a safe place. If they have any part in this enigma, I do not know for sure but I am not willing to risk the life of innocents on the chance that they are. So, if you can wait for me to get them to safety, I will aid you in trying to solve the mystery of the key."
"Taking two innocents or possible players out of the game is not such a bad play. It would likely be expected. It may be that you might get them talking and find out something more.. if there is more to be had? But even you, not alone. None should be alone today."
He looks up. Looks over at Cami and with a slight sigh gets to his feet and walks a few steps towards her. Directing his next words to her alone.
"None of us alone, includes you. We are all part of this, not all by choice, not from comraderie, not from commitment. We are all part of this because those unknown around us have made us all targets. You can stay apart and some of us will then need to stay with you.. or you can make it easier for everyone and come and join in. You never know, you might like it.."
He grins, and holds out a hand, hoping she is big enough to take it.
She regarded the squire silently for a moment, then said, "Ok, Squire. You save girl. Rames say you do... you must do. Understand that." She nodded. "Agree with Cesare. Take some with you, yes? We wait, but you hurry. Move quick. And maybe you ask girl questions, like Cesare said. Maybe... did father bring key to Cragside, or given to him while here? Also, they travel alone... or with larger group? If larger group, who is group, ok?" Daxia smiled. "Maybe answers make things more clear, yes? Ta." She repeated her last phrase in Imperial, for clarification. "Thank you."
Various emotions flittered across her face in the space of several heartbeats, but finally she said, "If you want, I make sure Lady Comfrey and Dama Camelia safe while you save girl." She tilted her head, guaging his reaction. "Ok with Rames I do that for you? Know Dayala and Rames not best of friends, but we -- you and me -- can work together, yes?"
Camelia- separate in the Common Room now with Cesare
Cesare's approach was unexpected but not unwelcome. She looked up at him with those brilliantly blue eyes, the kind the picked up light and turned it into a different kind of radiance. With one hand, she pushed her flaxen blond hair back over one ear and reached up to take his hand with the other.
But she didn't rise from the seat. Her hands were soft, but showed the hardships of her recent travels. There had been paint on her nails, worn away. Her fingers lacked the delicatebess that came from a life of manicuring, and showed she was more a servant than a Lady of any Court. Her grip was firm, but without any exertion of strength.
"Sit with me for a moment," she asked. "Please." She finished her overture with a warm smile, but it wasn't the same as what she had shown before.
"I said I'd go with you, Conrad, if it came to it, so I will. But might be good to know what we're walking into before-hand, no? The two of us, even 3 or 4", he adds waving a hand to indicate if others might also come, "will not succeed if she is watched by 20 of the Mark and they choose to deny us."
He turns to Celi. "I think you said the man who approached you said to go to the Punched Penny, did he not? Perhaps you can go now and ask for more instructions. I don't know, maybe say that you think you can get it, but it would have to be late tonight after all are asleep? While there you can look around. See how many armed men are about?"
Yes, they were all put into this together and must work together. If she were with her Pack, she would know what to do and how each would do it. But it was just her and Longtooth now. She leaned down and looked under the table at him.
"We track?" she asked him. It was his skill and nose they needed.
He looked up at her and offered what seemed a nod.
She straightened up and looked at those about her. "Me and Longtooth track hurt man. Who can show us last place he be?"
Camelia had no sooner said those words to the young Rhoni man, Had no sooner heard his effort to involve when she remembered something that Dandelion had told her. She had been so arrogant and brusque, so unwilling to hear anything. So defemsive that only now did it make sense to her.
She looked into Cesare's eyes, her own sense of epiphany evident and she smiled, with light and music dancing in her eyes.
"Of course... I'm a Koromov," she whispered. "She said... The Conscience of the Empire."
She stood suddenly, knocking her seat back and it fell over in a clatter. That sound brought her head around to see it lying there and quickly she let Cesare's hand slip from hers and she picked her chair up and returned it to all four legs, and then, still feeling the adrenalin, she leaned in, hands to his broad shoulders, and planted a kiss of Cesare's cheek.
"Thankyou," she said as she slid one hand back to his hand, interlacing his fingers with her own and gripping them tightly for a brief second before relaxing. And already she was leading him back to the group.
Standing at the edge she waited until the last person speaking had finished.
"May I speak," she asked with an eagerness and an excitement.
Having asked Conrad if he thinks he can handle it alone, he turns as Camelia moves back to the group. He looks at her expectantly when she asks to speak, and nods, though he doesn't think it's his place to give permission for someone to talk.
"I can do as you wish," Celi told Mikal, "if you let me use my own approach to make it seem ... authentic. First, I would tell him I am aware that at least one other has been offered more than he offered me. Then, I will tell him I believe I can come up with this key, but before I would surrender it, I want to be paid fairly. This would explain why I would come to see him early, and without the key in my possession."
He looked at Daxia and thought about it for a moment.
"No, that is alright but thank you for the offer. A lady of White with me will further reduce any chance of danger. Very very few will risk hurting one of her order." he said, nodding to the red headed woman in respect.
He turned to look at the young woman who asked for permission to speak.
“Thank you," she said with a nod that turned into a couple more as she tried to acknowledge several groups of people. “I asked to speak, because… well, because I was rude and impertinent earlier. For that I apologize. I was caught up in a role at which I had already failed. Desperate to cling to something that was never mine in the first place… It carried over in distrust and fear.”
Gone was the perfect inflection and Imperial tone. She still had the accent common to Trundle on the Hill, as that is the place she lived. She shrugged.
“I can’t help Kristine any further… but maybe she can help us.”
Again she looked around at everyone. She had stopped with the burdensome speech where every word was precise and without contraction. She felt a confidence in her idea, but not in her ‘permission’ to hold the floor for so long when she hadn’t earned it.
“No one approached Squire Conrad or Lad… Comfrey nor myself, either coming or going from the Hospice. I suppose there was no point in it. In a way, Squire Conrad’s point about who he is and what he represents… A Khorall’s son and a Squire of Rames all in one... That is important to remember. Comfrey is a Lady of Aterra. For myself, I don’t know… I wore a hooded cloak, but maybe I looked like someone these factions and thieves thought twice before approaching. Maybe not, but the point is… It would take quite a sizeable sum of courage OR a fear greater than that of the due consequences of harming either of those two to cause anyone to make a move on them.”
And she smiled again, as though she had reached the part of her telling where she would unveil her idea.
“We don’t know how many factions, or what their alliances are, nor do we know what they know. We can’t even hope to figure that out because even now our time dwindles before someone grows impatient and does something.”
“We need a diversion… but one that can’t be challenged… One that will become so public as to draw the eyes and ears of all Cragside. Something to bring everyone to their windows and to the streets. A parade. One where a visiting Imperial Lady, escorted by the Squire and a Lady of Aterra can make their presence known to greet the people as they walk to the Punched Penny. To escort a young lady back with us on our walk through the streets.”
“How often does an Imperial from the Grand Palace in Trundle on the Hill come here? It can’t be that often right? They spend too much time worried about each other to actually do anything useful… for anyone. Such a visit would attract attention… and maybe open up back alleys for some others to slip quietly around the town to investigate other things… a wounded man’s trail…a lock… the locations of our enemies.”
“I can do this. I can walk and talk like an Imperial. I even have the clothes.”
She dropped her eyes in concentration for a moment. “I’d have to wash them, and mend them real fast… and I would need to do my hair.”
She looked up again, undaunted in her enthusiasm. “A lot to do… but there is some time. It would be a risk, but it isn’t one I haven’t been taking for many days already. We can do this. Would you consider it? Yes?”
"I think. If you secure the lady against retaliation - in case she is as she says - the next issue. Would be to confuse the issue further as to exactly where the key is. Why should we be the only people who do not know what is going on? Why not. . play a shell game? We might even be able to get multiple people to jump at once. Perhaps even at eachother? Between YOu and COnrad and that, , ,perhaps we can seize, at least somewhat, the initiative?" "
"Hmmm." He considers, nodding. "I believe that might work, yes. It should certainly draw the eyes to you. If you are to bring her back here, though, we should warn The Captain and the Innkeeper. We invite danger to come visit this place."
"How long it take to arrange this? The longer it be, the more the trail fades."
With a gesture at the ruff, she adds, "We must find starting point. Ask again, who can show us where he last seen this hurt man? Rain may have washed away trace."
Daxia nodded to Conrad, then listened to Camelia's plan. She grinned. "Good to see in you Koromov I see in Verchovai Dandelion last night. Clever plan." She considered Mikal's comments. "Bad idea involving Captain and Horde. I think... not good payment for hospitality, yes?" To Darian, she said, "Cesare say he see where man go."
Turning back to Camelia, she said, "Imperial go visit Khorall, yes? Escort girl to Khorall Shannon. She safe there, yes?" Daxia looked at Conrad for verification.
The Heartwood Noon, the Town of Cragside Restday The Last Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Even upon a Restday the town of Cragside was a slowly building bustle. Breakfasts and midday meals still had to be made, as el as the preparations for dinner in a little bit. Carts pulled by oxen rattle clattered up the cobbled streets, a dull echoing the commons of the Hart and Horse. From the kitchen Missus Jake held court, summoning her daughters and then sending them off on their chores. The water retrieved from the well arrived a long while ago, now supplementing the stew - which got an additional infusion of fresh vegetables - and set to work for the afternoon meals.
The commons slowly became more crowded, mostly from townsfolk not demanded by their own businesses today, and mostly their attention centered on Jake's bar and a pint or so of imported beer; as if perhaps to make sure they got their steins filled before the stocks run low over the next two months. The Horde mercenaries were a constant in and out upon their own business, mostly too and from the stables, or at least the beyond the common's back door where eventually comes the noise of practice and sparring. Of the small cluster of folks who claimed their hospitality last night, they are given a wide berth, left to their own devices.
"Ma'am ... you must be Lady Comfrey right?"
There were also the occasional runners, young lads to carry missives up and down the street.
"Ma'am Alice has need of you back in the Hospice, could you be a comin' with?"
And with that the young Atteran begged her leave, answering the summons of superior and church. Leaving just snippets of conversation dashing around the commons, tangled bits like jigsaw pieces broadcast like seeds come the spring planting.
" ... cor ... I am so glad I am not Rafe this morning."
" ... we're you up at the barn this morn? A handful of pennies for a loaf of bread; winters going to be hard, says the missus."
" ... my coin's says betrothed to the oldest Shannon lad, why else to come up all this way?"
" ... bad day to be one of the guard. Heard tell were dragging a pair of bodies out of an alley just past the big well.
" ... saw a mountain slink out on the edge of the in the dawning; weather must be real bad higher up."
" ... aye bucko, she is in a rare mood this morn. Now there's a brave lad for being her sparring mate ...
" ... Nobles argue and its us who take the hurt for it, isn't it always like that?"
" ... heard tell they were wearing the punched penny, but the Guild didn't claim them."
" ... broke a pell up at the guild house ..."
" ... between them and last night, a fel way to be starting the storm season, aye"
Lunch brought platters of bread and fruit out to the tables, along with wooden bowls for those who wanted stew.
The rest of the town then took a small break, having completed their morning tasks.
Whatever planning still remained, the group had achieved a consensus with regards to the general plan. Camelia's proposal to return to the role of Lady Kristine Melissa Deynekko and have the Squire Conrad Shannon escort her on a 'tour' of the town, with the hopes of drawing public attention toward themselves. They would walk to the Punched Penny and attempt to escort the young girl, whose claim was that her father had owned the darksteel key, and escort her to a place of safety. While that place was still in question and open to discussion, it was agreed that this would serve as a good distraction while three other groups of two would exit the Hart and Horse to begin investigations aimed at uncovering information that might enable them to level the playing field on which they stood. Thieves and Guildsmen and Mark mercenaries... and quite possibly more than that, awaited them in the shadows and the three groups of fate-gathered heroes had to get some information in order to grasp what ground they tread amongst them all.
Kadri continued to hold the key, and she and Daxia would begin their investigations into the warehouse district.The simple hope was that there be an actual lock on a door on a building that might fit this key. Perhaps something obvious like a darksteel lock. But chances were that nothing so obvious existed in so open a place. But it was a place to start.
Cesare and Darian, with her faithful ruff, Longtooth, would return to the alley in as surreptitious a manner and as roundabout a route as they could in the hopes they might find the scent of the wounded man from the night they entered the town. Track him and determine if he could be located and approached or would they have to simply gather the information and retreat until more of them could pursue whatever they learned in further detail.
Lastly, Ceili and Mikal would play eyes on the street as they wandered towards the Guild like any other guild members would, so that they could learn what could be learned about the Mercenary Company called the Mark. Their task would be to at least put names and faces and a working knowledge of the troops of soldiers who were in residence in this town and could well cause trouble for the group's current hosts. If there was contract information to be had, and who held such, then they wanted to know that as well.
To effect her plan Camelia would have to clean up, do her hair, and mend Kristine's clothing in order to make it presentable. Much could be hidden beneath a cloak, but part of the point was to make sure people saw the full-length purple over-tunic with the Deynekko black and gold checkerboard cuffs, hem and key collar.
Camelia would also leave a note, handwritten in her typical schooled and fine penmanship.
Quote
I have always wished for a sister, either younger or older. But I never had such fortune. I often asked other servant girls about their siblings, just to learn what their lives were like and imagine what mine might have been. They always told me that siblings were both the best and the worst things imaginable. No end to the difficulties and yet, the bond of love was infinite between them.
I am sorry. I was rude to you. I had no cause to be when you did nothing but offer me hospitality. I couldn't accept that I would stand face to face with another person who looked exactly as I did. Someone older than me, as though I stared into a reflecting glass at what a few handfuls of years would bring me. But then to realize we shared the same mother and to understand how vastly different our lives were. I had difficulty accepting that you and I were siblings and that I knew nothing of you or even that Erika was another sister. I know her in only the most distant manner. That is to say that I didn't really know her at all. So much to accept and believe and then to understand. So many questions...
Then I saw the flowers in your room.
More over, I will now apologize for the mess of trouble I will bring into your life. I am your younger sister and I suppose that is what I am supposed to do. But you don't deserve it, and you certainly didn't ask for it. The group I now travel with have found ourselves in a dangerous place, from people and places we know not the depth and breadth of. You offered us hospitality and I know we are about to upset the balance of peace in Cragside now. But, there is a young girl who asked for our help. If she is who she claims, then I can not turn my back on her. Others have threatened her life. I can not accept that to stand. I was not raised to shy away from helping the weak and defenseless. My group and I act in concert now, and we must see through the things we have found ourselves embroiled in, but that will surely bring an Eastern Wind, as the expression goes.
I fear that from the very moment I entered your life, and you mine, that we were bound to share a destined fate for a length of time that only the Fates themselves might know. From the moment I entered the Hart and Horse, I brought trouble with me and it is spilling out in front of you. I am sorry for that. Truly I am.
I want to get to know you. I want to hear every story about you, and hear every story you know. I want to hear everything about Mom... and there is so much I want to tell you about her and I. I hope I get the chance. I want to love you as a younger sister should love an older sister... and more.
Cami
*****
OOC edit- sorry guys. I tried to get this up after I got home, but Mike and I posted withing a few seconds, but he was gone. don't know where we stand on this. have to wait for him to tell us what stands and what goes. the part about Comfrey leaving us changes things a bit.
After hearing the "plan", including her part in the affair, Celi wasn't sure how to react. Her "role" had been proposed by Camilia, without any substantive corroboration from Mikal. No doubt *he* knew how to dress and how to behave, and perhaps even what sorts of things to say. *She*, on the other hand, did not.
She moved closer to Mikal, and leaned in to whisper, "Can you instruct me in the ways I must be accoutered and how I must behave as your consort in this assignment? I will do aught that you require, but I need some guidance. I understand you are ill-favored toward 'sword-wenches', or whatever you wish to call women at arms. I do not wish to make you angry, or embarrass you. an you help me here...?"
Well he is pleasantly surprised when she takes his hand. He is stunned when she stands and then kisses his cheek, leading him back to the others. He cannot remember more than a handful of times when he has ever been lost for words, but this is one of them. But he does find a smile on his face and a thought in his mind. His father made a huge sacrifice for this girl and her mother as far as he could tell. According to the Captain, his father was best friends with her father. Maybe he has had the first glimpse of the charm, the worth that his father must have valued so much. And maybe one tiny step towards understanding.. maybe..
Back with the others, he listens as she outlines her plan, providing a use for herself that he had not thought of and the plan has merit. He squeezes her hand in encouragement, then lets it go so she can stand on her own merit.
His eyes find Darian's.
"Yes, I can show you. I guess Longtooth is a good tracker though the trail may be cold or washed away. Still it is worth checking."
He nods.
"Be glad to work with you."
Looking back at the others.
"We should meet up back here - say two hours? We need to coordinate and to exchange information - and to count heads to make sure everyone is accounted for. If you cannot come, try to send word - or leave word here with the innkeeper. May the Fates smile on us all."
He smiles at Darian, a nod he is ready and turns to head out the door.
She returns Cesare's nod and smile then rises from her seat. She pauses in pushing the chair back in long enough for Longtooth to bring himself out from under the table. Of all, he is the least suspicsious in an alley. Animals do not use chamber pots.
The huntress acquires a couple of travel breads from the inn and offers one to Cesare as they leave.
She is no stranger to subterfuge and camouflage of this nature, though it is different in the city. A brief nod as she bit into the bread and obviously follows his pointing with her gaze.
Darian gestured towards Longtooth. "He need to ..."
A pause as she considered how to say it. "...use chambers? Place out of main walk?"
As they discussed, the groups were all supposed to leave roughly at the same time. He knows it will take Camelia a little time to straighten and clean herself and her clothing up. So he looks at Celi when she talks to him. He'd never said anything openly about how he felt about sword-bitches, and truth be told he doesn't hold the same level of 'ill-favour' as many of his peers do.
To him it is simply a matter of build. Very few women, perhaps Daxia and Captain Dandelion are exceptions, have the upper body strength to properly wield heavy weapons. He wouldn't question their stamina. He's known a number of women who could work a man into the ground. But to consistently swing a 5 or 10 or 20 pound piece of metal overhead for any length of time..., well, no. Bows, perhaps. Daggers, certainly, but heavy swords, generally not. With exceptions.
But he is always willing to let someone prove themselves before he forms an opinion. And as soon as they leave this inn now they are in potential danger. So perhaps there might be a good use to put the time to while they wait for Camelia.
"We will talk about that, and how those we encounter might see you. At least you do not wear a sword, so you should not encounter their scorn. Still...., come with me. I'd like to see who is guarding my back."
He stands up and gestures for Celi to come with him. He leads the way out back, looking for a secluded space behind the barn, and out of view of any casual on-looker or any of the Horde who may also be sparring.
Finding a spot, he turns and says. "Once we leave, we may be assaulted at some spot, as we saw last night in the alley. I'd like you to show me what you can do with those knives of yours, and I will show you in turn my own sword work. Perhaps these few minutes will save one of us a cut later."
[ooc: uno momento. I am bouncing my planned response off our brilliant, stylish, and clever GM, so that I don't assume too much (thereby making an ASS out of U and ME = ASS-U-ME).]
Daxia watched Cesare leave with Darian and Longtooth, then Mikal with Celi. She got up, and walked over to where Kadri stilll stood. She touched her hair, then the sword at her side. "Look like Allaine, carry sword. Not too good, am thinking. Why ask?"
Daxia considered it, but looked skeptical. "Probably can keep sword hidden under cloak. Anyone really know Allaines, though... see blue eyes, get suspicious." She shrugged. "Shannon hold lands for Allaines through Kierkegaards. Maybe not been Allaine in Cragside for many years." She regarded Kadri for several heartbeats. "You think it work, though... we try."
"Well. . you say. . you attract attention either way, as a servant of you attracting attention, I am invisible - except, of course, to . . certain people." .
She nodded slowly. "We try your way, then." She glanced at the door leading out to the stables. "Wish to speak with Verchovai Dandelion first, ok? Should not leave soon after others, yes?"
Daxia just shrugged. "Think maybe I trust her Horde. Back soon..." Daxia's lopsided smile was somewhat pained. "If she not thump me too much." With that what, she took a deep breath, then headed out the door towards the stables and the sparring yard beyond.
She could see that her temple-sister was, indeed, in a rare mood as one of her men had said. The man just barely holding his own against her must be the Rafe they had spoken of. Dandelion's style of sparring was somewhat different than what Gillyflower had taught her; no doubt the difference between Gillyflower and Poppy Gwynn, who had instructed Dandelion. Watching the other Dayalan was interesting, however. Her parries were sometimes rather inventive, and her footwork looked more dance-like than anything Gilly had taught Daxia. She simply waited, and watched, until the two fighters backed away from one another to take a break.
When she was able to catch Dandelion's eye, she said, "Verchovai? A few words?"
Camelia had set about her self-appointed tasks with an energy and enthusiasm strong enough to move the Black Mountains or divert the Silk Creek. Upstairs, the back-rooms, wherever she could find to do the things she needed to get done. She put the flat-irons and flat glass smoothers to the heat. She found a mangle board. Hustling like an ant, each task had steps and she balanced them so she could run back and forth. Her clothes, Kristine's clothes, had to be mended and then washed and pressed dry, then air-dried, as much as could be managed in the short time she had. Heat drying would help as well. She had herself to bathe, and she knew that would not be the best effort as time was precious, candlemarks were few. She still had her hair to arrange. She elicited the help of the staff at the Hart and Horse. Camelia was hoping she could inspire them to join in this 'quest'. Already word was being whispered that she might be the betrothed of Squire Conrad Shannon. Untrue, but if it motivated anyone to help her, then she wouldn't dissuade them from the fantasy. So much to do and so little time.
With the clothes washed and drying, in the hands of any who would help. She set about to write the note to her sister.
Quote
I have always wished for a sister, either younger or older. But I never had such fortune. I often asked other servant girls about their siblings, just to learn what their lives were like and imagine what mine might have been. They always told me that siblings were both the best and the worst things imaginable. No end to the difficulties and yet, the bond of love was infinite between them.
I am sorry. I was rude to you. I had no cause to be when you did nothing but offer me hospitality. I couldn't accept that I would stand face to face with another person who looked exactly as I did. Someone older than me, as though I stared into a reflecting glass at what a few handfuls of years would bring me. But then to realize we shared the same mother and to understand how vastly different our lives were. I had difficulty accepting that you and I were siblings and that I knew nothing of you or even that Erika was another sister. I know her in only the most distant manner. That is to say that I didn't really know her at all. So much to accept and believe and then to understand. So many questions...
Then I saw the flowers in your room.
More over, I will now apologize for the mess of trouble I will bring into your life. I am your younger sister and I suppose that is what I am supposed to do. But you don't deserve it, and you certainly didn't ask for it. The group I now travel with have found ourselves in a dangerous place, from people and places we know not the depth and breadth of. You offered us hospitality and I know we are about to upset the balance of peace in Cragside now. But, there is a young girl who asked for our help. If she is who she claims, then I can not turn my back on her. Others have threatened her life. I can not accept that to stand. I was not raised to shy away from helping the weak and defenseless. My group and I act in concert now, and we must see through the things we have found ourselves embroiled in, but that will surely bring an Eastern Wind, as the expression goes.
I fear that from the very moment I entered your life, and you mine, that we were bound to share a destined fate for a length of time that only the Fates themselves might know. From the moment I entered the Hart and Horse, I brought trouble with me and it is spilling out in front of you. I am sorry for that. Truly I am.
I want to get to know you. I want to hear every story about you, and hear every story you know. I want to hear everything about Mom... and there is so much I want to tell you about her and I. I hope I get the chance. I want to love you as a younger sister should love an older sister... and more.
Cami
Camelia wished she had the time to find Dandelion, but she didn't. Too much to do and a letter would be the best she could manage. Others in her group were depending upon her to remain on task.
The light red under tunic and the purple over tunic with Black and Gold Checkerboard trim. Yes, that would create a stir, for such was the clothing of the Deynekko family. The clothing reserved for the families of the Bankorpoole Empire here on the mainland. Let that rumor spread, let it grow. Now Conrad Shannon was no longer betrothed to a cloaked young lady unseen in these parts before, but rather... an Imperial Lady from Trundle on the Hill. Maybe she might gather even more help among those who wanted to be near and maybe hear something worth sharing to others.
So much to do... Improvise some make-up, maybe some jewelry. Even the simple things could be 'perfect' with the proper presentation.
Camelia found herself humming a tune, one that she had only heard in her own thoughts thus far. She had last sung it while she walked weary and ragged through the muddy field towards the light and warmth of the Plainsend Inn, only coming to a silence when the little girl found her at the well.
Before that, it had been days of travel along the Road East, with the Dirkwood to one side and the formidable Black Mountains to the other, and Camelia had little else to occupy herself except whisper the songs she had learned, all of them, over and over. And when that failed to occupy her her mind in the seemingly never-ending state of captivity, she began to compose her own. She dared not give voice to it among her captors for it would spoil the ruse. But she heard it in her mind. It had no title yet and was no where near finished, but then again, neither was her journey.
Quote
“Come to me, Flower,” she said. “Oh how I love you so.” Now her hands they did tremble and tears began to flow-. “A choice must be made tonight. And one that makes me grieve“ “I must send you far from here, But only by your leave-.”
And the Flower looked at her, with eyes both meek and mild. A single drop fell from her cheek, “I do not fear the wild-.”
“You know that my love is great. You are my child bold.” “I would not risk losing you, for any price in gold-“ “But, cry to me in your fear, and I’ll deny you voice.” “Or show to me that you’re brave. Bear not the shame in choice-.”
And the Flower looked at her, with eyes both meek and mild. A single drop fell from her cheek, “I do not fear the wild-.”
And her Mother took her hands; she drew her close and tight. “I have seen this foretold, and my cards do not lie-.” With her violet eyes narrowed, her Mother she did say “Grave danger lurks in these halls, and shadows have their way-.”
And the Flower looked at her, with eyes both meek and mild. A single drop fell from her cheek, “I do not fear the wild-.”
“Fell Horsemen will come this night; they’ll ride upon white steeds.” “Quickly they will seize their prize, and away in dark deeds-. Now the Flower stood straight and tall, as brave as brave could be. “It is something I must do, my only friend is she-.”
And the Flower looked at her, with eyes both meek and mild. A single drop fell from her cheek, “I do not fear the wild-.”
Source song:
It was hard enough to prepare an Imperial Lady when you were just the Handmaiden, but to be both the Lady and the Handmaiden made it all the more difficult, and that only made her work harder.
"I'm a Koromov," she whispered to herself. "When we get knocked down, we get back up again..."
***
OOC- Will wait for GM to determine when she can make an entrance.
He excused himself from the lunch as Cameila went to see about the washing and such. Conrad slipped the innkeepers wife a crown to help Cameila with her work at getting prepared and then went into the street a few doors away to a clothier to see about a velvet ladies cloak to replace the worn and tattered one that Cameila had arrived with. It would do much to hide any defects that she was unable to wash or mend away.
Daxia returned to the common room looking none the worse for wear. She did, however, have a rather determined look on her face. She spotted Kadri, and whispered a few words as she paused for a bare moment, then continued to the kitchen.
"Let's take Longtooth for a walk. I'd be interested to watch his behaviour here. Might be some sights to see.."
He gestures in the opposite direction from the alley, thinking that once the diversion starts they could circle around back that way. By then anyone watching might be bored of them walking the dog. Besides, if they all left the inn at the same time that would look very suspicious to him.. so others would think that too.
As they start to walk, he focuses his attention on the hound, commenting here and there, enjoying the fresh air.
Exiting the kitchen, Daxia swept her cloak up from the chair where she left it and made her way back to Kadri. "Business with sisters finished. We go?"
Then she stood perfectly still, closed her eyes and said, "No." She took a deep breath, and let it out slowly as she settled her cloak around her shoulders. After a few more heartbeats, she opened her eyes and gave Kadri a wry grin. "If I am to play the Allaine, I should sound the Allaine, da? As pleasing as my parents' dialect is to my ears, the Allaines do not sound like farmers, shopkeepers... or even swordsmiths. However, I don't have any experience with servants, Kadri. You need to instruct me in the correct way to speak with you and behave towards you."
"Not that much experience on the servant side of things myself."
She pauses.
"You can be polite, whatever. Just. . . the main thing about such a image is to remember that you assume that what you say will be done. You are in charge. You are important, whereas the servant? Not so much."
Daxia grinned. "We didn't have servants in the Temple; even fetching water with a leaky bucket was a lesson for thick-headed initiates," she said with a self-deprecating chuckle. "Polite, and in charge." She thought about that for a moment, then nodded. "And have you found a way to narrow the search? Wandering through all the warehouses in the city seems unproductive... and suspicious."
"Well, first, I know many warehouses it isn't. Or is vanishingly unlikely to be. And to be honest. . many people are used to me being in the area. One place I want to at least walk near is the warehouse they told me to drop the key off at. It should not look too suspicious to them to have me looking at the place where I would theoretically be leaving the key. . ."
"I was very clearly visible to the men who spoke to me this dawn. Let's hope they're not working with the one who threatened you," Daxia said. "It would not look suspicious if you were in the company of... your employer, would it?" She stifled a laugh.
She grinned broadly. "And you are clearly knowlegable about these things. Yes, let's find something interesting in which I can invest." She gestured toward the door. "Please lead the way. I would like to see the best investment opportunities first, of course."
The Heartwood Just after noon, the Town of Cragside Restday The Last Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Mikal and Celi
Mikal stepped towards Celi, closing quickly; she noted that he was maintaining control and balance, with his mass centered between the balls of his feet. The greatest danger was that the tall mercenary was faster than she; his strike came first, fast and sure. He feinted with his sword, taking a high line; she bobbed and weaved, and perhaps it was her size and movement that thew off his aim upon the first blow, the shortsword coming down only to where Celi was. Her right hand shot out toward his throat in a clenched fist, managing to land a glancing blow across his chest - not even felt through his light armor.
A step and a turn, however, found the young woman again on the defensive, except this time whatever threw the mercenary off was not just accounted for, it was countered with a vengeance. The point of his dangerous blade drove towards Celi as if to gut her, like a fish, like a bucher a freshly caught deer and in a panicked tumble she barely, just barely, managed to ger her knife between her and Mikal's steel. It seemed to take forever but it was done in less than a heartbeat; the power of his attack slamming even through the sparse protection her blade offered, turning it, twisting it, dashing it away to skitter across the cobbles; that metallic jingling not as loud, however, as the gut wrenching crackle of Celi's wrist shattering. The pain was sudden, surprising, and white hot.
Mikal watched as she swayed, fighting the pain, the hand that once held her dagger twisted in an impossible manner.
He'd been pulling his blows, attempting just to try her skill at blocking and parrying, to get a feel for how she might defend herself should they be assaulted in an alley by ruffians, or mercenaries.
A split second before his final blow, when he realized her parry would not succeed, he tries to pull it back, but not in time. He heard the cracking and knew it was her wrist before he saw it was turned unnaturally.
Stopping instantly, he sheathes his weapons and quickly drops to her side. He looks at the wrist critically, frowning. "I am sorry, Celi. I never meant to hurt you. You have the heart of a softpad, but I think you need to think more before trying the moves you did against a stronger armoured foe. Best to keep your distance. Those attacks would work against a footpad or ruffian but if we have to fight any of The Mark who wear armour, just keep them at bay until I can help you. Dance away from them, or throw or shoot something at them."
All the while he is examining the wrist. Concentrating he runs his fingers over it, attempting to imbue it with the little bit of healing he is able to do, hoping it will be enough to take away the worst of the damage.
Celi sat numbly through the handling of her injured arm, thoroughly embarrassed by her poor showing. She had desperately wanted to do well enough for Mikal to be able to count on her, and all she had succeeded in doing was to get injured when he wasn't even trying.
And now he was even trying to make her feel better about her performance! "You are most gracious," she mumbled. "I fully understand if you want someone else. The arm is not so bad now, it looked worse than it was."
It had also felt a lot worse than it did now, but maybe that was just the shock. Her grandmother had taught her well, and Stormrunner had added his advice, but Mikal was her very first real opponent (save a couple of drunken youths who had tried to take advantage of her on her first night in her first town; she had sent them packing easily enough, which no doubt contributed mightily to her aggrandized impression of her own skills).
SHe flexed her hand, and then her arm. It seemed to work, though it still tingled from his blow. She had been certain she'd broken something at the time, but perhaps she was just being a sissy.
"I am better in the forest or open country," she said. "I know you have no reason to believe me, but I have ... umm, other skills that will serve you well. Still, I want to learn how to help you *now*, in some wise. What can I do? What can you teach me? I won't quit, this I swear. I will fight until I cannot. What can I do against an armored foe that would help you? I can ride ... swim ...climb ... I throw a mean rock ..."
She managed a pale ghost of a grin. "Forgive me, Mikal. I have let you down, an' I never meant to do so."
She grinned broadly. "And you are clearly knowlegable about these things. Yes, let's find something interesting in which I can invest." She gestured toward the door. "Please lead the way. I would like to see the best investment opportunities first, of course."
"Lets wait for the curtain to draw before we start the play."
"There. That's the best I can do. Sorry. You should have Lady Comfrey take a look at it soon." He says gently releasing her hand.
He looks at her, and helps her to her feet. "Don't be silly. It is mostly my fault. I should have insisted we not use steel. I am just glad no permanent damage was done."
"And don't be silly. I don't want someone else. First, it is not a matter of choice. Were we riding to battle, then I'd have to honestly agree with you. I'd want a big, armoured, brute next to me. But for this we are thrown together and the point of this was so we knew how to use our talents as best we can and not presume things that are not only not true, but could be dangerous to presume."
"As I said, what you tried with me should work on someone not wearing armour and perhaps a bit smaller than I. The thugs we saw last night, for example."
"If you run into a big lug like me, wearing protection, then throwing rocks is actually not a bad idea. Or any other projectile you've got. I carry a crossbow on Talia, but we don't have time for me to give you lessons in it. If you can throw a knife, or a rock, and distract an armoured foe, that's good. You should be faster than them, so if you can keep away from them but get them to chase you, it will give me time to handle the others and come to help you."
He glances at her as she flexes her hand. "Worst of the break seems healed. Don't stress that hand until you get it looked at though."
"Now, come on. You're coming with me. I need your eyes to look where I am not, at least. When we get to the guild you should be fine, long as you're not wearing a sword. We can talk about lessons later on, when we have time. But be warned. If I teach you something, I expect you to teach me something in return."
He smiles and gestures to head back to the inn to find out if Camelia is ready yet.
Camelia returning to the common room, after however long it took to get ready-
Camelia dressed, and with the help of Mr Jake's daughters, she was able to make herself as presentable as she could on such short notice. The conversation with Dandelion, as poorly as it started, ended... okay. A place to work from and that was more than she had before. But now her focus was on making sure she lived up to her obligation to ready a good diversion so that the others had a better chance of moving through the city unhindered.
She wore a light red under-tunic, and the purple over-tunic trimmed with the black and gold checkerboard of House Deynekko. Her hair was pulled up and braided and woven with a few trailing tendrils at some stragically chosen and proper places. The make-up was simple, but effective enough. It was a show, to be seen from a distance. Not a Court appearance or a processional before the Prince. The clothes would have to do the talking, and her job was to effect the proper demeanor and countenance while she walked on the arm of squire Conrad. She might not even have to say a word, and just let people's imaginations cause them to envision whatever they dreamed might be happening. Confusion there was even helpful.
Camelia still had to dissaude Conrad from escorting the girl and herself to the Rock, his father's fortress. There her story would not withstand proper scrutiny.
At last she would make her entrance back into the Common room for the others to inspect and determine if her idea was suitable for what needed to be done.
A few deep breaths and a last straightening of her clothes, she felt she was ready. two pennnies a piece to the Inkeeper's daughters for all their help. What wonders they might be able to buy with coin of their own, a little sweetbread, or chewy bread in fact... with dates in it. Camelia laughed as they ran off to get their own place to view her enter the common room. In fact, they would be the group's first indication that Camelia was on her way into the room.
**((the pics are not a literal description of her appearance- but it does capture a mood))**
"Have to admit. You clean up quite nicer than me. Of course, you couldn't force me into a getup like that with a knife at my back. Looks good on you, but I'm done with it myself. Yes, I think we can safely say that you will attract attention."
"You are most courteous," Celi said, and for a fact, she was not feeling nearly as glum as she had been a moment before. "I will do my best, Mikal, and attempt whatever you ask of me without shirking. And ... thank you for your even temper."
She rose to her feet, gave her arm a shake and a wince, then rubbed it a little before setting off to follow where he led. "IF we e'er fare to the countryside," she said, "I promise to be of more use to you. 'T'were where I were raised, and trained. I am more at home among the beasts than among people, sadly."
SHe had stretched out her stride to keep up, but was managing with no difficulty.
The squire came back into the inn with a bundle under his arm and looked around for the young woman from Trundle. He nodded to any he recognized and then saw her and smiled broadly, coming over to her and giving her a bow.
"You look lovely. I hope that you do not mind my presumption but I bought you a new cloak to help aid in the deception." he said, extending the bundle to her.
Daxia with Kadri, Camelia and Conrad in common room
"You look lovely, Camelia," Daxia said, keeping to her act as a visiting Allaine. "Kadri and I are ready to... investigate investment opportunities in the warehouse district," she said with a slight smile. "We simply await the stir you and Squire Conrad are sure to cause on your walk."
He nods to Celi. "I am sure you will be of help there, and there is where I could use the most help so it should work out."
Re-entering the inn with Celi he stops as he sees Camelia. *Well. A bit different than the first time I saw her.* He thinks, turning away so as not to gawk.
Looking around the inn, he asks the group at large. "Did Lady Comfrey ever return from the Hospice? I'd like her to look at Celi's wrist."
Celi tried to look like it was no big deal. And maybe it should not have been unexpected, given the disparity in size, strength, skill and armor-plating. But she still seemed energetic, and pleased to be working with Mikal, and at least he was not trying to leave her tied to a wine tun while he sneaked away. She was considerably more relaxed than she had been on the trip out.
"Well I meant the 'we' in a general sense. 'We' Rhoni rarely settle. Moving brings opportunities if the Fates smile on us but also help us to avoid troubles. On a personal level I travelled with some of my family."
He accepts that information received implies a debt to respond in kind and is fairly easy going in conversation, seemingly enjoying the walk, the morning air and the company.
"When you say a full handfull and half, do you mean days, months, years?" He smiles again. "And if you've a mind to, maybe you can tell me more about Longtooth? He interests me."
Her life was one of standing in the shadow of her Lady. Kristine was always gracious though. The pair had grown up together and had spats like any other pair of friends, but they had more good times than bad. But it was always based around the understanding of the hierarchy of Imperial Life. Camelia had never known, before today, that she too was born of Imperial Blood, only that she was a servant to an Imperial Family. She had duties and responsibilities. The friendship was uncommon and born out of a shared loneliness between them.
Even though she wore the clothes of her Lady, and affected her Lady's courtly and public demeanor, the words and looks were for Camelia. It made her blush, but at the same time it was a small rush. The color in her soft pale cheeks was hardly something she could hide.
She walked, with Imperial bearing as though she were Kristine, or any number of the older Imperial ladies moving among those gathered at Court. Normally it was all but insufferable to Camelia to stand in the background and have to watch the show, each and every participant given a role. Even Camelia had a role. She played a different one today, as she had done since she left Trundle, but she knew it well. She had seen it all her life. Both the public and private side of her lady. She knew Kristine as well or better than anyone except Kristine.
Inwardly she chastised herself. Camelia knew she could never return to her old life. She knew she didn't want to. The orld was opening up before her with all it's strangeness and wonderment. She was a Koromov, and she knew it now. She could never be a Handmaiden again. It was it's own rush, and yet a little bittersweet. It was what she knew to be. But she wanted to be more...
At the presentation of the cloak that Conrad had purchased her, Camelia's eyes lit up. And then she realized that a young man had given it to her and she realized she had to heed her sister's words carefully about the message that such things could give to others. Sure this was a charade, but still truth and illusion were easily blurred.
She tried to stifle the outward expressions of happiness, but it was only partially successful. "Thankyou Conrad," she replied with some affected formality, demonstrating her acumen in guise. She curtsied and allowed Conrad to drape the cloak about her. Her mind swam. Of course it wasn't hers to own, but it felt great to 'own' it for a while.
"Or should I call you Connie," she said with a wink, as she turned to show off the cloak in a short half turn whirl. "Given the nature of our relationship?" It was a jest to remind him that she overhead and remembered the way his sister, the Aterran healer at the Hospice referred to him.
Daxia with Kadri, Camelia, Conrad, Mikal and Celi in common room
She looked at Mikal and shook her head. "Lady Comfrey has not yet returned. Do you think Celi's injury is severe enough to warrant a request for another Healer to attend to her?"
"I broke her wrist", he says simply and straightforward. "I did what I could to mend it, but my skills don't lie in that area. I think the worst is repaired, but I'd be happier if a real healer looked at it."
He frowns. "I don't want to delay our mission. Perhaps she and I can meet another healer on our way to or from the Guild? Would she be at the hospice? We can stop there after we leave." He finishes, seeing Camelia is almost ready to step out.
If so, he'd plan to leave with Celi shortly after Camelia and Conrad did and stop at the hospice or wherever this other healer might be found, then continue on to the Guild Hall.
Daxia with Kadri, Camelia, Conrad, Mikal and Celi in common room
She nodded. "The hospice would be the logical place to find a Healer, of course. However..." Daxia paused a moment, brows knit. "If my meager understanding of Cragside's layout gleaned from listening to the Horde members is correct, your Guildhouse is in the far east part of the town, while the hospice is located to the west." She looked at Celi. "It is up to you, of course, which direction you take upon leaving here. Just be very careful with your wrist until you see a Healer, da?" she remarked kindly.
He drapped the velvet cloak around her shoulders and smiled at her us of the name, raising an eyebrow.
"Connie? Generally only my sister calls me that but if it makes you happy you can call me such." he said, then offered his arm.
"I believe that we are ready for our walk through town. Yes?" he said, glancing around at the others to make sure that they were ready for their own parts in this play.
"I am ready for either, Milor ... umm, Mikal. Whichever serves you best. I am just as sneaky as always with this weak arm, but I won't be able to fight as many thugs for you. Or carry you from a burning building." Celi dimpled in a brief grin, undaunted by the circumstances.
"I can take a hint, Conrad it is," she replied as she took up his arm, but no sooner had she done that when she heard the woman whom she first saw at Plainsend wearing animal skin leathers for clothing, the one who seemed so awkward as to be endearing. Seelee or Saylee was it?
She had been hurt to some degree as there was talk of seeing a healer, and Mikal saying he broke her wrist, and all of that was sinking in as Celi mentioned fighting thugs and burning down buildings. What? She twisted around, her new cloak swirling with her. Still one hand, stretched out on Conrad's arm, she took a step toward the 'Woman from the Wilds'.
"Please no... The whole idea was not to fight any thugs," Cami interjected worriedly. "We can't be the first to escalate this. And certainly no setting fires...."
And she froze there and shook her head as she realized she was over-reacting yet again. She blew out a heavy sigh.
"Ummm... oh-kay... I get it... I'll just go back over here," she said with a motion to Conrad. "Pretend I didn't just make an idiot out of myself."
"Don't worry, Umm.. your ladyship," Celi wasn't sure what the correct form of address was, so she cranked out something all-purpose. "My job is to be extra eyes and ears, and to keep any pests off Mikal's back, so to speak. The ..." she glanced at Mikal, and grinned, "... the smaller pests, that is. I won't cause you any trouble; we were just having a small laugh. Umm ... by the way, you look quite striking."
She was pretty sure that was Camilia's intent, so Celi thought she should give her praise for succeeding.
"Ah so the relationship is fairly new then? How did you find each other?"
The idea of having an animal companion is certainly appealing. He can see times when it could be a disadvantage for him, but more times where it could be an advantage. Must be cheaper than a horse too.
"Don't worry, Umm.. your ladyship," Celi wasn't sure what the correct form of address was, so she cranked out something all-purpose. "My job is to be extra eyes and ears, and to keep any pests off Mikal's back, so to speak. The ..." she glanced at Mikal, and grinned, "... the smaller pests, that is. I won't cause you any trouble; we were just having a small laugh. Umm ... by the way, you look quite striking."
She was pretty sure that was Camilia's intent, so Celi thought she should give her praise for succeeding.
"Keeping small pests away is serious business."
She winks.
"As a small pest myself, I know this. At any rate, I wager you are more deadly with your knives than I with mine."
He nods seriously in agreement with Camelia's statement about keeping away pests, saying to both she and Celi. "I've seen more men go down from being distracted at the wrong moment than almost any other cause."
Turning to Celi he says, "If anyone at the Guild asks, we'll tell them that you are an orphan who attached herself to me somewhere along the road. It's close to the truth, and not terribly unusual for a mercenary. They can assume anything else they want as far as what you do. You might get a few snickers, but it should eliminate a lot of suspicion and curiosity."
Surprised by Kadri's comment and comradely wink, Celi found she was quite pleased at being accepted. It was a small but meaningful victory; but then, every day surviving and adjusting, somewhere other than in the Wild, was likewise.
"I am learning to pick my battles," Celi admitted, with a mischievous sideways grin for Mikal, accompanied by a gentle shake of her damaged wrist. "Mikal is a more-than-fair instructor. Hopefully, the lessons will take before I run out of bones to break."
Mikal's additional comment was another lesson, and one she immediately took to heart. "An orphan. Very well. I should act properly doting, and quick to obey even innocent requests." She nodded. A little hero worship was a good thing, especially for someone who had already shown remarkable restraint and a willingness to be patient while she learned her place.
"I can do it, Mikal."
She liked his plan. Mikal was a lot more thoughtful than one might expect from ordinary ... what was he then, a soldier? Whatever he was, she was a lucky girl. This could have gone many different ways once she came in from the Wild ... most of them the worse for Celi.
Camelia in common room, with 5 others(Kadri, Daxia, Conrad, Mikal, and Celi) (Darian and cesare and Longtooth are outside, nearby we hope)
Restday, last day of Raven-
Camelia was satisfied she had gotten across her point ina way that wouldn't intimidate anyone. Self deprecation eased tension. She was sure the red-head, daxia watched her too closely and knew she was putting on a show of her naivete, but that didn't matter. All she needed to do was remind people of the overall objectives and the risks and stakes in play. Camelia hoped Darien, the woman with the ruff, and the Rhoni man were prepared as well. She hadn't seen them in a little while.
Her intentions were genuine. Her motives were honest. She just used the skills she had to achieve it. Camelia wanted people to relax a little, and even joke with each other. If that was at her expense so be it.
But more importantly it allowed someone like Celi to open up and not feel like she was the oddest or most awkward in the room. And Celi's response brought her closer to others in the group. Even if it was only indirectly that Camelia had some hand in helping everyone unify then that was a good thing. All of them would soon be split into twos and everyone had to trust their partner and trust the other groups.
Camelia thanked Celi for her kind words and nodded in agreement with Mikal. The groups were as ready as they would ever be.
Camelia turned back Conrad, whom she had never let go off in the first place. "I think we're ready," she told him. "If you have some pennies, that will help us along the way."
AND THE PLAN...
Today was Restday and it was also the end of the month. A good day at that, and maybe the last of the good days before the fullness of winter was upon them. Camelia hoped people would be outside and enjoying themselves. Pennies for the children, that would bring more scrambling and those that got pennies would tell others and that would bring more, and it would bring parents to watch. Those pennies might be spent places and stories told of how the pennies were obtained. More stories of Conrad Shannon, the Khorall's son and his mystery lady from the Imperial House of Deynekko. The stories themselves should bring people as well. camelia hoped it would grow. People watching and talking and thus it would be impoosible to act openly against them, and also clear back-streets so that her comrades could move about with less hassle. Hopefully even the eyes of those who watched the them from nearby the Hart and Horse, no matter their faction, would be drawn out to see the spectacle that Camelia hoped would become more like a processional and parade as it moved from the Hart and Horse to the Punched Penny and wherever else it would go next.... Likely the Hospice as that was a safe place for the girl. The others knew their tasks, as they had come up with things to investigate that best suited them and their skills.
Darian, Cesare, Longtooth in the streets of Cragside
As their companions made ready their plans and accouterments, the Rhoni and the Huntress made a show of talking her ruff for a walk among the streets of Cragside. The surreptitiously made their way towards the alley where the one had been accosted by many and the key dropped, there to search for evidence of the wounded criminal and perhaps to find where he went to ground.
Seeing Camelia stand up and leave with Squire Conrad, Mikal turns to Celi. "Seems like we're up. Back door to the stables, then out the back and swing around to the Guild. Hopefully we can escape notice that way, though we are probably the least likely group for our adversaries to be worried about."
He stands and moves to the doors that lead to the stables.
After Camelia and Conrad left the Inn to begin their promenade, after Mikal and Celi slipped out the back door, Daxia hummed The Snowqueen to herself, perhaps a tad slower than most sang it. It was a good long song, to give the Imperial lass and the Squire of Rames time to be seen, time to gather a following, time for whispers and rumors to fly, time for people to surge towards the excitement and splendor of a visiting Imperial walking on the arm of Conrad Shannon.
Song finished, she took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, stood tall and proper as Kassia had taught, and smiled at Kadri. "Now... we go to seek our investment." She led the way out the front door of the Inn, cloak closed to hide both sword and dagger but with the hood thrown back to reveal the crimson hair of a Dawnview daughter. The dark green of her undertunic and the light green of her overtunic could be glimpsed below the hem of the heavy Kierkegaard cloak. While she appeared to be paying close attention to the information Kadri was providing -- even asking clarifying questions -- Daxia was watching everyone and everything around them: passersby, people just standing around, people who might look out of place, people who seemed to pay just a little too much attention to them. She was listening for the murmurs and whispers, as well... any snatches of conversation to remember and ponder later, anything that might hint at an threat.
Celi immediately followed, staying close but not so close as to impede any action Mikal chose, apparently focused completely on him. In reality she let her senses reach out to the community through which they passed, alert for sounds and scents that reflected a concern.
Anything out of the ordinary she would clear her throat , then shift her eyes to the offending source to direct Mikal's attention, while touching her ear or nose to tell him what she sensed.
His eyes were better trained for the city than hers, so she trusted him to point out visual threats.
Aware on a noise behind them, he stops and turns, watching for a moment as the procession came onto the street and then moves away from them towards the centre of town. One last long look to see if any atention is left on the two of them.
Taking his cue, hoping attention is focused on them, he turns and continues his path but now with their goal in mind.
The walk from the Hart and Horse to the Punched Penny would not be a long one. It was basically a mirror of how the group arrived the night before. The Punched Penny was near the city gates they had entered through. But it would serve as a good place to begin the 'tour'. Stop in at the Punched Penny and gather the girl and then make the walk by whatever route her guide chose, back through Cragside to the center of the town. The Hospice was near to the Church of Rames and the Town Hall building. If they walked directly back, passing the Hart and Horse again, they might also pass the market barn along their route and that might surely have people gathered. If not for that reason, there was also a well that people might be gathered to share the news of the day. The whole point was to draw as much attention to themselves and away from the others, and get the girl safely escorted from the punched Penny to the Hospice.
The Heartwood Afternoon, the Town of Cragside Restday The Last Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Everybody
" ... cor ..."
It was not just the small gathered group whose attention was caught upon the arrival of a lass trimmed in the black and gold checkerboard of the House Deynnekko.
" ... oh ... now that's a dangerous game."
Indeed it was; to wear colors that were not yours, if called upon, was not a matter to be taken lightly. They say pagans are fit for firewood; to wear the Imperial colors with out the right often ended with them one's last garb as one hung from the hangman's noose.
And the only ones who had the right to wear the Imperial checkerboards ... were those who were of the proper blood ...
... or their trusted servants.
It was the kind of lie that one Madoka kha'Ayanna kha'Kame kha'Chikato khal'Homura Akemi would offer a sly and mysterious smile. The kind of lie that was the stock and trade of the mainland's most infamous wildwuff, her husband, Thomas Montgomery Koromov.
" ... pretty ..."
" ... hoi, one coul'be earn'in a bucketfull of crown inna tunic like OW!"
There was a round of rough laughter, that and the sound of a large body meeting the legs of more than a few benches in a less that fortunate manner. But the laughter was one of comraderie, and the knockdown, almost expected.
"Oh have pity, Barris ... everyone knows Ciaran can't haul hisself outta the gutter with a ladder, a winch, three sets of block and tackle while tied to a fullhand of skybound griffins ...
"Remind me again why we keep him around?
"I be humble and lovable ... OW ... ah can hit ah penny at ah hundred yards inna t'e moonlight?""
"Right. Carry on ..."
Mercenaries ... one may be able to take them off of the battlefield, but getting the battlefield out of them was much more difficult. As difficult as getting the Trundle Alley out of a brat that knew little else growing up.
As she and her fine House Shannon escort left the Hart and Horse Camelia was a splash of finery against the rough and tumbled, a town shadowed beneath Her gaze, the shadows She cast in all the tones of gray.
On their own tasks, Camelia's companions in two and twos, took their own leave.
The Heartwood Afternoon, the Town of Cragside Restday The Last Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Daxia, Kadri, Mikal, Celi, Darian, Cesare, Camelia and Conrad
It was a parade!
A small parade.
Too small to be a proper parade, actually, plus they were missing fancy horses in their mantlings, a few fools to dance about and tease the children - though arguably, that point might be a bit debatable, all things considered and depending upon one's alliances and point of view - no Important Personages In Representation, not even a Knight to play the role of Rames, simply a Squire and while most townsfolks did do a double take upon the sight of the Imperial checkerboard upon dashing and fancy trim, the heritage it labels is beyond their everyday familiarity.
It was a promenade.
Perhaps that was a much better description. Though like a parade it does gather a train of townschildren; and a few of the more desperately garbed of the towns; those to whom the playful scattering of a few coins might mean a bit of bread for dinner and not a trip to the confectionaries.
That and a trio haunted in their shadow, following. Though not one to be worried for, the three being Darian, Cesare and Longtooth.
Up the mainstreet to the town's well Conrad and Camelia promenade, Ladyship and Squire. By now only a handful of women take their leave upon the rune carven stone ... the age worn sigils of water, time and horse. They, of course, can't help but notice the two passing, eyeing them speculatively.
"Well at least she's pretty ..."
"Dear me ... how outrageous! You'd think he might have at least chosen a local girl! Are not his own people good enough for the young Shannon?"
" ... hush, Gissy, I bet its all arranged and political, have a heart ... there's only one place that you can see colors like and you know what they say about Trundle born; look at her bearing, she's pretty and knows it, haughty arrogant, foreign .. they don't think like us they don't ..."
" ... oh the poor, poor, poor boy."
"Almost as bad as that horrid swordbiiiii - person - down at the Hart and Horse! Why I had to take a switch to Cecily, Fa caught her beating on her older brothers with a sick, playing Horde and Jvrillian they were.
" ... Spring can't come too soon, I tell you."
Happily, the walk from the town well to the smaller one at the Elder's Court was a lot quieter. Here, as the sun slowly fell between noon and the promise of late afternoon, the little square was almost empty. A pair of guardsmen nodded politely to the two as they walked between Hospice and the town hall, the directness of their pace hinting at some business not yet completed.
Following their path backwards the two enter the Attenran chapel building.
To find of all things, a reunion of sorts; finding Lady Alice in conversation with two of their acquaintances, their own Jvrillian and his backwoods companion.
Heartbeats pass, literally, and the door opened again, letting Daxia and Kadri into the house of healing.
"Do you mind if I take a look at their faces? I have had friends who were accosted by ruffians in town and I'd like to see if these match their description." Mikal asked of the Attaran Priestess.
"I don't see why not ... seeing that it'd be nice to be able to let their kin know if they be having ... having ..."
Lady Alice blinked as her hospice suddenly became crowded.
"Good afternoon?"
Again the door opened. Finally, the last of the small collective arriving; that of Darian and Cesare.
"You know, lads and lasses, never in all of my years has this place goten so many visits by folks who were whole and well ..."
Daxia noted Mikal and Celi speaking with one of the Ladies of Attera, a somewhat puzzled look on her face when she overheard their question. But a more concerned look crossed her features when she noted that the Squire and Camelia were not accompanied by Elissa. Before she had a chance to speak, however, Cesare and Darian entered the Hospice, followed by Longtooth.
She looked at the Lady when she spoke, then around at her companions... finally stopping to regard the Squire intently. Several heartbeats passed as she studied him with narrowed eyes.
She knelt by Longtooth, her hand on his head. The huntress was not entirely sure how they had come to be here. Oh, she knew they had wandered the streets and somewhat shadowed the pair, but what she did not understand just yet was why. It seemed unwise for them all to be here together.
"Guard," she whispered to the ruff.
Their amber eyes met and he gave a chuff. He would listen and scent and alert her if need be.
She rocked back and forth in the wagon of the caravan. It was another cool day. At least she was reasonably dry, having been given a place with some cover due to her station. She watched the country side pass, knowing that she was getting closer and closer to Brementown, her next stop on a five year tour of some of the most remote parts of the land.
The thought made her smile. It had been hard and at times dangerous, but the rewards had been remarkable. She truly was a Lady of Attera now. She had served the least of the lands and while many would never understand it, she had received far more than she had given.
Her musings ended as the caravan came to an end. She looked up as the caravan leader offered her his hand in helping her down.
"Thank you Reginald." she said bowing her head. He gave her directions to the hospice and she thanked him again, heading out in the indicated direction.
She looked up at the walls of the citadel and for the millionth time, wondered how Daxia fared. She hadn't been able to write to her baby sister in 5 years.
*Goodness, she's hardly a baby anymore. Probably a right beautiful woman now.* the thought making her smile again.
She pulled her meager coat closer around her and kept her hood covering her blond hair, trying to keep warm. She looked up in surprise at all the people ahead of her, thinking at first it was some kind of parade. Of course she had been recognized as a Lady of Attera and she smiled back at the people who greeted her. Her gaze at been focused on the people in front of her, well in this case, it was the snarkhound that garnered her attention.
*A snarkhound, in the town. How strange.* she thought when she felt a tug on her skirts.
Then, of course, there was a tug at her skirts. Not an unexpected or unfamiliar thing for a wandering healer. A little girl with tangled hair - more than a little dust covered, looked up. She wore a short, hand-me-down tunic, and her knees were banged and scrapped.
"Miss Lady and all ... Bobby pushed me down in the dirt, and it hurts all powerful ... "
"Let me look at that little one." she checked the minor injury and with a touch of her hand and a blessing for her Lady, the wound disappeared.
"There you go child, good as new."
She had fallen behind the troupe before her and she made her way to the hospice.
Then she heard it as the door of the two story house closed. A voice with a dawnview accent and it made her think all the more of her beloved sister. She crossed the street, stepping around a hole.
She opened the door of the hospice and removed her hood, letting her eyes adjust to the light. She had light blond hair and bright blue eyes. She had a slender build, clearly no warrior, which was also clear being a Lady of Attera.
[ooc: if everyone could post a small description in their next post, I'd really appreciate it]
Kadri too looks askance that Elissa is not, apparently, present, although she allows Daxia's question on that matter to stand. She then looks over at the new entrant. She narrows her eyes, studying her, but saying, for the moment, nothing.
Kadri is just a couple of inches shy of five feet and looks to top 100 pounds by only a few. She has long black hair, which is very fine framing a rounded face which is pretty, but in many ways childlike - mared mainly by a scar on her right cheek. The face is also somewhat exotic, speaking of someone whose heritage is not local. The hair is braided and decorated with a feather here or a bit of cord there. It would be very easy to think she was perhaps twelve or thirteen if you did not look closely - but older if you did. She is dressed functionally, in mostly earth tones of grey and black - although the clothes do look well cared for.
A tallish well-built young man in leathers and cottons of good quality was talking with one woman while another was at his side, dressed as a lady of noble bearing. He had a broadsword and dagger belted at his sides and had the stance and bearing of both noble and warrior.
"We spoke with the innkeeper. The girl, according to him, never arrived. We have come here hoping to find her still here with her father, although my hope is faint." he said quietly.
Huntress and hound looked to the door as one as yet another enters, the amber eyes of each gauging the newcomer and noting the white robes of a healer. She rises from her kneeling position and cocks her head as if listening.
She is of average size, yet what sets her off beyond those amber eyes is her sun-burnished skin. You see the weapons then, once you get past the eyes and skin; a tall, sturdy bow of a particular design and a long dagger obviously meant for fighting. Where the woman was average, the ruff was large and stood half as tall as the woman. His coat seemed to hold ever color of fur possible, and there was a keenness to his gaze that spoke of a greater than average intelligence.
Right as he asks about seeing the dead, and gaining a positive answer from the Priestess, the others begin to arrive. He too lifts an eyebrow when the Squire and Camelia enter without the girl. He waits for the priestess to show him the way, not wanting to start asking too many questions out in the open.
Mikal is a young man, looking to be in his mid twenties, with dark brown hair, edging towards black, worn long. His eyes are emerald green and piercing. He is tall, likely six feet, with a wide shouldered and muscular build, though he moves with a dancers grace. He wears ring mail over hardened boiled leathers and carries a sword and a long wide-hilted dagger.
She frowned, eyebrows drawing together, and shook her head. "Not good, Squire," she said, throwing the heavy Kierkegaard cloak, woven in threads of browns and grays, over her shoulders to reveal the light green overtunic and dark green undertunic. The double belt around her waist was white leather; from one side hung a dagger and pouch, from the other a sword. From the back, the red, shoulder-length, slightly wavy hair looked inexpertly cut... or, more likely, simply trimmed with the same dagger that hung at her side.
The redheaded Dayalan turned to look at the newcomer, and blinked once. Then deep blue eyes opened wide in surprise as she whispered, "Bekkah?" For two, then three heartbeats she stared, then a broad grin lit her face with joy. "Bekkah!" She crossed the space separating them in but two strides, and grasped the older woman in a tight embrace. "Hoi, Bekkah!"
Daxia released her sister enough to look her in the eyes, hands resting comfortably on Bekkah's shoulders. Tears rolled down her face, but her smile was brighter than any she had shown in 14 years. She could only look at her sister; words completely failed her.
The Heartwood Afternoon, the Town of Cragside Restday The Last Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Everybody
"Hoi?
"Hoi?
"HOI!"
Lady Alice Lillisdotter simply threw her arms into the air as she looked to the sky.
"This is a HOSPICE! It is a place for the hurt and sick! Ladies mercy How dare you be happy here!
"OUT OUT OUT OUT!
"Are you hurt?
"No? OUT!
"Are you ill? No? OUT!
"Do you think this is a party? Well first, forgot to tell the most important person here ... who ... oh don't give me that look ... that's right .... it's ME! And that requires an invitation. Which you neglected to send. In writing. On fine vellum. Sealed with wax and a fancy signet ring. Perfumed. Oh and a dozen white roses wouldn't have hurt either.
"Especially when you finally got around to saying sad party would be held in MY HOSPICE."
An expert cat herder, the Atterran Priestess began ooshing people towards the door.
"OUT OUT OUT!"
Dark eyes leveled at the newest entry, the one suddenly glomped.
"YOU!"
She pointed to Bekkah Yurissdotter.
"I have no I dea who you are! Right now I don't care! But guess what?
"Whoever you are.
"You see this circus?
"THEY ARE YOUR PROBLEM NOW!"
With a humf the tall Priestess crossed her arms. She then blinked. Once. Then twice.
"What do you mean she's not?"
To whom she was speaking to, certainly was none of the people present.
"Oh bother. Well I can solve that."
Eyes narrowed as she looked about the room. Snaring a flower from the table vase she stormed forward, eyeing the newcomer sharply. She reached out, around the Dayallan, brooking no dissension and took one of Bekkah's hands and wrapped her fingers around the stem.
He slips into the hospice, moving aside as he enters the area where the others are and leans against the wall by the door.
He wears a hooded cloak, though the hood is down and so not much can be seen of either his attire or his belongings apart from the pack he carries. His dark hair frames his face, emphasising the angular and slightly gaunt look. No excess fat here, no signs of comfortable living. Against the dark swarthy look, his eyes stand out the most. Restless and watchful, calculating even and where his gaze rests, very direct. Trouble perhaps? Someone not to be messed with.. likely.
He turns ahead of the newcomer entering, obviously hearing her approach, his gaze assessing briefly before moving back to the others in the room.
He seems amused by Daxia greeting the newcomer and about being ushered out.. and not waiting to be asked again slips outside to wait until others are expelled.
She too looked stunned, her eyes searching the face of the redhead for the young sister she had left behind.
"Dazi?"
"Dazi!" she said hugging the redhead fiercely like she was afraid to let go of her, tears streaming freely down her cheeks.
Before she could say anything more, a pristess of Attera thrust a carnation in her hands. She blinked as the pristess' words sunk in. She smiled then turned back to her sister and crushed her again in a hug.
"Dazi, what are you doing here? Are you here with all these people? And what does the Lady mean that you're my problem now?"
She wiped the tears from her eyes as she held Daxia at arms' length.
"Goodness, you're not so little anymore."
The woman Daxia turned to and hugged was close to 30 in age, certainly older than the redhead, though she might have been more slight. She certainly didn't have the strength that Daxia had. She also stood a couple inches shorter than her younger sister.
Daxia moved out of Lady Alice's way, grinning broadly both because of the reunion with her sister and Lady Alice's... performance. Looking at the carnation in Bekkah's hand, then at her face, she just shrugged. "Duksheviya. I tell you when Sinya leave Vale, yes?" She hooked her arm through Bekkah's and, leading her out the door, said, "I try explain... very long story. Messy." She sighed, her smile dimming slightly. "Introduce all outside. Lady Alice seem... not to like crowds, yes?" she remarked with a giggle. "You Priestess now! So proud of you!"
As even more arrive, and there is a family reunion of some sort, Mikal shrugs and since no one is paying him any attention he moves back to where he saw the men leave the bodies of the dead to get a quick look at them. Memorizing their faces, build, dress, and manner of death, he comes back out in time to be shooed out with the others. He follows them back outside and asks the group, "Where to? Don't want to talk in the street I'd guess?"
At the other woman's admonition she and the ruff too join those exiting. Once again they found themselves outside. Outside was better, the air more welcoming even if it was city air. They looked about and stepped away a bit to survey the street.
An arm -- not her sword arm, it would be noted by those who note such things -- around Bekkah's waist, she said to Mikal with a nod to the Hospice door, "Yes, no talk in street. Wait for others, introduce, go to Inn... ok?"
"Good thing I was injured," Celi said to Mikal, a hint of the sardonic in her voice after the healer's tirade left no one unscorched. She followed Mikal on his recon of the dead bodies, peering over his shoulder or standing so as to block others' sightline to him.
She was neither upset nor disgusted; death was an element of life, and if some aspects of it proved useful, so much the better. She decided against asking for a timely lesson; she did not want to antagonize their hostess. She simply listened, looked, and learned.
The young Imperial who wore the clothes of another house had slipped the arm of Conrad as the group had entered the Aterran Hospice. Her plan had not materialized with the hoped for success but she hadn’t given up. To that end she drew back as the crowd of them were finding themselves reunited within the halls of the house of Peace and Solace. Too many people, too much noise. Camelia, in all the finery she wore, none of which were actually hers, allowed herself to shift into the shadows of the nearest corner to watch. They had entered the Hospice among a line of people and their presence drew the rebuke of the principle Priestess, the one named Alice, and swiftly she ushered them outwards.
Still Camelia hung back to allow all of them to exit. They were pre-occupied with their thoughts, findings, and the stories of their recent wanderings. Camelia had only one intent and purpose. The same one she had set out upon when she left the Hart and Horse on the Arm of Conrad. Their promenade had as much the effect as she had hoped for, but she wouldn’t know if the secondary efforts to help her companions had been equally as successful or not. The last purposes of her making such a scene and spectacle in public would likely not bear fruit as quickly but time would tell soon enough.
Camelia needed to speak with Darian, the one who traveled with the ruff called Longtooth. The animal was larger than any ruff she had ever seen before. Even the hunting ruffs from Trundle. It seemed less a hound and more a separate companion and it had done well enough to bring Darian and Cesare to the Punched Penny. Despite the trail fading there, it had still told Camelia much in just seeing them as they arrived nearly the same time. Longtooth would be the means to finding the girl now. Camelia was always thinking… Too much intrigue and gamesmanship in her mind for all the years she served Kristine, helping her friend stay up with or ahead of her peers and those of others houses who also played silly games that could mean life or death to the unwary or unprepared. Always thinking. She just had to apply her skills differently now.
Lady Alice sent them outside, even putting a new woman, also a Healer, in their midst and giving her some semblance of belonging with just her words. That and Dazia appeared to be related.
The blond hair and blue eyes did not go unnoticed either.
As the last one remaining inside, Camelia made the overt effort to say a parting word to Lady Alice, despite her rightful but ill-tempered outburst. She spoke with sincerity. She had seen the harm done by being inattentive to good manners and she had no desire to repeat that again.
“I apologize for our rude and unexpected arrival. We were wrong to come here with expectations, and to do so like so many head of cattle simply trampling about with our noise and our brazen behavior. Forgive us. The welfare of the child is important to us, and we sought only to find a place of safety for her in this seemingly perilous town. This was the last place we saw her, and she never returned to her room across town. Atop that, her room was vandalized and I worry now. But none of that excuses our actions. Again, I am sorry.”
Camelia offered a nod that became a partial bow, before making her way out of the Hospice behind the last of her companions to return to the open air of the courtyard. She would make her way to Darian.
From the depths of Camelia’s voluminous cloak she produced an article of underclothing. Using the flow of the material to mantle her actions as she offered the garment to Darian, Camelia spoke softly intending her words solely for the huntress.
“These belonged to the girl, worn by her, take another with you and find her… But be warned, agents of her abductors might well be watching us now. I can’t go with you on this, not dressed as I am… and there isn’t time to wait and wander and debate… Her life is at risk, and the trail will grow cold. You and the Ruff are better off alone, but none of us can travel alone right now… Find her, and learn what you can… If you aren’t noticed, then maybe we can be brought to help you.”
Her amber eyes gazed into the other's blue, gauging, for what seemed like many long moments. Finally, she gave a single short nod. She shifted her cloak about her shoulders as well as her stance, not to accept the fabric but to tear a piece from it. Darian pushed the rest back to Camelia.
She knelt by the hound, and now their heads were at an even height. As she offered the fabric to his muzzle, she said in a low voice, "Longtooth. Track."
Once his nose had filled itself with the scent she rose to her feet and looked to the others.
Camelia With a whirl of fabric the woman, who apparently had a Rhoni heritage as well, moved away from Darian. She singled out Cesare, the one Darian had obviously referred to, and walked towards him.
“The tracker asks that you join her,” was all Camelia said as she gestured towards Darian and the Ruff. Explanations to him could be done by Darian. Camelia was not a messenger. Saying that Camelia looked for Conrad so that she could begin the trip back to the Hart and Horse.
With narrowed eyes, she watched Camelia speaking with Darian. She took a step away from Bekkah, feet planted firmly and hands clasped at the small of her back, a stance quite similar to that of Verchovai Dandelion last evening. Her face was now an unreadable mask. As Longtooth and Darian began to move away, she spoke, "Darian. Hold, please." And as Camelia sent Cesare to follow Darian and the ruff, she said to him, "You, too, Cesare. Please."
As always he had been watching, especially as Camelia made a beeline for Darian. He was already moving when Camelia made her request. He merely nodded, with a small smile and continued in Darian's direction.
He is pleased that Darian seemed to have asked for him. He had felt the two of them had worked well together that morning. She is obviously capable and focused and he liked that. And of course Longtooth interested him.
Then he hears Daxia's voice. A different interest here but just as compelling and he still hasn't learned for definite the source of her anger. He pauses, part way to Darian, watching to see if she stops before he turns to smile at Daxia.
He waited for Cameila to speak with Alice and then leave to attend to her other business, leaving Conrad with Lady Alice, someone whom he had known for a while.
"I also am sorry that the hospice was decended upon, it was not my plan. I only seek the girl, Elisa. Can you tell me what time she left here yesterday please?"
They had not gone far. Longtooth was still searching for the strongest. most recent scent path in the immediate vicinity. She did not call him from it, merely turned and cocked her head at Daxia.
This was all so strange. She had been looking forward to some soup and a cot and a quiet evening. Now it seems that she had been dragged into something crazy.
Bekkah was now a full Lady of Attera and from the looks of this group, had more than a few years on most of them so it seemed it was to be her lot to make some sense of this situation. She sighed and with a tone that might surprise them, especially Daxia, the newly promoted priestess of Attera addressed them all.
"People. People. I don't know exactly what is happening here and from the looks of this group, I suspect the answer is not a simple one. Can we not retire to an inn and get off the street?"
As she spoke she held the gaze of any who would look at her. When she looked at Daxia, her younger sister could tell that Bekkah had grown a lot.
Having exited with the last few, after taking a look at the bodies, he nods to Daxia and after waiting a moment to see if they are going to move, he steps over to the side of the hospice and leans against the wall and observes. He watches the street for threats, but a sardonic and rueful grin crosses his face as he listens to Camelia give orders followed by Daxia countermanding them.
When Squire Conrad finally emerges, he catches his eye and nods towards the discussion underway.
He then moves closer to the man and says softly. "Do you think we might get to see some hair pulling and rolling in the mud?"
He sighs. "This is why Troops don't work as a democracy."
He was considering saying, **This is why few Troops are led by women.**, but considering the present company he decides discretion is the better part of valor.
Celi avoided the posturing and argument, slipping next to Mikal to lean in and whisper to him alone, "We should follow the hound. He has the scent, and with his amazing nose should find the girl. If that is what you wish, of course."
Daxia gave Bekkah a look... that was completely unfamiliar, and then the slightest nod before turning her head to look at Mikal. "Have very good hearing, Mikal. No hair pulling or rolling in mud."
She looked at Longtooth lounging now at Darian's feet and, meeting his eyes, gave him the slightest nod as well.
The Dayalan then stepped over to the Jvrillian, and looked him in the eye. After several long hearbeats, she said, "This not troop, Mikal. This group of strangers looking for answers to questions." There was another long pause. "This group of strangers also not Wild Horde, not accept Dayalan as leader, as much as Dayalan try." She gave him a sly smile. "Think Jvrillian not accept Dayalan as leader, either." She cocked her head to one side, assessing him. "You want job, Jvrillian?" She turned her head to look at Conrad. "Or you, Squire of Rames?" She looked between the two of them several times before finally saying, "Decide by time we reach Inn."
She spun on her heel and returned to her sister's side. Once again picking up the burden of proper court mannerisms, she introduced the motley crew to Bekkah, gesturing to each individual in turn. "Lady Bekkah, I present to you Kadri... Squire Conrad Shannon... Mikel... Celi..." She paused, giving Camelia a long look. "Camelia kha'Madoka kha'Ayanna kha'Kame kha'Chikato khal'Homura Akemi Koromov, or Camelia Ayannasdotter, as she sometimes likes to be called." She smiled at Camelia, before continuing. "Cesare... Darian... and Longtooth."
Daxia looked over the group once again. "I present to you all Priestess Bekkah Yurisdotter, Lady of Attera." She dropped the formal speech again and said, "We go Inn..." Her eyes turned to Darian. "As soon as Hunter explain mission partner not interested in."
Camelia offered a formal courtesy, hands to the seam lines of her tunic and kicking back her right foot to affect the bow.
Cami had flaxen blond hair that was coiffed and braided and then arranged as would be expected of the lady she presented herself to be. The hair was matched with brilliantly azure blue eyes. Those eyes were sharp and focused though, a gateway to an intelligent mind and one unconcerned with letting that be seen by those who might recognize it. She was youthful though, likely the youngest of this gathering in that she still had a -teen attached to the number of summers she had lived. Camelia was a little thin, but taller than average by a finger's length or more. She wore a finely made set of over and under-tunics, in purple and light red respectively. Draping her shoulders was a luxurious and obviously expensive cloak in a blue that nearly shimmered to purple as she moved. The last thing of note, though possibly the most important was that the hem and collar and sleeves of her purple over-tunic were bordered in a black and gold checkerboard trim and cuffing of the Imperial House of Deynekko. When she spoke, her voice was clear and articulate and she was clearly educated to be more than proficient with words. For those who already knew her, she wasn't using the affectation of her Imperial tone at present.
“You may call me Camelia… or Cami, as you wish,” she said to Bekka Yurisdotter.
At that, Camelia shifted and walked to pass Daxia and speak in a whisper, though not one meant to keep others nearby from hearing.
“Perhaps it is more likely that the ruff is less ’interested’ in the talking about things and more so in the doing of things. The kind of things he is good at doing.“
< ooc: edited to remove internal dialogue. If an explanation is wished please ask via private message. Time to move on and have fun. >
She greeted each person in turn as they greeted her, returning their acknowledgement with the same formality or informality they seemed to prefer. For those who noticed such things, Bekkah was probably a very lovely woman, but from the look of her clothes and the somewhat disheveled look to her hair, it was obvious that she had been traveling for a while. She was also quite obviously tired, but to her credit she neither complained nor did she seem to worry about how she looked especially when possibly compared to the young and beautiful Imperial.
Also, while there might be very slight traces of her Dawnview accent, she spoke well as if she had been in Imperial company for quite a while.
"No. Definitely not a Troop, Daxia. As for being leader, I don't recall anyone asking, until now. Don't recall your asking to be followed either. Just seemed to be a gaggle of individuals all headed the same general direction, and a few who seemed to like giving orders. I'll give it some thought, both ways." He nods seriously.
As she turns to walk away, he adds, "You sure we won't get to see any hair pulling or rolling in the mud?" He smiles and winks at her.
He then turns to Bekka as Daxia performs introductions. "Well met, my Lady." he offers her a small bow. "Perhaps we should get off the street?" He nods towards Camelia moving back to the inn and turns to follow.
Daxia with most of the Gang outside Atteran Hospice
With a backwards glance at the Jvrillian, she said, grinning broadly, "No... sorry." Her features returned to neutral by the time she reached her sister's side.
Daxia raised an eyebrow at the Imperial girl's comment after she had completed the introductions, then looked at the ruff sprawled at Darian's feet. She tilted her head one way, then the other as she looked at the big ruff. Then she looked back at the departing Camelia, almost as if she was going to speak. She shook her head and looked at Longtooth again... and shrugged an apology.
"Off street good idea, Mikal," she said. "Still like to know where Camelia want to send Darian, Longtooth and Cesare. Why Longtooth not interested in going. Maybe especially why Longtooth not interested." She turned to look at him again. "Much information to be shared, yes. Very much." She gestured to the group Camelia had intended to send off on their own. "This maybe important, too, yes?"
Celi moved as if she was attached to Mikal by a loose elastic cord, following but almost running into him when he stopped, then changing direction with a belated jerk when he went from leaving to flirting with Becca to following Camelia.
She had no idea what he was up to, and was merely trying to stick, but he was not making it easy, including ignoring her words.
Not worried about speaking out when he needs to, Cesare maintains his watchful silence for now, listening with interest to the conversations around him.
It is obvious to him why Longtooth isn't interested but then he'd been at the inn earlier and worked out that the garment Cami showed the ruff had been from the girl and that there is no scent here to follow.
He nods and then smiles in greeting to Bekkah, though his eyes linger for longer on the younger sister. He doesn't accept the coincidence of their meeting as he knows the Fates have a strong presence here, though he has yet to figure out why.
However, when the conversation gets around to leadership, he feels it is only fair to make his position clear.
"Never has a leader, not going to start now. I can work well with people, pull my weight but I do it from my own choices."
The comment isn't directed at anyone specifically but generally to those around. The words are said lightly, the smile on his face shows no rancour with anyone, he is simply stating a fact. With a nod to end his contribution, he turns and drops in beside Darian to walk back to the inn.
"Think it may be pleasant to walk again later, see more of the town?"
He glances at her, confident she will know what he means. They had communicated well that morning.
The immediate issue with Daxia resolved, at least for the moment, he turns back to Celi and nods. "Probably right, Celi, but it doesn't look like the ruff wants to go anywhere at the moment. You'll have to tell me more about that. I'm surprised that any ruff could track a single smell in this place." He waves a hands to encompass all the people about, the muddy streets, the smoke pouring from numerous chimney's in the chilly afternoon, the darker smoke coming from several businesses within a few streets of them, smells of food, and others.
"Can he really pick out a single person's smell in all this?"
Celi nodded vigorously. "And in worse environs than this. Ruffs do not scent *different* scents than us; rather, they can scent a more dilute odor than we can, and identify it. This is what makes them so effective. You can dissuade them with oil of peppermint, or a paste made of crushed garlic and clove.
"There are some creatures with better noses: bears, for example, can smell things under the ground, then use their claws to dig up whatever they scented.
"If we use the ruff to trail the girl, we should start from where she disappeared, and try to follow her trail. But if they put her in a wagon and sought to conceal her trail, then it may not work."
Camelia paled at the growl and bowed her head as she briefly ran the past bits of conversation through her mind. She'd offended. The snarkhound was obvious in his warning and a blush replaced the wan coloration as she tugged on one of her honey-colored locks.
"I'm sorry," she said in a conciliatory tone meant to carry not just to him but her erstwhile companions as well. "I'd like to blame it on the travel, shock, attire, or lack of knowledge but...I guess I can't now, can I?" She trailed off and merely repeated the apology this time including them all, not just the irked snarkhound before briskly asking, "any thoughts on the next moves?"
They would accept it or not, but each new journey began with steps. She’d see where these went.
The young woman knew she'd feel better with proper items on her and maybe that was some of her upset too, but Camelia knew she couldn't blame it on that either. It was her. At least the 'hound had given her another chance. Maybe the others would too. She'd follow where they went.
And tomorrow was a day she might be able to fix the lack of things as well.
When the large ruff rose and growled at Camelia, Daxia instinctively shifted ever so slightly to shield her sister from the animal... despite the fact that she knew there was no need to protect Bekkah from Longtooth. She looked at the young Imperial again; the calculating gaze that lasted several heartbeats was pure Allaine. Then she blinked and turned back to Darian and Longtooth. "Would ask if Longtooth and Darian think it worth trying to track girl."
"We still do have one bit of leverage; the key. And. I know what lock it fits into and where that lock is, and at least have an idea what it is guarding."
The elder sister wasn't so certain that she was safe from the ruff. A hardened killer, yes, an animal no matter how intelligent, no. She didn't think they believed in her Goddess. So Bekkah let her sister protect her, which still seemed quite surreal to her.
She listened to the childlike one talk about a key and a lock and it meant nothing, Then the handsome man mention not talking in the street and she was bewildered by all of this.
"Yes, inn, good thought." she said reverting back to a Dayalan accent for a moment.
"Then please explain." she said moving to follow Camelia, pulling on Dazi's sleeve.
He had the grace to blush a bit and bow to Lady Alice.
"I can assure you that they did. Fair day to you milady." he said and took his leave, going outside to end up next to Mikal and overhear his comments. They brought a slight quirk to his lips but he refrained from laughing as he meant no insult to Daxia.
And then Conrad listens to those about him, the question from Daxia and the rushed introductions. He nodded politely to Bekkah when she is introduced to him.
"An honor to meet you Lady."
Finally he turned to Daxia and Mikal and the others.
"One thing we can all agree on is that any conversation needs to be done someplace in private and not the street here. The inn common room is hardly private either. If we are to talk further on this, it would be best to do so in one of the rooms. If on the way to the Inn, good Longtooth might find the trail, then I am for following the scent to the girl but I suspect that is unlikely."
Darian's reaction to Celi's explanation of how tracking scent worked made her frown. She had in no wise diminished Longtooth's capabilities. In fact, she had been touting them.
ANd tracking was one of the things Celi knew better than most. And had they not told her to call him a Ruff so that they wouldn't get in trouble, when she had named him as a Snarkhound? These people couldn't even keep their own lies straight.
She had never said he was a tool; she had merely tried to ... well, show off a bit of knowledge for Mikal. Explain something she knew about for Mikal, She wasn't insulting anyone; she was trying to be helpful.
Of *course* Longtooth would track when he chose. But she had just rubbed the girl's clothing in his face. What was he then expected to do ,.. sneeze and forget it? Or perhaps he was supposed to wake them all up in the middle of the night and announce he was now ready to track, and in the meanwhile let the scent trail get colder and older.
She shoved her hands in her pockets and decided to ignore the reaction. Darial was just being protective of her hound-companion, and Celi understood the feeling. If she continued to berate her, Celi would try to explain what she had been doing. Failing that, she would tell her to take a long walk off a short pier. The job was hard enough when you were out of your element and trying to impress your companion.
Not for the first or the last time she wished they were on the prairie or in the forest, where her skills would have some demand.
Daxia with Bekkah, Cesare, Darian and Longtooth outside the Atteran Hospice as the others wander off towards the Inn
Moving closer to Darian and Longtooth, so she could speak more softly, she whispered to Bekkah, "I tell. Not yet," then nodded once, sharply, to Darian. "Very much yes," she said. "You and Longtooth Hunters. You say best way to find, yes? You say best way we..." Daxia pointed to herself and Bekkah, nodded towards Cesare, and gestured in the direction of their departing comrades. "...help Hunters. Talk at Inn? We do. Something else? We do." She glanced back at those heading towards the Inn, then turned back to Darian, a worried look on her face.
"Sharing information... yes, important. Finding girl... also important." Her voice lowered even more. "Finding girl before wind up like father most important, ok?" Daxia looked down at the ruff, and spoke to him as she would Brighteyes. "Very tangled web, human greed, make town very dangerous place for girl. Maybe she know how dangerous, maybe she hide. If she hide good, you know." She looked back up at Darian. "Maybe hiding place safest. Maybe Inn safest. Hunters will know, yes?" She regarded the pair for another couple of heartbeats. "You say. We do."
ooc note: Hey folks ... not to dampen your enthusiasm, which is great - just remember we have a 24hr or until everyone posts rule for the weekdays ... I don't want to see anyone get run over
The moment between hunter and hound stretched out as they conferred. His big head turned, eyes flowing down a certain path then back to the human with whom he ran. The corners of her mouth turned up in a small, toothless smile, and she gave a short nod.
Darian stood then and turned to Daxia.
"Offer be kind," she told her in a conversational voice, "But noon meal we ate. We walk some more, enjoy Her warmth."
Interesting. There is more to this relationship between Darian and Longtooth than he thought.
But he is much in sympathy with her (or Longtooth's) wishes, to be doing something rather than talking, especially if that was going to be posturing in some leadership bid.
"OK if I join you again?"
He smiles at both Darian and her four-legged companion before glancing back to Daxia.
"Daxia, could you just whisper your findings in case it has any bearing?"
He is interested in hearing her news, though not necessarily trudging back to the inn for a drawn out conversation to find out. It is not Daxia, he would be happy to spend time in her company but there are things to do right now and he is more use out here.
Daxia with Bekkah, Cesare, Darian and Longtooth in front of Atteran Hospice
She looked between Cesare and Darian, biting her lower lip, not saying anything for a fullhand of heartbeats. Finally, she sighed softly. "Beside what already said, girl rightful owner of key," she whispered. "Merchant Guild, Thieves Guild... all same, trust none. What in warehouse worth uncountable crown; lost lives no matter to those who want merchandise." Daxia regarded them again, including Longtooth in her plea, "Be most careful, yes? Come back safe, please."
Taking a step backwards, her manner changed completely and she smiled brightly. "Enjoy walk; may Her light guide you. Will look forward to sharing evening meal together."
After taking their leave of the Hunters and the Rhoni, Daxia walked with Bekkah towards the rest of the group, her warm cloak wrapped around both of them. Daxia did not seem intent on catching up with the rest, just on keeping them in sight.
"So, Bekkah... I see boots Lady Catherine give you not on your feet," she said, almost chuckling. "Tell that story first, maybe."
She wasn't really sure what had transpired, but she was fairly certain it wasn't something trivial.
"Not much story there little one. I wore them out. I've done a good amount of walking the last 5 years. A =good= amount of walking."
She accepted Daxia's sharing of the cloak and noticed the sword at her sister's hip. She remembered her letters about learning to use one, but she had pictured something not much bigger than a dagger. A short sword was more what she was had imagined.
"And you, you really use that sword." she asked looking down at the sword between them."
Daxia with Bekkah, following those heading towards the Inn
Daxia laughed. "Oh, yah!" She was quiet for a few paces. "Remember you write maybe Kassia so hard because she see potential? You right." More quiet for another handful of paces. "Telling story backwards, but when I sitting on Fern waiting to leave Vale with Gilly, Kassia give me her sword." Her voice was full of emotion. "She say to Gilly, 'If she not figure out by now she my last, my best, student then she really dumb as cobble-block.' I... I knew about being last. Kassia very old. Said she only had another season, maybe two. Maybe she with Sisters already; by end of Storm season certainly." She shook her head, and realized she had tears in her eyes. Again. "She not even let me say final good-bye, or thank you for gift. Just walk off." Daxia wiped the tears away with her sleeve. "Did not ever once think, since going to Temple after Mama and Papa die, I would miss Kassia. But miss her very much, Bekkah. Surprise me from Vale all way to Cragside, still surprise me how much I miss Kassia."
She listened, not saying a word until Daxia had finished. When she did finish, Bekkah, took her hand and stopped her, turning her to face her. She reached up and wiped a tear from Daxia's cheek, then pulled her close and kissed her cheek as she hugged her tightly.
"It's okay to miss someone real bad. She was like a mama to you. Raised you. Trained you. She was there when me, mama and papa weren't. Never forget her. Remember her, but always making her proud." she said, kissing her cheek again before letting her go.
Mikal - with Celi then with Celi, Daxia, and Bekkah
Glancing behind and seeing the conversation continuing between Daxia, Darian, and Cesare, followed by the two with the ruff turning and leaving, he slows to allow Daxia and Bekkah to catch up to he and Celi. The group is strung out a bit along the street, but it doesn't seem too bad to him and at least they're headed back to the inn together.
**Well, almost together.** He amends mentally.
When Daxia and Bekkah reach he and Celi he turns to walk with them and says to Daxia, nodding his head towards the departing Darian and Cesare, "I see you decided to be in charge then. Perhaps when we reach the inn you should ask others if they wish to follow?"
Celi did a little hop-skip to readjust to Mikal's new direction. She felt like things were going in something like a positive direction. She just wasn't sure what it was. But there was a positive aura that emanated from Mikal like steam from a softpad on a snowy morning... And it touched her much the same way as did Stormrunner.
Daxia with Bekkah, following those heading towards the Inn, catching up with Mikal and Celi
She smiled and hugged her sister. "You always say right things, Bekkah." She looked over Bekkah's shoulder to see Mikal and Celi waiting for them. "So many things to tell you, but have to wait until later. Wrote letters to send when I hear from you again. I have at Inn; you read later. Now, need to know web you fell in, yes?" She took a breath to settle herself, her emotions, then wrapped her cloak around Bekkah again. "Kassia always be with me, in heart... in night sky. She never lie to me, Bekkah. If she say I her best student, then must be true." Daxia smiled as she started them walking again. "Remember you write I be legendary Dayalan? And I write back, no, not for me." She chuckled. "I make Kassia proud, then maybe you right after all."
Upon reaching the waiting pair, she smiled and nodded to them. At Mikal's comment, she shook her head. "I not in charge, no. Gave Darian and Longtooth choice to go, to come to Inn." She frowned, brows knitting together. "I not explain right. Hmmm. I tell Darian she in charge, decide if they can... do what Camelia ask. Say she need tell me best way to help." She nodded. "Yes. Better. So they go... Hunting. We go to Inn and talk."
The walked in silence a handful or so of paces before she answered his final question. "Don't know, Mikal. But ask you now... you follow Dayalan? No point asking others if Jvrillian not follow, yes?" She looked across at the young country girl who seemed attached to him by a spring. "And you, Celi? You follow Dayalan?"
Kadri walked. . .quietly. Not saying much of anything and looking lost in thought. . or as if she is plotting, and trying to think several steps ahead.
He escorted Cameila and those in the first group back to the inn, walking with a frown on his face and his fist clenched on the hilt of his broadsword at his side.
Reaching the inn, he opened the door for the ladies and then went to the innkeeper to see about the use of a private room.
"Thank you," she said quietly to the Squire. Once fully within the relative safety of the inn she could begin to drop the aped manners like an onion shedding its outer skin.
There was likely conversation and planning to go over then she could get out of the 'hang me high' attire and see to some other matters as well. She looked around, eyes bright and interested. destiny flowed with its own current but it didn't mean the undertow was fully hidden.
"Yes," she said, the barest hint of relief in her voice. "My words ran ahead of thoughts and sense."
Allies were needed now against the machinations not foes. Kadri did what she thought was best to protect someone; Camelia couldn't say what she might do in similar straits.
It is very nice having Daxia up close whilst she delivers her news, even if she seems unaware of their proximity. Still she does seem concerned for his saftey - well all three of them if he is truthful - and he supposes it is a start.
He is smiling as he turns back to Darian and Longtooth as Daxia and the remainder of their group head off in the direction of the inn. An afternoon outside in the fresh air, doing something interesting seems more enticing than an afternoon of talking.
"Where would you and Longtooth like to go first? I am happy to walk beside you both and be as useful as I can. And if there is a way I might make better acquaintance with Longtooth, I would like to do that. You both interest me."
He is quite direct as always but there is truth in his words.
"Hmmm. Not easy question to answer, Daxia." He answers. Glancing at Celi when she asks her question, he turns back to Daxia and nods. "Yes. Celi is right. We were interrupted earlier in the day when you were going to explain about who and what 'Dayalan' is. What it means. I can't give my word to follow someone if I don't know anything about them and therefore can't feel comfortable about where they are going to lead me. You brandish the label 'Dayalan' like a shield, yet I know nothing of what it means."
She shook her head, "Not shield, Mikal. Just... who I am." She paused as they entered the Inn, and she flung her cloak off to wrap it snuggly around Bekkah. Nodding to the others who had already arrived, she settled her sister near the fire and sat down beside her. "Am Daxia, Dazi... sister, friend, student, teacher... Dayalan just one more way to say who Daxia is."
She nodded to Mikal and Celi. "Ok, I tell you of Dayalans. Easy answer be... Mikal is Jvrillian, Bekkah is Lady of Attera, Conrad is Squire of Rames, Daxia is Dayalan, yes? But most know Jvrill, Lady Attera, Lord Rames. Seem few outside Vale know Dayala's name, though all know Her. But I tell you tale way I learn it from teachers, ok? Not all my words yet... take parts from Verchovai Gillyflower, parts from Verchovai Kassia." She settled more comfortably, and began the story...
"Before Time began, there was only the Forest, where the Firstborn lived and played. Surrounding the Forest, though, was Chaos; endless night, dangerous and deadly. And the Chaos Lords hunted the Firstborn; so the Firstborn sent emissaries to Dayala, asking for Her help. Dayala came to their aid, and rose above the Forest; in doing so, She brought the day. When She retired to slumber, so was created the night, wherein her many children lit the Forest.
"By Her rising and slumbering, Dayala created Time, which was the first Law. The Chaos Lords saw the Law, and their anger was great. Who was She to diminish Chaos with Law? And so the Chaos Lords descended upon the Forest; they challenged Dayala and the Law; they challenged Her and the Light; they tried mightily to destroy that which Dayala had brought forth. These challenges are known now as the Shattering Wars, and in those wars The Heartwood was broken.
"Finally, She rose to defeat the Chaos Lords and banished them to Beyond. Time, day and night, continued. Humankind was born amidst the conflicts, and lived in the new world created from the shattering of the Forest. Years and more years passed as Yrick, king of the Bright Empire, brought peace and prosperity to the land. The Keeps were constructed during these years, and Yrick’s lands stretched from Caer Maeyin to the Port of Lys. Whispers and songs still speak of Dall Gwynn, a golden city founded during Yrick’s reign.
"No man lives forever, for that is a gift given only to the Firstborn and, as some say, to the gods themselves. The day came when King Yrick rose to watch from the sky, where we see him still. Yrick and those who came after him did not remember that humankind was not the only people born during the Shattering Wars. The Chaos Lords had given birth to their children, as well. This was a dire thing to have forgotten, for one evening the children of the Chaos Lords came pouring over the Black Mountains. These children were pale as the moons with hair as white as snow, and they possessed magicks never before seen. With them came their Lords of Destruction.
"And so began the first war of men, the Long War, which lasted a fullhand of fullhand years. City after city, keep after keep all fell before the Easterners. We will not forget the Battle at the Water’s Edge, where one hundred and twenty five Dayalans held off a horde of Easterners and the personal servants of the dire Lords. We will sing the songs that tell of our brave sisters who vanquished so many of the Easterners and the servants of the dire Lords. Dayala’s children stood against the Chaos, their blood staining the piers and causing the waters to run red, buying time."
Daxia paused, to look across at Cami. "We always only 'just buying time', yes?" She continued her storytelling.
"Eventually, the children of the other gods were able to drive the Easterners back beyond the Black Mountains, though too many children of Dayala joined their sisters in the night sky, and the remaining few were scattered far and wide.
The Second Age saw humankind, too, scattered across the land to become farmers. It was a time of simplicity, and relative peace. There was no need for the skills Dayala had taught her children. And so, when the East ran across the Heartwood for a second time, Dayalans again fought, again just buying time, until the Knights of Roth drove the Easterners to the Lowside of the Tarn, where the Easterners entered the Dirkwood, never to be seen again. Even fewer of Dayala’s children survived the second coming of the Easterners. We must never forget, though, the greatest tale of that desperate age… the Massacre at Jeminy's Hill. There, a handful of Dayalans were left to defend a group of Risha's followers. The Dayalans, under Verchovai Jeminy Kilkenna held out for two days, and held true to an oath they had made: that none of Risha's people would be touched before the last Dayalan, Kisa Allaine, died."
Daxia eyes had closed during the last part of the story, but she opened them again now, looking around at those who had listened to her tale.
"Like followers of Lord Rames, we stand and defend defenseless or weak. Sisters often left fighting for duty and beliefs, all alone.
"But we fight," she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. "And we fight until Dayala bring us all home to Her."
She looked up, wide-eyed as Daxia and the others entered and Daxia nearly immediately launched into a story. She leaned forward as she listened to the tale and nodded slowly at Daxia's comment and the story's conclusion.
Mother...Mother isn't one. And neither am I, she thought at the end of tale... no history. We may do some similar, and Mother certainly cared about what they do, but we're not. She was her mother's child yes, and what she taught was important and needful, but she was not Dayalan. She blushed briefly as she thought of her words the other day.
"Thank you, Daxia," she said in a steady tone. "Thank you for the sharing..." she trailed off her mind whirling.
It sounded to Celi like Dayala was nothing more than the Sun, which was an integral part of Celi's cosmos. It misspoke Her place in the order of things, however, ignoring the core concept of "Nature," which did not rule existence -- rather, Nature *was* existence.
But Celi knew better than to espouse her beliefs in public. She settled for blinking, nodding slowly, and then waiting for Mikal to say something so she wouldn't put her foot in her mouth.
She accepted the cloak and felt it's warmth surround her. She hadn't realized how chilled she had felt. She rubbed the cloak against her cheek smiling. It was finer than anything she owned.
Then she listened to her baby sister.
*Oh how you've grown little one. Kassia would be proud to hear you now.* she thought as she reached out and squeezed Dazi's hand as she finished.
"Perhaps, others explain how you all came to be together? I've traveled a lot and never seen a group such as this."
Daxia smiled and squeezed Bekkah's hand in return upon finishing the story; then met Kadri's eyes when she spoke, returning the other woman's gaze. A nod was the only response necessary; perhaps an acknowledgement, perhaps a confirmation. When Camelia spoke, Daxia regarded her gravely for a handful, then two handful of heartbeats. "You are welcome, Camelia. Hope now you understand me, Verchovai Dandelion better, yes?" Then she smiled. "Just a little, maybe?"
"A little," she said with an almost shy smile "and.. 'lia please. After the recent events, changing out of these and altering other things a bit might be best." Her smile changed briefly to pure mischief, "but I've found I'm a younger sister recently, so I think I won't be fully letting her know I understand her."
With a brief look of apology at the others she'd dash off to change. "I'll be back soon as I can." She wanted out of the 'hang 'em high' clothing.
"It is much as I have heard it, though without the references to Dayala or her followers. The Ballad of Jeminy's Hill, as I have heard it sung, also has no reference to a Kisa Allaine. Instead the young hero who stands with Captain Jeminy was named Mikal Allinna. Still, to be as you say is honorable. Some might call it foolhardy, but one can see the honor in defending the weak."
He smiles ruefully as indeed he himself has been called foolhardy on several occasions for taking contracts that paid less than some others simply because of who the employer was and their need.
"Let us share the information we have each gathered, and then I will answer the question you put to me, Daxia."
"So, to begin, I have a question. Do you believe Allaine money to be behind purchasing the contract of the Dark Mark and bringing them here to Cragside?"
"Depend on their purpose for being in Cragside, Mikal. If to protect shipment in warehouse, man killed last night, girl missing today... then small possibility. But if so, why is man dead and girl missing? Mark is not so inept as this, are they?" Daxia looked puzzled over that. "Also..." Her brow furrowed, eyes darting around the room at any of the Hordesmen who might be gathered, finally settling on the doorway to the stables and training yard beyond. "...also think Mark not most likely group for Khorall Linnell... or Lord Kisa... to choose for such job." She continued to stare at the doorway for several heartbeats, before shaking her head and looking at the others gathered. "Kadri and I find warehouse easy enough. Belong to her employer. We enter, think to look in crates loaded in wagons to see what worth killing for, yes?" She sighed. "But as I untie knots, suddenly Patterns become clear, very clear. So we hurry very quick to Kadri's employer to find who is rightful owner of key.
"Unless cargo already have buyer, and dead man with daughter are delivering only, key and cargo belong to missing girl. What is cargo?" Daxia shuddered as she looked at the small part of a much greater Pattern. "Is three wagons, filled with last shipment of iron ore and steel from Dawnview Vale before Khorall Linnell Allaine stop all shipments west." She looked at Kadri. "Employer say probably not enough time to find buyer, yes? So every thief in Thieves Guild, every merchant in Merchant Guild want cargo." She looked back at Mikal. "You see why? You understand? Politics very ugly thing." She sighed again as she looked at her sister. "Maybe this what Lord Kisa warn me about five years ago. Not surprising," she said softly as she patted Bekkah's hand. "You read letters, then we talk about that."
Looking back at Mikal, she asked, "What you learn from your Guild?"
"The scuttlebutt is that the Dark Mark is here at the bidding of either Allaine money or Montague money. Only those have enough coin to buy out their long term contract at Bordertown."
"Also, the Mark is not recruiting, meaning they do not expect to be in a pitched fight any time soon. I can tell you the Guild is on edge. No one likes them being here."
"I have also made it known I am looking for work for Celi. Will give us an excuse for wandering about town poking into places."
He sits back and looks around to make sure none are listening in, then says softly. "And I passed a message to the Merchant who tried to hire me to get the key. Hopefully it will give the rest of you a few days without interference to get done what needs to be done. If he believes me he should be watching me closely, and if we're lucky he'll stop the others." He shrugs. "If not. It probably didn't make anything any worse."
"So. Is it as simple as the Merchants and Rogues trying to corner the market on the last bit of iron ore available to try to make a killing of a profit? Seems a bit of overkill, doesn't it?"
Looking closer at Daxia he adds, "I must admit the politics of it are a bit beyond me. We never cared much for politics on the farm."
She returned quietly, dressed in more subdued clothing with her hair in a serviceable braid. Her appearance is vastly different from the flashy Lady of before. What skills can be used to draw attention to and heighten the impact of attributes and appearance can also be used to subtly downplay them.
'lia nodded to the others and set back down listening intently.
"We have a problem more immediate. . do you remember the threat to harm the girl unless the key was placed at a specific warehouse? Well, if they have her, that deadline is approaching."
She shook her head forcefully. "No, no... not overkill. And Darian search with Longtooth and Cesare for girl right now. They come back, say where she is, or bring with, maybe." She planted elbows on knees, propped her chin in her palms and rubbed her forehead. "Ah, how to explain?" she muttered. For a fullhand of heartbeats she sat there, just rubbing her forehead, then looked up wearily at the others. "Ok. Simple politics." She held up one hand, fingers extended. "Korie." She held up the other hand in the same way. "Montague." She interlaced the fingers of both hands. "They like this." Separating her hands, she held one up in a fist. "Korie and Montague." The held up the other hand in a fist. "Allaine." She slammed the fists together, and held them that way. "Like this. Korie and Allaine like this since before Bankerpool first come to mainland. Since Imperials come..." She moved her fists apart, about two handspan. "...Korie and Allaine like this.
"But Pax Imperium falling apart, no Viceroy come to mainland in many generations; Lord Kisa see this five, maybe more, years ago. Korie want to be most powerful now." She started to move the fists closer together again. "Korie making weapons. Need iron, need steel. Khorall Linnell not go Midsummer Council, send -- I think -- certain Verchovai instead. Korie stop grain to Dawnview." Her fists perhaps two fingerwidths apart. "Allaine stop shipment of iron and steel after Midsummer Council." Now her fists were barely far enough apart to slide a dagger. "Korie and Montague want iron and steel in wagons." She looked at her fists, then looked around at her comrades.
The Heartwood Mid-afternoon, the Town of Cragside Restday The Last Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Conrad, Camelia, Mikal, Bekkah, Daxia, Kadri and Celi
"A private room?"
The innkeeper just waved his hand across his commons; full of both mercenaries and the townsfolk with better taste.
"I suspect the hayloft is going to be about the best you can ask until the spring thaw, mi'Lord. Unless you ... command someone out of their room and all, which I guess is your right."
The commoner did not seem at all happy with that later alternative, however, casting a worried eye across his more martial patrons.
"But the lass there ..."
He nods to Kadri.
"She has a room all her own all ready. It's not big, but it is private ... and you seem like a friendly bunch, aye?
"And Her Ladyship, well, she is up in The Captain's room as far as I be knowing; now that room, it does have a deent size; second floor, right up against the far chimney, so its warm too. But I suspect that would be between Her Ladyship and The Captain, being .. they right truly and properly are sisters, right?"
For the others, it was a place in the mid-afternoon crowd that they found themselves. They garnered a few looks upon entering; curious townsfolk noting newcomers ... members of the Horde noting the return of prodigal sister, her entourage and their Captain's temple-siser. A table would be offered, perhaps to share so they wouldn't have to stand. After, however, that initial curiosity like most countryside taverns folks returned to their own conversations. From the kitchen came the telltale scent of cooking meat; the evening's dinner preparations already begun. The sound of chopping and slicing could also be heard. From the kitchen too there was an interesting procession; three of the barmaids made a couple trips to the upstairs, each carrying a bucketfull of slightly steamy water.
"The Mark?"
A Horder with dusty hair and an easy lope walked by, carrying a plate of meat and a small bucket of gravy towards his own table.
"You hire the Mark when you got a dirty job no other sellsword will do."
He nods to Daxia. "So, Montague hired the Mark to escort the wagons of ore back to their base. Don't know many other Troops that would take a contract with Montauge. But the ore belongs to the girls father, and now that he is dead belongs to the girl. I'd guess there is no way into the warehouse without the key, else why not just break in and take it? If they're not averse to killing, the theft should be no roadblock, so it must be protected by the magic in the Darksteel somehow. So, all they are waiting for is the key and they take the wagons and leave."
He pauses, and looks at Daxia. "Does that sound right, or is there more?"
When Kadri mentions the risk to the girl, and Daxia talks about Darian and Cesare tracking her, he adds, "I hope I might have bought a little bit of time for her in the message I sent to one of our merchant enemies."
She dropped her hands to her lap when Mikal began speaking. "Sound right." She paused, and shrugged lightly. "One other thing, only important to me, maybe. Dayala require Her children to stand against Chaos Lords; I see shadow of Chaos in alliance of Korie and Montague. I see to end of Path if Montague get ore... end in destruction we not see since before Imperials come to mainland." Daxia closed her eyes; they moved rapidly beneath her lids as if she was scanning something. Then shook her head and opened her eyes. "Even if stand alone, am required by Oath to Dayala to not allow such thing. Still only see one Path to certain destruction... only Lord Kisa see far enough to know where others end.
"But maybe you not want to follow where I lead, Mikal," she said sadly. "I not walk safest Path."
Her hand went automatically to where her belt pouch would be - if she had one. But she didn't. Have to fix that, if I can, she thought ruefully.
"Paths don't always go where they seem to at first," she said instead, quietly so they could choose to ignore instead of saying no if that was their wish. "What little I can do to help, I will." She shook her head and smiled wryly, "little thought that might be, waves wear away at stone given time."
She didn't like politics, it was just another way of waging war. With words instead of weapons, but still war. So while the others discussed things, she remained quiet. She wanted to read Dazi's letters to find out what had happened in the last 5 years with her baby sister. Seeing her here today, clearly a lot had happened. She knew her sister would amount to something important, she was always so driven.
She noticed Camelia, 'lia now and approved of the change in outfit. If she didn't want to be noticed by every hooligan in the street, the change was necessary.
He waves a hand casually in reply to Daxia. "Danger is not the issue. Especially for a chance to poke a finger into the eye of Montague. And in my opinion, you are best to lead, as you seem to understand the politics better than most. As long as you're willing to listen to the advice of others and will use intelligent tactics should danger arise and not simply rush into danger sword swinging without thought, then I am willing to follow."
He pauses. "However I cannot take such an open-ended commitment without a Contract. Jvrill would not allow it. Yet I do not wish your money."
He looks closely at Daxia, directly into her eyes. "I will follow where you lead, presuming you will accept my advice during that service, not discounting it without due consideration, will agree to offer me training in a martial skill or to assist me in procuring better equipment of my choosing, and presuming that if such service extends beyond midwinter's night such payment comes due at the first available opportunity even if the missions you are leading me in have not yet concluded. Once past midwinter's night, either of us may cancel the contract at any time."
He continues to look into Daxia's eyes, waiting. He noted Camelia's curious look, but this is too important. He can answer any question she has once this is settled.
She smiled crookedly at Mikal. "Rush into anything, swinging sword... very stupid. Also risk disrupting Patterns; Lord Kisa NOT be happy with Daxia. Not good to ask any to do what their god or goddess not allow, either; understand this, yes."
Daxia return his gaze, evenly and calmly. "I counter. You follow, I listen to advice you give, consider it most carefully. If not agree with advice, promise to tell why. I train you in what I know... you teach me tactics. Begin training, teaching tomorrow, if suits. You my second during Contract. Either us cancel after Midwinter night acceptable."
He continues to look at her for a moment, then replies, "If you agree to assist me in obtaining improved equipment of my choosing, then the rest is acceptable."
Celi felt that all-too-familiar sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. But what should she have expected? She'd not been able to show any useful skills; Mikal owed her nothing, and he had his own situation to deal with.
She couldn't wait to get back in the wild, touch Stormrunner, be alone where they couldn't hurt you. A blank expression on her face, she looked around for a route to gracefully withdraw.
She looked over at the quiet discussion (whatever it was now), the arm clasping, and then at the others. Noticing Celi she offered a brief smile and gestured to an empty chair near her. If the woman wanted to change where she was sitting, 'lei would accommodate her. They'd all been in the public eye lately, leaving might not be the best thing. After seeing so many functions, 'lei believed that's what the woman seemed to be readying herself for.
The Sealing of the Jvrillian Contract garnered a raised eyebrow from Daxia; followed by an introspective look and a nod of... satisfaction? Approval?
"Finish sharing information, yes? Any other information you have? What you tell merchant?" She looked at each of the others... starting with Celi, who looked almost ready to bolt. "Celi, what you notice? Not country, true, but still have sharp eyes, yes?" She gave the timid girl a reassuring smile. "Squire, Cam... ah, 'lia... what you notice out of ordinary? Kadri, I forget to tell anything?"
She had watched her sister and the man strike a deal of some kind. It was none of her business. She then turned her attention to the one they called Celi.
She spoke softly to the girl.
"Does something trouble you child?" she asked genuinely concerned.
Celi acknowledged Cordelia's offer of seating with a thank you and a reluctant shake of her head. Sitting seemed wrong, somehow, when she had no place.
Then Daxia -- to whom Mikal had just sworn his fealty -- asked a legitimate question.
"Nae, naught save such things as Mikal ha' already reported. There were various hard men of no good provenance about, though I cannot say we were on their horizon."
Becca's concern touched her, and made her feel considerably calmer. Until Daxia had no further questions, she had to settle for a rueful shake of her head, an appreciative touch and silent thanks.
He nodded to the innkeeper, thanking him for his time before returning to the others, having overheard the jist of the conversations which is one reason that he had wanted to take it to a private room to start with. He shrugged.
"So, let me see if I get this straight. The key opens a warehouse in which a shipment of iron ore is located. The last likely to come out of the Vale and head toward the lowlands? It is this shipment that is the bone of contention and the cause of the girl's apparent kidnapping and the reason that the Mark is here, most likely to take the ore for the South. Do I have the basic facts?"
He nods toward Conrad. "I think so." He looks to Daxia for confirmation.
"Also, just so you're aware, then, while at the Guildhall I perhaps bought some time for the girl and others. I left a message for the merchant that I could get him the key, but that I'd become aware that others were after it too. I told him he had to be patient, and that if these others interfered I could not help him, so if he wanted it he had to get all these others to back off. Hopefully that will give us a little more time to work."
She nodded to the Squire as well. "Also reason for dead father." Acknowledging Mikal's message to the merchant who had approached him, Daxia sighed. "Wish easier to see small Patterns," she said to herself. Then she looked over at the restless Kadri. "Montague have ore... this sure Chaos Path. Must trust Darian and Cesare to find girl. Please?"
Regarding each of the others, head tilted to one side, a thoughtful look on her face, she said slowly, "What if..." Eyes narrowing, brows knit, she paused for a handful of heartbeats. "Mikal give one merchant reason to wait, yes? How we give ALL merchants and thieves reason to tear out each other's eyes? Make each think another have key... or will have very soon."
She nodded. "Yah, probably not derros... ah, idiots. This game not my strength." Daxia grinned at Kadri. "Think you know this game, though, yes?" Leaning forward, she returned to a more serious attitude. "Like idea; very good. How best, you think, we do this? Must not split group more; too dangerous." She looked around at the rest of the group. "Any ideas for making work, you say. Other ideas for setting merchants against each other, you say. I hear all idea, like I tell Mikal. Maybe not use ideas today; but I listen. Ok? But today, we make plan quick, yes? But need good plan." She settled her gaze back on Kadri. "So... what best way, you think, for confusing, annoying merchants?"
She spoke up after looking over at the Squire and others who spent time in this city. "Children run messages for small coin here too, yes? I know some children are more willing to share the note contents with people other then the intended. They do this for a small fee. If we're being watched, is there a way for some notes could be run with the less trustworthy?"
She gnawed on the edge of a fingernail before adding, "Care would need to be taken that someone who would only have a note taken by force wouldn't be picked."
"There are problems in this situation that worry me. We hold the key. Someone is holding the child, most likely. They might be willing to trade the girl for the key but then they still will not profit from this. They will need to kill myself as well as Lady Bekka. I can assure you that my father will not allow the shipment to be taken from the city once I inform him of what is occuring. The merchant or the Mark would face prosecution from the Judges of Hastur based on my testimony as well as the childs. Where is the profit?"
She looked at the Squire for a moment, a puzzled look on her face.
"No one kill Bekkah while breath in my body, I promise that, Squire," Daxia said, putting a protective hand over her sister's. "I stand at your back, too, if come to that. Not understand your reasoning, but tell you we not have time to involve father and Hastur. Have only few candlemark to set game in motion for throwing merchants against each other." She, too, frowned and shook her head. "If what seem true about merchants and thieves, they not fear Family Shannon or Hastur anyway. They get key, they take shipment. Do not think father or Hastur will stop them," she said sadly. "They profit greatly because they not honest."
The young Dayalan regarded the Squire of Rames with a steady and direct gaze.
"You, me... we have rules, laws we swear to follow when give Oath to our Deities, yes? Followers of Marrennen, Khol... they not have so many rules. Honor mean nothing to them; honor mean much to you, me.
"Understand what Lord Rames expect of you; think maybe you have even more constraints than Daxia. Only ask you see farther than you look now, see that now is time for Squire Conrad to rely on self instead of Knight or father, yes? Dayala expect Daxia do something not ordinary, perform difficult task to go beyond initiate. Maybe Lord Rames have same expectation of squires? Perform difficult task without aid from Knight? Not know, only you know what Lord Rames say.
"So. You know of messenger children maybe less than trustworthy as Lia say? Maybe give some written messages, give some verbal messages, yes?" she said, with a wink to Lia.
"Well", he shrugs, "I suggested yesterday that we tell them all to meet us at the same time and the same place and see if we could get them all together in an enclosed space where we could pit them against each other. But if you don't like that, then they are Merchants and Thieves, correct? They lie for a living, right? So if we told each one that another of us had already given the key to one of the other groups looking for it, they'd go right after that person. And they'd likely not believe their denials. If it worked well, we might start a bloodbath, but", he shrugs again, "no big loss."
At the mention of a 'Bloodbath', Bekkah looks at Dazi questioningly.
"Truly? Has this come to this? Is there no civilized way to resolve this?"
Dazi knew her sister well, but the others did not. Like all Ladys of Attera she was not in favor of bloodshed. Add to that Bekkah's complete lack of desire to be involved in politics and it made the whole situation more difficult to understand.
[ooc: Mikal should note that Celi did *not* take the seat offered, and did not move at all, save to answer Daxia's question and then after his oathgiving ritual, pulled into herself and looked ... abandoned.]
The extra coins on the table in front of Kadri earned her two raised eyebrows and a half smile from Daxia. "Ah... hoping 'bloodbath' not literal, just economic," she said to Bekkah. "Would prefer no more blood shed."
The redhead looked at Mikal and nodded. "Idea yesterday that put us all in same room with merchants... think not safe place to be, yes?" She addressed the remaining comments to the entire group. "But take idea of today, add to message idea of Lia and confusion idea of Kadri, maybe coming to better plan, yes?
"Need untrustworthy messangers, and create message for each merchant."
While waiting for the others to give their input, Daxia's eyes turned to Celi, who had grown more quiet, still, expressionless after the Dayalan and the Jvrillian had Sealed their Contract. Patting Bekkah's hand again, she stood and stepped over to the girl, crouched beside her and whispered in her ear.
She focused her gaze on Kadri at the raising of the eyebrow and raised her own in silent inquiry.
She'd seen that look before on a cat who misjudged a leap and ended in the cream bowl and not near it.
She gave a little bit of a sly grin and a wink at Camellia and then a shrug.
"The notes are good, I think. Ideally, we have three things true. . ."
"We want them to think we are fooling them. We want them to think they have figured out exactly HOW we are fooling them. And we want them to be WRONG about that. If they think they have figured out what the trick is, it should reduce their incentive to look deeper."
Celi engaged in a brief animated conversation with Daxia, and while doing so her expression ran the gamut from obvious embarrassment to almost comic relief. At the end of the whispers, Celi gave Daxia a convivial hug and a smile, and seemed to be back to her former -- if not outgoing, then at least cautiously relaxed self.
More to the point, she had returned her attention to Mikal, and seemed to be focused on his actions once again.
Daxia chuckled softly at Celi's last remark, then looked surprised at the hug. Rising, she gave the girl's shoulder a light squeeze, before returning to her seat beside Bekkah.
She regarded Kadri for a moment. "Understand fooling them, making them think they figure out." Then she shook her head. "But what is right way to fool them, and how make them think we fooling them another way?"
She didn't have the faintest idea what she had gotten herself into. It didn't surprise her greatly that Dazi would be involved. She had said the girl would become legendary, it seemed it was to begin sooner rather than later. She didn't know about the others, but she was famished.
When she saw the serving girl pass by, she beckoned for her.
"Dear girl, would you have any stew available at this hour?"
She looked around at the others to see if they wanted anything. She assumed they had coin, for she knew she did not have enough for all of them.
She shrugged at the interaction she witnesed and her face assumed the bland politeness of a courier. At Bekkah's comment she smiled briefly and shook her head to the Lady. "Perhaps later," was all she said in a quiet voice.
As the others begin to discuss how best to formulate the messages they want to send, he adds a comment regarding the bloodshed. "I fear it might be a bit too late to stop the shedding of blood. There were already two bodies of dead thieves that were carried into the Hospice just before the rest of you arrived. I suspect that is just the first wave of a potential flood."
He looks around the table, a raised eyebrow at Kadri's coin trick, then suggests, "Well, as I've already told Eli Marrennenn that he needs to stop the other groups from interfering if he wants me to get the key, perhaps the rest should send messages telling their contacts that I have already given the key to Eli? I'd think that will pit them all against him even more, especially if he's already started strong-arming them based on what I said to him."
When Bekkah asks for food, he points to the group and says to the server. "She's with us."
He then turns to Bekkah. "Seems our tab is being picked up by Camelia's sister, Dandelion. Might as well get use of it."
Lia blinks in muted surprise at Mikal's comment, flushed a bit at his use of her full name, and sighs a bit. "I don't know what I um claimed lasts beyond the day or two, so I'd not go pushing it."
[ooc sorry for the fast post but I really don't have any idea and don't want us making assumptions.]
He chuckles at Camelia's reply. "Captain Dandelion well knows you don't make an offer like that to a Mercenary and then expect restraint. Until the offer is rescinded, we might as well accept her hospitality. To do otherwise would be rude." He grins.
Daxia shook her head and smiled at the inquiry of food from Bekkah. Mikal's comment about two already-dead thieves, however, drew a slight frown and a sigh. "Two dead thieves maybe commonplace," she murmured. "A flood means Chaos." She rubbed the back of her neck, relieving some of the tension, as she watched the exchange between Lia and Mikal.
"So. Some messages we write, yes? Some messages we say, yes? Good." She stood and began making her way around her companions. "I fetch parchment and ink." As she was about to go through the door leading to the stables, she turned back and looked at Mikal. "Writing not always useless, yah?" she said with a wink before going through the door.
She returned not long after the server brought Bekkah her stew, carrying parchment, an inkpot, a pen... and a stack of folded parchments tied together with a ribbon. Those, she set beside Bekkah. The remaining materials she put on the table before sitting down.
"Messages say 'Key already given to Eli Marrennenn'?" she asked, looking around the group.
He smiles as Daxia's comment, saying briefly, "Yet note to what end writing is being put. One day, when out in the practice yard, we can talk about the difference between the spoken word and the written word."
She waved a hand at him. "I know difference, Mikal. This..." she said, gesturing to the materials in front of her. "Pah. Lies and tricks, as should be. That?" Daxia pointed to Bekkah reading through the packet of letters she'd written over the past five years. "That keep two sisters close for sixteen years when Bekkah leave Vale." She gave him a crooked smile. "I think writing, reading most important skills for me to have? No. But glad to have them." She glaced at Bekkah again, and smiled. "Yah, I very glad, Mikal. Maybe we talk about philosophy in practice yard instead, ok?" she said with a grin.
She pulled a piece of parchment closer, and dipped the quill pen in the inkpot. "But now we play tricks," she said, and began writing out the first copy of the message.
Celi followed the plot-line with only a little difficulty: messages were going out to what they deemed to be the most likely instigators of the key search and the hijacking of critical raw metal ores.
The messages would point the various players at a single one of their number: Eli Marennenn. By tying up all their assets struggling with one another, it should leave the rest of this group free (or, *freer*) to seek out the girl and do what was needed to keep her and whatever the key guarded free from capture or coercion.
She was not all that sure of her role in these affairs, but she was committed to help Mikal to whatever limit she could manage. That would have to be enough, for now at least.
Once the notes are written he says, "So. We wait for Darian and Cesare to return, then see if we can rescue the girl?"
He looks for nods of agreement then turns back to Daxia.
"Yet the biggest question that is nagging at me is; What then? Say we have the girl, and the key, in hand. What next? I do not like to plan by reacting to the immediate situation. We need a long term strategy. That will help us drive our short term tactics."
"So, say we get the girl, and keep the key. What are we going to do with them? The girl can't hold it from anyone who wants it, so are we proposing to guard her, and it? Forever? The issue is the wagons of ore. The girl and the key are just paths to the ore. Remove the ore and the problem goes away."
"If we do not want the ore to fall into the hands of Montague and Korie, then who do we want it to fall into the hands of? Does Allaine want it back? Is there a third party who would take it that is safe to give it to? And how can we get it out of here without being attacked by the Dark Mark?" He glances meaningfully/suggestively at the Horde members lounging around, then back to Daxia with a lifted eyebrow.
The large ruff padded softly into the inn followed by his partner. He walked with her as she approached their new companions. On the way she stopped a server and order ale for both.
"I believe that I can solve that problem Mikal. My father, as khorall of the Rock, would have an interest in the ore and would pay the girl a reasonable price. The troops would see to bringing the ore to the Rock."
She looks worriedly at Conrad and shakes her head slowly. "With all due respect, if he really has an interest in the ore all he had to do is take it Squire Conrad. He is a noble; she is not."
Lia sighs and gnaws on the corner of another nail, "She is alone in the world, with no male guardian. It would be well within his rights to take it and give her but a pittance if even that. I have seen this happen before. She has no protection. I ask you, no beg you, not to bring this to him. The best man in the world does not always fight against the force of tradition."
She turned her clear gaze on him and let her eyes do the rest of the pleading.
She then looked over at Darian, Cesare and Longtooth. "Maybe some answers," she added quietly.
Daxia waited until Darian, Longtooth and Cesare joined them before turning to answer Mikal's questions... which was when the good Squire interjected his proposed solution. She bumped her head onto the table and covered it with both arms, making a sound that very much resembled a strangulated scream. She held that pose for several heartbeats before looking wearily at her sister. "Bekkah, I ever this starry-eyed naive? Maybe when you still live in Vale, ok. Not in last ten years, promise that." She sighed and looked at the Squire, and opened her mouth to speak just as Kadri tugged her sleeve and Lia began speaking to the Squire.
She looked relieved as she gazed out at the lad Kadri pointed out, then nodded. Scooping up the notes she'd written, she let Lia try to talk some sense into Conrad, while she walked to the doorway and beckoned the boy over. She chatted with him for a while, then handed him the notes and a few coins from her pouch.
As she walked back to the table, Daxia absently ran her fingers over the bit of white silk tied around the hilt of her sword. Sitting down beside Bekkah again, she said to Mikal, "I consider. Give moment." Then she turned to Darian. "Darian, Longtooth... how went Hunt?"
He nods to Darian, obliged she is getting the ales in and he strolls over to the rest of the group. His concern at the moment is that there may be people who want to rush in and that road leads to disaster, so he chooses his words carefully, hoping that Darian will follow his lead. He remains standing for the moment.
"Longtooth found what we believe is the girl's location. However there were others around. Longtooth's warning gave us time to get away but I don't know if we were seen or not. Following her tracks, it looks like she was taken once and then her captures killed or injured as she was taken again by others. This is not something we can rush into. And we need to let some time pass in case we alerted them. I can sketch a layout to help us plan."
He is not giving the location as then noone can rush off.
She nodded to Cesare. "Rushing, no plan... bad idea. We wait for notes to find merchants, cause annoyance. First step. But know where girl is? That good."
Then Daxia looked at Mikal with a grin. "Good. Questions good, but understand rescue girl most important thing... very good. Mikal no cobble-block."
Tapping her fingers on the table, she watched Conrad and Lia. She watched in the same way Kisa Allaine watched at court. After a handful of breaths, her brows furrowed, and after another handful she shook her head and sighed.
"We all remember, please," she said to the group in general, "girl own ore. Find girl, ask girl what she want, ok?"
Sighing again, she turned back to Mikal. "We do nothing with ore, Mikal. Not our ore. We take... that theft.
"But you right... can girl hold ore? Dama Samara say she very, very smart. But young. So... not good chance for her to keep without help. And who help her when everyone have different agenda, yes?" She caught his look, and shook her head slightly. "We find girl. We ask girl. If girl think these helpful, I ask... maybe Lia ask... Captain about helping, ok?"
Turning to Kadri, she said, "Arty taking notes where they should go. This one trick, yes? We need second trick. You know more good tricks like turning one coin into five, maybe?"
She nods at Mikal's question and stared back at Daxia raising one mute eyebrow at the stare and the sigh the swordswoman was giving her.
Then the woman turned away and directed her commentary to all, Mikal, then Kadri.
Anything Lia had been going to say was left unspoken. She'd learned long ago how hard it was to try speaking to someone who dismisses and turns to other things.
He takes his ale with a smile and thanks, drinks a good draught off the top and then clears a space on the table. Dipping his finger in the ale, he outlines the location they saw as he answers Mikal's questions.
"Warehouses. Saw no guards but sure there were some, probably inside. Longtooth warned us of people approaching, four, possibly a patrol but we moved and so didn't see them. We thought it better to withdraw and bring the information back here."
He adds the details he remembers, doors, windows, neighbouring warehouses, layout. Where needed as it dries, he replenishes the ale trail.
"If you want them to *think* you might carry the ore away, you should make arrangements for heavy drayage. Let them see your assembled freight wagons and heavy horse. That would guaranktee their mistrust," Celi said, then backed out of the limelight.
The Heartwood Mid-afternoon, the Town of Cragside Restday The Last Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Camelia, Mikal, Bekkah, Daxia, Kadri, Darian, Cesare and Celi
"Cor."
It is the squire that spoke, pushing himself up from the table, dusting off his hands.
"Letters and talks of coins and fakery.
"There is one way to end this assuredly, solidly and assuredly."
And with that Conrad stood, turned on his heel, storming out of the tavern, his expression as grim as black storm season clouds. his brusk retirement does not go unnoticed by the rest of the tavern's patrons; the Horde mercenaries pausing in their conversation as the door slammed behind him.
" ... that is not going to end well."
The Horde's second looked up from his drink, where he rested, legs stretched out and boots hooked at the ankles. Barris then returned to his drink and his observations.
As the tavern slowly came back to life Cesare completed his explanations. and they were not totally unfamiliar; the area of which he spoke was the same where Daxia and Kadri had seen a horse and wagon earlier in the day.
The next major post may take a bit of time; I need to not just follow through with the fallout from the messages but determine what, if any of it, will be seen by you folks.
Sadly, we have lost Conrad from the game. I am still working out if we should bring another Squire in; they are a great addition to any group but we do have a lot of players. I need to mull, unless you know someone who wishes to be a idealistic hero with a touch of Don Quixote against a gritty world!
I'd also like folks to be a bit more careful when they write their posts; we don't want to overrun anyone, even by accident. I've had some long conversations about this so hopefully it won't happen again; if it does, then please, realize it is probably an accident, no one meant to be overrun and most importantly let me know about it. We should have no problem wielding the Akemi time shield and rewinding things back so folks get their chances to properly respond.
Last, you have one scheme sent out into the world and seeds for at least two more - Kadri's shell game and Celi's fake moving of the cargo. These are both interesting and have their own potential; it would be nice to change these thoughts into action.
The young woman started to stand as the Squire made his statement and reached out a hand in an aborted gesture as he strode to the door. The expression on her face was clearly torn between the desire to go with him and to stay.
The reasons to follow him were probably clear to an observer, especially one who knew how she came here. The reasons to stay? Perhaps not so much.
Lia glanced around the room as if looking for someone, something, before subsiding back into her chair though her body language appeared as poised to motion as a bird alighting on uncertain footing. She listened to the rest of the explanation.
He nods at Celi's suggestion. "Yes, Celi. Perhaps we can even use that to strengthen the ruse regarding Eli?"
"If one of us were to go to the local dray master and inquire about the cost of hiring enough heavy horse to pull the ore wagons, while casually dropping Eli's name, word would get around that he was getting ready to move the ore. It would strengthen the suggestions he has the key."
"I'd rather not gather the dray horses ourselves, as that implies we have they key still."
"If we had enough manpower and enough resources what I'd like to do would be to really misdirect our foes. Once the Eli ruse has worn out it's welcome, we actually do hire the horses. We hitch them up and ride the wagons out of town. I highly doubt anyone would interfere while we were still within the walls. Once we'd gotten a few days out we'd almost surely by struck by the Dark Mark."
"However the wagons would no longer be holding the ore. Just rock. We unload it inside the warehouse, and then once the Mark leaves town to pursue the fake wagons, we load the ore up on a second set of wagons and ride them out of town during the night, heading the other way."
He hold up a hand to Daxia. "I do not suggest we take it from the girl. We only do this if it is what she wants. However, speaking of that, do we even know what it is she wants? Do we know if she has other family to speak for her? Even if we say the ore is hers, no merchants will deal seriously with a girl that young. She needs a guardian."
Watching Conrad storm out. "Of course, if the Lord's soldiers come marching down here and take possession of the warehouse in a few hours all of this may be moot anyway."
She mad herself comfortable and once again carefully unstrung her bow. Returning to an earlier part of the conversation she interjected, "Four no threat. More than a handful hunted."
Then she returned to rolling up her bow string and wrapping it the oilskin.
That was exactly the use Celi had envisioned; she wanted nothing to do with the ore, but misleading the various players as to the ore's location and travel plans was a workable scheme.
"That was as I had wished," Celi said. "As long as we have a heavy load of something so that the wagon springs and the horses' efforts appear authentic, we can plan a proper misdirection."
He merely raises an eyebrow as the Squire storms out, then goes back to his ale diagram, drinking a little more of his drawing material to wet his throat.
He has mixed feelings about the squire's departure, relief in some ways because although the man is undoubtedly skilled with a sword, his attitude is not fluid enough for Cesare and he represents authority which has never been a good companion to the Rhoni. However he does feel that their current situation, whilst complicated enough in its own right, has now tangled further.. and that cannot be good.
She watched the Squire storm out, and noted the comment of the Verchovai's second. She grimaced at the first and, eyes turning to Barris for a heartbeat, nodded at the second. Then she tilted her head, eyes looking skyward, as she muttered under her breath, "Yah, You have point, Lady. Lowly initiate still be stubborn, ok?"
Elbows on table and chin propped in her hands, Daxia regarded Mikal. "Dama Samara say girl orphan. When Bekkah and Daxia become orphans, Temple become home." She shrugged. "Samara say girl take over father's business in few years. But girl need guardian for now, yah, think so. No idea -- yet -- who." Looking down at the drying sketch Cesare had marked out on the table, she seemed to simply be lost in staring at it. After fullhands of heartbeats, she sighed. Leaving her chin propped in one hand, she reached out with the other to touch a finger to the table. "Girl here, yes?" She moved her finger slightly. "Ore here."
Crossing her arms, she rested them on the table in front of her, leaning forward. "Asking about drayage good idea, Celi," she said, echoing Mikal's opinion. "Question, though... would merchant hire? Or take carts, horses already in warehouse?" She paused again, considering. "Maybe hire... if think carts, horses taken elsewhere. So, ok... Eli hire," she said with a smile and waggle of eyebrows. Looking between Mikal and Cesare several times over numerous heartbeats, her eyes finally rested on Mikal. "Think safest for you to leave group if needed. Have comrades in city guard; guildhouse here. Have good reason for being on streets, yes? And already seen with Celi, yes? So not strange if she go, if she want. But must move quickly, yes, before Nobles involve themselves." Daxia sighed again, but smiled crookedly at Kadri. "Know you have reason for being on street, too. Need Kadri here to explain, help plan tricking of merchants, ok?"
Her gaze moved across the entire group again. "Ideas for rescuing girl... more tricks for merchants... before Shannon family make Noble mess of situation?"
"Yes. That's why I took Celi with me and asked about employment for her. Shouldn't raise any suspicions is she stays with me." He grins at Celi.
He then looks at Daxia. "I have no problem if Celi and I look into drayage, and drop Eli's name. However", he glances at Kadri, "if you do decide to rescue the girl, you may need me. With Conrad gone you are down one good fighter. With me gone it'll be two. Unless you think you can sneak her out somehow?"
He pauses, then continues. "I do have an idea for a distraction, that sort of ties into my earlier suggestion, and goes along with trying to sneak her out."
"If we unload the ore and reload the wagons with rock, and then hitch the wagons and lead them out of the warehouse, we can lead them around the town, covered with tarps. Take a giant circle ultimately back to the warehouse. I doubt we'll be attacked in town, and even if so they'll get nothing."
"Then, while we are moving around town all eyes will be on us, and the girl might be watched by fewer. A few can sneak in and get her."
"Of course all ploys will be exposed after that. But we'd have the girl and the ore."
"You could lead them outside the walls, for a more substantial reduction in the threat to the girl," Celi said. "Any ambush we could set would be better positioned."
Listening to the words flow over her, the young woman stirs again. "I do not believe I can be of much aid in what you are saying now. I have some small skill but not against those armored unless it is to trip them. Nor do I have skill in driving wagons. I know enough to know that. I will do what I can, but I don't see a place right now unless perhaps there is a way to make it seem the girl is a few places at once. That could distract if they're going after a few possibilities." She smiled a bit mirthlessly before asking in general, "And Samara is? Perhaps I missed it in the flow of... words. But I do not recall."
As the others spoke, Daxia looked more than a little distracted. In the silence following Kadri's answer to Lia, she let out a nearly explosive "Tcha!" as her eyes refocused on the diminutive woman. "Man who approach you this morning lying, dishonest, foul dung heap... poor excuse for human being!" She smacked forehead with the heel of her hand. "Ah! Why connections always take so long to connect?" She turned to Mikal. "You say two thieves brought dead to Hospice, yes? Who approached this morning by two men say they hurt girl? Yes. Daxia." She looked back at Kadri. "Who approached this morning by man clever enough to sneak up on Kadri, hmmm? Also man who say he hurt girl. Man clever enough to sneak up on Kadri, plenty clever enough to sneak up on two not-so-bright thieves, kill, take girl. Sorry to say..." She directed her next comment to the ruff. "...maybe clever enough even to fool Longtooth."
She sighed as she tapped the table where Cesare had drawn out the map of the warehouse area. "Good thing... girl seem to be held same area as ore. Moving crates -- even empty might work -- good diversion for rescuing girl. Bad thing... not so many people, maybe not right skills.
"Things need to do... one, make merchants think Eli hiring horses, carts. This give messages more perception of truth, yes? Mikal, Celi already say they do.
"Two, rescue girl from man who very clever, very evil. Get girl to safe place. Maybe Priestess of Attera be temporary guardian," she said with a wink to Bekkah, "until we find right person to help her. Who have skills for rescue?
"Three, drive cart with no ore..." She looked at Celi with a smile. "...maybe not out town gates, but that direction, yes. Confusing merchants even more. Who have skill with animals, maybe driving wagon?
"So, need to know... resources? Yes, resources. I ride very well, but no experience with wagons. So I go to rescue girl. Have interesting idea, thanks to Lia," she said, nodding to the young woman, "but not say until know where skills of all best fit, ok?"
As she continued to tap on the table, Daxia's gaze moved around the group... and caught for an instant on the Jvrillian who worked for Verchovai Dandelion, a thoughtful look passing over her features as she glanced at the Jvrillian working for her. Her eyes finally settled on Lia. And she smiled.
"Ahh... think maybe you *can* help." She paused a moment, as if ordering her thoughts. "If you please request from sister temporary use of wagon, horses, crates... maybe two, three men to carry crates into warehouse, carry out again after pretend to fill with ore? You not comfortable ask, ok. She not comfortable give, ok. We work with wagons, horses at warehouse, yes? Just easier, more realistic if have own wagon, horses, crates, helpers, yes?"
She was more than a little surprised when the squire stormed off. Although what was more surprising was that none of the others, her sister included, went after him. The man had had a determined look to him and she agreed that no good would come of it.
*Perhaps he not friend, only just met. Perhaps they not like him. Need story from Dazi later.* she thought.
She focused back on the group and their planning. Clearly her little sister had gotten herself in the middle of something. She just hoped it wasn't more than she could handle. She didn't know the older Dazi like she knew the little girl she had left behind, but the little girl had never lacked confidence, maybe even to a dangerous level. She wondered if the older one was the same way. The only problem now was that the trouble she could get into could be significantly more dangerous.
She remained quiet and listened knowing she'd remain with Dazi in case she'd need her. She only hoped they wouldn't need her skills.
In the silence she speaks slowly as though working things out and turns her gaze to Kadri, "You know, with the right tunic flashing from under a cloak, you could look remarkably like her if you wanted. Same or similar enough height and build and coloring." She shrugged and continued without turning to face the swords woman who made the request saying briefly, "We've just met, perhaps she would do such but manpower and the like often needs compensation."
Then she fell silent again for others to fill it with their words
She tilted her head, a thoughtful look on her face as she regarded Darian's comment and her conversation with Longtooth, before turning back to Lia and nodding. "Think same about Kadri. Maybe different purpose." Daxia chuckled softly, then added, "Give compensation... reasonable. Lia barter fair price, yes? Wagons sit, horses get lazy, men maybe bored. Maybe not give coin; trade skills, yes? Kadri already have job; Daxia promise tend Horde horses for board while here. But why we not help them some way if they help us, yes?"
He nods at some of the comments from Daxia and others. "Yes. Too risky to actually leave town with the wagons. Don't think anyone would risk an open attack inside the walls. And we'll need to fill the crates with something. As Celi says, anyone with a small bit of knowledge would be able to tell the axles aren't carrying enough weight if the crates are empty."
"As for skills, it depends on your plan. If you are thinking of a quick assault, rushing the place while most are distracted and cutting our way to the girl, then you'll need me. If you plan to sneak in, perhaps thru a back window, and get her out quietly, then I can still help, but I'd not be as critical unless it ended up turning into a fight anyway."
"I have skills riding, and have driven wagons on my farm growing up. Know about horses and drayage, and harnesses as well. I think Celi is good with animals too", he glances at Celi for confirmation, "but she might be good in a plan to sneak in. When we fought, she didn't have my strength, but I could tell she was nimble and quiet."
"She and I should be well back from talking to the merchant about hiring more wagons, so we should both be available for either of the two groups, leading wagons or getting girl."
Celi rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "I can ride. Horses present no difficulty. And I can also be stealthy, though I admit to seldom practicing, and almost never practicing on horseback. You might prefer a more experienced sneaky person."
Daxia watched the young Imperial walk off, a thoughtful, yet slightly amused, look on her face. She shook her head and shrugged before turning to Mikal. "Two ways to see driving wagon, yes? Just go toward gate, draw enemies out, they not attack inside town. That good. But town small, Mikal. Drive wagon in circles, they get suspicious, yes? If go out gates, down road away from Shannon's Rock... confuse them, make them think ore really taken. More realistic, but more chance for attack, yes. Do not see best path. Yet. Think maybe depend on youngling's talk with sister," she said, nodding in the direction Lia had gone. "Hope to have plan by time you finish hire drayage for Eli." She smiled and took a deep breath. "Maybe crazy plan. But what you expect from Allaines, yah?" she asked, winking.
[OOC: Will lay out bones of plan after Mikal and/or Celi have a chance to respond... cuz this is going to take a while to write up, and my brain has ceased producing useful thoughts for the night.]
"IF we go outside, I will be more useful," Celi said. "I have... ah, skills that will help, particularly in any defense we might mount against someone trailing our wagons then attacking or ambushing them.
"We must do something to properly load the wagons, though. Dray horses drawing an empty wagon are almost frisky; they behave very differently when given a touch of the rein and urged to pull."
"Well", he replies, "if we get the assistance of our host's Troop, we might conceal a number of them inside the crates. That'd be better than rocks, and if we have a minimal number driving the wagons, should the Mark attack, it could be with few enough that hidden re-enforcements with crossbows would give us the edge."
"In any case, Celi, lets go start dropping hints around town."
He stands up, and looks to Daxia. "But, wait until we return before acting, yes? Our ruse will need some time to drift to the proper ears and I do not want to miss the climax."
Daxia with Bekkah, Cesare, Darian, Longtooth and Kadri at the Inn
"Oh, we wait. Not go without you," she said with a grin.
She sat, seemingly staring off into the distance, quiet and arms crossed for quite a while after Mikal and Celi left. It wasn't a quarter of a candlemark, but it might have been close. Finally, she said softly, "Maybe plan crazy, like I say. Maybe need crazy... don't know. Seem like this Path least dangerous of any I see." Daxia looked around at the four remaining members of the group, and glanced under the table at Longtooth, before taking a deep breath.
"Ok. Thinking two things happen same time. One thing, wagon at warehouse. Mikal, Celi... if get wagon and crates from Verchovai Dandy and quartermaster... drive wagon to warehouse, make plenty noise open door, yes? Distract evil man. Drive wagon in, close door, just wait. If not get wagon, come back to this, think again.
"Second thing, while evil man distracted, we go to back of warehouse where girl held. Kadri sneakiest; when evil man most distracted, sneak in. If possible, sneak girl out... she stay with Bekkah, Lia... Kadri maybe stay in girl's spot while Daxia, Darian, Longtooth, Cesare find spots, yes? Not possible... maybe girl hurt, not move fast... all but Bekkah, Lia go in, help girl out to them. Evil man not like us take girl," she said, eyes narrowing, "must convince him is best idea girl leave, yes? Each know best way to convince, yes?" She looked at each of them and held their gaze for a moment... Kadri, Darian, Cesare, even Longtooth. Then she looked at her sister. "You take care girl; you her Guardian... for now.
"Once evil man convinced good idea that girl go..." She gave Bekkah a look of true regret. "...probably mean evil man dead, most sorry..." Then she looked back at the others. "We come quick back here, while Cesare knock on door, signal Mikal, Celi time to go. Door open, sneaky pass key to Cesare, drive wagon out quick while Cesare close, lock door. Catch up, or meet us here.
"Mikal, Celi... they drive wagon out gates. Quick, not dangerous quick, though. Keep going, just keep going toward Brementown. Hope then Merchants Guild, Thieves Guild, even Dark Mark following cart with food nice farmer boy and sister taking back home.
"They follow shell think has pea... but shell and pea here with us. We have girl and key, safe. When merchants, thieves, Mark find they tricked... they come back to town, angry hornets, look for Eli. Then Mikal, Celi come back with Verchovai's wagon."
She looked around at them expectantly and, after a handful or two of heartbeats, asked, "Too crazy?"
"Plan sounds very good Dazi. But I don't want to be too far away from you. You act as if fighting man, nothing more than sword practice with friends in the courtyard. People could get hurt. You could get hurt, so I don't want to be far away."
He had been listening quietly, watching the reactions of the others, evaluating roles, before turning to Daxia, his decision made.
"You asked about skills. I can fight when needed. I can watch unseen. I can handle locks. Seems you have a good role for me."
He smiles.
"Best to go over the plan again, work out where anyone is most exposed and try to cover that. And we should have a fall back if things go wrong. A rallying point. I am up for saving the girl but do not want to see us lose someone here to do that."
She returned to the group, nodded briefly and said quietly, “She’ll speak to Rafe and Dunwich; they'll get us the wagons and what you had me ask for. But there are some ground rules. None of her involved ones can be caught in this...even if we have to get them out of town somehow.
"If asked she has to be able to truthfully say she had no idea what was going on. And we must have this wrapped up tidily before Khorall Shannon marches his Noble Guard through the town gates. It will take him a bit she says, so if we can delay the news getting to him, that plays in our favor. But if he does it will become His Affair. Not ours.” She folded her hands and sat patiently.
Daxia with Bekkah, Cesare, Darian, Longtooth, Kadri, Lia at the Inn
"Not far away, Bekkah," she said, squeezing her sister's hand. "Just outside door, ok? We try very, very hard stay safe... but need you and Lia and Elissa safe, too, yes?"
She listened to the others... tracing lines on the table as she did so. The lines looked liked branches and branchlets, perhaps, moving outward from a tree trunk; she passed a hand over the invisible drawing several times as the others spoke, as though erasing what she'd drawn... then started over. Daxia let the silence hold for long heartbeats after Kadri's last words.
She looked concerned. "Paths never switch so fast before," she murmured to herself. "Working with many, seeing very small, maybe? Must ask." She actually seemed to be studying something on the table only she could see, but finally traced a single line and shrugged. "Look like plan need to stay fluid, a little anyway. Think Jvrillian be least happy. Dazi not so happy either," she said, looking up at the group, gaze resting on Darian lastly.
"No time for new arrows. Daxia lend Darian bow, arrows. Worry about more arrows later, ok?" she said with a smile. She looked back down at the table. "Cesare, Kadri... still fluid. Wagon..." Looking back up at Lia, she said, "One wagon only, several crates, no men. So no problem; her men not be caught. We just borrow wagon, not say why. Is truth? Yes? Can also say, if asked, we crazy. Is truth. Yes?" she said with a grin that faded quickly. "See no way to slow Shannon, so we move quick... soon as Mikal, Celi return, wagon ready. But you ask, please, Rafe, Dunwich to fill crates with... anything except weapons. Heavy things best, whatever amuse them, ok? Please?"
Lia looked over, a briefly confused look on her face. In calm, evenly paced words she said to Daxia, "You asked me to bargain for a wagon, horses, crates, and some men. I've done that. We have them. I am not quite sure what you are asking for at this point. It would be best if you instruct them what is wanted as I have no idea what you have just said and these plans appear to be altering."
Daxia with Bekkah, Cesare, Darian, Longtooth, Kadri, Lia at the Inn
Daxia nodded. "Yes, exactly! Path change, plan change." She tapped the table in front of her... then a look of understanding came over her face.
"Ah! Ok, Daxia forgot," she said to the whole group. "You not understand." She paused a moment, biting her lip. "Take very long to explain, very long. But, Bekkah..." She turned to her sister. "...this feeling and seeing I write about, ok? Different thing happen, see new connections, yes?" She looked down at the table again. "Also, watch patterns, think fast, talk like Allaine... can't do all three, sorry. Need more practice. Ok, Verchovai not come down. Need to wait for Mikal, Celi. I tell." She stood and shook her head. "How she do this all time, much bigger, not go mad?" she muttered to herself as she turned toward the stairway. Then she stopped and stood absolutely still, eyes wide with shock and surprise, hand dropping to touch the bit of silk on the hilt of her sword. "Oh," she whispered.
Daxia had a smile on her face as she continued walking, climbed the stairs, and knocked on Dandy's door.
Daxia with Bekkah, Cesare, Dandelion, Darian, Longtooth, Kadri, Lia at the Inn
"Ah, Verchovai... small change to plan," said Daxia. "Lia... Camelia... suggest I tell Rafe, Dunwich. I tell them, I tell you... what works best for you?"
The Heartwood Afternoon, the Town of Cragside Restday The Last Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Darian, Longtooth, Cesare, Kadri, Camelia and Daxia
Looking to Daxia, the elder Dayalan just leaned on the door, pushing it open and looked out into the practice area.
"Scott ... Deynnekko .... get over here, now-now, hai?"
Outside there is a muffled reply; Dandelion the continues.
"Sister and Temple sister's called in a favor; just don't get in trouble."
Nodding to Daxia the swordwoman then continued into the commons, bound for her lieutenant. Or rather, the plate of bread and cheese that rested at her Barris' table.
"I am sure I dont want to know."
Was her quiet comment in passing. A handful of heartbeats later the summoned pair would appear at the door. Dunwich Scott was the older of the two, his brigandine hauberk hanging open as he shook his auburn hair out - recently freed from a steel helm. He was about average height and build, with the rugged features found of a tarn farmer. His companion was younger; perhaps a handful of years older than Daxia. his hair was black and he had a light slender build. He carried his helm; its mantling trimmed in the Deynnekko checkerboard.
Daxia with Dunwich and Rafe in the doorway to the practice yard
"No, Verchovai. Daxia not tell anything," she said softly as her Temple-sister walked towards her second. "Wonder if Duksheviya crazy for all initiates," Daxia muttered to herself while waiting for Dunwich Scott and Rafe Deynnekko.
When the two arrived in the doorway, she introduced herself simply; lightly tapping fingers to breastbone, she said, "Daxia Yurisdotter. Well met, Dunwich Scott, Rafe Deynnekko," and nodding politely to each. She took a deep breath, expelling it quickly.
"Would like to borrow wagon, horses to pull, crates to fill, tarp to cover. In crates, if possible..." She paused to considered. "...heavy things, ordinary things. Ahh... pretend farmer bring last harvest crop, want to take something back, trade in Brementown maybe. Need quick, quick. You can help, yes?" She glanced back at their Captain. "You not want know why, no," she said, looking back at them and shaking her head.
Already intrigued by Daxia on one level as he watches her lithe figure walk away from their group, he finds himself further intrigued by her thought processes and planning. An interesting bunch of people he is with and as he glances around them, he thinks that probably all of them may well have more to them than might be evident on the surface.
"I know things are not yet clear to everyone. We'll go over individual roles when Daxia returns until everyone is happy with what they are doing. We can't afford any confusion, that will likely lead to failure and we can't afford that. Too much at stake."
He pauses then glances at Darian and Longtooth with a quick smile, before turning back to the others.
"I worked with Darian and Longtooth today. They both have my respect. I have yet to work with most of you.. and you with me. We have had only a short acquaintance but we must have faith in each other. The fates have brought us together here and I still think there is more of this than we even suspect. Too many coincidences, too many connections already."
He shrugs. Already saying much more than he used to doing, especially in a group. So he stays quiet now and drinks his ale.
The Heartwood Afternoon, the Town of Cragside Restday The Last Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Darian, Longtooth, Cesare, Kadri, Camelia and Daxia
The Deynnekko looked to Scott and chuckled,
"That's your line of work, Dun."
The Horde's quartermaster simply rubbed the back of his neck, thinking a bit.
"Sure we can wrangle a cart and such from our supply train and simply add it to the tab your Jvrillian friend is building up. Just bring back the horses fine and we'll be square. Wagons can be fixed, but horses we have to get from Kraigskell or Talesan's and thats a fair impossible hike this time of year."
The elder mercenary then pushed the younger Imperial back out of the door and towards the stables.
"Shouldn't take us long, especially with this kid to help me. Come on Rafe, Captain's orders ... you can't escape."
With a nod the two start off to complete their tasks.
She took a deep breath and made a conscious effort to not use her Vale speak so that everyone would understand fully.
"I trust in my sister and I will do as she asks of me. I fully expect a long accounting of the things I have missed to this point, but I will protect this girl when you can get her from this man who would harm an innocent. if you can spare his life and show him mercy, then I ask that you try. If not, then again, I trust in my sister."
"So I pledge the healing power of my station to any who partake in this endeavor."
Daxia with Dunwich and Rafe in the doorway of the Inn then with Bekkah, Cesare, Darian, Longtooth, Kadri, Lia in common room at the Inn
Daxia nodded to the quartermaster. "Ta. Prefer to bring all back fine. But if wagon need fix, Jvrillian can do... after Daxia thump head." She watched them walk off, then leaned against the wall, arms crossed, surveying the room.
"What you get me into, huh, Kisa?" she whispered to herself.
After another fullhand of heartbeats, she pushed herself off the wall and walked back to the table. Sliding into the chair beside Bekkah again, she said, "Ok, any idea to get in warehouse if cart of ore riding off not big enough distraction for evil man?"
ooc note to Bekkah; that may not be the wisest thing to do; this is a would where the various and sundry Gods and Goddesses are real; making claims of who follows who can be very tricky - especially if she is already a member of another church.
The post is still fine; Luckily Attera is the most tolerant of folks.
She steepled her fingers and listened to the banter. Her face was calm and her eyes hooded.
Finally she spoke up stating simply, "I wouldn't compare myself to a cat in climbing, but perhaps I can aid in that as well. I would climb from the window to the roof, or the roof to other places at times."
Daxia with Bekkah, Cesare, Darian, Longtooth, Kadri, Lia at the Inn
Daxia nodded to Darian, Lia and Cesare, "Climb, locks... good." She grinned and winked at Kadri, saying "Hope Kadri not like Temple cat fell from high places, misjudge distance when jumping, fall to ground, yes?" Then she turned to her sister. "Bekkah not cobble-block. Good idea for getting door open. But... girl probably follower of Marrennen, yes? Father merchant; make sense. Remember what I write Kassia say when Deities upset with each other? Nothing good happen for us here, yes?" she said seriously. "We not want make Marrennen upset with Attera by say girl Attera's initiate. We have trouble enough with Marrennen followers, yes? Don't want Marrennen Himself involved." She shook her head vigorously.
"Daxia ok at climbing, but not if wear armor. Hauberk not light like tunic," she said with a smile.
Re-entering the inn with Celi he moves over to the table and takes an empty seat, pulling a second one over for Celi to sit in.
"Alright. Left as big a rumour as I could at the Punched Penny. Didn't even haggle to make it seem like it was for something so profitable that Eli didn't care about the cost."
"Told the stablemaster we were looking for wagon and team for my employer, then dropped Eli's name when talking prices. Celi inspected the animals carefully. He gave me some outrageous price, expecting haggling, but we simply accepted it without comment telling him if it was acceptable I'd return."
"I expect the lack of haggling left a big enough impression that he'll comment on it. Plus were I him I'd think that either Eli is in such a rush he can't be bothered to waste time haggling or that he expects to make such a big profit on the wagon's contents that it's not worth the trouble to haggle. Likely both. Hopefully gossip about what Eli could want a wagon so badly for, in such a rush, and for something so profitable, will add to the rumour he already has the key."
"Oh, one other thing. Stablemaster dropped the fact that while Marrennenn is likely a made up surname many merchants take, Eli is either one of the Merchant Princes or their eldest son."
She nodded slowly. "Make sense Merchant Prince win prize. Work even better for plan, Daxia think." She paused, considering options, for a handful of heartbeats. "Oh, almost forget... Cesare, you can climb ok if door lock from inside?"
Celia took the proffered seat with a grateful nod, listening to Mikal's recount of their venture. She made a point to observe the others in his audience, making mental notes to help her build a picture of each element of this team effort.
She wanted to be able to give Mikal useful impressions when asked, or actual behavior, if he needed extra eyes.
"Climbed before, fell before but not as many times. I will manage."
He grins.
"Also need to fill in some more information now we are getting down to details. We can get to the warehouse via the main route at the front which was obviously watched and by noone that we spotted, Longtooth included. We can also access the rear.."
He points to and replenishes his ale drawing, having to dip his finger much further by now.
"..disadvantage there are the guard patrols on the walls. However that would keep our watchers away too and given the season and the general lack of external threat, the guards are likely to have a light infrequent presence. There is a side alley too, in shadow though, which could work in our favour but I could not see enough to make out what might be down there. Actually thinking about that alley, widee than a tall man so jumping might be difficult - and given the buildings have two stories - long way down."
He pauses, recalling.
"There were windows, not sure how these were secured or how easy they might be to open. These were narrow and on the second story about head height. The warehouses looked well constructed, heavy planking and not only would be difficult to break throught but hard to imagine how that could be done without a lot of noise. The area has barels and crates scattered around. Could be useful for cover or for stacking to reach higher places."
Having given his assessment as best he can remember, he watches Daxia to see what she makes of it.
"Haven't seen the rear other than there is one by looking down the alley. So it is an unknown quantity. Would be a good approach though down the back of the warehouses but we would be going in blind."
"Yah, ok, good information... ta," she said to Cesare before turning to answer Darian's question. "Same as longbow, yes? Daxia have good bow," she said with a grin.
She paused then, fitting Cesare's new information into the rest of the plot, staring almost vacantly at the far wall and tapping out a regular rhythm on the table with her fingers. "Not want misunderstanding, so..." Daxia took a deep breath, rolled her shoulders, and sighed. "We have two simultaneous objectives. First, cause a distraction; a big one. Second, rescue Elissa.
"With the exception of Mikal and Celi, we need to make our way to the location of the warehouse in small teams, da? We should leave separately, as we did when Lia and Conrad took their walk, perhaps each group taking different routes. As Cesare, Darian and Longtooth have been seen together already, it would not seem unusual that they would walk together through the town once again. I will walk with Bekkah, if Lia and Kadri would not mind teaming up. We will meet as close to the warehouse where the girl is held as possible, perhaps in this shadowed alley Cesare spoke of. Kadri will continue to Dama Samara's warehouse down the street.
"Mikal and Celi will take the cart the Horde's quartermaster has so graciously supplied... oh, and remind me later to thump you and talk to you about the tab you're running up here, my Jvrillian friend... to the warehouse where they'll be met by Kadri. As the employee of the warehouse owner, it would not be unusual in the least for Kadri to let them into the warehouse.
"Kadri, you can play it one of two ways: you don't care, you just let them in and supervise them while they're inside loading the cart... or you can be outraged, and demand a token of proof before you let them in and indignantly watch them. In either case, get the cart into the warehouse, shut the doors, lock yourselves in... and just wait. Though you might be kind and feed Elissa's horses; I doubt anyone has seen to their care since yesterday. Wait at least half a candlemark, but probably not more than a full candlemark, before coming out again. Make a big show of giving the darksteel lock and key to Mikal, but actually hand over a plain lock and key. With your sleight-of-hand tricks, that should not be a problem, da?" she said with a grin. "Then relock the warehouse with the darksteel lock. Head back up the street looking either resigned or indignant, however you're playing it, as though you're heading back here to the Inn. But you're going to meet us in the shadows beside the other warehouse."
She turned back to Mikal. "Mikal, you and Celi are just a nice farmer boy and his younger sister, heading back out of town. You sold your last crop of turnips at the market, and you picked up a few things you think might sell in the market in Brementown, which is on the way back home. Go through town slowly enough that you can start to gather a following of nervous and concerned merchants and thieves. But don't go so slowly that you're caught. I don't want you caught until you're well out of town. Go through the town gates and head west, going at a pace a nice farmer boy would take on his way back home. Just keep going until someone catches up with you, but do try to make it at least half a mile out of town, da? Somebody is going to catch you, but you're going to be very cooperative and polite. If they want to see what's in the crates, let them see what's in the crates. If they want to see your darksteel lock, you have no idea what they're talking about, but you can show them the plain lock Kadri will hand you. Nice, polite, confused farmer boy... nice, polite, confused, very, very shy little sister, da? Very shy, Celi... eyes down if anyone approaches, one-word answers barely above a whisper, da? Your confusion and polite cooperation should get them to realize that somebody duped them. And thanks to your rumor-mongering, the signs will point to Eli as the one who duped them. Use your best judgement on returning to the Inn; spending the night under the wagon might not be the most comfortable of places, but if it's the safest option, please choose it.
"Now, Celi... your task is to make sure, as best you possibly can, that nothing harms those horses. The quartermaster was quite insistent that the horses make it back here safely. I would also like to see the wagon and the contents returned safely, as well, if the two of you can manage that. It would be a poor return on Captain Koromov's hospitality and generosity to do otherwise."
Daxia then turned to the others, the ones who would be rescuing the girl. "Now to speak of Elissa's rescue...
"If it is possible to stack these barrels and crates while Kadri is talking to Mikal and letting him into Dama Samara's warehouse, we should do so. This might make an easier tree for Darian to climb to see into the windows. Knowing where in the building the girl is being held would be useful information... as well as her apparent health, if it can be determined, and the location of the man.
"Cesare, you will please check the back of the building for a way in. If it is possible to enter at that point, I think it would be the easiest and safest way.
"However, if that is not possible, then those who can climb must climb to the windows and enter that way when Mikal and Celi are exiting the warehouse. That should should cover the sound of breaking windows if that is the only way to gain entry.
"We can also pray that our Deities are watching us with kind attention and this evil man steps out of the warehouse when he hears Mikal and Celi leaving, and we can enter the warehouse through the front entrance." Daxia furrowed her brow. "Though it does concern me that you said, Cesare, the entrance was obviously watched and not even Longtooth could see those who watched." She glanced down at the ruff under the table. "That is most... unusual, da?" She shook her head, regarding the rest of the group before continuing.
"This rescue cannot be planned with any precision. Be ready for any action on his part... will he stay in the warehouse when Mikal and Celi ride off, or will he step outside? Will we take him by surprise, or will he be expecting some sort of rescue attempt? There are still too many things we don't know, so we must be flexible and able to react to whatever does happen. My role will be to keep my shield and sword between any who would harm those who cannot defend themselves, da?
"Bekkah and Lia, I'd like you to stay outside. I know you have no fighting skills, dear sister, and I want you safe. And while you could very likely tear my hair out by the roots, Lia -- something Mikal would enjoy watching, so we will not give him the satisfaction, da?" Daxia said with a grin and a wink, "...facing a dangerous man with weapons is not where you belong. I want you safe, as well." Daxia studied the younger woman for a moment. "And I doubt your sister would thank me if I allowed harm to come to you after your long separation, da? So... the two of you should stand ready to assist Elissa, once we have secured her.
"The priority, the highest priority, is to get Elissa out of the building and into Bekkah's and Lia's hands. If this evil man should fall into Krysta's tender embrace during our encounter, I will have no regrets. Dayala does not care for those who prey upon the weak and the helpless. One who would use a child in this way..." She shook her head, a look of hardened determination on her face, and was silent for perhaps two handful of heartbeats. Then she took a deep breath and continued.
"Once we have removed Elissa from the warehouse, we need to get her back here safely. Kadri, you know the streets and the alleys, and the best ways to avoid being seen, I think. And if Longtooth and Darian can warn us of anyone we might encounter, perhaps we can even return here swiftly.
"And Bekkah, you will need to explain the purpose of the temporary guardianship to her, da? According to Dama Samara, she is very bright; she should understand the need for this protection. A Priestess of Attera should have enough sway to hold off the Nobles should they become... troublesome." She looked around the table. "None of the rest of us do. So you must be stronger than the Shannons, should they attempt to interfere, and keep Elissa safely with you, at all times, until we find a permanent guardian for her."
Daxia paused again, studying each of them in turn. "If there is an obvious thing I have missed, or some fatal step you see in this plan, speak now... for time is growing short. If you find this plan a workable guide, then we should begin our preparations."
[OOC: Wolf asks that you each post your proposed actions, as I cannot speak for any of you. Once everyone has done so, the Long Post can be written.]
She looked back at the woman and neither returned the smile nor reacted to the tone of voice. Lia merely nodded briefly. "I doubt," she said dryly, "That keeping me safe to see one out of harm is an appropriate thought but as you will."
She smiled at Kadri and said quietly, "Oh fights, direct or otherwise, aren't really for me either, but my sister has other things to concern herself with then whether another keeps me protected or not."
Daxia shrugged. "You have better idea, Lia... say. Your sister my Temple-sister; only wish for Temple-sister not to worry. But Lia not need protection..." She shrugged again. "...ok."
"Mikal, I fear they will penetrate the ruse if the wagon does na ride as if laden with ore. But if we make it appear so, who will believe the farm family disguise while we are yet within the city walls?"
He nods confirming his understanding and agreement.
"And happy to travel with Darian and Longtooth. We should probably go first. Longtooth will provide the best warning if there is anyone in the area and we can scout a little before the rest of you arrive, quieter that way."
He pauses for a moment.
"Important role for those staying outside is to watch and listen and keep our escape route clear or at least warn if it is compromised. We go back down the alley as our way out?"
He glances at Daxia.
"Would suggest Kadri approach her warehouse from the other end, not past the girl's place. That is the way Darian, Longtooth and I came and where we picked up trouble. Their attention will more likely be focused on Kadri than us. Less likely to worry about the girl."
He nods as Daxia lays out her plan. turning to Celi at her question, then answers both. "Yes, Celi. We will need to find odds and ends here and in the warehouse to load into the cart that are heavy enough to appear to be ore, but which can be explained as Daxia says, as things we thought to sell back in Brementown. Having the cart laden will help attract more followers."
He looks at Daxia again, "I am concerned about one thing, though. The part of the plan where we let them catch up to us on the road. If the farmer ruse is to be carried through, and not to be a double-bluff, then both Celi and I will not be able to wear or carry weapons or armour. Should those who follow become too annoyed at the trick we will be defenseless."
"So, perhaps it might be better for us to conceal weapons and armour on our persons and in the cart to be ready to use at need? I am not so confident that innocent farmers will not be killed by angry mercenaries and thieves, even if we could pull it off."
"I can wear my armour under my shirt and cloak, loose and baggy, and can conceal weapons, helm, and crossbow under a tarp right behind the drivers seat."
"Plus, I think it will help the ruse if it is seen that it is intended to be a ruse from the start. If someone skilled sees the armour under my clothing, it will make it even more noteworthy and attract even more attention when our opponents believe they have seen thru the ruse, but it is actually one which we intended them to see thru. Double-bluff. We let them think they have figured us out."
"If they come at us on the road, once we are far enough out, Celi and I unhitch the wagon and ride the horses off. We let them search the wagon and find nothing, then we come back and pick it back up later after they've gone."
He pauses to see if Daxia or Celi have any comments.
Daxia listened to each person attentively as they spoke, simply nodding... until Mikal began answering Celi. Then she started shaking her head, but let him finish.
"No, no, no... Kadri say we play shell and pea game," she said when he finished speaking. "Merchants, thieves see what they expect see, yes?" She sighed, and tapped her chin a few times before holding up a finger. "Ok, like this... merchants, thieves hear Eli hire wagon, yes? No haggle, must be important. What so important in Cragside now?" She jabbed her finger down on the table, more or less in the spot where the warehouse of ore was located on Cesare's dried-up map. "Ore.
"So merchants, thieves see, hear about wagon go in warehouse, they not think already have crates filled by quartermaster, yes? They think wagon filling with ore... by Eli. When wagon come out, not see weight, not see anything but greed, ore getting away. Wagon go out gates, head west, they think... Eli taking ore! When they catch confused farmer, everybody confused. Where ore? Where Eli? Then finally they think... Eli trick us! Eli still have ore! Why they bother more with farmer? Have to hurry back, keep Eli from getting away with ore.
"Mikal, Celi think. That good. But make more complicated than need to be. Yes, is intend to be ruse... made by Eli. Not you. You not know anything, just wrong time in wrong place. All Jvrillian this paranoid about attack, or just Mikal? Ok either way, Daxia just curious," she said, smiling the same teasing smile she'd given him when she denied him the fight between her and Lia in front of the Hospice. "Sometimes, must trust gods, yes? You think what I say, I come back to this, ok?"
Turning to Cesare, she nodded. "Not know who 'they' are, but good idea Kadri maybe coming from Dama Samara. I like." Then she turned to Darian. "Maybe come down from roof of warehouse to look in window? See better, see more that way... see better where prey is, yes? And Comfrey stay with Kadri last night," she said as she glanced at Kadri. "Have room here, yes?" She pointed between Kadri and Darian several times, then said, "Talk, talk," before turning to face Lia.
"Ok, you not think you need so much protection... maybe different role, yes? Stay with Kadri, maybe new apprentice to Dama Samara." She tilted her head, considering the young Imperial. "Maybe new apprentice try to cheer Kadri up if she play depressed role, calm down if play angry role? You can do, yes?"
Daxia leaned back in her chair, fingers interlaced over her stomach, while waiting for additional feed back from the others... but kept her attention on Lia.
[OOC again: each person needs to explicitly state they are going along with the plan, or state explicitly what else they will be doing, otherwise our Diabolical GM will do something... well... probably bad. Something we won't like. He's like that, you know. Nice, but not-nice at the same time. ]
With a patient tone the young woman replied, "What role did you want of me? I'd already said I'd do what was needed."
She shrugged and continued in a flat tone, "Find someone else to rip out your hair if that's what you want, but trying to shield me on account of my sister's feeling strikes me as rather odd considering that there is someone at risk we're trying to help."
ooc At this point I have no idea what your character wants mine to do
ooc: nodnodnods ... and I do have Monday off to write the post if we need; it does mean I'll need responses by Monday noon-ish because then I'll start writing, based on what is said here.
"Good. Now need you be apprentice," Daxia said, her voice as flat as Lia's. "No split up if not in sight of group." She glanced, almost longingly, at her Temple-sister for a heartbeat or two, before turning her eyes back to Lia. "Not like idea you get hurt, captured, killed because you want be stubborn. You want that, do on own time, not mine," she said, so calmly, so softly, so dangerously. Then she turned to Darian. "Yah, Cesare say space. So, ok, you climb. Good."
Right after Daxia's address to her, Lia continued in the same flat, calm tone and shrugged eloquently and said, "Then until you change things again, that is what I will do. When you change them again, then I'll do the next part of the plan you dream up. If you think willingness to follow that is stubbornness, you may think what you pus-sucking wish to."
"I seem to have fallen into this, so I will do as you suggest Dazi. I'll be outside, but close by, waiting for the rest of you to come out with the girl. If she is hurt badly, then I expect you to get me inside to her quickly. Do not make the girl come to me if she is hurt bad Dazi." she said watching her sister.
"Lia, I'd prefer not to be wandering the streets alone. A lone woman, can sometimes present too desirable a target, even if she is a Lady of Attera. Two of us together give us more reason to stop nearby and talk or argue or whatever you think works best to keep us close but not suspiciously so."
She smiled thinly at Bekkah and shrugged. "It appears it all depends on the role I'm asked to fulfill. I believe you'll need to take that up with others."
"As you say - I will be where needed when I am needed. I have no objections."
She turns to Darian;
"I have no objections I do not truly know you, but have no reason to mistrust you. If you need to use a room, it may as well be mine. It is small, as am I - so you should fit.
Darian with Longtooth at her heels follows Kadri to the room. They are gone between a quarter of a candlemark and a half. When they returned, she wore a complete set of leathers from neck to toe as well as a serious expression. A Hunt was serious business, especially one of this nature.
When it was time, Hunter and Hound would leave the inn with their new walking companion with a comment about desiring fresh meat.
After Lia's last comment to her, Daxia slowly began to grin as Bekkah spoke both to her, then to Lia. It wasn't a cheerful or pleasant grin; it was almost predatory. "Ok, Bekkah. Girl hurt bad, make sure you get to her. Promise," she said, without moving, without taking her eyes off Lia. "Hope only evil man hurt bad, so you stay outside with Lia when she come with Kadri, yes?" When Kadri, Darian and Longtooth left, she followed them with her eyes, her face returning to a neutral expression. When they were out of sight, she turned to Mikal.
He nods to Darian as she arrives back downstairs and stands ready to leave with her and Longtooth, their aim to get to the back of the warehouse, confirm the presence of those inside and to scout the best way in.
"Fates be with you."
With a grin and a wave, he heads for the door with Darian and Longtooth.
He frowns and shakes his head. "It will not work, Daxia. The farmer part. Even could Celi and I pass as farmers, they have all seen us. They know who we are. They found us walking in the street for gosh sake. I cannot suddenly take off my armour and pretend to be a farmer, unless they know I am pretending. Not to mention that no turnip farmer can afford two horses to pull a wagon of turnips to town. He walks, and pulls a cart behind him."
"It is not so much feeling naked when armed men run up and I am unarmoured and unarmed, it is that as soon as they see me on the cart they will know who I am. They will not fall for the farmer ruse, so we must make them think that they've seen thru it."
"They may stop the wagon", and he turns to Celi at that point and says to her, "and the plan depends on them catching and inspecting the wagon, Celi."
Turning back to Daxia he continues, "The may stop the wagon, but they will never believe us to be farmers. The ruse will still work because they will think the Jvrillian working for Eli is trying to sneak the ore out of town. And Eli's not using the Dark Mark because he's trying to be tricky. When they catch up to the wagon they will know I am a Jvrillian. I'd prefer not to be known to be a Jvrillian, facing angry Mercenaries, and be unarmed at the same time. I only see bad things coming from that situation and I'd like to live long enough to collect on my Contract." He smiles slightly.
"So. If they know I am a Jvrillian, then my having my arms and armour would be expected. Hidden until outside the town, because I am trying to trick them, but handy because I do not have a death wish."
"It is also why I suggested leaving the wagon in the road once we are pursued and have gotten far enough, and riding off with Celi. Let them inspect the wagon and see no ore. They will know then they've been tricked. There is no need for Celi and I to be there when they do inspect it. It is an unnecessary risk, and Rule #1 in my profession is 'Do not take unnecessary risks'."
He frowns and shakes his head. "It will not work, Daxia. The farmer part. Even could Celi and I pass as farmers, they have all seen us. They know who we are. They found us walking in the street for gosh sake. I cannot suddenly take off my armour and pretend to be a farmer, unless they know I am pretending. Not to mention that no turnip farmer can afford two horses to pull a wagon of turnips to town. He walks, and pulls a cart behind him."
"It is not so much feeling naked when armed men run up and I am unarmoured and unarmed, it is that as soon as they see me on the cart they will know who I am. They will not fall for the farmer ruse, so we must make them think that they've seen thru it."
"They may stop the wagon", and he turns to Celi at that point and says to her, "and the plan depends on them catching and inspecting the wagon, Celi."
Turning back to Daxia he continues, "The may stop the wagon, but they will never believe us to be farmers. The ruse will still work because they will think the Jvrillian working for Eli is trying to sneak the ore out of town. And Eli's not using the Dark Mark because he's trying to be tricky. When they catch up to the wagon they will know I am a Jvrillian. I'd prefer not to be known to be a Jvrillian, facing angry Mercenaries, and be unarmed at the same time. I only see bad things coming from that situation and I'd like to live long enough to collect on my Contract." He smiles slightly.
"So. If they know I am a Jvrillian, then my having my arms and armour would be expected. Hidden until outside the town, because I am trying to trick them, but handy because I do not have a death wish."
"It is also why I suggested leaving the wagon in the road once we are pursued and have gotten far enough, and riding off with Celi. Let them inspect the wagon and see no ore. They will know then they've been tricked. There is no need for Celi and I to be there when they do inspect it. It is an unnecessary risk, and Rule #1 in my profession is 'Do not take unnecessary risks'."
"Avoiding unneccesary risks is the first thing for anyone. And yor idea? Good for shell game. Always make them believe they know more than they do."
Daxia regarded Mikal for a long time, seeing -- but not really seeing him. She didn't move from her relaxed position, and her face only lost its neutral expression once or twice when her brows furrowed slightly. Finally, she shrugged. "Both paths look same from long view... both paths have risks looking close." She sighed, and refocused on him. "Ok. Your way. Armor under tunic, hide weapons. Abandon wagon if must, but anything happen to it, you fix." She looked at Celi. "Still make sure horses return safe, yes?"
She glanced around at the group, towards the stairs where Darian and Longtooth would descend, finally to Kadri, who had returned while she was considering Mikal's plan. "Kadri, Lia leave first... have longest way to go." Turning to Cesare, she said, "You, Darian, Longtooth go next. Me, Bekkah next. Mikal, Celi in wagon last."
After a handful of heartbeats, she pushed her chair back and stood. "I change, too. Bring back bow, arrows for Darian." With that, she walked off towards the stables.
When she returned, just after Darian and Longtooth, she wore her breeches and shorter riding tunic and surcoat. Layered between the tunic and surcoat was her ring hauberk. On her arms and legs, she wore her lamellar vambraces and greaves. Her hair was tied back with a leather thong; from her belt hung both dagger and sword, tiny bone pieces at the ends of the silk strip clacking softly, occasionally, as she walked. She carried her round shield in one hand, bow and quiver of arrows in the other. These last she handed to Darian. "Good hunting," she said quietly.
He waits and listens. When Daxia finally shrugs in agreement he relaxes. As she leaves, he stands and removes his spare shirt from his pack and pulls it on over his armour. It's a tight fit, and anyone looking at him carefully would be able to tell he's got something on under it. He pulls his cloak on over both, and that helps a bit more with the concealment.
When Daxia returns, after she hands the bow and arrows to Darian, he approaches her and nods.
"Thanks for listening."
He doesn't know if she knows it or not, but should she have refused to agree to the change, he was obligated by the Contract to do as she wanted, whether he wanted to or not. The fact she was willing to listen, as she too had promised, was important to him.
"Oh. One other thing. Should we be ..., delayed in returning, you promise to take care of Talia, yes?"
He then grabs a blanket to wrap up his sword, helmet, main gauche, and crossbow to hide in the wagon and turns and heads for the stables to get the team and wagon with Celi and start their end of the plan.
She accepted the bow, quiver and well wishes from Dazi in the same manner it was given. This bow was smaller and lighter than her own and she slung it on under her cloak, settling the quiver at her hip then turned to Cesare. "We go now."
Longtooth padded beside her to the door, and she opened it for him then followed him out pulling her cloak tight about her and her hood low over her face.
Daxia nodded to Mikal. "I say I listen. Both plan have problem, both plan have advantage. They balance, yes? So, this time, Daxia let Mikal be comfortable." She grinned at him. "Maybe not next time, ok?" she said with a chuckle. Then she gripped his arm for a brief moment. "Yah, you little late, I take care Talia. No worry," she said seriously. She watched him and Celi head out towards the stables... and Cesare, Darian and Longtooth head out, as well. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, whispering to herself, "Dayala, shine Your light on us and this venture. Please watch over us, even though we are not all Your children." Another deep breath, and she opened her eyes as she reached for her cloak. "Ready, Bekkah?" She arranged her cloaked to hide the weapons and armor, though even the heaviness of the Kierkegaard cloak would not fully conceal the outline of the small shield. At least it was not obvious, or visible. Two fullhand of heartbeats after Cesare, Darian and Longtooth left, she and Bekkah stepped out the door.
When she saw Dazi return, she looked a bit surprised. She was now truly having a hard time remembering the little girl, she had left behind many years ago.
Dazi wasn't the only one who learned to remain quiet and watch. She noticed Mikal with Dazi and the reaction of the others. She nodded with approval to herself.
When they were ready she stood, having nothing else to gather.
"Still have unicorn with you?" she said to her baby sister as they started to go.
Daxia chuckled. "Papa's little carved horse head? Yah, always keep. Kisa think Dazi have spirit of white unicorn, too." She paused, an odd smile on her face. "If so, hope unpredictable nature help today."
The Heartwood Late Afternoon, the Town of Cragside Restday The Last Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Darian, Longtooth, Cesare, Kadri, Camelia, Mikal, Celi, Bekkah and Daxia
It is late afternoon before the plans are set, the last discussions set and tasks assigned. That there was no interruption was not unusual; while intent they were no different than any other collection of companions sharing an afternoon's drink and food.
If anything, the horde's second cast an occassional glance their way; the Horde's captain was conspicuously absent.
When they broke, it was in separate directions.
Kadri and Lia began their walk up the main street; towards the civil court and the gardens behind, so that they could approach Samara's warehouse from the direction of her house. This late the streets were thinning; both with it being Restday and near the closing of the day; goodwives had dinners to prepare and whatever shops were open today would be closing their doors when She touched the far horizon. The townsfolk's pace was already increasing as they raced to complete their tasks before twilight.
The shadows She cast across the town were already starting to be long, and where the rows of buildings ran against Her gaze they already jumped from one row to the next, from one one rooftop to the following.
Mikal and Celi found a single wagon and its team already hitched; one of the young stable lads petting one of the sturdy carter's nose as he waited. The wagon held two heavy crates, with a heavy black canvas tarpaulin folded in the back and a coil of rope for tying it down lain next to it.
The reins rested comfortably on the buckboard's hard wooden seat. A short stiff whip also awaited, not the long type - the type specifically made for tagging commands to a team of horses.
The horses didn't seem to mind the upcoming dusk; in fact they didn't seem to mind at all, easily snapped forward by a flick of the whip. It seemed the Horde preferred their draft horses of the cold blooded variety.
For Darian, it took longer than expected for the Hunter to return, her preparations taking a touch longer than one might expect. But when she returned it was with a more comfortable stride. Longtooth too was bright and alert, the elder canine's pace not making a sound.
Darian and Cesare took their leave, followed by Daxia and her elder sister.
Their path took them through the shadowed streets; the western side dark, the roofs of the eastern buildings capped with the soft warm tones of a setting sun. Away from the main street the pedestrian traffic was even less; townsfolks talking before their houses, others haunting the street corners, many choosing the western side of the street for their trade.
They would come and go, as required for their own, private, businesses.
Of course, once the safety and stability of the Hart and Horse was left behind any chance of coordinating four distinct groups of people in a town was left upon the wooden tables, next to the plate of bread and cheese.
The Heartwood Late Afternoon, the Town of Cragside Restday The Last Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Kadri and Camelia
"Hey lassies, sure you don't be wanting company, two ladies all alone upon the streets? It's most certainly going to be a cool night and we wouldn't want two such loves getting all cold ..."
Two women walking alone upon the street, neither townsfolks nor properly escorted by a gentleman were bound to garner some attention. The rake's wolf-whistle caught them as the two turned the corner down warehouse row. The Sun was still above the town wall, but Her light shown right down the street; comfortable for camelia, less so for Kadri.
"Your loss, ladies ..."
Was his reply as he was left behind.
A look over one's shoulder, about halfway to the warehouse saw him gone, vanished, perhaps upon his own business, perhaps to find two more compliant and possibly more affordable companionship.
The Heartwood Late Afternoon, the Town of Cragside Restday The Last Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Mikal and Celi
Whether or not the cart's horses could make more than a comfortable pace was something that would most certainly be an interesting test. Their clip-clop across the cobbles was a slow and even pace which only softened when they left the paved streets for those of hard packed dirt.
A cart, upon Restday, did attract a modicum of attention; beggars raised their bowls because anyone who could afford such a fine team should be able to spare a handful of pennies. A whispered curse and a retreat to more gullible and soft hearted folks would follow if no tithes were forthcoming.
Sometimes even if there were too.
Turning right down the last alley the two passes a trio of men at a street corner. A haggling was in process, one that heated up as the two rode past and then ebbing as they entered the darkly shadowed passage.
The Heartwood Late Afternoon, the Town of Cragside Restday The Last Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Darian, Cesare, Longtooth, Bekkah and Daxia
Coming down from the eastern side of the town, along the town wall, might not have been the best of ideas.
Passing around the buildings, when one walked the street proper Her light most definitely looked down upon them, upon Cesare and Darian, upon Bekkah and Daxia who followed, causing a harsh glare as they walked into the approaching sunset. What folks did work the warehouse row this late were cast in shadow or silhouette. Some of those shadows retreated before they were reached, some looked up from their labors as they were passed, a momentary pause before returning to their work.
Thus it was almost a relief to reach the narrow alley between the two warehouses. Though Longtooth's hackles were already bristling, the snarkhound's head low to the ground, ears back, as they rounded the one warehouse immediately to the east of their destination.
It took a while for one's eyes to get used to the shadows, in the tight space; so close were the buildings it was almost, but not quite, as dark as night. A crates and two barrels kept them company, not enough to reach the roof but certainly enough to help.
The most interesting thing being that the clerestory window, the one deepest into the alley, closest to the town wall, was missing.
It was a scramble, because the barrels were empty and thus less stable, to boost both Darian and a Cesare upwards. The last bit, even with Daxia and Bekkah attempting a last moment's aid in frantic steadying, coming to a ruin as the crate broke in a snappling of wood and splinters, sending the barrels carooming down into the alley.
On the bright side it left Cesare unexpectedly propped in the window and Darian on the roof; where they were supposed to be in the first place.
While in the shade by the roof's gable the footing on the clay tile shingles far from sure and the Hunter felt, suddenly, uncomfortably exposed.
Like he was being stalked.
Perhaps a reason for this was why Cesare hadn't tumbled through the open window.
Because, on the inside of the warehouse, the window had been set very carefully on the ground below and someone had set a ladder rising up against the wall.
Outside, the sound of steady hoofbeats clip-clopped down warehouse row.
The Heartwood Late Afternoon, the Town of Cragside Restday The Last Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Kadri, Camelia, Mikal and Celi
It did not take long, once the warehouse was reached, for Kadri and Lia to not just see their other companions enter the alley beyond but to hear the approach of Celi and Mikal.
Of course the opening of the warehouse garnered attention; a man walking down the street in the wagon's wake, another warehouse watcher - whose job was probably similar to Kadri's day to day tasks - simply noting another bit of activity upon the late afternoon street.
The big door was pulled open and then shut behind cart and horses.
Inside, there was barely enough room to turn the cart around, tricky and awkward maneuvering for the big horses; indeed it seemed Celi's words were true, she took naturally to the big beasts and they almost seemed to be able to understand her words of urging.
Then all it took was a few more moments for Mikal to check the crates, draw the tarpaulin over the crates and tie it down.
Outside, however, it was a different situation.
The warehouse worker stood, and dusting off his long tunic skirts, started to approach Kadri and Lia.
From the other side of the street it seemed that the pedestrian who was simply promenading had gained a companion. Their destination also the warehouse.
One of them drew a vey nasty looking dagger.
The setting sun's light dashed orange across the blade.
The Heartwood Late Afternoon, the Town of Cragside Restday The Last Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Darian, Longtooth, Cesare, Kadri, Camelia, Mikal, Celi, Bekkah and Daxia
Longtooth was not in the alley.
The snarkhound's head rose, as he heard Darian's footing slip on the tiled shingles above. The snarkhound loped; out into the street, almost running into Kadri and Lia as he then turned and then continued past, growling low as his gaze slipped up to the rooftops.
The hunting beast caused both warehouse worker and the other two brigands to pause, but only until they realized the hunting canine was not interested in them.
"Didn't we tell you what would happen is you didn't get another line of work, Kadri-lass?"
There was a hint of metal wrapping the warehouse worker's closed fist.
"Oh you can have her once we are done ..."
Cold steel against two women.
Three against two; not good odds at all.
And all that changed when the warehouse door unexpectedly was pushed open. It swung easily on its well kept hinges, a sudden barrier between the two women and the warehouse worker.
"Forget them!"
Was the sudden barked order from the first of the sworders, as Mikal swung himself up onto the buckboard's seat.
And they were not alone.
From the side alley, as if waiting, others sprinted into the street.
For Mikal and Celi, the best place to be was elsewhere; with a snap of the whip the big horses leapt forward.
It seemed they could move at a decent pace if necessary; and at a fast pace they tore down warehouse road. Most followed, the bossy brigand didn't and neither did the warehouse worker.
Perhaps his issue with kadri was personal.
As for Darian, atop the roof, what was happening on the street was beyond her vision, blocked by the length and slope of the roof. She could definitely hear the commotion; first the approach of horse and wagon, then the threats, then the sudden change as the aforementioned wagon made its sudden, unexpected bid for freedom.
Though there was the faintest clattering, at the wagon's escape, close; unseen, on the other side of the roof, unseen beyond the roof's peak.
On the street, Mikal and Celi turned the wagon south, out of warehouse row and out of sight.
Above the street, on the rooftop, Darian was not alone.
Her curses at slipping were colorful but unheard, said only in her head as she rebalanced herself. As she listened and spied about, she relegated common sounds to background noise. She had donned her leather hood before the climb and secured it tightly. The eyeholes were cut wide and well as to not interfere with vision.
Her senses told her there was another here as did her Hound's rising growl. Her arrow hand, the left, drew arrow from quiver as she reset her footing. She drew bead on the apex of the roof waiting for sign of the roof's other resident. Everything narrowed to the unseen target and his movement, minute adjustments made in her aim as the sounds of his movement gave her more information on his location. She would shoot when she saw the tip of his nose, minimizing the chance of hitting the hard brow bone and striking soft tissue instead.
ooc comment: After some frantic private postings clarifying exactly what everyone wanted their characters to specifically accomplish; the turn as posted stands as is.
If it does not perfectly match The Plan, that is just what happens
Keeping the dagger flat against her arm, and hopefully out of sight until needed, Lia stepped froward shielding Kadri from their gaze and spinning her cloak against the other arm to wrap it securely and to distract enough for a fast strike.
Daxia with Kadri, Lia and two Bad Guys in the street with a sword
Peeking around the corner, Daxia swore quietly... words Bekkeh had never heard from her little sister's mouth before. She quickly removed her cloak and handed it to Bekkah. "Stay against wall. Anybody but group come near, scream."
She stepped out into the street and strode towards Kadri and Lia, and the two men, silently slipping her sword out of the scabbard. She could barely hear the sound of the two bone trinkets clacking together on the ends of the silk scarf as she drew the sword. Approaching the man threatening Kadri with the dagger, she said as she closed to striking distance, "Hoi! Big brave man threatening tiny woman. Mama very proud of you."
Daxia kept her shield between herself and the dagger; her intention is to strike at his soft abdominal area when he turns, then slice downward and outward... the desired effect is to, essentially, disembowel the scum.
As their attention was, hopefully, attracted by the approach of Daxia, Kadri turned and closed, and locked the door. . . and wrapped her cloak around her arm, sliding her hand down to her dagger. .
His eyes quickly take in the scene. He immediately realises that the occupant he had expected is likely to be on the roof - where else would have have gone via this convenient ladder? That means Darian probably needs help. But then getting the girl out of here is their first priority and that might make any other problems diminish.
So taking a quick decision, he plans to climb down the ladder, free the girl, get her up the ladder, lower her to those in the alley and then help Darian.
He leans back out of the window, seeing only Bekkah, but too late to be wondering why she is on her own. Keeping his voice down, not wanting it to carry to the roof, he whispers down.
"Rebuild the barrels."
With that instruction, he tucks his head back inside and transfers to the ladder, climbing down as rapidly as seems safe, the heads for the post securing the girl.
She had heard the sounds as well and began to follow Dazi. When words she'd never expected to hear from her little sister came spewing from her, she almost began to admonish the girl before she was handed a cloak and Dazi was gone. She was about to follow her around the corner, when she heard a sound from above. She looked up to see Cesare.
She looked from the window to the ground and she understood. She quickly put on Dazi's cloak to free her arms then moved to attempt to stack the barrels. Bekkah was not the strongest of women so it would take her a bit of time and she was never going to get more than one barrel on top of another. Anything higher than that, was quite out of her ability. Still she tried as quickly as she could to get one up.
The Heartwood Late Afternoon, the Town of Cragside Restday The Last Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Daxia, Camelia, Darian, Bekkah, Kadri and Longtooth
It started with a scream, sudden and high pitched.
Two had begun to close upon Kadri and Lia, the shorter, darker, blocky built brigand whose hand was wrapped in metal closing with the Imperial handmaiden. His companion, his competitor, his fist turned about the handle of a sturdy three sideded dagger, the other brigand would have been able to close with the small dark haired girl, save for the sudden challenge from the street.
It was over, almost, before it started.
As if time itself was compressed by the hot rush of adrenaline, by the harsh reality of steel, flesh, shaft and blood.
The taller, more weasely brigand turned, a sneer coming across his face as he saw himself being charged by a girl. A sneer that turned quickly to panic as he caught sight of just how long Daxia's blade was, and how sure it was wielded.
Mayhaps he had seen how her temple-sister fought. Daxia swung, her sword slicing through the air in a deadly arc, the brigand panicking and tossing himself backwards in an awkward tumble, the only thing keeping himself the couter balancing swing of his own strike; but it failed spectacularly - not even coming close to the charging Dayalan.
That gave Kadri the time she needed, to reach over and slowly push the large door shut again. As she ratcheted the latch in place, taking out its heavy, valuable lock she saw Camelia dance.
It was lithe, fluid, a mirror of the move that she had used the night before against her sister. Except this time a cloaked wrapped hand batted away an incoming fist, the graceful step completed with with a sudden flash of steel. No kitchen tool she carried now, but a long, well crafted dagger. It struck home, not just slashing through the sleeve of the brigands loose tunic buy viciously impaling him through the forearm, right between the two bones, and right solid into the warehouse's solid wood door.
Lia tugged ... but her sister's dagger didn't budge.
As Kadri snapped the lock in place, she heard the distinctive snap of an arrow being loosed.
Upon the roof Darian waited, poised. Though she almost tumbled, at the sudden appearance of a man rushing the peak of the roof. It was not where she expected, and he was definitely a predator, tall, strong, dressed in waxed leather, sturdy cuirboilli - not the street clothes of the theives below. In each hand he held a pair of dangerous looking knives; while they were single edged they were thick and wide, the ends curved and hooked. like a ca's claw, they were designed for close in fighting. but she was Khannish's and today, this was her hunt. The arrow shot more than true, piercing the front of his armor as if it were rare paper, driven between ribs ... and then to tent the back of his tunic. His eyes went wide and then empty. He fell back out of sight. There was a hard clattering on the clay tile shingles beyond. Then silence. Then a solid whumf, sounding much father below.
Much father below, where training and discipline proved their deadly worth. For no sword strike is complete without the return blow, the first move only the set up for the second, as daxia completed her attack.
To the side, the body of Darian's opponent landed hard on the dirt street; it lay still in a very disturbing bent and folded sprawl. A decent sized object then bounced down the road, coming to a rest next to the new corpse. Black eyes stared up to the darkening sky, no longer seeing, as Daxia's return blow had bit through flesh, trachea and vertebrae to separate head from ... a now headless body that twitched and shuddered before it fell forward to lay still at Kadri's feet.
Shadows, farther down the street, potential merchant thugs or Kholish opportunists - carrion creatures - suddenly paused in their approach - four to the east, two to the west - as if thinking matters over, perhaps reconsidering their curse of actions in view of a rooftop kill, a sure execution ... and the screams from a guildmate whose arm was pinned to the door of Samara Kelleni's warehouse.
Daxia with Kadri, Lia, a screaming dolt and a headless corpse on the streets of Cragside
She glanced up and down the street noting the shadows there, as well as Longtooth across the street, then looked up at the rooftop where Darian perched. Resting the tip of her sword on the corpse's leg and the pommel steadied by her shield hand, Daxia held up four fingers in Darian's direction and pointed east. Then she held up two fingers and pointed west. She wasn't sure if Darian could see from her angle... but then, the brigands to the east and west of them couldn't be absolutely certain either. Longtooth, on the other hand...
She grasped the sword hilt again, stooped as though to wipe the blood off the blade, and cut a strip of the dead man's tunic instead. As she stood, she slid her arm out of the shield's straps, and hooked one of the straps over her empty scabbard as she stepped over to the screaming man. "Be. Quiet." she ordered, as she stuffed the cloth in his mouth. "Don't move." If he does move, she will slice open his free arm with an upswing of the sword.
She took one step back and said to Lia, "Nice job." Again, Daxia glanced up and down the street. Taking another step back, she look at Kadri for a heartbeat, then Lia for a heartbeat before bringing the sword back up, tip pointing steady and sure at the the spot just below the man's breastbone. "What we do with this one, hmmmm?"
She watched her arrow fly true and fast, knowing without a doubt that it had found it's mark and done it's job. She did not glory in it or exult. The glory was Khannish's, and the Hunt was not yet done. The others who had sought to make them prey must be near. She moved to the peak of the roof, searching out if any other stood up there with her.
When she saw none, she placed a foot on either slope and made her way forward to peer down into the street. She crouched as she came nigh the edge, her leathers and stillness making her almost part of the roof.
She heard the scream amongst other sounds. She didn't know everyone's voice but she was certain that she'd recognize Dazi's and it wasn't her. She continued struggling with the the barrel, trying to get it in place. She knew that if she was needed out front, Dazi would come get her. She was fairly certain that she didn't want to see what had happened.
"Thank you - I can dance, but my bladework needs practice."
She moves over to the pinned man, looks him in the eye . . . And spits. And then, tracing one finger down his jawbone, whispers something inaudibly to him. And smiles angelically.
She smiled briefly and said simply to Kadri, "You had other things to do." The young woman frowned as she regarded the dagger in the arm and wood and then her gaze swept the area.
Her gaze briefly drifted back to the other two closer to the trapped man and her dagger before she said in an almost wistful, light tone, "I wouldn't mind having that back."
Daxia with Kadri, Lia, a quieter dolt and a headless corpse on the streets of Cragside
She lowered the sword and stepped in close to the man pinned to the door. She looked him in the eyes and said absolutely nothing as she used his tunic to wipe his compatriot's blood off her blade. While unhooking the shield from the scabbard, sliding her arms through the straps and sheathing the sword, she maintained eye contact. Pressing the shield hard against his upper arm and torso, she grabbed the dagger handle and yanked hard, wiggling it a bit to encourage its release from the wood, yanked again and pulled it from the wood of the door and the man's forearm... still maintaining eye contact. He broke eye contact, eyes closing in pain, as he started sliding down the door; Daxia kept the shield pressed against him, guiding his fall so he landed more or less seated rather than flat on his face. Then she wiped his blood off the blade on his tunic. She rose and stepped back, feeling the weight and balance of the the dagger before flipping it over, presenting it, hilt first, to Lia. "Nice weapon. Can see why you not want to give up," she said, with a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
She let out a sharp bark and viewed the scene below. Her companions across the way had things well in hand for the moment but more were coming. Four on the one side; two on the other. She drew another arrow and set it, picking of the four man crew the one who was second from the right. She let the arrow fly.
Daxia with Kadri, Lia, a quieter dolt and a headless corpse on the streets of Cragside
"Darian."
Daxia pointed to the corpse next to the head of their own headless corpse. "Hunter kill one prey. Four more there..." Having heard the twang of the bow sending another arrow off, she amended as she pointed to the east, the direction of the alley where she'd left Bekkah, "maybe three.
"Two there," she said, pointing to the west. She looked up at the silhouette of the Hunter on the roof, then back to Kadri and Lia. "Need to get girl. Cesare climb into building. Help him get girl out, yes?" She stared across the street the door to the other warehouse. "Lock from inside, probably." She shook her head. "Daxia not climb. Stay down. Defend. You climb, both?"
While waiting for their answers, she said to the man on the ground, "You scream again, I come back cut tongue out, ok?"
The Heartwood Late Afternoon, the Town of Cragside Restday The Last Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Daxia, Camelia, Darian, Bekkah, Kadri and Longtooth and eventually Cesare.
The good thing is that the barrels are empty.
The bad thing is that the barrels are ... empty.
The problem is the stacking of them can't really hide the screams of someone in pain from Bekkah. One by one she focused on her stacking until she had a small pyramid; three barrels close together with a crate on top, reaching unsteadily about halfway up the outside wall. As she finished, at the end of the alley there was a moment's quiet, then snippets of conversation, at this distance and around the corner nothing but mumblings in familiar tones. After the silence, however, there was simply a plaintiff call, no longer a scream but a whimpered mantra.
"... but it hurts but it hurts but it hurts but it hurts ..."
For Daxia, Lia and Kadri on the street, as the brigand's torn form slips to the road, well at least wasn't screaming. Though that came from up the street, to the East. Almost as sure as her first shot, from the rooftop one of Darian's arrows found it's target; one of the far shadows fell ... and with cursing his companions caught him and quickly dragged him back.
However then it is Darian's turn to be caught, stumble, a sudden jarring blaze of white hot pain catching her low in the back.
A crossbow quarrel.
From a rooftop ... across the street, to the west.
Back at the Alley Bekkah looks up. Halfway through the window cesare looks stuck. Over his shoulder is a girl sized bundle, and its starting to twist and writhe and buck. Words are muffled by cloth.
Daxia with Kadri, Lia, a mumbling dolt and a headless corpse on the streets of Cragside then in the alley with Bekkah, Kadri, Lia, Cesare and a very unhappy girl
Taking the brigand's whimpering as an agreement, however temporary, that there would be no further screaming, Daxia began turning back to Kadri and Lia when a scream sounded from the east, following by a great deal of cursing. She looked up at Darian, and began raising an arm to point in the opposite direction when the Hunter was hit. The Dayalan added her own string of curses to those still lingering in the air from up the street as she nudged her two companions towards the alley. "Go, go, go! Darian hurt. Need to get all back to inn!"
She ran towards the alley, towards Bekkah, towards Cesare, towards the only access to the roof she knew about. Rounding the corner, she skidded to a stop, took in the pyramind her sister had constructed, Cesare's struggle in the open window, and looked up at the roof line... searching for the Hunter. "Kadri, Lia, help Cesare! Bekkah, Darian hurt." She looked at her sister, concern in her eyes -- no, more than concern, there was fear and dread, too. "Don't know if she can get down, but if can, going to be long, hard drop. Arrow in back, I think."
She finally got the barrels in place, but she still wasn't sure if it would be steady enough. And once she saw the struggling girl, she was even more certain that she needed to remain here in case they fell. She desperately wanted to go around to the front to aid those in need. Fortunately, she could hear Dazi's voice and she sounded unhurt. Had there been doubt in her mind as to her sister's well-being, she might not have been able to remain here.
Then all of a sudden Dazi was before her. It took her a moment for the words to settle in.
*Darian, which one was Darian.* then she remembered.
"Can you get her down? And what about whomever shot her? Are they still out there?"
Daxia with Bekkah, Kadri, Lia, Cesare and a very unhappy girl in the alley
"Not me, don't know, don't know." Daxia answered her sister's questions as quickly as Bekkah had asked them. "If she get to edge, maybe break fall. Gonna hurt Dazi and Darian, but Darian hurt less that way. I hope." Her gaze was constantly moving from the alley entrance to the roofline to Cesare. "Where Longtooth? Don't know if he can tell her move here, or if they need be close to talk," she said absently.
Daxia with Bekkah, Kadri, Lia, Cesare and a very unhappy girl in the alley
Daxia paused in her surveillance to regard Bekkah for a few heartbeats, giving her a strained smile.
"Lucky if barrels and crate hold to get Cesare and girl out. But I not let you go up," she said as her eyes continued their rounds. "Shooters maybe not see Bekkah is Lady of Attera. I not let them hurt you." She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Darian strong, smart. She know you here."
Again she paused for a moment to smile at her sister. "I know you fix. Always say you best Healer Attera see on mainland, yes?" Dazi have Bekkah's shoulder a light squeeze before resting her hand back on her sword hilt, and continuig her scan for trouble.
She had already started moving and absently stepped to the side when Kadri reached out to keep her arms free. Her sense appeared focused on listening and watching for more trouble.
Well he is glad about two things. Firstly that he trussed her up and secondly that he left her ears free - though he could wish that she had remained comatose a little longer. Time to try the Rhoni charm, even though he knows the drug that was used on her and she might well not understand - or believe- what he is saying. She might stop struggling long enough to listen though.
"You are with friends. There is a lady of Attera below to help you. Most importantly we are escaping through a high window and if you struggle I am more likely to drop you. Save your struggles for when you reach the ground."
He peers over, relieved to see several more of their group below. He might have half a chance now.
"Is Darian OK? Think there's a man on the roof. I can't climb down with the girl, even if she stops struggling. Anyone got a rope so I can lower her down."
There is one in his pack but with arms full of girl it might as well be back at the inn.
"Looks like she's been beaten."
The last is said flatly but there is a hard glint in those piercing eyes that suggest he is not too happy about it.
When Cesare called down to them, she heard his words and a flash of anger crossed her features for a moment.
"Let him help you down child and I will ease your pains." she said in a calming voice. Even Dazi had never heard Bekkah talk like this before. She seemed so very sure of herself.
The sudden bite of pain surprised her, and she instinctively dropped to a knee and moved away from the attack which took her down the eastern slope of the roof. Darian gritted her teeth and looked about, to see if the attacked was visible and if there were another way to get off of the roof. If there was anything she could tie the rope to...
The projectile had not hit anything vital...yet.
She chirped another bark to her hound companion and carefully crab crawled towards the edge.
"Daxia?" she called, her voice strained with pain.
Daxia in the alley with Bekkah, Kadri and Lia; Cesare and a very unhappy girl in the window; Darian on the roof
"I am here, Darian. Bekkah, too." Daxia continued to glance frequently towards the entry to the alley, but now her major focus was on the Hunter rather than Cesare and the girl.
She needed to help the girl down quickly so she could go and help Darian. She climbed up onto the barrels and then onto the crate, leaning her body against the wall for support.
"Cesare, hand her to me. Slowly now and I will help her down."
"When he does child, grab hold of me and when we get down, Lady Attera will ease your pains."
Daxia in the alley with Bekkah, Kadri and Lia; Cesare and a very unhappy girl in the window; Darian on the roof
As the bow slid off the roof, Daxia scooped it out of the air, moving the larger surface area of her shield towards it... tapping it... tilting it... and slapping her free hand over it, holding it in place. Laying it gently on the ground tight against the building, she then slipped the shield off her arm and leaned that against the building, as well.
The Hunter sheds the quivers and other bow and drops them one by one to the waiting Daxia. Once those are over, she readies herself and lays face down on the roof. She offers up a prayer to Khannish for his strength for she knows the pain will become much worse very soon.
Slowly she edges her toes over, then her legs and fresh pains shoot out from her wound as she bends at the waist. She cannot help the whimper that escapes from her. Then she pushes with her arms a little more....
Darian has to trust that her companions will catch her or cushion her fall in some way. She cannot reach above her head with her right hand, and so is left hanging by only the left until she can hold on no more.....
Daxia in the alley with Bekkah, Kadri and Lia; Cesare and a very unhappy girl in the window; Darian on the roof
As Darian dropped each item, Daxia caught it as best she could and placed it beside the Hunter's longbow and her own shield. Only one arrow fell out of Darian's quiver, but three fell out of hers... and she spent precious seconds gathering them.
Finally, her back to the wall, she stood under the eaves, under Darian. The Hunter was going to come down fast, and this was not going to be pleasant for either of them; her intent was to move quickly, stepping forward and grasping Darian's right leg as she dropped, and pivoting to the right so that the other woman's body fell across her shoulders... and dropping down to one knee -- or both knees, or even hands and knees -- to break Darian's fall and keep the arrow from being jammed deeper in her back by impact with the ground.
She took several short, quick breaths and said, "Ok, Darian... now!"
[ooc I am lost again with who is doing what. I thought Kadri and Lia were helping with the girl - lots going on in one area and feeling a bit run over as conversations/actions all happening in the same place. Can we please SLOW/STOP until things are straightened?]
The Heartwood Nearing Sunset, the Town of Cragside Restday The Last Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Kadri, Camelia, Cesare, bekkah, Darian, Daxia and Longtooth
It was not Cesare's reasonable words nor Bekkah's soft voice that calmed the girl; it was the name of Mercy's Lady that caught her gagged breath and stopped most of her movements. Then, then it became an uncoordinated rustle of trying to regain her balance and composure. Beneath the window someone must be upon the dieties good terms; the stack of barrels and crates stayed sure and steady. This greatly aided the progress of Cesare and his prisoner; it was not long before the two were upon the alley street.
The girl, if set down, almost tumbled; whatever had her asleep upon Cesare's rescue still efecting her. She had been bound and gagged, however the oddity is that she had been bound in Cesare's cloak and the sharp sighted would notice the gag was also his.
About halfway down the alley are Darian and Daxia. Weapons and bow are caught and retrieved; and after a moments stretch and preparation, so is the Hunter. Everything takes a modicum of time; thus both girl and Darian are safely in the alley at about the same time ... the same time that Longtooth round the corner, padding fast, upon the heels of Camelia and Kadri. He passed on by, only stopping with the two archers, while Camelia paused at the alley's edge.
The sun touched the far horizon. Dusk had arrived, the alley now very very dark, the small trading town cast now in shades of grey.
For a moment, perhaps a heartbeat, for now, the only sound in the shadows was the harsh breathing of this very small alley gang.
Daxia in the alley with the Gang minus Mikal and Celi
"Bekkah!" She had Darian safely off the roof, now lying face down on the ground; the urgent call to her sister was not loud, but it was full of concern. Daxia kept a hand on the Hunter's shoulder as she knelt on one knee beside the woman, to let her know she was safe... nothing more. "No moving, Darian, ok?" From her crouch, she was very nearly eye-to-eye with the big ruff. "Longtooth not worry, Darian not worry. Bekkah fix."
She looked around at the rest of the group. "Must get back to Inn, fast," she said as she fixed her eyes on her sister. "Bekkeh, say what I do about arrow. Cesare, explain for girl that Bekkah her guardian now, please. Lia, Kadri... watch please, until Darian can move."
Daxia would wait with the Hunters, assisting Bekkah with the arrow if necessary, unless Lia or Kadri sounded an alarm and she needed to fight.
She had no desire to move, except to reach for Longtooth's scruff with her good side. The feel of his fur under her fingers was a comfort. "I no see other. Where shot come from. Take care."
He is more than glad to reach solid ground and there are enough of his companions around that he can attend to the girl. Very gently he starts to remove her bindings, including the gag but he talks to her softly the whole time.
"The Lady of Attera will look after you. She has offered you her protection. But we are not safe yet. There are still dangerous men around so you must stay quiet. Understand? You have been given lowvine. It will have made you groggy. I can carry you or lend support if you need it but we need to move.. and move quickly so take what help you need."
After helping the girl to the ground, she examined her quickly and as if she had been doing this all her life, immediately recognized what was in the girl's system.
"My Lady Attera, guide my hands to aid this young girl." she said touching her hands to the girls bruises. Almost immediately her prayer is answered by a warmth and a soft glow. The girl feels a warmth flow into her body and almost instantly all pain is gone.
"I can not remove the drug from her system, but she will be clear of it's effects by tomorrow eve."
She was just standing from her work when Dazi called to her. She raised her skirts and ran to Darian.
"The amount of blood is not great Darian. You will not need a major miracle. Just lay still. She laid her hands near the wound.
"Okay, Dazi pull arrow straight out, do not twist it."
As Dazi did what she was asked, she once again called on Attera's aid and once again she was answered by the glow and warmth. Anyone watching saw Darian's wound close before their eyes and Darian felt all pain disappear from her body.
She leaned away from Darian so she could stand. Bekkah remained on one knee, taking a breath, not getting up quickly. It might not be obvious to anyone watching the scene unless they were watching her closely, but Bekkah was exhausted. She put a hand on the ground and slowly made her way back to her feet.
Daxia in the alley with the Gang minus Mikal and Celi
After pulling the arrow out, Daxia watched Bekkah, clearly impressed by her sister's skill. She rose more quickly than Bekkah, and helped her stand, wrapping an arm around her waist and giving her support. "You need rest, dear sister," she said softly in Bekkah's ear. Then she turned and reached her other arm out to Darian, to help her up as well. "Come, Darian. We must go. Can you move quickly?"
She stayed at the mouth of the alley her attention focused...elsewhere. If she heard what was being said or going on with those she came with, Lia gave no sign of it.
The arrow hurt more coming out than it had going in. Sweat broke out on her forehead. Her fingers tightened in Longtooth's fur, and she squeezed her eyes shut and bit down on the cry the wanted to escape. Then there was the glowing warmth, like the feel of the Pack's fire on a cold, winter night. After that the pain was completely gone.
She looked up in surprise. Of course she had heard about such things, but to experience it was quite different.
"Aye, I can."
She accepted Daxia's help up to her feet and gathered the bows and quivers. "We go, watch roofs."
Daxia in the alley with the Gang minus Mikal and Celi
Daxia nodded. "Ok... you, Longtooth watch above," she said before turning to Kadri. "Kadri know town best. Need fast, safe route back to Inn, yes? You, Lia... you lead, watch ahead. Cesare..." She turned to the Rhoni. "...you follow, help Elissa and Bekkah, yes? Daxia follow all, guard rear." She gave her sister a quick hug and settled her cloak around Bekkah's shoulders before turning her over to the care of the Rhoni. Retrieving her shield and slipping it over her arm, she said, "Go, go people. Stay close."
She slid her sword out of the scabbard, and prepared to follow the group back to the Inn.
The Heartwood Nearing Sunset, the Town of Cragside Restday The Last Day of the Month of Raven, 2623
Kadri, Camelia, Cesare, Bekkah, Darian, Daxia and Longtooth
The lady's touch is true and sure. Hurts were knitted, and for both Darian and Elise. Bruises vanished, as well as black eyes, the pain of a quarrel banished as flesh and muscle knit themselves back together.
The girl's step was slow; at least now she, like Bekkah, looked as if they needed a good night's sleep; rather desperately.
The sky was a deep deep purple when they left the alley beneath Kadria's guidance; taking the back ways through the town. Most homes were dark; only the well to do windows showing the first hints if oil and candle light.
It was Lia who caught the glimpses of motion down the streets. As they moved down the back alleys upon the main street several armed and armored men rushed towards north; towards the warehouse district. Probably town guard, happily they seemed focused on their way and with a block between the small group did not attract attention.
It was dark when they slipped through the Hart and Horse's back door; to find the tavern bustling with dinner.
Not just the Hart; there was an extreme amount of bustling and action at the other two taverns. A troop of horsemen were clustered about the Bar and Fire; their mood grim as they set there beasts to the stables and then vanished inside. At the Punched Penny there was a small crowd, broken into distinct and argumentative groups with lots of ins and outs of personages through the tavern's door.
The only members missing Mikal and Celi; on the other side of the Town's closed gates.
They seem to have stirred up a hornet's nest. Wouldn't be the first time he's been in this situation but his usual practice would be to either fade and lie low or to move on. Trouble is best avoided in his view. However he is concerned that they don't lose what they have just risked to win.. and for their missing companions. He turns to Daxia, speaking quietly.
"Think we might need somewhere safer that the inn unless we involve the captain and I think you wanted to avoid that."
Cesare has an arm around the girl to help support and guide her.
"And I wonder if I would be best going to see if Mikal and Celi are alright."
Daxia with the Gang, minus Mikal and Celi, plus the Girl at the Inn
She slid her sword back into the scabbard just before entering the Inn.
"True, not want involve Verchovai. But you think there safer place right now?" Daxia asked Cesare with a sigh. "I think not. Bekkah and girl need rest, not moving around." She shook her head. "Verchovai not know anything what we do, except borrow cart for Mikal. We not speak of this at all; Verchovai and Horde not involved then. They know nothing. We keep that way." She wrapped an arm around Bekkah, who looked ready to drop from the exhaustion.
"You get out gate, get over wall without anyone seeing?" She shook her head again. "Told Mikal to stay outside town if thought it safer. If Mikal, Celi not back mid-morning, then we go find. Now, I think they safe."
She nodded her head towards the nearest fireplace. "We get Bekkah and Elisse settled, get food and drink, yes? You sit with while I put armor away, ok?" She gave him a very tired smile.
Together, they got their charges seated near the fire, and on her way back out to the stables to store her armor with the rest of her gear, she caught young Nessa. Pointing out Cesare, Bekkah and Elise, she asked the youngster to bring each of them a bowl of stew and a mug of cider, adding that she would settle up with her Da before the end of the night.
Out in the stables, she saw that the stableboy had fed both Talia and Fern, so she just stood with Fern... one arm over the horse's neck, other hand gently rubbing her nose, and her forehead pressed tight against Fern's neck.
"Men, perhaps town guard headed towards the district we just left," she let the others know quietly before dropping into a chair. Somewhere along the way her dagger had been sheathed and was riding innocuously on her hip.
She looked around to see if Kadri or Darian wanted anything before signaling for dinner as well.
The ruff never strayed far from her as they returned to the inn. Her bow was held at the ready, an arrow nocked but not drawn just in case. Darian slipped the arrow back into the quiver just before slipping inside the inn with the others. She begged use of the room once more from Kadri, meaning to change from her leathers and inspect the damage done to her armor.
"Show of strength here then. Probably best option. Even if Captain not part of this, other know she and her troop here. May be enough on its own. I don't know all the ways in and out of here yet, there are always some.. but probably not good for any of us alone tonight. And yes I'll stay with them."
And for the first time, he takes off his cloak in the full light of the inn, revealing lesther vest, heavy leather vambraces and greaves, bezantiated hauberk and a pair of Rhoni daggers.
Darian nodded her thanks and disappeared upstairs once again with Longtooth at her side.. She changed back into her linen breeches and her blood stained linen shirt for an clean one. She frowned at the damage to her armor. She would have to patch it.
Back to "normal" clothing, she draped her cloak about her and took up the bows and quivers and her pack.
"We return bow to owner," she told him beofre padding back dwnstairs.
A quick inquiry told her where Daxia was, and they headed out to the stables. The redhead's back was to them as they approached.
Armor had been removed, inspected and carefully stowed with her other belongings beside Fern's saddle; her hair was still tied back with a thin strip of leather; surcoat had been replaced with her brown riding overtunic; her white leather belt was back in place with scabbard on one side, dagger and pouch on the other. Daxia stood by the wall, close to where Fern had been given her tiny bit of space. She had pushed the tip of her sword into a handy bale of hay, and was leaning her forehead against the hilt. One hand rested on the crossguard, the other gripped the tails of the bit of white silk that was wrapped around the hilt.
"Yah, Darian?" she whispered without turning, without moving.
She lifted her head, took a deep breath and let it out ever so slowly before turning towards the Hunter. Her eyes were red-rimmed, though there were no tears or evidence of such on her clothing. "Ta," she said almost inaudibly, as she reached to take the bow and quiver from Darian. Her other hand still held tight to the bits of silk, almost as if it was a lifeline.
Daxia shook her head, then pulled the sword out of the hay bale to return it to her scabbard. She set the bow and quiver carefully with her other belongings, and sat on the hay, sighing.
She turned to the young woman. She guessed that she might even be younger than Dazi. She could not imagine how she had become involved with this group.
She gave the girl her best smile, but it was clear she was weary.
"Tell me of yourself Lia. I like to get to know all the people I come across when it is obvious they are more than just passing through."
"Never want to be Alpha. Think not best for job, but only one who will do job." She shrugged. "If Daxia supposed to be leader, wish somebody teach a little how to do before leaving home."
She gestured for Darian to join her on the hay bales, apparently unaware of Kadri's presence, and sat quietly for a while. "Yah, very glad to find Bekkah again. Not see in many, many years." Daxia touch the silk wrapped around the hilt of her sword, and the two tiny bone carvings at the ends of each tail. "When tired, think hard about person who give this. Miss so much," she said, her voice catching. She paused for a few heartbeats to get her voice back under control. "Long time until I see again. Not sure how you say... mate, maybe? So Dazi glad and sad, all at once."
Again, Daxia fell to silence. "I warrior... no less than followers of Rames and Jvrill," she said finally. "Even better maybe, because no one laugh at them for carry sword, no one think... unclean thoughts for them because they carry sword." She took a deep breath and sighed it out. "Even though Dazi warrior, today first time kill man. Feel very... confused. Bad man want to hurt Kadri. I not allow that. I do what Dayala say; I protect Kadri from bad man. So, bad man dead. Dayala ok with that; she not come tell me I do wrong. And Kadri not hurt; I ok with that, Kadri ok with that. Not understand why feeling... very messy in heart." She shook her head. "Wish could talk to teacher Gilly. Or Verchovai Dandy. Maybe they say why Dazi feel confused."
"I only simple Hunter. Dazi know more. Seems Dazi know more about..."
Darian stopped, struggled to find words to express what she meant.
"...things that happen in city. I only know woods. There maybe me Alpha, here you Alpha. You fit time and place."
At the word mate she looked away. "Is good to have mate, even one far away. The cycles will bring back together again. You have sister her, like pack mate for me. Like Longtooth. We run together. We no have mates..."
A shrug. "...maybe never will. All that left of pack."
"First kill always hardest, beast or man. Must tell heart be quiet, much worse if bad man succeed, like when Grey Men kill all Pack but us."
She walks up, making her way from Lisica, almost silent until she arrives.
"Daxia. . ."
Her voice is quiet.
"If you didn't feel bad about killing him, then I would have a hard time trusting you. The day its easy to kill is. . . "
She pauses.
"Is the day you are a beast not a person. You are not a beast. I don't see why that should be bad. You are not a bully. You do not enjoy causing pain."
Daxia with Darian, Longtooth and Kadri in the stables
"Politics," she said to Darian. "Yah, Dazi understand. Sometimes wish didn't, but have task... cannot do without know politics." She did say the word as if it was something foul. "This bad city. Don't like."
Daxia studied the Hunter when she talked of pack, and pack mates, and mates... nodding with understanding, even the part about killing -- though there, she sighed. But she looked confused when Darian spoke of the 'Grey Men' and would have asked about them when Kadri seemed to appear out of nowhere.
She blinked rapidly as Kadri spoke, then pressed the sleeves of her tunic against her eyes for a moment before speaking. "Ta, Kadri," she said quietly. "Thank you. That help. Very much." She tried to smile a bit, her hand again touching the talisman of silk and carved bone. "Sound little like what special person say, if here."
Several deep breaths later, Daxia appeared to be considerably calmer. "Darian, Kadri both help. I say both friend to Dazi. Not same as Pack," she said, looking at Darian, "but you, Longtooth not all alone. Have friend," she said, patting her chest. "But who these Grey Men who kill Pack?"
Daxia with Darian, Longtooth and Kadri in the stables
Daxia curled her lips in disgust, and almost seemed as if she might spit. "Montague!" She jumped up and began pacing, rubbing her temples as she did so. "Again Montague! Always Montague!" She turned back towards the other two women, the heel of one hand pressed against her forehead. "They at center of web, like spider. They not stopped, all of Heartwood in danger. Dazi not exaggerate."
She looked skyward and said, "Lady, how..." She counted off on her fingers. "How five your Daughters outside Vale to protect all of Heartwood? No disrespect intend, but only so much time five can buy." She ran her fingers through her hair, dislodging much of it from the tie that held it in place. "Yah, Dazi know... you not tell Dazi. Dazi not Priestess. Dazi not even Starrider. Is ok. Just maybe, please, give little hint to somebody so maybe Daughters can spend long lives protecting people like you say, please? Thank you. Blessed be."
Daxia sighed and pulled the leather strip from her hair, tucked it in the pouch on her belt, and muttered, "Hoi! When Kisa say Cragside first nexus, not think there be so many connections." She eyed Kadri. "You not have bad connection to Montague, too? Or even Korie?"
"I'll be fine in the morning. It has been a while since I've used that much power twice so quickly. I hope this evening is quiet, for I'd be sorely pressed to heal a scratch at this point."
"Do you have family Lia?" She asked in her soothing voice. It was probably hard to believe that her and Daxia were sisters. They could hardly be more different in looks, speech and mannerisms."
"Hopefully there will be no need for your blessings and healings, Lady. Family? Yes."
She accepts the bowl that is brought to her with a smile and nod (and some small coins if needed.) "I hear that you have been traveling,Lady. Would you speak of it?"
He changes position so that he can more easily see the entrances to their room. When drinks arrive with a promise of food to follow, he establishes that Daxia had ordered for them. Nice of her.
He lifts the mug of cider and takes a drink, first a sip then a much larger swallow. Rescuing people is obviously thirsty work.
"I'd be interesting to hear where you've been too - if I'm not buttng in where I'm not wanted?"
His enquiry is cheerful and it would seem his concern about interruption might well be small. He looks over at the girl, making sure she is OK.
She knew a conversation deflection when she heard one and let it go.
She smiled at Cesare and nodded.
"Of course you're not butting in lad. I'm afraid my travels may well bore you both. This is hardly a tale of heroic deeds.""
"I have spent the last 5 years or so traveling around from village to village helping where I could. Learning to be a better Lady of Attera." she laughed at the thought.
"Well to call them villages is quite an exaggeration. Some of the places were nothing more than a small single room home where a family slept before going out to tend to their farms."
"It was quite enlightening really. Most of the people I met work very hard, have almost nothing except each other and with few exceptions, they are happy. Even the poorest of the people received me well and when I was able to heal a youngin' from certain death they would offer me all that they had even though they needed those very things to survive."
"They touched me in a way I'll never forget Lia. I have become the person I am through interactions with various people over my years, but I don't know if anyone has had the impact that these poor people have had. With the exception of the Lady of course. Her presence in my life has no equal." she said smiling as if a soothing calm had suddenly come over her.
She thought of something else that made her face take on a sad expression before it disappeared back to her calm, contented look.
Darian and Longtooth with Daxia and Kadri in the stables
She watched with a bit of an amused expression at Daxia's outburst about the Montague. "Mikal say same. Grey Men touch many. If choice Dirkwood or Grey Men, Dirkwood better."
Then the Kadri asked about reading, and not the kind Darian did. She did not understand it's importance they seemed to place on it.
She pauses a moment later, and the pulls our from her saddlebags a packet wraped in oilcloth first, then cloth - unwraps it, and hands a letter to her.
"I think this is important for me - but I can't - you know . . ."
It has been a while since anyone called him 'lad' but he grins, more amused than offended, in fact in some ways it is a compliment suggesting that he is accepted. Been a while since that has happened too.
Also must be nice to move around being readily accepted by strangers, his experiences are much different but he understands why a Lady of Attera would be more readily accepted than a Rhoni.
He leans back, supping his cider and mostly listening to the two women talk. That said, his eyes are still restless, ever watchful.
Daxia with Darian, Longtooth and Kadri in the stables
Daxia shrugged at Darian's comment. "Dirkwood. Montague mines. No one ever return from either. Yah, rather take chance in Dirkwood, too, but part of Dazi job to stand against Montague." She smiled, but it was without humor. "No choice."
She accepted the paper from Kadri and, recognizing the type of document, began looking at the words written there. First, she looked puzzled. Then she looked angry. And then, perhaps, a little ill. Finally, her face lost all expression; it was her Court face, the mask she wore to hide whatever she was feeling.
"Darian," she said quietly and evenly, "Not sure even Kadri want to know this, but sure she feel better if only her ears hear. We follow you to common room soon, ok?"
After Darian and Longtooth left, Daxia just stared in the direction they'd gone for... a fullhand of heartbeats, and then another fullhand. Finally, she looked at Kadri, her face still an empty mask. "This..." She looked down at the paper. "Who give... no. Who own this paper before Kadri?"
"I. . As for who gave, that is between me and. . that person. And never more will be said about it. As for who it was taken from from. . ."
She pauses, moving her lips as if thinking.
"I do not know. . but the best I can guess. . ."
another pause.
"One Lord Alhahnah. Who was chasing another who had stolen his prize mount. If it was stolen elsewhere, it was taken before any place or time of which I have knowledge."
She shrugged. "How you get, Dazi not care. Who own first, Dazi might care." She then laid the paper out on the nearest hay bale. "This lineage chart. I work with Temple stablemaster many years; see many these. One for every horse, yes? Show dam and sire, back many generations. You understand this, yes?" Daxia didn't wait for Kadri's answer. "If this normal lineage chart, show lines of two horses, ok? Plan for breeding them, yes?" She pointed to a line that had been crossed out on one half. "This mean bloodline die out; something happen to dam two generation back. So no breeding one generation back, no breeding current generation, yes?"
Daxia slapped her hand down on the paper, anger showing in her deep blue eyes. "But this not NORMAL lineage chart." She stabbed her finger on the other half of the paper, on a word in the space that would be one generation back. "THIS say Lord Rikart Kierkegaard and THIS..." Her finger stabbed the word adjacent to it. "...THIS say Kadri djinn Khayriyah al'Terilanquel." She looked at her companion, and said softly, "Same Kadri call herself Kadri djinn Lisica al'Izgon now, yes?" Finally, she pointed to the bottom, blank space under Kadri's and Rikart's names. "This supposed to be your child."
She laughed, a humorousless sound that almost sounded like a sob. "Crazy thing, Kadri? Rikart pretty nice guy. But this..." Daxia snatched the paper up, and looked as if she might crumple it into a tiny mess, her jaw tightly clenched and eyes blazing. She took several quick shallow breaths, nostrils flaring, before she handed the paper back to Kadri. "This tell Dazi... too much she wish she can forget."
She pauses, frowns. Looks again. She does look a bit bothered, but almost more perplexed.
"Honestly, what would they want with my blood? I'm the runt of the litter, the small one, the frail one, the odd one. Like Lisica, 'too small' to be proper breeding material. Too. 'Flawed'."
The quotation marks were audible.
". . so. . what would they want with my. . bloodline? Whoever 'they' are? Father have some influence in clans. Not that much. Why. . me?"
Daxia could only shake her head. She sat down -- hard -- on the hay, elbows on thighs and forehead propped on the heels of her hands. "Not know, Kadri. See patterns, connections... too many, too fast... no words to explain. But..." She was quiet for so long, one might wonder if she would speak again. Finally she did, though it almost sounded as if she was speaking to herself. "'They'... yes, good question. Why Kadri? Yes, why Kadri? Exactly because Kadri odd one, maybe?" Again, there was silence before she looked up at Kadri, tears streaming down her face. "Because you the odd one, I think, Kadri. Exactly why."
"I say - you stop crying. I am not there, I am here. My name is on their chart, I am not. I am here. The odd one is faster than they. I am Kadri of no name in particular save that I chose, and no path save that I chose, I make my own path and my own lines. I make my own patterns, and break apart patterns when I do not like their look. I am Kadri."
She picks up the piece of parchment and shakes it.
"Ah, Kadri... dear, dear Kadri," Daxia said, trying to smile. "You are you, you freed yourself.
"I fear the one I love is not only caught in that web, but a product of it as well. And yet..." She closed her eyes, looked at the patterns, those same paths she had been monitoring for years. Her eyes flew open. "...there is no change to the path we walk. That could mean almost anything."
Again, she regarded Kadri of No Name in Particular, testing thoughts against their effect on the paths. Finally, Daxia smiled, truly smiled, and said, "I have come out of Dawnview Vale, taking the journey every initiate of Dayala must take. But I also have a mission, and if you think me mad when I tell you I must save the world, I will not mind at all. Despite my madness -- or lack thereof -- I invite you and your pattern-breaking path-making to join me in this mission." She held out a hand, palm up, and continued, "I cannot offer you riches or glory, and it is possible neither of us will live to see old age, but I can offer you a lack of boredom, the possibility of righting some wrongs... and my friendship."
"World always needs shaking up. To me, riches and wealth are staking out my own place, and path. Finding bullies. . .and knocking them down. Glory is in. . living for those who are the hunted. Old age is for the old. I will worry about old age when I am old."
"I think I know those who would like me knocking down bullies, and it sounds like you would help me have. . .many opportunities."
She offers an off - kilter smile.
"Besides. I think I know of someone who would think that. . the opportunity to knock. . many bullies on their fat arses would be. . a source of much amusement."
"Come now. A girl can't tell all of her secrets at once, can she? I have already. .told you more about myself than I have anyone since I left. If all comes clear now. . .why then there will be nothing left to pursue, and where would the fun be in that?"
Daxia with Bekkah, Cesare, Darian and Longtooth, Elise, Kadri and Lia in the Commons
Daxia chuckled. "As Kadri wishes." She stood and rolled her shoulders. "Dinner now, yes? And a prayer for a peaceful night... or at least less interesting than our day, hmmmm?" After one last pat and a whispered good night to Fern, Daxia returned to the common room with Kadri.
Sitting down beside Bekkah, she simply patted her sister's arm, not wanting to interrupt any conversation she had been having with Lia and Cesare. Looking around, she noted that Cesare was watching over Elise, who seemed to be dozing off, and that Nessa was already heading her way with a bowl of stew and a mug of cider. After thanking the child, she settled into eating, appearing more relaxed than she had for much of the day, and happy enough to sit silently.
Kadri followed close on the heels of Daxia, after having carefully refolded and rewrapped the. . troublesome. . parchment. Upon entering, she finds herself a seat - and then sets about finding herself some stew.
She gave Dazi a smile and put a protective arm around her not so little sister and pulled her closer, giving her a kiss on the cheek like she had many years before.
She didn't say anything, just looked into Dazi's eyes and she kept smiling.
"I've missed you so, little one." she said as if Dazi was still 7.
His gaze touches Lia and for a moment he smiles, then distracted as others return, first Darian & Longtooth, then Daxia and Kadri. He nods to each in turn before returning to Lia and her question.
"It is in my blood, travelling. The Rhoni rarely stay long in any place. Wait and trouble finds you. Wait and supplies grow scarce. Wait and relationships often sour. So like those before me, guided by tides of the Fates, I try to stay ahead of trouble, dipping into the lives of others and sampling what life has to offer. Recent times have been in the Black Mountains, the Highgaard Reaches. Before many places, Third fall's keep, along the banks of the Satin river, and places I cannot remember the names of, finding work where it is offered, carrying messages from place to place. It is good to control your own destiny.. as far as the Fates allow."
Daxia with Bekkah, Cesare, Darian and Longtooth, Elise, Kadri and Lia in the Commons
Daxia returned Bekkah's smile; though the smile was bright, even after fourteen years apart, Bekkah would know something was troubling her younger sister. "I missed you, too, Bekkah. Good to have you close again. So much to tell, even from last letter... but you exhausted, need rest." She ate another spoonful of the stew. "You eat enough? Missus Jake make good stew, yes?"
She offers Cesare a lopsided grin at his words and nodded. "As far as They allow," she answered quietly. "Sometimes though, They say to stay or go? But perhaps that is a talk for a quieter time."
Darian and Longtooth (off by herself in the inn since I'll be <gulp> disconnected)
She wrangles food and drink for both herself and her hound and sits near to the others but not with them. With Longtooth's help, she has garnered a spot near to the fire for both warmth and light. Her meal is made quick work of, then she sets to inspecting the damage to her armor and repairing it.
"There are no coincidences. What we need is to see. . .Elise, I think it was? Safe and her cargo firmly sold and in possession. And then, at least in my mind, us elsewhere> We have kicked over enough of a hornet's nest here that I personally don't feel like looking over my shoulder constantly. I will. . miss my employer, but it is probably for the best I do not bring her more trouble. However we solve this, there are going to be angry people."
She looks extremely contemplative and like she is. . thinking about something, and perhaps just slightly distracted.
Daxia with Bekkah, Cesare, Darian and Longtooth, Elise, Kadri and Lia in the Commons
Daxia chuckled at her sister. "Yah, yah. Bekkah find maybe not so easy get Dazi do what she want," she said with a grin. "But we talk. Have thing close to heart to share. Much can wait."
She turned to Cesare when he asked his question, then nodded at Kadri's answer. "Safety of Elise first thing, keep ore from Montague hands if possible second thing." She sighed. "Would like stay, learn from Horde swordmasters, but Kadri right. We kick hornet nest, maybe not possible." She shrugged. "Dazi tired, too much new information... cannot see clear path. Morning will bring clearer thoughts, yes?"
Regarding Kadri for a moment, head tilted to one side, "Tell true, no tricky amusement, ok? How much you trust employer?"
"I trust her. She stayed with me. . . after the last time I had troubles. When I was not gaining her anything. She did not have to do that. She hasn't asked me questions about things. . which I would rather not be questioned on. And she does not belong to the merchants guild. Probably. . probably controls. . quarter of towns warehouses. I trust her."
She nods firmly.
"As much as I can trust. . almost anyone."
She cocks her head to one side.
"No offense to merchants, understand, but the merchants guild of this town has not gained my trust of late."
Daxia with Bekkah, Cesare, Darian and Longtooth, Elise, Kadri and Lia in the Commons
Daxia nodded. "Kelleni good family. Dama Samara have..." The corners of her mouth twitched in amusement. "...interesting reputation in Vale. If she, Elise agree, think she maybe be good choice for guardian. Also think Dama Samara find amusement in selling Khorall Allaine's ore back to her." She glanced at the dozing girl. "Not until we sure House Shannon not make trouble, though," she said quietly. "Safer with Priestess of Attera if Nobles involved.
"Merchant guild here seem like guild of bullies. Dazi not like them," she said with finality.
So it looks like they will be setting guards through the night and waiting things out until morning. He doesn't expect an assault on the inn with the captain and her troops here but there is always a possibility - depends how high the personal stakes are for any of those involved.
He casts his eyes around the inn, looking for all the points of entry, working out where the most defendable place is - because that is where Elise should go.
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Camelia knew the Healer would not accept the pouch back, and she also knew that Comfrey was likely expecting this rebuttal. But it had to be done. Both knew that Camelia needed a few pennies of her own to be able to have some small measure of self-worth among strangers in a strange place. But the theater of it all had to be observed for customs sake, despite camelia feeling genuine about her gratitude and fear of taxing the Healer by seeming so needy.
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She frowned, eyebrows drawing together, and shook her head. "Not good, Squire," she said, throwing the heavy Kierkegaard cloak, woven in threads of browns and grays, over her shoulders to reveal the light green overtunic and dark green undertunic. The double belt around her waist was white leather; from one side hung a dagger and pouch, from the other a sword. From the back, the red, shoulder-length, slightly wavy hair looked inexpertly cut... or, more likely, simply trimmed with the same dagger that hung at her side.
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