On the Road

Rook made sure to line up behind the big man; this would be a good man to be friends with in a desperate situation. "I too seek to see the world, my friend... New climes, new foods, new drinks, new women..." Rook gives a broad smile. "What better way to do it, eh?"

He takes the paper and carefully scratches his name down on both lines, and makes sure to read the name of the big man who signed before him. He glances up, and gives a reassuring smile as the recruiter frowns at him. "I have no intention of dying, but if that terrible day should come to pass, you may lay my wages in my grave with me. Let some pauper dig me up later, and think me a lord, who would use a coinpurse as a pillow!" He gave a laugh. Privately, he doubted those that died would have their kin see any coin; merchants were not known for their charitable souls.

Wandering up behind the other man, Rook clapped him on the shoulder. "Leiland, was it? I am known as Rook."

Noticing the movement Leiland turns to look. "Well look at that, that man has a ferret. Let's take a closer look, shall we? I hear they make great pets and travel companion." Leiland begins to walk in the direction of Meht, a friendly look directed at both.

Rook followed after the other; he'd know a woman with a pet rat, and there was the pigeon man, but a pet of this sort was unknown to him. "Good day to you, my friend! We noticed your animal from afar and came to observe. Does it perform tricks?"

"Gregarious... I have been called many things, and that is certainly one of the kinder ones." He gave a wry smile. "We are united in our thirst for exploration of foreign climes, but we are companions of but a moment ago, as Leiland has stated. The trail can be a dangerous place, or so I hear; perhaps Oli will wish to join us in... let us say an alliance of mutual protection?" With a bit of a friendly teasing tone, he adds "We might even have room for you in this brotherhood, oh mysterious one."

Leiland looks thoughtful stroking his chin. "I remember the one who paid us saying something about noon. There should be time.
"Meht if you mind not, may we see your handy work with traps? A skill of much use in the following weeks."

Rook cast a longing glance at the tavern. This might be my only chance to wet my throat before we set out. On the other hand, probably better to reinforce this fragile new alliance. Aloud, he added, "It sounds an interesting time, far more so than wandering alone." He followed along behind.

"This whole walk is a new experience for me. Just walking away from the river is further into the wilderness than I have been before. I grew up in the alleys, and the river was as far as we went. There was coin to be gathered, if you wanted supper and to avoid a beating. It is an... odd experience so far. I imagined it would be quieter than the city, but it seems that the birds chatter as much as the people do."

Rook silently unwraps his sling from around his wrist, and slinks behind a rock to hide from whatever might be in the indicated direction.

"I have no great love for these woodlands, nor what may lurk in them. There are far more poor bandits than rich ones." Rook whispered. "Still... since you have already spoken to them, I suppose the most sensible thing would be for you to continue speaking to them and engage their attention, while I circle around a different direction to take a glance." He waited for the others' confirmation, then crept off to flank the area and discover what he might.

Well off they go to do their thing. Better help where I can.
Leiland then stands and begins walking in the direction of the trap, slamming his sword and shield together attempting to draw attention his direction.
"Come on out you! I know something's out here, let's see your face!"

Rook eventually wanders back to where he hears the woodsman's voice. "I found nothing." He says in a low tone. "Whoever was out here before is gone now, and I do not believe there is profit for us in chasing them. We should head back to the caravan."

Leiland barges into the clearing still slamming his sword and shield together, but stops when he sees his companions standing with no trap in sight.
Well now I just look foolish
*Coughs into hand*"Well... whatever it was, has left I assume. Should we find your stolen prize Meht?"

Rook jogged behind, hoping that they weren't being lured into a trap of some sort. This entire situation stunk of potential misery and woe and slim profits.

Rook paused as he saw Calum among the caravan guards, and kept his head down. There was no way he could hide for the entire trip, but anything to delay a confrontation. He pulled up alongside his two new friends and spoke quietly to them.

"Keep a sharp eye out for that one, with the red sash? His name is Calum, and he is a killer. He's none too smart, but he tries to make up for it with brutality. We had some dealings, when he killed a girl I... knew. Last I heard, he was sentenced to the mines for stealing from the baron; tis strange that he'd be walking free now, but I'd know him anywhere." Rook was a bit worried, but tried to calm himself. Though there had been bad blood between the two of them for several years, there was no reason to believe that Calum had ever figured out that Rook was the one who had set him up.

"A thousand pardons for our late arrival, oh captain. We were quite concerned about this wayward mother, and what may have happened to her. My companion here is still quite upset, as they were close when he was young, and his grief has made him overstep his place."

"We are here now though, and ready to guard our charges. In fact, to that end I must warn you that I noticed the face of a villain hiding among us. The man with the red sash, known as Calum, though I do not know what name he signed up under. I do know that he that he is a killer and a thief, and he was seized by the guard in the past for stealing from the baron. I shudder to think that he might be in league with other bandits waiting in ambush up ahead."

"Ah, right..." Rook tones down the flowery ass-kissing a bit, so as not to upset the captain too much. "..and, we do regret that, of course. We will be here now. It is indeed fortunate that Calum, a newcomer to caravanning, was able to so quickly gather the armed men willing to follow along, when experienced folk such as yourselves needed more time to do so. It is almost as if..."

He pauses a moment, as if considering a possibility that had just occurred to him, then shakes his head. They will dismiss any suggestion that I make, so better to simply plant the seed and let it grow in their own minds. "I'm sure it is all fine. You no doubt wish to dispatch us to our posts, Captain?"

Rook watches the man quietly but does not approach him, trying to determine if there is a pattern to his coming and goings. If he is thieving from the caravan, this is of no concern to Rook; he has already warned the guard and the wagon master who they have among them. His only concern is to make sure that Calum is not stealing from any wagon that Rook or his new friends guard, and that blame cannot fall on them later.

Leesha could pass for an oddity of a mercenary, likely appearing to most as what she really was: too young, too weak, and clad in oversized scale armor that had a tendency to clink and clank now and then, finishing touch to which was a pink and grey rough hooded cloak, wavering on the wind - all of this likely made girl seem as one of many youngsters wannabe-mercenaries and adventurers.
It was one of the reasons why she had a bit of trouble enlisting at first, though in the end perhaps it was the knowledge unexpected of young commoner to possess, as well as claims of knowing how to tend the wounded and sick that managed to persuade recruiter to sign her up.

Then it was finally the time to hit the road. Leesha checked through her humble possessions and joined the others to go along with the caravan. There was something strange in the air that day, but it seemed to be so on many days recently, leaving the girl wondering if more grim portents shall follow.
That said, later on she mostly sticked to herself, providing what assistance she could and reading her book: during midday they walked, and she would humbly ask if it was possible to take a seat on the wagons for a short while, then later in the evening when caravan stopped, Leesha signed up to keep watch during last shift, — on that time she'd bestow the 'blessing of protection' upon the others who would keep watch, after which return to her more sole stay and perform the rite of dissolution. She is used to staying up, and not having much heavy work to do girl could allow herself some rest.

Blonde girl has turned over one of the pages, carefully smoothened the paper when a man she only saw couple of times before takes place by her side. She looks up from the tome and rests hands over the intricate symbols and lines of old language, greeting the nameless guard with a polite smile.
"Good day to you as well.. Oh? I see." Barely noticeable, but she furrows eyebrows at the man's words however Leesha is patient enough.
"I am glad your friend, Jojo, has found the Lord's blessing so comforting. In these trying times, only the divine are there to hear our pleas."
She tilted head a little at the last phrase, while understanding the overall implications of what he means, Leesha replied calmly: "I am not sure I understand, but I I am grateful for the offer of protection - I am able to defend myself, and if you or your friends would find yourself in need of healing or more.. spiritual advice, I'd be there to help in ways I can." Girl brushed strand of hair off her face and, as if remembering something, smiled apologetically, adding: "My name is Leesha, mister, and how would you desire to be adressed?"

Over the discussion Leesha seems to get the feel of what kind of person Calum is, and as such soon grows uninterested in his persona, with exception of this odd feeling regarding his words about caravan.
"This was an interesting conversation, Calum. Sir. Now, if you would excuse me.. Priestess raises her tome and presses against her chest, thinks for a bit, then turns half-way towards Calum. "I shall be here for the time being. Perhaps our employer would be interested in hearing you out as well? It seems.. practical to seek audience with important people."

After that she would return to her reading and occasionally checking the surroundings, listening to nature.

Rook has spent most of this journey trying to keep out of Calum's line of sight while still keeping an eye on him. When the filthy dog grabs the priestess, he sees red. he had no idea who this priestess was, nor much care, but it was just another reminder that Layla was dead while this monster still drew breath. With practiced skill, he unwrapped his sling from his wrist and whipped a good chunk of stone at the back of Calum's unsuspecting head.

As the stone collided with Calum's head, Rook came back to himself. "There's slingers in the trees!" He shouted, hoping having everyone focused on the bandits would turn their attention in that direction. Meanwhile he dove under the tarp in a nearby wagon, readying another stone if needed.

Leesha, seeing both the danger appearing ahead and Calum deciding to hide away says "Ohh, I see" with an expression of sudden realization, quickly puts her tome into the bag and with a sigh intently reaches for Calum's wrist.
"I am very sorry, but—"
smack
Girl yelps, loosing her balance a bit even, looking as the stone hits the arrogant fool into the head, her original confidence stepping away: Leesha slides off the wagon, carefully but firmly grasping Calum and biting lower lip as she goes as low as she might. Making a sign unfamiliar to mortal lands with a hand she carefully touches man's cranuim, quoting few passages from the litanies: "By dawn I rise, bringing peace and prosperity, for my will permeates all that is good in this world.."

Fortunately for Leesha, she has been in similar situations where there was but a single step from harming someone to healing them, so she attempts to perform small miracle to cure Calum. Unfortunately, she is not a trained field medic so paying attention to everything around her would be quite problematic - she is focused on her patient.

Furrowing eyebrows she manages to give a small smile, then quickly looks around, checking for any danger, immediately turning serious as she listens to what's happening on the road ahead: it seems like they have not began a full-scale attack yet, but caravan guards might need to be more attentive, lest whomever slinged the stone at Calum's head shall likely pick out others.

Leesha returns her attention to Calum and tilts head a bit, bringing a loose strand of hair behind her ear, speaking quietly. "How are you feeling, sir?.. Please, stay down for now."

Rook remains hiding in the wagon, but the sounds of fighting he was expecting don't follow. He decides to wait a few more moments; if things stay quiet, he'll sneak out and try to blend back in.

Girl shakes head a bit, though with more of a relieved expression, before slowly rising on one knee and trying to help Calum stand up, though as she does, Leesha is once more finding herself wondering what should she do next. Does she try to ask him? Possibly, if he is not as driven to flee, she could convince him to step down from the original plan: it seems like the general feel of suspicion Calum had about him appears to have reason behind it.

"Mister Calum.. If I may ask, though I imagine you had your own reasons to work with less savory people, might you be interested in halting whatever you planned? Please, consider it, for I do believe one should strive towards unity."

She brushes hair back once more and extends hand towards Calum in a meanigful gesture.

"Like that. Nobody needs problems."

The long delay is confusing, but Rook finally hears battle start. Now that the initial clash, and the warriors are engaged, he creeps out from under the tarp and on top of the wagon, glancing over the battlefield. He is particularly annoyed to see Calum still on his feet. Staying hunkered low and, he tries to scan the battlefield looking for archers, or alternatively any vulnerable or unaware targets he can snipe.

Rook always has his eye on the main chance. He keeps low and scans the battle, looking for his best opportunity.

As Rook peers over the edge of the wagon, he sees a bandit sneaking around the side. It looks like he might be trying to sneak up towards the captain. He's still quite a ways off, to be honest, but he could be headed in that direction... Pulling his blade from his belt, Rook crept up over, then plunged down on the man from above, aiming his blade for something soft.

Rook swallowed and shook his hand, trying to return some feeling to it. The bandit had not seemed quite as big when he was looking down from above.... to the captain, he shouted, "Go! I have this one!" He whirled around with his blade and brought it in again, hoping that was true.

Rook glances down at where his dagger pokes uselessly against the man's chest, then glances back up. "Hmm... I suppose we can call it a draw." He dives backwards and tries to roll away under the wagon and get to the other side. He'd rather hoped to have that big blacksmith around for situations exactly like this one.

Great... Rook looks around, trying to figure out something that might be useful. "You know gentlemen, I am a lover of life in all things. I believe there is no need for me to injure you further today..." He slides his dagger back into his belt; it won't help him at the moment... "What if I were to show you the way to the paymaster's wagon? The two of you could carry the chest off while all are distracted by the fighting, and I could go my own way, and no more blood needs to be spilled? What say you?"

Hoping he had got their attention, Rook rolled back out from under the wagon, panting a bit more than strictly necessary. As he climbed to his knees, he palmed a handful of dust from the road. He slowly brought his hands up. "See? No blade here..." then took the moment of distraction to throw the dust in the eyes of the men, scrambling to run for his life...

Noticing how fighting gradually escalates, Leesha throws stern glance at the bandits clashing blades with guards and hurries towards the captain, drawing shield.
"Captain, madam..!-"
Movement on the side catches her attention for a moment as she and the other woman noticed bandit, than apparently one of the guards and member of assailants' forces. Shaking head she turns back to captain and salutes a bit awkwardly, clanking with armor, then nods for Callum to come close. "Ma'am, what shall be the orders? I would go to the vanguard, just give your command, and mister Callum here, I am sure he will be helpful here."

While lightly squinting eyes at the noise of cries, cursing, and fights ongoing, Leesha's eyes draw back to where Rook has his own "duel" ongoing, noticing that the bandit is still there. She is awaiting captain's command, then looks over to Callum and an idea springs in her mind: girl points at the wounded bandit and tells her companion to go there and see so that no one would flank them - there might be more attackers.

Rook continued running as the two thugs chased after him. He felt very out of his element, so far from the city and the familiar back alleys and escape routes. He silently thanked Mother Kagain, who'd berated him into purchasing this armor jack before he joined the caravan. It'd had cost a fortune, 30 silvers in all, but without the padding the bruises he'd accumulated thus far might be broken bones instead.

He tried to make his way towards Meht, the hunter, but wasn't exactly sure which direction to go. First, he needed to lose his pursuers. He darted towards the other wagons, finding a low draft one he could tumble under, then another. The bandits were larger and less nimble, hopefully he could shake them off among the forest of wagons.

Leesha noticed the man approaching, and after listening to a short exchange, momentarily turned her attention to his words — she would be inclined to believe him, despite how bizzare it might sound, after all she wouldn't be the only person dealing with something mystical, however, person didn't strike her as a venerator of nature, whom, she heard, could talk to beasts..

Feeling like this is taking too much time, Leesha shrugged uncomfortably, clanking with plates of her armor and regaining focus. "Whether she is or she isn't alive, captain's right - we should step into the fray so that our allies won't be overwhelmed." Pair of young eyes look Meht over briefly and she steps towards him.
"I shall not disobey captain's orders so I can't accompany you for now, but going into battle unguarded might cause you to die — I pray on my Lord's name, so the everwinds guide your hand and turn unfaithful's blade and arrow alike.." Leesha reaches out towards Meht, holding the other hand with shield pressed against her chest: from under the lowered eyelashes dimly shines the glimmer of pink, before the last words roll off her lips, faint whisper: "...as long as you fight for Him."

Whether the other member of the guard accepts the blessing from beyond, young woman is quickly reminded of her companion, and decides that, perhaps, she could still help behind the vanguard: there was a fight on the side, after all, and adjusting her protective armaments fairheaded follows where Callum went.

Having finally heard the shouting behind him fade, Rook took the opportunity to disappear and climb up on top of another wagon. He was confused as to what was happening right now, and he decided ne needed another glimpse of how things were going.

Rook decides he has taken enough bruises for the day. He hops from wagon to wagon along the train, running to where he saw the captain. "I have scouted the threat, oh captain my captain," he calls to her, trying to cut a dashing figure standing atop the wagon above her. "There is no sign of bandits behind us, their trap seems to have been sprung too soon. You can call your forces forward to focus upon the attack here!"

Rook was rather nonplussed by this apparent offloading of responsibilities. Sending other people off to be beaten by clubs was, he supposed, the sort of skill that one had to develop if they wanted to survive in the caravan business.

He looked down at the faces staring up at him, and racked his brain to remember things he had heard the soldiers shout out back home. "Right then, um... Onward, into the breach! Man the ramparts! Ram the manparts!" ...Wait, that wasn't right.

He was losing them. "er... The sooner we rout these louts, the sooner we can all get pissed! Get 'em!" He charged forward towards the front of the caravan, staying on top of the wagons. No need to get back within swinging range of those cudgels.

Rook remained up high, throwing out shouts of encouragement to the troops but keeping his energies focused on watching the battlefield. Earlier, two brutes had been threatening to smash his brains in, which was all right; that was the sort of thing he'd dealt with before. However, when he'd tried to bribe the with the paymaster's wagon, they'd seemed aghast at the concept. And they'd said something to Callum about consequences...

Greed and violence, that was the sort of person Rook knew how to deal with or avoid. But men motivated by something other than greed, those sort made him nervous. He kept scanning out over the wagon train, making sure no other surprises were in store.

Rook watches the woodsman drop a bandit with brutal ferocity, along with his furry sidekick. Looks like he's doing more than fine. So instead Rook maintains his watchful position up top, urging on the troops with occasional shouts. The goal, as he saw it, was not to win a battle at the cost of lives, but rather make it too difficult for the attackers to continue their assault. If they could protect their own necks, and the wagons, that'd be more than enough to satisfy him.

In Rook's experience, the best way to deal with corpses was to empty their pockets and then roll them into the river. Unfortunately, there did not seem to be any sort of river handy. "Good work people!" He shouted as he hopped down from the wagon. "Every man and woman here is a hero, and no mistake!" He clapped a few on the back as he worked his way through the crowd, then began checking for valuables on the bandits bodies. Coin was king, of course, and jewelry was always nice, but he hoped he might stumble across a decent bow or nice blade as well.

Rook heads towards the head merchant's wagon with a bit of confidence in his walk despite his bruises. He wasn't too worried about this meeting; in his experience, if folk were upset with you, they didn't ask you to stop by, they tried to knife you in your sleep. If they wanted to talk, that meant they thought you could do something for them, and in that case it was always best to project a bit of swagger.

As he got ready to mount up the steps, he noticed Meht returning from his bandit hunt. He gave a wave and a nod, and held up on the doorstep as it looked like Meht was heading towards the wagon same as him. "Well, hello, if it isn't Meht the Merciless himself. Assuming you've been pulled in to see the captain as well?"

"Wow..." Rook mutters, glancing over the size of the tattoo. "Ain't no part of worldly I've ever seen. It's big, but other than that, not a clue, sorry." He thinks for a moment. "Hmm... it's way more work than you'd get from a single drunken night, so it's not just art for art's sake. And it's not just one big design, there's all these different parts. So maybe it got added to over time? Maybe the snake is part of some cult initiation and these other marks are ranks she earned along the way? Don't seem to have done her much good, if she was hiding out here in the wilds and attacking caravans though." He scratched his head.

"Whatever the case, I think you might be best off leaving her out here and having them come out to see her. Neither the captain nor the merchant seem the type to appreciate blood on their floors. I can help you situate her, but we probably shouldn't keep them waiting long, wouldn't want the good mood of repulsing the attack to wear off."

"We can just drop her by the wagon wheel. Long as she's out of the way and nobody's gonna have to step over her, it'll be fine. Ain't like she's going to be complaining about it." he chuckles. He helps Meht move the body out of the way, and seems to notice the priestess following behind him for the first time. He clears his throat with an embarrassed cough. "...meaning no disrespect, yer holiness... I mean, you know, if you were intending to do a prayer or... whatever."

Rook takes the purse and slips it up his sleeve with a practiced gesture. "Of course, of course. Happy to assist." He's about to turn and leave when Meht speaks. His ears prick up when Meht mentions a map; this was something new. He watches with interest as it gets handed over. When the captain reacts to the mention of a mark, he knew he had to get involved in this.

"We have her right outside, you can come take a look. My friend and I knew that this might be the sort of thing you'd want to know about. He reached out for the map with one hand as he gestured toward the door with the other, hoping in her distracted state she'd absentmindedly hand it over. "We would have brought it in to you, but as my friend so cleverly pointed out, a corpse would be a poor fit with these fine furnishings."

Rook had followed the other two out of the wagon, and was looking the map over as they examined the body. He was barely lettered himself, so the words held little meaning for him. He was instead holding it up to the sky with the sun behind it. He'd once heard a tale in a tavern about a letter with secret words that you could only see if the light was shining through it from behind.

He was squinting at the parchment without much luck when he heard the upper class voice speaking. He glanced down and saw woman who had just arrived, and was instantly conscious of his bloodied leather, bruised face, and sweat-stained hair. His lips tightened when he heard her "slip of the tongue" and imagined the sneer she was hiding. Wonderful. Typical merchant princess type...

"The gentleman was just looking for any clues, your grace. A thousand apologies for any offense." He handed the map over to her with an elaborate bow. "I did discover something, but I'm sure you're not interested in my witless ramblings."

Rook thought back for a moment to Calum's odd actions during the trip, his midnight wanderings, the strange number of thugs he had recruited as guards. There'd been the odd comments when the bandits had confronted them, and then there was the two thugs that had chased him, but shown no interest in coin; seemed somewhat outraged by the idea, in fact. Strange indeed...

"Well, to address your comment from earlier, friend Meht; you mentioned how odd it was that bandits would have a map leading to the ambush site. I agree with you; surely bandits would have scouted the area if they intended to lurk here."

"That is why I believe that the ambush was not a destination, but rather a starting point, and the map is to guide from there to an unknown third location, marked by this cross. My guess is that the attack was meant to be cover for the abduction of a specific something - or someone - which was then to be delivered to that site."

He hesitated a bit on the second part; he'd only noticed it a moment ago, and it could potentially involve the captain... but if there was treachery here, it would be better to face it with Meht close at hand.

"The other thing I noticed is that this parchment is a bit thin. It seems to be another document originally, washed and scraped clean to reuse; someone needed paper for this map, I guess. The traces of the old writing are faint and hard to read, but I can recognize my own name there, and there. I believe this is the recruitment and next of kin roster we signed when we were hired... which means that whoever drew this map is one who has access to the secure papers."

Rook glances over at Alycine with interest. She knew her stuff, whatever else was going on with her. "Yeah, so... this magic cup of yours... Does it look anything like that cup?" he asked. He used the toe of his boot to point towards the tattoo on the bandit's back, specifically the portion showing the cup in a clawed talon. He looked back at the Captain. "Cause it seems like an awful big, what d'ya call 'em... coincidence, ya know?"

"I could be of use as well..." Rook offers. "...though it sounds like there maybe going on at that spot than we know. Sorcerous marks and magic cups and all that. Surely that justifies some hazard pay for us guards?" he adds, pointing at himself and Meht. He wasn't sure if the Captain would go along with the idea, but she certainly seemed to be more on edge than she was letting on. If she really was worried about something, that was worth leveraging for some extra coin.