Game thread - It begins...

Rose clears her throat to get the attention of Otus. "Are we under the impression that any opposition capable of fielding a professional army has already been taken care of? We should expect to see only small bands of raiders, bandits, and--" she stops short of saying desperate people just trying to survive. "is there any hope of recruiting these would be enemies to the cause?"

So the girl has a voice.

Arden looks sidelong at Rose as she asks her questions -- good ones, it turns out. The man was going to respond to the barb about him not being a soldier, but watching Otus answer the farm girl was going to be more entertaining. He eats another piece of apple as his eyes flick to the man.

"Well, unless we got something else pressing, I'd say it's time to move out, if you're rested enough," says Nehren. He dons his pack and holds his staff ready to walk to the farm(s).

Rose is visibly perplexed by Otus's response. What makes this man so confident? This Emil fellow has been running things for all of what? A week? Can he not even fathom the possibility that someone might do to him what he did to the last rulers? That false sense of confidence combined with the seemingly lax enforcement of orders has Rose thinking about the troubles her brothers must have gone through before they died. Was it incompetent leaders who should be held accountable for their early deaths? She isn't going to let that happen to her.

She does not voice her concerns to Otus or the group. Rose instead looks around at those gathered. She is trying to pick out who among them will step forward to lead. More importantly, she is looking for who she is going to follow. Because surely, that person who steps forward is going to be just as unqualified as Otus. In her opinion, a good leader is never the person who wants to lead.

When Nehren stands and suggests it is time to move out, Rose cannot help but smirk. 'I think I may have found the would be leader. Now to fine the natural leader.'

Arden is none to quick to step up and lead the way himself, and he walks with Rose and Aaxi as they take their leave and head for their destination. There is much going on behind the man's stormy eyes, and while he doesn't speak of it, it's clear he is turning over options in his mind after Otus and his men take their lead. Truth told, he's a man who's unafraid to switch allegiances when it makes sense to do so, but this branding nonsense is absolutely the wrong for forward for the new lord, and the conscript finds it a difficult hurdle to clear.

Later, when they have reached the farm and are setting up in the barn, he examines his kit more carefully, checking the steel and the craftsmanship of his sword, the skill of the armorer who made the chain shirt he wears. He looks up when Swaneke asks his question, then shrugs.

"I think it's early days in this rebellion. We'd do to keep our eyes and ears and wits about us. If some of the nobles owing fealty to the old [Lord? Duke? Burger? Bürgermeister?] decide to come with their cavalry and footmen, I'm not like to test this cheap steel against them. Seems unlikely, though. They had their chance to through in with his lot... and didn't."

Used to walking long distances, Ax wasn't particularly tired from the day's journey. Picking up a straw of hay he chewed on the tip and looked at Arnd. "You should have been a farmer you say? Bah! It's thankless work. I grew up on a farm and couldn't wait to leave. Swaneke's got it right."

Scratching his stubble he turned to Arden. "Good advice. There are likely going to to be shifting alliances depending on which side of the fence has greener pastures."

Rifling through his backpack he picked out his favorite fossil and felt the cold rock between his fingers.

As he ruminated about the day, he glanced at Rose and remembered seeing her visibly unimpressed with Emil before they set out. Smart woman, he thought.

Rose cannot help but smirk when talk of working on a farm comes up. This turns to a scowl in Swaneke's direction as he dismisses the worth of the life she had to leave behind. He doesn't know what he is talking about. Of course there were times when she too questioned her life on the farm, but her father always set her straight. His answer whenever she tried to ask questions about the world was always a curtly given "We must cultivate our garden." That always drove her crazy.

"I was a farmer," she dryly offers up to Arnd before he walks away. "And I still ended up here. No use crying over where we should be. We're all here now."

Other than that, Rose mostly stays quiet. She listens up to everything that is said while taking careful mental notes. She already had her suspicions that the greatest danger away from home would not be swords and spear, but trusting the wrong people. She has no trust in Swaneke or Arnd. The former is a fool and the latter a coward. The other three seem capable. Trustworthy though? Time will tell. The talk between Aaxi and Arden at least makes it clear that they are thinking along the same lines as she is regarding the dangers to be wary of.

Rose will spend some scouting out the farm. She tries to take note of the general shape of the farm. If things are falling apart, it is unlikely anyone considers this place of high value. If is well maintained and the farmer has a large crop harvested and ready to ship to market, there could be highwaymen lying in wait for the right opportunity.

Nehren follows along quietly, listening to the group as they walk along and finally get to a place to spend the night. The farmer seems amenable enough considering the changes. He understands that everyone is seeking something. It makes him pensive for a moment, this idyllic life...ahh what would that look like. He's only known the life of a cenobite and the life of a brew master was not to be. The calling came to him as he drew water from the brook.

Now, clad in chain, outfitted with mace, shield and staff, he was not quite sure a martial life was what the Pan Creator had intended. However, he chose not to doubt, for every path added to his experience.

"Soldiers, I just wanted to add to this conversation that I do not intend to be your leader. That will most likely be Arden, though I might also be mistaken. I wanted to be away from the eyes of Commander Emil. He seems to mean well, but I don't know how strong his ambition is. I do know this: He is the embodiment of the Law; and, any law can be enforced at the point of a spear. I did not want to test that truth. Now that we are here, I vote Arden for leader, now, feel free to ignore me. I'm quite satisfied living a hermit's life."

He begins to inspect his gear and begins to undo his chainmail and greaves, all the while saying a prayer under his breath.

"Tell me Moer, do the other farmers in the area share your sentiments?" Ax asked when they were chatting with him earlier. He was curious to find out how much support Emil really had and how easily it might be turned.

When they picked their spots to settle down for the night he withdrew another fossil and flipped it from finger to finger, a trick he had perfected over the years.

"I have no preference for a leader. Just because one has the title of a leader, doesn't necessarily mean he will be followed."

Arden has his knife out to slice up some old cheese as he listens to the conversation around him. The bristling halfling. The farm girl who's found her voice. The twin morons he's afraid are going to be a liability. It's the trouble with conscript units like this one -- the weakest link and all that.

He just looks at Riste and raises his eyebrows a little when the man mentions voting for a leader, but it's the farmer's words he responds to. "Something you can help us with? Sir, we appreciate your hospitality, but we're here to help you."

To Aaxi, he grins. "True words," he says with a nod as he chews... leaving the topic at that.

Rose is impressed with Nehren's speech. Perhaps she had misjudged him before. At first he seemed like the type to grab hold of power in order to spread the word of his god, but that no longer appears to be the case. Arden's response reaffirms Rose's growing opinion that he would be the best leader for the group.

She is perplexed by Moer being perplexed over their presence. It doesn't seem like anyone in Emil's new little empire knows what is going on and everyone is afraid to rock the boat. Herself included. Rose doesn't insert herself into the discussion. If they aren't needed here, then they continue on the road until they are needed. At least that is how she sees it.

Ignoring the talk of Emil's rebellion and the ensuing chaos -- the man just didn't trust his companions enough to speak openly about what he thought -- Arden speaks up for the group, though he says nothing about accepting the mantle of leadership.

"With the sun down, we're best to stop for the night, and your offer is a generous one, Moer. We'll have plenty of evenings under the stars, so would appreciate a roof over our heads tonight. We'll pay you what we can, and if there's extra stew in the pot we'll put coins in your palm for that too. When, by the way, do you expect the have the crop ready to take to town?"

---

After the farmer has gone to the house, Arden glances outside, then up at the loft as he speaks to the troop. "We'll want to set a watch," he says lowly. "It seems safe enough here, but Moer might be friends with these militias we keep hearing about, or they might have a spy about."