Unexpected Hitchhikers (finished)

[Clair Feldsky]

OoC: This is communal support thread made to use as a way for people joining Steel the Bait to actually join the thread.

BiC:

Clair stood apart from the three closed wagons, waiting as the work of loading up barrels of water, and a collection of food stuffs was finished up. She purposely let some of the laborers from the town inside, so they could see some of the weapons that were serving as the bait for this little raid. The more like a real delivery convoy this seemed, the less like an ambush it would be treated. Mostly because it really was a delivery convoy. Just with an alternate purpose involved. The more the word spread, the better off they'd be.

She watched from a distance, keeping an eye on the goings on. While not quite as small as she used to be, she still felt dwarfed by... most everything. These wagons were heavy pieces of work, and had plenty of room on and in them. Corona was well over her height at the shoulders. Richter had been well over her height, as well as most other soldiers fighting in the army. It was one thing to be a mage, and be smaller than everyone. As a weapon fighter she'd had to worry about simply being strong armed out of the way though. She'd never been able to find a real solution for that, and probably never would. The only solution that worked was to keep from getting into an unescapable situation to start with, which was one reason she favored the spear's reach.

"Commander, won't be much longer now. The boys are just about done loading up the wagons with the provisions, and the horses have been watered up. Sure you don't want to get some window boxes made while we're in town? We've spent enough time in them recently. What could it hurt to brighten them up a little bit? Eh?"

It was Delia, a pegasus knight, and one that had served as a second pair of eyes for Clair since they'd left Ilia. Clair turned her eyes to meet the other woman's as she strode up, a bit of a smirk on her lips.

"Maybe you can, Del. I'm not planning on keeping mine for long though. There's always something new job to move on to. Were you planning on keeping yours?"

"I might." Delia quirked an eyebrow and smiled over at Clair. "There's something about being able to live on the move that seems... appealing. What about you though. Are you ever going to stop and take a rest?"

"I can rest when I'm dead...." And that statement killed the mood. Brought home again the fact that Clair had lived nothing but a mission. Her whole adult life had been one long assignment. Her childhood had been training. There were good times and memories to be sure, but she hadn't meant for life to have turned out quite so limited when she'd started. It was sad, but she didn't really know what it was that she longed for.

"Delia, we'll be departing as soon as we're able. Go get yourself ready and armed." There was a quiet murmur, more of a gripe really, from the orange haired knight, and Clair turned her attention back towards the caravan. Corona was stamping impatiently a little away from the group, but he'd have to just be patient. She couldn't afford to go for a ride yet, and she couldn't break character anyway though. She was "Nayru", security consultant for the merchant caravan. In the meanwhile, there wasn't much to take care of for her to do.

[Hektor]

There have been rumors of a group of rebels in the area raiding supply caravans that needed to be dealt with. Sadly he had many of his troops on alert for the rising threat of bandits and the larger groups of rebels so he wasn't able to actively move against this group right now, but hearing that there was another caravan heading through quite soon provided a nice opportunity to see what this small group had in terms of numbers and leadership. He figured that the caravan would have it's own guards, so to remain inconspicuous he only took three horsemen with him; He would have come alone, but his regular guards would have his head for putting himself in so much danger. At least they agreed to stay behind in exchange for these three. They weren't the best, but they could easily hold their own in battle.

They were beginning to near the site that appeared to be where the caravan was preparing to depart from."You three follow my lead, and do not let them know who I am."

He took a quick look at the group first and noticed that one person in particular was standing a bit aside, overseeing things maybe? She seemed the most likely to be able to point him to the leader of the caravan if she wasn't the leader herself.

With the three men riding behind him, staying a couple yards back, he rode up to her and dismounted his horse and spoke to her. "Excuse me madam, could you by chance point me towards the leader of this caravan? I must ask a favor of them."

[Clair Feldsky]

Clair's thoughts about the whole emdeavor that they were departing on were interrupted when a voice neared her and spoke to her. She looked over and saw a man with a peculiar shade of tealish blue hair and a large mustache. They were keeping back, but it looked like he was part of the little ride that was gathered up behind him. A foursome of riders

"Excuse me madam, could you by chance point me towards the leader of this caravan? I must ask a favor of them."

Did he just address me as "madam"? I must be doing it again.... Delia always told the younger Ilian that "When you frown it adds almost a decade to your years, Clair. Stop it!" Clair turned to regard the man and looked him over carefully. They looked like army with the way they were watching, but that really didn't give her anything to go on in a country as embroiled in war as Bern was at present.

With a flick of her brow, she put away concerns about age and frowns, and shifted to a more relaxed stance with her left hand resting on the sheath hanging from her sword belt. "You've found her. You can call me Nayru. We aren't exactly in the business of favors though."

How to handle this? Who was it, and what did they want? Was this a part of the rebellion group that she was tracking? Or, maybe it was simpler to explain. Maybe it was just a group of travelers that didn't want to pass through this area on their own. How was the best way to even react to this? She wasn't really sure. She'd never actually been a genuine merchant before.

"What do I call you. And, what sort of thing is it that you are seeking?"

[Hektor]

He patiently waited a bit once he had gotten her attention, but shy didn't look to be excited to see him. Had he used the wrong word to address her by? Would milady have been more appropriate? He wasn't the best at speaking the language of nobles; If only he had a book on it or something it would make it much easier. But that was enough of thinking of formalities, she was talking.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintanceship Nayru, you may call me Lawrence or Law for short." It was a clever little play to him basically being the law in eastern Bern, but it was needed, he needed to stop giving his name out so freely like before. He couldn't get things getting stuck to him so easily now that some people may actually recognize him by his real name. "And I believe it would be more acceptable to call it a mutual agreement than a favor. You see, we have need to travel through this area but with the news of rebels attacking those in the area I feel as though it would be safer to travel with a bigger caravan. But fear not, we have out own supplies and could help with any tasks that may need to be done, including fighting, if the rebels should come calling." Hopefully this Nayru would agree to let them travel with them; There was a greater chance for the rebels to attack a caravan than just attacking a small group of riders going down the road.

[Clair Feldsky]

Hmm.... Well wasn't that an interesting turn of events. This Lawrence wished to join her number because it would be safer. Well, it might be safer from bandits, but the rebels weren't quite as careless in what they chose to attack. To them, it was alot more important that they know a target be worth it. They couldn't simply pick up and move as easily as a band of lawless bravados could, after all. Their goals were tied to locations within Bern. Specifically, near to the centers of Ilian power.... It had to be horrifying fighting this kind of war. Every strike you made for home cut into it deeper. Either way though, they had struck the first blow. They'd started their rebellion while still under the edict that put them under the Ilian watch, and so if the blame was to fall it would fall on them. They could feel indignant and righteous all they wanted, but the blood spilled was theirs to take responsibility for at the end of the day!

Clair could feel a surge of anger as she thought about it, as well as an impression of lightning crackling across her fingertips. She wasn't holding the magical lance at present, but sometimes it almost felt like it was always there. It certainly matched the sudden anger towards the rebellion that had surfaced in her.

"I don't think that that's a wise decision, Lawrence. You are four horsemen, and there doesn't appear to be anything of value that you possess worth taking. Not that a cell of the rebellion would make an extreme attempt to pursue you for, at least. For your own safety, I'd advise waiting till tomorrow and then riding straight through with no stops." The breeze kicked up a bit as she finished, pulling slightly on the tan cloak and revealing the edge of something gold slung across her back. Annoyed by the wind, she guided the ponytail she had her hair pulled back into out of the cloak and straps that it frequently found itself caught in, and finished her sentence grimly.

"If you ride with us, it will only make a more likely target out of you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other details to attend to before departure." Her voice had hardened in the time since she'd left home, but the most change had occurred in the last few weeks. She maintained the polite speech patterns, but the tone made it clear that she wasn't interested in maintaining a friendly attitude with this man.

As to the actual details she which needed her attention,... there had to be something... Right? Clair moved to the back of the convoy and watched some of the work being done on the third wagon for a moment, before heading in through the loading doors in the back. It was a tall step up. Especially for her, but inside it was fairly easy to navigate down the center. Inside, she busied herself with checking to make certain that everything was tied down and secured.

That man. Simply rode up and asked to join with the company. Normally, she'd have been happy for the extra hands, but now... Why had she reacted so bitterly? Of course, she didn't want to get him in trouble. The rebels also might not take the bait and try to attack them if there were too many soldiers with them. That would make everything alot more difficult, because then they'd actually have to go out and track their targets down. As she kept these thoughts, she fiddled with a rope, tying a knot to hold together a harness for keeping the cabinet doors closed. She blinked for a moment, noticing that she'd made about five knots more than she'd actually needed to secure the cabinets and drawers from flying open if trouble decided to make itself known on the wagon.

[Saturos Prox]

Saturos pulled on the reins of his horse, bringing the snow white steed to a halt as he watched the four men that had been riding in front of him arrive at their destination: the "merchant" caravan. The riders had been reasonably armed, three of them bearing swords and spears, and had been riding in the same direction as him, so the disguised swordsman had assumed, correctly, that they were heading to the caravan as well. He wasn't exactly sure what their purpose was, and he couldn't hear the mustachioed man from the distance he chose to keep himself at, but the pegasus rider, whom Saturos identified as Clair Feldsky, sent them off with some choice, angry words.

The Etrurian went over his story one more time in his head, just to keep it straight. He was originally going to pretend to be a prominent Ilian arms dealer needing safe yet inconspicuous passage through Bern, but now that the pegasus rider was displaying a predisposition to not let strangers aboard her caravan, the swordsman would have to pull rank. A good soldier never went against rank. Noble? No, too stereotypical. Commanding officer? No, too risky, and he wasn't dressed the part. Diplomat? Hmm...

Saturos reached into his coat, fingering a golden emblem he had acquired earlier. He’d gotten it off of a diplomat, an Ilian one, who had been on his way down from Edessa, his goal being to explore options of negotiation with the rebels. The Etrurian shook his head, tisking, a regretful grimace on his face. It was quite a shame that the negotiator would never reach his intended destination.

Removing his hand from his pocket, Saturos once again took the reins and spurred his mount into a slow walk, following Clair as she moved to the back of the caravan. He eyed her carefully, making sure to get a good gauge on her temperament before he began speaking. One of the key elements of deception was to make sure the person to be deceived was in the right mindset to be receptive to the deception.

“Excuse me!” shouted Saturos, raising his chin and straightening his back to give off an air of authority. He didn’t wave. Waving was too pedestrian, and diplomatic types were typically pretty self-important. “Are you in charge here?”

[Clair Feldsky]

Dissatisfied with the knots she'd tied and how many there were, the Ilian falcoknight wasn't willing to tear herself away from what she was doing as she heard a voice calling in the back of the wagon she was standing in. She was doing something with the knots. Something easy which didn't bear any unknown results. She knew how to do it, and what she was accomplishing. Such wasn't the case when it came to combating resistance movements, maneuvering among political powers, or worse, Richter. She sighed, disappointed in herself for letting him wrap up her thoughts again, and then turned to look back at the voice calling to her.

Hmm... blue must be the new brown. This was the second stranger who'd spoken to her in the last hour who had blue hair. Not that that was actually all that odd, but the color had stood out a bit on the last one. On actually looking a bit closer to inspect the man speaking to her, she could see that he had an easy seat on his horse. Anyone familiar with riding could tell that almost immediately, so he'd spent some miles in the saddle. His clothing came next. A sturdy affair, but also finely made. It looked pretty warm, as if it had been made to keep the weather out. It gave her some ideas and some predispositions towards him, but she resisted looking too long before moving to the back and dropping onto the ground with the crunch of dirt and grit under her feet.

"And if I am?" Clair said, smoothly walking up to a point a couple of steps out from the newcomer and stopping. She looked up at him, and frowned a little.

"What do you need?" This was the second time that they'd been interrupted since trying to leave. How many more of these little inconveniences waited before they could get under way, and move out. The Burning Blades were liable to get impatient at this rate.

[Saturos Prox]

"Your time is what I need," he replied with a nod, looking down at the pegasus rider. She had approached him, so clearly she was in better control of her mood than she had been a moment ago. That meant he could lay it on a bit thicker, which always made it easier to shape his first impression. After all, he’d only get one shot.

"I am Minister Maltet Dalca of Carrhae." Saturos adopted a distinctly north-Ilian accent to tint his words. He'd spent plenty of time perfecting it the last couple of months, and now was the perfect time to use it. “I’m here on official business.” As he spoke, the disguised Etrurian lifted up a leather gloved hand, lazily tugging on its wrist to tighten the glove’s fit before shooting the pegasus rider an unimpressed look. “But of course, I hardly need to explain myself you.” He let slip an aloof chuckle. The comment was rude, sure, and would probably get a bit of a rise out of the pegasus knight, but that was part of the sell. Politeness was for people who needed respect. He didn’t need respect. He was Minister Dalca. He had respect all the respect he could need. A pocket full of it, if necessary.

"You merchants are heading to sell weapons to the nearest Ilian fort, are you not?” he asked with a look of disdain, as if to imply that having to clarify was a waste of his time. Truth was that Saturos knew this was a Ilian military caravan, that's what he was here to investigate, but Minister Dalca did not. All the minister knew was that they looked like merchants, and they the laborers had been going on about weapons. The blabbermouths. "I need passage, and your security looks as good as any."

[Celica Eresh]

“But of course, I hardly need to explain myself you.”

"Perhaps not, but you do need to explain to me, Minister Dalca." The voice of Celica Eresh entered the scene as the black clad mercenary arrived upon the back of her mighty Pegasus, Nergal. "I thought you were heading to the capitol? Has there been a change of plans?" She had already received the report of a diplomat coming her way, but from what she understood, he was to head to the capitol first. Then again, wouldn't be the first report with faulty info she'd received of late.

As he mentioned the assistance of passage though, she hummed briefly in thought. "Allow me to take care of that for you, Minister Dalca. My men will be able to better protect you than this caravan, I'm sure." She didn't need him deciding to come along and then getting killed, after all. Not only would the home country be pissed, but no amount of blackmail would get that stain off her company's reputation.

[Clair Feldsky]

There was a pause as Clair assessed this new difficulty. A man came up claiming to be an Ilian diplomat and was asking-, demanding rather, protection. He didn't look to be concerned with endearing himself to the ones he clearly deemed his lessers. That was something that always bothered her. There was a fleck of annoyance that crossed her face, but all her training and discipline while in Arphen had left her with quite a bit of control over her own reactions. At least when it came to remaining in proper form.

He'd come at a bad time. Having him along on this mission was going to be a real complication, but she had to act as though this wasn't a hidden counter to the rebel forces in the area though. It was made to look like a caravan of merchants, and apparently had snared one of Ilia's own in its trap.

Thankfully, Celica took that moment to appear and interject herself.

"Captain Celica is the one you want to speak to, Minister Dalca. I'm just here to get these weapons delivered to those who need them." Preferably delivered via sharp thrust by an armored fist to the rebel forces in Fort Macendew.

Celica could tangle with the bureaucracy here. It was her company that would pay the price if he came along and was injured. Worst came to worst, Clair figured she could handle it, but Captain Eresh had priority on dealing with the Minister.

[Saturos Prox]

Saturos raised an eyebrow as a second pegasus rider approached riding a massive black pegasus. This woman was dressed in a far less military manner than Clair, a patchwork of steel, fur, and spikes, and exuded a more casual authority in contrast to the blonde haired woman's dutiful soldierly attitude. The Etrurian wracked his brain for faces, but he couldn’t say he was familiar with this one.

He was about to speak in greeting, but Clair spoke first to introduce the woman. Captain Celica, hmm? This was the one in charge. She knew who he was, apparently, or, given that the name he had provided the two of them was entirely fake, just knew that a minister from Ilia was coming. If she had met him before she’d have known he was an imposter immediately. Of course, she could be bluffing, which was a possibility even if it was an improbable one.

“Yes, there has been a change in plans,” he said, looking Celica in the eye. He didn’t know what she knew, so his safest bet was to play along. “I am needed at Lucerne, which if I’m correct, is exactly where you are heading.” The disguised Etrurian gave a diplomatic little nod. “My business is my own.”

Saturos looked back at Clair. He knew she’d be staying with the caravan, but Celica was offering to take him separately. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing if he could get the information he needed, but the last thing he wanted was to be tucked away where he couldn’t keep his ears to the ground.

“I appreciate the offer, Captain,” he said, mustering up a gracious tone. “Are these your men?” He waved in the direction of the wagons, noting the mercenary types standing around. "And how will I be traveling? I prefer horseback."

[Clair Feldsky]

My business is my own.... Smug bastard. Nothing got Clair so riled up as some of the politicals of her country and their habbit of walking over top of those they considered beneath them. Nothing except when these individuals also happened to be idiots who would get themselves killed as soon as a battle started. She looked him over again, and wondered how extensive his battlefield training was and how much field experience he'd had by now.

"Captain Celica is under contract already, Minister." Clair interjected firmly, glancing over towards the slightly larger Seraph Knight. "I'm sure that you understand the importance that getting these weapons through means to the forces down here, and will understand any concessions which may be required to get you, and my company, safely through to the next stop. Some of these could be quite extraordinary for a man such of your bearing." Despite the polite wording, there was something more to it than niceties. It had a sharpened edge under it, like a silk cover draped over a sword. This man had the potential to be a real nuisance on this expedition. She would have to make a chance to get off to discuss things with Celica.

"Are you certain that this is your best course of options?" The challenge in her voice was evident now. She'd made it clear, in her own way. He could play it the way they said, or he could spend the trip wishing he had. Ultimately, it would be easier to just leave him behind, but couldn't think of a way to do so without possibly alerting their targets. It would also leave him here, still missing an escort to the capital. Or Lucerne. Or wherever else he might be going.

[Saturos Prox]

While managing to maintain a steady gaze, Saturos couldn't keep his eyes from smiling as Clair Feldsky got a bit hot under the collar over his perceived offense. He had chosen the right personality for "Minister Maltet Dalca". Her frustration at the cushioned ride she thought that he wanted was going to cause her to end up giving him exactly what he really wanted, which was a close-up look at the caravan. Of course, if he got too compliant all of a sudden, it would look suspicious.

Instead, the masquerading Etrurian turned up his nose, curling his upper lip at Clair's insistence that he make any concessions during the trip. He eyed the woman for a second, looked to the caravan, looked to Celica, then looked back to Clair.
"In contract to who? You?" asked Saturos, adopting an incredulous look. He honestly didn't know who was really in charge here, so here was an opportunity to find out. He directed his horse away from Clair with a tug of his reigns, turning his side to the woman. "And please, don't question my certainty. You'd be surprised how extraordinary I can be." He shook his head, playing up the confrontation a bit. There was nobody people hated proving wrong more than a blustery, self-important politician. "So if not with Captain Celica, where do you plan on putting me, er..." Saturos paused. He wasn't sure if Clair had mentioned her name or not, so the Etrurian thought he'd err on the side of caution. It wasn't very far-fetched to think that Minister Dalca would forget the name of a lowly soldier. "What was your name again?"

[Clair Feldsky]

"I didn't give you my name before, Minister. But as to where I'd put you, on another road to the Capital is where I'd have you." It was an intentional slight, leaving her name out like that, and it could come back to haunt her. Right now though, she wasn't in the mood to stop herself.

"Your status makes you a liability in the field on this venture. And, begging your pardon, but I'm not being paid enough to secure the safety of a minister with the imprudence to leave for his destination expecting to pick up a few guards along the way." It did seem odd that someone like the Minister had showed up here looking for guards. She had heard of stranger and more foolish things though.

"Minister Dalca. Consider yourself in a warzone. In Ilia you might have the option to stroll down the street and pick up a few of the reliable sort to make sure you reach your goal. Here, we're already occupied on the field. This trail that we're going down has spelled doom for three caravans like this before us, and I'd be remiss if I didn't expect trouble on this trip too." There was a familiar sizzle about Clair. A feeling like sparks jumping over her fingertips, and a static charge building in her voice. Most of the time, it felt normal to her now, though she knew such sensations hadn't always followed her. It had started after she'd found that lightning weapon.

"For this reason,.... I strongly recommend that you find another way to your destination. You will be safer."

[Saturos Prox]

This girl had quite the mouth on her. Instead of demoting him to caravan traveler, Clair was actually going to try and show him the door. And she didn't even have the courtesy of giving him her name! If Saturos had really been an Ilian politician, and not an Etrurian operative playing a Bernese rebel disguised as one, he would actually be offended. Here was a girl no older than twenty years mouthing off to someone who, as far as she knew, was sent straight from Edessa to Bern to conduct official Ilian business. It was no wonder that Richter Abend went AWOL with a second in command like this.

But one of the perks of the Etrurian's job was dealing with people like Clair. The troublemaker in Saturos couldn't help but find some fun in using his one of his more boisterous alter-egos to spar with someone else's ridiculously over-inflated ego. After all, what was the point of playing up an arrogant character if you didn't have someone else equally hardheaded to bash skulls with? Diplomatically steamrolling people was only so fun. Besides, it was either bite back or go home, and he certainly did not intend to do the latter. One did not rise to the top of the Etrurian underworld by backing off the second a dog started barking.

"This entire country is a warzone, girl," replied Saturos, choosing the most politely derogatory pronoun he could think of instead of her name since she lacked the decency of giving it to him. "Is that not why you're delivering weapons in the first place? We could be attacked by sweaty rebels just standing here talking. By my being down here I'm already assuming a certain level of danger as it is." The Etrurian flipped his hair while letting out an exasperated sigh. Sure he was acting the cocky sod, but he had given her no reason to think that he couldn't handle himself. No, it was Clair's own preconceptions that had allowed her to assume that he was some sheltered, soft diplomat looking for the easy way through. "So before you begin to assume that I'm making my way to Lucerne to go eat a roast pig and lie on my ass, you may want to reconsider." Saturos maintained a very steady tone of annoyance as he stared her down. "Maybe I want to see how Ilia's forces conduct themselves in the field before I arrive at my destination. Maybe I want to get a good idea of Ilia's standing here in Bern before I begin making negotiations. Maybe I want to see what our battlefield liabilities really are, and miss, nothing is a bigger liability in a warzone than a soldier that can't comply with directions."