Cen
Cavalier
Cowards die many deaths, the valiant taste of death but once.
Posts: 196
Profession: Bodyguard
Affinity: Light
OoC Alias: Selibas
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Post by Cen on Nov 4, 2015 10:05:40 GMT -6
It had happened only days ago. Under the cover of darkness, a trio of men snuck into the barracks of Castle Araphen, and stole an item of great import from a certain engineer. The three men were agents of a foreign land, and fled with the item flanked by Ilian mercenaries hired to see them back to their superiors safely. The engineer was thrown into a state of panic the morning after, struggling to not reveal his loss to anyone in a position of authority. Had he revealed the crime to an officer or the Marquis, they likely would have rallied a group of knights or soldiers to go search for the thieves, but the engineer would likely have lost his job. In his fear, he set about hiring a number of sellswords to see about retrieving the stolen item, imparting on them the only information he had. The item was in a bound red leather package, there was reason for the engineer to believe Etrurian spies were the ones responsible for its disappearance, and that the night it was stolen, a Brigade of Ilian mercenaries fled the city in a rush out of the Eastern gate, seemingly heading towards Bern.
Cen rode Thunder at a trot along the Araphen road, the horse's heavy footsteps muffled by the orange and yellow leaves that lay wet on the ground. A few of the leaves stuck to the horse's hooves with each step, which Cen thought must be annoying to the great beast. As they made their way through the tree lined highway, Cen considered all the information he had. After being hired, he had gone to the inn where the Ilian mercenaries his employer saw as suspect had stayed. According to the inn keep, he wasn't the only one to come around asking questions. The man had told the rider that the Ilian commander had been a quiet man, but many of his men were not. Apparently, the men were in good with the man who owned the Lion's Tail inn, about a days ride from Araphen's capital. Also, the commander could often be seen talking to a group of gentlemen who didn't look quite Lycian or Ilian, and were certainly separate from the mercenary troupe. Cen also got to learn that they had neglected to pay their tab with the meade hall.
The rider perked his head up at the scent of smoke. Looking ahead, squinting his eyes, he could see smoke rising above the bare tree branches. He pressed his knees to Thunder's sides, and the horse picked up its pace. Within a few minutes, he saw a large building, complete with a stable and a butcher's cabin, that he assumed was an inn. As Thunder clopped near it, he read above it's door, The Lion's Tail. Probably an inn indeed. Cen dismounted by the door, and tied Thunder to the hitching post outside the front entrance. He patted the horse on the snout, and ran his hands down the warhorse's thick neck. Then he turned and walked inside.
The warmth of the roaring fire hit Cen like a fist. Only a friendly fist that smelled nice. The common area of the inn was what you came to expect when traveling, a few tables, a desk for the clerk, a few friendly faces sitting and chatting, a few not as friendly. As soon as Cen had entered, eyes shot in his direction, and the clerk at the desk called out to him, "Good afternoon sir, how may I be of assistance?" The lime haired Lycian hurried over to the desk under the gaze of many in the room. In a hushed voice he inquired, "Are you the owner?" The man shook his head and said, "He's out hunting, and won't be back before nightfall."
Cen twisted his mouth in a moment of thought. Nothing to do but wait, he had to suppose. "I'll take a room for the night then, and a stall in your stable if you have one. Can you have someone tell me when the owner's back and can talk?" As the clerk handed Cen a key he said, "Of course sir, I'll tell you as soon as he's available. Your room is number five on the second floor, and you may take any of the open stalls in the stable. Thank you." Cen took the key, then wrapped his knuckles on the desk before turning around. "Thanks."
The Cornwellian untied Thunder from the post and led the horse toward the stables. He noticed many of the stalls were huge, and wondered at why. The only explanation he could think of was that so close to Bern, the inn could have been a regular stop for Wyvern Riders.
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Post by Gaius Balmung on Nov 15, 2015 10:35:49 GMT -6
The trip to Araphen was a long one, a few stops here and there to finish a couple of delivery jobs Gaius had to take care of. It was just a simple supply delivery, just bringing some crates of weapons to a few outposts to help deal with Lycia monster problem. Looking back on it Gaius probably should have saw what happened next coming. From a simple supply run to being hired as a sellsword to help a few places deal with attacks. Nothing that the pair of Gaius Balmung and Phantom couldn't take care of, and they were paid a pretty coin too.
It had been quite some time since Gaius was last this close to Bern. If he had flown for any longer he'd be in his old home, a place he had no interest in going to. To get his mind off of it the man had switched his focus on to his new job. There wasn’t much to go off of besides the little information he had received from the inn keep a while back. From the information gathered Gaius' next stop would be at an inn called The Lion's Tail. Apparently the mercenaries were in good with the owner so it was the next best place to check.
Gaius was a bit familiar with this place, during his younger days anytime he and other riders would pass through the area they would stop at this inn. It was a regular for wyvern riders, even having stalls to accommodate the large winged beasts. Phantom was never the type who enjoyed being cooped up but unfortunately this time he would have to bare with it. Last thing Gaius needed was someone to lose their head over a wyvern as large as Phantom roaming about whether it be in the town or just outside its gates.
That's where the duo was currently at, inside the stables with Gaius trying to get Phantom into one of the stalls. "It'll just be for the night ya big baby," Gaius could understand the wyvern's dislike for being cooped up but he'd just have to bare with it for the night. "Don't give me that look, the last time I let you roam around you scared people and we almost got run out of town," The man said with a laugh as he pet the wyvern. It seemed like Phantom was being more reasonable now and would stay in the stall.
It seemed like the two weren't alone, no in fact there was someone else coming in with their horse. The horse was certainly going to be getting a lot of spacious room with these stalls. He just hoped other wyvern riders weren't going to think that the thing was a snack for their wyverns. Even more so he hoped the steed would be alright around the wyverns. Gaius knew how restless some animals can get around wyverns when they think they might be eaten at any second, not a pleasant experience trying to break up that fight if something were to happen.
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Cen
Cavalier
Cowards die many deaths, the valiant taste of death but once.
Posts: 196
Profession: Bodyguard
Affinity: Light
OoC Alias: Selibas
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Post by Cen on Dec 11, 2015 15:23:27 GMT -6
Thunder let out a high noise and threw his head up, stomping both his front feet. Cen looked around, that was the big horse's typical reaction when something had it spooked. Throwing his head around, he saw a man with blue hair who was trying to coerce his wyvern into a stall. That was it, the first time the two had come upon a Wyvern, Thunder had sensed Cen's discomfort, and ever since he had gone into a small fit at the sight of one of the winged lizards. He had to try and keep his own breath calm, and his heart rate down as he spoke with his horse, "C'mon Thunder, yer sayfe in here." He tugged the reins hard but the horse didn't move, it merely stood its ground, peering from its massive right eye straight at the great beast across the stable. Cen tried to pull the reins again, usually the horse was far more mindful. Still, its hooves were planted in the dirt, and the horse didn't show any signs of even knowing that Cen was there. Well, this was going to be quite awkward.
He let the reins drop, and turned to the wyvern's presumed rider. "I know this is an odd request, but if you wouldn't mind, may I get close enough to your wyvern for mah horse to get a smell for it? Ah don't want the two of them to spend the whole nahght scared. Or, one of 'em I suppose." The one being his ginormous coward of a horse. Not that Cen could stare a Wyvern in the big fangy scaly face and not feel his heart rate go up. Oh no, the things always put him on edge. It was more nostalgic discomfort than fright though. They made him remember the time he'd ridden one and almost been thrown off while still high in the sky. Thunder wasn't getting an apple for at least a month after making him do this.
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Garnet
Hero
The Scarlet Brand
You call these bandits? You should'a seen what I had to deal with in Sacae!
Posts: 330
Etruria Fame: 1
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Post by Garnet on Dec 21, 2015 18:56:11 GMT -6
Garnet was out back, sweat drenched hair hanging in his face and dripping to the ground. He'd found himself wandering yet again. He'd spent enough time wandering this time to wander himself right out of the spell of despair he'd found himself in. He'd looked up from that and made for Lycia, finding plenty of small places and idle tasks to hide himself in. It had seemed to work for awhile too, but as always, his conscience came nagging back at his door step again.... Why couldn't he just stop? Why not just give up? His home in Etruria was under the worst of tyrant's rules. One everyone believed in. "Not everyone." He told himself, but the distinction between the many and the few seemed unhelpful when viewed from his position.
No matter what he tried, he always seemed to be dragged back to his grudge against the Prophet and his grip Etruria. This latest attempt to hide out in Araphen was wearing out too.... Spooked horses and sounds from inside the barn told him that there were some more visitors at this little way station. He paid them no mind for now, stacking up the last of a decent cutting of firewood near the back door and heading around to a rain barrel around front. He splashed a rough cut of scrap cloth into the barrel before wiping down his face and body to get the worst of the dirt and sweat off, idly glancing towards the barn where he'd heard the sounds earlier. His weapons and armor were tucked away up in his room. He'd been staying here for awhile, and doing chores around the place to earn his keep. He wasn't sure how much longer that could last though.
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Cen
Cavalier
Cowards die many deaths, the valiant taste of death but once.
Posts: 196
Profession: Bodyguard
Affinity: Light
OoC Alias: Selibas
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Post by Cen on Dec 21, 2015 22:18:34 GMT -6
The lime haired rider headed back inside after clearing up the situation with Thunder and the massive lizard thing with wings because why not evolve into the scariest thing you could possibly ever be? Or colloquially called Wyvrens. Carrying his bags, Cen made his way to his room, and upon arrival fell into bed like an asteroid plummeting to earth. He did not sleep, he merely lay with his face shoved deep into the pillow in front of him and close his eyes. He must have lay like that for an hour, slowly breathing, letting his back rise and fall against the rough blanket draped over the bed. Suddenly, his stomach began to rage, and the young man realized that he had in fact not eaten at all that day. So, pushing himself up, the Cornwellian slid from the bed and made his way down to the kitchen.
After waiting what must have only been twenty minutes a wonderful meal had been prepared for him, about an hour before the call for dinner would actually be made. Sometimes it paid to flash a smile at the old cooks and ask them how their day had been. Three plates were set down in front of him, one stacked with three thick round slices of ham that must have been old because on the the first bite Cen's tongue was practically ambushed by salt. Next to the ham on the plate were a few small chunks of carrot, browned in a sweet honey sauce. On the second plate was a heaping pile of grits prepared with less butter than his mother would have used, but to his shock some kind of Etrurian cheese. The third plate had a few pieces of heavy dark bread that tasted more of barley than of rye, a pile of baked beans glazed in brown sugar, and a small serving of gudgeon which may not have been as old as the ham but still must have been more salt than fish at this point. Cen tore through the grits and the ham in less than a minute, barely stopping to breath. As he tore off a corner from the bread the main cook set a small tankard of ale in front of him and gave him a wink. Cen smiled up at her and said, "Fwank woo." Realizing he'd spoken with his mouth full the young man threw his hand up to cover his mouth. The woman gave a giggle that would have been more fitting for a woman half her age, then walked away.
As Cen started in on his beans, the woman said, "Murtaugh, run outside and ask that young man who's been working for so long that he can come in and have a bit of food if he'd like." One of the other two cooks hurried outside and the two women left went back to working at preparing more of what they'd served Cen. After the man had returned Cen said, making his voice as casual as he could, "So, y'all have any reckoning of when the owner'll be back from his hunt?"
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Garnet
Hero
The Scarlet Brand
You call these bandits? You should'a seen what I had to deal with in Sacae!
Posts: 330
Etruria Fame: 1
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Post by Garnet on Dec 26, 2015 19:20:32 GMT -6
Seeing the travelers had sorted themselves out, Garnet went back to work. It wasn't that it was particularly needed, but something about good solid work made him feel needed again, and that was a feeling that he'd given up on a long time ago. He didn't hold out much hope for himself anymore. His home was gone, and he'd failed to move on.... The best he could do with himself would be to bury himself in simple things, and forget all the morals of right and wrong. Do what people around you needed, and leave the world to rot in its own degradations.... It hurt too much to hold on to the false hope of redemption and restoration.
The red haired fugitive of the past went back to chopping firewood. There was a pattern here. Stand a log up; listen to the "clack" of the axe head as he began to split it. The rhythm could repeat over and over, and he'd be safe in its dulling embrace. "Clack." Watchers could look on and see the evidence of his favorite chore. Around him, several piles of split logs his own height had been stacked up. "Clack." It was enough for a couple of months, by his estimation.... The locals didn't quite know what to make of him. "Clack-snap!"
Garnet was jarred out of his self made mental hideaway when the axe suddenly broke in his hand. He caught and steadied himself as the break in the impact pattern unsteadied him. He stared down at the shattered handle in his grip for a moment, and then down to the axehead on the ground. "Damn." It was a quiet sound. The man was calm and collected most of the time, and not prone to outbursts. He was still staring when Murtaugh came out and let him know there was food waiting for him inside. It was generous of them to think of him like that, even when he didn't ask. He looked back over his shoulder at the multitude of firewood stacked neatly around the back of the inn though. They'd think he'd earned it. Perhaps he had. He expected they could sell excess firewood to travelers going through as well. Probably for enough to repair the axe or get a new one. He could fix it himself, given some time. The axehead was still good after all.
Putting his hands into the small of his back and pushing, Garnet stretched, feeling his back releasing as he groaned. Might as well show the broken tool in with him. Garnet headed inside, cleaning off the worst of his sweat and dirt again at the rain barrel before heading inside.
"Well, I think I wore it out." Garnet said as he entered, setting the broken axe down in two pieces on a work table away from the dining area.
"Oh, Garnet.... What happened?" One of the cooks said as he entered. She looked concerned, but not so much for the axe. These ladies liked to dote on people. He had to admit, they knew their craft well.
"It broke while I was chopping. It was getting old when I arrived here. Give me some time, and I should be able to make a new handle." Garnet said quietly.
"Don't worry about the axe right now. Just go eat." She said, shoving a plate of food into his hands and encouraging him to go and sit down. Garnet did so, eyeing the stranger in the inn a little as he went and sat down. There were others, of course, but they'd been here a little while. Not long, but enough that Garnet had figured out that not all of them were the friendliest of sorts.
Garnet glanced up at the newcomer's question, and snorted into his plate a little. Hunting? Is that what leaving with that band of travelers was supposed to look like? They were laden for long distance travel. Not a casual hunt. Anyone with eyes and half a brain who'd seen earlier could tell that.
"I heard he was going to be gone for a few days." One of the unfriendlies spoke up from across the room. "Hunting isn't as good as it used to be around here."
"I don't think he's out there looking for food. Not with the way he packed those bags. I think he'd already found what he was looking for." Garnet's comment drew attention from the others that had spoken before.
"Don't you go stirring up trouble Garnet. If he says he's out hunting, that's what he's doing." Garnet didn't answer. Instead, he just took a long pull of the mug at the side of his plate. There was something going on here. It didn't take a sixth sense to know, but he wasn't up to investigating anymore. Stay quiet and don't rock the boat.... But still, knowing something was up and not pursuing it felt like a splinter trying to dig into him.
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Cen
Cavalier
Cowards die many deaths, the valiant taste of death but once.
Posts: 196
Profession: Bodyguard
Affinity: Light
OoC Alias: Selibas
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Post by Cen on Dec 29, 2015 20:45:34 GMT -6
Cen knit his eyebrows together as he received his answer. "I heard he was going to be gone for a few days. Hunting isn't as good as it used to be around here." There was something, an element of humor or at least something strange. It was the same tone Cen remembered other children using right before they sang 'I know something you don't know.' Cen son of Cedidale had never liked the practice of silently bragging about hidden information. He doubted he would like this man. Before he got a chance to express any distaste, a man with dark red hair and a well groomed beard sat down and said, "I don't think he's out there looking for food. Not with the way he packed those bags. I think he'd already found what he was looking for." Whatever playful manner the man had spoken with slipped from his face. "Don't you go stirring up trouble Garnet. If he says he's out hunting, that's what he's doing."
As the red haired man sipped his drink, there was silence amidst all assembled in the little room. The man who'd spoken said, "You wanna enlighten us on what he might be looking for there, friend?" There it was again, a tone that the man didn't seem interested in hiding. Cen had never heard the word friend said with such utter edge that it could cut a man, yet somehow Cen wouldn't be shocked to see a trail of blood on the red haired man's skin. Cen looked over, and his tone friendly said, "I actually wouldn't mind hearin' that myself, friend." His 'friend' was positive, no way it could cut. Cen saw as one of the men sitting with the more intimidating speaker moved his hand under the table, but didn't think too much of it.
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Garnet
Hero
The Scarlet Brand
You call these bandits? You should'a seen what I had to deal with in Sacae!
Posts: 330
Etruria Fame: 1
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Post by Garnet on Dec 31, 2015 20:11:04 GMT -6
Mmm... He'd already said too much and rocked the boat a little it seemed, but the red head hadn't expected to find so many interested parties involved. He glanced offhandedly towards greenhaired the newcomer who'd spoke up. He was a right bit more pleasant than this other lot. The other one who kept speaking up was a hot headed fool. He and cutting words seemed like they were well acquainted. He could be trouble, but so could the mosshead newcomer. He could be what he seemed, or he could be another manipulator and conniver come to... ruin his lunch.
Garnet set down his mug on the table, and took another bite of the dinner, picking what looked like the best that was on the plate.
"No.... No, I don't think I care to. And don't call me "Friend"." The tone the unfriendly man picked to use wasn't lost on Garnet. There was something behind it. The red haired swordsman was just thick skinned. That, and bored. It made a dangerous combination. "if you were a friend of mine, then I'd be sharing a table with you."
Garnet took another long pull at his mug, before wrapping fingers around it, and standing up. "I think I'll go outside for some fresh air out back." Garnet spoke calmly and firmly, but there wasn't much inflection to his voice. He was too soured by the mood. "Addie, your cooking was wonderful, as always. Something at the meal isn't very agreeable to me though. Hang onto this, and I'll be back later." He smiled a little at one of the cooks to try and soften his words, and put the plate of food up on the counter he'd gotten it from.
He started heading towards the door again. He wasn't sure that he'd make it there without being stopped, but he really did intend to avoid trouble if he could. Even if he couldn't restrain himself from the veiled insults. Assuming he didn't get stopped on the way to the door, he'd head outside, and go stand near all the firewood stacks he'd made over the weeks. It was a place almost like his own. It was away from these meddlers. The paranoid soldier lurking in him said that they firewood could make a good place to take shelter from in case of attack too.... Could never be too careful.
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Cen
Cavalier
Cowards die many deaths, the valiant taste of death but once.
Posts: 196
Profession: Bodyguard
Affinity: Light
OoC Alias: Selibas
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Post by Cen on Jan 4, 2016 22:07:28 GMT -6
After not getting an answer and a startlingly tense bout of straight talk, the man with the dark red beard was gone, and Cen was left with his food, the cooks, and a group of men who seemed to be somewhat less than open to a fun and rousing discussion about whatever the fine gentleman in the woods may happen to be hunting for, most likely: thing that made a group of perfect strangers act like members of an extended family who'd just found out someone was lying but now had to sit through a mass without tearing at each other's throats. Cen didn't really have to think very long on where he'd like to be, and so he picked up his own plate, the only one left at this point being one he'd scraped his beans and fish onto with the carrots, andtwo of the red haired man's plates. As he made his way to the exit the man had used, the other half of the exchange said, "Where you going?"
Eight sarcastic comments flashed into Cen's mind, two that weren't funny, one that was too complicated and relied on the man having a working knowledge on the raising of horses, and three that would have started a fight. The other two were fine, funny enough, but may have revealed that Cen was smarter than he appeared and he didn't want that, if the men would have even understood it. What good was it to be smart if you were constantly surrounded by those too daft to know you were insulting them? That was a mean thought, he shouldn't consider things like that. His mother had always said, "If a fox didn't tell wolves how much smarter than them he was, they wouldn't have to break his neck everytime they saw him." Cen had never seen hard evidence of an arrogant fox or an anti-intellectual wolf, but he understood that every fable didn't have to be literal. Besides, animals probably couldn't talk to each other.
Instead of giving some sort of sarcastic comment, Cen turned and grinned so hard his eyes closed. Playing the idiot was probably the best way for him to slide in under the radar. "Ah'm just goin' outside ta give that fella his food. Aint wantin' nobody goin' hungry." Then Cen carefully carried the man's food outside and called out, "Uh, hey stranger. Brought yer..." Cen saw the man then and hurried over to him. "Hello, I'm Cen. Figured the company inside was what wasn't sittin' with you so I brought yer food out."
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Garnet
Hero
The Scarlet Brand
You call these bandits? You should'a seen what I had to deal with in Sacae!
Posts: 330
Etruria Fame: 1
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Post by Garnet on Jan 5, 2016 19:36:31 GMT -6
Garnet looked at the green haired man coming over to him, watching him as though he were something new. He turned a critical eye on the plate. This traveler had just brought his food back out to him? Should he expect anything unexpected from this man? And should he expect anything else from the men inside? Garnet took the plate, as it was offered. He didn't immediately start eating from it though. He just held it instead, leaning back casually against a pile of the firewood he'd stacked at some point within the last few days.
"Was it that obvious?" Garnet quipped quietly. Half a laugh barked out of him before he remembered he was being bitter. And dour. Garnet looked around, a moment before picking a stack of firewood, and putting a well crafted leather boot up to it, and giving a hard shove. The firewood went down nearby, and Garnet promptly helped himself to the seat he'd made.
"The gesture's appreciated though." Garnet said, nodding to his plate and fiddling with the food on it a bit.
"Help yourself to a seat." Garnet said, gesturing with the plate towards one of the other stacks nearby. "I'll just stack them up again later."
Garnet was quiet for a moment, eyeing the plate critically, then he set it down on a stack next to him. Maybe he'd come back to that later. "You're lookin for the owner of this establishment." Garnet said it as a statement more than a question, but he was curious about why.
"They told you he went out hunting?... Name's Garnet by the way." He held back a pleased to meet you, Cen. He'd reserve judgement until he knew the man a little better.
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Post by Gaius Balmung on Jan 8, 2016 14:30:33 GMT -6
It seemed like he wasn't the only one who had thought about the dangers of leaving a horse around a bunch of wyverns, especially ones twice its size and have a tendency of making these like horses their snacks. Gaius was more than happy to oblige to the green haired man's request. After that Gaius had made sure that his wyvern partner was comfortable and happy, or at least as happy a wyvern who doesn't like being cooped up could be, and headed back inside and made himself comfortable with a table and ordered himself a drink. His eyes scanning the room and getting familiar with the faces in it.
After a while he noticed the green haired man from earlier, regretting that he never got the man's name. His attention peeked when he heard the man ask about the owner, something Gaius had inquired about not that long ago. Was this guy looking for the same answers that Gaius was? He would wait to jump to conclusion after he got a better idea of what was going on and the man's intentions but for now he'd keep his ears open to what was going on in that direction, maybe he'd learn something new.
The first reply that the green haired rider received seemed odd, not having a hint of being a genuine answer to his question. Gaius remained quiet, wanting to see how things were going to play out and it definitely got more interesting as a man with red hair spoke up. It was clear now that something odd was going on here and the owner was trying to hide where he was going and why. Before Gaius could ask anything someone else had spoken up. Gaius couldn't help but think "Oh boy" when the man had said what he had said.
Definitely the kind of sentence and said in a way that normally lead into a fight. Gaius watched intently at the exchanges going on, his eyes locked on the red haired man. He watched as the man left and not shortly after the rider that he had meant earlier. Gaius waited a few before getting up and following after the two. They hadn't gone particularly far which was good for Gaius as he wasn't particularly in the mood for having to track the two down. "So I'm not the only one looking for the owner, huh?" Gaius would say as he approached the two.
"Name's Gaius Balmung, mind if I join you two?" It was nice that he was familiar with at least one of them. Still, Gaius would keep his mind open as he wasn't sure if the rider and himself were on the same page but only time would tell.
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Garnet
Hero
The Scarlet Brand
You call these bandits? You should'a seen what I had to deal with in Sacae!
Posts: 330
Etruria Fame: 1
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Post by Garnet on Jan 8, 2016 18:39:27 GMT -6
Garnet heard the man coming towards them before he saw him. Garnet raised his eyes back up from the plate, but didn't turn to look at the footsteps. He'd wait for the other to give an idea of who and what he was before responding. When he heard the casual sound of the voice, it set him at ease a little.... Just a little. The question rocked him right back to his sour mood though. Ugh. You opened your big mouth Garnet. Now you've made it look like you know something. He grimaced a little bit and lamented not having a drink to help him swallow it.
"Prophet's holy backside! What's with all this interest in this innkeeper?" He did turn around then, fixing a hard look on the blue haired newcomer, and then back on the green haired one. "Seems like everyone wants a piece of him, recently." Quiet and peace was to elude him indefinitely, it seemed. He'd moved through numerous countries, sheltering in cities, caravans, and villages barely worthy of the name. Nowhere seemed to remain quiet for long around him. He grunted quietly to himself, remember that he'd been the one to open his mouth on this occasion.
At least this Gaius was asking if he could join them. It marked him as polite at the least. The red headed man shrugged, and then turned back on his improvised seat of firewood. He waited. Something must have brought them all out here, and he wanted a little more information before he spoke up. He'd say it was concern of risking his neck. Those men inside were more than regular travelers. He'd bet that every one of them had held a blade or other weapon at some point before, whatever type of training they'd had. They left him a little cautious. As cautious as a reckless and nearly spent man could be.
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Cen
Cavalier
Cowards die many deaths, the valiant taste of death but once.
Posts: 196
Profession: Bodyguard
Affinity: Light
OoC Alias: Selibas
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Post by Cen on Jan 8, 2016 23:57:25 GMT -6
Cen slowly lowered himself to the makeshift chair of logs. Well, there wasn't a back so it was a makeshift stool more than anything. Still it was nice of the man to pull his chair out like a proper gentleman. Well with a kick, but a gentlemanly kick. Once he'd made it to his seat, the rider took a huge spoonful of beans and shoved it into his mouth. When he'd squired for Felane of Laus they'd gone months at a time and eaten nothing but beans on the road, and while the old man had simply gone through it out of necessity the farm boy loved to eat beans, especially when they were made like this. They were somehow sweet and still savory. With only a bit of beans left in his mouth he said, "Pleashed to meet ywhoo Garnet."
Then he noticed a slightly familiar face approaching. The blue haired man from the stables, the one with the sky lizard. He asked about the owner just as Cen had, then offered his name. Garnet expressed a mass of exasperation in the form of an exclamation. Prophet's Holy Backside. I'll have to remember that one. Still, his question was a difficult question to answer. He couldn't quite say, 'Well you see, I believe the owner has sensitive information about a weapon the world doesn't know exists, and have to find him so I can go find a group of spies and kill them.' Might be a lot of trust to give a stranger.
So instead, he decided to focus on vagueness. First he looked up at the blue haired wyvern rider and said, "Have a seat Gaius, I don't mind." Then he looked back at Garnet and continued, "I'm a... bodyguard between charges. I took on a job looking for something, and I think to find it I need to speak with the owner. Those men inside probably want to find him and do a lot more than talk, or maybe protect his privacy, I don't know. What I do know is that if I find him, it'll keep a lot of people safer." What a good explanation, no way there'll be a follow up question.
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Post by Gaius Balmung on Jan 11, 2016 12:22:55 GMT -6
So it seemed they were both on the same job then. It was nice to know that he was going to be working with someone who was at least friendly. If it was one of those mugs back inside Gaius was sure they were probably going to have issues at some point. Gaius felt some sympathy for Garnet. They guy probably just wanted to eat his food and take a break from whatever it was that he was doing and now he had all these people bothering him about the owner. Gaius would definitely be extremely annoyed if the same happened to him.
"I'm a rider who takes a lot of different jobs from deliveries to mercenary work. Seems like I'm on the same job as this fine gentleman right here so I'm out here wondering about the owner as well," Gaius explained, looking back at the building. He wanted to see if anyone was watching them and trying to listen to their conversation. They would definitely have to get to the owner first before someone tried something. The guy was no use to them dead or not talking and Gaius wanted to make sure that didn't happen, he had to get paid after all.
"So if our guy didn't end up going hunting what did it look like he was doing?" Gaius had some sort of assumptions as to what they guy could be up to. Maybe he was running, trying to avoid someone. Or perhaps he was onto something and needed to go somewhere. Regardless of what he was up to the faster they learn what direction the guy went the better. Not much managed to escape Gaius once he and Phantom got on a trail. Hopefully the trail, if there is one, wasn't completely dead at this point.
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Garnet
Hero
The Scarlet Brand
You call these bandits? You should'a seen what I had to deal with in Sacae!
Posts: 330
Etruria Fame: 1
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Post by Garnet on Jan 12, 2016 21:12:19 GMT -6
Garnet just grunted under his breath back at Cen as he said it was a pleasure. Maybe he'd been pleasant enough before, but it had been years since the red haired swordsman had relaxed enough to feel "pleasant". There'd been a few almosts during that time, but it had always faded. Now he was just a surly man who acted older than he was and tried to hide from an old oath he'd sworn.... No. I can't go back again. It'll just slip away again....
The red haired former guardsman let the ideas and topics of the conversation fall into place. These men were looking for something that the innkeeper was connected to somehow. Something dangerous. If what Cen was saying was true, then alot of people would be safer if it was recovered, so it was something new. A weapon or scheme of some sort would be the best bet. There were more than one person on the job, which meant there was money involved. Nobles or Merchants then. Or, at the least someone with the means to fund hunters.
Out in this backwater, it all would have sounded a little bogus to him, except for some other events that had occurred recently. The men inside hadn't been here long. They'd showed up recently, and they weren't sticking around for the pay. Those men were fighters, trained or otherwise. The Innkeeper leaving today, and rather suddenly was also peculiar. He'd left in the company of a small band of horsemen. He'd not been going hunting. He'd been traveling somewhere.
"He looked like he was leaving." Garnet growled out towards the blue haired man. "Tell me a little about what you're looking for, and who's looking for it, and I could help more." Even Garnet wasn't really sure what he was doing, or if he wanted it to continue. The sleeping beast known as his conscience seemed to be rising, no matter what he willed though.
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