A High Fantasy Adventure

[Alkonium]

"Considering that all you've been willing to tell us about this job is where we're going, and that we are being paid, I have to agree with Kadis on this. I am no murderer, but everyone has limits, and you've nearly pushed me past mine." Curudir added, drawing one of his swords. He never trusted that dwarf, and had waited far too long to find out the truth. Though he could handle himself in a fight, he still would not kill unless absolutely necessary. "I think you should with what our cargo was and who it was for."

[Black Knight of Keno]

"You were hauling raw mythril and weapons, were you not Master Dwarf" Skarra noted as he stepped forth towards the group. He had had his hands busy when the cart had driven past his little fight. He had no chance to stop it. He was lucky to keep defending himself from the five simultaneous attacks coming at him. Nonetheless, by a lucky strike he had managed to break off from the circle of bandits circling him and then launch a proper attack on them before rushing back to the group.

 

"Aye..." the dwarf responded with quite a gloomy tone in his voice.

"That be why I hired all of yous to come with me. Apparently my plan wasn't as good and fool-proof as I thought after all" the Dwarven merchant said before turning to Skarra.

"You must get that cart back. All my wealth is tied to that cargo and so is your payment. Now, I'm no fighter. I'd rather have gold in my hand than a weapon. I'll go on to Stonehaven and wait for you there. You have no time to lose if you want to catch those damned bandits!" the dwarf said, only to be pushed by Skarra to sit down.

"First we treat the wounded, then we go after them. Those of you who feel hungry or tired can rest for a few hours while the wounded are treated" Skarra noted and walked to the middle of the group to see the damage.

 

Eldir walked from the shadows, sheathing his sword and shaking his head. He was bruised and had a cut in his other arm. Luckily it wasn't a deep wound and could be just as well be patched up with a piece of cloth.

"Damn these bandits" he grunted as he picked up and threw a few of the torches together to form a basic campfire. As he sat down next to it, he removed his armor and stripped the shirt under it. Not a pretty sight. Skarra dropped down on the knees of his front legs and took a small canister of ointment from a health-oriented pouch on his belt. No magic words were required as he spread the ointment on the bard's wounds. The Centaurs had grown out of that phase long ago. As far as the cut went, Eldir already was placing a small piece of cloth around it to aid in the stopping of bleeding. Skarra rose back up and smiled as Eldir nodded a thanks, even if the ointment burned like hellfire. Eldir had gone through Skarra's healing before, so fortunately he knew what it felt like. Too bad that he had forgotten just how much it burned.

 

"Is everyone here?" Skarra questioned as he looked around at the group.

"Everyone who left with us from town, that is. I'll get back to you eventually" Skarra noted, glancing at the newcomer ranger elf.

[Rachel_Ewok]

Remaining calm at Kadis' outburst Ari looked him in the eyes. "Yelling at me will get you no where. I have been following you, well I'm not really sure as to why... But I knew the dwarf was carting mythril. I wanted to watch you guys, you don't realize how dangerous these parts are do you?" She raised an eyebrow. "I wanted to help out, so there would be no unessecary bloodshed... However, it looks like that couldn't be avoided." With that she turned on her heel, noticing the older elf was beginning a fire, she headed off into the woods, and was back in a few minutes with an armload of kindling and logs.

 

She piled them up next to the beginnings of the fire, and threw a few sticks on. Soon she had finished with the help of the older elf, and they had a roaring fire going.

 

Noting that the elven archer was still lying still, she hauled him over nearer to the fire, so she could keep her eyes on him. Sitting herself on a rock she looked around at the group she was now traveling with. "I'm Arivan Telemnar. Pleased to meet you all." She cracked a small smile. "Now come and have a seat, we can make some food and share some stories around this fire." She gestured to the area around the fire. "

 

Let's make merriment tonight... tomorrow will bring some hardships, I can already see. Let's enjoy our revelries while we still can."

[Corinthian]

"No, but it DOES make me feel better. And it just so happens that I'm keenly aware of the dangers of this area, given that I've raided bandit camps in and out of this region quite a few times in the past six years. But this wasn't a typical bandit attack. They were laying for us, and only us. Most bandits wouldn't attack a caravan this well protected unless there was a big haul."

 

He sat down and began to remove his ringmail and leathers, then raised the rest of his clothing so he could examine his wound. It didn't look too bad, only about an inch deep, but it was filthy. He groaned, then reached into his pack again and withdrew a small pot and a wineskin. He set the pot along the fire and poured a healthy amount of wine into it.

 

"Great..."

 

The rib was better news. It was a clean break, so he wouldn't have any need to fiddle with it. Conventional wisdom said to tape the ribs, but that usually caused other problems. Best to leave it alone.

 

"I think this is all the revelries I'll need for one night."

 

He wrapped his hand in his leathers, then pulled the pan of the fire, now filled with boiling wine. This is a really, really bad idea.

 

Pouring boiling wine into a wound was an effective way of cleansing the wound of infection from what he had learned. The problem being twofold - it hurt like hell, and it had a tendency to get where you didn't want it, unless the wound went straight through you.

 

Also, you usually had someone giving you a hand, but this group was lucky it could tie their collective bootlaces.

 

He gritted his teeth and poured the wine, the pain catching him off-guard. He bit back a scream, but kept up the pour, the cleansing wine flowing into the wound. He dropped the pan and grabbed a roll of linen bandages, using one end to mop up the still-hot wine, then began to bandage himself.

 

He settled himself for a moment, catching his breath and trying to ignore the stings of fresh burns.

 

"Alright, Dwarf. Tell me, have you been sniffing the filings off that Mythril? It addles your brain, you know. You still haven't told us how much we're getting paid for helping you haul your Mythril across this god-forsaken landscape. You really expect us to walk into a bandit lair to rescue your precious valuables without some kind of a bonus?"

[Master_Archon]

Icarian had faired so-so in the bandit assault, he received a small amount of cuts, and gouges, and other 'bleeding' wounds, and an even greater amount of bruises and bumps, but nothing of particular concern.

 

In the battle Icarian had been ganged up on, and separated from the man and the half-elf woman. As Icarian was better at scouting, and not combat, he took only a bit longer against his opponents than most would. But that's not to say Icarian can't fight, in most one-on-one fights Icarian can dominate with his claymore sized blade, and in combat against multiple foes, he does only a little worse, but against bandits of lesser prowess and skill, he can do quite a sufficient job. His only real problem in the fight, was the fact that when one bandit went down, another materialized out of the brush to take his place, which kept Icarian busy for quite some time preventing him from stopping the cart from being taken. In fact, Icarian had been kept so busy, that he hadn't even had the opportunity to throw the torch near the cart like the dwarf wanted, which was indicated by the fact that Icarian was holding his unlit torch, and if you were to inspect some of the bandits who attacked Icarian bodies', you'd see many were burned to death, and when his fire went out, many were bludgeoned to death.

 

'Seth' faired a little better than Icarian, seeing as he was a creature that fighting is natural to, he had defended the himself at the beginning of the raid, but ended up defending the dwarf after some time, and then ended up getting dog-piled, which was what prevented him from getting to the cart, luckily the bandits on top of him decided it was time to leave after the cart had been taken, which is how he got out of that situation so easily.

 

Icarian and his reptilian friend stood next to each other as the group argued amongst themselves, and medical aid was offered from the centaur, the same person asking who all was still there.

 

"We are," Icarian piped up in response, 'Seth' simply putting his arms behind his waist in a waiting and patient manor, observing the odd, and somewhat dissident group.

 

The newcomer elf and the gruff fellow continued their bickering for a short time, and then stopped.

 

"You're asking us, who've just been through a rather big fight, to be a bit too optimistic. Just like you yourself are being a bit too optimistic. After combat it is best to rest, eat, and drink (water that is), not partake in "revelries", as you call them. Most want peace and quiet after fights, some time to calm their mind and nerves, they don't need to talk, tell stories, dance, or sing, though I will not disclaim laughter, it is the best medicine after all, but right now, quiet is what we need, because there is no rest in reveling," 'Seth' chastised the elven woman in a calm and somewhat respectful manor.

 

"Although it's hard for me to pass up an opportunity to hear some good stories, and sing a few nice songs, I have to agree with my ol' pal 'Seth'. I need some quiet after all that metal clanging together, and bashes to the noggin, my head's still ringing," Icarian said, massaging his neck as he spoke. He walked over towards the fire and sat himself next to the elven woman, who sat perched on a rock.

 

"Name's Icarian Uliea, fey by nature, a Dryad by sorts, scouting is my profession, as far as I can tell, it is your profession too. Nice to meet you," Icarian said with a smile, which faded, replaced by a weary and tired look, as he diverted his attention to the fire.

 

'Seth' on the other hand simply stayed where he was.

[Nymf...]

Tale woke up again, with a head-ache. He sat up and tried to drink some water, but couldn't find any. His waterbag seemed to have broked, he slowly looked around and saw a new person. An elf, a female one. "Shiny, re-inforcements..." Tale coughed. "Anyone got water?"

[Black Knight of Keno]

"Aye. Merriments is something we don't need right now. No offense, Eldir" Skarra said as he finished looking through the group. It seemed everyone was present, even if some still decided to stick to the shades instead of coming to the fire. The Centaur stepped to the fire and lay down as far as his horse body let him.

"I am Skarra of Lor'Wal. Ranger from the planes around Coldwind Forest" the Centaur said before gesturing to Eldir.

"And he is Eldir the Eastwind Crow. Bard and swordsage from Anar Doth, despite half his life being spent in the Coldwind Forest" Skarra told the group, in return receiving a non too happy glance from the Wild Elven man.

 

"For your information, I'd rather honor my true lineage instead of lying to be a wood elf. I have at least that amount of pride in me" Eldir noted as he sat up straight and removed the sword and scabbard from hanging on his backside. He lay down and grunted, feeling the pain of the wounds once again. It would relieve in twenty minutes time, but it would still take at least a day for the visible part of the wounds to disappear. He removed a water flask made of a sheep's gut from his side and threw it towards Tale.

"There you go. Don't drink it all"

[Rachel_Ewok]

Arivan's happy smile darkened a bit, but she brightened up again and shrugged. "I say we cook up some food and get some rest then." She nodded, then glanced at the source of the voice who had sat next to her. She smiled at his introduction, and heard the elven archer stir near her, "Hey, how are you feeling friend?" She asked him gently after he had taken a long drink from the water skin that had been tossed to him. Patiently she waited for him, and observed the centaur, whose name seemed to be Skarra. She would have to learn all their names. In her short time here in the world of the living, she had only heard tales of centaurs. They were a hardy, brave folk so she had been told. And this centaur, seemed to live up to the legends she had been told as a young elf around the hearth. He was very interesting to look at and she tilted her head, forgetting that it was impolite to stare.

[Alkonium]

Roasted Rat. Not the most appetising thing I've ever cooked, but it'll do. Curudir thought to himself as he watched the dead rat roast over the campfire. I hope this burns out all the diseases it's probably carrying. He then looked at it and saw that it was just about ready to go. He then figured it was a good idea to clean the blood off his swords from the rat. Disgusting creatures. I really should have used my bow, but then people might get splinters in there mouths, and they'd blame me.

 

He then stepped over to where Skarra was talking to the newcomer with the cooked rat. "That rat I caught is done cooking, want any?" He asked them, but he doubted they would. Hell, even he wouldn't eat it given a choice, but what was he to do? He then glanced at the Elf Ranger. "Hello. I'm Curudir Therias, and you are?" He said to her.

[Rachel_Ewok]

Arivan glanced at the man roasting the rat. She turned her nose up in disgust, realizing he had just introduced himself she cleared her throat and put on a smile. "Pleased to meet you friend." She smiled, "I am Arivan Telemnar."

 

She pulled a small pouch out of her travelling sack, that was slung lazilly over her shoulder. She dropped the worn brown leather sack to the dusty ground, then poured a few dried fruits, nuts, and berries out and nibbled on a few. She was happily munching, then sat back and offered the pouch to Curudir.

[Corinthian]

The scene was frankly nauseating in it's sweetness, like being drowned in an ocean of honey. One of the particularly intellectual men had, for some mystifying reason, hunted down and killed a rat, using his sword when he had a perfectly serviceable bow. Why he looked for a rat when they're in a perfectly good landscape with plenty of animals that are actually edible...That's a question I don't think will ever be answered.

 

He was up to his elbows in this, and it made him want to vomit. On the other hand, the more irritated he got with their sickly-sweet antics, the less his injuries seemed to throb.

 

"Elves." He muttered to himself. They always seemed to feel the need to stick their noses where it didn't belong. Not only that, she backed the Dwarf up, and Kadis would bet an apple against an acorn that the Dwarf knew more than he was letting on about these bandits. The fact that the Dwarf had repeatedly dodged his demands for a number on how much they were being paid was infuriating, not to mention suspicious.

 

But if what the Dwarf said was true and they were really hauling Mithril, there was a king's ransom to be had here, more than enough to rebuild his Company.

 

How the hell did this Dwarf get his hands on this much Mithril but not have enough coin to pay for some professional guards? And why did he leave at night?

 

That was an uncomfortable thought. This wasn't contraband - as far as Kadis remembered, it was perfectly legal to haul Mithril. So that left the possibility that these goods weren't entirely legitimate - Stolen Goods.

 

No sense keeping your mouth closed. The Dwarf didn't have many friends in this party at this point.

 

"Dwarf, you've been quite...evasive, and it's getting irritating. You're hauling Mithril. Alright. So why didn't you hire some trained guards instead of every thug, sellsword, and hero-wannabe in a tavern? Why did we leave at night? Why were you so uncomfortable to tell us what you were hauling?"

 

He paused for a moment to let the words hang. "What are you hiding, Dwarf?"

[Nymf...]

"There you go. Don't drink it all"

 

"Thanks!"

 

Tale took a zip of water and threw the water flask back. Tale made his way up standing and took a deep breath. People around him seemed to be angry. He didn't have time nor the desire to join them in their discussions. To much talk, to little work. he thought while walking to one of the Bandit corpses. He started examine the bandit, he didn't really recognize him, or his clothes so he couldn't tell what band he belonged too. He left the corpse and started to look at the footprints, there was nothing unusual with them but he followed them into the forrest.

 

Tale heard something, it could have been a few miles away, it was hard to say because of the wind. But it sounded like wolves. Tale went back to the cart.

 

"We better get moving, we got wolves. They probably picked up the scent of the bodies. But we shouldn't risk getting in the way of hungry wolves."

[Black Knight of Keno]

((There's no cart anymore. The Bandits took it))

 

The dwarf looked at Kadis with a rather nasty look in his eyes.

"My, my. I think someone's after me cargo" he said and crossed his arms.

"Yer gettin' a bit too nosy for yer own good. Ye don't like how I handle business, ye can go back and leave the group, eh?" the dwarf noted as he glanced around at the group.

"Y'see, I hire thugs, sellswords, and hero-wannabes 'cause they don't ask questions. And as far as yer concerned, I'm startin' to think ye ain't the type I want in this group. But it's yer business if ye want to be paid handsomely for getting that cargo back or not" the Dwarf noted before turning to the rest.

"Yer rest is over. Go find me cargo. I'll be in Stonehaven" the dwarf told them before starting to walk the road eastwards.

 

Eldir stood up, putting his armor back on and grunting.

"Thanks" he said to Kadis before strapping the sheathed word back where it was supposed to be and tying the water flask on his belt. He was a wild elf. Something bigger and more talented than a few bandits would take before he would be immobilized for a long time. But heck, did it still hurt to move around.

"You hear the man, I guess. Let's get going then" Eldir said without too much joy in his voice.

 

Skarra watched the petty exchange of words between Kadis and the dwarf before chuckling and looking around. He made sure the thief and Radek were still around before making sure his equipment was all there. Before he moved anywhere, he took a piece of elven bread from one of the pouches on his belt and ate it before putting the rest of the bread away. That would keep him going good for another few hours or so, after which another piece would no doubt be required.

[Writer]

When the bandits first attacked, Radek had been trying to convince Cia to help defend the cart. She had been reluctant to do so, for she had been forced into the entire journey. Why should she risk her neck to protect something she didn't care about? Of course, when it became evident that her neck was risked simply by being there, she was much more cooperative, but it made little difference. The cart was taken and all their fighting had been for next to nothing.

 

"I hate you," Cia growled to Radek. The man smiled faintly.

 

"I'm glad you're alive to do so, Ciannait," he answered. With Cia grumbling, the pair ate something briefly. Then, Radek saw Skarra's glance and moved to join the Centaur, gesturing for Cia to follow. She did, but reluctantly.

 

"So the mystery deepens," Radek said quietly to Skarra. "It is clear to me that this was an ambush. Those bandits knew we were coming, knew what was on that cart." He frowned. Then, as if he had just remembered her presence, he turned, and gestured Cia forward beside him.

 

"Skarra, this is an old friend..." he began.

 

"Old enemy," Cia cut in. She smiled tightly. "Ciannait."

 

"I once swore to keep my eyes on her," Radek went on. "I intend to do so."

 

Cia's smile broadened. "Tell me, Master Centaur," she said, "how is he to prevent me from leaving if he sleeps? He knows he needs more sleep than I..."

 

"Which is why I have informed Skarra of this situation," Radek answered, "for you need more sleep than he."

 

Cia's smile faded. "Not that it will change the present situation," she said softly, "but I am not as I was when we first met, Radek. I was impulsive, more likely to do foolish things."

 

"I'll be watching for this... improvement you claim, Ciannait," Radek growled. Cia sighed in frustration.

 

"As you will, Radek," she shot back. And with that, she went to the fire.

[Black Knight of Keno]

"I agree. It was an ambush, but not because they knew what exactly was in those crates. If that was the case, the would've made a clean slate with arrows instead of a rush to get the cart" Skarra noted to Radek before glancing over at Ciannait. He nodded without a word as a greeting before smiling at the squabble. As Cia left, Skarra gave a brief laugh mixed with a sigh.

 

"You do know I'm getting old, right? I'd appreciate my sleep undisturbed by babysitting" he noted quietly to Radek before glancing at him. He rummaged through his pouch and broke a piece of elven bread from the larger loaf inside. The Centaur's hand held the piece of elven bread in front of the man, offering it to him.

"Elven bread? You know you want to" the Centaur said with a slight smile dancing on his lips.

[Corinthian]

"Arrogant son of a..." He bit his tongue. The sheer gall of it. He'd be in STONEHAVEN? Who the hell did the Dwarf think he was?

 

"Well, that just about confirms it to me - the Dwarf stole that Mithril, and I don't think he intends to pay us, either. I think he's hoping we'll wear ourselves out getting it back so he can slit our throats as soon as we get to Jasper.

 

He weighed the odds. Mithril was one of the most precious metals in existence. If he could get his hands on even a small part of it it would be more than enough to set him up for a long time.

 

He grinned.

 

"What's in it for us, getting the Dwarf's mithril back for him? I say we don't take it back. I say we take it for ourselves, an even split."

[Rachel_Ewok]

Reluctantly Ari stood up from her perch on the rock. She stretched, yawned and picked up her sack. She sung it over her shoulder and gracefully manuvered around some stray sticks and rocks on the ground. She shyly headed up to the centaur, what was his name... Skarra? She seeemed to have caught that name. "Excuse me," She said to him quietly. She wanted to talk with this centaur, his race was somewhat of a childhood dream to her. Never before had she met one, she had only heard of them in bedtime stories when she was but a small elfling.

[Writer]

Radek laughed softly and accepted the Elven bread Skarra offered him. "A good deal more wholesome than anything I carry with me," he said, nodding his thanks. "With nourishment like this, you're complaining about getting old? Pah! Maybe you are getting old, Skarra." He chuckled softly. "But you needn't worry about loss of sleep. Just the thought that you might be watching will be enough to intimidate Cia. And did I ever tell you? You sleep with your eyes open, too." He shook his head. "She'll stay... and not merely because I told her she had to..."

 

At that moment, the newcomer, the young Elf approached them, timid in her manner. Radek could see that she was rather in awe of Skarra, and at her soft spoken, 'Excuse me,' the man knew she wanted to speak with the Centaur. He smiled faintly, waiting for the Centaur to acknowledge the Elf.

[Black Knight of Keno]

Eldir laughed at Kadis quite openly.

"You speak like we already had the mythril. If you so desperately want it, shouldn't you still find it first?" the elf noted before walking up to Kadis.

"And when we find the haul, you can try to stop us from getting it back to the rightful owner" the elf continued with a smirk.

 

"I know I sleep with my eyes open. It's unnerving, isn't it" Skarra noted with a laugh before calming down as the elf walked up towards them. The timid nature of this creature was rare amongst her kind. This both fascinated him and threw him away slightly.

"Yes, young elf?" he asked, despite the elf being nearly a century older than he in age according to his estimate.

[Rachel_Ewok]

"I'm Arivan... I've been watching you... I'm sorry I know it's impolite to stare..." She stopped, thinking about her words for a moment, not wanting to offend the creature. "You.... you are so interesting to me. I used to hear stories about your people when I was young... and I... I just wished to talk to you... as I have never met a centaur before." She gave a shy smile.

 

She was usully very bold when it came to meeting new people, however the centaur made her a bit nervous. He was something famous to her, and she didn't want to get off on the wrong foot, hopefully she would become better aquainted with him. "Perhaps someday when we have a moment to sit without the threat of bandits or mythril hanging over our heads we can talk much longer. I am sure you have many interesting stories to tell." She smiled again, her love of stories was a bit of an obsession.

 

She had already decided someday when she was an old and grey elf she would sit and write everything she had collected over her travels. She would put away her swords and arrows and become a historian. She shook her head from her daydreaming, that day was long off and she didn't want to be rude to Skarra.

[Corinthian]

"Don't get me wrong, I'd love to get it all myself. But aside from the fact that I don't have infinite space in my pack or the muscle to haul it all, I really doubt I can take on a couple dozen bandits on my own, especially with this rib."

 

He took a draw from his wineskin. "The Dwarf hasn't done anything for us. Look at this. We're getting these nebulous promises of wealth at the end of the road, but he's dodging giving us a number. What makes you so certain the Dwarf's 'Great Reward' won't be a copper coin or a dagger in the throat?"

 

Stereotypes protected the Dwarf in this case, unfortunately.

 

"Take a look at the facts, anyway. The Dwarf left at night. Why at night? During the day you can see better, makes it harder to get ambushed by bandits and you're wide awake when you do, and at night you can set up a ring of torches and other defenses to compensate while you rest. He refused to tell us what he was hauling, consistently refused to tell us exactly what we're being paid. I thought he was hauling contraband at first. But if it really is Mithril, and I'm not entirely convinced it isn't Black Lotus that's in those crates, then it's fairly obvious that there's something untoward about it. Like, say, stolen goods."

 

He doubted they would agree, or even listen to him. They were soft, accustomed to trusting.

 

"And now look at this. This wasn't a random attack. I've been guarding shipments up and down the roads for the past ten years, and consistently, bandits try to frighten their prey into giving up without a fight rather than start off with bloodshed at the very beginning. Which makes me think we aren't facing Bandits at all. I think we're facing a group of sellswords, Mercenaries here to kill the Dwarf and reclaim the Mithril."

 

He let his theory hang in the air for a moment.

 

"What do we owe the Dwarf? He's sending us into a den of lions without so much as a copper coin promised to us, and he doesn't even have the guts to stand with us. What do we owe him? Why should we fight and spill our blood to get this Mithril back when we're being promised nothing and been paid nothing? Especially given that this isn't even the Dwarf's Mithril anyway, given that he stole it."

[Black Knight of Keno]

Eldir looked silently at Kadis before snickering.

"You're so full of yourself and something else I won't mention in the company of ladies" the elf said.

"I have been walking these paths before you were born and seen far worse bandit attacks. I agree with the dwarf with leaving at night. Bandits know just as well as you or me that the valuables come during the day just because it's day. Bandits also need rest and unless these hadn't had a scout around here, we could've easily have gotten a swallow's flight east before they found our tracks tomorrow. It also makes sense not to tell us what the dwarf's carrying when we have people like you around plotting to backstab the dwarf and take the mythril for yourself" the Wild Elf told him before shaking his head.

"And as far as you whining for the dwarf not promising to pay us, I recall he promised a hefty amount when he spread the word of looking for a group. He also has several times now stated all his assets are tied to the mythril and that we will get a hefty rewards for getting it back and accompanying it the rest of way" he continued before laughing.

"And have you ever seen a dwarf rogue? Dwarves couldn't keep quiet if their life depended on it and his stature hardly gives him an advantage on carrying that much mythril out of any storehouse or whatever place you would claim he stole it from. Besides, I saw him come into town with my own two eyes. If I know anything about estimating the tiredness of oxen and the time it takes for a dwarf to become tired, I'd estimate he had come from the dwarven mines, not from the elven forest, which is the only other place even remotely near to Kolirum-Masaar to have such large quantities of mythril stored. Your theory is full of holes and you know it. Now, if you'll excuse me" Eldir said as he left the defeated man behind, knowing too well Kadis would still continue to rave on about the dwarf in any case.

 

Skarra laughed lightly, half at the girl and half at her words.

"I do not have interesting stories to tell, nor do I know the deepest parts of Centaur mythos" Skarra told her with a smile. She was very timid indeed when it came to being so close to a Centaur.

"For that you would have to talk with the little bard, Eastwind Crow. Eldir is far better at stories and knows a much more of them in amount and in depth. I have only been the Guardian of a forest for over half of my days and once I rid myself of it, a thing people point at in amazement" the Centaur said before placing a hand on her head and patting it lightly.

"Eventually you will also grow out of the pointing phase. And once the initial amazement is gone, I can finally say..." he said while leaning right into her face so she could see the details of his then serious face.

"...welcome to the real world, honey"

 

Eldir had walked over to Skarra and the small group during this, standing right behind Arivan as Skarra straightened back up.

"Don't scare the girl, Skarra" he told the Centaur while stepping up next to the female elf.

"He likes to scare anything sentient that he knows is already timid towards him, except for the wildlife. With the animal kind he's more capable than a druid" Eldir said and Skarra chuckled, staring at Eldir.

"Arivan here wishes to know about Centaurs" Skarra told the Wild Elf who grinned and turned to Arivan.

"Well, as far as I know about Centaurs, and I have met a few, they don't talk much. Or rather, they talk a lot but little of it is useful or offers insight into their kind. Wanting to find out about Centaurs is like seeking out the true demeanor of Gods. It takes a lifetime and even then you have to guess and imagine most of it. If you want to maintain a worthy image of centaurs as the ancient beings who are here to guide and protect, continue reading the old writings but never choose to make friends with one" Eldir told her with a smile. Skarra shook his head at the confusing explanation.

"What he's saying is that reality rarely follows up on the promises made in several thousand year old legends" the Centaur told her and shrugged.

[Corinthian]

"...What?"

 

Well, it was good to know he was dealing with idiots.

 

"I never said I had figured everything out. But I think you're being as much of a fool as you consider me being. Maybe I am being overly suspicious. It wouldn't be the first time. But ever think you're being a little overly trusting? Why has he not told us exactly what we're being paid? And what makes you so certain he didn't steal it from the Mines instead of the Forest? Besides, logically, if this were a Dwarven shipment, there'd be Dwarven guards accompanying him. Why were the bandits laying for us unless they knew we were coming, given what you said is true?"

 

He rolled his eyes. There was no point in continuing trying to point out the incredible series of coincidences and suspicious behaviors. They weren't going to swing for it in any case, and what did it matter? He didn't need their help to secure his 'payment'. Mithril was light enough, he could sneak a few ingots. The stuff was more precious than Gold.

[Rachel_Ewok]

Arivan's smile faded a bit, unfourtunately she seemed to have upset the centaur no matter what she had said. What had her brother told her about centaurs a long time ago? He had met one if she now recalled correctly, they could be arrogant and were sometimes an ornery bunch.

 

She smiled faintly at Eldir, "I suppse you are the one to talk with then sir." She grinned, "I know we are heading out soon... But when we do rest, Skarra says you are the storyteller... I have a bit of an obsession with stories you see... I learned so many when I was an elfling... and, well someday when... When the world is at peace, I will become a recorder and a historian... It is a bit of a dream for me." She bit her tongue, this was something else she did, she always ran her mouth off at improper times- she really had to learn when to not ramble and pour out all her thoughts on a single person.

[Corinthian]

Kadis dug around in his pack, eying the Elven girl while he did so. Her presence made him highly uncomfortable. Her sudden appearance and nonchalant 'I was following you' not only reminded him of the fabled arrogance of the Elves, but something else about her bothered him.

 

Oh.

 

A girl. Of course. Female warriors weren't uncommon among the Elves, but he had spent his entire life among the vastly different Human nations. He shook his head. It didn't especially matter on that front anyway, she was just as much of a difficulty as any other Elf.

 

He grabbed what he was looking for and pulled it out. Delightful. A cloth-wrapped bundle. Kadis unwrapped it, revealing a small slab of beef, heavily marbled with fat and covered in a thin layer of salt. He began brushing off the salt into a small leather pouch, then dug a small pan out of his pack and proceeded to cut the meat into small chunks.

 

A handful of dull, tedious steps later, a pan filled with beef stew simmered over the fire. Kadis looked at the rat one of the others had passed around earlier and shuddered. What kind of nightmarish hunter is he when the best he can bring down is a rat? How the hell did he get a rat out in the forest anyway? It'd be impressive if it wasn't such a waste.

 

He stirred the stew slowly, dropping a small amount of dried vegetables in there as he did so. Kadis wasn't exactly a master chef, but he had learned that well-fed men fight harder than the ones who just choked down what was left of a moldy loaf of bread.

 

Kadis lay down, listening to the simmer and trying to stop from touching his cracked rib.

 

I'm really getting too old for this.