Bron was glad to be out of the heat of the south, and his furs where much more comfortable. He stood silent, and listened as Lord Perros spoke. He could not help but overhear Ashara whisper to Fatimah with his keen ears. A hostage? Who? He doubted it would be Ashara...but did not nobles do that to their own children for peace? He shuffled his feet nervously, and shook his head. Best to stay silent and keep listening...

Ser Hassan let out a heavy sigh, as he read the letter several times over. "Perros this does not bode well at all," he handed the letter over to Lady Aislin his wife, who had a surprised look upon her face before looking up at her husband. "The blood of House Kaldor runs thick in the veins of the Knights of Raven's Roost, it seems the lives of my cousins are in Jeopardy." Hassan looked back at Perros, "If this continues, this could spell War for Dorne, Perros you know this. Many Houses are still recovering from the Targaryen Invasion, with foreign aid this is becoming a significant threat."

Mardox maybe Fatimah says stressing the last word. He was traveling, and we haven't had recent contact. Nothing confirmed.

Talk of hostages and war... it was hardly reassuring. "May I see the letter, father?" Ashara asks demurely. She was trying to be the dutiful daughter, but she was terribly eager to know what the letter said.
"It sounds like this is a poor time for us to be away from Drone." she says, worried. She smiles at Fatimah. "Well, things might not be so bad, then. I'll pray for his saftey." She's grateful to Fatimah for reassuring her.

"Well I'm unsure where to begin to find Mardax, we will have to regroup with a local lord if we are to do anything about it. We are in a foreign land and we can not simply march about as we see fit, it's unsafe and quite rude," said Hassan as he handed the letter back to Perros.

"I wish Wilfred had told us more. We'll need to speak to the locals if we hope to find out anything. And I don't know how friendly Stormlanders will be." Ashara adds. "I don't understand why House Steiner would turn on us. They've been our friends for centuries."

Bron kept listening, however he had little to add. It sounded like they needed someone who was expert in the wisdom of the street-and that was not him. He...'gathered' his information by scaring the living hell out of people. Even then that wisdom was in doubt. Still-it was better than nothing. "I could find out from the locals, My lady. As I am not an official member of any house, people may be more loose of tongue with me."

Lord Perros seems all too serious as he starts to walk off the shore and bark orders.

"We don't have time for all this, Hassan get the families ready we leave as soon as we can, .... we have to meet House Ashfield and Neumann at Blackhaven so make this happen."

"NO! Bron you get these men ready and the supplies off the ship, after that prepare the caravan at the high point off that hill" as Lord Perros points the way, "there by the road so we can head out immediately"

"Ladies don't get lost in this shit hole of a village and take guards with you we leave in 3 hours or better"

In reply to Caladin (msg # 13):

Bron's seemed a little worried by his Lordship's reaction. "Yes, my lord! At once!" He quickly hurried himself to do as ordered. He headed off to gather the men to start loading the supplies and readying the caravan.

In reply to Ashara Kolwyn (msg # 11):

I'll come and guard you, but I question my ability to help with scrounging up rumors. Fatimah says as she heads over to Ashara But I'll still provide whatever help I can.
OOC: With my Knowledge of three that would translate into a +1 bonus, IIRC?

Cyra listened to the hubbub around her and took a few steps back to melt into the din. Though the difficult parts of the language escaped her the general feelings were there. Mardax could be a hostage, but no one really knows; all they know is that threats have been raised and gone unchallenged, threats near to the hearts of these people. Despite her clothes she felt a chill go up her spine at the wind of the coming storm.

She watched as Lord Perros snapped and spoke from fear like searing copper, and she looked at both Fatima and Ashara. Cyra allowed the men to run around them and she stepped forward to speak with the two quietly. "These house, no one takes noble hostage unless, unless other roads are closed and starved. Find why and more weapon we have," she said softly to both, "Do think this hamlet have lavak, ah, healer, herbalist?"

Ashara turns to thank Bron and ask him to find out but is preempted by her father. She is a bit taken aback by his vehemence. Instead, she tells Bron "I thank you for the offer. Good luck with your duties" and gives him an apologetic look.

"But I- Yes, my lord father. We'll take guards, and we’ll be careful. We’ll try not to travel far" Ashara says meekly to her father. She'd like to argue but she's rarely seen her father in such a temper, and doesn’t dare.
She smiles at Fatimah. “Thank you, dear coz. You’re a lifesaver. And I always appreciate any help you can offer.”
"I really want to know why. House Steiner has been our allies for five centuries. Their reasons must be very important for them to be willing to throw away such an ancient alliance“ she replies to Cyra. “But I can’t imagine what those reasons might be.”
"If we need healing, we'd be better off asking Maester Archibald. A place this small might have someone who knows herbs, but no real Maester" she says to Cyra.
She smiles at the Cyra and Fatimah. “I'm sure we'll solve this if we ladies stick together.”

The heavy dark clouds rolls in and the storm winds are becoming stronger. It begins to rain as the wagons are being put together and readied from the ship. Some of the horse are agitated and restless making the preparation more difficult. The waves are starting to crash on shore and the shoreline is slowing disappearing as they become covered with hi waves and the tide. The keel boats are getting tossed around and soon the ship will need to set sail or get tossed into the shore. The sailors are falling on the wet deck and struggling to get this ready to set sail. None fall over but the storm is pretty bad and the ship will need to sail through it as there is no time to circle around.

The storm had actually circled around from inland and at sea has picked up more force. This is way these parts are called the Stormlands.

As the Storm began to break against the Shore, Hassan called over the wind. "Regardless, now is not the time to discuss this! We need to get indoors before the storm hardens!" Hassan raised his hood as his cloak whipped and snapped in the wind, and mounted his own horse along with the rest of the knights of House Ravenhowe. "Fatimah, ride next to me, the horses will be particularly skittish with the possibility of thunder." Where others had trouble mounting and spurring their horses Hassan seemed to have little trouble at all, it greatly calmed down as soon as it found him in the saddle. "Shhh," he cooed to the horse as he patted it's neck.

Cyra nodded seriously and was about to speak until the wind whipped at her face and clothes, she looked up at the sky and at the sea, concern written on her deep complexion. "Stormlands," she said almost to herself, "Well named."

Turning back to Fatimah and Ashara, and Ser Hassan that requested Fatimah's presence. "You popular in storm times. Speaks more than words ever could of character," Cyra smiled, despite it all, at the pink-haired warrior. Then she continued to both her and Ashara about the hatchling plan in her mind, "Not healer for us. If some is wrong, a healer is first to see. They tend to hurts of heart and bone. If we make excuse to see here, a woman need seek out other than Maester, or sea-ill," her smile was now like a conspirator, "We talk, we get lay of land. It is long shot, though I think many long shot are worth while." With that she gave Ashara a knowing look, the look of a dear friend who knows of a secret lover but will play coy when the need arrises. "Mayhaps they tend a hooded lordling on run."

The wind ripped at her again, and she hoped her hunch that this hovel of a town could weather its fair share of storms was right. The other advantage was that her voice wouldn't travel far and there was less risk of being overheard. Her now storm-swept hair, swirling sea-foam silks, and bright eyes made her look like some wild thing.

In reply to Ser Hassan Ravenhowe (msg # 19):

Bron had set about unloading the ship, and he and the men where fighting against the weather to move with speed. When the Knight calls for everyone to get indoors, Bron shakes his head. "I CANNOT! HIS LORDSHIP WANTS US READY TO DEPART AT ONCE! WE NEED TO GET OUR SUPPLIES AND BE READY TO MOVE, MY LORD!" He shouts back to Ser Ravenhowe even as he moves and very heavy looking box against the wind and rain. He had made sure Sundancer was indoors however, as he did not want the bird being exposed to the weather.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:24, Sat 25 Oct 2014.

Yes Father Fatimah yells over the storm. Sorry Ashara, I'll be next to my Father if you need me. Fatimah turns and jumps on to a horse.

After several hours of heavy rain fall the rain begins to slow down but not stop. The caravan is now ready and with the rain allowing travel Lord Perros orders everyone to ready, and leave at once.

The caravan stays a few days on a narrow pass and muddy trail and finally over the horizon Blackhaven can be seen. The Storm God must be pissed because it has been raining on and off with gray clouds for the whole trip. The men are covered in mud the horses are extremely tired having to pull and trot thought the mud and the men are in need of so recreation.

“It’s all right, coz, I’ll see you when things are less chilly.” Ashara says to Fatimah
She smiles conspiratorially at Cyra. “Good plan. I like the way you think.”
Ashara is often shivering in the unaccustomed cold and rain on their journey. But she tries her best to keep up the spirits of those who are marching, often singing, and she tries to be as cheerful as possible. It’s helped by the company of Cyra and Fatimah.  She also tries to spend some time with her mother and father, although knowing her father is busy she tries to avoid being a pest.
Although shivering in the wind and rain, Ashara keeps her cheerful face.“Blackhaven! I’m looking forward to seeing what it’s like” she says on catching sight of Blackhaven, trying to not sound relieved.

In reply to Ashara Kolwyn (msg # 24):

Bron, checked on everything else at least twice more. He needed to know it would be ready to move. Sure enough, it was. He then headed back to his Lordship's family to see if they where alright. He noticed Ashara shivering, much like the time he pulled her from the water. Cold never seemed to bother Bron-unless it was the cold from beyond the wall. Even then, normal clothes the summerlanders would where was enough for Bron to fight that off. He reached into his belonging, bringing out his bearskin fur armor he wore when in the north. The loinskin was good enough for the south.

He approached Ashara. "My Lady, if you would not mind..." Assuming she had no objections, he wrapped her in the bearskin armor-so that only her face could be seen in the bear hide 'helmet' of the furry open jaws. "That should keep you warm and dry until we reach Blackhaven."

Ashara smiles gratefully at Bron. "I don't mind. It's kind of you to think of me." she says. The armor is warm, and a tremendous relief.
She giggles "How silly do I look? A Dornish girl in northern armor..."
She adds seriously "Thank you so much, Bron. I'm really not used to this wind and weather, and I was miserable."
Ashara gets a mischievous glint in her eye. "I'd give you a kiss to say thank you, but the jaws on the helmet..." she teased quietly so only Bron could hear.

In reply to Ashara Kolwyn (msg # 26):

Bron laughs at the sight of her. He quickly borrows a shield, shinles it up quickly, and shows her it's reflective surface. The armor covers her completely, as it was designed for someone much larger. It even looks like the bear has devoured her. Save for her face, which is sticking out of its jaws.

When she offers the kiss, he grins, and raises the shield over her head to protect her from the rain. Then he undoes the strap which keeps the bear helmet on her head with his free hand, and lowers it down. "There you are..." He says quietly, and winks at her.

 However, he does seem to look at her breifly, as if seeing something for the first time. "I noticed...your hair. It somehow looks more beautiful when slightly damp. Like when we were in the water together. Fire that burns even under the sea..." He whispered back to her, gently touching her the wet strands. He shakes his head and takes his hand away. As if reproaching himself.

Ser Hassan's eyes darkened his horse clopped through the mud toward Lady Ashara and Bron Snow, "HOW DARE YOU!!!" Was heard shouted over the thunderstorm as the the butt of Hassan's spear collided with the back of the northern bastard.
Those who were watching particularly Ashara knew that the force of the blow was enough to greatly wound some men, were it not for the Northerner's hardy constitution he may have been.
"Let me ask you something boy!" Hassan was enveloped in fury, spittle flew from his mouth, "Do you know what I did to Targaryen men who defiled Dorne with their presence!? I had them drawn and quartered, and the pieces sent back to their lords via catapault!" Seething, he said "Think of what I will do to you if you dare defile my neice," with this he looked up and glared at Ashara. "And you are truly fortunate Bastard that you saved her life years ago" There had always been rumors of the dark things Hassan had men carry out during the war, but most people refused to believe them due to his reputation alone.

(Ooc-gonna give Ashara a chance to post before I act.)
This message was last edited by the player at 01:59, Tue 28 Oct 2014.

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