Daylight and the sight of the other group brought some relief. Cyrus was happy to add to the ranks. That happiness was short-lived as he saw the additional people traveling with Rook's former crew. He hoped Henry would judge these new captives in a consistent manner as he had the others but he was interested to hear about their captivity and if that tale had any implications.

Pipre appeared somewhat grumpy in the saddle, on Ragweed who led Thistle and they were both happy enough just that the pace wasn't demanding. She stood in her stirrups and leaned on Ragweed's old, but still plenty strong neck as she saw the other group. It took only a sparse few moments of inspection before realizing who it was and calling to the others to guide the wagon and group to meet up with the other band.

Once the two groups converged Pipre called out across the scant remaining yards, "Ho there, look who we found; new recruits! They want to know when we can start building a tavern. Blackjack loves cleaning mugs and Lolli makes a mean griddle cake." As the distance closes fully she looks the others over, "How was your travel? As unexciting as our own, I hope?" She gets off the old, dusty gelding that is her mount and to the new members of Henry's charter she nods and introduces herself, "Pipre. Alchemist."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:36, Wed 25 May 2016.

The young man didn't reply to anything else after closing his eyes. Apparently he was able to find sleep quickly. He woke for the last two watches, regardless of who was up, and found a quiet place to watch the sun rise and pray.

He dons his jacket and cloak when they set out to ride, keeping his bow in hand and holding the reins in his other. They were supposed to meet up with the others, but he knew there was a chance the people they met would be dangerous.

When the other group, people he recognized, appeared in the distance, Rook sat up in the saddle and raised his bow in greeting. "That's them, ahead. Looks like they took prisoners. I honestly thought there would be more killing."

He urged his mount to move more quickly towards them. "Yes, actually. Well, mine. They had some trouble." His face fell slightly as he remembered. "Moto took off after y'all left. He got killed by wolves. But on the good side, Henry didn't sentence anyone to death. How, uh," He paused, looking over at the wagon and the people accompanying it. "How many have you captured?"

"Ah, Moto. Killed by wolves, huh? Yeah, they can be pretty vicious if they overwhelm you. Did we ever figure out what it was he said to Svetlana? I don't like hearing that he died, but for some reason I feel like him leaving was the smart thing to do." She paused in reflection and then was relieved when Rook broke the quiet again. "Right, they surrendered, more or less. We had one guy run off in the night but after Kressle, the second boss to the Stag Lord, abandoned them, well. That certainly doesn't sit right. You kind of expect your leader to not be so coarse with those who follow them, right? Bai was squeamish about leaving them their weapons but I suppose she can tell you all about that." Pipre seemed somehow excited, her usual low, smoky tone perhaps a bit higher and more vibrant. "I'm glad to hear Henry was sensible."

Aris'ta shared her watch alone and in silence, which was the way she preferred it. At some point, she had found sleep, and at some point she had woken and as Rook had guessed, she was not in a fair temper. Oh, she didn't hoot or howl at anyone, but she had gone back to brooding. For her part, the trip down path had been a silent one and the slow and steady arrival of more strangers made the decision to stay at the back of the group a good one.

At least these were friend and not foe and she relaxed enough to let her horse stop when they were near and allow her gloved hands to fold in front of her as she watched the exchanges. Not one of many words, she merely listened to the happenings, always the keen observer.

Bai stayed quiet thinking on what Borric had said, he had made a point, though he was a child in his story, these bandits were adults, they'd made their choices as adults. Still, there must have been wisdom in his words, it bore more contemplation. She nodded politely at the group as they met. She took a moment or two looking at each of the new members, no doubt they were the second wave that Henry had talked about.

"I regret having to meet you all under these settings, I am Bai Kao, and I look forward to getting to know you all better back at Oleg's. As Pipre said I felt it was better to err on the side of caution with our..." she paused, looking for a word, "traveling companions." She looked in Rook's direction, politely correcting the young man, "Master Sanderson, they came on their own accord and with the exception of a few misunderstandings, they have been most cordial. They aren't prisoners, they have come to petition Mr de la Maistre to pardon them for their previous banditry."

Zoarh gets a decent night's rest.  She had grow accustomed to sleeping outdoors before leaving home and camp wasn't much different.  Rising early to meditate she spotted Rook at his morning prayers.  She gave him a silent nod, unsure if he even saw.  It would have been rude to disrupt him, so she sat far enough away so as not to disturb him and began her own morning routine.

Murdock, Zorah's red fox, was cautious of the newcomers, but Zorah applied her usual exuberance.  "Great to meet you all.  I'm Zorah.  This is Puck and Murdock"  She pats her horse and points to the fox respectively.  "And Wilson is keeping a birdseye view."  Zorah adds pointing to a hawk circling above.  "I brought plenty of friends, so it only makes sense for you to bring some of your own."

"Oh," Pipre says, not realizing they were introducing their animals. "Well the gelding there is Ragweed and the completely nonplussed yak is Thistle." She gestures to the horse and yak in turn and then looks back to the others, tucking her thumbs into the wide belt slung low on her hips. "Well, we'll have plenty of time to acquaint ourselves later. What do you say we head back to Oleg's?" She swings back up onto Ragweed's saddle.

During travel, as usual, Pipre would be keeping an eye out for alchemically useful plants.

Rook looks at Bai, eyebrows knit together. "If they aren't prisoners, why do you have their weapons? And why did a pair of them flee?" He shifted in the saddle, putting his bow away to take the reins with both hands. "Whether they came of their own accord or not, they're still guilty of stealing under threat of violence from a family. Those are their choices. They're not our traveling companions, they're our responsibility. We aren't letting them go and we're taking them to trial. That's a prisoner. Keeping that in perspective would benefit our safety."

He turned his horse around to begin heading back the way they just came, chewing the inside of his lip as he did so. Something he'd heard before was gnawing at him. "Pipre, you mentioned a Stag Lord. Who is that?"

Valoria stayed quiet for the rest of the night and much of the morning. Instead, she read her tome during the morning and followed along. As they walked, she gave a glace at the rest of the group as they appeared. Although, she did respond in kind to Pipre.  “Valoria, wizard.” She gave Pipre a questionable look at the way she was dressed. They where now in a large group and  Valoria stayed close to her cousin and to Cyrus who she viewed as a fellow noble in exile. Still, she listened to every word that was spoke as they moved along. A bored look settling in her eyes.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:12, Thu 26 May 2016.

Aris'ta eyed the newcomers as she turned her horse and readied to return. She slowed the animal, letting most of the group pass her up. Holding the reigns in one hand, she reached a hand to rub the back of her neck before hiding a yawn. Lack of sleep was catching up to her and the bright sky was making holding her eyes open even less rewarding then usual. She listened to the chatter about her, though watching the open land to either side.

The tension from the night before was still clearly present. Cyrus eased in his saddle a bit after hearing Rook lecture his previous traveling companions. Rook was acting like many he'd met before in court, very opinionated about how things should be done regardless of the context in which they were happening. Cyrus thought Rook's indictment of the bandits was well founded but he wasn't sure what more the others could have done to secure the bandits shy of chaining them up behind a wagon, an act that would have greatly slowed things down. He was curious about the Stag Lord, Henry would want to know more about anyone claiming to be a Lord, although the way it was said made it seem very tongue-in-cheek. He found these bandits to be more interesting than he'd originally thought. They were survivors in a land that had already proven itself harsh.

Hoping to ease some of his own groups' tension, Cyrus spoke up and introduced himself, "It is a pleasure to meet you all. I am Cyrus Ondari, Slayer of Wolves, Builder of Fires. I suggest we make our way back to Oleg's but I would like to know more of this Stag Lord, perhaps there will be need for a renewed hunt."

"Yes, if we wish to break the hold of banditry over this area the Stag Lord will necessarily be our target. He took over around six months ago, I don't actually know too much about him besides that he is not a stag and probably not a proper lord-- and that I hate him. He rose to power and claimed a stronghold from which he now controls most, if not all, bandit activity in this swath of land," she explains, in her smoky tone, during the trip.

Zorah excitedly introduced herself, Murdock, Puck, Wilson, and even a small hedgehog she had hiding in a belt pouch to the yak.  She spent most of the trip back to Oleg's at the back of the group with the slow moving creature.  Most of the time was spent asking it questions as if she expected a response.  At one point she was heard to call up to those at the front, "He's wonderful!"

"Zorah, Valoria, Cyrus, it's a pleasure to meet you all." She looked back at the elven woman who'd not introduced herself and then gave a look of genuine concern towards the three newcomers which meant to imply There's nothing wrong, is there? Bai tapped on Jack's side, "I need to have a word with Master Sanderson in private, do you mind" Despite her polite tone, she gave him a look that implied she wasn't asking him to dismount their shared horse, but rather that he had to do it.

After he'd gotten off, Bai rode close to Rook, giving him a look that implied that maybe the pair should ride a little farther from the group. Once the pair was a fair distance from anyone she spoke to him in a hushed tone.

From her place, Aris'ta watched, raising a brow slightly from beneath her cloak as she watched one of the newcomers with slight interest as they rode ahead some. This was something she expected and understood. The glance her way was not overtly revealing, but it was best for one in her experience to keep a watchful eye. Danger was a constant companion in her world. A smile crooked on her lips, up to one angle and she forced her gaze elsewhere. Absently, she rubbed at the back of her left hand, her mouth falling flat.

"Aris'ta." she said after the pair were out ahead. "And I'm only here as the hired help." she added, cynically.

Pipre calls back to Zorah with a grin, "Thank you, Zorah, she's been a loyal companion."

She rolls her eyes slightly as Bai takes Rook off to the side. She doesn't seem very concerned, more dismissive before Aris'ta chimes in with her name. "Don't worry about them all," Pipre says, gesturing vaguely in the direction Rook and Bai went off in with a bottle in one hand, the pale jade liquid sloshing around with sediment. "They're just hired help, too. We all are. Even the wizards with scrunched up faces." She lifted the bottle, her lips curling to the side to show the open line of her teeth. After a decent quaff she wipes her mouth with her sleeve and offers the bottle to Aris'ta. "But at the end of the day we're a group now, so if you have anything particular to offer the group there's no need to be coy about it. Speaking of which--" She turns in her saddle to address the aforementioned wizard with the scrunched up face, "Say, know any cool spells?"

Looking as though she just offended a queen Zorah's eyes grow big and she blushes a little.  "I'm... so... sorry."  She strokes the yak's fur as she apologizes.  "Of course, she is wonderful."  Digging in the backpack her horse, Puck, is carrying Zorah retrieves an old apple she had saved from The Happy Drover.  She offers it to Thistle as a way to make amends.

Andalon had taken his turn on watch during the night the same as everyone else but rose easily enough when the camp awoke. He spent the required period in prayer before breaking his fast and readied himself for travel with the rest of the group.

Meeting up with the other group on the road came as a welcome surprise and he paid attention to the names of new friends and former foes as the introductions were made. He grinned at Aris'ta's description of her role and Pipre's response.

"Andalon de Lebeda, cleric of Abadar" he introduced himself. "Valoria and I are cousins. But Pipre has put her finger on the most important point there; we are all hired help at this stage and all have the same chance to show our potential in the days ahead. I look forward to getting to know you all better during our time together."

"It's an insult to Erastil that someone like him is known by that title. If he's behind all of this, I'd like to make him my next goal. I think getting some knowledge about him after the trial would help with that." The chewing continued as his eyes lost focus while he thought quietly about what would need to be done next. He looked from the distance over to Bai as she rode up beside him. The change in riders surprised him briefly and then he looked around until he remembered hearing what she'd said. He urged his horse after her, brows coming together again as he tried to discern what she needed to speak about.

When she slowed her horse, he matched her pace, looking over his shoulder at the group behind them. The young man turned his attention to her and listened intently, still chewing away. He finally spoke, gesturing briefly with a hand holding up one finger.

With a deep rooted sigh that stretched all the way to her toes, she lifted the hood of her cloak and pulled it back. Wincing slightly and giving the sun a rather pointed look before she took in the newcomers with more clarity. Though she kept a stray glance to the pair a ways off, she seemed to have relaxed a small amount in part due to Pipre's ease of manner.

"I can assure you there is nothing coy about my mannerism. I find it easier to feign dislike for the company before they ease into the idea of disliking me." Honesty was clearly a strong suit, although her methods of sharing it with others left more than a little to be desired. "If you wish to consider that a deflection or fault of character you are free to do so, but it is one that has kept me alive and roughly unharmed among more common society." Flexing her hand on the reins, she tried to relax.

With  so many of you to help with the wagon when it gets stuck, the journey back to Oleg's goes more smoothly, although you still travel more slowly that you would without it and it is almost nightfall by the time you get back to Oleg's.



OOC: All back to thread:   3b - Settling into Oleg's. Although you are welcome to finish off any outstanding conversations, tidy up actions etc in here if you want to.

BTW - Nice meeting posts guys  :)

Valoria lifted an eyebrow at Pipre question. “I have many cool spells you could say. Furthermore, I did not have a scrunched face. More of a surprised face due to your...unorthodox attire.” Valoria paused and then continued. “You say your an Alchemist, who did you study under? I did not expect to met another fellow academic out here in the wilds.”

By now she has leaned back against the pack on the back of Ragweed's saddle with one leg crossed casually over the top of the horse's withers. "I studied under, hmm-- duress," she says with a grin.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 19:48, Fri 27 May 2016.

Cyrus had been listening to the two magic users speak. Though he had no skill with the arcane, he found the power they wielded interesting to say the least. Battlefields were turned by a few strategically placed, well trained magic users. Much like the divine power wielded by Andalon, Cyrus did not understand it, but he appreciated it nonetheless.

He chuckled at Pipre's joke and found himself once again thinking of his own martial training with the sword and shield fondly despite the hardship, duress even he felt in the midst of it. Hard work had lead him here. Well hard work and the betrayal of his parents, but the hard work is what allowed him to endure that betrayal and find a new life.

"It's Pipre, isn't it? What did that duress empower you to create? Someone made mention of explosives during one of your first encounters, do you know any other useful concoctions?"