Re: A Journey to the Heart of Darkness
Brashear listens intently as the conversation continues with one after another of the group asking for item after item. Brashear is at first surprised, but attempts to mount a reasonable refusal to Giles when he asks for a whole host of horses. Just as quickly however, he is cut off by Rondald asking for armory kits and Finn asking for a cart with which to pull all their supplies. Despite his good nature, it is easy to tell that Brashear is getting flustered. His jawbones clench slightly as his eyes bulge darting from person to person, unsure of who to answer first.
However, it is Terri who takes the moment to speak next, her voice soft as she looks directly to the Captain. "Please sir, we want this mission to be as successful as you do. We are just trying to think of things that might be helpful. We know we are all at the end of the whip here but if we don't ask for help then it is our own fault if we don't get it..." Terri smiles softly and the anger in Brashear's face melts away in a moment.
"You are right of course." The captain sighs. "I wish I could give you much more, I really do but I have my own men to think about as well. I'll let you take another horse from the stables for your supplies, and I'll talk to Rudyard, perhaps I can buy his cart outright before he leaves - he won't need to be taking anything back anyway. As for the fletching kit, I'm afraid I have no room to budge. Our armory has only a single set of equipment and it is imperative that we keep our own capability."
Brashear looks across the small group and smiles. "The best of luck to all of you, really. I will keep petitioning for more leeway in this issue and send assistance if I can do so. But as for now I, and the rest of Megalos, are counting on you."
The group does not tarry overlong. It takes some hour or so for Brashear to negotiate with Rudyard to procure his cart, for the group to check out a fortnight's worth of rations from the stocks along with a small quantity of firewood (for Tmentions how meager the flora is on the plains) and a fifty pound bag of grain for the horses before they start to actually make their way from the fort. From the stables, the group checks out both Cutlass and another horse, Firebrand, this one a roan quarter horse with a three inch blaze running straight down his face. There is little ceremony as the small group departs, two columns followed by the small cart driven by Finn, who seems to be the only one with much experience working with animals apart from sitting atop them. Magnus is happy to find that the horses do not too much mind his scent, though firebrand snorts grumpily when he approaches too closely.
The thin, rolling hills of the plains are not overly difficult for the cart, though the group finds that their progress is significantly slower than the prepared surface of the path and the five miles southeast to the river passes in a painfully slow two and a half hours.
The Makarem sprawls out in front of them, its waters deceptively calm as little more than the pull of the water along the banks is visible to our adventurers. Giles is quick to mention that though the waters are not turbulent, the current is swift, and on the two occasions he has made to cross it, the waters have been between chest deep to well over his head.
"Well, I suppose it's a good thing I've spent so much time on a ship!" Terri interjects pleasantly. "This shouldn't be too hard to swim across, though I wonder how well the cart is going to do..."
OOC: It is 1400 on the 18th of March. I have put together a thread for group loot so I can just copy and paste things there rather and try and backtrack after the fact when things are getting split up. If any of you guys want to have some of your equipment on the cart than let me know and I will remove it from your character sheet and put it in the group loot thread. I'm going to put some house rules together for traveling and other odds and ends that should be posted in the near future. As it has been over a month since I looked at any of this, please QA that all of the equipment is correct. If I have missed any equipment you guys were hoping on taking, please let me know asap so I can add it. I won't add things once we are in the thick of the adventure. Thanks again everyone for the patience.