Arc 13 interlude 3: Vanishing Visitations
Vanishing Visitations
Tenth Day of Elnu-Hamba (Elnu Descendent), 1349 A. L. (After Landfall)
Wayfarer's Respite
Few folk took the long winding road along the coast and not of an honest sort, smugglers who brought their boats ashore in hidden places under moonless nights, sneaks and ne'er do wells as well as in these days spies from the south, or at least so the rumor flew among the fisher folk. Though perhaps if one was to pay mind to what happened to many of those travelers along ill traveled roads one might have a reason to doubt them and doubt the stories also of how they came by the tickets or stone and wood and amber and pelts of every sort. The woods could ba a dangerous place, even this close to Orinilu.
So it was hardly a surprise that when a new lord came and took land in the old Koire lands many would seek their door to see how safe a hosting they might have under the odd green banner. At first there was wariness, Hugh had no desire to risk his master's ire letting just any vagabond sup and rest under his roof, but as the days drew long and the sweet smells of spring banished some the chill that had come before he started to reconsider. After all had they not come alone strangers in a strange land? Was it not fair in the eyes of Heaven to feed the hungry and clothe the naked? There was plenty of food... well there was plenty of fish and truth be told there were only so many ways one could cook fish before becoming toughly sick of it and the strangers had some food in their packs and they had tales to tell and mead to drink.
On that particular eve while their lord was still tangled in the affairs of dead kings and daemons the eyes of many were drawn by the sight of one particular traveler astride a tall shaggy elk, a woman dressed in gold saffron cloth with a wreath of silver on her brow. Of face and form she was clearly from south of the sea, mayhap even south of Agber where they had heard the great Empires of this new world day, but she did not speak to the guards curtly or with command, instead asking for aid... and promising a reward for sanctuary.
Looking down from the wall Hugh could tell two things about her and her company, first that they had once been of fine stock with curving swords almost as fair as that of Ziku and breastplates of polished bronze also.. and second that they had seen better days. Battered they all were and with that weary look of men who had walked as far as they were able. Strange it was also to see such company with a beast of the north plains.
"Trouble is on their heels..." he mussed into his beard, not having bothered to shave for months now and instead starting sort of knot it up, none of those bells and beads, but it did help keep it out of the way more
"So what do you think?" Glaser asked. "Let 'em in or leave 'em out?"
"Let's see what they can pay," the elder of the men at arms replied.
***
The first sign of trouble cametwo days later when another company came to their gates, this time locals, warriors, thugs you might as well call them sworn to the Purple in boiled leather and bearing the weighty maces for which they were so feared in Farshore. They were following thieves they claimed, a woman who had stolen a precious necklace from their own clan head. Which was when Henri decided to smile like a fool at the though of some effete prince bawling for his jewels. That got the whole tower up in arms at the row and by the time they had a chance to look for the strangers all of them were seemingly gone. So the head purple, a man called Abir the Noose, for reasons that would be best left unspoken demanded that the Fellowship pay them the price of the necklace because they had 'lost them the trail'
Hugh had little choice but to tell them to pound sand and shit rocks since he didn't have the silver for that even if he were inclined to pay... though he would have probably slept better if on the day after than when the Purples had gone down towards Orinilu he had not found in the very room that had been given to the lady a small pile of pearls and a note on a clay tablet that none of them could read.
"I think we just got paid for helping in a fucking robbery," Henri spat, though he was sweating more than the mild spring weather would account for, more of fear than anger.
"Pity we don't know what it says..." Hugh sighed. "Double watch for the week."
OOC: Rolls back home are interesting to say the least. Not yet edited.
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