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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nonlethal Force" data-source="post: 3026327" data-attributes="member: 35788">Chapter Eight: THE PATH OF THE UNSEEINGOn account of their anxiousness, the next morning came upon the resting party very quickly.  Quests were always fun and exciting; but the element of danger could not be overlooked even from the greatest perspective of excitement.  The horses were brought out by the stable master at sunrise and several stable hands began to brush them down, blanket and saddle the horses, and prepare the saddlebags with a week’s worth of supplies.  Each of the saddlebags would contain two days rations for the horses since it would be assumed that the horses would be tended at the night and allowed to graze on the land during rests.  Unless the party wanted to survive upon berries, no such assumption could be made for their sake.Inside the villa’s main housing structure Semeion woke with a start.  His subconscious had kept him jumpy all night.  His dreams were erratic and as he woke his sheets had the slightly damp feeling of being sweated upon throughout the night.  Yet, it was not the dampness of the sheets that had startled him.  As he slept he had felt a presence come near him.  As it drew close enough to alarm his subconscious Semeion woke quickly and sat up.  He looked up as he sucked in a deep breath and saw that it was Charis who was standing over him.Charis spoke as she sat down beside him.  “I’m a bit worried, Semeion.”  She ignored the fact that she had startled him out of his sleep.  “We’re heading back into my homeland and I’m not entirely sure this is a good idea.”Semeion calmed himself as soon as he realized he was safe and Charis was in need of his support.  It seemed so long ago since they had met even though it had been a simple three months.  He reached up to stroke Charis’ face with the back of his hand before sitting up in bed.  “You’ve no more reason to worry than the rest of us, Charis.  We’re in this together and by this point I’m sure anyone working for your dragon father would just as soon kill any one of us without preference.”Charis smiled.  She could tell by Semeion’s comment that he wasn’t quite awake.  He meant well, at least.  “I just have a feeling that so much of this is riding upon my shoulders.  So much of this quest depends upon me.  I am the old Provenience.  Druff used to respect my opinion and now who knows what will happen?  And that assumes that he is alive!  Rhema has so many expectations in regard to the freedom for all these people, as well as for that egg!  I wish Brandt had never spoken of it.  To attempt to bring back such a prize is mere foolishness!”Semeion blinked a few times, trying to calm himself further and bring his mind into being fully awake.  “It’s alright, Charis.  Nobody is expecting anything special from you in regard to your people.  And we’ll cross the bridge of what to do about the egg when we get there.  You, Ischarus, and I all know the dangers.  If it cannot be done, then we’ll outnumber Rhema.  But from this side of the mountains all she can see is the opportunity.  She can’t see any of the danger because she doesn’t know what the real danger is from either life or study.  You and Ischarus know what dragons are capable of on account of your life experience.  I know their dangers from my life and from studying them.  She doesn’t have any of that.  She only has the realization of how much a dragon egg would bring in profit.”Charis sighed softly, having heard these words from Semeion several times before.  Semeion could tell from her sigh that she knew his counsel was good, but she also wished there was something more concrete that she could do about it.Semeion began to speak before Charis could dwell too much on her feelings again.  “Listen, Charis.  You’ll feel better once we are actually on our way to Quehalost.  I felt the same things my first trip.  The morning before we actually left I wondered what I was getting myself into and whether or not I’d even come back.  If I had listened to those feelings I would have never met you.”Semeion tossed back the sheets, exposing nearly all of his pale white skin.  His shorts covered a small percentage of the pasty white skin, but Charis smirked as his skin so obviously clashed with her own lightly tanned skin.  Semeion spent so much of his time inside studying that the sun often went days without directly falling upon his skin.  Once Semeion indicated that he was ready to get out of bed, Charis rose and walked to the door to allow him to change in peace.  When she reached the door she turned around and spoke before closing it.  “I’ll be out with the horses.  They stable master has been prepping them for almost an hour now.”Semeion smiled once he was alone.  He knew that meant Ischarus had been up for at least that long and ready to go.  There was little doubt that Charis had awoken about the same time.  Only time would tell if Rhema or Semeion would be the last out to the horses.  He quickly changed into his traveling cloak and tucked his traveling book of arcane writings into a pocket on the inside of the same cloak.  He grabbed his new rapier and fastened it to his waist.  He looked around the room to make sure he hadn’t left anything behind before he picked up his shoulder pack and headed outside.As Semeion arrived near where the horses were being tended he saw that he was indeed the last one to be ready.  Ischarus had mounted Elistra the moment he saw Semeion coming out of the villa’s front door.  A smile of anticipation had crossed his face.  Semeion returned the smile.  He knew that Ischarus loved the journey from Huetown into Quehalost.  “I suppose that since I am the last I am holding you all up, then?”Rhema shook her head slightly.  “Don’t worry about it.  We only need to get Reignsburg in a few days and then get to Scarhaus the next.  It’ll take us a while to make that journey anyway.  We might as well go by way of a leisurely pace rather than hustle in the beginning while we’re safe.  Once we get to the Tongra-Quehalost mountain range we’ll be moving with enough haste as it is.  There is no need to wear ourselves out before then.”As Rhema spoke, she mounted Shauvry.  Charis followed suit and with a significant amount of grace mounted Abijou.  Semeion likewise took Thana from the stable hand and rose to a sitting position atop her back.  Rhema pulled Shauvry into the lead and the foursome began to head down the path leading away from the villa.  As was her custom upon reaching the end of the path, Rhema turned and looked back upon the happy dwelling place of her family.  Each time that she left here headed for Quehalost she wondered if it would be her last or if she would once again return with new refugees.The trip to Reignsburg passed by rather uneventfully, although there were a few instances where Charis swore that she felt as though they were being trailed.  However, each time she had the feeling there was no means of proving that her intuition was right.  Eventually Charis simply decided that her nerves were getting the better of her and she ignored the suspicion.  She would depend upon the strengths of the others rather than succumbing to her own paranoia.  Perhaps what bothered her more than anything else was that she was already experiencing paranoia and they were not even in Quehalost yet.When they were in Reignsburg the foursome easily found the Cachinnating Roadhouse.  They bought a stay for the night for both themselves and their horses from Archis.  Once they were inside the inn and their evening arrangements settled, Ischarus treated the foursome to a large helping of Archis’ famous potatoes.  As usual, Rhema enjoyed herself thoroughly on the feast of her favorite food along the route.  Charis didn’t seem to enjoy the food as much as her companions.  She slowly picked at her food while Ischarus and Semeion found themselves reminiscing about the last time they were in town headed to Quehalost.The next day the party woke to find that the skies had opened up and produced a steady stream of rain.  Visibility was poor and the rain showed no signs of letting up for the entire day.  Since they did not want to pay for another day in the inn and lose a day of travel, the foursome decided to head out into the rain anyway.  At least they could be comforted at the fact that they were headed perpendicular to the storm.  The storm was coming out of the west and there could be little doubt in the fact that the storm clouds were riding the mountains on its southern edge.  They were headed due south to Scarhaus and the rain passed over them without forcing the party to head into the wind too much.  The worst part of the trip besides getting wet was the realization that the reduced visibility made them much more susceptible to highwaymen.  Fortunately the day trip from Reignsburg to Scarhaus passed by uneventfully.  Well after they were soaked to the skin they arrived in Scarhaus and rested comfortably in Rapheus’ inn.  They had arrived too late in the day for Rhema to see young Mardak, however.  The rain had slowed them enough that their arrival was later than normal.  Hopefully there would be time on the return trip to stop and visit with Mardak.The following morning brought little sunshine into the land.  The rain had stopped, but the long rain from the night before meant that a thick fog had risen from the woods and across the road.  The sky was deep with clouds and the likelihood of the sun burning the fog off before noon was minimal.  In spite of the fog, the party saddled up and headed into Quehalost.  They left their last friendly port behind them and turned to where they knew the mountains lay beyond the thick fog.  The fog was so thick that even this close to the looming mountains they could not be seen.Charis felt better about life with the fog, however.  With the presence of the fog she was able to quite distinctly know that they were indeed being followed.  The inability of their tail to use visual cues meant that whoever was following them had to stay within earshot in order to make sure that they did not lose the party.  Once the tail remained in earshot for long enough to give his presence away on several occasions Charis was able to determine for certain that they were not alone.Charis spoke softly once she brought Abijou to a trot to catch up to Ischarus in the second position.  “I’ve heard twigs snapping behind us, Ischarus.”  Semeion spurred Thana into a trot in order to maintain the small distance between himself and Charis as she moved forward.  Once he had made up the distance he could see Ischarus raise two of his left fingers to his mouth and let out a quick shrill whistle.  Up ahead, he could tell that Rhema had slowed her pace in response to the whistle.  Rhema still continued forward after hearing the call from Ischarus, but she now did so at a more conservative pace.  With the reduced speed the horses instinctively closed ranks into a much tighter formation.  It was not long before Ischarus and Charis realized that they would not be disappointed this morning.Three figures emerged out of the fog and threatened the foursome once their horses had slowed down to a walk.  Two of the figures came towards them from the front while a third figure slinked out of the woods behind the party.  The foursome knew that their horses were not necessarily trained for combat so in a flash they voluntarily gave up their advantage on horseback and slipped out of the saddle.  They drew their weapons and waited for the highwaymen to make the first move.  The three highwaymen spread out to form a rough triangle around the party and it became clear that there would be no retreat or diplomacy as an attempt to get out of this situation.  As the highwaymen formed their triangle around the party, the foursome formed a circled around their horses.  Semeion and Rhema took positions opposite each other leaving Charis and Ischarus to be opposite as well.[Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section]Chapter Eight: THE PATH OF THE UNSEEINGOn account of their anxiousness, the next morning came upon the resting party very quickly. Quests were always fun and exciting; but the element of danger could not be overlooked even from the greatest perspective of excitement. The horses were brought out by the stable master at sunrise and several stable hands began to brush them down, blanket and saddle the horses, and prepare the saddlebags with a week’s worth of supplies. Each of the saddlebags would contain two days rations for the horses since it would be assumed that the horses would be tended at the night and allowed to graze on the land during rests. Unless the party wanted to survive upon berries, no such assumption could be made for their sake.Inside the villa’s main housing structure Semeion woke with a start. His subconscious had kept him jumpy all night. His dreams were erratic and as he woke his sheets had the slightly damp feeling of being sweated upon throughout the night. Yet, it was not the dampness of the sheets that had startled him. As he slept he had felt a presence come near him. As it drew close enough to alarm his subconscious Semeion woke quickly and sat up. He looked up as he sucked in a deep breath and saw that it was Charis who was standing over him.Charis spoke as she sat down beside him. “I’m a bit worried, Semeion.” She ignored the fact that she had startled him out of his sleep. “We’re heading back into my homeland and I’m not entirely sure this is a good idea.”Semeion calmed himself as soon as he realized he was safe and Charis was in need of his support. It seemed so long ago since they had met even though it had been a simple three months. He reached up to stroke Charis’ face with the back of his hand before sitting up in bed. “You’ve no more reason to worry than the rest of us, Charis. We’re in this together and by this point I’m sure anyone working for your dragon father would just as soon kill any one of us without preference.”Charis smiled. She could tell by Semeion’s comment that he wasn’t quite awake. He meant well, at least. “I just have a feeling that so much of this is riding upon my shoulders. So much of this quest depends upon me. I am the old Provenience. Druff used to respect my opinion and now who knows what will happen? And that assumes that he is alive! Rhema has so many expectations in regard to the freedom for all these people, as well as for that egg! I wish Brandt had never spoken of it. To attempt to bring back such a prize is mere foolishness!”Semeion blinked a few times, trying to calm himself further and bring his mind into being fully awake. “It’s alright, Charis. Nobody is expecting anything special from you in regard to your people. And we’ll cross the bridge of what to do about the egg when we get there. You, Ischarus, and I all know the dangers. If it cannot be done, then we’ll outnumber Rhema. But from this side of the mountains all she can see is the opportunity. She can’t see any of the danger because she doesn’t know what the real danger is from either life or study. You and Ischarus know what dragons are capable of on account of your life experience. I know their dangers from my life and from studying them. She doesn’t have any of that. She only has the realization of how much a dragon egg would bring in profit.”Charis sighed softly, having heard these words from Semeion several times before. Semeion could tell from her sigh that she knew his counsel was good, but she also wished there was something more concrete that she could do about it.Semeion began to speak before Charis could dwell too much on her feelings again. “Listen, Charis. You’ll feel better once we are actually on our way to Quehalost. I felt the same things my first trip. The morning before we actually left I wondered what I was getting myself into and whether or not I’d even come back. If I had listened to those feelings I would have never met you.”Semeion tossed back the sheets, exposing nearly all of his pale white skin. His shorts covered a small percentage of the pasty white skin, but Charis smirked as his skin so obviously clashed with her own lightly tanned skin. Semeion spent so much of his time inside studying that the sun often went days without directly falling upon his skin. Once Semeion indicated that he was ready to get out of bed, Charis rose and walked to the door to allow him to change in peace. When she reached the door she turned around and spoke before closing it. “I’ll be out with the horses. They stable master has been prepping them for almost an hour now.”Semeion smiled once he was alone. He knew that meant Ischarus had been up for at least that long and ready to go. There was little doubt that Charis had awoken about the same time. Only time would tell if Rhema or Semeion would be the last out to the horses. He quickly changed into his traveling cloak and tucked his traveling book of arcane writings into a pocket on the inside of the same cloak. He grabbed his new rapier and fastened it to his waist. He looked around the room to make sure he hadn’t left anything behind before he picked up his shoulder pack and headed outside.As Semeion arrived near where the horses were being tended he saw that he was indeed the last one to be ready. Ischarus had mounted Elistra the moment he saw Semeion coming out of the villa’s front door. A smile of anticipation had crossed his face. Semeion returned the smile. He knew that Ischarus loved the journey from Huetown into Quehalost. “I suppose that since I am the last I am holding you all up, then?”Rhema shook her head slightly. “Don’t worry about it. We only need to get Reignsburg in a few days and then get to Scarhaus the next. It’ll take us a while to make that journey anyway. We might as well go by way of a leisurely pace rather than hustle in the beginning while we’re safe. Once we get to the Tongra-Quehalost mountain range we’ll be moving with enough haste as it is. There is no need to wear ourselves out before then.”As Rhema spoke, she mounted Shauvry. Charis followed suit and with a significant amount of grace mounted Abijou. Semeion likewise took Thana from the stable hand and rose to a sitting position atop her back. Rhema pulled Shauvry into the lead and the foursome began to head down the path leading away from the villa. As was her custom upon reaching the end of the path, Rhema turned and looked back upon the happy dwelling place of her family. Each time that she left here headed for Quehalost she wondered if it would be her last or if she would once again return with new refugees.The trip to Reignsburg passed by rather uneventfully, although there were a few instances where Charis swore that she felt as though they were being trailed. However, each time she had the feeling there was no means of proving that her intuition was right. Eventually Charis simply decided that her nerves were getting the better of her and she ignored the suspicion. She would depend upon the strengths of the others rather than succumbing to her own paranoia. Perhaps what bothered her more than anything else was that she was already experiencing paranoia and they were not even in Quehalost yet.When they were in Reignsburg the foursome easily found the Cachinnating Roadhouse. They bought a stay for the night for both themselves and their horses from Archis. Once they were inside the inn and their evening arrangements settled, Ischarus treated the foursome to a large helping of Archis’ famous potatoes. As usual, Rhema enjoyed herself thoroughly on the feast of her favorite food along the route. Charis didn’t seem to enjoy the food as much as her companions. She slowly picked at her food while Ischarus and Semeion found themselves reminiscing about the last time they were in town headed to Quehalost.The next day the party woke to find that the skies had opened up and produced a steady stream of rain. Visibility was poor and the rain showed no signs of letting up for the entire day. Since they did not want to pay for another day in the inn and lose a day of travel, the foursome decided to head out into the rain anyway. At least they could be comforted at the fact that they were headed perpendicular to the storm. The storm was coming out of the west and there could be little doubt in the fact that the storm clouds were riding the mountains on its southern edge. They were headed due south to Scarhaus and the rain passed over them without forcing the party to head into the wind too much. The worst part of the trip besides getting wet was the realization that the reduced visibility made them much more susceptible to highwaymen. Fortunately the day trip from Reignsburg to Scarhaus passed by uneventfully. Well after they were soaked to the skin they arrived in Scarhaus and rested comfortably in Rapheus’ inn. They had arrived too late in the day for Rhema to see young Mardak, however. The rain had slowed them enough that their arrival was later than normal. Hopefully there would be time on the return trip to stop and visit with Mardak.The following morning brought little sunshine into the land. The rain had stopped, but the long rain from the night before meant that a thick fog had risen from the woods and across the road. The sky was deep with clouds and the likelihood of the sun burning the fog off before noon was minimal. In spite of the fog, the party saddled up and headed into Quehalost. They left their last friendly port behind them and turned to where they knew the mountains lay beyond the thick fog. The fog was so thick that even this close to the looming mountains they could not be seen.Charis felt better about life with the fog, however. With the presence of the fog she was able to quite distinctly know that they were indeed being followed. The inability of their tail to use visual cues meant that whoever was following them had to stay within earshot in order to make sure that they did not lose the party. Once the tail remained in earshot for long enough to give his presence away on several occasions Charis was able to determine for certain that they were not alone.Charis spoke softly once she brought Abijou to a trot to catch up to Ischarus in the second position. “I’ve heard twigs snapping behind us, Ischarus.” Semeion spurred Thana into a trot in order to maintain the small distance between himself and Charis as she moved forward. Once he had made up the distance he could see Ischarus raise two of his left fingers to his mouth and let out a quick shrill whistle. Up ahead, he could tell that Rhema had slowed her pace in response to the whistle. Rhema still continued forward after hearing the call from Ischarus, but she now did so at a more conservative pace. With the reduced speed the horses instinctively closed ranks into a much tighter formation. It was not long before Ischarus and Charis realized that they would not be disappointed this morning.Three figures emerged out of the fog and threatened the foursome once their horses had slowed down to a walk. Two of the figures came towards them from the front while a third figure slinked out of the woods behind the party. The foursome knew that their horses were not necessarily trained for combat so in a flash they voluntarily gave up their advantage on horseback and slipped out of the saddle. They drew their weapons and waited for the highwaymen to make the first move. The three highwaymen spread out to form a rough triangle around the party and it became clear that there would be no retreat or diplomacy as an attempt to get out of this situation. As the highwaymen formed their triangle around the party, the foursome formed a circled around their horses. Semeion and Rhema took positions opposite each other leaving Charis and Ischarus to be opposite as well.[/Sblock]</blockquote>

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