Final Fantasy J

[Caros]

Kyo, for his part had seemed to cheer up remarkably well in the interveining time, doing his best to smile and remain as normal as can be, his cheer forceful, but welcome all things considered.

The second bit of good news came in the form of their departure, the job of 'Escorting' the caravan not one Kyo would normally take on, he was in no condition to refuse when Aluf suggested it.

The caravan was impressive as they had been told, and for the first few hours Kyo had let himself be dragged from here to there, Knowing full well that with his two female friends, both worried about him, his chances of taking a few minutes or hours to be alone outside of sleep were slim and none.

 

[Jemal]

*BUMP*
PAGING Brother Allard? You're the boss...

 

[Jemal]

The next morning came and soon the caravan was off, Aluf silent and Kyo Brooding. The group had spent the night in their wagon (the elder William had led them to it once finding out who they were), and was now ready for their excursion. With that, the caravan left to begin its months-long journey.

A few days later, when the crew had settled into a bit of a routine and Kyo seemed to have mostly recovered from his.. outbreak, came the first (Of what would probably be man) Obstacles. As they moved down a road so narrow the wagons had to take it one at a time, they saw the road ahead blocked. Upon coming closer, you see a man sitting on the fallen Tree blocking the road, smiling up at you.
"G'Day, Gents."

 

[Caros]

Kyo at least, spent most of his days hanging off the side of one of the lead wagons, staring up at the sky or chatting with his friends as the caravan plodded along. His bokken was at hand, tucked into the caravan he rode in, but conspicuously absent from his side since the incident, whether by choice, or by an order of Aluf's no one was quite certain.

An experienced traveller, Kyo knew better than most the type of man they were dealing with at the very sight of him. A fallen tree, a smiling host, and likely an ambush all around. He reached into the cart as the man called out his greeting, hand hovering over his choice of weapons, the exquisite black-steel blade that had been in his family for generations, or the beat up wooden stick.

The choice was obvious as he slipped past Frida, Mikken, Letia and the others, trotting a short distance to get ahead of the caravan, calling out to the man who blocked them. "You don't want this." He said, voice calm, emerald eyes narrowed. He struck both a strong and silly figure, this young teenager, so seemingly strong willed and calm, yet with only a wooden stick as his backing.

"We're going to reach the port, If things happen it will not end well for either of us, but for you it will go worse. Please, just move aside, let us move the block and be on our way."

 

[Sound of Azure]

Frida had been spending much of her time keeping an eye on the others, mostly under the pretense of drawing pictures of them.

It was on one such occasion that the canvoy had come across the blockage, and the strange man sitting atop it. The girl gets to her feet and looks warily around for signs of other people nearby (Spot check=20) as Kyo steps forward, then examines the man's clothing, trying to determine where he might be from (Lore roll=22), and anything she knows about that place.

 

[Jemal]

"I'm 'fraid you're a bit loopy, Son. Aint no port fer hunderds o Miles." He stops and leans to the side, as though checking the road "Though that do be a big caravan y'got there.. Mighty big. I don't reckon you'd be willing to let us have what's in some of them wagons in exchange for help moving this here tree? It'd be mighty hard to move without a bunch of big, strong men..." At his word, a half dozen men stand up from behind the tree.. BIG, STRONG MEN.

Frida glances around and thinks she can see some movement in the bushes but can't make out too much. SHe recognizes the man and his backup though.. THey're members of the 'black blade', [sblock=Frida]Black Blade is a mercenary/bandit group. Rumours put their numbers between 2 and 5 dozen, and they're one of the better trained groups (They used to be an entire army unit, but when the war started going sour, deserted and became bandits). They have several well-trained soldiers and at least 2 mages... Wether they brought the whole gang here or not is another matter, though.
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[sblock=ooc]
BTW, are Arkhandus & Tailspinner still around? I know Brother_A is a bit busy, but..
[/sblock]

 

[Caros]

"I might actually be a bit loopy." He said, giving a quiet, self depreciating chuckle as he glanced his way back at friends and family, his eyes clouded in thought. He was torn, His duty to protect them, his unwillingness to fight. His drive to fight, but his fear of it as well. It was a rather tortuous existance, and he seemed to stare at the lot of them for a long time before his head returned to focus upon the groups leader.

"Lets call this what it is. You're highwaymen. Bandits. We either give you what you want or you try and and take it." Kyo stepped a tad closer, that wooden sword hanging in his grasp, eyes now all business, the somewhat silly figure from before gone. "You're they're leader and not just the spokesperson aren't you?"

He paused, leaving long enough for the answer he expected to fall. "In a company of criminals, you need to be the toughest. Fight me, just the two of us, no tricks. I win, you move the log, you win and we obviously don't have a chance so you'll get your goods and let us go. Fight until one of us can't. Better than having huge casualties on both sides eh?"

 

[Jemal]

The man smiles and steps forward, 10 feet from Kyo. "Look'ere kiddo, If I wanted you ded, you'd 'ave a dozen arrows in ya now. What makes y'think I'll accept yer little duel there when I kin take what I want anyways? Y'all don't exactly look like the leader o'this Caravan, so how kin I even 'spect your word t'be Kept? An fer that matter, if'n we ARE bandits like y'say, why would we 'onour this agreement?"

[sblock=Anybody can Read if you can make a Sense Motive check DC 18]
The man is stalling for time for some reason. He appears slightly nervous, and seems to be expecting (and ready for) Kyo to spring forwards and Attack.
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[sblock=ooc all]
Anybody wanna chime in to say where your character is?
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[Shayuri]

(I'll assume you mean currently active characters, not characters waiting in the wings to join the party. )

 

[Jemal]

**ER.. Yes, sorry.. Though if some of them don't show up, I may have to input new characters sooner than expected**