[FR] Silver Marches IC

[mackenson]

Quinn joins the others in the caravan. He is riding atop a coal black horse, and smiling with an apparent eagerness to begin the journey. He paces the carts as they head out.

"I'd sooner fight a troll than many of those of the supposedly civilized races," he says in response to Faedalar and Korosh. "True evil lies in the heart of man. At least with a troll there is no hidden agenda."

 

[Thanee]

The caravan consisting of one larger wagon, two carts and a couple pack horses gets on the road to Sundabar. Some of the merchants drive the carts and the wagon, while the rest leads the pack horses on foot. The half-elf is riding a large brown warhorse, seemingly being trained to fight from horseback, while the dwarf obviously trusts his own two feet better. Zacharias rides in the wagon.

Progress is pretty slow, thanks to the snow, but you have a very clear sight, able to see the mountain peeks far away.

The hours pass by uneventful and you enjoy the bit of warmth the sun offers during this cold winter day.

After seven hours and roughly 10 miles later, the sun sets and the caravan comes to a halt. “We are resting here!” Zacharias shouts. “Prepare the camp!”

The carts are moved next to the wagon, the horses freed of the packs and bridle are bound to them and snow is shoveled away to have a sleeping place. A large campfire is lit and one of the merchants, the young one Zacharias called Rufus, gets out a bunch of pots and containers and starts cooking.

 

[Serpenteye]

Korosh drops his gear on the ground and walks over to sit by the fire, holding out his gloved hands towards the flame for warmth. The familiar feeling of searing heat fighting against the deep chill in his bones makes him sneer in pain even as the flame fills him with renewed life. He leans back lazily and looks at the fire, and the young merchant scurrying around it. Turning his head he takes in the entirety of the camp, and smiles unnoticeably. Adventuring life wasn't all that terrible.

 

[Yellow Sign]

The elf Soveliss tries to find the softest piece of dirt to set up his resting place and close to the fire. He looks around at the activity in the camp.

"I think I will scout around just to make sure and maybe I can get lucky and we can have fresh meat tonight."

 

[WhatKu]

Drawing his sword from its place on his belt, Cade rams it blade down into the ground. Kneeling before it, the others can hear him reciting prayers to Tyr.

 

[Thanee]

Soveliss moves off to scout the vincinity.

Soveliss:

Spoiler

You move out so far, that you can barely see the campsite and draw a circle around it, before heading back. At some point in the north, you spot some drops of blood and tracks around that place. Getting closer and carefully examining the tracks, you come to the conclusion, that it must have been some large, about man-sized canines, probably wolves. You can make out two sets of tracks which come from the east and lead to the north.

Meanwhile, the half-elf comes to Korosh, nods to him and says: “I am Hassan Ad'Jarel. I noticed the mask you are wearing. Say, Korosh, why are you covering your face with it? What do you hide behind that mask?” You notice a definite calimshan accent in his language. The other merchants watch them, curiously awaiting Korosh's answer.

...

At some point Rufus has finished the meal, a stew with beef and vegetables served with loafs of still fresh bread. The young man is a pretty good cook and the food tastes great, while warming your bodies from within.

 

[Serpenteye]

Meanwhile, the half-elf comes to Korosh, nods to him and says: “I am Hassan Ad'Jarel. I noticed the mask you are wearing. Say, Korosh, why are you covering your face with it? What do you hide behind that mask?” You notice a definite calimshan accent in his language. The other merchants watch them, curiously awaiting Korosh's answer.

He looks into the fire and shakes his head sadly, then he looks back at Hassan. "Love can make a man do foolish things, my friend. I once loved a woman with all my heart. I would have laid down my life for her and taken the stars from the sky and given them to her to wear as jewels. The details of the story are too sad to relate, but she was stolen away from me by a powerful man. Long did I try to save her from his clutches, but all in vain. In the end I was captured and tortured, and let out into the world again because he knew that life without her would be the greatest torture of all. At last I realised my failure, my powerlessness. I found that I could no longer look at myself in the mirror. That day, in hatred, sorrow and self-loathing did I make my sacred oath. I swore that until the day I had gained the power to release her from my enemy I would never let my face be seen by another." He shakes his head again. "Foolish as that may seem now, many years later, I cannot violate my oath."

 

[Yellow Sign]

Soveliss walks up from the darkness and sits by the fire. He rubs his hands near the fire to warm them. Turning his head to Korosh he says. "I hope I am not prying but I heard what you just said as I walked up. A oath is a powerful thing. But it gets it's power from the conviction of the person making it. I can respect that." His moment of seriousness passes and a broad grin spreads on his face. Is that stew I smell? Hand me a bowl please." He wolfs down the stew and bread. "Oh by the way we should keep the camp fires burning high tonight and a a armed watch. There are signs of wolves about."

 

[Thanee]

“That's a sad story indeed,” Hassan replies, “and I hope that you will be released from your oath someday.”

The merchants, who listened to Korosh's words, seem pleased by that story, and you notice their somewhat reserved attitude slowly melting away.

“A man of honor, I like that,” you hear the dwarf say to one of the merchants in the background.

 

[Serpenteye]

"I thank you for your understanding, not everyone is so accepting of deviation from the norm."
Korosh smiles sadly and continues gazing into the flames.
"I have cast no spells today, I can take first watch."
He takes a bowl of stew and walks to the edge of the camp, facing away from the fire. He removes the mask from his face, after making sure that noone could see his mutilated flesh, and quickly devours the meal. Under his heavy cowl his face is cloaked in darkness.