Companions' Journey (Fantasy RP) (Closed/Dead)

[RBMidknight]

"But why can't I leave?" Jayce asked in a frustrated tone. The tired guard standing in front of the boy sighed and looked down at the young man

"No one under sixteen is allowed to leave without being accompanied by someone of the appropriate age." The newly established rule was recited in a near monotone and the guard's expression indicated that he'd repeated the words often. The guard's partner, an older man with a scar on his forehead, frowned and stepped forward. Whereas the first guard's armor was worn and stained the second guard's armor was freshly polished and visibly well maintained. He spoke in a strong steady voice.

"You've been informed of the rules, young man. Now step aside so that others can pass. You can take your complaints to the Captain if you'd like." He meant to intimidate the boy into obedience. But his words did not have quite the intended effect.

"Maybe I will!" Jayce retorted. He scowled and looked passed the guards at the high wooden gates. For an moment he thought about making a run for the wooden barrier but he knew he couldn't get past all of the guards. Plus, several members of the guard had Companions that could fly. Even if he made it outside the boy knew he would be tracked very quickly. With a frustrated grumble Jayce turned away from the gate and began walking toward the center of the town. He kicked his bare feet against the ground causing dirt and a few stray rocks to fly a short distance.



Hearing Zestia speak, Sai turned and Kia poked her head around the bed frame. The fox timidly padded closer to the visitor. Sai stood up and walked closer as well.

"Hello." Sai replied. In answer to Zestia's question she pointed at the doorway. "Avi should be back soon. She said she would be." Sai lowered her arm to her side. In a casual gesture she straightened the sword strapped to her left side.

"What did you want to talk about?" she asked.



While Lev apologized to the carpenter, Kadence took the opportunity to approach the front counter. Garret stayed close to his partner. His ears twitched at the sounds of moving patrons. The assistant tore her gaze from the front door when Kadence rapped her knuckles gently on the wood surface of the counter. With a shaky smile the young woman automatically fell into the routine of taking the offered money then inquiring if the courier wanted a room. Kadence nodded in response. She paid for her meal as well as a room for herself and Garret. The assistant managed to put on a polite smile when the transaction was complete. Kadence stuffed her almost empty coin pouch in her pocket when she was finished.

 

[Lambi]

Zestia walked into the room and let Shade off her shoulders, who went over to Kia and flicked his tongue out, smelling the air. He simply looked at Kia, knowing she was a friend, he didn't attack her. Instead, he coiled himself together on the floor and lay there still, looking towards Zestia.

"Remember that other group? Me and possibly Badelin are going with them on the king's quest and I came here to ask you and Avi whether you wanted to come with us." she said calmly. She was hoping they'd come with them, but she wasn't sure, given that they hadn't come with them to the other inn.

 

[Baldrek]

Tatiana padded through the streets, still in a foul mood after the incident at the inn, Lev had even scolded her and sent her outside! No way was she going to stand for that, he could be alone for a while. Especially now that she had gotten the food and drink she needed, and that place was noisy anyway.

She lifted her head up a little as she looked around herself, the paths between the different humans territories were odd in places like this, sometimes they had rocks all along the ground, and other times they just had a well walked path in the ground, some of them were wider than the broadest river she had seen, and others were so narrow that she had difficulties walking there.

"Maybe I will!"

Her ears moved as she picked up a sound that stood out from the others around her, it was one of those that humans made, but it sounded more powerful than the sounds that Lev and the other humans would usually make. And yet it did not sound like the cries that she heard when people were feeling afraid, or those annoying sounds that their cubs made, it made her curious.

Walking into the alley to her right to get to the path where she had heard the sound, she instinctively lowered her head and posture, and softened her footfalls. She had ceased making mistakes due to curiosity long ago, and this could be something to watch out for, she needed to stalk it first...

...

Feeling that he had made his point to the carpenter, Lev picked up his gear and the saddlebags that he had taken off Tatiana and brought them to the room he had paid for, asking where it was located before randomly opening doors.

Having gotten his belongings out of the way, he headed back into the common room and headed for the door. But not before speaking briefly with Kadence, and Pru if she was listening.

"Kadence, I'm going out to look around, and see if I can't spot Viktorya or Ursa. And you behind the counter, if the woman with the snake comes back tell her that I am staying here."
After leaving the short message behind, he headed out into the sun, which had become more bearable as a soft breeze has begun blowing through the streets.

 

[RBMidknight]

Sai frowned at the mention of Badelin, having witnessed the disturbance that the man had caused. Walking over to her bags, Sai rummaged around for a few seconds then pulled out a folded piece of paper that was light brown in color. She held the thin paper loosely in her hands. Kai padded over to Sai's belongings and lay down next to one of the bags.

"Avi likes the innkeeper and asked to be her temporary assistant once she saw there weren't many people working here. I think she's uncomfortable with staying free of charge." Sai said. "When we got here one of the other guests asked if I was a guard and gave me this. " she handed the paper to Zestia.

The paper was identical to of one of the 'Missing' posters nailed to the guard house. The rough sketch was a chest-up image of a young adult male with a serious expression and the clothes of a hunter. Beneath the sketch hastily written details named the man as 'Hugh - 19 years of age'. More details followed, the date the man had last been seen, 'Meyerill' was in the spot for where he was from. The very end of the notice said that anyone who finds the man, dead or alive, was to report it immediately to the Captain of the Guard.

Sai briefly explained that she was going to return the sheet to the lieutenant and see if the guards had any local news. She was reluctant to leave Avi behind, so Sai told Zestia that she would stay until the girl was ready to leave the town.

"We could catch up to the group later." Sai finished. "And if not..." she held out her hand. "It was good traveling with you."

---

Jayce scowled and muttered under his breath as he navigated through the narrow alleyway. It wasn't fair that he couldn't go and look for his brother. It wasn't fair that they put that stupid rule in place. It wasn't fair that stupid Captain...

The boy paused as he halted his complaint. "That's not right..." he mumbled. The Captain had been good to Jayce...and his brother. 'Hugh...' Jayce sighed heavily. He remained silent as he stepped onto the street, blinking against the sunlight. Now that he was back in the open he could hear people talking. He ignored most of the chatter. Jayce walked along on the rough edge of the main path. He hadn't gone far when his stomach began to rumble.

Glancing at his surroundings Jayce quickly altered directions and began walking on another dirt path that he knew functioned as a shortcut to the baker's. The path took him between two shops and out of the sun once more.

---

"Alright. Good luck." Kadence replied to Lev. She turned to the assistant who gave her directions to the room she'd paid for. Kadence glanced at Prudence but the girl seemed to be lost in thought. 'Maybe the tiger scared her?' Kadence waved her hand in a 'let's go' motion to Garret. After telling Prudence that they would be back Kadence and her companion walked to the appropriate room and stepped inside. Kadence dropped her bag onto the bed while Garret walked around the perimeter of the room. When he was finished with his survey the wolf sat down on his haunches in front of the bed.

Kadence grinned. "What do you think?" she asked. The wolf yawned and slowly settled himself down on the floor. "Good enough to sleep in, I take it." Kadence determined. Turning to the bed she opened her bag and began unpacking items to see what needed to go and what was still good.

 

[Baldrek]

Tatiana stalked the source of the earlier sounds, it was a human, sure enough, but a quite small one, and not yet a young adult. More observation would be required to find out why it had roared though. And for that purpose she needed to remain silent and nearly invisible to him and any other humans who could expose her, luckily most humans were slow-witted creatures who couldn't tell food from danger so the latter shouldn't be a problem.

First she followed it through a narrow path flanked with human homes and littered with debris, some rats caught her attention briefly, but managed to escape before she could swat them out of the way. After that there was an open space with some humans, but she knew that if she just kept walking naturally it would be as if she was invisible to them, naive creatures. Staying out of the small humans field of vision and occasionally looking around for places she could hide or escape if exposed, it seemed like the other humans really did ignore her, they did that musical growling thing of theirs, but they always did that, so nothing to expose her.

Then the human glanced around it and abruptly changed its path, was she discovered? She upped the pace a little as it disappeared between two buildings, she mustn't loose sight of her prey now, and if it had seen her then it meant...

... The hunt was on.

---

Lev walked through the sunlit streets, seeing nothing of Tatiana who he had hoped would be waiting outside. Dammit, who was he kidding, there was no way she was going to patiently wait for him. He had to just let her do her thing as usual.

Looking around for a guard, and utterly ignoring Badelin when he passed by him, he finally found one out on his patrols. "Excuse me!" He said as he walked over to him, "You wouldn't have happened to see a woman, about this tall, together with a particularly large and sluggish polar bear, would you?"

 

[Lambi]

Zestia listened to Sai and took the paper she handed to her. She looked over it, not knowing the man from anywhere she had been to, and continued to listen to Sai, nodding her head to let her know she was listening. She took her hand and shook it. "I'll miss you both if you don't come with us. It was fun traveling with you." She gave her a hug and handed the paper back to Sai. "If you don't come with us, give my regards to Avi and tell her like I told you, that it was fun traveling with you both." She turned around and left the room, Shade slithering after her. Once at the stairs, Zestia picked Shade up and put him on her shoulders, then walked down the stairs, and left the inn.

She now needed to find the inn again that the others were at, in order to travel with them. She sort of remembered the way she had gone, though now she needed to remember the way back backwards. Thankfully, due to her many missions, she was getting good at backtracking, and so she began walking, Shade getting some attention mainly because of being a King Cobra around such a small and fragile looking woman's shoulders.

 

[RBMidknight]

Jayce ducked his head as he stepped out of the alley and into the sunlight. Across the street was the bakery. The boy dug into his pockets and pulled out a few battered and dirty coins. He'd been saving them in case he needed supplies on his search. His search that was cut short by the guards. So immediate hunger won out over future needs. Jayce gripped his handful of coins and stepped into the bakery. One of the baker's assistants greeted him with a brief nod.

After paying for his meal Jayce stepped out of the bakery with a small day-old loaf of bread. He had three coins left to spare. Cradling his burden Jayce made his way back into the alley and found a sturdy wooden crate to sit down on. He broke off a piece of bread and slowly began to eat. While he slowly consumed the bread Jayce thought of ways he could sneak out of the town.

----

The guard stopped walking and turned when Lev called out to him. His gaze casually swept the area as he settled into a partially relaxed stance. His left hand moved up to tug at a strip of leather wrapped around his right forearm.

"You wouldn't have happened to see a woman, about this tall, together with a particularly large and sluggish polar bear, would you?"

The woman's description didn't stand out but the mention of a large bear caused the guard to nod. He was silent for a moment as he backtracked his route in his head.

"I passed a woman who was with a great white bear.", the guard said. "She was complaining about the heat." The guard grinned momentarily then turned so that he could point. "She was headed that way." He gestured down the street and then lowered his arm. "If you hurry you may be able to catch up with her."

 

[Baldrek]

Rounding the corner, Tatiana could once again spot her prey heading off into the sun filled street, its earlier quickened pace having slowed down again.

Apparently she had not been seen, or the youngling was foolish enough to think she had already given up pursuit, just by it heading into this narrower and darker path. She was not that easily curtailed, however. To her the hunt had just begun, but the time to strike was not now, out in the sun it could see her. Looking intently at it from the alley, Tatiana saw it was heading to a moveable opening in a human home that seemed smaller than where Lev would usually stay for the nights. This lead her to believe that it was one of those places where humans went in, got something, and exited after some growling at each other over a square of dead wood. And surely enough, moments later Jayce exited again, but it was heading back, she needed to hide out of sight...

Seeing some things piled up along one side of the path, Tatiana leaned against the wall behind it, the warm and slightly odd smell of days-old garbage tickling her nose as she hid behind whatever was smelling so strongly.

The boy passed by her, obviously not noticing her due to the shadow in this passage and her hiding place, but moments later it settled on some more debris less than a few feet from her. Here it began to rip apart and eat a type of human food she vaguely recognized as having no real taste, an odd texture, and which was almost like eating packed grass.

Turning around and slightly shuffling her feet against the cobbles of the alley, she settled down on the ground in her same spot, observing the young human as it ate. It was perhaps a kind of fascination with the way he ripped apart the loaf, not unlike what she would have done with a prey, but it seemed strange in this situation where the 'prey' had never been alive.

Absorbed in the spectacle, Tatiana completely lost her focus on the hunt, and neither did she remember why she had followed it in the first place. Now she just laid there, looking at the lad with her yellow eyes reflecting the sparse light from the other entrance to the alley.

----

"Thank you for the information." Lev told the guard with a smile and a sharp nod before he set off down the path the guard had indicated. Jogging at a suitably quick pace, he hoped to soon catch up with Viktorya and Ursa, if they were still in, or close to, the town.

 

[Bmb]

Badelin just sat there, trying to relax for the first time in a while. He didn't react to Lev as he was exiting the inn and by the looks of things, nor should have he done so since he was utterly ignored.

"How can someone be so cynical, ignorant and utterly stubborn at the same time?" said Badelin to himself. But there was no time to wonder as he noticed something quite peculiar. Lev headed in a different direction from his tiger and got him thinking. A 550 pound tiger running loose in the city is surely not the best of things. So Badelin suddenly started running towards a house found on the other side of the road, facing the inn. He managed to do three steps on the house's wall before having to cling to the bricks that were slightly pulled out and continue to climb from there. He quickly got on it's roof and began scouting the streets and alleys bellow.

"How hard can it be to find a tiger in such a small town?" wondered Badelin as he was jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Soon enough, he spotted the massive feline hidden in a dark alley. It appeared that it was stalking a small boy that was eating a loaf of bread. But at a more careful observation, the tiger was just observing the boy in curiosity.

Nevertheless, Badelin started to descend, using the resistance pillars that were sticking out of one of the walls as steps. He had to jump the last few feet and that's exactly what he did, landing a few yards from the boy. The impact with the ground was enough to blow up his hood revelling underneath the light, silver armor before coming back down again and completely enveloping the assassin's silhouette.

"Do not fear me, boy, as I mean you no harm" said Badelin in a calm tone "I just thought I should let you know that you are being observed by a rather large feline" He then turned towards the tiger and spoke "As for you miss Tatiana, is it not, shouldn't you be with your companion? I take it you two are not very close, are you? ....I say, wouldn't a nice, big and juicy steak be preferable to crawling in these dusty alleys?

As for you, young boy...." said Badelin while turning towards the lad again " Care to tell me what you're doing all alone eating in an alley over a nice, hot meal? It's on me."

 

[RBMidknight]

Jayce tensed, instinctively clutching his bread close to his body as a strange man dropped to the ground in front of him. The man's clothing was very odd. 'Is that armor?' Jayce scowled briefly. The man began to speak.

"Do not fear me, boy, as I mean you no harm...I just thought I should let you know that you are being observed by a rather large feline" the man said.

The young man turned to look at the 'large feline'. The creature was smaller than a bear but a lot larger than a fox. Jayce tilted his head curiously. In the low light of the alley he couldn't make out any other distinguishing features. 'What kind of Companion is that?' he wondered. Had he been alone the boy would have greeted the Companion. But the man spoke again and Jayce had to refocus on the conversation.

"Care to tell me what you're doing all alone eating in an alley over a nice, hot meal? It's on me."

A hot meal was tempting. Jayce pictured the warm dishes served by the local inns. Fresh bread. Warm strew. Food that he wasn't able to afford normally. And it would be free food. But this was a stranger. Jayce shook his head slowly.

"I don't know you." he replied carefully. "And you shouldn't do that." Jayce replied. He shifted his grip on the bread to point at the building the man had jumped down from. "The guards all have birds." The young man explained. "They'll catch you." Just like they would catch Jayce if he tried to leave town.

----

After reorganizing her bag Kadence stepped out of her designated room. Garret followed her out. His steps made only a little noise on the wooden floor of the inn. Feeling lighter without the burden of her bag Kadence walked toward the dining area. She spotted Prudence in the far corner sitting at an empty table. It looked like the same table she'd been at before. 'Did she get a room?' Kadence wondered. She glanced at the front counter where the assistant was still stationed. Then she looked back at the girl. Kadence approached the table and sat down.

"Hello." she said as the pulled out a chair. Garret huffed quietly and remained standing. Kadence looked toward the door of the inn. An middle-aged man was standing in the doorway while talking to younger man who was still inside. The door was essentially held open. Kadence nodded to her Companion who padded briskly to the door and stepped outside. The man in the doorway glanced down as the wolf passed then went back to his conversation.

----

The patrolman assigned to watch Badelin groaned quietly when he realized his quarry had vanished. 'The lieutenant is going to be angry.' he thought to himself. The guard increased his pace as he moved quickly down the street. He stepped around vendors and citizens. He had to find the man. Or at least spot him once. He had to be able to put something in his report.

 

[Baldrek]

Enjoying the scene, Tatiana had just completely settled down as an odd sound reached her ears. The sound was that of creaking wood and a series of dull thuds, but what caught her attention was that they were coming from somewhere above her. Moving her ears ever so slightly, she had almost managed to pinpoint the sound as something came dropping down to the ground in front of the smaller human, a new sound of muffled metal against metal following him and his clothes fluttering around him.

Her shoulders tensed momentarily as her paws had been brought up under her, ready to spring into action if required, but as the figures clothes settled she recognized him as the one Lev had been growling with in a discontent fashion earlier. Her muscles settled down again, he had an odd smell about him, but she did not peg him as dangerous.

He proceeded to growl at the boy, in the same fashion that human usually did, and turned to her before continuing, the smaller human also looking at her. From what she could make out there was Lev's name, her own, and a word for food. But all in all it was uninteresting, more so considering that she had just eaten together with Lev and the others. And it wasn't long until the humans had started growling at each other again anyway, their attention spans were often brief so she had half-expected it. While they continued she simply continued observing, her tail moving in annoyance every now and then when she realised that it was more entertaining watching Jayce and the bread than the current events.

...

Having kept a quick pace in the direction Viktorya and Ursa had supposedly walked, Lev now found himself in front of one of the town gates, and with neither the female blacksmith or the great bear in sight. Grumbling a little to himself he turned to face one of the guards on duty.

"Excuse me, has a woman, about this tall, with short black hair and a large polar bear companion come through here recently?"

 

[Bmb]

"I don't know you. And you shouldn't do that. The guards all have birds. They'll catch you." said the boy.

" True, I seemingly do not know you but... you remind me of myself in my childhood. Judging from this ill place I find you in and from that small loaf of bread, I would say that you know no more the warm touch of a parent.." said Badelin

The assassin's face turned towards the ground

"...from that perspective, I think I know you better then anyone else..." he said on a slower tone, as if full of regret.

He then looked back at the boy and with a sad smile, he exclaimed:

"So how about that warm meal? Don't worry about the guards and their birds. They will never catch me. I have quite a few tricks up my sleeve, you see. If you want, I could teach you, I think they would prove to be of great help to you as they have been for me"


What a peculiar feeling this is... Could I have found a disciple? No, no....is this really what you want for this boy? Sure it pays well but their is always a never-ending danger of getting killed and....love is but a forgotten feeling as...is...having a family.... Wouldn't you rather have this boy learn a noble trait? Yes, a blacksmith or a baker but would he even be accepted as an apprentice? thought Badelin. He was tormented by the decision.

 

[RBMidknight]

"Excuse me, has a woman, about this tall, with short black hair and a large polar bear companion come through here recently?"

The guard, a young man with a uniform that was tattered and a bit big for someone his size, nodded to Lev. He straightened his stance but then reached up to tug at his sleeve self-consiously. "I'm afraid she's long gone, sir." he said. "She was in quite a rush." The young man shifted on his feet, looking anxious. Then suddenly his expression brightened. "Wait..are you um...are you Lev?" he asked.

----

What did parents have to do with anything? Jayce frowned as he slowly stood up. His bread remained clutched tightly in his left hand.

When he was standing Jayce glanced at Tatiana. He took a careful step toward the tiger. Now that he wasn't at her level, the big feline didn't seem quite so big. If only there was more light so he could see better. With his gaze still trained on the Companion Jayce debated on the strange man's offer. "Tricks" the man said. Tricks...perhaps these tricks could help Jayce get out of the town. Or if this man was a visitor maybe he himself could make it so Jayce could leave. But he had to be careful.

"You talk funny." Jayce said finally. He raised his head to look at Badelin. His eyes narrowed as he peered intently at the man. After a careful nod Jayce lapsed into silence for a few seconds. He looked down at the bread in his hand. By now it had cooled. "Okay. I'll go with you to get food." he said. "But I choose the place." he added quickly. "And I haven't agreed to nothing else!" He wanted that clear.

 

[Baldrek]

Lev sighed and looked down the road at the news that Viktorya had already left town, but turned his attention back to the seemingly nervous guard when he mentioned his name. "Yes, I'm Lev Markov, provided that you're looking for a doctor missing two fingers." He told him straight, but then adopted a more curious expression. "Does the guard have any business with me?"

...

Tatiana kept her eyes locked on Jayce as it stepped towards her, it seemed curious, as if it had never seen one of her species before. It reminded her of the first time she and Lev had travelled down from the snowy landscape to get something in a human territory that was much, much vaster then where they lived up north, even vaster than the large cluster where Lev and her would travel at least once a month to pick up things that often had a strong and uncomfortable smell to them. What she remembered, more specifically, was the human younglings that had bothered her during their stay, pulling on her tail, putting their hands into her mouth and climbing onto her back, it had made her want to roar them all into submission. But Lev had constantly reprimanded her, telling her that she had to endure it, and all she could do about her predicament was to glare at him until the younglings got tired and left her alone.

She looked more closely at Jayce, he seemed to resemble them a little, yet it made a lot less noise, and seemed more cautious in its approach. Good, then it knew better then the others. But...

Putting her paws underneath her body again and rising to her full height, Tatiana padded out of the shadows, her thick black and orange fur standing out against the dusty brickwork. She then stepped closer to Jayce, until there was about a feet separating them. She then looked more closely at it, smelling it slightly as well. Perhaps she found him a little curious as well, a youngling acting more like an adult of its kind.

 

[Bmb]

"You talk funny. Okay. I'll go with you to get food. But I choose the place. And I haven't agreed to nothing else!"

"Well the boys got good instincts. He seems to take a very careful stance on the matter. Whatever he ends up doing with his life, it's a trait that will do him good" he thought to himself.

The assassin laughed silently for a second while slowly shaking his head.

"Very well...Lead the way." said Badelin with a small grin on his face

"A chance to find out what happened to this town and to be able to help this unfortunate boy in any way I can. The situation in which these people find themselves in must stop now regardless of the consequences..."

 

[RBMidknight]

"Does the guard have any business with me?"

"No, no sir. Not exactly. But if you're Lev then I have a message for you." The guard paused to recall the exact words. He cleared his throat and began reciting.

"Lev. I've decided to go on a different path. This town is a bit small for Ursa. I'm sorry for not waiting. Perhaps we'll see each other again. I will add you and your trusty stallion to my tales when I return to my home."

When his task was finished the guard grinned. He then leaned to one side to peer around Lev, as though he was looking for something. The guard looked briefly disappointed. Then he spoke again. "I uh..don't know what she meant but that's what she said. Sir."

A short distance away from the guard a small short-haired dog lay on the ground. It yawned and lifted its head sleepily to peer at the two men. Then it rolled over onto its side and closed its eyes, appearing to return to sleep.

----

Jayce's eyes widened as the feline Companion stepped into the light. Dark stripes of black and orange covered what was clearly a muscular build. And the feline was taller than he'd thought. Jayce stood very still as the tiger stepped forward and seemed to be smelling him? Even though the tiger's size was intimidating its actions reminded Jayce of the night watchman's canine Companion. It too liked to sniff at people. 'Can I pet her?' he wondered. She was certainly close enough...

"Very well...Lead the way." the strange man said.

Jayce turned his attention back to Badelin but remained still as he replied. "Okay." He gave a short nod. "This way."

Carefully Jayce turned back toward the alley. He took a step then paused to half-turn. "You can come and eat too if you want." he said to Tatiana. Jayce gestured in the direction that he was getting ready to walk in. Jayce wasn't sure if the Companion would understand but he was hoping that it would follow them.

Resuming his walk Jayce lead the way through the alley and down the main street. He passed a few food vendors but ignored them all. Instead he focused his gaze on the signs in front of the buildings. The letters meant nothing to him but he could identify the items. When he found the sign with a bowl and a mug being balanced on a scale Jayce walked up to the door and stepped inside.

 

[Baldrek]

Lev looked serious as the guard recited the message, but smirked as he mentioned his 'trusty stallion' and the guards disappointed, and perhaps a little confused expression when he apparently looked around for this equine companion. "Don't worry, I know exactly what she meant. It's the kind of message I should have expected, at least." He replied as he turned slightly towards the way he had come from, "Suffice to say that 'irate tiger' would fit the bill better. But thank you for relaying her message."

Having told the guard this he walked back towards the inn, intending on letting Kadence, and Prudence if she was a bit more present of mind, know about Viktorya's departure. It was a shame though, he still believed that she and Ursa would have been of significant help along the line, but at the very least the prospect of sampling her cooking had disappeared...

-----

The boy stood completely still as she approached it, was it afraid? Or maybe just standing its ground? She sniffed in its direction, it didn't smell particularly different from most humans, except those in the bright cloth, which always had sickeningly strong smells of flowers or plants hanging in the air around them, making her nose itch.

The much larger human growled again, which made the youngling turn its head and move it in a gesture that indicated a positive response along with some more, but short growling. It then turned and began walking, but stopped and looked at her again, making some sounds along with a gesture that indicated she was to follow, and another word related to food.

Her tail swished from side to side in disapproval at first, not wanting to follow any instructions. But she soon realised that it wasn't like she had anything better to do, and she had been following him earlier, so it was technically just continuing what she had been doing, and she was admittedly a little curious about Jayce and where he was going now.

Giving in to her curiosity, she followed Jayce back out into the street, the other humans still taking no real notice. They kept on walking for a while, with the youngling looking at bits of wood with drawings crudely resembling a lot of different things which again were suspended over the street. After a while of this he seemed to see what he was looking for, walking into one of the entrances, with Tatiana following closely, shoving open the door with her shoulder and entering after him.

 

[Bmb]

Badelin followed the little boy as he was searching for a vendor. Soon he stopped in front of building and stepped inside, Badelin quickly followed him.

"Go and sit down where you want. I'll join you in a second" said Badelin to the little boy. He then turned his attention to one of the waitresses and casually told her

"Fair miss, if you would pardon my interruption, I would desire to kindly ask you if I can order your finest, biggest and most delicious meal you have for this boy here and your juiciest raw steak for this lovely feline."

 

[Blasphemous Rex]

<spoiler=OOC>So. Many. Words. And I'm lazy. What's happened in the last... page. A recap might also be helpful.

 

[RBMidknight]

"Captain! Sir!" The muffled words were accompanied by a rapid pounding on a solid oak door. Owen Hunter looked up from reading his report. The report had been unsatisfactory and so the Captain's voice was a bit harsh when he answered.

"Enter" he barked.

The door opened to reveal a panting and red-face lieutenant. He clutched at the door one hand before entering the room. He seemed to be holding something, and there were white feathers caught in his collar. Owen's eyebrows rose in surprise. He'd been expecting one of the patrolmen, not his second-in-command and especially not in this state. The young lieutenant leaned down to put his hands on his knees, still trying to catch his breath. He made sputtering sounds that were unintelligible.

"Easy there, Matthew, take a minute." Owen stepped forward, his expression one of concern.

The lieutenant gasped loudly and righted himself.

"Sir, the Dryton guards. They found. A Companion, sir. In the. Woods. An owl." The lieutenant held out his hand. Owen saw then that that he held an envelope clutched tightly in his hand.

"What's this?" The Captain asked as he took the offered item.

"We don't know." The lieutenant replied. He seemed to have caught his breath. "The owl was holding it. It tried to put up a fight. But it was too weak. It's badly injured." he explained. "My men sent for the doctor who's looking at the bird now." The lieutenant cleared his throat. "The guards are still at the gate. I told them to wait there until I talked to you."

'Ah. I bet they were not pleased with that.' Owen gestured for his subordinate to take a seat while he looked at the envelope. It wasn't unusual for a bird Companion to be found on its own. Many of them were used as messengers. 'So what's so important about this one? he wondered.

As he turned the envelope over Owen realized why his lieutenant had been in such a hurry. There, on the back of the envelope dirty but still recognizable was an official seal. The wax seal was obscured slightly, but it almost looked like a feather. 'The Scribe, perhaps?' Owen wasn't quite sure but he needed to know more.

The Captain walked quickly over to his desk and pulled out a small knife from the side drawer. Using the sharpened edge he carefully broke the seal and opened the envelope. There were two pieces of paper inside. Owen carefully unfolded them both. One was a map. He lay that on the table. One was a letter. The Captain spread the letter out flat on the table to get a better look. The elegant script was smudged and there were jagged holes in the paper. They looked like puncture marks. But most of the message was still clear. Owen mumbled and began reading slowly The nervous lieutenant remained in his chair.

Owen read.

Brother,

Greetings. I am sorry that I could not deliver this message myself. There are things I must take care of while still here in the city. The bearer of this letter is my eldest son, Peryn. With him is my own Companion, Bernaht, whom you might recognize. If my son looks upset it is because the festival is starting today and I have sent him on this journey without warning.

It has been brought to my attention that the king is preparing a quest. He's sending people off to find what he's calling The Ruins based on a letter written to the late King Edward. I do not know where this letter originated or how the king found it. The letter claims a citizen explorer found these ruins. Perhaps you could tell the village elder about this explorer. The Elder may be able to identify this citizen using his books. I know the elder's personal library once contained many historical documents so I'm confident in his ability to find out more. The king is adamant about the completion of this quest. He is rewarding anyone who returns with information. The king is offering silver and even gold for those who succeed. Money, as we know, is a powerful motivator.

As long as people are searching for these ruins the town must be on its guard. Many people may pass through. Send messages to the Others and warn them as well. We want to be sure these visitors are treated with hospitality before they are sent on their way.

Peryn is a strong fighter, and a good man. If you need an extra Guard on patrol, he would be a fine pick. Unfortunately, my son knows nothing of Kenward. I have not taken the time to discuss with him our village's history. If you do not hear from me in a week's time please take my son to the village elder and let him hear the old tales. I'm sure he will find them interesting.

Johaan

Owen squinted at the bottom of the page. Below the signature, which looked authentic, was a jumble of characters. But it wasn't in any language he could identify. 'It must be a family symbol.' he decided. With a heavy sigh he lowered the letter. 

"Was there a boy where they found the bird?" The Captain dreaded the answer but he had to know. To his surprise, the lieutenant shook his head.

"No sir. They said there was blood. A-" The man hesitated, "There was a lot of blood, sir. And one of the Dryton guards says he found part of a saddle. He claimed to be a farrier's son, so I'm inclined to believe him. But they didn't mention a boy."

"So, it's possible that the blood is that of a horse. Or it's this young man's." Owen put his hand to his forehead. 'Another one. How many does this make?' The Captain let out a low sigh of frustration.

"Tell the Dryton guards they can go back to their routes. We need them out searching. We'll handle this issue", the Captain raised the letter, "from here." The lieutenant nodded rapidly at the orders and turned to leave. When the Captain continued speaking he halted at the door.

"Send a messenger to Lord Peirce. Let him know that the Royal Scribe's Companion here and the scribe's son may be missing in our territory. Tell him that I'm sending a message to Gemmel." The Captain stopped speaking for a moment.

"Is...that all sir?" The lieutenant asked carefully. He shifted from foot to foot.

Owen picked up his report from the table and stacked the torn letter and map on top of it. 

"Yes. Yes, that is all." he replied. The Captain began gathering the rest of his reports as the lieutenant left the room. Once the lieutenant was gone Owen carefully refolded the letter and map and placed them back into the envelope. He set the envelope in his desk drawer along with the reports. Suddenly the lost trail of an outspoken visitor was no longer important.

----

Jayce heard the stranger speaking as he began to look for a table.

"Fair miss, if you would pardon my interruption, I would desire to kindly ask you if I can order your finest, biggest and most delicious meal you have for this boy here and your juiciest raw steak for this lovely feline." the stranger was saying.

'Why does he talk weird?' the boy wondered. At the mention of the 'feline' he looked back and was pleased to see that Tatiana had followed them inside. A few of the patrons cast wary glances to the Companion but most were too caught up in their own conversations to notice. 

'Good' Jayce thought. He wanted the customers to be busy. He didn't want anyone overhearing what he had to say. Jayce walked toward a table in the back and pulled out one of the wooden chairs. The chair wobbled slightly as he sat down. Jayce leaned to the side so that he could see his benefactor.

He watched the waitress nod and then say something in response. 'Guess he's not getting any food for hisself.'

----

Garret found a comfortable, slightly shaded spot beneath the protruding roof of the tavern and sat on the ground. Now that he was outside and away from the noise and scents of the tavern the wolf was more at ease. He paid no attention to, or perhaps failed to notice, that a few young citizens were looking at him curiously. Small fingers were pointed in the wolf's direction.

Inside the tavern, Kadence waved over one of the waitresses and requested a glass of water. The waitress nodded and immediately left to fulfill the order.