'Tace' is quite lost in his thoughts and it takes him a moment to spot the fallen tree with the woman sat atop it. His first instinct is to respond, but he catches himself, feeling perhaps as the lowest rank he should leave this to the Sergeant or the Lieutenant. There is likely some protocol for this sort of thing.
And so he watches and listens. Listens as the woman calls out the word soldiers perhaps a little too loudly. What is that phrase? You can't kid a kidder!
His keen eyes flick to the end of the tree, trying to spot whether it has signs of being cut rather than simply fallen down due to rot or wind. He looks for signs it has been dragged. And then he turns his attention to the surroundings, looking for signs of people hidden in the trees, behind the dirt mound or anywhere else that might provide enough cover. Even behind the fallen tree itself. He doesn't limit his scan to in front either, the fact the woman spoke the word soldier so loudly would mean they could be further back down the road. If I were a bandit, where would I hide?
The Commandant's call for vigilance validated his caution, but wasn't necessary. He assumes the Sergeant and the Lieutenant are also on high alert. I wish I had something better than this baton. If this is an ambush it isn't going to go too well for me.
He briefly considers where he could run to if it came to it, but discards the thought. These folk might not be his actual comrades, but they seemed good people so far. Let's see how this goes.
Perception: 5+5=10 (Passive: 15) Insight (in case he can also check the woman at the same time): 12+5=17 (Passive: 15)
(DM - Not sure if Thieves' Cant is relevant in any way, but calling it out in case)
Unknowingly, Arrenfollows the same line of thinking as Tace. He stops the carriage, a slight frown forming on his face as he eyes the woman and the situation with the fallen tree. He says and does nothing for a few seconds, waiting for the Commandant's order. When it comes, he steps down from the carriage — but not before whispering to Peite, "Be ready for anything." It seems unnecessary, though, as the corporal is already alert. Inwardly, Arren approves.
Before even thinking of approaching the woman, the Half-Elf first leans toward the carriage window and whispers to the Commandant and the Lieutenant, "Watch those trees, please."Once he approaches the fallen tree, that will be the part he'll pay the least attention to. Then, to Walnuts specifically — making sure Peite can hear — he says, "Sir, I think it would be better if you gave your scimitar to the Corporal." Finally, he turns to Peite. "Let me approach first. If something happens, at least they won't catch us both close. Better only one of us is caught, if there's a rain of arrows or the like."
With that done, Arren begins walking toward the woman, glancing at the earth-made wall, trying to determine if anyone might be hiding behind it. He avoids walking too close to it, if possible. He also examines the tree: does it look like it fell naturally? There hasn't been a storm, so it would be strange, unless it looks old and withered. Are there any signs it was cut to allow it to make it fall more easily?
During these first couple of steps, he also studies the woman: does she bear any distinctive marks, or has any kind of behavior that doesn't fit a farmer? He does all this before closing the distance to her. If he notices nothing suspicious, he'll approach the fallen tree and tell the woman, "Please, stay back. Just in case." His tone suggests concern for her safety — but in truth, he simply doesn't want her close enough to draw a weapon on him. He'll hold her gaze until she steps back, making it clear he won't move an inch further until she does.
Assuming she complies, Arren will inspect the tree. Does it look like he could move it on his own? He'll try to wedge one of his javelins under the trunk to test if he can pry it loose or shift it — this will also help him gauge whether the tree has been deliberately placed or if it might even be trapped. He'll only signal for Peite to assist him if he finds nothing weird, and if he determines that he can't move the tree on his own.
I'm not sure how many rolls to make I can make. Let's try with these:
Perception for the wall and the tree: 16+3 If I can, insight to determine anything fishy about the woman: 9 (passive 11)
((I do hope I mentioned before, I'm very bad at drawing. Even worse when drawing digitally, so don't expect much. Still, I found it hard to describe even in my native tongue, so here's a sketch of the scene. Perhaps "step" is a better term than "wall". By "wall", I meant that area where the ground is vertical, therefore blocking the carriage from going any farther to the right. The height of this step is ~1/2 metres, as I tried to draw on the sketch. Other sizes aren't to scale. There are also trees, small and large, on both sides of the road, which I didn't bother to draw. Colours are also not accurate.))
At first, you see nobody around. The woman - whom Bryn believes is slightly uneasy - doesn't come too close to the carriage, giving you enough room to whisper to each other. A person with good hearing might understand you from that distance, but there is no way to tell whether she can. Though, any whisper that Walnuts can hear, she can as well, probably. If Arren still says what he did, knowing the woman will probably hear him (or, if he suggests something similar but chooses to phrase it differently), Lieutenant Tireur will call 'Tace' to give him his scimitar, agreeing that the Corporal could use it better than he could at his current state. Regardless of whether Arren says the same thing, differently or not at all, the woman does not respond differently.
The tree has fallen such that there is still some ground held between its roots, and while looking in that direction, you both notice a young boy - thirteen years old at most, you guess - trying to hide behind those roots, though not very well. He looks over curiously, and you sense that he's not hiding out of fear, but rather because he was told to. Either way, if the woman did say 'soldiers' louder, and if it was so he could hear, the boy doesn't seem to do anything in response.
(If you wish to discern more about how the tree might have fallen, please make a Nature check.)
Arren can tell the woman is strong. Not very strong, and not nearly as strong as he, but she's not one who sits and writes letters all day, nor is she a seamstress nor a paintress. She's not a stranger to physical labour. On the other hand, the hand-drawn cart that he can only assume belongs to her, with multiple tied sacks laid on top, looks heavy. Arren believes the woman can push it, but might wonder if she can do so for such a long time and uphill. The boy he saw by the roots doesn't look like he could move this thing at all.
The woman seems like she intends to help with moving the tree, but eventually steps away as Arren requests. "It might not be the biggest tree here, but it's still too heavy. I couldn't even make it budge. Surely, you don't mean to lift it alone? I'm not even sure we can manage just the two of us, even if you soldiers really are as strong as they say."
When Arren tries, he sees that, as the woman said, the tree is too heavy for him to lift. The javelins, not meant to be used in that way, will bend and eventually break before they can move the tree. Thrown weapons are meant to be light, not sturdy. Arren doesn't think the tree is trapped in any way (nor has traps on it, if that's what you meant), but rather simply lies there.
"Perhaps your comrades might help?" The woman suggests, seeing that Arren can't lift the tree alone after all. "Perhaps you are stronger than they are, but surely more hands will make it easier for us all? I'm sorry if I'm pushing, but I hoped to get to the nearest town before dark. There's no chance of that happening now, but at least I could get closer. Sleeping out here in the wilds... beasts and other scary things are walking around!" She gets closer to Arren, who can see small tears in her eyes, and grabs his sleeve in a silent plea. "If it's not too much of a bother, could I tag along with you just for tonight? I'd feel much safer with you strong soldiers keeping me safe!"
Arren, perhaps touched by the fact that the woman travels alone with a kid, believes the woman is honestly scared of sleeping outside alone at night. Wild beasts usually aren't a concern for their crew, as a loud sound or waving a stick from their campfire will usually scare them away. After your encounter with the bear earlier today, however, you can at least understand why someone wouldn't want to sleep alone out here.
Bryn, on the other hand, far more experienced with these types of cons, sees right through it. Although he can't tell which parts are true and which are not, and to what degree, he has no doubt the woman is playing some game. And, although he can't tell what it is, he believes that her motives aren't just to find company to guard her - and her son - at night.
Arren is currently more concerned with the safety of the team than with hurting the woman's feelings for asking Walnuts to give his scimitar to Tace. In fact, he is disappointed in himself for not addressing this matter before they set off this morning.
The Sergeant is surprised to find the boy hiding. He expected someone to be hiding, but not that it would be a young boy—a boy alone with his mother. Given Arren's past, that might strike a nerve. But then he inspects the cart, and something doesn't add up. He glances at the woman but addresses the boy instead. "Come out with your mother, boy. You don't need to hide from us." The Sergeant tries to sound calm, but commanding, all the while watching the woman's reaction. (Persuasion: 15+5)
Whether or not the boy comes out, he continues, "Did you carry this cart?" A pause, allowing her to answer. "You and how many others, if I may ask? Unless you or your boy have some hidden inner strength, I don't see how you could have carried that for a long time, and uphill." Again, he lets her answer. (Insight: 12+1)
Arren tenses slightly when the woman steps closer. When she begs to stay with them for the night, he shoots another glance at the boy. Again, that brief flicker of the past—of a woman not so different from her, traveling alone with an even younger boy. But he pushes the thought aside after he glances at the cart again. Looking deep in the woman's eyes, he replies, "You are right—the wilds are no place for a mother and a boy alone. But neither is spending the night with a team of soldiers on duty, who cannot slow their journey. Not when you have other options. Go back to the previous village. Spend the night with your boy under a safe roof, as it should be. I will pay for that if you can't. When you come back through here tomorrow morning, the tree will no longer be blocking your way."
Arren speaks loud enough for everyone to hear, especially the Commandant. If she disagrees with his judgment, it is her call to give a different order, which he will comply with, as always.
All the while, the Sergeant still hasn't signaled for the Corporal to approach.
'Tace' does as instructed, hopping down from the carriage to walk to the rear to take the scimitar from the Lieutenant. He tucks it into his belt as best he can before moving towards the front again. That feels better, at least I have a fighting chance, and does that show a level of trust? I hope so. All the while he is listening in on the conversation. She is quite forward, that is for sure. Instructing the Sergeant on how to proceed like that.
He looks across to the roots of the tree, looking at the boy. The sergeant is perceptive, spotting the kid. He is also wondering what might have caused the tree to fall like that, roots and all. Certainly not rotten or struck by lightning. There is still mud between the roots, so not a storm, although it could have been windy without rain. The weather higher up might be quite different to what we have been experiencing.
When she mentions beast and other scary things, he looks back across to her. What scary things?
She is certainly up to something. What is her play here? Protection from something. Distraction on behalf of something. Is she the something scary.
He is still stood by the carriage, having not been instructed to approach, but does move to stand a little closer next to the horses. He looks at the ground to see if there might be tracks that would identify such things. Could she be a magic user? I am in disguise, could she be?
At an opportune moment that doesn't interrupt the Sergeant in getting his answers, he asks the lady, "Miss, what did you mean by other scary things?".
Nature: 11+3=14 Perception: 13+5=18 (or +3=16 if Survival for tracks)
As far as Arren is concerned, the tree looks like any other tree that falls might look, if its roots remain attached while it falls, as might happen due to very strong winds, sometimes. Bryn, on the other hand, recognises that the roots are too short. Trees with deep roots don't tend to fall like that, and roots with shallow-reaching roots usually have very long roots that extend far from the trunk. Either way, you'd expect to see longer roots attached to the tree. From this distance, however, he can't tell whether this is because the roots were cut intentionally or simply broke off when the tree fell.
When called, the boy peeks over the tree. The woman, whom Arren sees flinch slightly when he calls the boy, reluctantly signals for the boy to come over. As he walks towards you, his eyes are fixed in curious admiration of the soldiers in front of him. Especially Arren. He is Human, and his brown hair is cut short. When he reaches the woman, he stands behind her. He doesn't cling to her, but rather stands about a metre away, peeking at the soldiers but with the woman still in between.
The woman, who seems a little nervous now that the soldier begins to question her, steps back away from Arren and responds hesitantly. "These are potatoes, sir. From... from our field. We didn't manage to sell them in our village and couldn't eat this many. So... so we take them to the nearest town, which is much larger than our village, hoping to sell them there before they go bad. I... I don't usually carry such loads, but we won't survive the winter if we don't sell those, so... I had to carry them, even if it's heavy." The sacks are tied closed, but they do look like they contain many small-ish solid objects, rather than the smoothness of a sack of flour or small grain.
It is then that Lieutenant Tireur, who remains at the back of the carriage to watch your rear, calls: "I'll trust your judgement, Sand, but we are in a hurry, and unless you can move this log alone, I'm afraid I won't be of much help. Do you think you'll be able to lift the tree alone with the Corporal? If not, we'd better use all the help we can get." For now, the Commandant doesn't voice her opinion, which Arren can only assume is because she hadn't made her mind up yet. As she's usually quick to decide, he can only think it means she's suspicious too, but considering what Lieutenant Tireur said as you do need to pass the tree.
After Arren's proposal to turn back to her village, the woman stays silent, unsure how to respond. She's hiding it well, but you're sure she's grateful to answer Tace's question instead. "There are bandits in the area, although we've heard of fewer attacks recently, so I hoped our journey would be safe too. But..." she hesitates for a moment, looking back at the boy. "There have also been rumours of something else lately, attacking people on the road. It's not bandits since it didn't take any valuables, but it can't be an animal either. Or so they say, at least."
"They call it a monster," the boy interjects, to the woman's surprise. He sounds enthusiastic, you can almost hear in his voice 'Wouldn't it be cool to see the soldiers slay a monster?' "They say it walks on two legs, just like a Human, but crouches on all four when it is about to attack. They say it looks harmless at first, but moves faster than you can see and can kill a grown man with a single bite!"
The woman glares at the boy silently, and he stops talking, though he doesn't look any less excited. "The men say it must be just a pack of wolves, or bears. And that the stories are exaggerated. I just hoped we ran into no trouble on the road, and out of desperation, we had to leave."
Arren glances back at Tireur when the Lieutenant urges him to resolve the matter quickly so they can continue their journey. The urgency of the situation almost makes him call for Tace's help—but something nags at him. The woman has only partially answered his questions about the cart, and she hasn't responded to his suggestion that they turn back. He decides to try one last thing before giving her what she wants.
Turning back to the woman, he does something unusual. He gently takes her hand—palm up—glancing at it briefly before placing his own over hers. Is the hand reddened and swollen, as it would correspond to someone that has truly pushed this cart for miles? "I'm sorry for your predicament," he says. This gesture may not seem odd to the Corporal, who has only been with them for a day, but Tireur knows better. Arren is not one for such gestures. Not in public, anyway. Then, the Sergeant does something that might leave Walnuts mouth agape. He steps forward and pulls the woman into a brief embrace, his voice gentle as he says, "You must be really desperate." The hug lasts only a moment, just long enough for him to try to sense whether she carries a concealed weapon.
Releasing her, he steps back, his expression thoughtful. "It saddens me that the men in your village offered no help—that they would allow you and your boy to travel alone with the dangers you describe. Were I one of them, I would not have let you face this on your own." His gaze flicks toward the child. Bandits, wolves, a monster… and she still brought the boy?
Finally, he turns to his superior officers. "Commandant, Lieutenant—I'd say we could help this woman. Let's buy her potatoes and take them with us in the carriage. They'll serve us well on the road, and the remains can be put to use at the garrison when we return to the city." He glances at the cart, calculating. "For this quantity… would five gold be enough?" He meets the woman's eyes. "More than enough to see you through winter, I hope. This way you can turn back home, and all your issues will be solved."
Arren holds the woman's gaze. If she refuses a deal that ensures her safety, secures the boy's well-being, and meets her need for coin, then she must be hiding something more. If she accepts, he'll pay this out of his own money, if needed be, and will inspect the tree trunk with the Corporal. Should the two of them fail to move it, he'll ask for the woman's help before she and the boy depart.
'Tace' listens to the woman's story about her potatoes and talk of monsters and bandits, trying to process it all. Surely she would at least have a mule for pulling the cart. Unless it died I guess. And travelling so far, so slowly doesn't make sense with those rumours of monsters or bandits.
And a monster that appears harmless, then kills in a single bite, walking on two feet then all fours. What could that be?
His thoughts however come back to the tree roots, and he moves across to get a closer look now that the boy has moved away. Torn when the tree fell, or cut?
Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the Sergeant approach the woman, and turns to see him take her hand and then embrace her. And then commenting on how desperate she must be. Is he propositioning her? No, that can't be right. He must be up to something. I hope.
He is examining the roots when he hears the Sergeant offering to buy the potatoes. He nods in approval. Very smart.
Nature (does he know what the monster is based on the description?): 16+3=19
From close up, Bryn can tell the roots have, for the most part, been sawn off. On those one could reach before the tree fell, he can clearly see the scratches a toothed blade leaves when it cuts into timber. The ones closer to the centre seem to have been torn when the tree fell, as they could no longer support its weight. It would still require some great force, though. Either someone cut the roots and waited for the rest to happen naturally, eventually, or it was pushed with some great force.
As much as Bryn can remember, no animal fits this description. Bears sometimes do the opposite, running on all four and then rising on their hind legs to attack with their front claws. None of the bipedal animals he can think of really fits the description - either being too small to be dangerous or not aggressive enough to be of such concern. Some apes and Humans are probably the most dangerous bipedal creatures, but they usually don't go down on four to attack, and biting isn't their preferred strategy.
Meanwhile, Arren can feel the woman's concealed blade under her clothes. It's not too large, but it's too large to be considered a knife - probably a dagger or a sword on the smallest end (and no, it isn't toothed). Startled and slightly abashed, she pushes Arren away. Not forcefully, but firmly. He isn't sure whether she realised his intentions, but at the very least, she doesn't draw her hidden blade. "Umm... thank you, sir soldier." She's clearly at a loss for words, no longer in control of the situation - if she ever was.
In response to the offer to buy her potatoes, she seems confused at first, then her eyes widen in surprise, and her face beams with relief. "Oh, thank you! That is, that is very generous, sir! I'm happy we can be of service to you brave soldiers!" You know the sum you offered is a little high for just potatoes, but if you take the cart as well, it covers the cost entirely without much extra.
"That's not a bad idea!" Calls Walnuts. The Commandant doesn't voice an opinion, which means she at least doesn't object to it. "Go ahead and pay her, I'll pay you back later!"
If Arren doesn't pay the woman for some reason and chooses a different course of action, don't open the spoiler below, and please describe what he does instead. Bryn may choose to stop him before he does so if he wants to; you can discuss it first if you want (in character or otherwise).
If Arren pays the woman:
(No need to discard the coins from your inventory, Walnuts will repay Arren when they stop for the night). The woman calls for the boy: "Let's go, boy. We don't want to disturb our soldiers any longer." Pulling him with her before thanking you once more, then hurrying away back the way you came. The boy keeps looking over his shoulder for a bit before turning away and running with the woman.
You think that together, the two of you might be able to push the tree downhill. "Let's load the potatoes on the cart then," offers the Commandant now, "you can then lift the treetop on the cart and push it from the other side, rolling it downhill. We don't have a better use for such a rickety hand-drawn cart." Indeed, it doesn't seem to be in a great condition for military standards, and lifting the entire tree with just the two of you will probably not be possible, or might be risky if one of you loses their grip and drops the tree.
Once the woman is out of sight, and after taking one more look around to make sure nobody is around, Lieutenant Tireur climbs off the carriage and opens the storage space. "We'll place a few of them here, and the rest will have to go into the carriage. Perhaps under your table, Commandant, if there's enough room in there?"
However, once you try lifting the sacks, you discover they are far heavier than you'd expect potatoes to be. Whatever is inside, it feels like it has corners too sharp and hard to be potatoes, too. The sound it makes doesn't match potatoes, either. If you open one of the sacks to verify, you find that it is filled with rocks. Stones, the kind you find lying around everywhere, picked to roughly fit the size of potatoes.
"Well, well, I suppose we were played!" Lieutenant Tireur can't help but laugh. "But a woman pulling a cart full of rocks can't be up to anything good. I suppose we'd be attacked if we weren't armed. I didn't see anyone with her, but maybe they hid well!" He continues to laugh for a bit. "But it's better to lose a bit of gold than to get into a fight with civilians - criminals or otherwise."
"We're the Katton military, people don't see Poule Tireur and Arren al-Nasrid, they see two uniformed soldiers that represent the organisation that keeps them safe!" The Commandant scolds you, but you feel it's more of a reminder than actual scolding. She's unhappy that it happened, but she knows she didn't have a better solution either, and responsibility falls on her, too. You know, she reminds you because she must do so, more than anything else. "Now, get this tree out of the way! We've wasted too much time here as it is."
Following her plan from earlier, after throwing all sacks of stones off the cart, you lift the tree's top on the cart and then, push it from the bottom of the trunk, from its roots. With the top on the cart, lifting just little makes it easy to push, and when the cart rolls over the hill's slope, the tree already has enough momentum to contiue sliding downhill, clearing the way.
'Tace' draws his scimitar and says in an urgent, hushed voice just loud enough to hopefully carry to those around the carriage but not deeper into the trees, "Sir, the roots of the tree have been sawn through. No beast did this. It is looking like this is an ambush".
He leaves it to the Sergeant as to whether to proceed with the trade or treat the woman as a suspect.
It all happens fast. Arren feels the concealed blade just before the woman pushes him away, an abashed look drawn upon her face. Then, he sees the Corporal draw his scimitar after examining the tree—it can only mean he's noticed something that doesn't add up. And in that instant, Arren knows for certain: they're being played. He doesn't know exactly how, but he is absolutely sure the woman is deceiving them.
He could stop her, he's certain of that. Their eyes meet, and for a moment, he hesitates. Then, he remembers the boy. It's the thought of him that softens Arren's resolve. He steps closer to the woman and lowers his voice. "The boy doesn't deserve this kind of life. Take the gold and go. I hope you think more carefully next time, for his sake. The next person you try to deceive may not be as merciful."
The Half-Elf holds her gaze, hoping words his sink in but not waiting to confirm it, then reaches into his coin pouch. Pulling out five gold pieces, he presses them into her hand before turning to the boy. "Take care of her, will you? If we ever meet again, make sure I meet an honorable man."
With that, Arren lets the woman go and walks toward the carriage, shooting a glance at Corporal Peite—one that acknowledges he was right to see through the deception but pleads for him to let it go.
When the deception is fully revealed, Arren isn't surprised. He is furious, though, but the only sign of it is the deep frown etched into his face. He accepts the Commandant's scolding in silence, offering only a quiet apology when she finishes.
Arren can only hope those five gold pieces help a young boy through the winter. For the next few hours, he remains silent—though the Commandant, the Lieutenant, and the Corporal could swear they hear the gears turning in the Sergeant's mind as he replays what transpired.
'Tace' does as ordered and helps clear the tree from the road, pretty certain that the Lieutenant was right. The woman and boy were not alone in this. They couldn't have set this scam up by themselves. It was a decent con, and they did well to walk away with 5 gold. As marks go, a carriage full of soldiers was likely too risky. The normal routine was probably to jump out and demand gold at sword and arrow point.
He was a little disappointed in himself, though. Almost half a year in prison must have dulled his own skills. Or perhaps it is harder when I spending my energy pretending to be a soldier all the time.
"It could have gone worse, sir", he says after the road is cleared and he notices the Sergeant brooding. "If we had detained the woman and the boy, whoever they were working with would likely have been forced to act. Your way no-one was hurt beyond maybe pride". I really expected soldiers to fight first and engage their brains later, if at all. The sergeant certainly doesn't fit that preconception.
Arrensighs. "You are right," he says, giving Tace a grateful look. He feels a little better after hearing his words—and after talking about this aloud rather than brooding over it. "It's just... Perhaps the best outcome would have been to detain the woman and whoever was working with her. That way, we'd be sure they wouldn't deceive—or even attack—anyone else on the road. But I didn't feel good going that route with the kid watching."He pauses. "Not sure if that was wisdom, or weakness. Either way, I just hope that gold keeps them away from the road for a while."
The Sergeant falls silent, but the Corporal can see that he seems more at ease than before. After a moment, Arren speaks again—not for long, since he doesn't want to disturb the Commandant's work, but hoping she'll allow a bit of conversation after what happened. "Well. Ground disappearing beneath us. A bear. Con artists. Gotta say, things have been anything but dull since we met." He smiles faintly. "You holding up alright?"
"I guess it all depends on how important speed is for our current objective, sir", 'Tace' replies. "To detain the woman and child would mean escorting them onwards, and unless you thought to put them in with the Commandant that means someone walks, slowing us down", he adds thoughtfully. I am glad they are gone, they were just trying to make a dishonest living after all. People after my own heart.
"After the monotony of the prison walls I am all done with dull, so this has been the perfect start to our journey together, sir", he says, returning the smile under his mask. Not a word of a lie there.
"I am looking forward to learning from yourself, the Lieutenant and the Commandant, sir", he adds after a moment.
Arren has seen these kinds of scenes many times. After all, his presence is needed precisely for these occasions. Despite the military's best efforts as peacekeepers, the country is large and, for the most part, uninhabited. The roads between cities can be long, and with nobody to constantly patrol them, bandits form gangs and raid the travelling merchants. However, their small crew isn't there to clear these gangs, only to protect the Commandant in her work. If the threat is great, she'd often send word of it to someone relevant who will take care of it once you reach the next military camp or city. But larger gangs usually don't mind getting violent, and lone bandits avoid armed guards, so interactions like the Arren just had are rare.
The Commandant lets you talk just a bit before asking for silence again. From then on, you ride for what's left of the day in silence, disturbed only by the sound of Choco and Mocha's hooves against the hard ground and the wheels they pull. By nightfall, you've already descended from the hill again, and now, you can already see the mountains to the west. On cloudy days, these tall masses jut up into the sky, the tallest of them just barely scraping the clouds above. But the sky is clear now, only a few small clouds in the distant north. Looks like the Commandant's prayers were answered, as you doubt there'll be rain tonight.
The Katton capital, called Pyorre, is located on the other side of these mountains, at the end of a long river that flows into the sea in the north (on the map, just at the base of the 'K' of 'Katto'). The mountains are passable, even with a carriage, but there's not much in them for this crew usually, so the carriage doesn't make that journey often, rather circling the mountains to pass the military camps, bases and the border at the foot of the mountains. This time, however, it seems the Commandant plans on riding straight through the mountain pass, though you believe you'll only reach the foot of the closest mountain tomorrow evening, at best.
When it becomes too dark for the Commandant to read in the carriage, as usual, you stop and set up camp for the night. When renting rooms, protocol dictates someone must share a room with her, as Lieutenant Tireur did last night. She never complained about it, but Arren believes she's still uncomfortable sharing a room with a male companion. Out in the field, she has her own small tent, which she quickly sets up alone before carrying her small wooden desk out of the carriage and lighting a candle in a lantern to resume her work into the night. She also takes a small, uncomfortable-looking folding wooden chair that was previously stored in the storage space.
Meanwhile, the three of you set up a larger tent, with enough room to accommodate four people in theory, but even with just the three of you, it feels just a little crammed. At least you don't have to place all your equipment inside too (though you can, if you wish), as Lieutenant Tireur will lock the storage space during the night, leaving what's not necessary inside.
While rather sparse, there are trees in the area, from which you can gather some wood for a small fire, if you wish. "I actually wouldn't mind some potatoes right now, instead of these dry rations." Walnuts says, only partially intended as a jest on Arren's account. "They're easy to make over a bonfire, as long as you have something to protect them from the direct fire."
Bryn, you now see the Commandant full at work for the first time. Though you may have glimpsed into the carriage occasionally, never for a long, uninterrupted time. Even from a fair distance away - say, from by the bonfire - you notice she works rather slowly. With long pauses between each sentence she writes, thinking every word carefully. She also keeps a few papers for drafts, over which she writes more than on her main subject. At some point, she gets off her chair and takes the draft paper, crumbling it into a dense ball and walking over to the fire, throwing it between the burning logs. For a brief moment, before it turns black, you can barely make out a small handwriting, so dense it almost looks like the paper was black. Even without seeing the entire paper, you can imagine every last bit of it was used until there was no more room for it.
Despite working on something for several hours, the final product is not as long as one might imagine. Bryn could copy such documents in a couple of minutes at most, back in the day. And, for the rest of the accounted time, she produces several more dense balls of writing that end up in the fire, and there were many more with which you lit the bonfire, a product of the last few days. This is all already familiar to Arren.
Arrenwasn't particularly looking forward to spending the night outdoors, but he welcomed the stop all the same. Climbing down from the carriage, he stretched his legs and rolled his shoulders to ease some of the tension from the journey. A night under the open sky was hardly his idea of comfort, but after hours on the road, any change of position was an improvement.
As he helped set up camp, his thoughts drifted, as they sometimes did, to the peculiarities of his bloodline. Even if he favored his human side for personal reasons, there were times when he couldn't deny the appeal of certain elven advantages—like the night vision he had inherited. But there were others he hadn't, and he wondered about them from time to time. A four-hour trance instead of an eight-hour sleep? That was certainly useful, and he sometimes caught himself imagining what it must feel like. Running a hand absentmindedly over his chin, he felt the roughness there. He'd have to take care of that soon. Not having to bother with shaving was another perk of elven blood he wouldn't have minded inheriting—especially since he wasn't a fan of beards.
The Sergeant’s gaze flicked toward the Commandant as she set up her own tent. He wondered if she would join them for dinner and get some extra rest, as he had asked. He wasn't about to bring it up again—he'd already pushed enough—and just hoped she would do so without needing another reminder. A small flicker of concern crossed his mind at the sight of her alone in her tent, as it made setting up security a bit trickier than if they were all together. Still, he could understand her need for privacy. They'd just have to be more cautious.
When Walnuts made the jest about the potatoes, Arren shook his head and muttered something under his breath about 'damn sacks' before exhaling sharply. He knew the Drow meant no harm by it, so he simply continued the joke, saying, "Plenty of rocks around if you want to pretend." A sigh and half a smile later, he added, "We really could do better with these rations. Not that I'm a chef, but if we pick up some spices, dried herbs and olive oil next time we're in Pyorre, we might make them taste a little more like real food." He made a mental note to look for them when they reached the capital.
Arren gathers wood for a campfire, and then some extra, which he keeps apart. Before turning in for the night, he will arrange the driest pieces around their tents—a small precaution, but one that might buy them a few extra seconds if anything approached while they slept.
If the Commandant joins them for dinner, he will engage her a little in conversation. "We're taking the route through the mountains, then, Commandant? Anything we need to be on the lookout for?"
'Tace' was not used to spending so much of his time sat, and so he was more than happy to be able to climb down and get some feeling back into his legs. This was the first time setting up camp, and he tried to intuit what was needed and follow the others lead. Most of it was common sense, clearing the area, pitching tents and gathering wood.
After the events of the day, he found he was a little more comfortable in the presence of the three officers. At least he had stopped worrying about being found out constantly. There were still complications of course, like sharing a tent, but until someone ordered him to take off his mask unprepared he felt at least a little safe.
Whilst helping collect wood for the fire, he made sure to wander away from the others, allowing him to once again magically alter his facial feature. As before, this was quite subtle and nothing that couldn't be achieved with a proper disguise kit. Making his skin tone a little darker, adding some shading to alter his apparent bone structure and of course the scar. Just a little less pronounced than last time, to slowly allow their minds to adjust to something closer to my natural appearance. Not that I can ever be fully myself, they would recognise me in an instant.
This allowed him to once again eat a little in the presence of the others, carefully and discreetly lifting his mask but allowing a very quick glimpse of his chin and mouth where the scar ended.
Seeing the Commandant at work was of great interest to him, and he spent some time following her process. Writing notes, scrunching up paper and throwing it in the fire. The finished product must have been incredibly concise and to the point. Likely why she is so valued. Reading her reports will take no time at all.
He keeps track of the Sergeant and the Lieutenant. If they ever leave him alone, he will contemplate trying to pilfer one of the scrunched up papers. All those notes, there must be something of interest. He won't risk it if he is not alone though.
He remains fairly quiet at the fire, chuckling a little as potatoes are mentioned, and listens to any reply about their route through the mountains. It is not a road he has followed before.
"Do you have a regular watch rotation, sir?", he will ask the Sergeant as it draws closer to sleep time, assuming that in the wilderness they wouldn't rely solely on elven trances and dry wood around tents. "Which watch will you require me to take?".
(OOC: FireCat - Bryn would consider using his mage hand with his Mage Hand Legerdemain feature if he could be sure he wouldn't be overheard casting the spell. In the new version of the Arcane Trickster, this grants the mage hand the invisible condition. This now states that it and anything it holds is concealed, so I believe he should be able to take items in the hand and make them invisible. This is a much better application than the old version, which RAW sounded like you had an invisible hand carrying perfectly visible stolen goods. I just wanted to highlight this change, as it is one reason why I chose Arcane Trickster over Thief for his subclass)
"Do you have a regular watch rotation, sir?", he will ask the Sergeant as it draws closer to sleep time, assuming that in the wilderness they wouldn't rely solely on elven trances and dry wood around tents. "Which watch will you require me to take?".
(ooc: how were we doing this so far, @FireCat?)
Asked about the watches, Arrenthinks for an instant. "With two pureblooded Elves instead of one, I'd say I can take the first or last watch. I could take the middle one as well if needed, but since I require seven or eight hours of uninterrupted sleep, that would break my rest and leave me less prepared in the morning. That doesn't seem necessary tonight," he explains. Then, looking toward both Elves, he continues, "If that works for both of you, the Corporal could take the first four-hour watch right after dinner. The Lieutenant can continue with his, and I will cover the final hours." He acknowledges that this likely means his shift will be shorter than theirs and offers a brief apology for it.
"I've yet to hear of a perfume that could make a skunk smell good, but I won't stop you from trying." Walnuts responds to Arren's suggestion regarding seasoning the food. "But I'm no cook, and years of military rations have dulled my taste. At first, I was disgusted, then I thought I got used to them. Then I couldn't even look at it for a year and now... well, potatoes over the fire sounds as appetizing as anything, salted or otherwise. If you can save yourself from this fate, I don't see a good reason not to. If you cook well, maybe even the Commandant will join you." He raises his voice slightly for that last remark, making sure she hears him. She raises her head for a moment, looks your way expressionless and then goes back to writing.
Ideally, any expedition will have enough soldiers to guard in pairs throughout the night. For smaller groups, just one person per two hours is all that can be arranged, and if possible, a soldier would not watch like that two nights in a row, or three if the group is even smaller. Groups as small as three or four soldiers don't commonly wander the country, and combat protocols for surveys into enemy territories of small groups don't make sense either. As most Elves can trance, they make watching a much simpler task, and units that sleep in the open almost always have at least one Elf with them.
In your case, Lieutenant Tireur insists that the Commandant doesn't watch, and since Arren can't watch several hours every night and still be alert daily as he must be, he doesn't usually watch either. As a result, Lieutenant Tireur always watches throughout the night. Far from ideal, but it's the result of the circumstances given to you. Despite laying all eggs in one basket, it has proved to work well enough until now. Animals don't usually bother you while a fire is going, and are easy to scare away. Bandits can cause trouble if they can sneak up on the Lieutenant, but despite the carriage, you don't appear to be a very appealing target, as three soldiers carrying nothing but papers with them. You've had trouble in the past, and this method isn't foolproof, but that's not enough to justify employing any more bodyguards just for the Commandant.
"I'll watch the night, you get your sleep." Lieutenant Tireur assures you. "I can trance by the fire as long as there won't be any rain." He looks to the north. Following his gaze, albeit hard to see in the dark, there are now a few larger clouds in the distance, although they seem too far to reach all the way to your camp. "But maybe in the future we could leave it up to our Corporal? I haven't slept properly in so long, I almost forgot what it's like to dream! You know, I liked sleeping just for that, before I enlisted. Every night you experience something completely new, a whole story you'd never have seen otherwise. If that's not magic, I don't know what is. The Levickans might be able to lift a rock from a distance, but I can just walk over and pick it up, so what's the point?"
The Lieutenant will remain by the fire, making sure the Commandant is within his line of sight. He doesn't mind 'Tace' wandering around, so whether Bryn can find a moment of solitude depends mostly on Arren. A reminder, the Commandant asked Arren to watch the Corporal closely over the first few days to study him and get to know him well, but that doesn't mean he has to follow his every step. If Bryn attempts any such act, I'd like to know exactly how he does it.
Arren gets the notion that the Commandant doesn't plan on eating anything with them. Walnuts once told him she usually takes just a few more bites just before she goes to sleep, and while far from a proper meal, it is usually the most she eats at one time during the day. He can take his chance and ask her about the expected journey during one of the times she approaches to throw a paper ball into the fire. She glances back at the flickering flame in the lantern on her desk but sighs and answers: "Since my other inkwell shattered in prison Tus, this one isn't going to last all the way to the capital. I'm not as familiar with the mountain pass either, so I'd rather make sure I have enough ink before we start climbing there, lest I run out of ink and find no place that can provide more on the way. We're taking a little detour then, passing through the nearest town tomorrow before heading to the mountain pass."
She pauses for a moment, then heads to the carriage and searches inside for the map of the area you've been using for the last few days. "I'd also like you to take our Corporal and search for a smithy there." She adds, once she returns. "I believe there should be one that works with the military there. If I don't mistake the name of the town with another. Use the chance to get him a proper weapon. You'll need more than just the prison's baton at some point." She addresses 'Tace' directly. "You'll be able to pick up a military-grade weapon the next time we pass a proper base, but until then, get yourself something you'd feel comfortable defending your life with - and ours.
"As for the mountain pass, the monsters to keep a lookout for are the Humanoid kind. It is a road frequently used by merchants and other people who travel across the country often. It is therefore often stalked by bandits who prey upon those who pass through the mountains. Unlike today, they'll be large gangs prepared for a fight." She pauses to make sure the message is clear. "There are other strange people who find comfort in the solitude of the mountains, away from where the military might bother them. Cults, murderers and other people I'd rather not meet. I usually prefer to avoid that route, but it is significantly faster than going around the mountains. Expect it to be cold, but at least there shouldn't be snow up there just yet. Hopefully."
"You know what?" Arren replies to the Lieutenant, raising his voice slightly as well, "I do like a challenge." He doesn't specify whether he is referring to actually making the food taste better or to making the Commandant join them for a meal. Either way, he is definitely going to look for ingredients he can easily carry on a journey and even ask for simple recipes when they pass through towns and cities on their way back to the capital.
When the Lieutenant mentions missing proper sleep, Arren can't help but feel a bit bad. And, all this talk about sleeping and dreaming serves as another reminder that the Drow will soon retire. He's going to miss their conversations, and the Lieutenant's sharp remarks and humor. His gaze shifts to the Corporal, who doesn't seem to be much of a talker—just like himself. He sighs. The change is going to be difficult. Making an effort to keep the conversation going, he asks Tireur, "What do you plan on doing when you retire, sir? That is, apart from eating delicacies, sleeping properly, and dreaming?"
After dinner, Arren lingers for a short while, speaking quietly with the Lieutenant, and the Corporal, if he joins. He notices Tace looking over the Commandant's work but finds nothing odd about it. He himself used to do the same when he first joined the team, fascinated by the discipline she brought to her work and how different the job of guarding her was from anything else he had done in his years of military service.
So far, even though the Commandant has ordered him to keep an eye on the new recruit, he hasn't noticed anything particularly strange about him—aside from the helmet. He assumes that at some point, Tace will have to remove it, even if he prefers to do so a bit away from the rest. Arren has seen him lift it slightly to eat, but eventually, he'll need to wash and such. In any case, Arren can't help but find it strange that Tace prefers the discomfort of sleeping with it on rather than facing whatever it is he's hiding. Must be a pretty ugly wound to go through all this trouble.
The Sergeant nods as the Commandant instructs him to accompany the Corporal to get a proper weapon, adding that he will try to get an extra one for himself again. The fight with the bear has taught him that it would do him good to have a dagger, a shortsword, or something similar—something he can use alongside his shield if he loses the longsword again. Regarding traveling through the mountains, he only comments, "Sounds risky." Not that he is questioning her orders, but he does find it odd to take a road they usually avoid, even despite the rush. He will need to be at his best to handle what may come.
With that in mind, Arren soon retires to sleep, leaving Walnuts and Peite to their own devices. He wants to be the first to wake—not only to give Walnuts a little time for himself after his night-long watch but also to fit in some longsword practice before they depart. A few repetitions of diagonal and horizontal slashes, along with some thrusts, should help him maintain his technique.
'Tace' is quite lost in his thoughts and it takes him a moment to spot the fallen tree with the woman sat atop it. His first instinct is to respond, but he catches himself, feeling perhaps as the lowest rank he should leave this to the Sergeant or the Lieutenant. There is likely some protocol for this sort of thing.
And so he watches and listens. Listens as the woman calls out the word soldiers perhaps a little too loudly. What is that phrase? You can't kid a kidder!
His keen eyes flick to the end of the tree, trying to spot whether it has signs of being cut rather than simply fallen down due to rot or wind. He looks for signs it has been dragged. And then he turns his attention to the surroundings, looking for signs of people hidden in the trees, behind the dirt mound or anywhere else that might provide enough cover. Even behind the fallen tree itself. He doesn't limit his scan to in front either, the fact the woman spoke the word soldier so loudly would mean they could be further back down the road. If I were a bandit, where would I hide?
The Commandant's call for vigilance validated his caution, but wasn't necessary. He assumes the Sergeant and the Lieutenant are also on high alert. I wish I had something better than this baton. If this is an ambush it isn't going to go too well for me.
He briefly considers where he could run to if it came to it, but discards the thought. These folk might not be his actual comrades, but they seemed good people so far. Let's see how this goes.
Perception: 5+5=10 (Passive: 15)
Insight (in case he can also check the woman at the same time): 12+5=17 (Passive: 15)
(DM - Not sure if Thieves' Cant is relevant in any way, but calling it out in case)
Unknowingly, Arren follows the same line of thinking as Tace. He stops the carriage, a slight frown forming on his face as he eyes the woman and the situation with the fallen tree. He says and does nothing for a few seconds, waiting for the Commandant's order. When it comes, he steps down from the carriage — but not before whispering to Peite, "Be ready for anything." It seems unnecessary, though, as the corporal is already alert. Inwardly, Arren approves.
Before even thinking of approaching the woman, the Half-Elf first leans toward the carriage window and whispers to the Commandant and the Lieutenant, "Watch those trees, please." Once he approaches the fallen tree, that will be the part he'll pay the least attention to. Then, to Walnuts specifically — making sure Peite can hear — he says, "Sir, I think it would be better if you gave your scimitar to the Corporal." Finally, he turns to Peite. "Let me approach first. If something happens, at least they won't catch us both close. Better only one of us is caught, if there's a rain of arrows or the like."
With that done, Arren begins walking toward the woman, glancing at the earth-made wall, trying to determine if anyone might be hiding behind it. He avoids walking too close to it, if possible. He also examines the tree: does it look like it fell naturally? There hasn't been a storm, so it would be strange, unless it looks old and withered. Are there any signs it was cut to allow it to make it fall more easily?
During these first couple of steps, he also studies the woman: does she bear any distinctive marks, or has any kind of behavior that doesn't fit a farmer? He does all this before closing the distance to her. If he notices nothing suspicious, he'll approach the fallen tree and tell the woman, "Please, stay back. Just in case." His tone suggests concern for her safety — but in truth, he simply doesn't want her close enough to draw a weapon on him. He'll hold her gaze until she steps back, making it clear he won't move an inch further until she does.
Assuming she complies, Arren will inspect the tree. Does it look like he could move it on his own? He'll try to wedge one of his javelins under the trunk to test if he can pry it loose or shift it — this will also help him gauge whether the tree has been deliberately placed or if it might even be trapped. He'll only signal for Peite to assist him if he finds nothing weird, and if he determines that he can't move the tree on his own.
I'm not sure how many rolls to make I can make. Let's try with these:
Perception for the wall and the tree: 16+3
If I can, insight to determine anything fishy about the woman: 9 (passive 11)
Diving deep to the surface ♫ Nessa | Saxa | Auriel | Chase | Shenua | Arren | Lyra
((I do hope I mentioned before, I'm very bad at drawing. Even worse when drawing digitally, so don't expect much. Still, I found it hard to describe even in my native tongue, so here's a sketch of the scene. Perhaps "step" is a better term than "wall". By "wall", I meant that area where the ground is vertical, therefore blocking the carriage from going any farther to the right. The height of this step is ~1/2 metres, as I tried to draw on the sketch. Other sizes aren't to scale. There are also trees, small and large, on both sides of the road, which I didn't bother to draw. Colours are also not accurate.))
At first, you see nobody around. The woman - whom Bryn believes is slightly uneasy - doesn't come too close to the carriage, giving you enough room to whisper to each other. A person with good hearing might understand you from that distance, but there is no way to tell whether she can. Though, any whisper that Walnuts can hear, she can as well, probably. If Arren still says what he did, knowing the woman will probably hear him (or, if he suggests something similar but chooses to phrase it differently), Lieutenant Tireur will call 'Tace' to give him his scimitar, agreeing that the Corporal could use it better than he could at his current state. Regardless of whether Arren says the same thing, differently or not at all, the woman does not respond differently.
The tree has fallen such that there is still some ground held between its roots, and while looking in that direction, you both notice a young boy - thirteen years old at most, you guess - trying to hide behind those roots, though not very well. He looks over curiously, and you sense that he's not hiding out of fear, but rather because he was told to. Either way, if the woman did say 'soldiers' louder, and if it was so he could hear, the boy doesn't seem to do anything in response.
(If you wish to discern more about how the tree might have fallen, please make a Nature check.)
Arren can tell the woman is strong. Not very strong, and not nearly as strong as he, but she's not one who sits and writes letters all day, nor is she a seamstress nor a paintress. She's not a stranger to physical labour. On the other hand, the hand-drawn cart that he can only assume belongs to her, with multiple tied sacks laid on top, looks heavy. Arren believes the woman can push it, but might wonder if she can do so for such a long time and uphill. The boy he saw by the roots doesn't look like he could move this thing at all.
The woman seems like she intends to help with moving the tree, but eventually steps away as Arren requests. "It might not be the biggest tree here, but it's still too heavy. I couldn't even make it budge. Surely, you don't mean to lift it alone? I'm not even sure we can manage just the two of us, even if you soldiers really are as strong as they say."
When Arren tries, he sees that, as the woman said, the tree is too heavy for him to lift. The javelins, not meant to be used in that way, will bend and eventually break before they can move the tree. Thrown weapons are meant to be light, not sturdy. Arren doesn't think the tree is trapped in any way (nor has traps on it, if that's what you meant), but rather simply lies there.
"Perhaps your comrades might help?" The woman suggests, seeing that Arren can't lift the tree alone after all. "Perhaps you are stronger than they are, but surely more hands will make it easier for us all? I'm sorry if I'm pushing, but I hoped to get to the nearest town before dark. There's no chance of that happening now, but at least I could get closer. Sleeping out here in the wilds... beasts and other scary things are walking around!" She gets closer to Arren, who can see small tears in her eyes, and grabs his sleeve in a silent plea. "If it's not too much of a bother, could I tag along with you just for tonight? I'd feel much safer with you strong soldiers keeping me safe!"
Arren, perhaps touched by the fact that the woman travels alone with a kid, believes the woman is honestly scared of sleeping outside alone at night. Wild beasts usually aren't a concern for their crew, as a loud sound or waving a stick from their campfire will usually scare them away. After your encounter with the bear earlier today, however, you can at least understand why someone wouldn't want to sleep alone out here.
Bryn, on the other hand, far more experienced with these types of cons, sees right through it. Although he can't tell which parts are true and which are not, and to what degree, he has no doubt the woman is playing some game. And, although he can't tell what it is, he believes that her motives aren't just to find company to guard her - and her son - at night.
Varielky
(Nature: 6+1)
Arren is currently more concerned with the safety of the team than with hurting the woman's feelings for asking Walnuts to give his scimitar to Tace. In fact, he is disappointed in himself for not addressing this matter before they set off this morning.
The Sergeant is surprised to find the boy hiding. He expected someone to be hiding, but not that it would be a young boy—a boy alone with his mother. Given Arren's past, that might strike a nerve. But then he inspects the cart, and something doesn't add up. He glances at the woman but addresses the boy instead. "Come out with your mother, boy. You don't need to hide from us." The Sergeant tries to sound calm, but commanding, all the while watching the woman's reaction. (Persuasion: 15+5)
Whether or not the boy comes out, he continues, "Did you carry this cart?" A pause, allowing her to answer. "You and how many others, if I may ask? Unless you or your boy have some hidden inner strength, I don't see how you could have carried that for a long time, and uphill." Again, he lets her answer. (Insight: 12+1)
Arren tenses slightly when the woman steps closer. When she begs to stay with them for the night, he shoots another glance at the boy. Again, that brief flicker of the past—of a woman not so different from her, traveling alone with an even younger boy. But he pushes the thought aside after he glances at the cart again. Looking deep in the woman's eyes, he replies, "You are right—the wilds are no place for a mother and a boy alone. But neither is spending the night with a team of soldiers on duty, who cannot slow their journey. Not when you have other options. Go back to the previous village. Spend the night with your boy under a safe roof, as it should be. I will pay for that if you can't. When you come back through here tomorrow morning, the tree will no longer be blocking your way."
Arren speaks loud enough for everyone to hear, especially the Commandant. If she disagrees with his judgment, it is her call to give a different order, which he will comply with, as always.
All the while, the Sergeant still hasn't signaled for the Corporal to approach.
Diving deep to the surface ♫ Nessa | Saxa | Auriel | Chase | Shenua | Arren | Lyra
'Tace' does as instructed, hopping down from the carriage to walk to the rear to take the scimitar from the Lieutenant. He tucks it into his belt as best he can before moving towards the front again. That feels better, at least I have a fighting chance, and does that show a level of trust? I hope so. All the while he is listening in on the conversation. She is quite forward, that is for sure. Instructing the Sergeant on how to proceed like that.
He looks across to the roots of the tree, looking at the boy. The sergeant is perceptive, spotting the kid. He is also wondering what might have caused the tree to fall like that, roots and all. Certainly not rotten or struck by lightning. There is still mud between the roots, so not a storm, although it could have been windy without rain. The weather higher up might be quite different to what we have been experiencing.
When she mentions beast and other scary things, he looks back across to her. What scary things?
She is certainly up to something. What is her play here? Protection from something. Distraction on behalf of something. Is she the something scary.
He is still stood by the carriage, having not been instructed to approach, but does move to stand a little closer next to the horses. He looks at the ground to see if there might be tracks that would identify such things. Could she be a magic user? I am in disguise, could she be?
At an opportune moment that doesn't interrupt the Sergeant in getting his answers, he asks the lady, "Miss, what did you mean by other scary things?".
Nature: 11+3=14
Perception: 13+5=18 (or +3=16 if Survival for tracks)
As far as Arren is concerned, the tree looks like any other tree that falls might look, if its roots remain attached while it falls, as might happen due to very strong winds, sometimes. Bryn, on the other hand, recognises that the roots are too short. Trees with deep roots don't tend to fall like that, and roots with shallow-reaching roots usually have very long roots that extend far from the trunk. Either way, you'd expect to see longer roots attached to the tree. From this distance, however, he can't tell whether this is because the roots were cut intentionally or simply broke off when the tree fell.
When called, the boy peeks over the tree. The woman, whom Arren sees flinch slightly when he calls the boy, reluctantly signals for the boy to come over. As he walks towards you, his eyes are fixed in curious admiration of the soldiers in front of him. Especially Arren. He is Human, and his brown hair is cut short. When he reaches the woman, he stands behind her. He doesn't cling to her, but rather stands about a metre away, peeking at the soldiers but with the woman still in between.
The woman, who seems a little nervous now that the soldier begins to question her, steps back away from Arren and responds hesitantly. "These are potatoes, sir. From... from our field. We didn't manage to sell them in our village and couldn't eat this many. So... so we take them to the nearest town, which is much larger than our village, hoping to sell them there before they go bad. I... I don't usually carry such loads, but we won't survive the winter if we don't sell those, so... I had to carry them, even if it's heavy." The sacks are tied closed, but they do look like they contain many small-ish solid objects, rather than the smoothness of a sack of flour or small grain.
It is then that Lieutenant Tireur, who remains at the back of the carriage to watch your rear, calls: "I'll trust your judgement, Sand, but we are in a hurry, and unless you can move this log alone, I'm afraid I won't be of much help. Do you think you'll be able to lift the tree alone with the Corporal? If not, we'd better use all the help we can get." For now, the Commandant doesn't voice her opinion, which Arren can only assume is because she hadn't made her mind up yet. As she's usually quick to decide, he can only think it means she's suspicious too, but considering what Lieutenant Tireur said as you do need to pass the tree.
After Arren's proposal to turn back to her village, the woman stays silent, unsure how to respond. She's hiding it well, but you're sure she's grateful to answer Tace's question instead. "There are bandits in the area, although we've heard of fewer attacks recently, so I hoped our journey would be safe too. But..." she hesitates for a moment, looking back at the boy. "There have also been rumours of something else lately, attacking people on the road. It's not bandits since it didn't take any valuables, but it can't be an animal either. Or so they say, at least."
"They call it a monster," the boy interjects, to the woman's surprise. He sounds enthusiastic, you can almost hear in his voice 'Wouldn't it be cool to see the soldiers slay a monster?' "They say it walks on two legs, just like a Human, but crouches on all four when it is about to attack. They say it looks harmless at first, but moves faster than you can see and can kill a grown man with a single bite!"
The woman glares at the boy silently, and he stops talking, though he doesn't look any less excited. "The men say it must be just a pack of wolves, or bears. And that the stories are exaggerated. I just hoped we ran into no trouble on the road, and out of desperation, we had to leave."
Varielky
Arren glances back at Tireur when the Lieutenant urges him to resolve the matter quickly so they can continue their journey. The urgency of the situation almost makes him call for Tace's help—but something nags at him. The woman has only partially answered his questions about the cart, and she hasn't responded to his suggestion that they turn back. He decides to try one last thing before giving her what she wants.
Turning back to the woman, he does something unusual. He gently takes her hand—palm up—glancing at it briefly before placing his own over hers. Is the hand reddened and swollen, as it would correspond to someone that has truly pushed this cart for miles? "I'm sorry for your predicament," he says. This gesture may not seem odd to the Corporal, who has only been with them for a day, but Tireur knows better. Arren is not one for such gestures. Not in public, anyway. Then, the Sergeant does something that might leave Walnuts mouth agape. He steps forward and pulls the woman into a brief embrace, his voice gentle as he says, "You must be really desperate." The hug lasts only a moment, just long enough for him to try to sense whether she carries a concealed weapon.
Releasing her, he steps back, his expression thoughtful. "It saddens me that the men in your village offered no help—that they would allow you and your boy to travel alone with the dangers you describe. Were I one of them, I would not have let you face this on your own." His gaze flicks toward the child. Bandits, wolves, a monster… and she still brought the boy?
Finally, he turns to his superior officers. "Commandant, Lieutenant—I'd say we could help this woman. Let's buy her potatoes and take them with us in the carriage. They'll serve us well on the road, and the remains can be put to use at the garrison when we return to the city." He glances at the cart, calculating. "For this quantity… would five gold be enough?" He meets the woman's eyes. "More than enough to see you through winter, I hope. This way you can turn back home, and all your issues will be solved."
Arren holds the woman's gaze. If she refuses a deal that ensures her safety, secures the boy's well-being, and meets her need for coin, then she must be hiding something more. If she accepts, he'll pay this out of his own money, if needed be, and will inspect the tree trunk with the Corporal. Should the two of them fail to move it, he'll ask for the woman's help before she and the boy depart.
Diving deep to the surface ♫ Nessa | Saxa | Auriel | Chase | Shenua | Arren | Lyra
'Tace' listens to the woman's story about her potatoes and talk of monsters and bandits, trying to process it all. Surely she would at least have a mule for pulling the cart. Unless it died I guess. And travelling so far, so slowly doesn't make sense with those rumours of monsters or bandits.
And a monster that appears harmless, then kills in a single bite, walking on two feet then all fours. What could that be?
His thoughts however come back to the tree roots, and he moves across to get a closer look now that the boy has moved away. Torn when the tree fell, or cut?
Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the Sergeant approach the woman, and turns to see him take her hand and then embrace her. And then commenting on how desperate she must be. Is he propositioning her? No, that can't be right. He must be up to something. I hope.
He is examining the roots when he hears the Sergeant offering to buy the potatoes. He nods in approval. Very smart.
Nature (does he know what the monster is based on the description?): 16+3=19
From close up, Bryn can tell the roots have, for the most part, been sawn off. On those one could reach before the tree fell, he can clearly see the scratches a toothed blade leaves when it cuts into timber. The ones closer to the centre seem to have been torn when the tree fell, as they could no longer support its weight. It would still require some great force, though. Either someone cut the roots and waited for the rest to happen naturally, eventually, or it was pushed with some great force.
As much as Bryn can remember, no animal fits this description. Bears sometimes do the opposite, running on all four and then rising on their hind legs to attack with their front claws. None of the bipedal animals he can think of really fits the description - either being too small to be dangerous or not aggressive enough to be of such concern. Some apes and Humans are probably the most dangerous bipedal creatures, but they usually don't go down on four to attack, and biting isn't their preferred strategy.
Meanwhile, Arren can feel the woman's concealed blade under her clothes. It's not too large, but it's too large to be considered a knife - probably a dagger or a sword on the smallest end (and no, it isn't toothed). Startled and slightly abashed, she pushes Arren away. Not forcefully, but firmly. He isn't sure whether she realised his intentions, but at the very least, she doesn't draw her hidden blade. "Umm... thank you, sir soldier." She's clearly at a loss for words, no longer in control of the situation - if she ever was.
In response to the offer to buy her potatoes, she seems confused at first, then her eyes widen in surprise, and her face beams with relief. "Oh, thank you! That is, that is very generous, sir! I'm happy we can be of service to you brave soldiers!" You know the sum you offered is a little high for just potatoes, but if you take the cart as well, it covers the cost entirely without much extra.
"That's not a bad idea!" Calls Walnuts. The Commandant doesn't voice an opinion, which means she at least doesn't object to it. "Go ahead and pay her, I'll pay you back later!"
If Arren doesn't pay the woman for some reason and chooses a different course of action, don't open the spoiler below, and please describe what he does instead. Bryn may choose to stop him before he does so if he wants to; you can discuss it first if you want (in character or otherwise).
If Arren pays the woman:
(No need to discard the coins from your inventory, Walnuts will repay Arren when they stop for the night). The woman calls for the boy: "Let's go, boy. We don't want to disturb our soldiers any longer." Pulling him with her before thanking you once more, then hurrying away back the way you came. The boy keeps looking over his shoulder for a bit before turning away and running with the woman.
You think that together, the two of you might be able to push the tree downhill. "Let's load the potatoes on the cart then," offers the Commandant now, "you can then lift the treetop on the cart and push it from the other side, rolling it downhill. We don't have a better use for such a rickety hand-drawn cart." Indeed, it doesn't seem to be in a great condition for military standards, and lifting the entire tree with just the two of you will probably not be possible, or might be risky if one of you loses their grip and drops the tree.
Once the woman is out of sight, and after taking one more look around to make sure nobody is around, Lieutenant Tireur climbs off the carriage and opens the storage space. "We'll place a few of them here, and the rest will have to go into the carriage. Perhaps under your table, Commandant, if there's enough room in there?"
However, once you try lifting the sacks, you discover they are far heavier than you'd expect potatoes to be. Whatever is inside, it feels like it has corners too sharp and hard to be potatoes, too. The sound it makes doesn't match potatoes, either. If you open one of the sacks to verify, you find that it is filled with rocks. Stones, the kind you find lying around everywhere, picked to roughly fit the size of potatoes.
"Well, well, I suppose we were played!" Lieutenant Tireur can't help but laugh. "But a woman pulling a cart full of rocks can't be up to anything good. I suppose we'd be attacked if we weren't armed. I didn't see anyone with her, but maybe they hid well!" He continues to laugh for a bit. "But it's better to lose a bit of gold than to get into a fight with civilians - criminals or otherwise."
"We're the Katton military, people don't see Poule Tireur and Arren al-Nasrid, they see two uniformed soldiers that represent the organisation that keeps them safe!" The Commandant scolds you, but you feel it's more of a reminder than actual scolding. She's unhappy that it happened, but she knows she didn't have a better solution either, and responsibility falls on her, too. You know, she reminds you because she must do so, more than anything else. "Now, get this tree out of the way! We've wasted too much time here as it is."
Following her plan from earlier, after throwing all sacks of stones off the cart, you lift the tree's top on the cart and then, push it from the bottom of the trunk, from its roots. With the top on the cart, lifting just little makes it easy to push, and when the cart rolls over the hill's slope, the tree already has enough momentum to contiue sliding downhill, clearing the way.
Varielky
'Tace' draws his scimitar and says in an urgent, hushed voice just loud enough to hopefully carry to those around the carriage but not deeper into the trees, "Sir, the roots of the tree have been sawn through. No beast did this. It is looking like this is an ambush".
He leaves it to the Sergeant as to whether to proceed with the trade or treat the woman as a suspect.
It all happens fast. Arren feels the concealed blade just before the woman pushes him away, an abashed look drawn upon her face. Then, he sees the Corporal draw his scimitar after examining the tree—it can only mean he's noticed something that doesn't add up. And in that instant, Arren knows for certain: they're being played. He doesn't know exactly how, but he is absolutely sure the woman is deceiving them.
He could stop her, he's certain of that. Their eyes meet, and for a moment, he hesitates. Then, he remembers the boy. It's the thought of him that softens Arren's resolve. He steps closer to the woman and lowers his voice. "The boy doesn't deserve this kind of life. Take the gold and go. I hope you think more carefully next time, for his sake. The next person you try to deceive may not be as merciful."
The Half-Elf holds her gaze, hoping words his sink in but not waiting to confirm it, then reaches into his coin pouch. Pulling out five gold pieces, he presses them into her hand before turning to the boy. "Take care of her, will you? If we ever meet again, make sure I meet an honorable man."
With that, Arren lets the woman go and walks toward the carriage, shooting a glance at Corporal Peite—one that acknowledges he was right to see through the deception but pleads for him to let it go.
When the deception is fully revealed, Arren isn't surprised. He is furious, though, but the only sign of it is the deep frown etched into his face. He accepts the Commandant's scolding in silence, offering only a quiet apology when she finishes.
Arren can only hope those five gold pieces help a young boy through the winter. For the next few hours, he remains silent—though the Commandant, the Lieutenant, and the Corporal could swear they hear the gears turning in the Sergeant's mind as he replays what transpired.
Diving deep to the surface ♫ Nessa | Saxa | Auriel | Chase | Shenua | Arren | Lyra
'Tace' does as ordered and helps clear the tree from the road, pretty certain that the Lieutenant was right. The woman and boy were not alone in this. They couldn't have set this scam up by themselves. It was a decent con, and they did well to walk away with 5 gold. As marks go, a carriage full of soldiers was likely too risky. The normal routine was probably to jump out and demand gold at sword and arrow point.
He was a little disappointed in himself, though. Almost half a year in prison must have dulled his own skills. Or perhaps it is harder when I spending my energy pretending to be a soldier all the time.
"It could have gone worse, sir", he says after the road is cleared and he notices the Sergeant brooding. "If we had detained the woman and the boy, whoever they were working with would likely have been forced to act. Your way no-one was hurt beyond maybe pride". I really expected soldiers to fight first and engage their brains later, if at all. The sergeant certainly doesn't fit that preconception.
Arren sighs. "You are right," he says, giving Tace a grateful look. He feels a little better after hearing his words—and after talking about this aloud rather than brooding over it. "It's just... Perhaps the best outcome would have been to detain the woman and whoever was working with her. That way, we'd be sure they wouldn't deceive—or even attack—anyone else on the road. But I didn't feel good going that route with the kid watching." He pauses. "Not sure if that was wisdom, or weakness. Either way, I just hope that gold keeps them away from the road for a while."
The Sergeant falls silent, but the Corporal can see that he seems more at ease than before. After a moment, Arren speaks again—not for long, since he doesn't want to disturb the Commandant's work, but hoping she'll allow a bit of conversation after what happened. "Well. Ground disappearing beneath us. A bear. Con artists. Gotta say, things have been anything but dull since we met." He smiles faintly. "You holding up alright?"
Diving deep to the surface ♫ Nessa | Saxa | Auriel | Chase | Shenua | Arren | Lyra
"I guess it all depends on how important speed is for our current objective, sir", 'Tace' replies. "To detain the woman and child would mean escorting them onwards, and unless you thought to put them in with the Commandant that means someone walks, slowing us down", he adds thoughtfully. I am glad they are gone, they were just trying to make a dishonest living after all. People after my own heart.
"After the monotony of the prison walls I am all done with dull, so this has been the perfect start to our journey together, sir", he says, returning the smile under his mask. Not a word of a lie there.
"I am looking forward to learning from yourself, the Lieutenant and the Commandant, sir", he adds after a moment.
Arren has seen these kinds of scenes many times. After all, his presence is needed precisely for these occasions. Despite the military's best efforts as peacekeepers, the country is large and, for the most part, uninhabited. The roads between cities can be long, and with nobody to constantly patrol them, bandits form gangs and raid the travelling merchants. However, their small crew isn't there to clear these gangs, only to protect the Commandant in her work. If the threat is great, she'd often send word of it to someone relevant who will take care of it once you reach the next military camp or city. But larger gangs usually don't mind getting violent, and lone bandits avoid armed guards, so interactions like the Arren just had are rare.
The Commandant lets you talk just a bit before asking for silence again. From then on, you ride for what's left of the day in silence, disturbed only by the sound of Choco and Mocha's hooves against the hard ground and the wheels they pull. By nightfall, you've already descended from the hill again, and now, you can already see the mountains to the west. On cloudy days, these tall masses jut up into the sky, the tallest of them just barely scraping the clouds above. But the sky is clear now, only a few small clouds in the distant north. Looks like the Commandant's prayers were answered, as you doubt there'll be rain tonight.
The Katton capital, called Pyorre, is located on the other side of these mountains, at the end of a long river that flows into the sea in the north (on the map, just at the base of the 'K' of 'Katto'). The mountains are passable, even with a carriage, but there's not much in them for this crew usually, so the carriage doesn't make that journey often, rather circling the mountains to pass the military camps, bases and the border at the foot of the mountains. This time, however, it seems the Commandant plans on riding straight through the mountain pass, though you believe you'll only reach the foot of the closest mountain tomorrow evening, at best.
When it becomes too dark for the Commandant to read in the carriage, as usual, you stop and set up camp for the night. When renting rooms, protocol dictates someone must share a room with her, as Lieutenant Tireur did last night. She never complained about it, but Arren believes she's still uncomfortable sharing a room with a male companion. Out in the field, she has her own small tent, which she quickly sets up alone before carrying her small wooden desk out of the carriage and lighting a candle in a lantern to resume her work into the night. She also takes a small, uncomfortable-looking folding wooden chair that was previously stored in the storage space.
Meanwhile, the three of you set up a larger tent, with enough room to accommodate four people in theory, but even with just the three of you, it feels just a little crammed. At least you don't have to place all your equipment inside too (though you can, if you wish), as Lieutenant Tireur will lock the storage space during the night, leaving what's not necessary inside.
While rather sparse, there are trees in the area, from which you can gather some wood for a small fire, if you wish. "I actually wouldn't mind some potatoes right now, instead of these dry rations." Walnuts says, only partially intended as a jest on Arren's account. "They're easy to make over a bonfire, as long as you have something to protect them from the direct fire."
Bryn, you now see the Commandant full at work for the first time. Though you may have glimpsed into the carriage occasionally, never for a long, uninterrupted time. Even from a fair distance away - say, from by the bonfire - you notice she works rather slowly. With long pauses between each sentence she writes, thinking every word carefully. She also keeps a few papers for drafts, over which she writes more than on her main subject. At some point, she gets off her chair and takes the draft paper, crumbling it into a dense ball and walking over to the fire, throwing it between the burning logs. For a brief moment, before it turns black, you can barely make out a small handwriting, so dense it almost looks like the paper was black. Even without seeing the entire paper, you can imagine every last bit of it was used until there was no more room for it.
Despite working on something for several hours, the final product is not as long as one might imagine. Bryn could copy such documents in a couple of minutes at most, back in the day. And, for the rest of the accounted time, she produces several more dense balls of writing that end up in the fire, and there were many more with which you lit the bonfire, a product of the last few days. This is all already familiar to Arren.
Varielky
Arren wasn't particularly looking forward to spending the night outdoors, but he welcomed the stop all the same. Climbing down from the carriage, he stretched his legs and rolled his shoulders to ease some of the tension from the journey. A night under the open sky was hardly his idea of comfort, but after hours on the road, any change of position was an improvement.
As he helped set up camp, his thoughts drifted, as they sometimes did, to the peculiarities of his bloodline. Even if he favored his human side for personal reasons, there were times when he couldn't deny the appeal of certain elven advantages—like the night vision he had inherited. But there were others he hadn't, and he wondered about them from time to time. A four-hour trance instead of an eight-hour sleep? That was certainly useful, and he sometimes caught himself imagining what it must feel like. Running a hand absentmindedly over his chin, he felt the roughness there. He'd have to take care of that soon. Not having to bother with shaving was another perk of elven blood he wouldn't have minded inheriting—especially since he wasn't a fan of beards.
The Sergeant’s gaze flicked toward the Commandant as she set up her own tent. He wondered if she would join them for dinner and get some extra rest, as he had asked. He wasn't about to bring it up again—he'd already pushed enough—and just hoped she would do so without needing another reminder. A small flicker of concern crossed his mind at the sight of her alone in her tent, as it made setting up security a bit trickier than if they were all together. Still, he could understand her need for privacy. They'd just have to be more cautious.
When Walnuts made the jest about the potatoes, Arren shook his head and muttered something under his breath about 'damn sacks' before exhaling sharply. He knew the Drow meant no harm by it, so he simply continued the joke, saying, "Plenty of rocks around if you want to pretend." A sigh and half a smile later, he added, "We really could do better with these rations. Not that I'm a chef, but if we pick up some spices, dried herbs and olive oil next time we're in Pyorre, we might make them taste a little more like real food." He made a mental note to look for them when they reached the capital.
Arren gathers wood for a campfire, and then some extra, which he keeps apart. Before turning in for the night, he will arrange the driest pieces around their tents—a small precaution, but one that might buy them a few extra seconds if anything approached while they slept.
If the Commandant joins them for dinner, he will engage her a little in conversation. "We're taking the route through the mountains, then, Commandant? Anything we need to be on the lookout for?"
Diving deep to the surface ♫ Nessa | Saxa | Auriel | Chase | Shenua | Arren | Lyra
'Tace' was not used to spending so much of his time sat, and so he was more than happy to be able to climb down and get some feeling back into his legs. This was the first time setting up camp, and he tried to intuit what was needed and follow the others lead. Most of it was common sense, clearing the area, pitching tents and gathering wood.
After the events of the day, he found he was a little more comfortable in the presence of the three officers. At least he had stopped worrying about being found out constantly. There were still complications of course, like sharing a tent, but until someone ordered him to take off his mask unprepared he felt at least a little safe.
Whilst helping collect wood for the fire, he made sure to wander away from the others, allowing him to once again magically alter his facial feature. As before, this was quite subtle and nothing that couldn't be achieved with a proper disguise kit. Making his skin tone a little darker, adding some shading to alter his apparent bone structure and of course the scar. Just a little less pronounced than last time, to slowly allow their minds to adjust to something closer to my natural appearance. Not that I can ever be fully myself, they would recognise me in an instant.
This allowed him to once again eat a little in the presence of the others, carefully and discreetly lifting his mask but allowing a very quick glimpse of his chin and mouth where the scar ended.
Seeing the Commandant at work was of great interest to him, and he spent some time following her process. Writing notes, scrunching up paper and throwing it in the fire. The finished product must have been incredibly concise and to the point. Likely why she is so valued. Reading her reports will take no time at all.
He keeps track of the Sergeant and the Lieutenant. If they ever leave him alone, he will contemplate trying to pilfer one of the scrunched up papers. All those notes, there must be something of interest. He won't risk it if he is not alone though.
He remains fairly quiet at the fire, chuckling a little as potatoes are mentioned, and listens to any reply about their route through the mountains. It is not a road he has followed before.
"Do you have a regular watch rotation, sir?", he will ask the Sergeant as it draws closer to sleep time, assuming that in the wilderness they wouldn't rely solely on elven trances and dry wood around tents. "Which watch will you require me to take?".
(OOC: FireCat - Bryn would consider using his mage hand with his Mage Hand Legerdemain feature if he could be sure he wouldn't be overheard casting the spell. In the new version of the Arcane Trickster, this grants the mage hand the invisible condition. This now states that it and anything it holds is concealed, so I believe he should be able to take items in the hand and make them invisible. This is a much better application than the old version, which RAW sounded like you had an invisible hand carrying perfectly visible stolen goods. I just wanted to highlight this change, as it is one reason why I chose Arcane Trickster over Thief for his subclass)
(ooc: how were we doing this so far, @FireCat?)
Asked about the watches, Arren thinks for an instant. "With two pureblooded Elves instead of one, I'd say I can take the first or last watch. I could take the middle one as well if needed, but since I require seven or eight hours of uninterrupted sleep, that would break my rest and leave me less prepared in the morning. That doesn't seem necessary tonight," he explains. Then, looking toward both Elves, he continues, "If that works for both of you, the Corporal could take the first four-hour watch right after dinner. The Lieutenant can continue with his, and I will cover the final hours." He acknowledges that this likely means his shift will be shorter than theirs and offers a brief apology for it.
Diving deep to the surface ♫ Nessa | Saxa | Auriel | Chase | Shenua | Arren | Lyra
"I've yet to hear of a perfume that could make a skunk smell good, but I won't stop you from trying." Walnuts responds to Arren's suggestion regarding seasoning the food. "But I'm no cook, and years of military rations have dulled my taste. At first, I was disgusted, then I thought I got used to them. Then I couldn't even look at it for a year and now... well, potatoes over the fire sounds as appetizing as anything, salted or otherwise. If you can save yourself from this fate, I don't see a good reason not to. If you cook well, maybe even the Commandant will join you." He raises his voice slightly for that last remark, making sure she hears him. She raises her head for a moment, looks your way expressionless and then goes back to writing.
Ideally, any expedition will have enough soldiers to guard in pairs throughout the night. For smaller groups, just one person per two hours is all that can be arranged, and if possible, a soldier would not watch like that two nights in a row, or three if the group is even smaller. Groups as small as three or four soldiers don't commonly wander the country, and combat protocols for surveys into enemy territories of small groups don't make sense either. As most Elves can trance, they make watching a much simpler task, and units that sleep in the open almost always have at least one Elf with them.
In your case, Lieutenant Tireur insists that the Commandant doesn't watch, and since Arren can't watch several hours every night and still be alert daily as he must be, he doesn't usually watch either. As a result, Lieutenant Tireur always watches throughout the night. Far from ideal, but it's the result of the circumstances given to you. Despite laying all eggs in one basket, it has proved to work well enough until now. Animals don't usually bother you while a fire is going, and are easy to scare away. Bandits can cause trouble if they can sneak up on the Lieutenant, but despite the carriage, you don't appear to be a very appealing target, as three soldiers carrying nothing but papers with them. You've had trouble in the past, and this method isn't foolproof, but that's not enough to justify employing any more bodyguards just for the Commandant.
"I'll watch the night, you get your sleep." Lieutenant Tireur assures you. "I can trance by the fire as long as there won't be any rain." He looks to the north. Following his gaze, albeit hard to see in the dark, there are now a few larger clouds in the distance, although they seem too far to reach all the way to your camp. "But maybe in the future we could leave it up to our Corporal? I haven't slept properly in so long, I almost forgot what it's like to dream! You know, I liked sleeping just for that, before I enlisted. Every night you experience something completely new, a whole story you'd never have seen otherwise. If that's not magic, I don't know what is. The Levickans might be able to lift a rock from a distance, but I can just walk over and pick it up, so what's the point?"
The Lieutenant will remain by the fire, making sure the Commandant is within his line of sight. He doesn't mind 'Tace' wandering around, so whether Bryn can find a moment of solitude depends mostly on Arren. A reminder, the Commandant asked Arren to watch the Corporal closely over the first few days to study him and get to know him well, but that doesn't mean he has to follow his every step. If Bryn attempts any such act, I'd like to know exactly how he does it.
Arren gets the notion that the Commandant doesn't plan on eating anything with them. Walnuts once told him she usually takes just a few more bites just before she goes to sleep, and while far from a proper meal, it is usually the most she eats at one time during the day. He can take his chance and ask her about the expected journey during one of the times she approaches to throw a paper ball into the fire. She glances back at the flickering flame in the lantern on her desk but sighs and answers: "Since my other inkwell shattered in prison Tus, this one isn't going to last all the way to the capital. I'm not as familiar with the mountain pass either, so I'd rather make sure I have enough ink before we start climbing there, lest I run out of ink and find no place that can provide more on the way. We're taking a little detour then, passing through the nearest town tomorrow before heading to the mountain pass."
She pauses for a moment, then heads to the carriage and searches inside for the map of the area you've been using for the last few days. "I'd also like you to take our Corporal and search for a smithy there." She adds, once she returns. "I believe there should be one that works with the military there. If I don't mistake the name of the town with another. Use the chance to get him a proper weapon. You'll need more than just the prison's baton at some point." She addresses 'Tace' directly. "You'll be able to pick up a military-grade weapon the next time we pass a proper base, but until then, get yourself something you'd feel comfortable defending your life with - and ours.
"As for the mountain pass, the monsters to keep a lookout for are the Humanoid kind. It is a road frequently used by merchants and other people who travel across the country often. It is therefore often stalked by bandits who prey upon those who pass through the mountains. Unlike today, they'll be large gangs prepared for a fight." She pauses to make sure the message is clear. "There are other strange people who find comfort in the solitude of the mountains, away from where the military might bother them. Cults, murderers and other people I'd rather not meet. I usually prefer to avoid that route, but it is significantly faster than going around the mountains. Expect it to be cold, but at least there shouldn't be snow up there just yet. Hopefully."
Varielky
"You know what?" Arren replies to the Lieutenant, raising his voice slightly as well, "I do like a challenge." He doesn't specify whether he is referring to actually making the food taste better or to making the Commandant join them for a meal. Either way, he is definitely going to look for ingredients he can easily carry on a journey and even ask for simple recipes when they pass through towns and cities on their way back to the capital.
When the Lieutenant mentions missing proper sleep, Arren can't help but feel a bit bad. And, all this talk about sleeping and dreaming serves as another reminder that the Drow will soon retire. He's going to miss their conversations, and the Lieutenant's sharp remarks and humor. His gaze shifts to the Corporal, who doesn't seem to be much of a talker—just like himself. He sighs. The change is going to be difficult. Making an effort to keep the conversation going, he asks Tireur, "What do you plan on doing when you retire, sir? That is, apart from eating delicacies, sleeping properly, and dreaming?"
After dinner, Arren lingers for a short while, speaking quietly with the Lieutenant, and the Corporal, if he joins. He notices Tace looking over the Commandant's work but finds nothing odd about it. He himself used to do the same when he first joined the team, fascinated by the discipline she brought to her work and how different the job of guarding her was from anything else he had done in his years of military service.
So far, even though the Commandant has ordered him to keep an eye on the new recruit, he hasn't noticed anything particularly strange about him—aside from the helmet. He assumes that at some point, Tace will have to remove it, even if he prefers to do so a bit away from the rest. Arren has seen him lift it slightly to eat, but eventually, he'll need to wash and such. In any case, Arren can't help but find it strange that Tace prefers the discomfort of sleeping with it on rather than facing whatever it is he's hiding. Must be a pretty ugly wound to go through all this trouble.
The Sergeant nods as the Commandant instructs him to accompany the Corporal to get a proper weapon, adding that he will try to get an extra one for himself again. The fight with the bear has taught him that it would do him good to have a dagger, a shortsword, or something similar—something he can use alongside his shield if he loses the longsword again. Regarding traveling through the mountains, he only comments, "Sounds risky." Not that he is questioning her orders, but he does find it odd to take a road they usually avoid, even despite the rush. He will need to be at his best to handle what may come.
With that in mind, Arren soon retires to sleep, leaving Walnuts and Peite to their own devices. He wants to be the first to wake—not only to give Walnuts a little time for himself after his night-long watch but also to fit in some longsword practice before they depart. A few repetitions of diagonal and horizontal slashes, along with some thrusts, should help him maintain his technique.
Diving deep to the surface ♫ Nessa | Saxa | Auriel | Chase | Shenua | Arren | Lyra