As they arrive at the campsite, Arcius gets out of the wagon and gets to work on an idea. While everyone's eating/preparing to rest, he'll push off the need to for a moment, to modify/upgrade the wagon.

Specifically, he's going to thread the wheels, adding grooves and breaks to the smooth circle, so to better tract to the ground or mud, as well as add to the stability of the vehicle. He achieves this through a combination of his tools and Mending, before moving on to the next bit, that is to say the horses. Giving them a pat down on their necks, he mutters a small thanks to the animals for all their hard work, before passing them an apple, and looking at their horseshoes. Mentally measuring the sizes of the shoes, he heads back into the cave to scribe down some notes and ideas for enchantments he can make on the shoes, so to reduce strain caused by harsh (or difficult~) terrain.

Curious, Thia would investigate the cloth to see if it indicated anything. The first thing she would think of would be bandages. Perhaps someone was seeking shelter because they were injured? She'd then glance over at the fire when her thoughts would wonder how recently the shelter was used. Not that any of the information could mean much to them.

Once she was done poking around, if no one had started a fire, Thia would collect the driest wood she could find to start one. The scholar would remove her jacket and other soaked belongings. Panning around to the others, she would hold her arm out, "I recommend everyone at least remove your top layers for drying. I rather no one catches a cold." She'd go around to gather wet belongings, tugging at them until those who were more reluctant would give them up. The artificer would find ways to safely arrange the by the fire for drying.

When she was satisfied with the temperature of the space, Thia would pull up beside Arc when he'd return, whether he welcomed her presence or not. She wasn't one to turn down a study or tinker session when she had her fair share of work she should be plugging away at. The artificer will pull out her fair share of equipment, sprawling out on her side to begin updating the maps and research documents assigned to her.

At Thia’s behest Tarian struggled out of her chainmail and into her basic traveling clothes. With little else to hide behind as she changed, she did her best to keep her back to the group and change in as dark an alcove as she could find.

Upon her return, Tarian handed her gambeson over to Thia. The inside was still dry, but the outer layers were heavy with the rain. “Thanks for that. You’re... very considerate.” As stilted and awkward as her thanks were, they were genuine.

Tarian sat near the fire and started maintenance on her sword.

"Njalgas, do people often come this way? It looks like we're not the only ones to stay in this cave."

If anything, Thia had an immense amount of respect for the young fighter and her words held weight. Before hanging up all the clothes, she would offer to hold up her own jacket and look off to the side to provide Tarian with the small comfort of a privacy screen to change. "Thank you for handling the logistics in the village." Truthfully she was appreciative of Tarian's attentiveness and for settling into the leadership role that was thrust upon her. It's not always glamourous being the one tasked with the responsibilities and was often a thankless job.

Tarian nodded. "Picked up a thing or two from da—my father, I suppose. He's the head of the Watch back home. Or was. Is?" Tarian’s shoulders slumped a bit and her gaze dropped back to her sword. "It's complicated." Her hands returned to their work, slowly polishing the blade. "But he taught the fledgling guards thoroughly when I was growing up, including me."

As Tarian stared into her reflection in the blade she frowned and made one last pass with her polishing cloth before sheathing her sword.

"You did well patching up those village folk, too. Even though you were—"

Her lips pursed, and the muscles of her jaw bulged outward. She drew a strong breath and closed her eyes. Tarian's eyes were resolute as she turned to face Thia directly. "I wasn't the wall I needed to be at the windmill. I can't say this won't happen again. But..." Tarian faltered. "Something-something... strength, I think—or maybe courage, and..." Her brow knotted, and she rubbed a knuckle into it but failed to knead her expression back into its proper form.

"Anyway, the point is you have earned my respect for all your actions up to now, Thia. Everyone has." Tarian briefly glanced around to see if anyone else was listening. She hadn't registered that she had dropped the formal address.

Thia's expression would relax as she listened to Tarian. She wasn't one to share much of her personal story. Even if it was tidbits, the artificer acknowledged it as Tarian opening up to her, and anyone else in the group who was listening. Trust was being established and to Thia that felt comforting. She had been so caught up in the guilt of killing a man, she never reflected on the other's perspectives of the fight.  When Tarian would turn to face her directly trying to express her thoughts, maybe even apologizing for feeling responsible for Thia's cracked ribs, her first reaction was to tilt her head in question. She'd offer a warm smile and allow Tarian to finish thoughts before reaching a hand out in gesture for a forearm shake. Thia never thought of Tarian as a 'wall' or shield... only that she didn't want to see her get hurt. In hindsight though, Thia was fully aware and knew the fighter was plenty more capable of taking, or even dodging, a blow than she was. She could still feel the throb in her side. Lesson learned.

Thia would even let out a little chuckle before she'd speak "I would have used 'reckless' or 'foolishness' for myself." That didn't take away the weight of Tarian's words, but Thia would catch herself trying to use humour to deflect her inability to accept honourable compliments. She'd let out a little sigh from her confession before continuing, "Thank you. Though, Corti gets most of the credit for mending this round." Thia would pat her wound, and immediately regret it. "I agree. I believe we come together great as a team. I imagine things will fall into place a little smoother as we learn our roles and how we fit together. I suppose communication always helps too." She'd smile again with a nod. Though, should the conversation open up there to the whole group, Thia would continue on with her tasks as/if anyone decides to add to the discussion.

Thia, the scraps of cloth look like they come from a heavy cloak, and several of them have elaborate stichings on them, almost like emblems, or badges.

At Brandt's question, Njalgas, who has spent the time packing a pipe whose aroma is now slowly filling the cave, shakes his head: "Not a lot of folks come through here, and unless ye's going through them mountains further east, yous got ta travel on this 'ere road. Kinda has me wonderin' though, since whoever camped here is not far up ahead, or he'd already crossed our path." He then gets back to his pipe, and as everyone has changed out of their wet gear, he starts to cook up a simple meal from some of the dried meats, berries, and barley for the horses. It's simple, but surprisingly filling and delicious. Deep down though, you're all just glad to have something warm in your bellies.

AS you're eating though, the weather outside is taking a turn for the worse, and after another full hour, Njalgas says: "Looks like we might have ta stay 'ere fer tha night. I feel sorry for any soldier out in this kinda weather though. I doubt the Legion will get very far."

"That's what I had figured." Brandt says in response to Njalgas' evaluation. "We should keep watch tonight, just in case whoever stayed here comes back. I'll take first watch, Cannith second, then Thia, Corti, and Tarian will take the third, fourth, and fifth watches."

Thia would gather up the scraps of cloth with the emblems. As she'd look at them she'll absentmindedly wander over to Brandt. "Sounds good." She'd agree to third watch before she'd peel her eyes away from the scraps and present them to Brandt. Maybe he might recognize it if she didn't. "These wouldn't be Durnn's would it?"

Arc momentarily glanced up from his notes towards Brandt only to give a silent nod of confirmation with the guard shifts.

During the times that Thia was looking at and inquiring to his notes/designs, he'd openly inquire to her knowledge on runes or metallurgy. If nothing else, he would compare notes on her alchemy and his own attempts at metal working with chemicals and herbs.

Upon hearing Thia’s suggestion that the discarded emblems might be Durnn’s, she soaked in that thought a bit while she arranged the blazing logs with a sturdy branch.

They could be his. This cave is in between the town and Arceneaux, so he could have passed through here. Probably made camp just as we’re doing, just a few days before.

Thoughts of how the cave looked as they entered flitted through Tarian’s mind: the bones, scraps of cloth, the campfire covered with wet—

Wait, wet? Then it might not have been last used as long ago as when Durnn passed through, meaning someone else may have been using this cave, whether or not Durnn did.

“Hey Thia, Arc, just a thought here, but about how long ago do you estimate that this makeshift fire pit was last used? In the wild I usually only hunt animals, and people don’t usually use campfires in the city, so I thought maybe the educated might have a better estimate.”

Brandt, looking at the unitcloth scraps, you're fairly certain that they represent officer's insignia. Seeing the unit patch though, it feels like a jolt. The Crimson Guards! The Butchers of Cyre and the Terror of Thelamyria. What the hell are they doing here?!

 

Corti shed her headscarf at Thia's urging, nodded to Brandt to confirm her watch, and now listens quietly to the group discuss the former occupants of their shelter. With any luck they're long gone, although I do wonder why they left that cloth behind.

"This belonged to a Crimson Guard. They did some very bad stuff. If I had to guess, the person who stayed here was another one of the fleeing Garronians."

Investigation to check age: 

"Hmmm....." Arc looks it over for a moment, seemingly more concerned with its being here, rather than its age for the time being. "it could mean that, however it could also mean some undercover agents have infiltrated or otherwise gone into hiding." Arc passes the badge back when he's done looking at it and dusts his hands off. "Still, not much for us to do about it now."

Unable to determine anything beyond what you gathered, Njalgas heads to sleep, and you all go over to your various watch shifts. The storm does not abate for the entire night, but at leat it means that the night passes by uneventfully, with only the occasionaly whinny from the horses at a lightning bolt or a particularly loud crash of thunder. As you awake though, the dark storm clouds have given way to a bright red morning sky, with only a couple of fluffy clouds on the horizon. Looking out onto the road though, it is very muddy indeed. Njalgas looks doubtful that you can continue on, but seeing Arc's confidence, gives it a try. The treaded wheels work quite well for a while, but they still sink in significantly, given their relatively small size. Nevertheless, you're managing to move slowly onwards.

By around lunch time, the ground has dried up somewhat, and you approach your normal travelling speed. As you look out at the horizon, framed by a range of hills, you can see several plumes of smoke rising from behind the fold in the land.

As per routine, Thia would continuously and meticulously update her records as required along the route. Should there be any downtime along today's trip, the artificer would pull out her notes to reopen the previous night's conversation with Arc, comparing alchemy notes. She has some basic knowledge and understanding of runes, but definitely lacked in the metallurgy departments and would be eager to absorb any knowledge he was willing to divulge to her.

Though come lunchtime, Thia would finally look up from the documents to see the plumes of smoke in the sky. Her eyes would narrow to see if she could discern what could be causing it. She couldn't imagine a volcano in this hilly terrain... Forrest fire? Village fire? The artificer would steady herself to stand up in the cart to try to get a better view of what it could be.

Thia, the smoke appears to come from several small fires, with individual columns rising. As you watch out for the hill crest, you spot a figure, silhouetted against the clear sky behind. YOu can't make out any details, but it looks as though this person is watching the approaching road, and that they have spotted your cart.

“Looks like someone keeping watch up the road, and they know we’re coming.” Thia would announce her findings to the group.