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Post by Tandar on Feb 14, 2009 11:27:48 GMT -5
[OOC: Bobpoplol, this thread is actually private. It is reserved for certain roleplayers, hence the parentheses and names after the title.]
Palisade frowned. Someone or some organization could possibly be aware of their presence here in Gallica. He hadn't paid any attention to the man near the door, nor did he notice the pendant. The ranger peered out the window at the man below. "They may know we're here. We'll have to take precautions to protect ourselves." Patrick paced the floor nervously as he formulated possible plans of action in his mind.
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Post by Brandwyn on Feb 16, 2009 8:28:47 GMT -5
Tory watched in alarm as Patrick paced the floor. This was the first time she had ever seen him anxious over anything. She wracked her brains for what they could possibly do. She had gotten used to Patrick taking the lead in the short time they had been together and it was difficult to get back into her usual independent state of mind.
“Perhaps one of us should wait down at the docks to meet these scouts and bring them in the back way, unseen by these Bear Paw guys.” She mused, thinking out loud. “I bet they have a place they gather at too, since it seems there are a few of them around the city at least. Maybe we could follow one of them? See what they’re up to?” She wondered if they were watching the docks too. “I bet that if they are keeping tabs on who is going where in the city, that they are watching the docks too.”
She started gathering up her new maps she had scattered all over her bed, intending to roll them up and put them back in the map case so she could pay attention to Patrick. She snuck a glance at Arrow to see what he thought about all of this.
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Post by Tandar on Feb 20, 2009 18:35:38 GMT -5
"Tory, you head down to the docks and bring the scouts in the back way. Their ship should arrive within the hour. Since you're in plain clothes they aren't going to recognize you. You'll have to find them and ask Ian the code phrase. The phrase is 'What time is the curfew?' The correct response is 'Midnight on market day.' You'll know it's him if he answers correctly. He should have an apprentice with him too. There's not really a curfew in La Rivage so you don't have to worry about someone else giving you the correct response."
Ranger Palisade faced Arrow. "You can try following one of the suspicious men around town. See if you can figure out where they're meeting if they're meeting tonight. Both of you be careful."
"I'm going to make preparations for our scouting trip tomorrow."8
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Post by Brandwyn on Feb 21, 2009 18:10:19 GMT -5
Tory rolled up her maps and stuffed them back into the case and left it and her other new books lying on her bed next to her satchel bag that contained her journal. “OK. See you back here.”
Tory left her ranger cloak behind and made her way back downstairs to the common room. It was bustling with activity. She didn’t chance being seen by the guy scouting out the front door and slipped back through the kitchen again and out the back door.
She took a circuitous route back to the docks on Chip, making sure she wasn’t followed. She didn’t notice anything suspicious until she got to the docks and saw a ship just pulling into port. She saw the figure head on the ship was of a horse with fins on its forefeet just behind the hooves and the name on the brow said “Sea Pony”. Tory pulled up Chip at the end of the row of docks, waiting to see which pier it would pull up to and she scanned the crowd, taking note of everyone in the area.
She saw two men who were watching the ship pulling into one of the piers near the center of the row of docks. One man was leaning against the corner of a warehouse towards the far end of the docks from Tory. The other was sitting on a barrel near the center of the docks. Both of them stuck out because they were dressed like dock workers, but weren’t doing any work.
Tory watched as the Sea Pony pulled up to the pier and the sailors made it secure and laid out the gangplanks so its passengers could disembark. She watched the two men on the docks perk up as two rangers made their way off the ship, mounted their horses and headed away from the crowded docks. The man at the far end of the docks slipped away into the crowd, following the rangers. Tory wished she had been able to warn them, but didn’t see how she could without giving herself away to the other man.
She turned her attention back to the ship and urged Chip forward so she could greet the scouts when they put in their appearance.
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Post by Brandwyn on Feb 23, 2009 18:19:37 GMT -5
(OOC: read the post on “arriving at red feather inn” to catch this scene from a different perspective)
Tory watched a middle aged nobleman lead a gray stallion down the gangplank followed by a pretty young lady with flowing blonde hair in a gorgeous traveling dress. She was leading a very high-strung Arabian mare. Tory looked the two horses over, admiring their obvious good breeding and the way they seemed to dance down the gangplank as if they would sprout wings and fly at any moment. She almost missed her cue, she was so wrapped up in watching the horses.
When the nobleman paused in front of her, as if preparing to mount his horse, she asked him the code phrase.
“My Lord, Do you know what time is the curfew?” He turned towards her and gave her the correct response, “It is at Midnight on Market Day, milady.” Then he helped the young woman mount and sprang up on his own horse lightly.
He turned back to her and Tory had just realized that this was indeed the scout she was looking for when he asked, “pray, milady, could you perhaps recommend a good Inn for the night?”
Tory nodded, “Actually, if you would prefer, I can guide you to one, since I am on my way there now.” Tory risked a glance at the man she knew was watching them and noted that he had looked away, but she figured he was still interested. “Follow me.” She turned Chocolate Chip and made her way back down the docks and then into the city, the Royal Scouts on her heels.
She glanced back, but did not see the man following them. Perhaps he wasn’t interested in them after all. She wondered why the first man was following the two rangers that had departed earlier. When she got far enough away that she figured it was safer to talk, she pulled up and let the master Scout come up alongside of her.
“We were being watched back there, might still be actually.” She nodded her head over her shoulder. “My name is Tory, I am ranger Palisade’s new apprentice. “ She scanned the crowd again. “There are men here watching who is coming and going. One was at the pier, but I don’t think he followed us.”
Tory led them in a looping route through the city to the Inn, doubling back a couple of times to make sure they weren’t followed. At one point, when they were waiting for the crowd to thin, so they could proceed, she muttered, “I just wish I could have warned those two rangers that they were being followed.”
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Post by Brandwyn on Feb 25, 2009 11:10:17 GMT -5
Ian looked the girl over as they departed the docks. She seemed awfully young to be involved in all this dangerous scouting activity. When she introduced herself as a ranger apprentice, he was doubly surprised. Especially when she said she was Palisade's apprentice. He had dealt briefly one time with Palisade and found the young man very reserved and serious, but a formidable ranger. He had a hard time imaging the grim ranger with an apprentice, especially this sprite of a girl.
"I am Ian MacGreggor and this is Brandwyn Elfstone, Royal Scouts for His Majesty, King Duncan." Ian introduced himself as they waited to get through the throngs in the street. "yeah, I saw that guy watching people coming off the ship. I don't think he followed us either."
They followed Tory through the city a bit further until they had to pause again because the street was clogged. 'She certainly seems to know her way around,' he mused. Then he caught her mutter about the two rangers being followed and glanced quickly at Brandwyn to see if she had caught that comment.
Brandwyn wasn't paying much attention to their guide or where they were going, wrapped up in her misery at the parting with Tandar, until the girl said something about warning "two rangers".
"What was that?" She asked sharply, "Are you saying someone was following Tandar?"
At the girl's nod, she looked at Ian in alarm, "We have to go back! We have to warn him!" She started to turn her horse around, but Ian grabbed the rein and stopped her.
"It is too late now, he and Dren are long gone." He looked at his apprentice with concern, "Unless you know which way they were heading?"
Brandwyn shook her head. "Tandar is a ranger, Brandy," Ian continued. "I am sure he has already noticed the person following them and has dealt with him."
"But-" Brandwyn started to argue, but Ian cut her off. "If we try to warn him, we will only be giving ourselves away to whomever it is that is keeping tabs on people. We can't blow our own cover."
Brandwyn nodded miserably, knowing he was right, but worried that Tandar may have already gotten into trouble. Ian was right though, Tandar could take care of himself, and it was two against one, since he had Drenith with him. Besides, there really wasn't anything she could do at this point.
That still didn't make her feel any better. She continued the rest of the ride in silent misery, ignoring the glances their young guide, Tory, shot at her covertly.
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Post by Brandwyn on Feb 25, 2009 11:19:46 GMT -5
Tory led the scouts back past the front of the Red Feather and to the stables in the rear, noticeing that Brandwyn's eyes were red-rimmed as if she had been crying and that she didn't seem at all happy. Tory wondered why she was upset. It had to be more than the fact some guy was following those two rangers, but she didn't dare to ask.
"We should go in through the kitchen entrance, one of those guys is watching people out front." Tory replied as she untacked Chip and put her in a stall while the Scouts took care of their own horses.
She led them through the kitchen and to the inn keeper so they could make arrangements for the night, then led them up to the room she had gotten for Patrick and Arrow and herself, wondering if they were back yet or not.
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Post by Tandar on Feb 25, 2009 17:21:32 GMT -5
Ranger Palisade pushed Caliber harder. He needed all the speed he could muster to get back to the Red Feather Inn before Tory did. Arrow wouldn't be back until nightfall when he figured out where the Grizzlies were meeting. * * * * * After the two apprentices had left the room at the inn, Patrick waited a few minutes to make sure they were out of sight and set off on a trip of his own. He saddled his ranger horse in the stable and ventured outside of town, circumventing the crowds that clotted the streets. Palisade had stopped at a small camp in the wilderness not far from the city. Several camouflaged tents lined the edge of the site and a small fire was burning in the center. A brawny man with a mace on his back was adding fuel to the fire. He put only the driest of wood on the fire to minimize the output of smoke. The trees in the area covered what little smoke there was, leaving nothing to be seen from La Rivage. The man in the camp saluted Palisade with two quick movements. He brought his right hand to his brow then made a fist as he twisted his gauntlet slightly and made his forearm vertical. The ranger returned the salute and reigned in beside the captain. He made sure his cloak was open enough to make the chain on his neck visible. "Sir, I have the information you requested on the scouts." Palisade handed Captain Gauge a stack of reports. * * * * * Now that Patrick was back at the inn, he took the stairs two at a time. If Tory returned before he did, questions would be sure to follow. The ranger had forgotten to check whether her mount had been in the stable when he put Caliber up for the night. When he opened the door to the room, he saw his apprentice and the royal scouts. Patrick hastily jerked the bear paw chain from his neck and stuffed it in a drawer.8
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Post by Brandwyn on Feb 25, 2009 19:39:28 GMT -5
Tory was pointing out the man on the front porch of the Inn to Ian out the window of her room on the second floor when the door burst open and Patrick strolled in. He stopped by the dresser and she thought she had seen him put something in the drawer, but she wasn’t sure, he had moved so fast. She dismissed it as irrelevant and introduced the rangers to him, not sure if he knew them or not.
“Patrick, this is Ian and his apprentice Brandwyn” Tory made the introductions, “Ian, Brandwyn, this is my mentor, Ranger Patrick Palisade.” She leaned back onto the windowsill with her elbows, watching the adults intently. She was picking up something strange from Patrick, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. ‘Maybe he is just anxious about the mission.’ She thought as she watched him move across the room.
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Post by Brandwyn on Feb 25, 2009 19:44:47 GMT -5
Ian was frowning out the window at the man on the front porch when the door burst open and the ranger strode in. Brandwyn, Tory and himself had not been in the room long enough to really get acquainted in the short amount of time they’d had before Palisade showed up.
He moved across the room to shake hands as Tory introduced them. “Good to see you again, Palisade.” He noticed the ranger was breathing a bit hard, as if he had been in a hurry. “I guess you were just out scouting around?” he assumed that would be the reason. “Did you find out anything about the location of the enemy?”
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Post by Brandwyn on Feb 25, 2009 19:58:57 GMT -5
Brandwyn was pacing the room when the ranger burst in. They hadn’t been there long, but she was in no mood to wait. She was agitated and she wanted some action. She also wanted to get out of this ridiculous dress Ian had made her put on back on the ship. The corset underneath it was doing it’s job admirably of making her waist seem pencil thin and pushing her breasts up until they were almost spilling out of the bodice, but it was also making it impossible to breath, especially when she was pacing.
She was at the far end of the room when the door opened. She glanced over her shoulder and noticed it was the ranger and continued her pacing. She turned to continue in the opposite direction just after the ranger reached the dresser. She stopped her pacing to look him over.
He was older than her by a few years, but not as old as Ian. He was good-looking in a rugged sort of way, but that only reminded Brandwyn of Tandar. She felt a stab of fear as she was reminded that Tandar had one of those goons on his trail. She hoped he was ok.
She just nodded to Patrick when Tory made the introductions and waited for his response to her master’s questions. She was eager to get started on their mission, even though she knew it was nearing nightfall and they wouldn’t be moving out until the morning. Her hand moved unconsciously to her side to rest on the pommel of her saber and found empty air. She remembered that the sword was in their room with the rest of their belongings because no noble lady would be caught wearing a sword. ‘Yet another reason to get out of this dress,’ she thought as she tried to take a deep breath and only managed yet another shallow one. She was going to pass out at this rate.
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Post by Tandar on Feb 27, 2009 19:33:12 GMT -5
Ranger Palisade threw off his cloak, revealing the broken down crossbow and saxe knife on his belt. He noticed that the young lady seemed a bit pale, but he wasn't wont to voicing his concern. He soon forgot about Brandwyn.
"Yes, I was just out scouting around the city." Patrick shook Ian's hand. "I didn't find anything, but there are some suspicious men in La Rivage. No doubt you encountered at least one on the way here. They're all wearing some kind of pendant. Did Tory already tell you about them?"7.0
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Post by Brandwyn on Feb 27, 2009 20:47:04 GMT -5
"Yes, " Ian replied. "She was just telling us about them when you came in. We saw one of them at the docks and Tory said another one followed the ranger and his apprentice that rode over here on the Sea Pony with us when they left the docks." Ian glanced at Brandwyn when he said this, thinking he probably shouldn't have brought that up.
Brandwyn scowled and stalked over to the window next to Tory and stared out it over her head, wishing she could see Tandar from here, but knowing she couldn't. "Tandar can take care of him, can't he?" She asked her mentor, needing some reassurance.
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Post by Brandwyn on Feb 28, 2009 9:49:40 GMT -5
Ian nodded at Brandwyn, “I am sure he is fine. Maybe he has caught the guy and is getting some information out of him. I sure would like to know who these guys are and what their plans are.” Ian sat down at the little table in the corner of the room. “So, ranger, do you have a plan for tomorrow or do we need to sit down and formulate one?”
Brandwyn turned back around and looked at Palisade again. He seemed very gruff and intimidating. She really wanted her weapons and couldn’t stand the dress one more minute. “If we are going to get down to planning, then I am going to go change before I faint. I can’t think straight in this monkey-suit.” She leaned towards Tory, “would you mind helping me out of this blasted corset?”
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Post by Brandwyn on Feb 28, 2009 9:50:38 GMT -5
Tory looked up at the older girl and then to Patrick, “Is it ok if I go with her? Their room is just down the hall a couple doors.”
Tory actually wanted to speak to Brandwyn alone, she figured there were a lot of things she could learn from the older girl. Brandwyn struck her as being very self-assured, in spite of the fact she was clearly upset about the other ranger. Maybe she could pick up some vital tips on how to exist in this male dominated profession.
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