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Post by Firehead on Jun 8, 2009 10:04:26 GMT -5
"Wonderful! What's the problem with walking? Me and Damien have to get our horses anyway. They're stabled at the Whatchamacallit Inn. Somewhere in there." Red waved a hand dismissively toward the city.
"Say, have you seen Ranger Palisade anywhere around here?" Rick asked.
"Nope. Why the devil would I want ta meet him, anyway?" Red asked, carelessly, arms crossed, as he watched Kira sniffing his apprentice. Rick pulled out a sketch of Palisade's face. Red glanced at it with the same sort of carelessness. "Oh, him. No, I haven't, but then again, I wasn't really looking for him either, so he might be around. Large place after all." he said, tipping his head in the general direction of the town.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 8, 2009 10:38:09 GMT -5
Rick put the poster away, "Oh well. It was worth a shot. He was supposed to meet up with some Royal Scouts at the Red Feather Inn. Maybe we can pick up his trail there." Rick handed the reins of Tam's horse to his apprentice and made sure Adrian was ready to go. "Let's go get your horses. Do you know the way to the Inn where they are stabled?" Rick asked Red. "We will follow you."
Rick started walking in the direction Red had indicated, leading his horse, Domingo. "Come on Kira." He whistled and the cat took a couple steps and then jumped into Domingo's saddle where she could survey the streets. Domingo ignored her, being well used to this behavior from the lynx.
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Post by Firehead on Jun 8, 2009 11:08:08 GMT -5
Holding his horses reins, Tam turned to Damien, "How can people like these animals? They're huge, they slobber all over ya, they stomp on yer foot, an' they bite ya, an' they don' care!" His horse-- still unnamed-- eyed him oddly, as if wondering how he'd managed to get stuck with an ungrateful boy like Tam.
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"Sure I know the way, right Damien?" Red asked, grinning as he led the way into the city. As he walked, he mentally assessed the damage caused by the fighting. "Looks like the party got a little rough." he commented.
Red led the way through the city, to the Inn, pausing once near a ruined storefront. "They certainly didn't waste time on being polite." he muttered.
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Post by flaminwolf92 on Jun 8, 2009 11:50:54 GMT -5
Damien sighed as Kira accepted him. "Well, I don't know about you, but I happen to like horses. Speaking of animals, I wonder where my dog is. Ah well, he probably went back to the horses." replied Damien hoping that his horse and dog were not hurt in the fighting.
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Listening to the exchange between Red and Rick, Damien nodded his head when Red said that they had not seen him. Walking back to the Whatchamacallit Inn, Damien looked at the buildings and various storefronts and felt bad for the people whose livelihoods were damaged. As Red assessed the damage to one of the stores, Damien said, "Come on. We probably shouldn't stay out in the open for too long. The Inn is should be just past this corner." After saying this, he continued walking and turned the corner. The front of the No-Name Inn was damaged significantly, but otherwise was okay.
All of a sudden, Damien heard a barking that was getting closer and closer by the second. Turning around, this mass of black and white fur tackled him to the ground and started to lick his face. Shoving the dog off of him, it turned out to be none other than the dog he had grown fond of here in La Rivage, Fenrir. Grinning from ear to ear, Damien promptly gave the dog a hug. Releasing the dog, Damien analyzed the state of his dog. The fur was a little bit dirty, but was otherwise okay. "Where did you wander off to boy? Did you stay here waiting for me to come back? Good dog." said Damien as he continued to pet the dog. Calling back to the group, Damien said, "Hey Red, look who came back." Fenrir, who was wagging his tail in excitement, promptly hid behind Damien when he saw the lynx. Apparently, the dog was scared of the big cat, and rightly so.
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Post by Firehead on Jun 8, 2009 12:41:33 GMT -5
Tam stared at Damien aghast at the thought that not only would he have to put up with a bunch of horses but also a dog. He dropped to the back of the group to think this new development over. He wasn't necessarily fond of dogs... but they were better than horses..... most of the time.
He followed the rest around yet another corner, and looked up at the sound of barking, just in time to see Damien get tackled to the ground by a black and white dog. Tam prepared to run, but noticed that Damien was hugging the dog affectionately. 'This must be the dog he was talking about earlier.' he thought.
Shivering from a sudden chill running down his spine, he glanced up and around, apprehensively. He felt like he was being watched by a thousand pairs of eyes, and he didn't like it--he'd learned to follow his instincts. He shivered again, and moved closer to Rick and the others.
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Red nodded absently in reply to Damien's analysis of the situation, and slowly started walking after him in the direction of the Inn. As he did, he continued to analyze the damage done by the fighting. "If ever there was a time I wished I knew Gaelic, it's now." he muttered. "Those boys who--" he glanced sharply in Rick's direction, "In that camp, were probably talking about it. And me sitting there, nice as you please, not understanding a word of it!" he grumbled.
"Hey Red, look who came back." Red jerked his head up, snapping out of his revere to notice that they had reached their destination, and also that Damien's dog, Fenrir, had rejoined them. "I see!" he called. Why don't you introduce him to everyone and fetch our gear from the Inn. I'll go fetch the horses--it won't take long." He looked to Rick. "Five minutes. Your apprentice looks cold." he said, walking toward the stable.
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Post by flaminwolf92 on Jun 8, 2009 14:04:05 GMT -5
Damien nodded as he absentmindedly pet Fenrir. As Red walked towards the stable, Damien said, "Well, everyone this is my dog, Fenrir. Fenrir this is, well, everyone." When Damien said Fenrir, the dog yipped and started to wag his tail a mile a minute. Chuckling at his dog's antics, Damien said, "We'll be back in a few minutes. Just gonna gather everything from the room. Come on Fenrir." After he said this, Damien walked into the inn with Fenrir at his side.
Once he was inside the inn, Damien looked at the damage done. The check-in counter had various cracks in it. The furniture in the dining area and bar was overturned and essentially destroyed. Apparently the fighting had reached the inside as well. However, now the inn was empty. Walking up the stairs, Damien was cautious about each step, just in case the stairs decided to give out from underneath him. Thankfully as he reached the top, the stairs did not give out. Walking to their room, Damien opened it to find that it remained untouched. Grabbing all of their gear, Damien raced out of the room. Taking one last look at it, he said, "Lets get out of here Fenrir." The dog yipped and followed his master out of the inn.
Noticing that Rick and Tam were still there waiting for them, Damien said, "Got all of the gear. Now we just have to wait for Red." As he said this, Damien placed all of their gear on the ground and told Fenrir to lie down. The dog did so next to the gear. Every so often Fenrir's eyes would shift over to Kira then back to Damien.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 8, 2009 15:05:59 GMT -5
Rick followed Red through the streets back to their Inn which had been damaged in the fighting. He kept an eye on the rooftops and noticed a stealthy figure here and there. They were being watched, but so far being left unmolested.
He did not notice anyone with a bear paw pendant who was alive, but saw several bodies. Some were Grizzlies and some wore red and white uniforms and a few were in ordinary mercenary garb.
Rick kept his bow at the ready so he could nock and arrow in a split second, just in case there was trouble and his eyes constantly roamed ahead and to the sides. He noticed Tam was looking nervous and he nodded to him, "we are being watched." Rick said lowly. "Try to act natural. Hopefully they will leave us alone, whoever they are."
When Damien introduced Fenrir, Rick patted him on the head and said "Hi Fenrir." He pulled Tam and the horses into the sheltered courtyard of the Inn as they waited for Red and Damien to gather their gear.
Kira sat on Domingo's rump behind the saddle and ignored the dog. She was watching the roof across the street and her tail flicked occasionally. Rick followed her gaze, but did not see anyone. He was fairly certain someone was up there, though.
Rick was relieved when Damien came back and he told Tam to mount up while he held Tam's horse's reins and gave him a leg up. "I think we should ride to the Red Feather once Red comes back with your horses. Also, keep your bow ready and your wits about you, we are being watched by someone." Rick said to Damien. "Hopefully they won't try messing with us, but until I know who is fighting and why, I am not going to relax."
Rick was surprised at Red's cavalier attitude towards the danger around him. Sure, they were taking a vacation, but he had to realize how dangerous this city was right now, so why was he just loping through the streets like they were strolling down Araluen City?
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Post by Firehead on Jun 8, 2009 16:50:17 GMT -5
Tam nodded to show that he understood Rick's instructions, but started to protest when Rick told him to get his bow ready. Then a thought came to him and he promptly shut his mouth, and slung his bow over his shoulder, drawing his two knives instead. He'd at least had some practice with knives, and he felt better qualified to use them instead of something he had very limited practice with. If worst come to worst, he would make a dash for it in the hopes of getting away.
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Red made his way to the stables with his eyes wide open now, to the fact that they were not alone and were, in fact, being watched. That Tam seemed to have a sixth sense for danger. Witch was a good thing, because frankly, he had no wish to repeat a certain incident of the past week--being caught by surprise, to be exact.
He swiftly saddled the horses and lead them out into the courtyard where the others waited. Seeing Rick tense and on edge, Red grinned at him. "What? Don't like the fun we're about to have?" he asked as he grabbed his gear and fastened it to his saddle, before swinging aboard.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 8, 2009 17:53:25 GMT -5
Rick smiled tightly, "normally I wouldn't mind a bit, but I am nursing a rather nasty knife wound to the guts that has just started healing and I have a brand new apprentice I am responsible for." Rick said grimly. "I would prefer not to engage in combat if we can avoid it."
He watched the others mount and then checked on Tam. He nodded in approval that he had the knives ready. "Say 'follow' to your horse, Tam, and he will stick with Domingo so you won't have to worry about guiding him since you have never really been on him before. You really ought to give him a name soon too." Rick smiled at Tam, knowing he was nervous and not just about being watched, he figured.
He mounted Domingo, careful not to knock Kira off his buckskin's back. The lynx ducked as Rick's leg swung over her head, a veteran of this operation.
Rick led the way out of the courtyard once everyone was ready at a fast walking gate for the horses. "The Red Feather is on the southeast side of the city, near that gate. It should only take us about 15 or 20 minutes with the streets empty like they are - if we don't run into any trouble."
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Post by flaminwolf92 on Jun 9, 2009 9:57:24 GMT -5
What Rick didn't realize is that Damien is never unarmed. Even now as he waited for Red to come back with the horses, he had his two knives drawn, both hidden in the sleeves of his cloak. Waiting for Red to get back felt like hours for Damien, however, in reality it was only a few minutes. Seeing Red come back with the horses, Damien gathered his gear and took his horse, Equis, from Red.
As Damien began to put his gear on Equis, he realized what would happen to Fenrir. Seeing what Rick did with Kira, Damien decided to do the same thing. Mentally taking in Fenrir's size, Damien removed the contents of the biggest saddle bag and put them on his back. Fortunately for Damien, he does not own many things, actually all that was in that saddle bag was his quiver and bow. Putting the quiver on his back and the box over his shoulder, Damien picked up Fenrir and put him in the saddle bag. The dog fell asleep promptly. 'Guess the little guy is tired. Probably had a rough past couple of hours,' he thought as he mounted Equis.
Hearing Rick say that the Red Feather was only fifteen to twenty minutes away, Damien followed the lead horse. Looking around for any danger, Damien realized that the fighting had encompassed the entire city. Sighing, Damien's horse fell into step next to Tam and his unnamed horse.
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Post by Firehead on Jun 9, 2009 11:01:44 GMT -5
Red tilted his head to one side as he listened to Rick's explanation, and then his grin widened. "Oh, don't worry, Rick. We'll take good care of you-- you won't have to do any fighting if you don't want to. I can always use the practice!"
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As Tam followed the others down the street, Tam tried to think of a name for the animal he was riding, while at the same time trying to stay in the saddle as well as keeping an eye on his surroundings. He quickly decided upon a name for the horse, and reduced his tasks by one.
As they came in sight of the Red Feather, Tam gave up trying to stay on, and slid off the horse altogether, grabbing it's reins and leading it instead. It was easier to keep ones-self from being trampled, and have an eye on ones surroundings, Tam decided, then to try and stay on top of a moving mountain, and watch your surroundings.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 9, 2009 12:39:47 GMT -5
As the Red Feather Inn’s business sign (a big red feather sticking out of a beer stein painted on a blue background) came into site, Rick saw a lot more bodies in the streets and even some hanging half out of windows on the upper floors and some that had obviously toppled from the roofs of buildings around the Inn.
Rick pulled up a moment to study the scene. “Those look like ranger arrows in those two fellows. In fact, I could swear those are Shanna’s arrows.” He dismounted and examined one of them up close. “I would bet on it…strange…I wonder if she was unable to collect her arrows after the fighting… It looks like the Grizzlies were trying to take over the Inn.” Another look around confirmed that the fighting was over.
Rick started to lead Domingo around to the stables behind the Inn when he saw an oxen drawn farmer’s cart coming towards them slowly. The two men with the cart were heaving bodies onto it. The one man said something in Gallic to the other man as they heaved a body on the cart. The body had a bear paw pendant hanging from around its neck. The other man turned the cart around that was full of bodies and they headed down the street towards the city gate.
“They must be burying or burning the bodies outside the city.” Rick said to the others. “Let’s just tie our horses and then see if Brice is still in control of his Inn. If anyone knows what is going on around here it will be Brice Tarrow.” Rick draped Domingo’s reins over a hitching post behind the Inn, knowing he didn’t need to tie his horse up. Domingo wouldn’t go anywhere unless he called or there was some danger.
There was a young man standing guard at the back door, something Rick had never seen on his previous visits to the Inn. He had only been in Gallica four or five times, but he had always stayed here and had never seen a guard before. He hailed the young man as he walked up, “Good day Sir, are there rooms available?” he said in Trader’s Tongue.
The man answered back in Araluen. “I believe so; Father is at the bar if you would like to go check. We are getting pretty full though, what with all the fighting.”
“So you are Brice’s son?” Rick asked and the young man nodded. “What was all the fighting?”
“Mercenary group called The Grizzlies tried to take control of the city and this Inn in particular because there are several Araluen rangers and a couple Royal Scouts staying here. Plus my father had been an opponent of theirs for quite a while. They wanted to take him out of the picture.”
“Royal Scouts from Araluen, you say, a middle aged man and a young girl perhaps?” Rick asked excitedly. The boy nodded again. “Are they still here?”
“Yes. The girl was hurt real bad. Horrible knife wound to her back. They think she is going to pull through now though. The Master Scout got stabbed in the leg and it cracked the bone. They are both laid up now and planning to stay for a few days.”
Rick smiled down at Tam, “well part of our mission is already accomplished. We have found the Scouts, Master Ian and his apprentice Brandwyn.” Rick turned back to Brice’s son, “Have you seen a ranger called Patrick Palisade and two apprentices with the Scouts?” Rick pulled out his sketch again.
“He was here, but cleared out early this morning.” The lad scowled. “He plowed in here like he owned the place with a bunch of armed men and took the girl, his apprentice, with him. They took off out the city gate very fast.” Unlike his father, Brice’s son liked to talk and he had been standing out at the back door for a couple of hours bored out of his mind, so even though he was violating his father’s cardinal rule about not talking about guests to other guests, he was not sorry about it. “That other kid with the white hair left for the docks, I think, about an hour ago. He said he was going to find the Araluen army or something.” “Thanks,” Rick grinned at him. He went in through the back door of the Inn and down the hallway to the common room. Brice, the Red Feather’s owner, was standing behind the bar pouring drinks for some rather bedraggled and injured guests.
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Post by Firehead on Jun 10, 2009 12:13:57 GMT -5
Red followed Rick , but remained in the background looking over the layout of the Inn and it's courtyard with a critical eye, while Rick, with Tam in tow, spoke to the guard at the back door. When Rick went inside Red paused, then dropped back to where the horses were, choosing to stay out of doors, rather then to go in.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tam also followed Rick, not just because he felt safer, but also to get away from the horses. He kept his moth shut and listened as Rick spoke with whom Tam gathered was the Innkeeper's son. As he followed Rick into the Inn's dim-light interior, he whispered, "I got a name fer th' horse.....Horse."
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 11, 2009 13:59:19 GMT -5
Rick chuckled. "Very original. I knew a guy once that had a mastiff named 'Dog'. Turned out to be one of the best dogs ever. It saved the guy's life twice."
Rick walked up to the bar, "Hi Brice. Remember me? Ranger Greenriver. Guess it has been close to a year since I was last in here."
Brice put down a full mug of ale and studied Rick for a moment. "Aye, I remember you. Need a room?"
Rick nodded, "two doubles if you have them - next to each other preferrably." He waited while Brice gave the drink to a guy standing at the bar. When Brice turned back to him he asked, "got any messages for Araluen rangers?"
Brice nodded, "Ranger Shanna left one this morning." Brice handed him an envelope off the shelves behind the bar. "Hadn't had a chance to lock it up yet, but no one else has been behind the bar but me and my wife this morning."
Rick took the envelope and quickly scanned the message and then signed his and Tam's name along with a note that he would pass along the message to Red and Damien. Then he handed the envelope back to Brice. "Thanks. Be sure to show that to every ranger, except Patrick Palisade, who comes in here."
Brice raised his eyebrow at that. "So is what the Scouts were saying true? Palisade is in cahoots with the Grizzlies?"
Rick nodded, "well, I don't know who he is working for, but it is not the rangers. He has resigned from the Corps and Crowley wants me to bring him back. Alive if possible. You know where he went?"
Brice shook his head. "No, just out the Southeast gate of the city, that is all. He had the young girl, Tory, with him and a bunch of heavily armed men. They seemed to be in a hurry."
Rick frowned. "I hope I can pick up their trail. With all that traffic, it is going to be hard." He started to turn away, "Oh, what room is Master Ian, the Royal Scout in? I have orders to find him too and heard he was here."
"Room 234 for the moment." Brice answered. "But since the rest of the party left, we are preparing room 202 for him and his apprentice. It is a bit more plush for the lady."
Rick grinned, "I wouldn't let her know that is the reason you are moving her." He knew just enough about Brandwyn to know she hated being treated differently because she was a lady. "She is going to be ok then?"
Brice nodded. "Looks like it. She was on her feet briefly this morning. Bad wound to her back though." Brice motioned to his daughter. "My girl here was just going to take them some food. She will show you the way."
Rick followed the girl up and spoke with the Scouts for several minutes and got a better idea of what had happened. He passed along thier new orders and then went back down to the stable yard where Red was waiting with the horses.
"Shanna left a message for and rangers that show up that she sent word to His Majesty by pigeon to land the army north of the city and that the merchant and theif guilds are in control of La Rivage right now. She said no one has made it to the front yet to find out for sure what is going on and report back to Crowley. She suggests the next rangers through here try to do that, and that Brice has carrier pigeons that will send a message back to Araluen."
Rick helped Tam up on Horse again and then mounted Domingo. "I have another mission, to bring in Palisade. His trail begins here, going out this gate of the city and I need to start tracking him if I am going to have any hope of finding his tracks on that road. You two can come with Tam and I, or go to the front or continue your vacation. I paid for two rooms for us for the next couple nights, so you can stay here if you want to. Hopefully Tam and I wil be back by nightfall."
Rick waited for Red and Damien to decide what they were going to do, and for Adrian to catch up with him.
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Post by flaminwolf92 on Jun 12, 2009 13:07:48 GMT -5
Damien waited patiently with Red outside of the Red Feather as Rick and Tam went inside. Not wanting to stay mounted on Equis, Damien dismounted his horse. Petting him, Damien waited for Rick and Tam to come back. Absentmindedly petting Equis, Damien looked around and observed his surroundings. Then Rick and Tam came back. Rick and Tam mounted their respective horses, and Rick said, "I have another mission, to bring in Palisade. His trail begins here, going out this gate of the city and I need to start tracking him if I am going to have any hope of finding his tracks on that road. You two can come with Tam and I, or go to the front or continue your vacation. I paid for two rooms for us for the next couple nights, so you can stay here if you want to. Hopefully Tam and I wil be back by nightfall."
Looking at Red, Damien said, "I don't know about you, Red. But if trouble is brewing, I can't sit around on vacation. I say that its time for this vacation to come to an end. I say that we should go with Rick and Tam and help them hunt down this Ex-Ranger Palisade. But I could deal with a quick ride up to the front. What do you say Red?" Damien then mounted Equis and waited for Red's answer.
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