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Post by Firehead on Jul 16, 2009 7:49:52 GMT -5
Tory slowly turned back around, pulling the shoulder of her tunic back in place. "I never thought about it like that before. I suppose you could say that. The only times I went hungry was when I ran off into the woods to get away from them, but the hunger always drove me back. I can't imagine being hungry all the time and not knowing when your next meal is going to be." Tam shrugged "'S a fact a life. Like yer whippin's--ya know'd ya was gonna git it. Same thin'. I'm gonna go 'ungry."
"What do you mean, ain't got nerves?" Tory asked. "Like they haven't got a sual or something?" Tam thought about how best to tell her without letting anything slip. "Ya ever seen a person what looked like they was made of steel? That no matter what went on around 'em, they acted like they was jus' takin' a stroll through their own house? No matter what they was doin', it didn' seem ta make an impress'on on 'em?" Tam's eyes glittered with anger as he remembered. "Them's people wi' no nerves. They ain't got no hearts either." his voice went softer and lower with every sentence. "Them's th' people ya don' got th' luck ta never see."
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Post by Brandwyn on Jul 16, 2009 13:22:23 GMT -5
Tory thought Patrick was exactly like that, but she wasn't about to tell Tam that.
"I think I know what you mean. Might have met someone like that." She looked back to the camp, the two men in dark outfits were not blending into the grass and were easy to pick out. They were making a bee-line straight for Guage's tent.
"It looks like those two guys might be after that Grizzly captain too." Tory pointed and then glanced over to see what Tam's mentor was up to. She couldn't see him anywhere. That made her nervous. What if he was sneaking up on her?
"They sure aren't very good at unseen movement. Obviously they aren't rangers."
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Post by Firehead on Jul 17, 2009 10:19:30 GMT -5
"I think I know what you mean. Might have met someone like that." She looked back to the camp."It looks like those two guys might be after that Grizzly captain too." Tory pointed and then glanced off in another direction, adding, "They sure aren't very good at unseen movement. Obviously they aren't rangers." Tam glanced in the direction she was pointing, and saw the two men sneaking slowly closer to the big tent in the middle of the camp. "They sure is watchful though."
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Post by Brandwyn on Jul 19, 2009 13:39:32 GMT -5
"Yeah? I don't think they have seen Patrick or his men yet and they are practically on top of his hiding spot, last time I saw him move anyway." Tory watched the men for a few minutes and then looked around again for Rick. She still didn't see him.
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Rick had moved back closer to the horses where Tory and Tam were talking. He kept the two strangers in site and within bow shot, keeping track of their progress. As he got closer to the apprentices, he could make out what they were saying.
The girl didn't sound like she would be willing to do anything against Palisade. Rick considered his options. He could just talk to Patrick, but he doubted the man would come of his own free will.
Another thought entered Rick's mind, but it left a bad taste in his mouth. Was Palisade as loyal to Tory as she was to him? Would he come after her to rescue her if Rick spirited her away. Rick then noticed how the girl was sticking close to her ranger horse and how the horse had an ear trained on Tam, while looking in Rick's direction. In addition to it being distasteful and very unrangerlike to kidnap the girl, Rick didn't think he wanted to tangle with a ranger horse.
He moved closer and stepped out of the trees across from Tam, Tory's ranger horse between him and the girl. "Hi, I am Rick Greenriver. I see you met my apprentice Tam."
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Tory jumped slightly as the ranger just materialized out of a tree a bit in front of her. She eyed him warily, thinking about jumping up onto Chip's back.
"Hi. Yeah, we have been chatting." Tory answered.
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Rick made a note of her posture and that she looked ready to bolt. She was as skittish as Tam had been when they first met - almost. Rick decided to ignore her for the moment, maybe she would relax slightly.
He turned to look at Tam, "So, Tam, what do you think? Is she going to help us?"
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Post by Firehead on Jul 20, 2009 9:43:58 GMT -5
"Yeah? I don't think they have seen Patrick or his men yet and they are practically on top of his hiding spot, last time I saw him move anyway." Tory watched the men for a few minutes and then looked around again. Tam was beginning to wonder what she was looking for, when rick appeared seemingly out of thin air. All Tam did was freeze at the sudden appearance. "Hi, I am Rick Greenriver. I see you met my apprentice Tam." Rick did not appear worried in the least about anything.
"Hi. Yeah, we have been chatting." Tory answered. She seemed be to tense, Tam thought. He remembered his own first meeting with the Ranger he now knew as Rick. "So, Tam, what do you think? Is she going to help us?" Tam snapped away from his memories to find that Rick was looking directly at him, waiting for an answer. Tam looked thoughtfully in Tory's direction. "We--ell, I dunno. Is you?" he asked Tory.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jul 20, 2009 11:02:25 GMT -5
Tory eyed them both for a minute before answering. She decided to be honest, but was ready to jump on Chip and hightail it away from them if either made a move in her direction. She didn't like being in between them where it was hard to keep an eye on them both at the same time. No doubt Rick had done that deliberately. He had also managed to station himself between her and Patrick.
She chewed her lower lip, debating what to say exactly.
"I am not going to do anything that is going to harm Patrick in any way. He is my mentor and part of my job is to protect him, just as he does me." She wondered what Rick was up to and what he was planning. She wanted to get away from them. "I can go back out there and find him and let him know you want to speak with him, if you like." She offered warily.
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Rick suppressed an amused smile, 'yep she is skittish as a newborn colt' he thought.
"I think we will just wait here until he comes back for his horse." Rick said in a friendly tone. "He should be along soon, right?"
Tory was liking this less and less. She said evasivly, "fine, you two wait here and I will go fetch him." She scanned the grass again quickly, but still couldn't see where Patrick was exactly.
"Oh, I don't think it is too safe for you to go back out there in that grass. Those two strangers are up to no good. Assassin's I think and I am not sure who they are after. I wouldn't forgive myself if you were to get caught up in the middle of anything here." Rick said, taking another step towards her.
Tory whispered something and her ranger horse laid back its ears at Rick, a clear warning to stay away.
Rick decided to try another tactic to gain her trust. "Look, I just want to talk with him, I am not going to hurt him or you. Crowley wants him to come back and explain what happened back there in Araluen just before he left. That's all." He stopped moving forward and kept his eye on the horse, rather than the girl.
"He supposedly resigned as a ranger, but he left with all the ranger gear and two apprentices. Crowley wants him to explain and he wants to make sure you and the other apprentice are ok."
Tory wasn't buying a word of it. "As you can see, I am fine. As to Arrow, he left to go back to the rondevoux point where our army is supposed to land north of La Rivage to hook back up with his mentor." Tory scowled, "and that is just as well too. He- " she didn't want to speak badly of him, but he had not been very nice to her. "He is a strange one." she finished lamely, modifying what she had originally been going to say. "He had a knife wound in his back and a bump on the head, but they weren't too bad. We tried to stop him, but he doesn't listen to anyone."
Rick's smile slid off his face at that news. Now they were going to have to go track the kid down after they finished here and had Palisade in custody. He wondered where his bounty hunter friend, Adrian had wandered off to. Adrian would come in handy here, especially if Palisade resisted. "He shouldn't have done that unless Palisade released him."
Tory shook her head, "Patrick wasn't there at the time. Arrow is very headstrong and most of us were too beat up to stop him. Master Ian tried and so did Ranger Shanna, but he went anyway. Stole out when they weren't lookin."
Suddenly there was a thud accompanied by a bit of loud cursing and Tory glanced towards the grass where Patrick and his men were hiding. One of the strangers was motioning for silence. His comrad had tripped over one of Patrick's men and they were now wrestling in the grass. "Uh oh! Look!" Tory pointed.
Rick turned around and cursed softly under his breath as he swiftly knocked an arrow. He waited a moment and then saw one of the perimeter sentries start running towards the scuffle, opening his mouth to give a warning. Rick let the arrow fly and before it his the man in the throat he had another arrow knocked, waiting for the next Grizzly to notice what was going on. He didn't want the whole camp roused and coming down on them, or they would all be in trouble.
(Ok we are going to go to Hunting Guage on the "La Rivage" board now...)
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