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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 13, 2014 12:00:03 GMT -5
"Just walk away from Anthony if he starts in on you. Wave my letter in his face and tell him you are on an urgent mission for me," suggested Crowley.
Crowley was about to let her take Cropper out and then decided against it. "better not," he said. "you would then have to put-in for your standard escort of two soldiers and that alone could take an hour to get worked out. You know the King doesn't want you out riding on your own. Besides you will be riding Cropper to Caraway in the morning so he is going to get plenty of exercise."
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Post by Jordyn on Jun 13, 2014 12:05:56 GMT -5
Emily tilted her head to the side. "Why am I going to be riding Cropper? Aren't you coming with me?" She was really confused.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 13, 2014 18:12:59 GMT -5
"What? Oh, I mean I will be riding Cropper in the morning and you will be riding your horse." Crowley ammended. "I have no intention of walking all the way to Caraway."
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Post by Jordyn on Jun 13, 2014 19:00:46 GMT -5
Emily laughed. "Fine, fine. I see your point." Emily said, laughing. "You go have your talk with the King and I'll tell Rick to get up here. Oh, and don't get in too much trouble." Emily rolled her eyes to heaven. "And have 'fun.'"
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 15, 2014 21:37:21 GMT -5
The next morning, just as the sky was starting to get light, Crowley was whistling softly an old folk song as he saddled Cropper. His ranger horse was dancing around, impatient to get started.
"Seriously Cropper, if you don't stand still I won't feed you any apples for a whole week," He admonished the horse. Cropper cocked his head and looked at Crowley out of the corner of his eye as if to say, 'you wouldn't dare!' Crowley snugged the cinch down in answer and then went back to whistling.
He couldn't blame Cropper, really, he was just as excited to get out of the castle for a little while. Caraway was the next fief over to the east, and a bit north from Araluen fief, so it wouldn't take more than 4 days or so to get there. They would get a good look at the countryside first-hand, and maybe even speak to some of the locals on the way.
"Emily, are you just about ready?" He asked as he finished rigging up Cropper and led him out of the stables into the courtyard. He stopped suddenly as a rather imposing figure stood right in front of him. "Oh, Hello Your Majesty!" Crowley gave a nod of his head.
King Duncan frowned down at Crowley and then said softly to him, "Are you sure this is really necessary? I have need of you here!"
Crowley grinned at the King, "We discussed this last night, remember?"
"Yes, Yes, but I need you here," Duncan protested.
Cowley sighed and turned toward him, just before mounting. "Rick can handle whatever comes along. I have complete confidence in him and Marcus Blackwater is going to cover the fief during my absence." Crowley glanced at Emily, hoping she wouldn't say anything that would anger the King. Right now he needed to be handled delicately, with tact.
"I already told you all the reasons why I need to do this and nothing about that has changed," he riminded Duncan. "It is important that the Baron of Caraway sees that you and I are backing Bunt aa ranger there and the decisions he has made." Crowley implored Duncan to let him go.
Duncan scowled and then looked at Emily too. "Perhaps it would be better if Miss Watson remained to assist Ranger Greenriver," he suggested.
Crowley shook his head, "I need her far more with me than Rick needs her." He lowered his voice still further and leaned toward the king, "besides, you know how Greenriver is around pretty girls. She wouldn't be safe with him."
That wasn't really true, but Crowley didn't think he needed to change the way the King thought of Rick and his flirting with the women."It was a logical excuse to bring Emily and the King didn't need to know about those voices she kept hearing.
Duncan scowled further and then grumbled, "Oh very well, if you must, but you better come back soon." He turned and strode back inside the castle, his little entourage following in his wake.
Crowley grinned at Emily, "See? Piece of cake!" he swung up in the saddle, not nearly as gracefully as he used to, but still without need of a mounting block." "Now let's get out of here before he changes his mind again."
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Post by Jordyn on Jun 15, 2014 21:51:47 GMT -5
"Yeah!" Emily said, as she finished rigging her own horse, and led her out into the courtyard. She froze and cursed under her breath. "Maybe it would be better if Miss Watson stayed behind and assisted Ranger Greenriver." King Duncan said. Emily just didn't care any more. She turned toward the King, laughed and said: "Maybe it would be best, Your Majesty, if you remembered my last name? Or am I just that low that you wouldn't care less?" She patted Dancer's neck. "And in any case, I don't wanna stay here so you can beckon me to lay out all my flaws and sins." There was a hint of anger and saddness that she didn't hide in her words. She turned back to the horse, and monted. She looked at the ground and closed her eyes for a moment, waiting for the burst of anger she thought was coming. She almost missed Crowley's words to her: "See? Piece of cake!" Emily smiled smally. "No, I'd say something completely different."
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 17, 2014 21:13:10 GMT -5
Crowley grinned at her as they rode out the Araluen Castle gate to the freedom of the open road. And promptly got snarled up in the normal city traffic of mule carts, horsemen and pedestrians all making their way to various places around the city. This was the hour when the city woke up and although the roads were not impassible, the amount of people on the streets was increasing by the minute.
Crowley spurred Cropper into a trot, dodging around people and picking the shortest route to get out of Araluen, even though that meant going northwest and over the bridge over the Semath River instead of taking the eastern gate, which was the more direct path to Caraway. They would have had to go down past the warf and he knew that would take them at least an extra hour to navigate.
Once over the river, he turned east and followed it's bank on the north side. There were several houses built along this side of the river, though they technically weren't in the city boundaries. Most were merchant's homes and there were also several warehouses and a boatyard that sported two drydocks for ship repairs. On this side of the river people were just waking up and the traffic on the road was much lighter. Crowley urged Cropper to gallop and the energetic ranger horse was only too happy to comply.
Crowley through back his head and laughed in a very un-Crowley-like manner. People looked at him like he was mad, but he was just so happy to be free of the office and all that goes with it for a few days that he felt like a giddy schoolboy.
Soon they were out in open countryside dotted with farms. They were still close enough to Araluen that he would be very surprised if anyone would try to ambush them. Still, old ranger habits die hard. He had his bow out and strung and kept his eyes roaming the way ahead of them and all around them. It wouldn't be good if the head of the Ranger Corps were to be caught with his pants down.
At mid-day he found one of his favorite way stations and pulled Cropper's head around to the path that led up to it. "Thought we might have some lunch and rest the horses for a bit," he said to Emily.
The tiny cabin he stopped in front of was ancient, but had obviously been maintained. It had a firepit with a metal grill and a tripod in front of the porch containing four weathered rocking chairs. A stack of firewood was piled on the porch, sheltered from wind and rain.
"Let's see what the Cook rationed out for our meals, shall we?" Crowley asked Emily as he laid the food pack's contents out on the table inside the unoccupied cabin. Crowley moved around it as if it was his home, but there were no signs that anyone lived in the cabin on aregular basis. It was, in fact, very hard to find from the road, tucked back into a thicket of trees. Most people probably had no idea it was even there.
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Post by Jordyn on Jun 19, 2014 22:02:44 GMT -5
Emily glanced around the cabin and then looked at her feet. Her stomach was rolling and she felt sick. She lifted a shaking hand and braided her blonde hair, tying it off with a blue ribbon. "I don't think I could eat." She muttered. "I need to get something off my chest-it's mostly about His Majesty-but I'm scared that I'll say something wrong in front of him and get into trouble.."
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 21, 2014 15:53:20 GMT -5
"I don't think I could eat." She muttered.
Crowley continued to rummage through their pack, investigating its contents. "Well I hope you don't mind if I grab something. Old men like me need food to keep our energy up. I am sure you understand," he was concerned about Emily, but wanted to try and lift her spirits. It seemed she had a greater need to talk, however.
"I need to get something off my chest-it's mostly about His Majesty-but I'm scared that I'll say something wrong in front of him and get into trouble.."
Crowley raised one eyebrow as he cut a chunk of pale yellow cheese from the unwrapped block. He offered the hunk of cheese to her, hoping she'd change her mind about eating, but not expecting her to.
"I dare say you came awfully close this morning, talking to His Majesty that way." Crowley settled carefully on a rickety stool by the cold fireplace. "I know you were mad about him saying your name wrong. I think he may have mixed your name up with Betsy Watson's. You know, the head of Her Highnesses' servants." Crowley shook his head as he slathered a mustard sauce on a piece of rich, course dark brown bread. "I sometimes think his mind is going. Every once in a while he mixes things up like that," Crowley mused. "It seems to be happening a bit more frequently these days too."
"What is it you want to get off your chest?" Crowley asked. He had given her a few moments to work out what was on her mind. "What is it you are afraid of? Speaking your mind to him, or something else?" Crowley probed.
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Post by Jordyn on Jun 21, 2014 16:43:19 GMT -5
"I know her..." Emily said, taking the cheese and looking at it. "I'm scared to speak my mind. I've been trying to figure out something to say, but I'm scared that he won't listen to me. Or twist my words to make it seem like I'm like my dad." She paused to nibble on the cheese. "I want to tell him that I'm nothing like Morgarath, and that I'm almost at the end of my rope trying to prove that to him."
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 21, 2014 18:31:25 GMT -5
Crowley thought for a moment. The King did seem to be blind to Emily's good traits and did treat her much of the time as if she were her father. She had a valid point that he might misintrepret her words or just refuse to listen to her.
"Well, perhaps while we are on this trip you can write down everything you would like to tell King Duncan. Like writing a letter to him. Then we can go over it together and make sure it says what you want it to without leaving room for intrepretation," Crowley suggested. "Then we can sit down with him and either give him the letter and watch him read it, or you refer to the letter and speak the words yourself. I'd opt for the former, if it were me."
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Post by Jordyn on Jun 21, 2014 18:38:24 GMT -5
Emily nodded slowly. "I like the first idea too." She finished her cheese and stood. "I'm going to check on Dancer, unless you wanted to talk to me more?" She tried to hide the fact that her hands were shaking by clasping them together behind her back. She knew that it probably wouldn't work, but she didn't want Crowley to be too worried about her. But in truth, she guessed that he already was. She hadn't gotten any sleep the night before, and had almost fallen asleep in the saddle. She had hidden the fact from Crowley, but wasn't sure whether or not he knew.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 24, 2014 20:48:45 GMT -5
"Okay," Crowley answered, "But why don't you take this hunk of bread to munch on while we ride, just in case you find your tummy rumbling."
The signs of her anxiety were easily recognized, despite her attempts to hide them from him. He briefly considered giving her a sleeping draught tonight, but decided against it for now. If she still had nightmares but couldn't wake up from them due to the herbs, it would probably be a lot worse than not sleeping at all.
He was quite worried about her, but he didn't want her to know how much. It was better for her if he wasn't overly dramatic about her emotional and mental turmoil.
Crowley packed up the remaining food after hastily eating his lunch. He tidied up the little way station and then went back out to the horses and Emily. "Ready? Let's get on the road again. We have a ways to go before we make it to the Inn tonight."
They pressed on through the rest of the day, sticking to the well-travelled main roads and passing through several small villages. Some had been hit very hard by the plague, others had barricaded people out and seemed to be fairing pretty well, except for the lack of food. Crowley made notes in his roll of parchment on each town and homestead they passed.
As they travelled further north, people were more and more desperate and the lawless more prevelant. By nightfall Crowley was not only worried about Emily, but he was truly dismayed by the state of the country. He had thought reading reports would prepare him but it didn't.
When they reached Briarwood Inn just into Caraway he was weary, sore and nearly heartbroken. He put Cropper in the stable, rubbed him down and made sure he had good food and hay.
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Post by Jordyn on Jul 2, 2014 14:38:56 GMT -5
When they reached Briarwood, Emily smiled at Dancer, and got her ready for sleeping. Emily would come here tonight if she couldn't sleep. Unless she got trapped in that stupid dream. She sighed loudly, petting Dancer's nose thoughtfully. She was pondering what to write to King Duncan, but only one word came to mind: why. She shook her head, her blonde hair going back and forth as she did so. The braid that she had made her hair into earlier had come loose several times, and her hair had gone wavy. "I need a haircut." She muttered to Dancer, who snorted. Emily raised an eyebrow. "I need something else to think about." Dancer shook her mane and stared at Emily as if saying 'Whatever.' "How far til we get to where ever we're going, Crowley?" She asked.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jul 2, 2014 22:17:54 GMT -5
"How far til we get to where ever we're going, Crowley?" She asked.
"Well, we get into Caraway fief tomorrow but we won't reach the castle until the day after that. Probably in the afternoon." Crowley explained. "We'll have at least one more night on the road then the next night we should be at Bunt's ranger cabin just outside Caraway City."
He grapped his pack, saddlebags and bedroll, leaving only the saddle and bridle in the Inn's tack room. "Let's get some supper and get to bed early. We will be back on the road shortly after the sun comes up tomorrow."
The common room of the Briarwood was nearly empty. The Innkeeper bustled around them making sure their every need was attended to. Crowley drilled her on the state of the country folks in the area after explaining who he was. She turned out to be a font of information, even down to which families locally had what crops, dairy, produce or meat available for barter. Most were too afraid of the plague to take their items to market and would likely welcome a chance to sell or trade their surplus.
When she had left them alone to eat their meal, Crowley explained why the information was important to Emily and told her of his newly forming plan to increase trade by having King's men move the merchandise for barter. "That way the food gets distributed, and maybe we can move people who need jobs to those farms that need laborers to plant and harvest the crops and tend the animals." He said passionately. "It's the only way I see, short of bankrupting the Kingdom by purchasing food from other countries. That thought leaves a bad taste in my mouth."
After dinner Crowley purchased two small adjoining rooms for the night that shared one bathroom with two other rooms. He paid for the whole suite so they would be ensured of privacy and because he knew business was bad for the innkeeper ever since people stopped gathering in pubs for fear of catching the plague.
"Do you want anything to help you get to sleep?" Crowley asked Emily as he was about to turn in for the night. "and if you need anything, you just hollar and I will be right there." He was about to turn away and then said, "Oh, and Emily, if you have another nightmare and want to talk about it, you wake me up, okay? It might be best to talk it over and get it in the open when it is fresh in your mind."
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