Dougal
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Posts: 597
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Post by Dougal on Oct 9, 2010 23:27:49 GMT -5
Katrina fell back into a limp when the left the room and Dougal wondered if he should offer to help her walk. His problem, fortunately, was solved as Katrina put her arm around him. He responded in kind, putting an arm around her shoulder and smiling down at her. Quite apart from the fact that he liked having his arm around Katrina's shoulder, it also meant that, if Katrina wanted to, she could hold onto him a bit more tightly and take the weight off her leg. Besides, he'd already broken protocol once today, who cared if he broke it a second time?
“I can’t wait to get started! Maybe we will have a chance to slip away from the others for a bit once in a while. It seems like ages since I had any privacy.”
Dougal laughed and would have given Katrina a bit of a squeeze if it wasn't for his ribs.
"You know, I was just thinking that myself."
Katrina's next statement, though, took a little of the wind out of Dougal's sails. It wasn't that he didn't want to meet Katrina's parents again, it was just that he didn't want to meet her mother again. Stealing a look down at Katrina's leg, he started to imagine what her mother would say when she saw the two of them. No doubt she would accuse him of bashing up Katrina. Her father, on the other hand, would be more understanding, but Dougal figured that he would also be concerned, although he probably wouldn't say it out loud. Dougal knew that he'd feel the same way the roles were reversed.
"Yeah, I guess we'd better pay them a visit."
Fortunately, Katrina moved on to the topic of which men to choose and Dougal didn't have time to work out which insults her mother would be most likely to use on him. He wasn't sure if Katrina noticed or not, but Dougal tried to steer the decision towards more solid, dependable knights as opposed to more brilliant ones. For the most part they were experienced veterans, but there were two, one in the man group and one in the reserve, who were known for being almost excessively patriotic. Hopefully this would help prevent anything from going askew when Dougal started his interrogations.
Along with the knights was Henry and, although he liked Henry, Dougal had doubts that it was a good idea to have him along. Henry was, perhaps, too nice a person for what might end up happening. Dougal had no doubts that Henry would have objections to his interrogation methods. Still, Katrina was right, and so Dougal gave no sign of his thoughts.
Crowley's intelligence was interesting to say the least. Dougal knew that even a Ranger could be wrong, especially if all they had to go off was a gut feeling, but there was something ominous about the possibility of there being a larger gang. If that was the case, then it might be possible for a far-sighted bandit leader to start planning his own little kingdom in the mountains. Worse, if he had patience and the peace with the Scotti continued and flourished, there was the possibility that the military would become more complacent and give the gang leader the time to raise a rabble and possible seize some land, maybe even Macindaw castle. If that happened, there would be a long and bloody war.
Silenced followed the end of Crowley's report and Dougal began to work out what he should ask first and how he should phrase it. He decided that it was more important to him to know if the bandits were Araluen or Scotti in nature than if the gangs were lead by a revolutionary.
"Is it possible that some of the gangs were funded by the Scotti? It wouldn't be the first time someone's used that tactic to stir up some trouble."
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Post by Brandwyn on Oct 12, 2010 12:30:27 GMT -5
"Is it possible that some of the gangs were funded by the Scotti? It wouldn't be the first time someone's used that tactic to stir up some trouble."
Crowley seemed to debate with himself for a moment, and then said, “Without jumping to any conclusions, it seems from most reports that the bandits appear to be Scotti. Whether they are in fact or not remains to be seen.” Crowley answered. “However, there were reports of some well-known Araluen bandits mixed in with them. My suspicions are that they are a mix and they have an agenda other than revenge or petty thievery. I have no idea, yet, what that agenda is though.”
Katrina looked thoughtful for a moment, assessing the new information. She didn’t like the sound of bandits having some higher agenda. “Why do you think they have some other agenda?” she asked the ranger Commandant.
Crowley shrugged. “Largely it is just a gut feeling and the fact they are targeting soldiers who were in Gallica fighting the war. Why just target the soldiers if all they are after is food and money to survive on?” Crowley asked them. “It doesn’t make much sense. From what Gilan said, the farms that were attacked were ransacked after the occupants were killed or driven off. The first few were just ransacked, and a few valuables taken, but the food and livestock were left. The next few weren’t so lucky. They started burning the buildings after driving off the livestock and emptying the greeneries. There were signs of ransacking of the houses before they were torched too. Seems to me they might be covering up something or trying to make some kind of statement.” Crowley mused, stroking his chin.
He pulled out a map of Norgate and spread it on the desk in front of them. “See; look here, here, here, and here.” He pointed to several outlying farm holdings along the northern border. “These were attacked, the places ransacked. This one here they killed every man woman and child in the holding but left the buildings and livestock untouched.” Crowley pointed to one farm. Next to it was a farm that was untouched.
“Now here, here and here, along with these three over here,” Crowley pointed to several farms and a village farther south, “were all fired. They burnt half of the village of Nor’haven down before the survivors were able to put the flames out. Good thing there was an early snow up there. Nor’haven volunteered pretty much all of their able bodied men and even some of the women to the Army to march on the Aslavians.” Crowley studied the map for a moment and shook his head. “Can’t figure it out. We need more information.” Crowley sighed in exasperation. “The band is large. You would think people would see them, but they appear out of nowhere as if ghosts and disappear leaving no trace of their passage. Gilan tried to track them a couple of times, but lost them both times.”
At the word ‘ghosts’ Katrina looked sharply at Crowley and studied the farms that had been hit and the roads that intersected them. There didn’t appear to be a pattern but after a few moments of looking at the map Katrina looked up excitedly. “I at least know how they are getting around without being seen.”
Crowley looked up at her. “I would be very interested to know that.” He said slowly.
“The old Haunted Trail.” She said as if that explained everything. Crowley looked at her in confusion. “You haven’t heard of it?” Katrina asked and Crowley shook his head. Katrina glanced at Dougal, wondering if he knew the legend.
“There is a story the locals tell to scare their children into behaving.” Katrina sat down on the arm of Crowley’s comfortable stuffed armchair at the end of his desk and crossed her arms, grasping each elbow in the opposite hand. “The story goes that on certain nights of the year, when it is believed that the dead walk the earth, a fell army of ghosts sweep up the Haunted Trail and steal all the children who have been bad during the year. If they have been very bad, the ghosts steal all the family’s food and livestock too and disappear back up the Haunted Trail and the children are never seen again. Some of the stories have the children becoming part of the ghost army.” Katrina leaned back a bit and smiled mischievously. “Some of the stories are a bit more – uhhh - grizzly.”
“Are trying to tell me that the story is real and these are ghosts doing this killing and burning?” Crowley asked her as if she were off her rocker.
Katrina shook her head and chuckled. “Of course not,” she answered. “I am trying to tell you that the Haunted Trail is real – and I know how to find it.” She smiled triumphantly. “Remember, I have spent my life in Norgate and the majority of that time has been riding around the countryside. I doubt there are very many others who know that land like I do.” She stated, not bragging. “In fact I can probably name the four or five others who are as well-versed as I.”
She stood back up and ran her hand up in a zigzag that passed along all the farm holdings that had been attacked. “This is the trail and it is not really a trail. It is actually a dried up river bed in a deep ravine that from the sides appears to be choked with scrub bushes and thorns. The woods lining the ravine are very thick and extremely difficult to ride a horse through, but men on foot, if they knew where to go, could make it through to the ravine without too much trouble.” She told the two men. “Once in the ravine, after you battle through some really hellish thorn bushes, you find a sandy dry river bottom strewn with some rocks here and there and a canopy of thorns and vines over your head. It is quite pleasant to travel on actually, once you get to it.”
She looked up at Crowley, “In the river bed you could probably march six men abreast in most places.” She moved her finger back up the map which showed the area only as part of a deep forest. “After I literally stumbled into the thing I only travelled a little way on it, so I don’t know how far up it runs, but I do know that it lies right here, alongside all of these holdings.” They were all within an hour or two of the edge of the ravine as far as she could remember. “My guess is that it goes up into the mountains since it is an old river that dried up for some reason.”
Crowley looked at her dumbfounded for a moment and then handed her a piece of sharpened charcoal. “Would you mind marking that Haunted Trail on my map?” Katrina nodded and ran a line down in the area she thought the ravine existed. “Mind you this is not entirely accurate since I never really measured it or mapped it before. But you have a good day or two of thick forest on this side of the ravine and then probably two hours or so on foot of even thicker forest on this side before you get to the edge of the cleared farmland,” she made the marks on the map. “The locals believe the forest is haunted and for the most part they won’t go more than a few feet into it and then only to collect firewood or fell trees for their buildings.”
Katrina sat back for a moment and stared at the marks she had made and her mind wandered back to the night she had fallen through the thorns and into the river bed and realized she had found the Haunted Trail. She had seen and heard some strange things that night in the forest and wasn’t entirely convinced that it was not haunted. That had been one of the more harrowing nights of her life and she remembered it vividly even though she had only been 13 at the time. Her eyes glazed over as she stared unseeing at a spec on the map and heard the taunts the other girls had thrown at her. Those taunts had driven her into the forest to get away and they still hurt when she thought about them. Her forehead creased as an angry look came over her face as she relived the memory, Crowley and Dougal forgotten for a few moments.
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Dougal
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Posts: 597
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Post by Dougal on Oct 15, 2010 19:06:53 GMT -5
Crowley's information on the bandits seemed to confirm Dougal's own opinions. Of course, Crowley thought that there was more to the raids than revenge, but a mixture of Araluen bandits and Scotti raiders certainly sounded like the right mixture if they were the ones he had caused grief. It wasn't only the Scotti Dougal had targeted, but the bandits as well, convincing them that he and his men were bandits themselves and convincing them to help raid the Scotti. They had been disposed of once the job was done, but it was possible that some relatives or some bandits who had refused to help had put two and two together and then decided to team up with the Scotti.
For the first time in months, Dougal wondered if he was being too paranoid. Since he'd met Katrina, and especially since he'd decided to throw caution to the wind, he hadn't had as many paranoid feelings. But now that a crisis like was was presenting itself, the old feeling of paranoia was returning. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but he did have to wonder if it was a good thing. Paranoia could make people do strange, inexplicable things, he should know, and he didn't want to hurt Katrina. He could, of course, try to ignore his paranoia, but that might put him at a disadvantage when it came to planning the worst case scenario.
“You haven’t heard of it?”
Dougal was brought back to reality and realised that he'd missed the first bit of what Katrina had said. Looking guilty about the fact that he hadn't been paying attention, he shook his head and shunted his worries into the back of his mind so that he could focus on what Katrina was saying.
As he listened to the story, he began to see where Katrina was going. He'd heard the story several times while fighting the Scotti and he and his men had found what was probably the Haunted Trail. At the time he'd wondered just who had inspired the legend and why no one used the trail any more. He supposed that it must have been a secret path for initiated warriors only and, some how, all the warriors had been killed. Still, it had been very useful.
“My guess is that it goes up into the mountains since it is an old river that dried up for some reason.”
It did, in fact. Dougal waited until Katrina was drawing it on the map, before tracing the rest of the path on the map with his finger.
"It goes right up into the mountain. An avalanche blocked it off and diverted the stream, but there's a few decent sized caves about a kilometre from there. You could probably hide thirty of forty men and six months supplies in them."
He looked over at Katrina and grinned, about to make a joke about her not being the only one knowing the area, but she seemed to be thinking about something, and a look of anger came over her face, so he instead turned to Crowley and asked a question that had been in the back of his head for a while.
"If Gilan lost the raiding party, they must be pretty skilled. Too skilled, I'd say, for your average raiding party."
Dougal's face clouded as he thought about the next part of his question. He hated to admit it, but his uncle had been a total bastard and more than capable of what Dougal currently suspected.
"Crowley, you know who my uncle was. Did he ever take on another "apprentice" after me?"
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Post by Brandwyn on Oct 18, 2010 10:15:57 GMT -5
"It goes right up into the mountain. An avalanche blocked it off and diverted the stream, but there's a few decent sized caves about a kilometer from there. You could probably hide thirty of forty men and six months supplies in them."
Katrina heard the comment but it didn’t register right away that he had filled in the rest of the ravine. She was lost in the memory of the day she’d stumbled upon the trail.
"If Gilan lost the raiding party, they must be pretty skilled. Too skilled, I'd say, for your average raiding party."
Katrina was brought back to the present by Dougal’s comment and had to agree. “Not to mention that they are successfully outmatching members of the military. They must be pretty organized to be able to do all this for the last several months and not have anyone know anything about them.” Katrina looked thoughtful. “It almost smacks of someone leading them that is ex-military or something.”
Crowley looked sharply at Katrina, “That thought had crossed my mind as well. Harrison has orders to try to find out who is behind it, but if Gilan had no luck, well…”
"Crowley, you know who my uncle was. Did he ever take on another "apprentice" after me?" Dougal asked.
Crowley shrugged, “I wouldn’t be surprised, but up until now I have seen no evidence of that.”
Katrina looked at Dougal with surprise, her mouth almost hanging open. “Your Uncle?” she asked him, “Who is your uncle? You have never mentioned family, so I just assumed you didn’t have any left.” She was very curious, naturally, about Dougal and his childhood and family. He so rarely said anything about his past. It wouldn’t change how she felt about him, but she felt if she knew about his past, she would know him better.
She had also caught the change of inflection in his voice when he said the word ‘apprentice’ suggesting that it was not in a traditional trade. Perhaps that was where he learned to be paranoid and even somewhat ruthless when he needed to be. He was not cruel though, not even close, but he could be hard at times. She had seen it when he dealt with his enemies. Katrina didn’t have any qualms about that. She had needed to learn the same qualities as she had gone through her apprenticeship in the battle school. There were times when a person had to make hard decisions and throw mercy out the window even when one wanted to be merciful.
Right now she was looking at Dougal with a very curious expression on her face, wanting to know more about this relative of his, and hoping he would provide some information.
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Dougal
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Posts: 597
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Post by Dougal on Oct 31, 2010 21:47:27 GMT -5
Dougal had to agree with Katrina idea that the bandit leader was possibly ex-military, and he cursed himself for not thinking of it sooner. t was so obvious when it was pointed out. Knowing who to hit and when, knowing how to cover their tracks, even knowing the terrain. And the way the raids had been conducted suggested that the bandits, or whoever they were, wanted to cause as much fear as possible. There were problems with the theory, though, chiefly the fact that it was military families who had been targeted. Soldiers stuck together and, unless they were total psychopaths, they looked out for each other's families. Baring the leader being a total psychopath, that left him having been disgraced, mocked or humiliated by fellow soldiers, probably before or after being dismissed.
“That thought had crossed my mind as well. Harrison has orders to try to find out who is behind it, but if Gilan had no luck, well…”
Nodding, Dougal thought for a few seconds before asking his question about his uncle. He expected Crowley's answer, and was more than a little relieved that there was no evidence pointing towards that theory yet. Someone trained by his uncle, someone his uncle had seen potential in, that was a scary possibility.
Katrina's reaction, on the other hand, wasn't something that Dougal expected and he mentally slapped himself for not telling her about his family a lot sooner. After all, there wasn't any reason for not letting her know apart from, and Dougal smiled mentally at the thought, the fact that his older sister had managed to end up marrying a Skandian Jarl. If the duchess found out about that, well, no doubt she would consider her suspicions confirmed.
“Your Uncle? Who is your uncle? You have never mentioned family, so I just assumed you didn’t have any left.”
With a shrug, Dougal answered her.
"Well, my uncle's dead now. He used to be a Ranger, but he was relieved of his duty a year or so before the raid on my village. I spent a good four years with him learning a lot of the angers' secrets." He winked and grinned at Crowley, "And then, at his suggestion, I joined the army. He figured that I'd probably live longer that way. It was probably a good move, seeing as he became more unstable towards the end. Was it you or Halt who managed to kill him?"
This last sentence was directed at Crowley and Dougal cocked his head slightly, interested in hearing the Commandant's reply. He wasn't after revenge, he knew that his uncle had needed to be either killed or brought to justice, and the Rangers had saved him the problem of working out whether or not to kill the man who had given him so much. No, the reason Dougal had asked the question was because he was honestly curious. The reports he'd got back about the killing were that either Halt or Crowley had done the deed, and Dougal simply wanted to know which of his sources had been accurate.
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Post by Brandwyn on Nov 4, 2010 15:07:28 GMT -5
"Well, my uncle's dead now. He used to be a Ranger, but he was relieved of his duty a year or so before the raid on my village. I spent a good four years with him learning a lot of the angers' secrets." He winked and grinned at Crowley, "And then, at his suggestion, I joined the army. He figured that I'd probably live longer that way. It was probably a good move, seeing as he became more unstable towards the end. Was it you or Halt who managed to kill him?"
Crowley studied Dougal intently for a moment, as if assessing why the soldier had asked the question, but seeing no malice, his expression changed to one of apology and compassion. He cleared his throat and rubbed one hand through his hair before replying, choosing his words carefully.
“Well, your uncle certainly gave us a lot of trouble for many years. He was very good at his job when he first became a ranger, but I guess he was also very good at hiding his true nature,” Crowley said thoughtfully, “or perhaps he became more cruel as he aged. I don’t know, maybe something happened that he never talked about that made him the way he was at the end.”
Crowley looked back at Dougal, regret clear on his face. “I really thought he was going to be one of our best rangers at the beginning and it was-“ he stopped talking, struggling with the words. “It was very difficult to take him down, but he was so out of control, it had to be done.” He sighed and leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “You deserve to know what happened though and I am sorry I have not told you before now.”
“Halt and I had been tracking him for a couple of weeks. He was very, very good at hiding his tracks. We lost him twice, but managed to stumble on his trail again just by reasoning out his most likely route based on our knowledge of his behavior.” Crowley stared at a knot in the wood grain on his desk, thinking back to that day all those years ago.
“We managed to corner him up against a sheer cliff covered in scrub brush and thorn bushes. Halt rode up just out of bow range and tried to reason with him while I circled around alongside the ridge through all those thorn bushes.” Crowley shook his head, “Halt really did try to talk some sense into your Uncle, he really did. Your Uncle, however, was pretty gone at that point – mentally I mean. I am not sure if he even recognized Halt or not. He was looking around, only half paying attention to Halt, knowing I was out there someplace.”
Crowley refocused on Dougal, “I didn’t want to do it, but after the killings he’d done, well, when I got close enough and it was clear that Halt was not making any impression on him and he had no intention of giving himself up, I had to act. I gave him one final opportunity to surrender when I stood up ten feet from him and told him to lay down his weapons.” Crowley paused, and rubbed his shoulder.
“He didn’t of course, instead he threw his knife just a split second before I threw mine. That saved my life, since his knife hit me here in the shoulder instead of my throat that he was aiming for. I am afraid he wasn’t so lucky. I had thought to wound him and bring him in, but at the last second I knew we would never get him to a court hearing alive. He would never allow that. I couldn’t bear to see him caged in some dungeon cell until he grew old either. So I threw it to kill. My knife struck him in the heart, buried up to the hilt.” Crowley closed his eyes for a moment and then looked back at Dougal. “I can’t be sure, but it seemed to me I saw relief in his eyes as he died. He smiled and nodded his head and then collapsed. I am sorry that it came down to that, but I would do the same if it had to play out today.” Crowley looked at Dougal to see how he was reacting. “I wish it could have been different, but I have always felt it ended better that way than with him being locked up for the rest of his natural life. You know what that would have done to him.”
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Katrina sat on the arm of the chair, hardly daring to breathe as Crowley relayed this important piece of Dougal’s history. She’d had no idea Dougal had been trained by a ranger – or ex-ranger actually. Now that she knew, certain things he did seemed to make perfect sense. Even where he got his paranoia from made sense if he was on the run with his Uncle.
She watched with concern as Crowley divulged the method of Dougal’s uncle’s death and was ready to offer him comfort if he appeared to need it. She wasn’t sure if he would want that comfort in front of Crowley though, so she made no move to pat his shoulder or put her arms around him. She sensed that would likely come later, when they were alone.
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Dougal
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Posts: 597
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Post by Dougal on Nov 6, 2010 0:45:07 GMT -5
Dougal listened to Crowley's story, stony face but nodding as the details came out. Yes, it would have taken two of the Ranger Corp's best to track down his uncle, and he wasn't surprised that they had lost his trail twice. His uncle had always been good at that. However, when Crowley started to tell how he and Halt hard cornered his uncle, Dougal leaned in a little, not wanting to miss any little detail. He heard how Crowley had snuck up behind his uncle, and smiled slightly, almost in a relieved manner, when Crowley mentioned that he had killed Dougal's uncle out of mercy. He was glad Crowley had done that. His uncle would have died slowly, piece by piece, if he had been captured and locked up. He wasn't used to confined spaces and, Dougal suspected, was probably claustrophobic as well.
“I wish it could have been different, but I have always felt it ended better that way than with him being locked up for the rest of his natural life. You know what that would have done to him.”
Smiley sadly, Dougal reached out and put a hand on Crowley's shoulder, taking some liberty, since they were both informal men. Either his uncle's death had affected Crowley more than it had Dougal, or Crowley was just trying to be safe, which was fair enough considering Dougal's reputation. Still, Dougal felt that Crowley was too honest to be lying with his emotions. They were both men who had to make difficult decisions, and there was a certain comradeship between them. Perhaps not as strong as it could be, but there were reasons for that.
"Crowley," Dougal shook his head, "You did what you had to do, and you did what I would have done. If you hadn't..." Dougal sighed sadly and let his hand drop, "Thank you."
Stepping back beside Katrina, Dougal lowered his face to the ground and then raised it again, all serious. There wasn't time for him to reminiscing about one of the only family members who had shown affection for him, not when people were dying in Norgate. And if they were from his actions in the past, well, he would feel guilty, but he would still keep on going. That was who he was, a survivor.
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Post by Brandwyn on Nov 8, 2010 20:53:47 GMT -5
"Crowley," Dougal shook his head, "You did what you had to do, and you did what I would have done. If you hadn't..." Dougal sighed sadly and let his hand drop, "Thank you."
Crowley nodded at Dougal, “Thanks for understanding. That means a lot to me. I can’t say that anything good came from that whole incident, but I like to remember your Uncle as he was when he first earned his silver leaf. As to another apprentice, well, there hasn’t been anything to suggest that he had one.”
Katrina stood up carefully, favoring her leg slightly and slipping her hand into Dougal’s both for her own physical support and to offer him emotional support. “I am not entirely up to speed on this, but if he did have an apprentice, why would that apprentice be seeking revenge on the military? Wouldn’t he just be trying to take out rangers? I just have a feeling that there is something bigger going on here and I think it is going to take some investigating on our parts to figure it out.”
Crowley looked thoughtful. “Well, keep the Ranger Corp in the loop if you find out anything, will you? It may take all of us working together to get to the bottom of it.”
Katrina nodded and promised she would. “I guess we had better go see my parents now.” She said gloomily. Although she loved her parents, it was always a battle with her mother. She bid good day to Crowley and thanked him for the information and then led the way, limping slightly, to the suite of rooms her parents had rented for the duration of the Yule Ball and the winter months after. Her mother loved the court life and even though they had a modest house in Araluen, she always tried to get rooms in the castle if she could. She claimed it was a prestige thing and she was ever one for appearances and what others thought of her and her family.
When she reached her parents door, she paused before knocking and steeled herself, glanced at Dougal and then knocked on the door and took a half step back. Sure enough her mother whisked the door open as if she had known Katrina was on the other side of it.
“Katrina My Dear!” She stepped into the hallway and gave her daughter a big hug, but as she stepped back her big smile turned to a look of disdain as she noticed Dougal standing behind Katrina. “Do come in.” She said, including Dougal, though Katrina could tell it was with some reluctance. Then she turned back to Katrina and smiled again, “I see you must have gotten the wonderful news!”
Katrina tilted her head and raised an eyebrow, “news, what news?” She asked as she glanced around the room and noticed three servants packing her mother’s clothing into several large satchels and a bad feeling settled into the pit of Katrina’s stomach.
“You haven’t heard? I figured that was why you came!” The Duchess cackled, then berated one of the servants for not folding her underdress correctly.
“Did I hear Kitten’s voice?” Katrina’s father stepped into the anteroom from one of the other rooms further back in the suite. He was carrying two modest bags which he placed by the door.
“Yes you did, Father!” Katrina gave him an enthusiastic hug. “Please, tell me, what is Mother going on about?” She nodded her head toward her mother who was now instructing another servant on how to properly pack a travel chest.
Her father turned to Dougal and held out his hand, “Nice to see you again, Captain.” He said warmly, but then he looked back at Katrina and was a bit uncomfortable. “Well, she heard you two were traveling back to Norgate Castle and, well…”
Katrina groaned, “Don’t tell me, she is coming along.” Her father nodded. “She is insisting that you need a chaperone and also that we need to go back if there are people being killed and bandits raiding the fief.” Duke David informed them. “I have tried to talk her out of it, but, well, you know how she is when she gets her teeth sunk into an idea.”
“A Chaperone? For Heaven’s sake, I am nearly 25 years old now!” Katrina said in exasperation.
“And not yet married!” Her mother called from across the room and then sauntered over as Katrina rolled her eyes. “It is not proper that a young lady go roaming about the northern woods with a – a common soldier for weeks on end. You need supervision obviously.”
Katrina glared at her mother. “I just spent half a year over in Gallica running around with a whole bunch of soldiers – common and not so common. I didn’t see you running over to chaperone me there.” She said angrily. She took a deep breath, however, trying to calm herself and stay in control. “Mother, don’t you realize the roads are going to be horrible? It is late winter afterall. It is going to be freezing and if we get any warm weather the snow will melt and it will be nothing but mud. Not to mention that we are more than likely going to get attacked by this band of outlaws. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“Don’t you worry about me.” The Duchess said pulling Katrina deeper into the room by her elbow. “It is you who I worry about. Those bandits are not going to lay a hand on you while I am around.”
Katrina plopped down on the settee, “Oh for the love of Pete!” She muttered and ran both hands through her hair in exasperation. She glanced at Dougal, figuring he was probably far more dismayed than she was at the prospect of two weeks or more on the road with her parents. There would be no opportunity for them to get alone together, her mother would make sure of that. “Father, you know this is a bad idea. It is not safe out there, that is why they called in Dougal and I. If we pick up the trail of those bandits we are going to be pursuing them and we won’t be able to protect you and Mother.” She appealed to his senses.
Duke David looked at the floor for a moment and then at his wife. “I told her all of that and-“
“-and it is all rubbish!” Duchess Oriana interrupted her husband. “We shall provide our own escort to ensure our safety and so you can go ahead and do your job. You needn’t worry about us. As to the mud, I will be riding a palfrey instead of trying to get a carriage through.”
Katrina drew in a long breath, gathering her emotions and reining them back in. Slowly, through clenched teeth she said, “Mother, this is not an afternoon outing to a picnic. Dougal and I are going to be on duty and we have a mission to complete. We can’t be tied down to a huge entourage. If we see the outlaws, we have to go after them and if you have a party of armed men on top of the ones we are taking with us, then the outlaws probably won’t even try to attack us. We won’t be able to flush them out.”
“You want them to attack you?” Oriana stared at her daughter and then at Dougal, “What kind of hair-brained idea is that?” She said accusingly, aimed mostly at Dougal. “I thought you were supposed to be hunting the bandits, not the other way around.”
“I didn’t say we wanted them to attack us.” Katrina corrected her mother tiredly. “But we have to pick up their trail somehow and that would be one possible way if we can’t find their trail.” Katrina not only didn’t want her mother along because of the lack of privacy, but she was genuinely worried about her parents if they got into a battle with the bandits. She looked at Dougal and shook her head in defeat. She knew her mother would go along with them to Norgate. The only thing that would likely stop her would be to lock her up here in the castle. Briefly Katrina seriously considered that idea and then dismissed it. Although it held a certain appeal, it wasn’t exactly practical. “Everyone going along has fighting skill and experience, Mother. We are not set up to escort a bunch of servants or carts full of luggage. It will slow us down horribly and time seems to be of an essence in this case.”
“As I said, I will be riding. The baggage is to be loaded on horses or pack ponies and I only have three ladies-in-waiting that will be escorting me.” Oriana said smugly, “they all ride too, so we won’t be slowing you down at all.” She sniffed as if Katrina had offended her, “Besides, I thought you would have wanted to spend some time with your parents. We see so little of you these days.”
‘And there is the guilt card. I knew she would get around to playing it.’ Katrina thought but responded diplomatically. “I do want to spend time with you Mother, but not on a road where our very lives could be at risk.” She could tell, however, by looking at her mother’s set face that she wasn’t budging. Katrina looked at Dougal, wondering how he was taking the news. She figured that he wouldn’t mind her father going along, but her mother was a whole different story. Katrina was running out of ideas to persuade her mother to stay. She rubbed her forehead again, her eyes closed as she tried to think of some thing that would convince her mother to stay here.
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Dougal
Apprentice Messenger
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Post by Dougal on Nov 10, 2010 0:25:37 GMT -5
Dougal almost made the comment that good had indeed come from the death of his uncle but, seeing as he had been diplomatic so far and it seemed that he'd managed to help relieve Crowley of at least one burden, he decided to keep his mouth shut. It was true, though. Dozens of innocent people had been saved when his uncle had been killed. Still, it depended on how you looked at it. Crowley was more one for ethics and morals, while Dougal tended towards the ends justifying the means. It wasn't as simple as that, but it summed their respective differences up nicely.
Giving Katrina's hand a quick squeeze, Dougal listened to her question, but didn't answer. He had a few ideas as to why any hypothetical apprentice of his uncle might be attacking military personnel, but they were all egocentric, so he ignored them. Most likely, he was simply being paranoid and the whole thing was simply a couple of disgruntled, psychopathic veterans who had gather a reasonably large following. Simpler yes, but no more reassuring.
With that piece of his history out of the way, Dougal followed Katrina to her parents room, gratefully holding her hand and trying to keep a straight face. He had no problems with meeting her father, Sir David was a man he could both respect and get along with, but her mother, well, that was another story. They rubbed each up the wrong way and were all bust destined to clash. Dougal would let a lot slide so that he didn't hurt Katrina, but he knew that he had a breaking point and he had to wonder exactly what he would do when he reached it. Would he snap and yell at the Duchess, or would he give her the backhand that he sometimes thought she needed? Both were just as bad as each other, and Dougal hoped that it didn't come to that.
Eventually, the two of them reached her parent's rooms and Dougal reluctantly let go of Katrina's hand and stood behind her, slightly off to the right, hands behind his back and his face neutral. He wasn't planning on giving the Duchess any more material than she already had to look down her nose at him.
Katrina knocked and the door opened almost immediately. It appeared that the Duchess had either been expecting Katrina, or she didn't mind doing some actual work herself. Dougal scanned what little of the room he could see past the Duchess and noticed that she was packing her bags. That was odd. Normally she and Sir David would stay the winter and catch up on the court life. Something must have come up.
The Duchess caught sight of him and looked down her nose. Dougal gave her a rigid, formal bow, although he didn't quite bow as low as protocol demanded.
Entering the room, Dougal looked around and confirmed that there was a fair amount of packing going on and he started to wonder if he'd missed some vital news. Unsurprisingly, the information needed to bridge the gap was provided by the Duchess herself and felt like a horse hoof to the gut.
“I see you must have gotten the wonderful news!”
No, the Duchess couldn't possibly be thinking of coming with them. The discomfort alone...Although, now that he thought about it, the Duchess probably didn't realise how bad the discomfort would be and, if she was planning on coming a long, the chances were that things would be slowed down for her comfort. Dougal swore at this thought, almost missing the entrance of Sir David.
“Nice to see you again, Captain.”
Dougal smiled warmly in reply and shook the offered hand. It didn't look as though the Duke was going to demand a formal salute or bow, and if he wasn't going to ask, Dougal wasn't going to offer.
"It's good to see you again too, sir."
Of course, he wasn't nearly so happy to hear a confirmation of his theory. He wasn't happy about the Duchess' decision that a chaperone was need, especially since he had wanted some private time with Katrina on the trip, but he would have been willing to accept it if she had chosen a capable knight or even Sir David. But the Duchess herself? That was a risk, and a big one at that. Of course, she didn't know what they were dealing with, but surely even she should know that...He stopped himself. Of course the Duchess wouldn't be aware of the problems involved. She had no interest in such affairs and probably had little to no idea about what went into keeping her safe when on the road.
And yet, as Katrina argued with her mother and lost, Dougal felt himself getting more and more annoyed at the Duchess. He imagined that this was what most soldier assigned to members of the Nobility with no military or logistic experience felt on a regular basis, and he was glad that he had managed to steer clear of such people for the most part. And, just like many of those soldiers, Dougal was going to try and change the mind of a stubborn noble.
And so, as Katrina kept loosing the battle with her mother, Dougal formulated his plan of attack. There was no way the Duchess was going to back away from her idea totally, which meant that a compromised needed to be reached. Most likely, it would have her leaving for Norgate a few days after the "hunting" party left and a chaperone being chosen to go along with Dougal and Katrina. The tricky bit was going to be working out how to offer the compromise. If he was too submissive she would think him a pushover, and the chances were that she wouldn't fall for it anyway. On the other hand, if he was too aggressive and told her what he really thought, he would likely find himself in prison. He needed to be respectful, but confident.
Katrina looked at Dougal and he gave her a small smile, just a twitch of the lips, nothing more. He hoped that she got the message that he had an idea and, in any case, she took a break from arguing. Her mother's last sally had been very effective and, while Dougal had worked out a way to counter it, he did wonder how much Katrina would appreciate it. Still, it was better than what they had at the moment. He shuffled his feet slightly and then began.
"While I respect your decision to send a chaperone with Katrina and myself, I would be a failure as an officer if I did not attempt to dissuade you from performing that role personally."
Dougal was being far more formal than he had been in a long time, but he thought that presenting his argument in such a manner might help.
"If you are willing to listen, I can provide several reasons as to why you personally travelling to Norgate would be dangerous, not the least of which is that these bandits are capable of loosing a Ranger in an ideal tracking environment."
His heart was beating fast, but Dougal wasn't about let it show. He had to be cool, calm and collected. He wanted to present himself as a highly trained soldier who was an experienced and expert tactician. The Duchess might not buy it, but she would hopefully hear him out.
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Post by Brandwyn on Nov 10, 2010 14:34:21 GMT -5
"While I respect your decision to send a chaperone with Katrina and myself, I would be a failure as an officer if I did not attempt to dissuade you from performing that role personally."
Dougal was being far more formal than he had been in a long time, but he thought that presenting his argument in such a manner might help.
"If you are willing to listen, I can provide several reasons as to why you personally travelling to Norgate would be dangerous, not the least of which is that these bandits are capable of loosing a Ranger in an ideal tracking environment."
Duchess Oriana paused in her packing and looked at Dougal skeptically. “Surely you exaggerate.”
Katrina shook her head, “no Mother. We just came from Commandant Crowley who told us one of his best rangers has been thwarted by these bandits. They are very dangerous and not to be considered lightly. They are definitely not your ordinary outlaws looking for a quick coin.” She looked calmly and seriously at her mother who regarded her thoughtfully for a moment and then looked back to Dougal.
“Very well. Present your case, Captain.” Oriana dropped the unfolded garment on top of the trunk and folded her arms across her chest in a regal pose. Katrina considered that a good sign in so far as Dougal now had her undivided attention. She only hoped he would be able to present some good arguments that she couldn’t refute.
Duke David leaned against the fireplace mantle, trying to stay inconspicuous and eyed Dougal curiously. He was very interested to see how the commoner handled his overbearing wife. Secretly he thought he might even be able to learn a thing or two from the half Skandian.
Katrina looked up at Dougal and urged him to continue with a look in her eyes and confidence in his ability upon her face. She was very proud that he was standing up to her mother and trying to rationally explain the situation to her. She doubted it would change her mother’s mind, but it was certainly worth a try.
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Dougal
Apprentice Messenger
Posts: 597
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Post by Dougal on Nov 19, 2010 22:29:44 GMT -5
“Very well. Present your case, Captain.”
Dougal paused and then took sucked in a deep breath. His face changed slightly, becoming more animated as he started to speak. He didn't realise it, but he was treating this like a mission briefing, albeit a dumbed down mission briefing.
"Well, ma'am, right now we have very little information on these bandits. What we do know can be summarised into three points.
"Firstly, the bandits are highly skilled and are capable of loosing a Ranger in dense undergrowth. As a scout, I can tell you that this is no easy feat. Everything you step on or touch can tip a skilled tracker off as to your path, so it is probable that every single member of the bandit gang are highly skilled in evading trackers.
"Secondly, the bandits have an excellent knowledge of local terrain. The pattern in which they have attacked suggests that they are using an enclosed ravine known to only a handful of people, most of whom either Katrina or myself know and can account for. Even most of the locals near it don't know of the ravine's existence, meaning that these bandits have better knowledge of the terrain than even the locals themselves.
"The third fact that we know is that these bandits seem to be fixated on military, or military related, targets, such as patrols and the families of soldiers. They will completely ignore a lightly armed and heavily loaded caravan, but will fight a well armed patrol. Additionally, they have attacked and killed the inhabitants of several farms and small villages because they have some connection to members of the military.
"Now, from these three facts we can begin to examine our enemy. They are well trained, likely to a man. The kind of training they have is beyond anything that ordinary soldiers are given, or are even capable of, and approaches the training given to Rangers and Royal Scouts."
Dougal didn't mention his own unit for obvious reasons.
"Given the terrain, it is possible that there are up to forty such individuals. It is highly unlikely that so many former Rangers or Royal Scouts could have such a grudge against Araluen to go so far as to kill innocent civilians, but it is possible that one with a grudge might have been training their own private army. Alternatively, there are some poachers, woodsmen and bandits who have the necessary skills to evade a Ranger, and it might be possible that one of them is behind this."
He was really hyping things up. He doubted that the situation was as bad as he was making it out to be, but he hoped that, if he presented a worst case scenario, he would be more likely to dissuade the Duchess.
"In any case, people with that level of skill aren't going to rely just on their skill. They'll have spies in Norgate fief and likely the fiefs surrounding them. As a result, they will know if any major force is coming to Norgate and will be able to assess if the soldiers are simply returning home or if they are coming to hunt them. They'll also be aware of targets of opportunity"
Pausing, Dougal shifted his legs slightly, lowering his gaze for a second, and then looked back at the Duchess.
"If we leave that train of thought for a moment, we come to the fact that the bandits have only been attack targets that are related to the military. Since they are not trying to build up a fortune and are taking risks, we can surmise that these bandits must have a purpose, and that killing soldiers and their families must be part of the plan.
"Now," Dougal said as the corners of his mouth twitched slightly as he suppressed a smile, "Imagine what we will look like if you and Sir David do come. The size of our group will rise from nine to, at an absolute minimum, twenty four. The four members of the convoy who will be unarmed with be female and, even if the bandit's spies don't recognise Sir David's colours, they are going to at least realise that you, my lady, are the one being protected, which brings me finally to the main reason why I hope you won't journey with us.
"When the bandits find out that there is a noble woman protected by at least twenty knights and soldiers, they are going to know that she is a target of very high value. Considering that the bandits seem to have a plan and that their plan involves attacking anything or anyone related to the military, then it is possible that they will decide to launch an attack on you, ma'am."
Any look of amusement was gone now, and Dougal was deadly serious. He didn't want anything he said to be taken as false because, while he was exaggerating the danger, he wasn't that far from the reality of it all. If he were the bandits, the Duchess would definitely be a tempting target.
"As the bandits are highly trained and may outnumber us two to one, we would be at a disadvantage in any ambush. While it would be easy for them to kill us all, depending on their chosen ambush location, they may instead decide to simply target you with arrows until you are killed and then fade away, avoiding confrontation and keeping most of their forces intact. Either way, ma'am your life would be in danger and the only way to safeguard you would be to have a force far too large for what we need to do. If you do decide to come to Norgate, I would strongly suggest that you wait for the main bulk of Norgate's forces to arrive from Gallica and travel with them. they will be able to provide you with the safety you require."
His mouth dry from speaking for so long, Dougal kept his stance and watched the Duchess, wondering if what he had said would have any impact. She might be just stubborn enough to decide to come anyway, only with a larger force, or perhaps she might see through his exaggerations. Still, if she did decide to come along anyway, he would have to accept it and simply swear at her in his head.
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Post by Brandwyn on Dec 5, 2010 21:59:50 GMT -5
The Duchess studied Dougal for several minutes after he finished, trying to determine just how much of his statement was true, and how much he was exaggerating simply because he didn’t want her along. She had not missed the look in his eyes when he’d learned she was coming with them. Oriana knew for certain then that he was having his way with her daughter and there was no way she was going to leave them alone together for a couple of weeks on the trail to Norgate.
She did, however consider the idea of having someone else accompany them as they escort. But who could she trust to follow thorugh and keep them from sleeping together the whole time if she wasn’t there to do it herself.
Her husband was the only one she could think of, and she wasn’t about to stay here while he returned home. Besides there were other reasons she wanted to go back home while the roads were passable. Another couple of weeks and they might not be able to get through due to the snow.
“I appreciate your candor, Captain, but I could be a bit inconspicuous. I don’t have to ride around with this thing on my head all the time.” She reached up and took off her jeweled coronet and tossed it onto the couch. “I do know how to ride, nearly as well as Katrina, actually. I will not slow you down.”
Katrina looked at her mother skeptically. “How is that possible? I can’t remember the last time I saw you on a horse.”
“I used to hunt with the best of them back in the day. In fact that is how your father and I first met, if you recall.” She said huffily. “Anyway, you never mind about that. When are you planning to leave? Your father and I will be ready in about two hours I should think.” She said looking around at the room which seemed to be in total chaos.
Katrina could believe that. She had seen her mother in action before. With an army of servants she could pack every single item of clothing in less than an hour should the need ever arise. Hopefully her mother would ease up on the servants now, Katrina thought as she said, “Probably leaving tomorrow morning just after sunrise.” She glanced at Dougal for confirmation. “I do wish you would reconsider Mother. Would you stay here if I gave you my oath that Doural and I will behave properly on the trip?” She wouldn’t want to do it, because she would stick to her word once given. However if it would keep her mother from tagging along, it would be worth it.
Oriana shook her head. “I trust you, Little One, but I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him. He is older and he is an army officer. We of noble birth know what is on his mind nearly all the time and he will be persistent.” Oriana shot Dougal a triumphant look. “The best way to make sure he is not up to something is to be there to stop him.
Katrina frowned, ‘here we go again’ she thought. ‘I won’t take the bait tonight.’ She was tired and so she refused to be goaded into an argument. With the wind knocked out of her sails she said to Dougal, “Come on, we need to pick out the team.” She said her goodbyes to her mother and father and then led Dougal back out into the hall.
“You were great, by the way! She actually listened to you, considered seriously what you said – and then discarded it, but still… most people don’t even get an audience with her. “Great job on keeping your temper.
Then her shoulders slumped as they made their way back to Katrina’s room to plan and to pack and to gather their knights they wanted to come with them.
“I am sorry, Dougal. I really wanted to spend some time with you alone on this trip.” Katrina said miserably. “Now she won’t leave us be for five minutes.” She sighed heavily.
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