Finch's Ranch

Cinder decided to continue tagging along with these two fellows. Travelling with this pair would make it easy for her to acquire resources. She held onto either of the two men by attaching a tether so she could be pulled along when they run. She would stay quiet and mostly be an accessory right now.

It is with some degree of smugness that Lady Naoki steps back, having accomplished her goal. Those smiles are among the best sort, she thinks. One ear swivels in the direction of the shouting before she does. A hint of frustration passes her expression, irritated for having been interrupted.

It’s a member of The Guard, running their way. An attack at the border, he says. Orcs. Naoki’s assumption is such that he must be from some outlying lookout tower or patrol and escaped what must be an attack by an overly bold orc warband. However, she isn’t exceedingly concerned; there are systems in place for dealing with these sorts of things. She trusts that any force capable of sending a member of The Guard running will be spotted and promptly destroyed in whatever manner is appropriate. Attacking Isra has ensured the doom of those orcs.

That said, there haven’t been any significant attacks on the border for some time. It may be enough orcs to justify the involvement of Imperial soldiers or the dispatch of magi from The Enclave. She imagines this attack will be mentioned in the report she receives at the end of the week.

Squinting for detail, Naoki examines the guard as best she can from a distance. It seems as if he’s running this way. She wonders if he’s wounded. If he is, there may be something in the carriage — if not, she’s carrying a few spell-gems with healing spells. He can’t be hurt too badly if he’s running and hollering as much as he is, though, she thinks.

Wait — someone is running after him. Someone who is not a member of the guard, but who is armed and armored. Waving his arms around. It seems as if he’s chasing the guard. Who is he? Why is he waving? Is he waving to them? She thinks that unnecessary; the guard got their attention well enough with his hollering. Naoki is unsure what to think of the second man but isn’t panicking quite yet. St. George is standing nearby, and both Liz and Lamina are highly proficient fighters — though she’s unsure if they’re armed.

As the men approach, Lady Naoki takes no action aside from a shift in demeanor, adopting a regal posture, holding one hand in the other behind her back. Though she may not be wearing a crown or any Imperial symbology beyond her ring, she’s able to seem very much The Empress, and she looks promptingly in the direction of the approaching guard, expecting him to stop and explain himself once he’s close enough.

Asger skidded to a halt as soon as the griffon reared. That was his first clue that he had made a mistake. All of a sudden guards were pointing weapons and he was being accused of trespassing. Asger knew that he was going to come up with a lie at this point of the plan, but he had not expected so much resistance from horse ranchers. At the sight of the large winged beasts realization came. During the brief time Asger had been deployed as a recruitment officer near Goraia Asger had heard of the Israin griffons that scouted the border and fought at New Brimiarde.

“It was a long run, Ma’am. They chose me because I was a good runner back in training. Ran thirty miles in five hours I could. Couldn’t keep that pace coming here of course. Met these travelers along the way who were kind enough to offer food and water, and protection too.” The lie began pouring out of him. Bandit though he was Asger had no intention of fighting anyone who was armed, let alone griffon riders. Turning his gaze to survey the rest of the group his eyes passed over a girl and towards the lady who…

“Empress Naoki!” Asger bowed in order to cover his bulging eyes. A shot of adrenaline coursed through his veins as he realized the trouble he was in. Words started coming at an even faster rate, “I was sent to warn you of the attack! These orcs are not just some raiding band. They are a scouting group for a much larger army that is now headed this way. I first saw them when I was on patrol and was sent to find you as soon as possible. I only saw the attack on the tower because I passed by to get a new horse. But while I was there I heard the orcs terrible war chant. I grew up in the mountains and know a bit of their language you see. The orcs roared the name of a dragon, who they must have fought for. In fact, I saw a dragon painted onto the shield of the one I killed. But that was later. The name they chanted was Jardor, or something like that. I couldn’t hear them properly from such a distance.” Asger didn’t know very much about dragons except for a story he had heard when stationed by Goraia. Before the war started there three dragons had fought on the border. Asger couldn’t quite remember the names of the beasts, but one had been named something like that.

Asger couldn’t stop speaking yet. In order to have any chance of being believed he had to come up with a story that was so detailed that no one could think he had made it up, “Well, a group of the orcs followed me. I could have fought them of course,” There was an Isrian issue spear on his back, “But I knew I had to get to you as soon as possible. I decided it was best to try and outrun the orcs. They ran my first horse to death on account as I couldn’t switch him at the border. I had a good lead and stayed ahead on foot. I've never run so fast and far in my life. Recon that was a new record. I came across the main road just as the orcs caught up to me. Luckily, these fine travelers jumped in to help me, ‘cause I was quite tired by then. We killed the three orcs and that’s when I saw the dragon painted on the shield. In case there were more coming, these good samaritans escorted me the rest of the way here.

‘That’s about it, except that, when I was on patrol we went through a village that had reported sightings of a dragon. We didn’t think much of it then, but in light of the army we saw and what I heard at the border and saw on the shield it makes sense now.” Asger stopped quite out of breath and held the Empress’s stare, waiting for any further questions, orders, or to be dismissed. Perhaps after running so far they would be given a good meal and long rest.

Listening, one of Naoki’s eyebrows raises so far it nearly leaves her head. The idea that this idiot was sent to warn her is laughable. That isn’t how things are done. He would have been sent to, at the most, the next tower over, which would have sent out the alert. Guards at the border haven’t the slightest idea of where she is right now; such information is not shared. Especially not now, on an informal excursion. Had he omitted that line, the rest of the man’s story wouldn’t have been immediately cast into doubt.

To buy herself more time in analyzing the potential truth in the man's words and deciding if she’s amused enough to show mercy, Lady Naoki turns to Lamina. “What do you think we should do?” she asks, with her most neutral of neutral tones. Naoki is interested to hear her take on the situation.

Liz's expression mirrored that of Naoki's...save for two things. One, she was far more amused and two, she was not having any of it. A single hand pressed to the blue gem attached to one earring, matching the purple one she wore on the other.

"Gerald, take a party of the wolves and see if there are or were any orcs skulking about. I highly doubt it so don't press for too long, be back before nightfall."

The dragon thing was utter horseshit. Between her own patrols and the reports she still got from the Dawn Riders, she felt relatively confident they would have noticed a dragon large enough to have a band of orcs following it.

"So. You want to tell us why you are actually trespassing on my property?" She asked, suppressing laughter. It was a pretty good lie, and had she been a different ranch owner, one unfamiliar with how the Isran military dealt with these things, she would have believed it.

Cinder has a confused expression on her face and buzzes in a way that matches how she feels. Asger is looking at her expecting something and now she feels on the spot... She still didn't quite understand things in this world though so she was unsure what she needed to do. 

All she could think to do was come forward and introduce herself in her squeaky voice that sometimes chimed like a jingle bell. "Hihihi! I Cinder! Friendly ~*Ting-a-ling*~"

The wisp noticed that these new Overworlders looked different from the others she'd seen, they had long pretty string-like stuff hanging off of them. Quite different compared to the ones who call themselves Asger and Dirk. Could these be another variation of the same species of creature? They did at least share some characteristics like standing on 2 legs. Seeing Naoki though confused her more... she looked even more different. She kinda looked a little like... that thing that was trying to fight her earlier!

"Eek!" She ducked behind Dirk where she felt a little safer. Cinder would peek out a second later and analyze Naoki's features more. She looked like a combination of those 2 different creatures, the cat and human which she did not know the names of.

Lamina stood beside Naoki, looking for the most part dumbfounded, even more so when the Empress asked her what they should do. Initially, her adventurous instinct was to investigate, especially considering the fact that she felt nearly invincible around the High Lady. But then, before she could answer, their story broke down on its own accord, crumbling as though before her very eyes. Eyes that now narrowed with a slight suspicion. She had to admit to herself that this was all very exciting, and she was curious to know what would happen next. Was she about to witness an arrest?

"Uhh..."

It was all she could say, clearly a bit confused.

The two Guards that had initially halted the wayward bandits stepped up to grab their weapons should they choose to comply with the Empress's request.

Liz smirked and lowered her blade a bit, enjoying the look of horror as the magnitude of their fuckup crossed the minds of the trio in front of her.

"If you were just looking for some food, why the lie? And why not come in on the road? It's the fastest way..." she asked, curiously.

Surprising a couple crazy ideas Asger shrugged the spear off his shoulder and let it fall. He began to sweat the more Dirk talked. Being the one in Isrian armor, Asger could take most of the blame. He opened his mouth to say something, then thought better of it and stayed silent.

Obviously, he had made a terrible blunder. Whatever the punishment was for posing as an Israin soldier to get free food out of farmers was if probably wasn't good. Asger didn't have many chances left, but he had never had a chance like this. Someone had to do it. Falling to his knees and clasping his hand in front of himself Asger begged the Empress, "Please don't kill us! I want to join the Israin army. Send me to the most dangerous positions and I will repay the nation for my dishonest ways."