The Border Lands

You could say that Tenszar coming across the camp of @lordtakans was a coincidence, but from the look of him - dark, steely eyes and light purple skin - you could be forgiven for thinking he had been quite precise in his wish and attempt to reach it. He didn't try to hide himself, but rather stepped out towards the fire pit and deliberately made himself known to the figure sat besides it.

"You must be one of the recruits," he said, his voice calm and near monotone. "I'm surprised someone got here before I did, but there's no point sitting around in the woods. The fort's still an hour or so away."

He stood with the trees behind him, their darkness only exacerbated by the coming twilight and his face made difficult to see both because of that and the hood that he wore over his head.

"Then you should leave," he told her the moment she stopped talking. "There's nothing in these woods or this place worth staying for, unless you live here or you're part of the new garrison. The area's full of bandits and who knows what else and believe me, a campfire in the dark is quite easy to see. I found you easily enough, didn't I?"

He took a look around at the trees, but if he saw anything he didn't say. Instead he turned and made his way back towards the dirt track that led further into the region.

Further up along the trail, where the dirt track joined the main (also dirt) road that went across the region, a large campfire had been set up on an area of flat field where daisies were growing. The camp, which was also situated at the bottom of a grassy knoll, consisted of a well-made fire-pit and was permeated with the smell of a small pig that was being roasted over the open flames. Two cotton, cone-shaped tents were set up a little ways from the fire and fur bedrolls could be seen inside them.

In and around the camp were three men, all armed and armoured but in no standard, uniformed way. One man stood atop the knoll on lookout with a bow, another was sat on a stool by the fire-pit carving something out of wood with his knife and the final man was sitting on a fallen log and slowly turning the iron spit that held the roasting pig over the flames. They didn't speak much, but none of them looked particularly thrilled to be there and when they did it was clear from their tone that they had run into some sort of problem. Their apparent leader, Svert Vulfsurd, seemed deep in thought as he slowly turned the roasting spit and though he was seemed relaxed he always had one of his hands close to his sword.

"Damn bandits," he could be heart muttering, in addition to other, much less kinder things.

The slow realisation that the contents of the distant song were in fact quite violent and disturbing put a slightly concerned look on Svert's face, which was only exacerbated by the utter lack of reaction from the two other men around him. Svert couldn't be considered a true coward, but often he found himself feeling that he was the only 'sane' person around; the company he kept not helping the matter, which inevitably led to the man being regularly concerned about far too many things.

"Really?" He asked his men, "none of you are bothered by the approaching man singing about murdering people?"

One of the men shrugged, but other than that they remained completely silent and Svert let out a long sigh and let his chin fall back into the hand that was being propped up by his knee. He began to nonchalantly prod the pig with a large fork, which he continued even as Zavius Blackbriar reached the camp and began to speak. Lifting his head, Svert raised a brow at the man mentioning being on the way to Fort Sunder.

"Well, Podrick, are you one of the recruits? A mercenary perhaps? I'm Svert, the commander of the garrison - which hasn't arrived yet by the way; just us three so far. I'd like to be set up at Fort Sunder by now, but the place is a run-down mess and to make it worse, there must be thirty or forty bandits who've moved in while the King was busy ignoring this region," he said while raising himself from his slouch and glancing around.

Tenszar


Her patience was growing thin. But the man said his peace and walked off. She knew damn well the potential of the area - fortunately, it was why she was camped where she was. There was less traffic here, and she had a better chance of fending off more brutes with the trees casting a number of shadows for her liking.

Once he was out of sight she let out a hard breath and dropped her weapon at her feet. To say she was tired didn't quite cover it. She would have to wait a little while to ensure nothing else was following after the man before attempting to find dinner and start a fire. Not too long, though... night was almost here.

"Aye, we could, perhaps."

Zavius took out his own skin, though this one was filled with wine. He took a couple long draughts from it, wiping his mouth and before setting it aside.

The sun had just fallen below the horizon at this point, enveloping the wilderness around them in a darkening shadow. Soon it would turn from dusk into full-blown night.

"We ought ta get some rest then before making a move on them bandits in the early morning, aye? We can have one man stay awake as a lookout, and take shifts. I can take the first one."

As Zavius made his good point, Svert watched Tenszar walk up and approach the campfire. "This is Tenszar," Svert introduced him. "He's one of us I suppose."

"You're not wrong though. We should get some rest, but we'll each need to keep at least one eye open.. Just in case," he spoke, though it was more of a mumble towards the end as he prodded the roasting hog again. "And I don't expect most of us have eaten for a while, so it will be a good idea to do that before heading out."

The commander sniffed a little in the cool of the evening and turned his head upwards to glance at the top of the knoll where one of the soldiers was still keeping watch over whatever land was on the other side. "Gold is an interesting thought, but we don't have time to collect any."

Eventually Svert stood and raised his arms above his head with a yawn, then gave the hog one last prod before setting the fork down on his stool. "I think I'll take the rest though. I'm pretty tired, not that I'm never not, and I'm sure those bandits won't go easy on me just because I'm sleepy," he added with a laugh. He gathered up his water-skin and with nothing else to say, he sauntered over to his tent and slipped inside.

It was somewhere here...wasn't it? Glancing around, the Chesknight received the input of his ring. These were the Borderlands, the last sight of the strange, seemingly lost creature he had heard about. Such a beast may be unusual, but he hated to hear that the beast may be lost. Or worse, hurt out here alone. Like most fey, he had a penchant for animals, as well as the ability to communicate with them as well as any human. Waddling through the fallen leaves and peeking around tree trunks, the knight searched high and low for the animal he had heard about.

Rounding a tree, he drew to a stop at a camp. A miserable little camp at the edge of a miserable little forest. It was empty, for now, and the Chesknight glanced around warily before drawing nearer. "Hello?" he called, hoping to announce his presence. Empty. Pulling back the flap of a small tent, he observed the metal armor, as well as a pipe. Whoever owned this camp would likely be back soon. The idea of a little company after a long day's search was welcome. Even without the need for sleep, travelling at night through the woods wasn't an entertaining prospect.

Realizing, though, that this may be construed as rude he peered up sternly at a nearby bird, singing its cares away. "You there." he called. "Where is there fruit around here?" A few minutes later he returned, arm laden with apples and berries as he lay them down on a nearby stump. An offering, perhaps, to the mortal that called this camp their own. Kneeling down, he struck his flint and tinder, getting the beginnings for a fire before he took a seat. Hopefully whoever owned this camp would not be troo mad at his intrusion. It looks like his search for the animal would have to continue in the morning.

[ @almaandnoonoo @lordtakans ]

As the Chestknight sat in quiet contemplation, amber eyes staring out into the distance, his attention snapped to the movement not far away. Slowly he reached for his blade, until the creature darted from the darkness. He recognized the creature, and what luck he had! Hopping up from his seat he dusted himself off, the leaves of his cloak rustling with the action. This was the very lost creature he had been seeking! Kneeling down to be more on level with the creature he held out a friendly hand. "Are you alright?" he asked, concerned for the animal's wellfare.

Then, it started to bark. Cocking his head he curled his fingers slightly, as if trying to entice the animal to come closer, (and hopefully fall silent) and yet it continued. This was strange, normally he could speak with animals and yet this creature seemed the exception to that rule. Perhaps, then, it was no animal at all?