[Post here first!] Merrimill Crossing

Eventually she would find a guard, but they were few and far between among the quickly growing population of villagers. He'd pay her little heed until approached, as their recently opened borders allowed for a much more relaxed state of vigilance.

(Apologies for taking so long to reply. We are under new management.)

Passage was granted, or at least uncontested here. The guards looked overhead, but having been told ahead of time, there was no chaos.

Maris stops his horse a short ways away from the crossing that marked the border of Goraria. The horseman shrugged as he gazed at the little hamlet that “protected” the crossing.

Leaning forward on his horse, the man points at the village, “Give me a few riders, and I could probably take that place in an hour. Don’t you agree, girl?” It would be clear to any onlooker that Maris was, in fact, speaking to his horse, as he was travelling without any companions.

The horse shakes its head and nickers, seemingly in response to its rider’s question.

Maris rolls his eyes. “Well of course there are probably guards in there, but how much trouble could they really be for a team of our finest riders?” he replies with a smirk, “Then again, it’s not like we’re here for conquest anyways,”

With that Maris pats the horse’s thigh and clicks his tongue, causing the animal to begin walking once again. Unless someone were to stop him, he would ride through the crossing and into the village without so much as a word.

"Ho there," a guard approached Maris Guess. Though the village was small there were many soldiers. Most of them seemed to be young recruits who had never seen any real fighting. "What brings you to Goraia in these warring times? A mercenary come to make a tidy profit by the looks of you."

As Silver Cloud Yin approached he to would be stopped. The guards did not seem surprised at the influx of travelers, due to the mustering call. "That we are." Said the young guardsman, "You should talk to Lieutenant Brock. He has set up HQ in the tavern." The guard gestured down the street.

Maris looks down at the young guardsman and smiles, confident that his previous assessment of the village’s capabilities had been correct. The guard would notice him give a sideways glance to his horse, which seems to snort in response.

“A merchant told me that you were hiring men with experience in the ways of war,” he says, still sizing up the guard and his potential capabilities, “I have arrived for just that purpose,”

Silver looked across to Maris, then gave him a nod of acknowledgement but otherwise didn't speak until they were led into the tavern and over to where Lieutenant Brock's table. When the question reached him, he cleared his throat and replied with a simple, "money. You asked for mercenaries, after all, not a loyal nationalist looking to defend his home. Still I have a tendency not to break contract, as one cannot gain a reputation for reliability unless he remains reliable."

He pulled his hair back behind his ears and tied the back into a tail. "

Brock surveyed the two mercenaries, judging their character with his trained eye. The lieutenant may not have seen much fighting in his time, but he had trained many recruits. These two men immediately seemed more capable then the young draftees.

Silver held himself with the impassive fortitude that was common of the eastern folk. Brock trusted this man possessed unbreakable discipline. Maris held himself at ease, which pleased Lieutenant Brock greatly. Both these men would be valuable influences to the greenhorns.

"Excellent!" Said Lieutenant Brock clapping his powerful hands together. "You will be paid very well. But before we sign any long term contracts I'll have to test you. As you can see we are looking for leaders. Most of Goraia's officers have been sent to New Brimiarde or Stonevale and we are woefully unprepared for new recruits." The lieutenant beckoned the pair to the map and circled his finger around an area of the Usque forest.

"Here lies Goraia's western border. A strange light was seen from that direction recently and we need to send some troops to investigate. I warn you, it is a scared and burned land. The Usque has forever been an untamed land, with it's destruction I cannot imagine what evils may await you." Lieutenant Brock was not superstitious, but there was no denying the magic of the land.

Brock turned to the grizzled veteran, "Maris, I want you to lead this expedition. If I am not mistaken you already have some experience leading men into combat.  That said, the purpose of this mission is reconnaissance. Figure out what is going on out there and head back."  Brock looked at Silver, "I will send you with 10 soldiers. They will be instructed to follow both your directions. They are new recruits however, and have never even been on a long patrol. If all goes well we can talk about a serious contract on your return. We'll pay you 50 gold each on the completion of this mission.  After that, should you stay on, your pay will reflect your station. Questions?" 

"Good thinking." Brock responded, "Rangers and woodsmen keep watch of the border, so we know that no large army has entered our lands. Today we spotted what looked like a fire in an area that should have already be burned away. There was a battle there recently. I expect that it is nothing we need to worry about. But still we nee to investigate.

'As for the number of men. I send so many precisely because they are untrained. We don't have the resources to train them fast enough. Foster the men who show promise and they will be able to lead future patrols. Spit the group or work as a team, I'll leave that up to you. This may seem unorthodox, but recruits are poring in fast and we need to get them some experience."

The lieutenant closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. "No matter what you find out there, I hope you can find a way to bring everyone back alive." He sighed, "Though this is war..."

Brock nodded his head, "Some of the lads will have some experience with the Usque. There are certainly monstrous creatures to be found. Giant bears, cougars, and the like. How knows what else may lurk there? A lot of superstition and folk lore surround the Usque."

The lieutenant ran his finger along the boarder, "Much of this land has been burned. Going should be easier. Stay to the edge of the forest and don't enter to deep if possible.

'As for your soldiers. Four of them transferred here from a nearby war camp. Their discipline is good and they have been trained with spears. The two oldest draftees are decent with longbows. The last four are as green as they get. We've been training them to use a sword and shield. Their only using light chainmail for now."