Leafblade & Freelight: The Barracks

[Larry_OHF]

Jared came walking out, seeing that five dead men lay here in the marsh and none of them were the guards. He walked up to the guy that had his borrowed short sword in his back and plucked it out, cleaning it in a marshy puddle. He did not have a scabbard, so he just held on to it.

It looked like Acacia and Rehan were very glad to see one another. Jared diverted his gaze back towards the tent, wondering if there were clues there about the other missing people.

"So...I guess the disappearances will cease. Thanks to you two, the village can now rest. Why do you think they were kidnapping people?"

[mistral4543]

OOC: Brian can just post for me since I don't think I can do better than the one I came up with earlier You can just let Rehan respond to Jared's question, so that my post can remain unchanged [img]smile.gif[/img]

ooc: Sorry, I went to bed before I got your other email. [img]tongue.gif[/img] It's storming over here and my power went out in the middle of my post.

Mistral

It was over, then.

Her disbelieving eyes blinked at the lifeless figure ahead, its last cries of agony ringing in her ears. Rehan's safe. For his hand, which had just slain the villain who would have bested her in her vulnerability, was steadying her swaying body. Thank goodness... Her breathing was coming out more normally, as she heard the approaching footsteps of Jared.

It was then that the stings on her thighs, arms and calves began biting her. Wearily, she drooped her head and nodded feebly. We're all safe. Gritting her teeth, she shook her head.

"We need to look around for more clues. Maybe there's something else out here that will lead us to the missing people and animals."

Closing her eyes, she strained her mind, chasing after words trapped in the past. As they returned to her, she whispered the incantations in secret delight ... moments later, she managed a heartier smile as the lips of her more serious wounds sealed and traces of bleeding disappeared.

"I'm ready to continue."

Rehan

A small grin played across his face as he removed his hand. "You're more then you appear to be." He said more to himself then the other two.

Wiping a small dribble of blood from the corner of his mouth, he turned to face Jared. He offered the man his thanks for rescuing him and the blade. "As for the bandits... one man mentioned the troops sent out here had ruined their lives, and that killing them was for the revenge he wanted. I personally don't know what he was talking about, we've only come down here in peace to help aid in any issues here... or so I've been told..." His eyes shifted uneasily from Jared to the fallen bodies around him. He had killed before, but why did this bother him so? Were these men only trying to get closure to whatever they lost? Was there truth behind anything the man said?

He didn't know the answers, and knew only one man had them. Rehan would question the Captain when they returned, but for now, he started to rummage around the camp for a spare blade.

[ 06-21-2006, 02:04 PM: Message edited by: Leafblade ]

[Larry_OHF]

Jared's eyes of bewilderment would have embarrassed him if anyone had seen his dumb stare. Not only could this lady Acacia best four armed men with the sword, she had the powers to heal! You just don't see stuff like that everyday on the farm. Usually, they are told to kids in stories as you tuck them in at night. Jared could only continue to embarrass himself by staring with a crooked grin on his face before he registered what Rehan and Acacia had been saying.

"But why would these guys harm innocent lives, children and even animals...just to get the attention of a couple guards? You're the first guard that has come into town since the disappearances who was threatened by these guys. Why would they not have attacked those prior to you?"

Jared looked back at the tent, remembering that he remembered nothing of the interior.

"As you said Acacia, there have got to be more clues out here. Should I run back to town and ask for volunteers to help scour the area, and bring shovels and lanterns?"

ooc: Feel free to respond to her post Larry. I'm busy at the moment and will try to post later on.

As she turned her head, she caught a glimpse of the gaping farmer who clamped his lips abashedly at her detection. Smiling through her severe look, she shook her head and motioned for the two of them to help her tie up and gag the ruffian securely. A quick glance showed that his injury had not been fatal; it had been just sufficient to incapacitate him from dealing out further harm.

If only the two of them could search for the clues, while she stayed to keep watch over this prized prisoner... she could also conduct the interrogation, out of sight of her companions. The way Adele would have. A terrible thrill ran down her spine then; she trembled and swallowed a gulp. But it was useless making these mindless observations; the two males did not look ready to receive any sudden attacks, and she had no confidence that they had bonded enough to stick by each other should danger strike at them.

"Come then, can one of you keep watch over him while we look around?" Without waiting for an answer, she strode forward and began to peer around the surroundings.

[Larry_OHF]

"I can stay with him. You two are the professionals, so get out there and find my mother."

Jared knelt down beside the now-tied prisoner and wondered why he had never seen him around town before. In fact, he did not recognize anyone in the group that had been in the tent. It was not like he should know everybody that came to the village, but still...one would think that in such a small town, one would bump into everybody sooner or later.

He wondered how long the guy would live like this. Would the guards let him die of his wounds? Would they lock him up after this? Jared realized that there was so much life outside of the farm, and for 30 years all he'd ever learned to do was till the ground and make things grow. Acacia, on the other hand, she has been places and seen things...she's more than a simple guard, he felt.

He sat there dazed, thinking of the way she'd smiled at him when she caught him staring...

He managed to find a spare sword among the scattered supplies the bandits had stashed. His eyes scanned the area for any clues, but came up empty handed. There has to be more... These men were just simple bandits... Rehan made his way over to Acacia, staying alert for any signs of movement around them. "Do you think there really is a monster here? I doubt these men could have done all of this, and many of the people who disappeared have no connection to that bandit's story."

Paranoia slowly crept up the young man's spine. His eyes shifted around him nervously, suddenly aware of every little sound. "Something is wrong here..." His pendant was growing cold again, and he clasped a hand around it, wondering if it was trying to tell him something.

[mistral4543]

"...get out there and find my mother."

The farmer's words irritated her a little, much as she strove to overlook what was likely his ignorance of common courtesy. Just because he offered to help doesn't entitle him to boss us around... Now she was being childish, surely. Time to rise above petty matters, and focus on the critical and important.

"What is it that you sense?" Noticing Rehan's restlessness, she whispered to him, almost magnetised by the pendant. Was there a sign that they had failed to notice? Something else was unnerving her, but it had nothing to do with the previous battle and the pendant...

Sighing, she turned sideways so that she was not facing Rehan directly.

"Before I forget... I didn't heal you earlier at the barracks." Her cheeks were slightly flushed, even in the moderate darkness of the tent. "I... I'd wanted you to be a bit more independent, get used to the harsh ways of the world." Why was her heartbeat quickening?

"I was wrong; forgive me." Without waiting for his response, she hurried her footsteps and walked back towards Jared and the prisoner.

Confused, Rehan watched her leave. Did I say something wrong? Shrugging, he continued his search of the tent and the small bandit camp.

There has to be something we're missing... nothing here but random supplies... Rehan made his way back over to where the other two were. "No wonder the previous mercenaries never found anything."

Lowering himself to the ground, he faced the prisoner. It was odd to watch this man, to see the agony he was in, and knowing it was because of what he had done to him. "Something is out of place out here. You've never had any of your own men go missing?"

[Larry_OHF]

The bandit could not believe his ill turn of fate. He had almost completed what he'd been waiting so long to do...spill the blood of a fool guard member or two...and now here he lay with a stab wound to his back and four men dead around him.

He winced in pain as he tried to look his enemy in the eye, but could not turn in that way to do so, and so resigned to talk to the marsh.

He sqeaked out his response: "Aye...Timoteo went out to take a piss a month ago, and ne'er came back. We tracted him, but his prints just stopped out in the middle o' nowhere.

Wha...what are you gonna do with me?"

Jared looked up with a confused scowl, wondering if his sudden worry had been shared by the guards. Was it really possible that this man was not behind all the disappearances? If not...then...what?

He said nothing, however. He was not a trained guard and felt out of place as he stood there, watching the interogation of a criminal. What lives these guards live!