[center]Caravan Mission[/center]

[u]An Unexpected Turn[/u]

Deep within wagon was a medium, unmark box. And inside that was a small figure. Lithe, quiet, and sleeping, Lyn had curled up among the straw contents which cradled her body. It was both warmth and softer then the box’s wood as she let her breath rustle the straw reeds with each snore. Currently Lucilia had the foresight to dress Lyn in something other than just a tunic. Her outfit was still simple, an oversize traveling tunic and tight breeches, with a belt to hold both a pouch filled by Lucilia’s Elixirs, some foodstuffs, and her weapon. She stirred slightly when the wagon came to an abrupt halt, but didn’t wake. Instead a few crumble on her body scattered into the straw heaped around before she settled back into slumber. Her grip upon her toy however had loosened as the little toy began to move, its simple mind and function popped it to life for a moment. Slowly it detangled itself then edged to one of the box sides. It reached out a small paw and touched the smoothed out interior, applying a slight pressure while the wood seemed to creak in protest. While the events outside their little hiding place continued, the toy examined the confines until it was satisfied then waddled back to a whimpering Lyn and crawled back under her arm causing her to relax. 
 
It didn’t last long. 

When the horses bolted forward, everything shifted abruptly within the wagon. Including Lyn’s box. The more fragile goods broke instantly, their contents leaked while the heavier toppled onto the side and nearby boxes. One particular heavy object fell to the side as it weighed down the box lid, trapping Lyn within. The child inside felt her body thrown against the nearest side, her body felt the sharp pain of being smacked hard then let out a small cry. Likely the sound was lost within the outside scene’s chaos and horse’s cries. 

Then the smoke started to pour into Lyn location. It was subtle at first, followed by her coughing before it built to a harsh throat rattling one.[i]What was happening?[/i] Lyn’s mind wandered while she felt her insides shake and her groggy sensation quickly fade in her fear. Her hand fisted near her mouth in a futile attempt to control the coughing. Tears had started to bud at her eye corners, her vision slightly blurred by them and this caused her to push up at the box’s lid. Nothing. It didn’t move and Lyn’s eyes widened in terror. She shoved her shoulder harder against it, but it didn’t budge. Why didn’t it move? She had started to whimper in distress, unable to figure out what had happened and no clue how to fix it. Lyn didn’t want to die here. The little girl had started to wonder why she had been so foolish as to hid within a crate in the first place, now she was going to die because of it. The tears seemed to pour in greater strength despite her shoulder’s pain and tenderness from her continual pushing. 

This was enough to upset her toy into its sole purpose: protect Lyn. Without wasting any time, it picked itself out of the straw to quickly waddle to the box side and raised a small paw. Slink! Five pairs of steel claws, a few inches in length each, unsheathed from its plushy paw suddenly. They were wicked sharp and able to bloody and rip flesh easily when used. It embedded its claw right into the softer wood where it then started to tear away pieces, creating a small hole. Wood splintered easily under the aggressive action and in a short time, there was a small escape and it gently turned to Lyn. It had retracted its claws and took hold of her arm, gently but with firm strength beyond the stuff toy’s body capabilities started to pull Lyn along. 

Scared she was as any child would’ve been within this situation, yet Lyn crawled through into the smoke and fire light. Just like her toy wanted. The students wouldn’t know what emerged from the wagon’s back thanks to the smoke billowing around, her features hidden when she stood up in the back. She squinted against the harsh elements while she absorbed the scene around her. Her Aunt Alaira had already leapt the gap to the other side, her feet and body hunched low in the familiar posture of sneaking, a rare thing for Lyn to see because usually her Aunt was a more a head on hunter then her mother. There were other sounds, shouts and a curse, causing Lyn to look to the only other figures on the bridge: Meirin, Ssarak, and Darius. 

Lyn felt her heart stop when she saw Meirin’s body strung up between the rope and post, the woman’s face filled with stress and pain while she held onto the frayed rope end. Ssarak was naturally right behind her and trying to help, followed by Darius who moved right past the wagon to the other side. It wasn’t’ hard to spot him through the haze as he curses were rather vocal. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before they all tumbled into the river and was washed away. 

She had to help them. Her small figure had leapt over the wagon back, briefly bring her toy alongside her, as her feet smacked the planks on landing then reached out for the nearest rope. Despite it being dead, the rope was made from plant materials since it was cheaper and more plentiful, allowing Lyn to be of some use with her magic. She poured her mageblood into the item with as much focus as she dared. Thanks to Lucilia’s earlier doses still pulsing through her system, Lyn’s magic was slightly amplified to a higher level than her novice skills should’ve been able to do. Some of the rope turned a vivid green and moved, its broken threads started to stretch out and twist about the post firmly creating another fasten. It wasn’t the best and it was temporary, already it was strained moments after its creation, but it might buy the wagon some time to trot across. At least until the fire burn through the other side. Lyn was feeling the past due effects, her hands trembled and heavy, yet she couldn’t stop. The other rope, the one Meirin was holding, still needed to be fixed and it was likely going to be the hardest since it was already broken. 

Unable to do it while the group held onto the rope and its end too far from the post, Lyn squirmed in place, unsure at how to tell them what to do. It wasn’t until she noticed Ssarak’s scale coloring that she realized what blood he might’ve been. Remembering what Satori had once told her, Lyn fought back her hacking to gather her thoughts carefully. Then, when she was satisfied with the effect, she put most her mental effort in to throwing her mental words towards Ssarak. She only hoped his wards were down to allow her message through. 

‘Mr. Esyire, move the rope closer to the post. I can latch it. Please, hurry! I don’t think the other will hold for long…’ If Ssarak had ever encountered Lyn before, a possibility since sometimes she visited Satori, then likely he might recognize her mental voice in a way. That is if the message got through. 

Either way, Lyn scrambled across to the other rope. Her foot slipped when the bridge shifted either by the fact one rope was held by an unsteady post or merely the students started to follow her request was an uncertainty, yet it didn’t matter. Lyn let out a small yelp when she was brought down hard. Her lip split and bled when she hit the hard planks. She ignored the pain. Determined to reach the rope, she forced herself to her knees then threw her arm out for it. Missed. Her hand was a few inches short. Lyn huffed in anger then tried again. Success swelled within her chest when she felt the rope in her grasp, rapidly poured what remained of her boosted magic into it. It would slither through the rope, its strands reached to fix itself once more to the post before its growth died, securing the bridge for a limited time. 

However there was a catch. Lyn’s body slumped to the bridge’s floor and fell to all fours, her lungs breathing hard while the scene spun around her. Not good. She knew she had get back into the wagon but when she tried to stand, her head felt light and ached in protest causing her to fall back down. No…no, Lyn whined within her head. Any psychomancer could easily feel her worry and fear, an indication something wasn’t right. Already her toy was trying to pull her towards the wagon, its strength beyond a normal toy, while it struggle. It might’ve not lacked the strength to carry Lyn, but its smaller size made it clumsy and awkward which hindered this great trait. Too bad Uicle hadn’t taken this into account when he created Lyn’s little protector or else, alone, the toy would’ve been able to carry the small girl back into the wagon. Right now, unless it was helped, the process was going to a very slow one.