Lob

"Lob, not sleep now. Lob wakie wakie. Lob eat food..yes yes. Food? Yumm? Wake up.. Lob wake..HEY...Stop. Bad Lob...Wake up, Lob.. Let go, Lob. Somebody help me..Kyra..Kyra.. help me...."Lob! Breakfast!" no wait!"

betwixt and between the unwilling teddybear with the call to food, Lob managed to roll over enough to get one bleary eye open enough to see the gorgeous elven bard hand in hand with the shaman. "Good snu-snu, good cubs" Oh look, food! A massive hand caught the breakfast meat now covered in doghair and ash and popped it into his mouth to start eating as he slowly got into a sitting position to reach behind his ear with his foot to scratch himself like a dog.

One of the serving folk, having seen the orc's skill for grapple checks, put the food just outside of his normal reach that he head to overextend to get to the food and began to noisily eat away at the offered food. Soon enough he was licking the bowl and calling out for seconds. "More!...Please."

An armed and armored Sundos returned from upstairs. "Does anybody mind if I offer an invocation? Great, thank you." Then without giving anybody the chance to object, Sundos raised his right hand and prayed, "Oh Mighty MorningLord, Giver of Life, Lathander; May thy Glory Shine upon us now and forever. I come before thee at the Dawn of this new Company to give thee thanks. I thank thee for our full bellies and the roof over our head last night. I ask thee to bless and protect Femnal and his staff until we return.

"I thank thee for the hamlet's victory over the orcian foe a few days ago. Bless those who were injured in the battle. Bless them that they may speedily recover from their wounds and return to full health. Bless the families of those who fell in the battle. Give them comfort. Soften the hearts of the villagers that they will take compassion of the families of those fallen. That they will provide charity to the fallen defender's sons and daughters and widows.

"At the Dawn of our Adventure and Company, I ask thee to watch over and protect the Hamlet of Salarn. Give them peace and rest. Hide the Hamlet from the orcian foes. Shine thy Glory over the Hamlet.

"I am grateful for my new friends. Bless us that we may develop good, strong, true friendships with each other of the Company. Bless us that we might work well together as a team; that the strengths of one will cover the weakness of another. That we might learn from each other and each become a better person from our associations.

"We are about to enter dangerous orcian lands. Bless us that our mission may be of benefit to Salarn and the village we take the supplies to. I ask thee to fill our limbs with thy strength, fill our hearts with thy courage and fill our minds with thy wisdom.

"If we are called upon to battle against the orcian-foe, Shine Thy Glory upon us. Fill our hearts with steel and courage, guide our weapons, shield us from the foe, melt the courage of the orcs and send them fleeing before us. Allow us to bring Light into the darken land.

"I shall not fear the darkness, Thy Dawn is always approaching. Amen."

Sundos grabbed a roll and took a bite. "Is everybody ready?”

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Season: Late Fall/Early Winter
Time Of Day: Early Morning
Weather: Cool air, some clouds, air is clean - Thank what ever god you worship
General Ambiance: Tense, it is just tense everywhere.
Location: Hamlet of Salarn in the region of Gorlf just south of the Orc Settlement of Yzewz
Setting: Salarn

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Kyra looked over towards Soma and motioned for her to come over to her. "The shops are closed and I doubt they will be open before we leave but here," Kyra said quickly as she pulled out her roll of parchment; within it where a few blank sheets of sheet music.

"It isn't much and the parchment is old, was a friends. Kind of just never had a use for it but never one to throw something away. Maybe you can use this until later," she offered. They had been Sana's. Kyra figured she would end up using them as kindling or some other non-meant-for use but hey if the girl could use them, why not just hand them over.

Cremwise perked a brow at Keystone, well he had to give the man props; he was thorough but many of the questions he didn't have an answer for; he really didn't know what all they would be dealing with other than perhaps some orcs, which he was hoping to avoid.

"Contract ends when we get there, I will be going further north from there and things are calm that way. Work of what you have, why I am paying you. Personal stuff ain't my concern. It gets destroyed, that is your problem. As far as rank goes, I don't care but from the looks of it the only one taking charge in getting people to get stuff done is that Kyra over there. She seems to be the one people listen to around here and she's the only one to show skill so far. So reason dictates that if you all need a leader it would be here, seems like she is used to taking charge. I just want to arrive safe, I don't care how. What I am hauling is my concern, you aren't paid to any different if I am carrying wool or gold. Food, that's on you all. I pack rations for the road, nothing more to weigh me down."

Cremwise rambled off the answers to the questions rather quickly as he rolled up the map and tucked it back into his robe. Was sure a lot of questions for a simple escort, most people he just paid and they went with it.

Kyra sat there, picking at her food and only eating a little bit as she watched everything around here once she had handed over the papers to Soma. She half chuckled when she saw what went down with Lob and Sundos and then gave the cleric an odd look as he went into his prayer.

"Sure you aren't a priest for the wind? Cause that was the most long winded prayer I have ever heard," she quipped as she stood up and took her plate over to Lob, setting it down for him. She wasn't very hungry and he was already asking for more. Might as well make sure he was filled up before they headed out. If he was anything like other half-orcs she had dealt with in the past she wasn't worried about food; he'd hunt down plenty of meat for them during the journey. If not she had her rations and water skins.

Location: Crossed Swords Inn & Tavern

Interacting With: Sundos, Cremwise, Others

The return of the Lathander's Chosen, or more specifically the grandiose recitation of prayer tailored to their situation in stunningly arduous detail, caught Keystone rather unexpectedly. He had speared a whole sausage perpendicularly near its center with a nearby fork he really hoped was set there at his disposal (place settings were a bit of a mystery to the broad fellow), and was nearing the end of transporting it to his mouth when the blast of religion began.

Confusion spread across his face as he sat, mouth agape, brandishing a properly roasted chub of skewered forcemeat in a mammoth fist. Slowly, incrementally, as the young Cleric rattled off all of the things and people he dearly wished would receive the blessings of his deity, Keystone turned his head to set his eyes on him. Was he being serious with this? Worse, were they to expect this every time they ate?

Without the presence of mind to close his mouth, Keystone listened, expecting the benediction to come to logical conclusion at the end of every sentence. It did not. The glory of Lathander apparently needed to be intoned to every rock, bird, and tree in a five mile radius; every time a new blessing was sounded an acute spike of depression lanced through the veteran pugilist; a tiny death, a thing which seemed to suck the very blood of time away, a missed opportunity to continue breakfast.

What passed for politeness in Keystone's mind prevented him from interrupting the vocalization of the armored man's beliefs. For whatever reason, it also prevented him from taking a bite from his sausage, the porcine cylinder of fat and flesh suspended before him. He had given thought to indulging after the seventh or eighth point of the prayer, but temperance overwhelmed his more pragmatic feelings of hunger.

So there he sat, mouth halfway open, sausage in hand, staring at the priest; hoping that no one would notice and make jokes.

Finally, thanks to the steadily linear progression of time, the end came. Wasting no piece of the opportunity, Keystone attacked his breakfast lest someone else tried to vocalize a theological counterpoint. The food was actually quite good. Nothing particularly special, mind you, nothing to write about in his journal; but it was good, plain, unambitious and comfortable rural fare.

While dining (a very loose term for what he was doing to his meal), he paid very close attention to the answers Cremwise gave him in response to his pre-invocation queries. This was to be a no bells, no whistles escort run; period, end story. In that moment, Keystone was glad he generally packed heavy with food in mind. His own provisions were almost always of better quality than that which merchant guard was stuck with. Plus, he had plenty to share with a couple more that were without, if need be. On the other hand, a lack of reimbursement meant that he would have to prioritize his equipment. Hold back on throwing his knives somewhat, give thought to the defense of his pack, etc.

After his plate was made barren, Keystone rose from his seat and walked around the table to Cremwise and his columns of silver coinage. He grabbed a stack, and began counting as he spoke in low, even tones.

"Never said I needed a leader, Cremmy. Just seein' if you were gonna push one on us."

He finished his appraisal of the first cut of salary and followed up, "I've a good eye for folk what can fight. Learned it sizin' up buggers in the ring. This lot'll give you your money's worth." He thought for a second, "Most of 'em, anyways."

"Well," he announced to no one in particular, "Let's get it movin', then."

Lob

More food, the magic word worked! One of his previous pack had tried to teach him manners, it was equally horrifying for all, but he did walk away with a word of power. He heartily ate the next plate of food given to him by the alpha, he would have to give her something back in fair trade. looking around he saw the bogs everyone was taking, he ambled over to the foppish trader and took a bag in his clawed hand and gave it to Kyra.

"Food, good, bag good, food, bag, good trade."

And with that he handed over his whole upfront of the mission for a second helping of breakfast and went back to his stuff and began to adorn himself for all to see, he slipped his face through a black bear pelt and set the hellhound head over his ears, invoking the spirit of the loyal mount to the black rider. He absently touched his stomach, still remembering the whole day he was in pain over eating fifteen pounds of uncooked dogmeat.

Next he took something he was distinctly told was not a hat and put it on his arm for now with a throwing axe tucked into the gap against the forearm, he had a belt with five thick ceramic orbs tied off on his waist with "ow" carved into the clay. He took up a net and folded it over his shoulder like the skeleton of a cape. Last came his prized bone, it was once part of a black dragon and the primal magic still worked.

He looked around like he was missing something and suddenly smacked his head as he saw Ash licking his bowl clean. Outthe door went lob heading directly for the jail. "PLEASE!" There was a loud crash, some yelling, the sound of something wooden being broken and finally some loud barking. "THANK YOU!"

Lob came back from the jail cells with an easily hundred pound mastiff following behind. He took a bowl and fed the dog some food who had all the manners as its rescuerer. He used both magic words this time to get what he needed, He was well on his way to becoming a shaman himself!

"Lob, dog, dog lobs, Lobs dog. Good dog."

Sona was happy that Kyra offered her some music sheets, receiving them from the lady, she started feeling warm inside. As if they were taken care of with love instead of hatred, which is what Sona adored most about these music sheets “Oh, thankyou!” the bard exclaimed happily “I promise, I will take good care of them, don’t you worry! They look so great and cool and amazing and they have been taken care of rather well.” Sona kept appraising the music sheets until she noticed that Sundos was busy doing something… she best not bother him.

It was Lob that made her chuckle though: she didn’t know what the hell was going on with him but he seemed to be doing well… what all Lob’s done. “Oh my!” she chuckled and laughed carefully in hopes that she didn’t disturb anyone that much with her laughing. She didn’t want to disturb Sundos especially since her laughs can get rather loud for an Elf, but then again, she was a bard: she had to be loud anyway for her music to be expressive and heard.

Finally everyone seemed to be rearing to go, but first Sona needed to introduce herself to the people she has not exactly introduced herself to. So as she coughed lightly to stop herself from laughing some more, she walked up to Keystone and took her hand out for her introduction “Hello, sir” she greeted “my name is Sona, it is very nice to meet you” she glanced around, trying to find that other girl she saw this morning. But with her hand out towards Keystone, it was rather difficult to.

Location: Crossed Swords Inn & Tavern

Interacting With: Sona

Keystone looked over the comparatively smaller Sona as she extended her hand in greeting. To view the Elf up close, she appeared the type who got by on looks and personality. Not that it was necessarily a bad thing; Keystone himself had situations where he advanced his position purely because he was larger and more intimidating than the guy next to him.

All the same, when the obviously pretty Elven lady went out of her way to introduce herself, the less charismatic Keystone viewed it with suspicion. Elves, in his limited experience with the race, didn't take to him very readily. Dwarves, sure. The Sylvan Peoples, not so much. The circumstances of their meeting were such that they would be traveling companions for the next few days, introductions would come eventually anyway. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that she wanted something from him.

Wouldn't be the first time.

Keystone growled softly and looked Sona in the eyes before accepting her hand. "Name of Keystone, miss. Pugilist."

The rugged behemoth released her hand and immediately hoisted his pack onto the table, checking the straps and inspecting for damage. He noted that his new acquaintance had little equipment to speak of, despite being far into rural country and setting to a few days' outing into hostile territory.

"Miss Sona, how're you set for provisions?" his underclass accent rolled, "Food, weapons, such? You look understocked. Maybe I can help with that."

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Season: Late Fall/Early Winter
Time Of Day: Mid Morning
Weather: The air is cool, a few grey clouds are rolling in and the winds are picking up - Tut-tut, it looks like rain
General Ambiance: Sleepy
Location: Hamlet of Salarn in the region of Gorlf just south of the Orc Settlement of Yzewz
Setting: Salarn

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Kyra just smiled at Sona, she seemed happy to get the music sheets. At least they had finally found a home where they would be put to use in a good way instead of just as kindling if it came down to it. Gathering her things she hefted her pack onto her shoulder and picked up her bow. With a quick whistle Ash rushed over to her side and she motioned for the door.

"Alright folks, let's get packed up and ready to head out. We have a long road ahead of us. Let's get as much of it out of the way before the rain sets in," she said as she motioned towards the clouds outside of the window.

Stepping outside she tossed her pack into the back of Cremwise's wagon and stepped over to the merchant who was already seated up at the front with the horses reigns in his hands. He gave a smile, he was ready to go. He wasn't looking forward to having to get through the orc territory but with this group at least he stood a good chance of getting through without incident. Hopefully the orcs would just let the merchant get through without issue, they weren't military it was clear. He was even thankful for the Half-Orc; maybe that would buy them some kindness.

Kyra knew better, Orcs and Half-Orcs did not get along. She was figuring there would be at least one or two scuffles during the trip. Maybe if they made a strong enough showing during the first it would make the orcs back off enough to get through without any others but Orcs were not known for baking down from a fight. And if they were working with the same goblins that had attacked her adopted home, it would make things even worse. This was going to be anything but an easy walk through the woods. She would have rather gone on foot alone off the main path but it wasn't like the wagon could handle the hilly terrain, if heavy rain set in on the dusty path that alone would cause some issues. Least they had a brute or two in the group to help get the wagon out of any mud problems.

"So, how do we do this?" Cremwise asked.

"Ash and I will scout ahead of the main group. The rest will stay with you. If anything happens, I'll signal; Lob should be able to pick up on it with his senses," she said before looking over at Lob. "Keep an ear out for me but stay with them Lob," she instructed as she pulled the hood of her mantel up and patted Ash. Unslinging her bow from her back, she knocked a bow into place and ran off through the south exit of town - the only exit and made her way along the path north until she ducked off the path and into the woods with Ash taking the lead.

Remaining fairly silent as the conversation continued, Lucan spent the time looking through his things and making sure they were all together and ready for the journey. He didn't have a great deal other than what was already in his pack, placing his belt and sheathe on over his armour, he shifted his head up just as Kyra called out for the group to get moving. The call to him was well past due, he was more than ready to get going and he'd been honestly looking forward to it. Moving outside, he looked over the wagon, grabbing an apple from his pack tossing the bag into it before he moved off to the stables by the tavern.

Approaching Brie, Lucan gently placed his hand on the mane of the horse as he fed her the apple. Waiting for a few moments as the horse fed on the apple, he eventually dropped the core to the ground as he hauled himself up onto Brie's back, taking the reins and moving out of the stable, back over toward the wagon just in time to see Kyra take off out of town and down the road. He didn't much care to be particularly wary or take any sort of leadership, he was there to fight if it was needed, otherwise he just planned to trot along with the wagon until they reached their destination.

As he sat atop Brie, looking over at the others, Lucan remained relatively silent, taking in their group. It was quite the odd bunch, from the half-orc to the elf bard. Looking at each of them, he imagined they would never be the kind of bunch to work together, at least they wouldn't be the kind of bunch you heard songs or stories about. In a way, Lucan was appreciative for that.

Lob

Lob squatted down and listened to the orders from this alpha.

"Alright folks, let's get packed up and ready to head out. We have a long road ahead of us. Let's get as much of it out of the way before the rain sets in. Ash and I will scout ahead of the main group. The rest will stay with you. If anything happens, I'll signal; Lob should be able to pick up on it with his senses. Keep an ear out for me but stay with them, Lob."

He looked to the rest gathered and started going around to sniff each one of them, rather rudely sniffing hands or butts as he can get close enough to them and taking strikes to his head in stride. This was his job to know everyone's scent so he can pick out those that do not fit, he even sniffed the wagon to try and detect what was inside the caravan,

Gardinas with Pine,
Burnt Leather with Iron,
Bacon with black tea along tooled leather tinged with anger,
Blood and sweat under lavender,
Mud with sweat and rum,
Leather with oil,
Metal with flowers,
Him
Dog.

Lob came across the discarded blanket that smelled of Metal with flowers and looked back to the bard, he smiled to himself as he folded the blanket in half 'hamburger' and cut a slit with his Catch to make it a poncho. He looked for her to put it upon her head, but she was nowhere to be seen, He'd save it for later then and wandered off to take point of the caravan by climbing right up the walls of the village to catch the scent on the wind.

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Season: Late Fall/Early Winter
Time Of Day: Mid-Morning
Weather: Cool air, cloudy. The wind is picking up, promising rain soon.
General Ambiance: Sleepy, but guarded.
Location: Hamlet of Salarn in the region of Gorlf just south of the Orc Settlement of Yzewz
Setting: Salarn

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Cremwise noted the slow readying of his assembled group of hirelings. He was partly hesitant to get out on the road, partly impatient that they hadn't already. Such was trade during wartime.

Wagons were slower to start, the more people traveled with them. It was a fact of his profession. This group of individuals didn't exactly know each other well enough to move with military-like organization, at least not yet. The relative safety of the town likely had a few of them feeling complacent. The older merchant had a feeling that, with the security of Salarn removed from the equation, this may change.

"Ah, good!" he said, sitting atop his wagon, reins in hand. The merchant forced a cheerful smile on his face, surveying his new temporary employees. "Let's not waste daylight!" Cremwise urged his horse forward. It responded, lurching the ware-laden wagon to a steady roll.

Following Kyra and Ash's trail, the Company departed the sleepy hamlet from the south, turning immediately to follow the makeshift wall around to the barricaded northern road. As the wagon touched proper road again, Cremwise glanced behind him to one of his larger escorts.

"You said your name was Keystone, correct? I've heard stories about a Monk using that name. Supposedly, he did all manner of unwholesome and heroic things, depending on who's telling the tale. Things with wizards and the undead. ...and a dragon... You him?"

Those checking the wagon for scent will clearly note the fresher scents of foodstuffs and leather (waterskins, packs, etc.). The bulk of the covered wares are a hodgepodge of herbs, oils, and other strong smells; picking out a single one is a herculean feat at this time.

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Location: Salarn, Exterior

Interacting With: The Company, Cremwise

The large man silently regarded Lob getting a good lungful of the group's scents. He even stood motionless while the Half-Orc turned his olfactory attentions towards him. Keystone had met his half blood kin before; they came with many different attitudes and outlooks. This one was unique, however. Different. More feral. Even less apt to use a spoon.

"Most folk just offer to shake hands." he intoned, steadfastly not offering his own for fear of what might be done to it. "Name of Keystone."

That was a very large Half-Orc. At least as strong as himself, possibly moreso. He was glad to have him as an ally for this venture, though unclear as to whether the gargantuan warrior would be an asset or a liability. Time would tell.

Keystone fastened his pack up and strode outside of the Crossed Swords Inn and Tavern. He looked over the assembled group in their traveling and fighting garb, and shrugged just a bit. He'd gone out to almost certain conflict with worse, certainly. Seeing as he had been on the road by himself for quite some time now, he could deal with a little companionship and added security of numbers.

With the practice of a man accustomed to this kind of work, Keystone hung his pack by the straps on the inside of the wagon. He fell into step alongside, mindful of the treeline and keeping Cremwise in plain view. Their indirect route out of town gave him an opportunity to mentally review his situation and clear his head. He looked for Persephone, figuring if he's going to have a pleasant conversation with anyone, it would likely be someone with which he had a common interest.

The head-clearing came to a swift and undramatic halt when Cremwise addressed him directly:

"You said your name was Keystone, correct? I've heard stories about a Monk using that name. Supposedly, he did all manner of unwholesome and heroic things, depending on who's telling the tale. Things with wizards and the undead. ...and a dragon... You him?"

Keystone's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he recovered from the surprise. He knew word about some of his exploits had gotten around locally, but into a border town? Then he recalled that, as a merchant, Cremwise did a lot of traveling. Lots of places he could have heard something.

It was probably that smart-arsed bard he associated with for a time. It was bad enough he wrote poetry about their exploits, but the bastard had the out and out gall to put it to music and share it with others. Admittedly, most of what he sang about was true. Just not some of the details, and that's where he got nailed to the wall, the details.

Curiously, Keystone shifted his eyes to Sona, the Bard, to see if she showed any glimmer of recognition. Returning attention to their benefactor, he answered grimly (if not convincingly).

"Dunno what you're on about, Cremmy. Sounds like a proper cobswinger though, that guy."

It was proving to be a busy morning, but Seph had expected no less. She'd spent most of the time in observation, getting to know all of her new companions by watching how they behaved, and as far as people-watching went, this was not disappointing. The half-orc was particularly interesting, and thankfully his nose stuck mostly to her hands when he went around sniffing people, rather than anywhere more intrusive. Then there was the elf, the bard, a lovely woman with a lovely voice, even when speaking. Seph liked bards, and expected to like Sona as well.

The cleric, well, he was even younger and greener than she was, and from the looks of things, he hadn't been chewed up much by the world yet. It was a little sad, actually; he was kinda cute, in that fairly naive, chivalrous way. But everyone seemed to have a point where the world became real for them. Seph's had been particularly painful, and she hoped this Sundos would have a better experience.

Keystone and Lucan she'd already met, of course. She grimaced apologetically at missing the early morning exercises with Keystone, but in all honesty, she hadn't kept up with those too well since being on her own. She never claimed to be very good at being a monk. Sleep was a valuable thing, to be cherished, since many did not find it so easily. She certainly hadn't, for a while, and now that she was sleeping fine again, she savored every second of it. Kyra seemed like a take charge sort of young woman. She had to be, to have a bloody wolf at her beck and call, right? Seph imagined so. In any case, Persephone at least took the time to introduce herself to everyone in her group, but her lateness in rising meant she had to do some last minute preparations while the others finished eating.

Once they were on the road, at last, Seph tugged Boro, her donkey, along behind her. He was far from the most prestigious of animals to have in the company, when compared to dangerous wolves and powerful horses, but Seph hardly felt the need to be proud of such things. He was a difficult and often stupid lout, in her opinion, but they got along well enough when they needed now. Currently, he wasn't putting up much of a fight, which was excellent. Seph would've hated to be embarrassed by him in front of all her new friends.

Keeping pace with the group, leading the donkey with one hand and using her staff as a walking stick in the other, Seph listened in on the conversation, and was certainly available if anyone wished to speak with her.

Sundos had strapped his backpack to the outside of the wagon. Then he hurried over the stables. He paid the young stable hands and made sure all of his gear was still accounted for. A few minutes later he came riding out on his brown warhorse, Honor.

He looked over the new company. Most of the men and some of the women were veterans. Sundos has fought in some minor skirmishes before. But this was his first time traveling into hostile land without paladins and men-of-arms of the Church going with him. He was a little surprised, but he felt as if none of the company reverenced Lathander. He assumed everybody within the Kingdom worshipped the MorningLord. It was the national religion. But the farther he got from the capital city, the less people seemed to follow his god. He alone was to bring Light to the dark land. He knew his duty.

He spied the young healer. He had heard much of her in this short stay at the inn. He dismounted and lead Honor by the reins, approaching Persephone, Sundos said, “May the Glory of Lathander shine upon you, Sister. I have heard many talk of your healing touch. I have spoken to militia men who have been injured. They all talk of you and what you’re done for them. You truly do great work to bless the lives of others.”

Sona was finally outside and she was finally prepping everything up outside. She cannot ride horses or anything of the sort, but she can sing while the others are travelling. That would be the right thing to do in Sona's opinion. Getting everything ready she tweaked her harp once more and coughed lightly as she saw the others "Time to go..." Sona said to herself as she finishes tweaking her harp and places it in her hand so she can sing songs and entertain the others. Alto chirped and the bard sighed before going into some sort of pouch and feeding her bird companion with berries for him. Luckily he ate them all so Sona didn't have to struggle with placing the rest of the berries back into the pouch thing.

As soon as everyone started heading off, Sona followed and played her harp along the way for the others. So the place wouldn't be at all silent and everyone would be feeling cheerful and not tiring at all: considering the fact that the song was upbeat and didn't sound depressing in any means.

Lob

Lob watched and waited as all others passed under him. He was looming over the caravan like a gargoyle on the gate until he was certain that all had passed. For the first length of the trip he walked along the back, making sure no one was going to fall behind. Ever since he was a child, he was too big for a riding dog so he simply learned to run as fast as the dogs.

There was a momentary twinge as the thoughts came back and so did his scar given headache he absently clawed at. The line itself was years old and the pucker was only apparent when he frowned his whole brow forward. He remembered the fight, it was a good fight, he remembered the blow to his head, later he woke with no other waking with him. He had buried all his family that day. What used to be a dislike to gnolls became an irrational rage over the years as he made every gnoll the gnolls from that tribe.

His headache got worse and was putting him in a bad mood. But as Dog licked his hand, sensing his unease, it brought him back to the now and his headache softened, if even just a little. Looking ahead, he saw the ladysong feeding the birds and waited for her to finish before galloping up beside her. The way he called to her might have been mistaken for the barking of a dog, and the fact he wasn't using her name. If the calling to her wasn't obvious, he'd paw at her with his hand as he loped on all fours beside her to try and get her attention.

Bard, bard-bard, baarrd...

Once he got her attention, he's come up to his two-legger stride and reach under his hellhound skin and pull out the blanket from before. Thank the gods that Lob had washed and the skins had been scrubbed clean while in custody so that the newly made poncho didn't reek of lob or the giant skunk he rolled in 3 days ago.

"Pelt you. Pelt warm. Pelt good."

Seph's cheeks reddened slightly at the cleric's compliments. Boro began to lag slightly behind, distracted by something. Absently she gave him a tug to force him into keeping up. "You're not really one for subtlety, are you?" she teased gently, a gleam of amusement in her nearly violet eyes. Sundos seemed really invested in that god of his, Lathander. She wasn't sure he'd gone two sentences without referencing him in some way since she'd come across him. There was nothing wrong with that, Seph supposed. Whatever kept one's spirits up and got them through the day.

"Thank you, though. I don't know if I bless anybody, I'm no priestess. I just do what I can. Same as anybody trying to make a difference, right?" Sure, maybe she had a few more tools at her disposal to help people with, but it wasn't like the other good people in the world were giving less of an effort than she was. She supposed she could be especially cynical about it, and say she just fixed people up because it was work, and often paid for her expenses, but that wasn't entirely true. Even if she did have other reasons for traveling and exploring places far from home, she found purpose in what she did along the way. The act of healing rarely just healed the person with the injury.

"So, enjoying life in the great wide world? I hope you don't mind me saying, but you look a little... uh, green, I guess." She looked for a nicer way to put it, but it hadn't come to her. He practically exuded it, with how enthusiastic he was about his religion and his duties. Seph wondered how long he'd been out and about among all the "normal" people. Not that this group they found themselves in was anything resembling normal.

Sundos wasn’t sure what he said to make Persephone blushed, but he liked how it looked on her. He smiled at her. He was confused by her comment about being subtle, so he ignored it. But he spoke about the one thing he did understand.”It’s not just priests and priestesses who bless people. We don’t bless people only by our prayers. Sometimes the greatest blessings we give is just by what we do. You’re a healer. You saved lives and saved people from being crippled. I don’t know if your power is divine or not, but it doesn’t matter, you blessed lives.” She seemed like a nice lady. He wasn’t sure why she was on the frontier. Some of the others in the Company looked like they wouldn’t or couldn’t be comfortable in the capital city.

"So, enjoying life in the great wide world? I hope you don't mind me saying, but you look a little... uh, green, I guess." Now it was Sundos' turn to blush. "Is it really that obvious to see? This is my first time this far from the Capital and Temple District. Things and people are .. different .. on the frontier. I did not expect people to be so uncaring out here. I was surprised, I didn't see any priests nor shrines to the MorningLord at all in the village. I expected there to be more where life was harder. The people are harder on the frontier, but their faith is gone, isn't it? Did the people lose their faith or did they never have it?"

Sona kept playing her music until she heard a certain word referring to her profession. That was when she kept looking around until she saw Lob. He actually caught her by surprise as the moment she looked to him, something went over her head to the point that she fell of her stomach. Alto started flying upwards as this happened. "Lob... you're so sweet" she complimented as she stood up. She had to admit, it hurt her neck slightly but she didn't mind. She could travel it off.

Alto landed back on her shoulder once again and she smiled softly before playing with her hair. She only noticed what it was when she smelt it...

It smelt of him.

It was Sundos's.

She quickly glanced to Sundos and then back to Lob "Does Sundos know about this??" she asked. "He could get angry if you didn't ask him to cut it for my head"

Location: Road North of Salarn

Interacting With: Sundos

The conversation unfolding just behind him made Keystone very curious. Not that he was trying to eavesdrop (at least at first), but the topic of State Deities and a lack of caring crept into his ears, sticking there. He slowed his walk a touch, just enough to allow the two to catch up.

"You've really not walked the world much, 'ave ya then?" he began, regarding the armored Cleric. "I've studied at many a temple, what don't give a soft and squishy for gods at all. Not a bit. Stick themselves to a philosophy, they does. Still got healers, too."

Keystone considered what he had just said a moment, and clarified, "Obviously, I'm not the healin' type. Learned different things." He shrugged, and attempted to get back to his point. "Not from this kingdom. New here, really, so you're gonna need to explain somethin' to me. Y'see, I just don't get why a man's got to follow a god to be a good person."

He ran the last thought through his head, and voiced an afterthought in a cheerier but genuine tone, "Glad it works out for you, though. Far be it for me to tell someone that my way's the only one."