[IC] The Caravan - A Halloween MiniRP

[Achronum]

"Shouldn't have used magic idiot." Skylar muttered angrily at himself as he snatched his raiper from the clutter of the caravan. He kept it pointed at the approaching light and had a half prepared spell in his mind.

"Perhaps it would be best if they boy readied an arrow.I'm sure your contraptions work wonders but another stinger in the air if it attacks wouldn't be the worst, especially around here." He said softly. "This barrier won't stop a creature from passing through after all. Probably won't hold if the rain gets any harder."

[Oliver]

Ivan nodded as Skylar suggested readying an arrow. He liked that idea a lot better than Jameson's suggestion of hiding inside the caravan and letting the adults take care of everything. He ran inside the caravan to find his father's bow and quiver of arrows. Coming back outside with the bow in hand, he took notice of the figure approaching.
They weren't too far away now, and seemed to be holding some sort of torch or lantern. Ivan had no idea who would be out alone on a muddy road this deep in the woods with torrential rain pouring down on them, so Ivan's first thought was that this might be trouble. He selected a steel arrow from the quiver on his back, pulling back the bowstring and hoping he was wrong about whoever this person was.

[Proxi]

Taking note that there was a light in the darkness, Raven slinked into the shadows. Travellers weren't always safe from the natives of the woods, and he wanted to be prepared to jump the entity if they decided to attack. Hiding in the bushes, Raven was difficult to spot and he sat, waiting and peering at the light through the leaves.

[Oliver]

Ivan held his arrow pointed steadily at the approaching figure, though his knees were shaking and beads of sweat formed on his pale forehead. He let out a small fit of coughs, his arrow just barely staying pointed on target as he wheezed and tried to catch his breath. He looked back up, and now he could easily see that the figure was no more than fifteen yards away. An easy shot, if he had to make it.

[ArenaSnow]

The silhouette approached, almost silently save for the squishing and splashing of mud mixed with the heavy rain. The figure slowly became visible as a slim and somewhat short person in the fog, little taller than Ivan, carrying what was indeed a lantern in one raised hand. Said person wore a very dark blue cloak with a sash keeping it closed in the midsection, the garments almost silk in their appearance, save for the harsh contrast of mud coming halfway up to the person's knees. Said person, coming into view, was a woman with striking blue eyes, a face that was in perfect contrast to the mud down below, and could not have been older than her early twenties.

She stopped outside the dome, looking at the diverse weaponry aimed at her while she held the lantern.

"Did I come at a bad time?" she asked over the rain.

[Oliver]

"Ah...Прости!" Ivan lowered his bow immediately, looking surprised and ashamed for aiming a weapon at such a proper looking young woman. Surely, his father would have slapped him across the face for using his own bow in such a way. He limped out of the dome towards her, rain immediately resoaking his clothes and hair. "Trust me, we mean no hurt! You must forgive, we come very far to get here. Are very lost. You as well, yes?..." He probably would have blathered on endlessly, but he was stopped by another harsh fit of coughs, his asthmatic lungs rejecting the frigid air.

@ArenaSnow

[Proxi]

Raven stepped out of the bushes. He was still suspicious, for not everything was as harmless as it looked in this world. Because of this he kept the gauntlets on, just to be on the safe side.

"You sure did. Horse is dead, the caravan won't move, and like the kid said we're lost. Never know who you'll meet out here." He spoke clearly towards the woman. His facial expression was not an unfriendly one, but he certainly did not look like he was going to walk over to the women and give hugs. By no means was Raven worried, but if there's one thing he knew it was that judging a book by its cover wasn't always wise.

[Oliver]

By the time Ivan had stopped coughing, his bad leg had given out and he had fallen to his hands and knees in the mud. Realizing just how pathetically helpless he looked, he quickly caught his breath and stood back up, wincing as he put too much weight on his right leg. Though he had no doubt in his mind that the woman was just a harmless traveler, he kept his bow by his side instead of fastening it to his back again. Just in case. At this point, he was more afraid of the possibilities of wolves or something than this stranger.

[rocketrobie2]

Baldur didn't make any move to put away his fighting stick as he didn't believe this woman had good intentions in the slightest and he didn't feel safe with having this woman so close to the group. He'd heard stories about witches and monsters in the guise of people and these woods had an horribly eerie and dangerous feeling to them that were only amplified by the woman's sudden appearance.

[Achronum]

Skylar eyed the woman with suspicion and let the magical energy he stored fade away but left his sword unsheathed. He found it odd a lone woman just happened to meander down the trail as they found trouble. Maybe he should... the boy's coughing snapped him from his train of thought. He frowned and strode to the edge of his bubble.

"Come back inside young one. No need to kill yourself out in the cold when we have shelter." He reached out to pull the boy back in gently before addressing the woman. "A little trouble on this road in a storm is enough to put everyone on guard. Come inside, no need to soak yourself any further."

[Oliver]

Ivan shot Baldur a scathing look, mouthing "Put down your weapon." He shifted his posture so as to put less pressure on his hurting leg. When Skylar suggested he return to the dome, he sighed and reluctantly obeyed, limping back inside and removing his soaked orange vest to wring it out.

[Sombrero]

Robart coughed, more to announce that he was about to talk than to retch from the cold... Though, with the disease in his body so long, it was inpossible to hear the difference.

"You must forgive us..." The knight shrugged, keeping the sword and his hand well-hidden under his cloak, "It all happened so quickly... It would be too easy for, say, a highwayman, with the fine dress to show for it, to have tracked us all this way and waited for our wagon to be crippled and its riders to be stuck out in the open to be shot by the rest of the gang... Or perhaps having gone ahead to hide big rocks in the road. I've seen many attempts at money and life in my time..."

[rocketrobie2]

Baldur gave the boy Ivan a death glare when the boy silently told him to put his stick away. The rest of the group could trust the woman all they wanted but he'd read up on all sorts of nefarious magical items and beasts that could be at play here. "What's your name." Baldur said to the woman, more as a demand and less as a question.

[Oliver]

Ivan found himself leaning heavily on the side of the caravan, coughing weakly as he scrubbed mud off his hands. He was no longer really paying attention to what everyone was saying to the woman; it was all the same explanations. Ivan shivered when Baldur gave him the evil eye, but kept a straight face and once again gestured for him to lower the stick.
@rocketrobie2

[Achronum]

Skylar pursed his lips as Ivan leaned against the caravan. He shrugged out of his coat and draped it around the lad. He frowned down at the boy and sheathed his weapon, turning away from the woman.

"Hey Ivan, why don't you go sit down? You'll need your strength for the walk if we need to." Skylar held his hand out to help the boy to the back of the caravan.

[ArenaSnow]

The newcomer gave a rueful smile as she trudged inside the dome, looking at Ivan and the horse. "Call me Regina."

"I can't say I have met many a highwayman on this road, probably because most people don't use this road... and if you've heard anything about the forests of this land, it would be for good reason."

She looked down at the lower portions of her cloak, stained a deep brown that became more obvious as she stepped over marginally less deep mud. "Mess again..." She looked at the group. "I know it's hard to see in the fog, but I do live around here." She pointed towards the foggy clearing. "Yes, there's the fog, but my house is down there."

The caravan master scowled darkly, muttering under his breath. "...'itch..."

[Oliver]

"I am fine." Ivan insisted curtly, one of his small, frail hands reaching up to swat Skylar's (significantly larger) hand away. He didn't want to be sent back inside. If something happened, he at least wanted to not be the only one cowering in the back of the caravan. In truth he was perhaps just being a bit petulant, but he honestly did want to offer as much assistance as he could.

@Achronum

[Sombrero]

Robart let his arm drop back to his side. Albeit peeved, the caravan master wasn't worried, and if the expert had nothing to fear from this woman, neither did he.

"Hm. You live here? Is the weather always this bad?..."

[Proxi]

A lass dressed like that living out here in... The middle of nowhere, with weather like this? Where raven came from, anyone who had clothes like that lived in a manor in the city. Not some random cabin in the woods.

"Hey, don't judge. You haven't even seen her house yet. Besides, if she wanted to attack then she certainly would not have walked up to us carrying a lantern. But then again, if she had a full-on house out here where caravan man travels, you'd think he'd have seen it already. But if for like this is common, then it makes sense. Eh, I'll give this lass the benefit of the doubt." Raven thought to himself. He walked up to the alleged Regina and introduced himself. "Hello miss Regina, my name is Raven. Sorry about the... You know, weapons and suspicion thing. But a man's gotta play it smart. Good to meet ya!"

[rocketrobie2]

"If you live out here then how do you keep all of the... things, that live out here away from your home? From what I've heard its pretty tough to settle up here, especially by yourself." Baldur said still suspicious but lowering his weapons as he now used it to assist with walking rather than combat. He doubted any of this was going to end well but he realized that may just be his elderly nerves talking.