Ssarak Dyreackthanose, Darius Jura, and Alaira
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Darius spat on the ground. It was nearing the end of his watch, and he was beginning to hear movement around the cabin. He had spent most of his watch thinking about the fight at the bridge, both on the day before and the one before that. While it seemed that both times there was an incident about to occur, Alaira had been the one to start it. One time should have been it, but it had happened twice, and Darius needed to make sure that it would not happen a third time. Pushing himself off the wagon, Darius began to make a beeline towards the door of the cabin.
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Despite the looming danger they were in, and the stress of worrying about what they knew they would be walking into, Ssarak slept well. He awoke shortly after Meirin, reinvigorated in both body and motivation. There was much he wanted to set his mind on, mostly relating to Meirin, but as both of them had acknowledged the previous night, their current worries had to take precedence. Before they even had a fire going for their breakfast, Ssarak was up and ready to tackle the first order of business: Alaira. While Meirin went to collect Lyn to keep her occupied and out of earshot, Ssarak decided to find Darius, as he felt that confronting Alaira would have a better chance of success if he had help. Or, at the very least, it would be easier to handle any physical outbursts.
Ssarak assumed Darius was still outside, as he had taken the last watch after Ssarak, so he started to head outside, only to run into him at the door. "Ah, Darius. I was searching for you." He began as his voice quickly became much more quiet. "I was just about to have a...conversation with Alaira. Would you care to join me? Meirin is occupying Lyn, and I believe the caravan master is either asleep, or just waking up, so we should not be disturbed."
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Darius nodded. "Good, I was about to do the same." It didn't take that long to find the Half-Elf. She was inside the wagon that Darius had been watching. He hauled himself into the wagon and shook Alaira's shoulder. "Wake up. We need to talk"
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The half-elf rolled slightly as she was shook, groaning quietly. It took a few more shakes to get her to even speak, however... "N-no Mama, I dun wanna get up..." She said, half muffled by the sack of flour she was using as a pillow...
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"Alaira." Ssarak said loudly and firmly as she began to stir. He did not want to appear aggressive, yet, but he made sure his entire demeanor demonstrated that he was serious. Since simply shaking her did not seem to work, Ssarak grabbed her shoulder, then rolled her onto her back and off of her pillow, which would hopefully grab her attention more quickly.
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Alaira seemed to wake quickly as she was rolled over, letting out a yelp that would have almost been cute if not for its source. She scrambled to a sitting position, calming somewhat when she realized nothing was going to hurt her... She didn't like being caught without any sort of weapon handy. "Ugh... The fuck do you want?" She asked, rubbing her eyes as she chased the sleep away.
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Again, Ssarak remained firm in his attitude. Normally, he liked to approach situations calmly and patiently, but that had already failed once with Alaira, so it was now time for a different tactic. "I believe you can take a guess. We can go no further without discussing what you have done. On two occasions, you have put us all at risk, and we need to ensure that is not going to happen again."
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"You act without thinking. That is detrimental to this group. To that child you seemed to be so concerned about yesterday." Darius paused as he remembered the last time the child was mentioned. "We have done our jobs to protect this caravan. You have not."
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Alaira wore the same grim expression as they spoke, clenching and unclenching her fist. Really? She had to wake up to this? They couldn't wait until she'd been up for a half hour or so? And then they did it again; used Lyn as a tool to keep her in line. It happened in the blink of an eye, her fist lashing out like the tail of a scorpion. But... No blow came. She had stopped her fist a scant inch from his face, crackling with energy. She huffed, the energy around her arm dissipating as she shook it off.
She grunts in irritation, leaping over the side of the cart as she stretched and loosened her arms. She turned back to the two, frowning as she cracked her knuckles. "You know... I ain't so sure that's right." She said, turning around again to take a look at the sky. "Why am I here then?" She asked, her voice level for once. "So I've been thinkin'... I think this thrice-damned cart is... What do you soldier-boys call it?" She asked, cracking her neck. "A secondary objective, that's it. Do you really think a smart gal like Lucilia would put me, me on this little job if she gave a rat's ass about this here cart?" She asked.
She sighed, before continuing. "One gods-damn cart doesn't win a fucking war, and there ain't nothin' on it that makes it worth posting four blooded like us to it, shitty as we are." She turned around pacing. "But this ain't about just one cart, is it? If these asshats keep fuckin' these up, we'll starve or something. But we can't put fucking wizards on every damn cart, and we can't put all our guards out here." She spat, turning back towards the two again. "She knew you guys'd just do the job, wouldn't take any risks and be all practical and shit. and she knew nobody'd wanna sign up for a merry game of 'hunt the bandits'... And she knew me."
She threw her arms up, raising her voice some in frustration. "I've done exactly what I'm supposed to do! If I turn every gods-damn problem into a fight, we're forced to kill all the bandits!" She stepped towards Ssarak, her voice low. "And I want you to think long and hard... Do you believe for a gods-damn second that anything would have turned out differently if I didn't act first?...
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Ssarak allowed Alaira the opportunity to vent her anger and made sure to pay close attention to the actual points she was making, mostly so he could refute them. From what she said, he could understand how she might justify her actions to herself, but he still disagreed on almost all points. He did not expect pure logic to actually change the mind of Alaira, but he needed to have a reasonable base for his own argument.
"It seems to me that you do not fully understand your mistakes, so I am going to explain them, one at a time." Ssarak said, his voice firm and serious. "To answer your question, yes. Things would have been very different, in both cases. In the first ambush, we were just starting to form a plan of action when you ruined any hope of a good outcome. All of us were suspicious of the duelists on the bridge; we were all expecting an ambush. Don't try to say that we would have stumbled into it blindly, because that certainly was not going to happen. But, before we could make a plan, you burned the field, panicked our horses, and forced us straight into their ambush. If you had not 'acted first,' we would have fought them on much better turns, and perhaps actually killed them. You claim that your actions have forced us to kill the bandits, but if you remember, they got away. We did not kill them; they are still out there and able to prey on travelers because of your actions."
Ssarak scarcely took a breath to pause before he continued, not intent on allowing anyone to interrupt him. "Then, there is the second ambush. You were indeed correct in that they were hostile, but that was sheer blind luck on your part. If you remember, you claimed it was a vampire ambush, in broad daylight. At least that time, we actually did break up their operation, but without your mistakes, it could have been much easier. Just like before, we did not trust them. I could not communicate with you due to your unique weakness, but we were making our plans, then, having no proof they were corrupt, you attacked. What happened afterwards does not truly even matter, for that action alone has compromised this mission. What you said about this cart's importance is true. There is nothing special about the contents of this specific wagon; what does matter is that wagons like this keep the college linked to the rest of Tien. Even if we make it to our destination safely, what do you think will happen? And even ignoring the bandits we were unable to kill, what testimony do you think our caravan master is going to give about the college? So far, one of his guards has nearly caused his death on two occasions. What sane merchant will deal with us after hearing of our supposed recklessness? Even if you make no more mistakes, it is going to be difficult to salvage this mission." Ssarak finally stopped to allow a response, but he was not expecting her to suddenly be convinced. Regardless, he needed to establish the basis of his problem with her before continuing.
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Darius had been expecting Alaira to lash out at him, but he had not been expecting the speed at which she did it. He barely had enough time to prepare for the punch that did not come. It took everything he had to not chase after her and try to beat some sense into the woman. He listened to Alaira state her view and Ssarak's reply. He frowned at something Ssarak said. "What is this weakness she has? Does it have something to do with why she tried to kill that man for no reason?"
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Alara was growing angrier and angrier as Ssarak spoke. She clenched her fist some s he spoke, sparks dancing along her arm as she did so. Still... Attacking him wouldn't do any good for anybody, even she could see that. "I never said it was working! I'm saying we're being played!" She said through gritted teeth. "And... And you know what? Yelling at me for all my fuckups isn't going to change any of that shit! How about instead of that we work on getting through this bullshit?" She slammed her fist against the side of the cart, which startled the horse some. She rolled her eyes as she approached the creature, gently patting at it and whispering to calm it down some as Darius spoke.
The beast complied, grudgingly almost, as it settled down. Alaira sighed, stepping back to the others. She narrowed her eyes at Darius. "None of your gods-damn business." She stated coldly, turning her head to the side and spitting. She sighed once more, taking a seat on a nearby rock. "Look, I'm..." Another sigh. "I'm sorry, okay?... The first idea was stupid and I was wrong about the other one." She said quietly as she looked over to the horizon. The sky was lightening more and more by the moment as the sun rose...
"But I can't do shit your way. This is Djarkel!" She said, raising her arms to the sky for a moment. "Way out here, it's bandits three outta four times. The other times, it's toll guys. the only difference is the uniforms." She spat. "You wanna plan, soldier boy? Fine, we'll plan. We'll find those damned bandits and feed 'em their spines!" She growled, pounding her fist into her hand. "Carava guy's gonna hate us either way, I've seen to that..." She said, just the tiniest hint of shame in her voice. "So, we find where these guys are hidin', and kill 'em... 'Cept I'll let you know when the fightin' starts this time, fair?" Well, that was a start at least.
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Ssarak watched as Alaira went back and forth between anger, and something that actually seemed like regret. It was obvious she did not intend to harm the mission, though the fact that she could accidentally cause them so many problems was just as unsettling. "Look, Alaira, I cannot let this go forever. You can do things our way. We know the dangers we face, and we know how to deal with them. You agree that your choices were mistakes, but you should not just keep doing the same thing and expect anything to change. If you are in a fight and your opponent is blocking all of your strikes, you do not just keep hacking away fruitlessly, you try something new to bypass their defense. Just the same, if your choices are not working, then you can choose to follow the judgment of your allies."
As he paused for a moment, Ssarak closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. "But, there is one thing I can agree with you on. The psychomancer's belongings, along with the information we gained from the guard captain, makes it clear what we will be walking into. We know the ambush is coming, and we know there will definitely be a fight. It will be a small group fight with no ambiguity on who we should be fighting. I will concede that you have talent in that particular situation. So yes, let us gather everything we know about about the coming ambush and make a plan of action."
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It took everything Alaira had to not roll her eyes yet again. Yeah, I do keep hitting him. I hit him fast enough he doesn't have time to hit me... She thought, though she kept it to herself for once. She actually appeared confused when he continued... She had no idea how he of all people was the one to suggest that plan... "Wait wait wait... We have info?" She asked, incredulous. "The fuck are we doing walking into an ambush? Why don't we just go where they live and kill 'em there?" She asked...
Come to think of it, willingly walking into an ambush was not a great idea, even for Alaira. At least, not when there were options... "Let's try one of those Metaphors. if you got a Bee's nest to deal with, do you wait for the fucks to come sting you and kill 'em there? Fuck no, you find their hive and burn it to the Gods-Damn ground! The thing'll just make more bees if you leave it!"
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"As much as I want to find these men and end them," Darius began. "That is not our mission either. We are to guard this caravan and discover the source of the demon attacks to these caravans." He looked at both Ssarak and Alaira. " And I am starting to think that there have been no demon attacks." Scratching his jaw, he continued. "I think we need to bring the caravan master into this discussion before it goes any further."
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"I did not say that we could not do that, only that there is no question we will be entering into a fight. If we want to attack them at the source, then we will need to find exactly where their camp lies. Myself and Meirin looked over the map we recovered, and we believe we have narrowed down where it might be, but we will still need to scout the area for it. It might be a risk to search for the camp, but if we do find it safely, then you are right that it could be easier to clear it." Ssarak responded, pulling the map from his satchel as he spoke and offered it to Alaira so she could review it.
Ssarak looked to Darius and gave a nod. "You may be correct. Neither the caravan master nor Lyn should be anywhere near the camp when we attack, but he needs to be aware of the plan. Could you go collect him? He should be awake by now."
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Darius parted from the group as Alaira was looking at the map. It did not take him that long to find the caravan master. Darius nodded to him. "Good morning. We are making plans about what to do with the information we got yesterday, and since this is your caravan, I thought that I should bring you into it."
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Alaira remained quiet as she looked over the map. Now, she couldn't read, which put her at a disadvantage... However, deciphering a map probably didn't take reading. She knew a few words. Important place names, like Djarkel and Eania. Common race names, like human and elf, but not ones like Naga. Wanted, Reward, Capture, and Kill, for bounty hunting. Inn, Tavern, Smith, and Market, for trips to shops. She also knew Ale, and Mead. And finally, numbers. She understood numbers just fine. She looked at the map, little circles everywhere... She saw circles and Xs all over the roads in places, a small settlement or two, but... One circle was just... In wilderness. And if you looked at all the marks everywhere, it was a central location, all the farthest points on the map were equidistant. That was her other advantage. She couldn't read, but she was very perceptive.
She showed the map back to him, and loudly jammed her finger on the one mark. "Here. Motherfuckers are around here, I'd bet my life on it." She said, confident. She placed the map on the cart, and loosened her neck some. "It's the only place to hide, and it might be the same symbol, but what kind of bandits ambush a random hiding spot in the wilderness instead of a juicy road? And the thing's right in the center..." She said, spitting. "The question is, uh... Where do we put Lyn?" She asked, biting her lip nervously. It was still odd seeing her like this, even after months. Alaira never showed concern about anything, up to and including herself. Yet the kid of some people one might conceivably describe as acquaintances provoked that sort of response in her... One could just tell the poor kid's presence here was driving Alaira insane with paranoia and worry.. just look what happened earlier.
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Ssarak allowed Alaira to look over the map, to which she came to much the same conclusion as himself and Meirin. They had a spot they could search for the camp, though until they saw the camp themselves, their plans could not be too specific. Still, there were preparations they could make with the information they had, such as what to do with Lyn: a concern which Ssarak also shared.
"I believe that Lyn will be safest with the wagon and the caravan master provided we can find a suitable place for them to hide. Perhaps some place close enough to the road that dangerous creatures will not be a great risk, but still out of sight. I do not know too much about the topography of this area, but Meirin or the caravan master may be able to give some suggestions." Ssarak proposed as he took the map to point out some notable features to Alaira. "In any case, once we have found them a suitable hiding spot, we will still need to scout this area to pinpoint the camp's exact location, and to give a sense of the numbers and fortifications of these bandits. Depending on the weather, I may be able to do some scouting from above, but I would need to make sure not to be seen. I would have to fly high enough to either not be clearly visible, or so I could be mistaken for a bird or other creature. However, at that height, I cannot discern any details other than location and basic topography, so we will need to scout on foot as well. After clearing the camp, providing we are successful, we should not have a problem moving the wagon through. If these bandits are robbing people of trade goods, then they would need paths to transport them to their main camp. We can use those to get back to the road."
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Alaira listened, nodding slightly as he spoke. It all made sense, which wasn't exactly uncommon with this guy. "Nah, no fly-overs." She said, eventually. "Too risky. My eyes'll do just fine." No point getting him killed for a relatively minor advantage. "And let's see... Fortifications don't matter too much either. If they're wood, I can burn 'em down, and if they ain't I can just jump over 'em anyway. 'Sides, they're bandits. It's not like they're gonna have fortress walls." She said. As for Lyn... Ugh. "If someone does find her, she's screwed. I doubt that merchant guy could fight his way out of a broken net." She said, with some disdain. But it wasn't like they could take her with them... "And no, I don't have any better ideas."
All that was really left to consider was a plan of attack... But that would have to wait until they found the place...
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Soon after Darius left, he and the Caravan master returned. As usual he looked grumpy and was in a hurry to get the group moving. He also smelled faintly of alcohol. "Hmph. We need to get going soon. Already put away most of the cooking gear. What are you all doing anyways?" The Caravan mastered eyed all of them. He guessed from the presence of Alaira that Ssarak and Darius had been talking to her. Where they finally telling her to leave? Yet somehow he doubt it was that. No, it could be worse. "Well? Out with it."
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Ssarak turned to the caravan master as he approached. Naturally, he wanted to leave as quickly as possible, but hopefully with recent events, he would understand the need for caution. "We are planning. You recall yesterday after the fight, when we were interrogating the guard captain who had been under the psychomancer's influence? He divulged to us some useful, but worrying information. You...were not in the best condition yesterday, so I was unable to discuss this with you at length." Ssarak explained. After the fight, the caravan master had been quick to turn to drinking to calm his nerves, so he ended up too intoxicated to have a useful discussion. "His testimony, combined with a map we recovered from the psychomancer, indicates that we are almost certainly walking into an ambush. There are multiple paths ahead, but all of them are being watched by these brigands. We were discussing how we can most safely proceed, and we believe we have an idea. It is not perfect, but it is the best option we see. Judging by the locations on the map, we think we have narrowed the possible location of their main camp to a particular area. With a few hours of scouting, we could locate the camp, then attack them ourselves. Instead of letting them ambush us, we fight them on our own terms. Of course, you, your wagon, and Lyn will be hiding safely away from all of this. After the fight is over, we can use the bandits' paths to get the wagon back on the road and on our way to our destination."
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"Wait wait wait wait. You're suppose to be protecting my caravan, not hunting down bandits! This isn't what I signed up for!" The Caravan Master shouted. He knew he was shouting at people who could easily kill him, but he has had quite enough of these people calling the shots for his life and his business. He already lost one assistant due to the bridge incident because of Alaira (The assistant later ran away when they arrived in Wayward, sensing the trouble they were going to find themselves in), and he wasn't about to risk himself again to let his only guardsmen go out and try to find a bandit camp. And even if they did find he, he wouldn't believe that they could take on an entire camp themselves.
"Things have gone straight to hell ever since that elf over there nearly burned us alive, and that incident alone killed my assistant, and nearly killed the rest of you as well! Then you ended up picking a fight with guardsmen, GUARDSMEN, who summoned demons and monsters and... And... Was this her idea? Are you actually going to do what she suggests?!" The caravan master looked accusingly at Alaira. If he wasn't half-way to drunk he might have tread carefully around her, but he was filled with the liquid courage to speak his mind. "Everything she has tried to do nearly killed us all, and now you're actually going to go along with it? I mean, before the odds might have been even, but you're going to a bandit's camp! There could be hundreds of them!"
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Alaira seethed as the Caravan master spoke. She hated the bastard, and hated him more and more the more he belittled her. She stepped forward, scowling at him. She loomed over him, more than two whole feet taller and a HELL of a lot bulkier. "Now... I want you to listen to me very carefully..." She said, her voice low, dripping with hate. "I fucked up, twice, I know that... But you know what? YOU let a little girl tag along!" She said, her voice low, but forceful. she points back towards the building as she takes a step back. She didn't notice, but she had teared up just the slightest bit at that. "Maybe you didn't know, but it was your responsibility to know what the fuck was in your own cart." She finally wiped her eyes, and resumed speaking, her voice firm.
"Attacking those fucks is our only choice that you might survive through. If we go on those roads they're gonna be ready for us, and you're gonna be in the middle of a big ass fight." She explained, that hard edge remaining in her voice. "If we take it to where those bastards live, we can find a nice cushy hiding spot for you and Lyn, while we take care of them. If we win you get where you're going safe, and it'll be safer with less bandits if you go out again... If we die, you're fucked. But this is the best choice we have." She glared at him for a moment, before speaking once more, the anger finally gone from her voice. "Don't trust me? What the fuck ever, I don't care. But the big guy here? He thinks it's a good idea, because it's the ONLY idea we have. Trust me, if there was a better plan he wouldn't have told you this shit at all."
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The Caravan Master may have looked like he was standing his ground, but that was due to the fear making him freeze in place, and the alcohol giving him a false sense of confidence. He expected Alaira to roar at him like a monster, but instead she spoke low, almost made it hard for him to hear her. All the more reason why he had to listen however. He gritted his teeth at the mention of the little girl (Lyn) stowed away in his wagon. That was hardly his fault, but he stayed quiet and just met Alaira's glare. She continued to snarl at the caravan master, explaining the points that Ssarak told him earlier. Not that the Caravan Master had a better idea, and it was apparently obvious that everyone has already gone and made a decision for him. He turned on his feet and threw his hands into the air. "Fine! Fine. Five hours, I'm giving you all five hours to find and kill the damn bandits. If you don't come it's cause you're dead and I'm not going to find your corpses." The caravan master grumbled as he returned to the wagon, stumbling over the door frame due to the strange way he was walking. He smelled faintly of feces.
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Darius watched as the Caravan Master walked away. The way the discussion had been handled was terrible. The Caravan Master should not have been strong-armed into the plan, but it had happened, so there was no use trying to rectify it. Instead, Darius looked at Ssarak. "It has been decided. Let us make these five hours count." Without another word, Darius made his way back to the cabin to pack up.
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Darius spat on the ground. It was nearing the end of his watch, and he was beginning to hear movement around the cabin. He had spent most of his watch thinking about the fight at the bridge, both on the day before and the one before that. While it seemed that both times there was an incident about to occur, Alaira had been the one to start it. One time should have been it, but it had happened twice, and Darius needed to make sure that it would not happen a third time. Pushing himself off the wagon, Darius began to make a beeline towards the door of the cabin.
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Despite the looming danger they were in, and the stress of worrying about what they knew they would be walking into, Ssarak slept well. He awoke shortly after Meirin, reinvigorated in both body and motivation. There was much he wanted to set his mind on, mostly relating to Meirin, but as both of them had acknowledged the previous night, their current worries had to take precedence. Before they even had a fire going for their breakfast, Ssarak was up and ready to tackle the first order of business: Alaira. While Meirin went to collect Lyn to keep her occupied and out of earshot, Ssarak decided to find Darius, as he felt that confronting Alaira would have a better chance of success if he had help. Or, at the very least, it would be easier to handle any physical outbursts.
Ssarak assumed Darius was still outside, as he had taken the last watch after Ssarak, so he started to head outside, only to run into him at the door. "Ah, Darius. I was searching for you." He began as his voice quickly became much more quiet. "I was just about to have a...conversation with Alaira. Would you care to join me? Meirin is occupying Lyn, and I believe the caravan master is either asleep, or just waking up, so we should not be disturbed."
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Darius nodded. "Good, I was about to do the same." It didn't take that long to find the Half-Elf. She was inside the wagon that Darius had been watching. He hauled himself into the wagon and shook Alaira's shoulder. "Wake up. We need to talk"
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The half-elf rolled slightly as she was shook, groaning quietly. It took a few more shakes to get her to even speak, however... "N-no Mama, I dun wanna get up..." She said, half muffled by the sack of flour she was using as a pillow...
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"Alaira." Ssarak said loudly and firmly as she began to stir. He did not want to appear aggressive, yet, but he made sure his entire demeanor demonstrated that he was serious. Since simply shaking her did not seem to work, Ssarak grabbed her shoulder, then rolled her onto her back and off of her pillow, which would hopefully grab her attention more quickly.
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Alaira seemed to wake quickly as she was rolled over, letting out a yelp that would have almost been cute if not for its source. She scrambled to a sitting position, calming somewhat when she realized nothing was going to hurt her... She didn't like being caught without any sort of weapon handy. "Ugh... The fuck do you want?" She asked, rubbing her eyes as she chased the sleep away.
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Again, Ssarak remained firm in his attitude. Normally, he liked to approach situations calmly and patiently, but that had already failed once with Alaira, so it was now time for a different tactic. "I believe you can take a guess. We can go no further without discussing what you have done. On two occasions, you have put us all at risk, and we need to ensure that is not going to happen again."
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"You act without thinking. That is detrimental to this group. To that child you seemed to be so concerned about yesterday." Darius paused as he remembered the last time the child was mentioned. "We have done our jobs to protect this caravan. You have not."
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Alaira wore the same grim expression as they spoke, clenching and unclenching her fist. Really? She had to wake up to this? They couldn't wait until she'd been up for a half hour or so? And then they did it again; used Lyn as a tool to keep her in line. It happened in the blink of an eye, her fist lashing out like the tail of a scorpion. But... No blow came. She had stopped her fist a scant inch from his face, crackling with energy. She huffed, the energy around her arm dissipating as she shook it off.
She grunts in irritation, leaping over the side of the cart as she stretched and loosened her arms. She turned back to the two, frowning as she cracked her knuckles. "You know... I ain't so sure that's right." She said, turning around again to take a look at the sky. "Why am I here then?" She asked, her voice level for once. "So I've been thinkin'... I think this thrice-damned cart is... What do you soldier-boys call it?" She asked, cracking her neck. "A secondary objective, that's it. Do you really think a smart gal like Lucilia would put me, me on this little job if she gave a rat's ass about this here cart?" She asked.
She sighed, before continuing. "One gods-damn cart doesn't win a fucking war, and there ain't nothin' on it that makes it worth posting four blooded like us to it, shitty as we are." She turned around pacing. "But this ain't about just one cart, is it? If these asshats keep fuckin' these up, we'll starve or something. But we can't put fucking wizards on every damn cart, and we can't put all our guards out here." She spat, turning back towards the two again. "She knew you guys'd just do the job, wouldn't take any risks and be all practical and shit. and she knew nobody'd wanna sign up for a merry game of 'hunt the bandits'... And she knew me."
She threw her arms up, raising her voice some in frustration. "I've done exactly what I'm supposed to do! If I turn every gods-damn problem into a fight, we're forced to kill all the bandits!" She stepped towards Ssarak, her voice low. "And I want you to think long and hard... Do you believe for a gods-damn second that anything would have turned out differently if I didn't act first?...
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Ssarak allowed Alaira the opportunity to vent her anger and made sure to pay close attention to the actual points she was making, mostly so he could refute them. From what she said, he could understand how she might justify her actions to herself, but he still disagreed on almost all points. He did not expect pure logic to actually change the mind of Alaira, but he needed to have a reasonable base for his own argument.
"It seems to me that you do not fully understand your mistakes, so I am going to explain them, one at a time." Ssarak said, his voice firm and serious. "To answer your question, yes. Things would have been very different, in both cases. In the first ambush, we were just starting to form a plan of action when you ruined any hope of a good outcome. All of us were suspicious of the duelists on the bridge; we were all expecting an ambush. Don't try to say that we would have stumbled into it blindly, because that certainly was not going to happen. But, before we could make a plan, you burned the field, panicked our horses, and forced us straight into their ambush. If you had not 'acted first,' we would have fought them on much better turns, and perhaps actually killed them. You claim that your actions have forced us to kill the bandits, but if you remember, they got away. We did not kill them; they are still out there and able to prey on travelers because of your actions."
Ssarak scarcely took a breath to pause before he continued, not intent on allowing anyone to interrupt him. "Then, there is the second ambush. You were indeed correct in that they were hostile, but that was sheer blind luck on your part. If you remember, you claimed it was a vampire ambush, in broad daylight. At least that time, we actually did break up their operation, but without your mistakes, it could have been much easier. Just like before, we did not trust them. I could not communicate with you due to your unique weakness, but we were making our plans, then, having no proof they were corrupt, you attacked. What happened afterwards does not truly even matter, for that action alone has compromised this mission. What you said about this cart's importance is true. There is nothing special about the contents of this specific wagon; what does matter is that wagons like this keep the college linked to the rest of Tien. Even if we make it to our destination safely, what do you think will happen? And even ignoring the bandits we were unable to kill, what testimony do you think our caravan master is going to give about the college? So far, one of his guards has nearly caused his death on two occasions. What sane merchant will deal with us after hearing of our supposed recklessness? Even if you make no more mistakes, it is going to be difficult to salvage this mission." Ssarak finally stopped to allow a response, but he was not expecting her to suddenly be convinced. Regardless, he needed to establish the basis of his problem with her before continuing.
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Darius had been expecting Alaira to lash out at him, but he had not been expecting the speed at which she did it. He barely had enough time to prepare for the punch that did not come. It took everything he had to not chase after her and try to beat some sense into the woman. He listened to Alaira state her view and Ssarak's reply. He frowned at something Ssarak said. "What is this weakness she has? Does it have something to do with why she tried to kill that man for no reason?"
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Alara was growing angrier and angrier as Ssarak spoke. She clenched her fist some s he spoke, sparks dancing along her arm as she did so. Still... Attacking him wouldn't do any good for anybody, even she could see that. "I never said it was working! I'm saying we're being played!" She said through gritted teeth. "And... And you know what? Yelling at me for all my fuckups isn't going to change any of that shit! How about instead of that we work on getting through this bullshit?" She slammed her fist against the side of the cart, which startled the horse some. She rolled her eyes as she approached the creature, gently patting at it and whispering to calm it down some as Darius spoke.
The beast complied, grudgingly almost, as it settled down. Alaira sighed, stepping back to the others. She narrowed her eyes at Darius. "None of your gods-damn business." She stated coldly, turning her head to the side and spitting. She sighed once more, taking a seat on a nearby rock. "Look, I'm..." Another sigh. "I'm sorry, okay?... The first idea was stupid and I was wrong about the other one." She said quietly as she looked over to the horizon. The sky was lightening more and more by the moment as the sun rose...
"But I can't do shit your way. This is Djarkel!" She said, raising her arms to the sky for a moment. "Way out here, it's bandits three outta four times. The other times, it's toll guys. the only difference is the uniforms." She spat. "You wanna plan, soldier boy? Fine, we'll plan. We'll find those damned bandits and feed 'em their spines!" She growled, pounding her fist into her hand. "Carava guy's gonna hate us either way, I've seen to that..." She said, just the tiniest hint of shame in her voice. "So, we find where these guys are hidin', and kill 'em... 'Cept I'll let you know when the fightin' starts this time, fair?" Well, that was a start at least.
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Ssarak watched as Alaira went back and forth between anger, and something that actually seemed like regret. It was obvious she did not intend to harm the mission, though the fact that she could accidentally cause them so many problems was just as unsettling. "Look, Alaira, I cannot let this go forever. You can do things our way. We know the dangers we face, and we know how to deal with them. You agree that your choices were mistakes, but you should not just keep doing the same thing and expect anything to change. If you are in a fight and your opponent is blocking all of your strikes, you do not just keep hacking away fruitlessly, you try something new to bypass their defense. Just the same, if your choices are not working, then you can choose to follow the judgment of your allies."
As he paused for a moment, Ssarak closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. "But, there is one thing I can agree with you on. The psychomancer's belongings, along with the information we gained from the guard captain, makes it clear what we will be walking into. We know the ambush is coming, and we know there will definitely be a fight. It will be a small group fight with no ambiguity on who we should be fighting. I will concede that you have talent in that particular situation. So yes, let us gather everything we know about about the coming ambush and make a plan of action."
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It took everything Alaira had to not roll her eyes yet again. Yeah, I do keep hitting him. I hit him fast enough he doesn't have time to hit me... She thought, though she kept it to herself for once. She actually appeared confused when he continued... She had no idea how he of all people was the one to suggest that plan... "Wait wait wait... We have info?" She asked, incredulous. "The fuck are we doing walking into an ambush? Why don't we just go where they live and kill 'em there?" She asked...
Come to think of it, willingly walking into an ambush was not a great idea, even for Alaira. At least, not when there were options... "Let's try one of those Metaphors. if you got a Bee's nest to deal with, do you wait for the fucks to come sting you and kill 'em there? Fuck no, you find their hive and burn it to the Gods-Damn ground! The thing'll just make more bees if you leave it!"
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"As much as I want to find these men and end them," Darius began. "That is not our mission either. We are to guard this caravan and discover the source of the demon attacks to these caravans." He looked at both Ssarak and Alaira. " And I am starting to think that there have been no demon attacks." Scratching his jaw, he continued. "I think we need to bring the caravan master into this discussion before it goes any further."
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"I did not say that we could not do that, only that there is no question we will be entering into a fight. If we want to attack them at the source, then we will need to find exactly where their camp lies. Myself and Meirin looked over the map we recovered, and we believe we have narrowed down where it might be, but we will still need to scout the area for it. It might be a risk to search for the camp, but if we do find it safely, then you are right that it could be easier to clear it." Ssarak responded, pulling the map from his satchel as he spoke and offered it to Alaira so she could review it.
Ssarak looked to Darius and gave a nod. "You may be correct. Neither the caravan master nor Lyn should be anywhere near the camp when we attack, but he needs to be aware of the plan. Could you go collect him? He should be awake by now."
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Darius parted from the group as Alaira was looking at the map. It did not take him that long to find the caravan master. Darius nodded to him. "Good morning. We are making plans about what to do with the information we got yesterday, and since this is your caravan, I thought that I should bring you into it."
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Alaira remained quiet as she looked over the map. Now, she couldn't read, which put her at a disadvantage... However, deciphering a map probably didn't take reading. She knew a few words. Important place names, like Djarkel and Eania. Common race names, like human and elf, but not ones like Naga. Wanted, Reward, Capture, and Kill, for bounty hunting. Inn, Tavern, Smith, and Market, for trips to shops. She also knew Ale, and Mead. And finally, numbers. She understood numbers just fine. She looked at the map, little circles everywhere... She saw circles and Xs all over the roads in places, a small settlement or two, but... One circle was just... In wilderness. And if you looked at all the marks everywhere, it was a central location, all the farthest points on the map were equidistant. That was her other advantage. She couldn't read, but she was very perceptive.
She showed the map back to him, and loudly jammed her finger on the one mark. "Here. Motherfuckers are around here, I'd bet my life on it." She said, confident. She placed the map on the cart, and loosened her neck some. "It's the only place to hide, and it might be the same symbol, but what kind of bandits ambush a random hiding spot in the wilderness instead of a juicy road? And the thing's right in the center..." She said, spitting. "The question is, uh... Where do we put Lyn?" She asked, biting her lip nervously. It was still odd seeing her like this, even after months. Alaira never showed concern about anything, up to and including herself. Yet the kid of some people one might conceivably describe as acquaintances provoked that sort of response in her... One could just tell the poor kid's presence here was driving Alaira insane with paranoia and worry.. just look what happened earlier.
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Ssarak allowed Alaira to look over the map, to which she came to much the same conclusion as himself and Meirin. They had a spot they could search for the camp, though until they saw the camp themselves, their plans could not be too specific. Still, there were preparations they could make with the information they had, such as what to do with Lyn: a concern which Ssarak also shared.
"I believe that Lyn will be safest with the wagon and the caravan master provided we can find a suitable place for them to hide. Perhaps some place close enough to the road that dangerous creatures will not be a great risk, but still out of sight. I do not know too much about the topography of this area, but Meirin or the caravan master may be able to give some suggestions." Ssarak proposed as he took the map to point out some notable features to Alaira. "In any case, once we have found them a suitable hiding spot, we will still need to scout this area to pinpoint the camp's exact location, and to give a sense of the numbers and fortifications of these bandits. Depending on the weather, I may be able to do some scouting from above, but I would need to make sure not to be seen. I would have to fly high enough to either not be clearly visible, or so I could be mistaken for a bird or other creature. However, at that height, I cannot discern any details other than location and basic topography, so we will need to scout on foot as well. After clearing the camp, providing we are successful, we should not have a problem moving the wagon through. If these bandits are robbing people of trade goods, then they would need paths to transport them to their main camp. We can use those to get back to the road."
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Alaira listened, nodding slightly as he spoke. It all made sense, which wasn't exactly uncommon with this guy. "Nah, no fly-overs." She said, eventually. "Too risky. My eyes'll do just fine." No point getting him killed for a relatively minor advantage. "And let's see... Fortifications don't matter too much either. If they're wood, I can burn 'em down, and if they ain't I can just jump over 'em anyway. 'Sides, they're bandits. It's not like they're gonna have fortress walls." She said. As for Lyn... Ugh. "If someone does find her, she's screwed. I doubt that merchant guy could fight his way out of a broken net." She said, with some disdain. But it wasn't like they could take her with them... "And no, I don't have any better ideas."
All that was really left to consider was a plan of attack... But that would have to wait until they found the place...
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Soon after Darius left, he and the Caravan master returned. As usual he looked grumpy and was in a hurry to get the group moving. He also smelled faintly of alcohol. "Hmph. We need to get going soon. Already put away most of the cooking gear. What are you all doing anyways?" The Caravan mastered eyed all of them. He guessed from the presence of Alaira that Ssarak and Darius had been talking to her. Where they finally telling her to leave? Yet somehow he doubt it was that. No, it could be worse. "Well? Out with it."
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Ssarak turned to the caravan master as he approached. Naturally, he wanted to leave as quickly as possible, but hopefully with recent events, he would understand the need for caution. "We are planning. You recall yesterday after the fight, when we were interrogating the guard captain who had been under the psychomancer's influence? He divulged to us some useful, but worrying information. You...were not in the best condition yesterday, so I was unable to discuss this with you at length." Ssarak explained. After the fight, the caravan master had been quick to turn to drinking to calm his nerves, so he ended up too intoxicated to have a useful discussion. "His testimony, combined with a map we recovered from the psychomancer, indicates that we are almost certainly walking into an ambush. There are multiple paths ahead, but all of them are being watched by these brigands. We were discussing how we can most safely proceed, and we believe we have an idea. It is not perfect, but it is the best option we see. Judging by the locations on the map, we think we have narrowed the possible location of their main camp to a particular area. With a few hours of scouting, we could locate the camp, then attack them ourselves. Instead of letting them ambush us, we fight them on our own terms. Of course, you, your wagon, and Lyn will be hiding safely away from all of this. After the fight is over, we can use the bandits' paths to get the wagon back on the road and on our way to our destination."
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"Wait wait wait wait. You're suppose to be protecting my caravan, not hunting down bandits! This isn't what I signed up for!" The Caravan Master shouted. He knew he was shouting at people who could easily kill him, but he has had quite enough of these people calling the shots for his life and his business. He already lost one assistant due to the bridge incident because of Alaira (The assistant later ran away when they arrived in Wayward, sensing the trouble they were going to find themselves in), and he wasn't about to risk himself again to let his only guardsmen go out and try to find a bandit camp. And even if they did find he, he wouldn't believe that they could take on an entire camp themselves.
"Things have gone straight to hell ever since that elf over there nearly burned us alive, and that incident alone killed my assistant, and nearly killed the rest of you as well! Then you ended up picking a fight with guardsmen, GUARDSMEN, who summoned demons and monsters and... And... Was this her idea? Are you actually going to do what she suggests?!" The caravan master looked accusingly at Alaira. If he wasn't half-way to drunk he might have tread carefully around her, but he was filled with the liquid courage to speak his mind. "Everything she has tried to do nearly killed us all, and now you're actually going to go along with it? I mean, before the odds might have been even, but you're going to a bandit's camp! There could be hundreds of them!"
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Alaira seethed as the Caravan master spoke. She hated the bastard, and hated him more and more the more he belittled her. She stepped forward, scowling at him. She loomed over him, more than two whole feet taller and a HELL of a lot bulkier. "Now... I want you to listen to me very carefully..." She said, her voice low, dripping with hate. "I fucked up, twice, I know that... But you know what? YOU let a little girl tag along!" She said, her voice low, but forceful. she points back towards the building as she takes a step back. She didn't notice, but she had teared up just the slightest bit at that. "Maybe you didn't know, but it was your responsibility to know what the fuck was in your own cart." She finally wiped her eyes, and resumed speaking, her voice firm.
"Attacking those fucks is our only choice that you might survive through. If we go on those roads they're gonna be ready for us, and you're gonna be in the middle of a big ass fight." She explained, that hard edge remaining in her voice. "If we take it to where those bastards live, we can find a nice cushy hiding spot for you and Lyn, while we take care of them. If we win you get where you're going safe, and it'll be safer with less bandits if you go out again... If we die, you're fucked. But this is the best choice we have." She glared at him for a moment, before speaking once more, the anger finally gone from her voice. "Don't trust me? What the fuck ever, I don't care. But the big guy here? He thinks it's a good idea, because it's the ONLY idea we have. Trust me, if there was a better plan he wouldn't have told you this shit at all."
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The Caravan Master may have looked like he was standing his ground, but that was due to the fear making him freeze in place, and the alcohol giving him a false sense of confidence. He expected Alaira to roar at him like a monster, but instead she spoke low, almost made it hard for him to hear her. All the more reason why he had to listen however. He gritted his teeth at the mention of the little girl (Lyn) stowed away in his wagon. That was hardly his fault, but he stayed quiet and just met Alaira's glare. She continued to snarl at the caravan master, explaining the points that Ssarak told him earlier. Not that the Caravan Master had a better idea, and it was apparently obvious that everyone has already gone and made a decision for him. He turned on his feet and threw his hands into the air. "Fine! Fine. Five hours, I'm giving you all five hours to find and kill the damn bandits. If you don't come it's cause you're dead and I'm not going to find your corpses." The caravan master grumbled as he returned to the wagon, stumbling over the door frame due to the strange way he was walking. He smelled faintly of feces.
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Darius watched as the Caravan Master walked away. The way the discussion had been handled was terrible. The Caravan Master should not have been strong-armed into the plan, but it had happened, so there was no use trying to rectify it. Instead, Darius looked at Ssarak. "It has been decided. Let us make these five hours count." Without another word, Darius made his way back to the cabin to pack up.
