Pacifista

It begins with a map....

After several hours more of walking, the sun finally set too low for Roan to consider walking any farther. They still had some light, but they only needed enough to set up camp and a fire. This wasn’t his first time camping on the road, and it certainly would not be his last.

Shifting his gears, he stopped their trekking to go off the path, looking around for some suitable clearings. He was quite lucky: he found one that looked like it had been used as a campsite in the past, though probably not recently. There was plenty of room and even a fire pit, still containing some remnants of ash and charred wood. Glad to have an extra hand, he sent Glenn to get plenty of firewood, putting his muscle to good use while Roan tided up the camp a bit, removing some loose stones around the two comfiest looking patches of grass. Bedrolls had been out of their budget, so they had to make do with what they had. The thought of the brigand hadn’t even crossed his mind, so focused was he on setting up camp.

It begins with a map....

As the lady rider headed off, Roan simply shrugged, before following along at his normal walking pace.

As they began, Glenn shared his worries, and Roan replied, “Even if he were, she managed to get away quick enough on that horse, so he’s probably on his feet. I doubt she’d be in any trouble. Neither would we be in danger, since we’re pretty poor marks, honestly. Not worth the trouble.” Looking over Glenn, he added, “Be sure not to mention you have that map, hear?”

As they walked, the lady rider was well out of sight when Roan realized something cursing and stopping his walking, standing in the middle of the road for a moment. Shaking his head, he began to walk, muttering, “Could have asked for directions...” That would involve showing her the map, but she was more concerned with getting where she needed to go to worry about what a little x mark meant, hopefully.

It begins with a map....

Roan shrugged, “Well, you’ve got a horse there. If I had one and I was being followed, it’d have been simple. Send the horse walking down one way and go the other myself, covering my tracks as I went.” Stepping out onto the road, he shrugged, “But if it’s just one brigand, well, what’s the worst he could do?” Roan’s words made him sound sure of himself, but he doubted he could go up against any kind of adult without the advantage of surprise or the helpful bulk of Glenn. Slipping his hands in his pockets, he made down the path as before, saying, “Well, good luck with your brigand troubles...”

It begins with a map....

With the hook having sunk in, all that was left was to pull it in. He didn’t know who this girl was or why she was running, but the idea of a favor or reward for aiding her was too good to ignore. Nudging Glenn, he muttered, “Come on, time to get going.” Standing, he brushed himself off, before stepping back onto the road, saying, “You’re looking kinda nervous, and your horse is breathing pretty hard. Run into a spot of trouble? Bandits and the like? We’re traveling the roads too, so a bit of forewarning would be nice.”

He also added nonchalantly, “But if you’re trying to run from something, you’re making a couple amateur mistakes...”

It begins with a map....

Roan didn’t react as Glenn came to hide next to him, though he was kind of surprised the big guy had managed, to be honest. Peeking out carefully and quietly, he got a look at things, hearing the horse approaching. He carefully waved for Glenn to stay down, not wanting him to move and give away their presence. Looking at the rider, he saw she seemed nervous, checking over her shoulder for someone or something. Of course, the ever cunning Roan saw there were numerous ways she could improve her technique, and who better to learn from than someone else who was certainly no stranger to running. There was just the matter of approaching her...

Being hit by a stroke of inspiration, Roan sat on his rear, before letting out a loud yawn and sitting up, peeking his head above the foliage, looking around sleepily as he pretended to adjust his eyes to the light. He mumbled, “Horse...” as if to imply that the noise had awoken him.

It begins with a map....

At Glenn’s honest and relevant question, Roan thought for a moment, before shrugging, “Well, if we are short on coin, I’m sure we’ll manage.”

Then, as he heard the horse hooves, he froze, looking around. A bit tense, he held up his hand, motioning for Glenn to stop, before shaking his head and hopping into the nearby foliage suddenly, as if to hide.

It begins with a map....

As the pair walked on their road, Roan grew increasingly worried about his wound. It stopped bleeding just fine, but the fact that it happened so early in their journey was not a good omen. Glenn had at least been able to take care of it, but it didn’t do as much for Roan’s mood as he’d hoped.

He moped about that for a little while, but got over it eventually, at least for now. A short while after that, the pair came across the fork in the road. Roan grumbled for a moment, before checking the map in Glenn’s hands. He had a rough guess as to where they were, but given that the map didn’t list and cities or show any roads, they were on their own otherwise. Their best bet was to find a large town and get a better map somehow. There wasn’t a signpost either, and Roan had come from the other direction, so he hadn’t a clue regarding the geography of the land. The fact that there were roads meant it was well traveled, at least, so he let out a sigh, before pointing to the left, saying, “This way, I suppose? I haven’t a clue which will get us closer. We want to get to another town so we can find a better map first. We’ll see where to go from there.” Readjusting his pack, he made for the path. He didn’t figure it made much difference if they got a little lost, as long as they made it by winter.

It begins with a map....

Okay, that about does it for my sorta half assed event. I'll hopefully have a better one for later, but I believe it's your turn! Go ahead and build towards whenever you feel it.

It begins with a map....

As Glenn stomped past Roan and over to Peyton and Dax, Roan stopped as the large boy passed him, not wanting to get in his way. Peyton froze, too intimidated to move, while Dax took several cautious steps back, not brave enough to act. At Glenn’s threat, Peyton didn’t seem impressed, but he didn’t say anything either.

Clearing his throat, roan approached, giving the two a grin as he said, “Yeah, you don’t want to mess with Glenn, do ya? Not that I blame you, but messing with me is just like messing with him, so I’d count your blessings to Erther and get gone.” Dax gave Roan an angry look before relenting, turning and running. Peyton managed to wrench himself out of Glenn’s loosened grip, hitting the ground and running after his cousin.

With the two gone, Roan let out a sigh, mumbling, “Little brats.” Rubbing the back of his head, he froze as he felt something warm. Pulling his hands into sight, he cursed under his breath as he rubbed his fingers, red blood between them. Grumbling at the two cousins, he pulled a cloth out of his bag as he tried to absorb blood from the wound, turning back to walk on their path.

It begins with a map....

As the two cousins looked between each other, Roan shot, “You heard him! Now get gone!” After a bit of muttering, the taller cousin, Peyton, asked, “What was that paper ya dropped there, Glenn?”

Dex added, “Cause we want it. You took it!”

Roan retorted, “You just said it was me who took something.” Of course, he had, but that was beside the point. Not giving them another word, he turned back to the road, beginning to head off. It wasn’t more than a minute when a rock from one of the two boys sailed through the air and smacked him in the back of the head. Snarling from the stinging pain, Roan dropped his pack, stomping back to the pair, demanding, “Which one of you did that!?” Peyton and Dex didn’t exactly seem intimidated by the small boy whom was only slightly older, but they were occasionally shooting glances at Glenn, worried what the large boy might do.