Deadly Task (Continued) }{ PM Wolf or HoudiniDerek

[WolfEnchantress]

Damien was given his weapons back, the only thing that was even remotely a good point of the day. He was pleased to see that the tavern owner's wife had a swollen nose.

They were marched through the Selkia with no hint as to where they were going. He wondered at the sudden use of a first name for the guard, but figured it insignificant.

However, it brought up another point. The Tavern Owner's wife had never given them her name. Or anything that they could call her, if not her real name. He stayed stubbornly silent, however, until the wife called a rest. She stood impatiently, as though the rest was more for their benefit than hers. Which he was grateful for - after days of being locked in a cell and beaten, hiking through the woods was more taxing than it would be otherwise.

He sat down, resting his legs and cringing at his wounds, which had been irritated by the whipping branches and bugs. If she'd given him back his potions and such, he could put a salve on them, but she'd kept them, which was irritating- he had a lot of money put into those. Almost a hundred gold pieces.

"So," He said after a moment of silence. "What do we get to call you? You have to have a name."

[HoudiniDerek]

Guang sat with his back against a tree, feeling the wind blow through his air. The wind was cooling the sweat on his forehead and back, but only part of it was from exertion. The rest was from fear.

They had hiked through a good portion of the Selkia already, but most of it had been the boundary land between the Selkia and the upcoming Ularian Ridge. Guang was curious to see if they would veer deeper into the forest or if they would come out somewhere in the Ridge or even the Blaze Mountain further on. He hoped it was the latter. It was not safe for him in the Selkia.

Guang's attention was diverted when Damien asked what they should call the tavern owner's wife. It was a good question since she was the one pulling all the puppet strings around here. Guang shifted so he could listen easier.

"You can call me 'Mistress,'" she said, a smirk forming on one side of her face. She signaled the guards and they formed up around her. She glanced at each of them. Wearily, Guang got up and cinched his weapons tighter. They were on their way again.

[WolfEnchantress]

The rest was well received, but he was restless to be moving again. As much as he was tired, he knew that the later they stayed in Selkia the more danger they were in. He shifted a few of the blades on his person, loosening them for easier access should they be attacked.

"Mistress?" he repeated, incredulous. "I won't do it." It was degrading enough to be dragged around like a slave by this woman who practically held onto their leashes like they were dogs. "I think I'll stick with imagining you have no name, and calling you what I please." He glared.

They began to gather up to get going again, and he rose, his legs protesting the action. They began walking again, wordless, the only action other than walking being to swat at bugs or cut through the thick undergrowth. He had absolutely no idea where they were going, being bad with direction he'd gotten lost not long after entering the forest.

"Where are we going?" He asked finally. "It's getting dark. it's dangerous here at night."

[HoudiniDerek]

Guang shouldered his pack and headed out with the rest of the group. He smirked when he heard Damien talking about only calling her names he wanted to call her. It was nice to see him so independent and fighting. Guang was too worried to do much of that.

"We are going to a little area in the Selkia. We need to get a few things before we head to our final destination." The tavern owner's wife went silent and continued walking.

"Where at in the Selkia?" Guang asked. "I have traveled most of it and might be able to pick the best way." Guang didn't add anything to the remarks, but was trying to be helpful while getting information.

"We are going to see a gnome. A gnome named Constin."

[WolfEnchantress]

Damien followed sullenly, making the occasional nasty remark. They could be dragged along and forced to comply, but it didn't mean he was going to be pleasant about it. Granted, he grew more and more uneasy with each passing hour, but he had become good at hiding his feelings over the years and instead gave nothing but anger and frustration.

He raised an eyebrow.
"A gnome? What for?" He asked. He was less subtle, and just outright asked things - it was less effective, but directness was always his approach, unless he was on a specific job, of course. This, of course, peaked his curiosity about exactly where their final destination was, but one thing at a time.

"It's not another hostage, is it?" He asked. Two of them was enough. If she was going to try to force more people into helping, he was going to tr to stop it. Then, maybe it was a voluntary helper. Who knew with her... She had an odd way of going about things.

[HoudiniDerek]

The tavern owner's wife smirked at Damien's directness. "What do I need with another helper when I have two willing ones right here?" She smirked again and continued walking silently.

Guang waited a few moments, his eyes staying on the path they were walking on the edge of the Selkia. Before long they would be hitting the boundaries of the Spish and turing inwards. He knew those lands well and he was worried that he had not been gone long enough.

"Can you tell us why we need to see Constin?" Guang asked, finally nerving up the courage to ask the question.

The tavern owner's wife looked at Guang and smiled. "He has an amulet that he wears. I need that amulet." Guang stopped in his tracks and looked at her aghast.

"You know he won't give that to you!"

"I know." She smiled at Guang again and stopped to look him directly in the eyes. "That's why you are here. You are going to take it from him."

Guang knew now why he had been so vital to the effort of this treasure hunt. He also knew his usefulness was probably over after this assignment. No wonder she had taken the time and effort to get him bent to her will via the potion. Guang swallowed and continued walking.

[WolfEnchantress]

Damien followed silently, listening to the exchange. He didn't know what amulet the tavern owner's wife was talking about, but judging by Guang's reaction it was something precious, and probably not to be let into the wrong hands. And something told him that her hands were the wrong hands.

They continued for a while longer, their path turning after a bit. Guang was going to take it? Was that the only reason she wanted him? Once she got it, what would she do with him if that was the case?

"What is the Amulet that she wants so badly?" He directed the question quietly at Guang, rather than the tavern owner's wife, figuring he would me more likely to answer. "And why does she want it so badly?" It couldn't be something that was just an amulet - it likely had some kind of special feature to it that made her want it. He doubted she would have gone through all of this work just to get something even slightly useless.

the guard near them looked their direction somewhat suspiciously, and he looked forward, lowering his voice. "I suppose more specifically, what will happen if she gets it?" He corrected his previous question, though the prospect of what the answer could be unnerved him a bit.

[HoudiniDerek]

Guang was trudging along wearily when Damien approached him and whispered his question. Guang didn't say anything for a few feet and then Damien reclarified the question. Guang thought about it and whispered back.

"The Amulet is Trieyrern Medallion. It is a golden circle that the chief of the Gnorash wears as a leader of the people. I have seen it many times, but I am not sure why she wants it." Guang thought back to all the stories he had heard about it and tried to dust off his memory. He wasn't paying attention and stumbled headlong into the brush.

Cursing, he got up and continued with the others. He remembered how he had done that years before when he was little and was out with his sister. She had laughed joyously at his falling and bashing his head. She had calmed down enough to help him wash the blood away, but she couldn't stop smiling.

Guang smiled as he thought of his sister. He used to think of her everyday, but it had been some time. He didn't think the event was losing significance for him, but it seemed that maybe she was letting him go after all this time. Who knew? Maybe going back would be good for him.

Guang pictured Constin at his trial, glaring over his crooked nose. The medallion had hung out then. They had sworn their oath as a court by it, he remembered. Suddenly, he remembered a story Braish had told him one day.

Guang leaned over and whispered to Damien. "It's said that the medallion has magical properties. I have never seen it, but the old stories tell of how it was forged to fight during the Orc wars. The Orcs got magic at one point and the Gnorash had no defense. They forged this amulet and it was passed down through the leaders, not by blood. What it can do I am not sure, but I am thinking that she has something in mind that could cause harm."

Guang shifted his pack and kept walking, waiting for Damien to digest the information. Guang started thinking about how he was going to get out of this assignment. There was no way he could go back...

[WolfEnchantress]

Damien digested this for a few moments.
"So, she wants it for its magical properties," He said. that didn't sound good at all. In fact, if she got ahold of it, no doubt she would use it for something nasty.

"If it was used in a war... That must mean it has power." That was obvious, Guang had pretty much just said that. "if it has power, then the leader won't just... Give it up, will he? I mean, it isn't something that one just hands over." She was going to have Guang just go up and ask for it - that wouldn't work.

"Is there any way you can talk to him - instead of asking for the Amulet - and maybe make some kind of offensive attack against the Tavern Owner's wife? If it has power, it has to be able to do something against her..." He trailed off. Was there a way to warn the leader that they were coming, so they would run? Most likely not.

Their only hope that he could see was for the Gnorash to put up a fight. After all, there were only a few of them in their small troupe, and Damien wasn't about to help her out. A whole bunch of the Gnorash could offer resistance... Right? They wouldn't give up. And they had made no promise not to harm the Wife, as they had, and she was just a human...

He was going to say more, but the guards around them were beginning to grow suspicious of their conversation and moved in closer - close enough to hear what they were saying, regardless of how quiet they spoke. So he shut his mouth, and settled for a questioning look.

[HoudiniDerek]

Guang listened to Damien, but did not answer as he saw the guards moving in. He looked over at Damien's glance and could only shrug. Had there been more time, Guang could have told Damien the whole problem with that approach, including why Guang had been chosen. The tavern owner's wife had picked well it seemed...not only someone who knew the Gnorash defenses and who could probably get the amulet, but someone who was expendable at that point if necessary.

*****************

They rested several hours later and the tavern owner's wife came to him. She sat down by him and smiled. "We will be in the Gnorash lands soon, Guang. I want you to get the amulet for me from Constin."

Guang didn't say anything, but looked at her warily. "I can see you have your misgivings, but you should believe me when I say that you have more importance to me than just the amulet."

She looked at him now, her eyes gleaming. "I am going to give you leave to scout ahead. I want you to poke around and get ready to sneak in. We will meet by those three mini lakes in the interior of the Selkia. Do you know where they are?" Guang nodded.

"Good. Remember that your promise to me binds you against working against my interest. I say this because you will be on your own out there and might have second thoughts." She turned to look at him with cold and empty eyes. "Don't have them."

[WolfEnchantress]

Damien rested gratefully, though never letting his guard down. She said she needed them, but that didn't mean she wouldn't do something against them. He watched as she went and spoke to Guang, most likely about the task ahead. He couldn't hear a word she was saying, but he guessed she was giving him directions on specifically what to do.

With a sigh, he stood and paced restlessly. Stopping was welcome, but he was read to go again. he stopped when someone approached him.
"What?" He growled. As he expected, it was the wife. He turned to face her.

"I have given Guang permission to scout ahead." Damien felt a skip in his chest - she'd given them a ticket to worm out of this mess! "I don't know what it is you two were whispering about the whole walk up here, but I don't like it." A smile began to spread across her face as she assessed Damien's reactions.

"So if Guang does anything outside of what he has permission to do... you both will bear the consequences. And believe me, they won't be nice." She studied him again. "So let's hope you weren't talking about anything you might regret." She chuckled then, though Damien had done or said nothing since she arrived.

"I guess we will see how it goes then, shall we?" And with that, she walked off. Damien cursed under his breath. They were tied up now, in a figurative way. What were they going to do? He couldn't give her the amulet... But did they really have a choice?

[HoudiniDerek]

Guang edged cautiously through the woods. It was nice to be free of the tavern owner's wife, but he still was not happy about his task nor his apparent inability to get out of the mess. He was walking into certain death. Unfortunately, certain death waited behind him too.

He sighed silently and slipped past another tree, waiting and listening. He was on the edge of the Spish lands, but he knew that they sometimes had sentries this far out. He had slipped past one already and he knew there were more. He wasn't sure how the tavern owner's wife was going to get through to the land of the three lakes, but he had a funny feeling that she had a plan for that too. He shook his head and went carefully ahead.

***************************

It was two days later that he found himself at the three small lakes. He drank deeply and ate a dry meal. He wasn't sure how long the others were behind him, especially since they did not have to be as careful as he did.

He sat back against a tree and thought about why he had been chosen to go ahead. If she had a plan to get the group through, why not just have him go as part of it. Why see if he would get there on his own? Was it a test to see if the potion worked...or if he was capable of getting all the way to the Gnorash...?

Guang went and drank again, washed up, and relieved himself. He made sure there were no tracks and then slipped from view. He needed to stay hidden until the others arrived. It wouldn't do to be found by accident when he was trying so hard to stay alive.

[WolfEnchantress]

Guang was gone for a few days, and during that time, Damien didn't say a word. At least, not that they could hear. He remained silent and stubborn, much to the Wife's irritation.
"Cat got your tongue?" She had bothered to ask at one point, but had received nothing but a glare in return.

He was wondering along the same lines as Guang was. If they were going to the same place, why would she have Guang go ahead of them? After all, it would be almost easier to have him travel with the group. Right? Or did she have ulterior motive? As soon as the thought came, he almost chuckled. Of course she did. If she didn't, he would be surprised.

The question remained, however, what that motive was. She had to have something in mind. But what was it?

Over the next few hours, he slowed his pace. The wife was obviously irritated, but said nothing, assuming it was fatigue - and she wasn't about to rest, not when they had just done so a few hours ago. But if she was in such a hurry to get somewhere, he wanted to know why. And if she wouldn't tell him, then he would walk at whatever pace he wanted to. Which happened to be very slowly.

After a few hours, the wife finally got irate enough that she whirled on him in exasperation.
"Walk faster. Or I will make you wish you could walk faster." She hissed. He met her gaze steadily.

"Tell me where we are going and what you have planned and maybe I will. Otherwise, go ahead and do what you will. No one is stopping you." They were the only words spoken in days, and he said them with confidence. An uncertain look flashed across her eyes for a millisecond before it was hidden again. He didn't look away, and nor did she; Rather, it was almost like a stare down two dogs might have were they fighting silently for dominance.

[HoudiniDerek]

Guang scouted around the lakes and the encroaching forest. He had been here for over a day now and the entourage had not come yet. He was getting edgy waiting around. It was hard to remain hidden the longer you were in one spot; harder to notice if you had accidentally left a track or a bent branch; hard not to imagine noises.

Guang washed and ate again, trying to take his time and make the day pass more quickly. He had roamed around aimlessly most of the day and was dreading what would happen if he was here another day with nothing to do. Why had she made him wait? Why not go on ahead to see the layout and current defense structure? This was maddening to his training.

He made his way through the area, erasing the small signs he noticed on the ground of his passing. He was climbing into a tree for the evening when he heard the grunts. Something was coming. Guang froze where he was, facing the tree and trying to blend into it as the darkness fell. Hopefully the shadow would conceal him long enough...