Lost Scout

[StarrNico]

Gytha made her way to the top and paused to catch her breath. She looked back down toward the river, astonished to realize she had been in this very location numerous times, but never once knew of the cave entrance below. She looked over the edge, checking on Anna's progress. So far, neither Charles or Laethros had emerged from the cave.

Anna wasn't even halfway up, but was making slow progress. Her hands had started shaking, making the already difficult task even harder for her. She paused a brief moment and closed her eyes, telling herself to just breath then continued. She knew if Leathros came out he would catch her easily so long as she was still on the path, but couldn't force herself any faster over the trail.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Aelfric's eyes widened slightly as Gomez mentioned the scout, but he erased the expression quickly, hoping the creature wrote it off as nothing more than pain from the swelling on his face. Still, thoughts of her fate raced through his mind. Was she not here because she was dead? Or had Strider been able to free her along with the other slaves? Did they have a second camp somewhere that she was being held?

"Mead or ale if you have it," the man said, hoping that it would help dull the pain. But he reminded himself to go easy, not wanting to lose his wits.

The split second look of surprise that flashed across Aelfric's face was not lost on the interrogator, but he didn't react at all to it as he went to a cupboard and pulled out a foggy bottle of ale. He was glad the sellsword had chosen the ale for the exact opposite reason that Aelfric was attempting to go easy on it... the sweet alcohol could loosen a man's tongue quicker than a fist he had found in the past. The orc recipe for ale was a little bit different than the human version, primarily in alcohol content as it took quite a bit more to have an effect on the larger orc body.

He passed Aelfric a full mug through the bars of the cage, and poured himself a similarly filled serving. "So, what's your name? I'm Gomez."

 

[Frundette]

Ezra tried not to read too much into Ragnar's appearance and the smell of mead, but it briefly crossed his mind that him and Jasper had just spent the last twenty-four hours trying to rescue one of his people. The least he could do was be a little bit more accommodating. "Lord Ragnar," he addressed him respectfully. "I am Ezra, and this is Jasper. We left yesterday with Aelfric in search of your scout Gytha, and I'm afraid we have some bad news." He held out the token to Ragnar. "I swear on my life that this will not be a waste of your time."

Ragnar took the offered token, recognizing it immediately as Aelfric's, knowing that his sworn man would not give away the symbol lightly. He ran a hand over his short beard as he stared for a moment at the token then looked back to Ezra. "Speak then," he said, waiting to hear what ill tidings the farmer had brought.

 

[Frundette]

Anna wasn't even halfway up, but was making slow progress. Her hands had started shaking, making the already difficult task even harder for her. She paused a brief moment and closed her eyes, telling herself to just breath then continued. She knew if Leathros came out he would catch her easily so long as she was still on the path, but couldn't force herself any faster over the trail.

Gytha waited, somewhat impatiently, as Anna made her way very slowly up the steep and narrow trail. The scout kept glancing between Anna and the cave entrance, listening anxiously to the faint sounds of struggle coming from within. "Do you need help?" she called down. But before Anna could answer, Gytha's heart skipped a beat as she realized the sounds of fighting had ceased. "Anna, hurry, please!" she called.

Only a few moments later, Laethros emerged from the tunnel entrance. His nose was bloody and the knuckles on his right hand looked badly scraped, but it didn't seem to be slowing him down much. He looked around quickly and spotted the girl. "I shoulda just killed you yesterday girl," he spat angrily as he started making his way up the trail toward her.

 

[Frundette]

The split second look of surprise that flashed across Aelfric's face was not lost on the interrogator, but he didn't react at all to it as he went to a cupboard and pulled out a foggy bottle of ale. He was glad the sellsword had chosen the ale for the exact opposite reason that Aelfric was attempting to go easy on it... the sweet alcohol could loosen a man's tongue quicker than a fist he had found in the past. The orc recipe for ale was a little bit different than the human version, primarily in alcohol content as it took quite a bit more to have an effect on the larger orc body.

He passed Aelfric a full mug through the bars of the cage, and poured himself a similarly filled serving. "So, what's your name? I'm Gomez."

(OOC: He'd be insulted that you called him a sellsword. ;-p lol )

Aelfric took the mug carefully, his bound hands making it a bit awkward, but he managed to get it to lips and only spill a small bit. He took a swig, a bit surprised by how strong it was and unexpectedly good. After the rank stew he'd been given the previous night, he had assumed their alcohol to be just as repulsive.

He closed his eyes momentarily, letting the drink wash into his belly and trying to forget his current situation as he wondered what harm would come from sharing his name with this strange orcish creature. "Aelfric," he said, almost immediately doubting the decision to speak his name out loud.

 

[StarrNico]

Gytha waited, somewhat impatiently, as Anna made her way very slowly up the steep and narrow trail. The scout kept glancing between Anna and the cave entrance, listening anxiously to the faint sounds of struggle coming from within. "Do you need help?" she called down. But before Anna could answer, Gytha's heart skipped a beat as she realized the sounds of fighting had ceased. "Anna, hurry, please!" she called.

Only a few moments later, Laethros emerged from the tunnel entrance. His nose was bloody and the knuckles on his right hand looked badly scraped, but it didn't seem to be slowing him down much. He looked around quickly and spotted the girl. "I shoulda just killed you yesterday girl," he spat angrily as he started making his way up the trail toward her.

Anna tried to keep from looking up when Gytha spoke to her, knowing she would freeze up. "Just go, I will catch up" She said, trying to speak past the lump in her throat. When she heard Leanthros come out she couldn't stop herself from looking towards him and in doing so she caught a glimpse of the distance to the ground. Her breath stopped as she stared at that for a moment before she could tear her gaze away and back to the cliff wall. "No, no, no" She muttered to herself as she started breathing fast and shallow. She had started trembling and leaned her forehead against the wall in front of her

 

[Frundette]

"ANNA! HURRY!" Gytha yelled shrilly as Laethros was quickly making his way toward the girl's position, climbing the steep pathway with surprising dexterity. But seeing that Anna didn't seem to be moving any faster, if she was even moving at all, Gytha picked up a rock and chucked it quickly toward Laethros. It missed, just barely, bouncing off the rock face mere inches from his face before tumbling down into the river below. A second rock, and then a third followed, one of them striking Laethros on the shoulder before he came close enough to Anna that Gytha hesitated to throw more for fear of accidentally hitting Anna instead. He was closing the distance quickly, intending to grab her around the waist...

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

(OOC: He'd be insulted that you called him a sellsword. ;-p lol )

Aelfric took the mug carefully, his bound hands making it a bit awkward, but he managed to get it to lips and only spill a small bit. He took a swig, a bit surprised by how strong it was and unexpectedly good. After the rank stew he'd been given the previous night, he had assumed their alcohol to be just as repulsive.

He closed his eyes momentarily, letting the drink wash into his belly and trying to forget his current situation as he wondered what harm would come from sharing his name with this strange orcish creature. "Aelfric," he said, almost immediately doubting the decision to speak his name out loud.

(Sorry )

"Aelfric," he took a sip out of his own cup. "Believe me when I say that I'm sorry we couldn't have met under different circumstances. The orcs, as you've seen, can be a little bit... over-reactive." His yellow eyes peered at Aelfric from over the rim of his cup. He hoped that by making small talk the man would become more comfortable, and drink more ale. "Your name sounds familiar, a close man of Lord Ragnar's, are you?"

 

[Frundette]

(Sorry )

"Aelfric," he took a sip out of his own cup. "Believe me when I say that I'm sorry we couldn't have met under different circumstances. The orcs, as you've seen, can be a little bit... over-reactive." His yellow eyes peered at Aelfric from over the rim of his cup. He hoped that by making small talk the man would become more comfortable, and drink more ale. "Your name sounds familiar, a close man of Lord Ragnar's, are you?"

Aelfric's eyes narrowed at Gomez. This ugly little runt already had more information than Aelfric would have guessed. Had he extracted his knowledge from the other prisoners? "Not particularly. Just came into his service a few weeks ago," he replied levelly, suddenly glad that he had given the medallion marking him as Ragnar's sworn man away to Ezra. "Pay's good," he said, taking another swig of the drink, this time spilling a bit more down his chin, hoping to imply that he could be bought by a better offer. Risky business, surely, but perhaps one he could exploit to his advantage.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Ragnar took the offered token, recognizing it immediately as Aelfric's, knowing that his sworn man would not give away the symbol lightly. He ran a hand over his short beard as he stared for a moment at the token then looked back to Ezra. "Speak then," he said, waiting to hear what ill tidings the farmer had brought.

Ezra exchanged a quick glance with Jasper before starting. "Lord, about halfway to where we estimated Gytha would be we came across some strange tracks which we followed into the bush. They were large, the footsteps of a beast we would later learn belonged to an orc. Having found no evidence of such a creature at the time, we camped for the night and were visited by an old friend. Kane, or Strider as he is more commonly referred to." He paused for one second to look at Ragnar, he wasn't sure whether the man knew Strider or not. After a couple seconds he continued.

"He was tracking a group of orcs which had attacked his camp and kidnapped his daughter. We had reason to believe that another girl, my daughter Danielle, had befallen the same fate so we followed the tracks from the abduction site. Since we deemed it was not a coincidence that so many people, including Gytha, had gone missing in such a short period of time, we assumed she would be among those who were captured. The tracks led us to the orc's camp, hidden deep in the Greywoods. Strider and Aelfric stayed behind to rescue the girls while Jasper and I returned to bring help. Lord Ragnar, they are using human slaves to build their camp. We have to go help them."