Xania looks at Dakath and the horse he road in on with something like total surprise--her earlier ire forgotten. She handles Noir with ease, though it is clear he wishes to follow the riderless horses. Holding him in check she asks: "Dakath, whatever did you find?" in an amused tone.
Dakath begins to be aware of Xania looking at him, he grins. "What? I got down from the tree to find the black stallion waiting for me. It talked to Stenu and then looked as if it was going to crush my skull with it's hooves. I mounted Stenu and rode back here. I had nothing to do with bringing them here, it's not like I can even properly control my own mount, is it?"
"You seem to be doing a better job of it right now than the rest of us," Xania murmurs wryly.
Dakath says "I think Stenu and the Black Stallion talked before," he shrugs. "Well at least that is how I figure it."
Asif looks on.
"It is not unusual for such noble beasts to communicate with one another my friends. Some of the Beudion it is said have the ability to join in such conversations with their mounts. Alas I am not so blessed, but I am sure Stenu the proud prince that he is must have great things to say."
Dakath moves closer to Xania, "I hope you forgive me for going off on my own?"
Xania looks at him and shakes her head in that timeless gesture of 'whatever am I to do with you?' "Do I have a choice?" she raises one eyebrow at the name-changing rascal.
Dakath grins at her, "I guess not, it's not like I go looking for trouble."
"Oh, no," says Xania, "It's exactly like you go looking for trouble. If you merely waited around for it to find you like the rest of us, you wouldn't be riding off by yourself."
Dakath laughs "It makes for an interesting life, don't you think?"
Xania just shakes her head.
Ullar tries to hold on to his horse, talking to it in his (feeble?) attempts.
The ex-gladiator is fascinated by the beautiful beast and steers his horse towards it, stepping slowly.
"Anyone seen this creature before?" he asks.
"Yes, last night we saw him while we were walking," Xania says, gazing at the magnificent stallion with something like awe.
"You actually had time for that?" Ullar wonders, with a gaze that best can be described as 'puzzled'.
"What did it do last night?" the warrior continues.
"It just looked at us. Ja...Dakath was telling me of the folks that he felt were watching us and as we walked the perimeter, we encountered these magnificent animals watching us across a meadow," Xania replies, not catching Ullar's quizzical look.
"Must be a hell of a meadow, to attract, well, ehm.. never mind."
"Did they do anything last night?" the warrior continues his questioning from the position on his horse.
"They seemed to stare at Dakath." Xania turns and looks at Dakath appraisingly.
"Well, it seems these horses wish us to head North, though I am sorely tempted to try to find where the goblins have gone to ground. Still, it's almost as if fate is lending a hand here and I'd be a fool to tempt fate." From the quirk of her lips it's not obvious whether she's done this many times or never, but one would suspect the former.
Augustus watches the approaching equines with some fear, at first. When the great black stallion seems to beckon them onwards, all Augustus can say is, "Extraordinary."
He simply rests in the saddle and lets Rosinante follow the great beast.
Tag speaks up, "It seems our friend wants us to follow him, and is prepared to take our horses on alone if we don't cooperate. He doesn't look like one to be trifled with. If only one of us spoke horse!"
"Well," booms Leslie, "my singing voice is quite hoarse... Perhaps I shall sing to it?" He tries to bring Zephyr under control, although he doesn't fight him too much or use force. Stroking the warhorse's proud neck, he whispers soothingly in his ear. "Maybe we *should* follow him," he says, "he seems to be heading in our general direction anyway..."
Tag continues, "I vote we go with him, since he seems to be going north anyway."
"I for one think it best to follow that Stenu of Stenu (Prince of princes) for no horse truly has ill for a rider who treats his mount well. Come let us follow this path highlighted by this fine beast."
Forte adds, looking at the stallion, "Now that we have a guide, we might as well use him."
Rhune smiles at Forte, "Yes we might as well use our new guide." Then looking over at the black horse, "Lead on," she says in elvish.
"Shall we ride?" Xania moves her horse closer to the intelligent stallion. "You are surely a noble being," she says politely. "I give you greeting."
As she has talked to horses for many years, she doesn't find it the least bit odd to be doing so now. If he listens, now that's another story....
Rhune tries in vain to make horse obey her commands then finally gives up and comes to a stop. When she does, she looks directly at the massive black horse. In elvish, "Well we have stopped. Now what do you want us to do?" she asks him. The fact that she is talking to a horse doesn't seem to bother her in the least.
At the mention of a guide, the horse snorts loudly. Then when Xania and Rhune approach it, it backs away a few feet as the other three horses draw near. It snorts once again when the women speak to it. It then whinnies loudly, and both women are thrown from their steeds as they buck abruptly. Both rise up from the ground bruised and feeling quite abused.
Rhune hits the ground and startled "hummph" escapes her. After a few moments she stands brushing the dirt from her armor. She winces as she hits a particularly tender spot on her hip. She looks at the massive horse, "If you had wanted us to dismount all you had to do was ask," she says in elvish.
Xania takes her time getting up, making sure that nothing is broken. She glares at the steed, "There was no need to be rude. Neither of us bore you any ill will."
The two women would swear that the return gaze of the stallion bore them ill will, though, as it turns it's back dismissively on their complaints.
Dakath dismounts Stenu and moves to help Xania off the floor "Are you alright?" he asks her as he offers her his hand. As he helps her up he grins and whispers to her, "This was not what I had in mind when we went for our walk."
Xania, looking more surprised than annoyed, absentmindedly allows him to help her up. As his words sink in, she smirks slightly, "Ah, you prefer to be on the ground?"
Dakath chuckles at her, "Something along that line of thought."
When the other horses begin similar antics, the men think they had best dismount before they join the women on the ground. Only Ullar and Leslie would be able to control their horses, and that only through brute strength, most likely injuring them. As that most likely wouldn't go over too well with the juggernaut in front of you, they decide to release their steeds as well. The stallion then canters some distance away with his three companions, followed quickly by the horses of the entire group, excepting Stenu, Dakath's horse, who has stirred only mildly since the great creature arrived.
Augustus attempts to dismount from Rosinante, but succeeds in getting his foot momentarily stuck in the stirrup. Landing on his back with a resounding thud, Augustus manages to reach up and untangle his foot before Rosinante moves up with the Great horse. Wiping the damp earth from his robes, he gets to his feet. "Well, it seems that our equine friends are having some sort of meeting."
The party can do nothing but sit in wonder as the horses communicate in a circle, the massive body and head of the stallion rising above the others. After some minutes, the party's horses reluctantly turn and pace back toward the group slowly. The stallion and it's three companions turn and gallop off eastward, setting a blistering pace that would seem impossible for such large creatures to maintain. The group looks at them in amazement as they disappear into a clump of trees some miles away on the north shore of the river.
When Rosinante returns, Augustus does not immediately get back into the saddle, but walks alongside of Rosinante, feeling like he has witnessed something out of the ordinary...Rosinante is not just an animal to be ridden...she is much more than that now.
Tag looks on in wonderment at the horses as they disappear. He walks over to his horse. "I wish I could talk to you like that," he says, giving the mahogany mare a pat. "Why I didn't even find out your name before old Barley died."
Rhune approaches her horse with some trepidation. She takes his bridle and looks at him for several minutes. Then patting him on the nose she remounts though a little slower than earlier. "Well do we attempt to follow the horses or continue to try and find Stephan?" she asks the others.
As Noir reluctantly returns, Xania pats him affectionately and talks to him, "It's not like I use a bit on you or anything. And I wouldn't dream of spurs. And you go and dump me because some strange horse told you to. Would you jump off a bridge if...?"
Realizing she is a bit stiff from the fall, she turns to Dakath. "Would you mind giving me a leg up?"
Dakath watches as the horses move off at a blistering pace. "Well, my instinct tells me we should follow them. Is it just me or are we attracting all kinds of unwanted attention?"
"Mine too," Ullar replies, giving both Xania and Dakath a curious look.
"No, Dakath, I would have to disagree," says Leslie as he mounts Zephyr lightly. "I believe that fine specimen of horsekind has finished his business with us, whatever it may have been." He gazes east, where the foursome has disappeared into the woods. "Besides, none of our mounts could keep up with *their* pace anyway. No, I suggest we continue north on our original path. Don't forget we have goblins to catch up to, and maybe prisoners waiting to be rescued..." his eyes gleam with the anticipation of the encounter.
Dakath shrugs "As you wish, I suspect our horses will refuse to do as we wish if we make the wrong choice anyway. North it is then." Dakath looks at Leslie and grins, "You know you seem to be really enjoying this."
"I agree with Leslie. We should continue north," Rhune nods.
Tags hears the questions of what to do next. "Would some kind person mind telling me what you are all doing out here and where you are going? I have leant that you are trying to find out about the goings on in the church, but no specifics. Is this some kind of mission? and who is this Stephano?"
"I am sorry. Stephano is or was the captain of one of the boats back there. We had gotten a ride with him in exchange for some help. However the original plan was interrupted when we ran into several tribes of goblins trying to destroy a village where his brother lives. We have since learned that several villages have been destroyed by goblins. We have also discovered that Stephano and several others have been taken prisoner by the goblins. We are trying to find out if they are still alive and if so rescue them. Finding out what is happening with the church is something else we are trying to do. We all have some reason to do so. Mine is to repay a debt that my father owes another man." She pauses and looks at the others, "If anyone wants to add to that please feel free."
"Thank you Rhune, that helps me to understand. If goblins are green skinned creatures with ugly faces and wielding spears, then I may have a debt of my own to repay them. A companion and I were ambushed by these crossing the mountains. My friend was killed. To answer Dakath's earlier question again, I think my fate lies with you for now."
Leslie's loud voice finding no arguments, the group moves on continuing northward. They find the rough trail continues for a few miles before gradually shifting westward. However, at the initial point of this shift, Dakath's cautious eye catches some horse footprints continuing northward, leaving the trail entirely. He brings it to the group's attention and they follow them, hoping they are coming close to the location of the prisoners. Some miles later, you all see the beginning of some rough terrain, rocky hills, lightly wooded.
The prints you have been following (off and on) seem to head up into this area, and you begin to make some progress, when Augustus hears a cracking sound far off to the north. He pauses, which you all do, and then the sound repeats itself, and then again, and then yet again. Cautiously, the group moves forward, alert to what may be ahead.
At the start of the sounds, Rhune's ears prick up. She very gently and easy-like unsheathes her sword. She intends to be ready for whatever is making that sound. She also takes a firmer grip of the reigns to her horse, just in case he tries to throw her again or is startled.
The group reigns in as Dakath decides to see what's what. Dakath dismounts Stenu, "I'll scout ahead and see what all the commotion is? It may be a good idea to get off the trail."
He turns once and grins. "Don't worry I'll be careful," he says as moves into the woods off the trail and then proceeds to sneak North toward the source of the sound.
Xania closes her eyes, trying to have patience.
Tag seeing that things could get sticky, reaches into his saddle bags and draws out an ornate Venetian crossbow. "I thought this old girl might come in handy. Although I am a mediocre fencer, I am a fair shot. I once hit a pigeon on St. Marks Cathedral from my gondola on the Grand Canal." He draws back the string and sets it with an iron tipped bolt. "Dakath, I have some skill at climbing and I am a fair marksman, perhaps I could climb a tree get a better view and cover you while you scout?"
As Dakath moves into the undergrowth he says, "As you wish but be sure not to hit me!!"
Taking his cue from Tag, Forte draws his bow and prepares an arrow.
Unfortunately, Dakath's sneaking skills do not appear to be anywhere near those of his skills as an actor. Even those of you with the group can see him, and hear the occasional misstep. All of you gird up for certain combat to come, and it comes quickly enough.
Dakath, rather cocky with his new appearance, thinks he is getting along well enough and hears some scattered conversation, along with continued cracking noises. He also hears several rough voices laughing and a horse crying out in pain after each loud crack. However, he does not get close enough to see anything or hear any details, as an arrow whistles loudly toward him before a meaty thunk is heard, dropping Dakath to the ground. He looks to see the fletching of an arrow standing on one side of his right shoulder, the point sticking out the other side. He rolls behind the cover of the rocks.
The cracking noises stop, and the group hears nothing. Not until a wild-eyed fellow comes charging out of the woods, right about where the arrow that emerged to take out Dakath came from. He wields a straight long sword, waving it above his head as he runs. Tag, from his position in the branches of the tree, sights the fellow and lets fly with his crossbow, and it appears to be an excellent shot, the bolt whizzes by the man's face, knocking him backward, but only momentarily. He rises again, blood coming down his face, and continues to charge. Forte cannot see the fellow well enough to get a shot at him, as the rocks in the area provide an effective defense. Tag does not have that problem, as he has a good position to shoot from, but reloading from that position is not so easy, particularly as he has not brought his case of quarrels with him. By the time he begs for one of you to retrieve it, the man has reached Dakath's position.
"Dio! you are a fool Condotore with a cervello d'un asino (Translation brain of an ass). More than one bolt might have been helpful!" says Tag chiding himself.
Augustus offers to retrieve Taglio's bolt case for him.
"Ah thank you Augustus, it is just in that left hand saddle bag at the top. That's it! Grazie!" Tag quickly grabs a hand full of bolts and puts them within easy reach, reloads and crouches behind a branch for some protection targeting his crossbow.
He tries to see in the direction of the voice to find out who or what is there. (Futilely, unfortunately. Whoever spoke is well-concealed.) "Could be a spell caster by his confident drawl! Be cautious my friends. I think the time for diplomacy has passed". He anxiously watches for Dakath's progress and priority goes to the next bolt to anyone/thing attacking the 'spice merchant'. Second priority to the voice owner.
Badly wounded, Dakath manages to draw his sword to defend himself. He sees the wild-eyed man almost upon him. Through the pain of his shoulder, he swings awkwardly in a high arc. Luckily for him, his opponent does not appear to be terribly proficient at defending himself. As he reaches up with his own sword, Dakath's blow smashes into the side of his head, cleaving several inches into his cheek. The man falls silently to the ground and dies.
Even as this is happening, Xania races on Noir toward her fallen companion, reaching his side as he finishes off the man. She dismounts just as the voice speaks.
At seeing Dakath fall, Leslie cries out "Dakath!" and spurs Zephyr towards his friend, only a little behind Xania.
All this happens as the group is attempting to get close enough to help or preparing their own weapons. Suddenly, a clear voice rings out in Italian, "What is your business here? I'll warn you, if you've come for a fight, there's more of that here than you'll be able to handle." You hear some activity, and then see several smallish figures along with several humans, bows drawn, taking place behind rocks and trees. You would guess more than a dozen of them, all in excellent tactical position. Dakath is some twenty yards away from the rest of you, hiding behind a boulder, but close to those hidden. The voice did not appear to come from any of those taking up position, but rather from behind a small hill.
Realizing he is charging a vastly superior enemy, both in number and in position, Leslie's good senses uncharacteristically prevail. He reigns Zephyr sharply to a stop, causing the big horse to rear up, and challenging his riding skills. He manages to keep his seat, however, and once settled, he looks, furious and frustrated, at the assembled goblins and humans.
Xania looks at Dakath carefully, "You ok?" she mouths. Then she waits to see how the rest answer the imperious voice. She grabs some colored sand and holds it in her hand just in case.
Dakath tries to smile despite the pain. "Apart from an arrow sticking through my shoulder I'm fine," he whispers. "I guess you can sympathize?" He leans back against the boulder, shutting his eyes with the pain, listening for anything approaching.
"Yes, I'm worried you're going to put me out of a job," whispers Xania in return, then also falling silent, waiting for an attack.
Noticing that Xania has joined him in the line of fire, Dakath looks at Xania, "Now who's the stubborn one? You've gone and got yourself in danger now. We're pinned down here and vastly outnumbered." He leans back obviously in pain. "I should have stuck to selling spice."
"Job security," murmurs Xania.
Augustus watches with astonishment at the fight before him and crosses himself as the attacker falls. His head snaps to the direction of the voice from behind the hill and he strains to see if he can identify the smallish beings. He realizes that his bolas would be useless in such close terrain, and momentarily wishes that he could have learned to use a bow, but such were forbidden to him by the church.
"At the moment we are passing through. But it seems that it is you who wants the fight," Rhune utters as she nods toward the fallen Dakath. Her hand is still on her sword and she is prepared to roll of her horse at the sign of any more arrows.
Forte remains ready for action with his bow, but is thankful that Rhune spoke up. Perhaps her wise words (something he never would have thought of to say) will forestall a fight, though he does sort of itch to hit something besides a tree.
Remembering the battle with Fyodorll, finding the captain, and his brief experiences with this group, he glances over at Leslie. He briefly wonders if Leslie will charge the people who attacked Dakath. Perhaps he will get to hit something besides a tree after all!
Only time will tell.