Too Find...(Krauss)

[Amanita]

Day 32 of Fall, Year 511AV “Oh you stupid thing,” It was spoken with a weary fondness but there was no mistaking the underlying frustration, “Where have you taken us too now?” The horse only butted his head against the fingers combing through his mane, snorting softly in the morning chill. Fall was here, no doubt about it, the early morning air let out a cool breeze that threaten all dress and short wearers. Letting out a shaky breath she dared to tug the blindfold from her eyes, stuffing it swiftly in her pack. Liquid gold peered at the gray blur that surround her, she knew there must be plenty of trees but maybe they were thinning out? Or they had entered a clearing. She couldn’t tell which. Cursing to herself she clutched at the blowgun, a strange weapon for a mostly blind person to have but being pretty much blind had its perks. She could hear very well and her darts usually hit her target and if they were close enough she would be able to simply aim at their blurry, blob shaped neck and fire. It was a pity she had nothing to tip them with. She knew a bit about poisons but she could not find the herbs or venom herself. Tugging slightly harder than necessary on the horse’s hair he came to an abrupt halt, only letting out a small grunt of protest. So long they had been together he knew her signals, she was listening for trouble. And sure enough her ears straining for the slightness noise she was able to her the crunching of the fall leaves to her left. But when no voice reached her ears she realized they were not seen. And from the sound it was a caravan. Still keeping one hand securely on her weapon she gently pulled the reins to the left, she needed to know where she was. How far they had come, she just hopped she wouldn’t get attacked in the process. As she got closer she could make out the sounds of children, relaxing and letting out the breath she didn’t know she was holding she urged Kilik faster. He was a good horse though, and without much prodding he pulled her dutifully towards the noise. She knew she was close enough when the voices seemed to stop, the crunching of the dying leaves coming to an abrupt stillness. Not knowing if she should speak she stayed silent, waiting for them to make the first move and deem her not a threat. “Ho! Another traveler, are you headed to Syliras?” Deep and rustic was his voice and she assumed he was either the father of the family or the leader, at the very least. She debated telling him anything, wanting only to ask for directions but the man cut her off, “Come with us! More the merrier and your horse looks like he could use some water!” “No, I ju—“ Again his booming voice cut her off, “You are headed that way?” “Yes, but—“ “Then there’s no point in just walking behind us. We’re all headed the same way, you can even sit in the caravan, rest your rump! We have guards and it’s only a few more chimes to the good city.” She was truly tired but his insistence made her nervous, all the same she gently released her hold on her weapon and watched the colorless, hand shaped blue take the reins from her. “Behave Kilik.” Good horse but troublesome around other horses’. Allowing herself to be helped off her mount she waited warily for an attack but only a meaty hand landed on her shoulder, nearly knocking her over. “Have a seat over here and we’ll tie that one up and get going!” Cautiously she avoided every darker shape, she presumed they were people but it would be strange it she walked into the side. She would hide her weakness for as long as needed. Luck was not on her side though and as she attempted to crawl into the back of the wagon she rammed her head straight into the side of the cart. Wincing she smiled slightly at the children’s giggled, she guessed there was around three of them. “Are you alright?” The hand on her forehead more than surprised her and her startled yelp caused silence to fall again. For a moment she tensed, once they knew they often tried to steal from her, for a second she contemplated running but her fears were unfounded for the hand only patted her head gently. “She’s blind dear, help her up.” Thick hands wrapped around her waist and practically threw her onto the cricket wood. “There you go. We’ll be off now. Josh! Get her moving!” The same hand that had touched her before guided her towards a wall and pressed a scratchy wool blanket into her arms, “Were only a chime or so away but get some rest dear, you look tired.” "Thank you." Waiting for any questions she sat stiffly for a moment before realizing the mother’s—or so she guessed—attention was on her children. Wrapping the blanket around her she only now noticed she was chilled, she should have put her cloak on sooner and mentally she scolded herself for being careless. Escaping would do her no good if she was dead, she just hoped they did noticed the scar on her neck, marking her as her owners property—and as an obviously escaped slave. Turning her eyes towards what she hoped was the back of the caravan she hoped she had not made the wrong decision in allowing them to take her to Syliras.

[Krauss]

Krauss sat on top of the pile of lumber in the front wagon where he could watch everything happening. His polished armor gleam in the sun like a mirror. With any luck, any bandits watching would rrecognize the Trouble Hunters' mask and let the caravan go by, waiting for an easier target. Caravan guards were paid well enough, and it meant a free trip to Syliras, so he'd accepted the offer. None of the other guards terribly liked him, but that didn't matter. Most of them were overpaid, under-trained thugs, and didn't like having a mercenary telling them what they could be doing better. He didn't approve of the caravan master picking up random travelers, either, but the third rule of the Trouble Hunters was that whoever paid you was buying the priviledge of always being right. Still, Krauss had seen bandits use the "friendly traveler" trick before, sneaking the most harmless looking of their number into a caravan. As the caravan started rolling again, he raised his voice to be heard over the noise of wagon wheels and hooves. "If you don't mind my asking, what's a blind girl doing alone out here? I'm cautious about travelling alone, and I'm probably the most dangerous man for fifty miles in any direction." He ignored the disapproving frown from the caravan master's wife. They were paying him to be vigilant and heavily armed, not to be friendly.

[Amanita]

"If you don't mind my asking, what's a blind girl doing alone out here? I'm cautious about travelling alone, and I'm probably the most dangerous man for fifty miles in any direction." Jumping in surprise at the new voice she glanced around—not that it did much good—before deciding it came from in front of her. A small frown marred her features, “Traveling for work…same as you. Blind has nothing to do with it, I can see…” She hesitated again, she didn’t want to reveal much about herself but she doubted he would take kindly to her avoiding his questions completely. Shaking off her nervousness she straightened herself and shifted so her body faced the general direction of the voice. “…I can see shapes. They are gray and blurry but they allow me to see something.” Tilting her face towards the floor she felt her hair slid against her neck and shoved swung her hand up to hold it in place and keep her mark covered. She had avoided answering all his questions but if he pressed and she didn’t answer, she shivered slightly; she couldn’t fight a whole family and armed guard. Her hands twitched, itching to reach for her blowgun but she resisted, that would look bad and might even prompt them to bind her. Going into Syrilas bound would not be looked upon kindly, at least not from what she knew. And yet she had to keep quiet about her past till they reached Syliras, she had heard slaves were free there and it had taken much to get this far, she was not about to let the hired help stop her. But she needed to distract him…conversations were not her strong point though, fidgeting slightly and setting her hair in place she once more faced the source of the voice, recalling his earlier words, “You said you were dangerous…are you a Knight?”

[Krauss]

“You said you were dangerous…are you a Knight?” That drew a chuckle. "No, not a knight. I'm the last Trouble Hunter. We were a little like knights, I suppose. Mercenaries, technically, though we would have rather starved with honor than been rich men with no principles. We did starve, a few times." He pushed the visor on his helmet up. The steel scraped slightly, reminding Krauss to buy oil when they reached town. "I guess you picked the right caravan to ride with. We haven't seen a single bandit so far, though I suppose you could call the other guards thieves, for what they're getting paid." He stretched, rolling his shoulders around to stay loose. His armor made quiet little metallic noises, most of it muffled by the layers of cloth built into it. "My name's Krauss. Krauss Muhe-Jager."

[Amanita]

A Trouble Hunter? It sounded troublesome but he was more relaxed than she expected and didn’t press her further and she deemed him safe. Honor bound. It could come in handy to know if all went wrong with their other ‘guards’ one among them would be trustworthy. Hearing the creak of metal she wondered if he wore armor of some sort, it made her wonder what the caravan carried to have such heavily armed guards. Traders most likely. Letting her eyes roam on the indistinct blurs she sorely wished for her blindfold, now that they knew there was no point in hiding it and her blindfold gave her a sense of comfort. Unlike the feeling she had now, where her eyes thought they should be able to tell one gray spot from another and could not figure out why they could not. "I guess you picked the right caravan to ride with. We haven't seen a single bandit so far, though I suppose you could call the other guards thieves, for what they're getting paid." Her eyes once more snapped to the direction of the voice and she nodded in agreement. "My name's Krauss. Krauss Muhe-Jager." She hesitated, should she give her full name? Well it’s not like she would be known by her name, there would be no harm in revealing hers. “Amanita.” After their introductions a quietness settled over the van and Amanita closed her eyes but she didn’t doze, she still didn’t trust the caravan and Krauss’ words about the other guards had not helped. She would feel better if she had her own guard. As if she could pay for it! Subconsciously her hand slinked down to the pocket where she kept her money, she was lucky she was used to not eating too often or she would be in trouble, Kilik was also used to not eating, considering his own background. Letting each coin slid through her fingers she tallied what monies she had left. She wouldn’t be able to live on that alone, she’d need a job. Entertainment? But she would still need a guard, street performers were easy pickings for thieves. “Krauss?” Piecing together her question carefully, she didn’t want the people who had helped her to take things ill but one must be careful traveling alone. “How much do you charge to keep guard for someone?”