Private Tales Something Amiss

[Saul Talith]

"I was in the west." Saul stated simply, as if that were explanation enough.

In truth, her words grated on him. She was right in a way, at least from how Saul looked at it all. He would absolutely never admit it to her of course, mostly because that would bring shame on the whole of the Order, but he could at least admit it to himself.

If he had a thousand Templar the Lich would not have gone unnoticed, if he had two? The entire Reach would be free of every monster, undead, and mage that would threaten anyone. Yet he did not have the numbers. He didn't even command all the Templar in this compound.

Another thing he would not admit. "Perhaps if you'd come to us earlier your friends would not be in the mess they are in now."

His voice was flat, and he continued quickly before she could respond.

"Wait at the front gates..." He glanced at her for a brief moment, paused, and then corrected himself. "Owinn can show you where to take a bath if you like, it will take an hour before my men are ready to depart."

They would need to gather supplies, otherwise the march itself would kill them.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska had the grace to nod, relief crumbling through her expression before it was neatly tucked away.

"I have a boat. An hours ride to the west river. But we will have to walk, there's no where to stable and we'll be on foot or boat for the rest of the journey," she informed him briskly.

"I will clean up." And she hoped to gods they had the manners to provide her with a dry set of breeches. It was getting musky down there.

She brushed past him, prepared to end the exchange then and there.

 

[Saul Talith]

Saul bristled slightly.

Though Templar were more than capable of fighting on foot, most of them preferred to move as cavalry. It was easier to fight the undead while mounted on a horse. Generally speaking they were slow, stupid, and didn't know enough to move before they were torn apart.

His tongue clicked, but finally he nodded his head in ascent and turned to head out the door. Kaska would be lead by Owinn to the women's bath on one side of the compound, and Saul headed to the other.

True to his word it took him only an hour to muster what troops he could.

Most allocations had been made, and although the Compound was not barren...most of their number had been sent out the previous week, save for those serving the other Commanders.

So, all that Saul managed to gather was thirty. All trained, all good soldiers, but only 30.

 

[Kaska]

Thirty was twenty-nine more than Kaska thought she'd ever be granted. She stepped out with a slight prim look about her, a real sense of relief causing bubbling excitement in her stomach. Thirty men in one week. At this pace, they might arrive in just a week more, and then...

Hang in there, Lia.

She nodded to Saul in acknowledgement, crossing her arms as if she wasn't the least bit impressed by the numbers he had amassed. "Ready then?"

 

[Saul Talith]

"Lead us to your boat." Saul said plainly.

Some of the other Templar snickered at Kaska's manner, others stared at her in disapproval. A few Templar took the rivalry between themselves and the Ranger's a tad too seriously, going so far as to cause violence. None of them were among the other twenty nine that he had chosen.

He didn't want anyone fighting the people they were supposed to be rescuing.

"At least we'll have bragging rights."
​

Edwin commented slightly as he fell in to the side of Saul, stepping up in full armor and glancing at the Ranger girl for a few seconds. From his body language Saul could tell that he was somewhat unimpressed, but was also polite enough that he wouldn't say anything.

The Commander said nothing, instead simply setting off in march after the Ranger.

 

[Kaska]

Not rescuing. Assisting. There was a big difference.

Kaska marched them all forward, her shoulders squared and her head held high to all the eyes she knew were on her. Attention was not a new thing to her, positive or negative. She walked forward unhindered by the judgment being leveled behind her. They still did not know her name. Or where she was talking them. And she didn't bother explaining. She pressed them forward with an insistent speed, and by nightfall the sound of water was in their ears, the river and it's boat up ahead.

She nodded in greeting to the old ranger captain, relieved for a familiar face.

She slowed and half turned to Saul, leveling with an authoritative tone, "You have an hour to eat and load. We will sail through the night until mid day. Tell your men to piss in the trees before then, we're not stopping for them." She turned to leave him with that order, intending to load herself onto the boat now.

 

[Saul Talith]

"She knows that you can piss over the side of a boat, right?"
​

One of the Templar said out loud behind, Saul. A small smile touched his face as he heard it, though with the muffling of a helmet he couldn't quite tell who the voice was.

"You can eat on a boat too."
​

Another voice chimed in. "Just get on the damn ship."

Saul motioned towards the other Templar who broke out into chuckles among themselves. There was a great clattering of armor and swords, other weapons as the thirty troops moved onto the sloop. In the back of his mind Saul thought about how unfortunate it would be if they met the Lich while still on the river.

Thirty Armored men drowned easily when thrown into water.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska gritted her teeth, it taking every ounce of her self-control not to turn on them and cuss them out.

So much for an attempt at offering a kind reprieve.

And they better not piss off the boat. "Fucking savages," she grumbled to herself, taking up her usual corner with her rain soaked pack. She resisted the urge to slip of Lia's heavy sword, her shoulder aching. Not worth it. Image was everything here.

As it turned out 32 people were a bit of a tight fit on a one level river boat, but it all worked out, Kaska managing to secure herself a few comfortable feet of free space around her, her ranger status earning her a small bubble of space that seemed, mostly, avoided.

They took off easily. She leaned against the railing, her throat in her stomach as she watched the distance shape of Alliria slip into the dusky horizon.

 

[Saul Talith]

Saul had sailed more than once in his life time, though usually it wasn't further than outside of the straits. Seeing Alliria disappear in the distance was always an odd sort of thing.

It was far faster than on horseback.

He frowned for a moment as he watched quietly, standing at the prow of the ship next to two of the other Templar. Most of them had spread themselves around the deck, taking off their armor and ensuring that they could be a bit more comfortable where they decided to sit.

Most were surprisingly in good spirits, likely happy about the thought of bailing Rangers out of trouble.

"Go talk to her." Saul said quietly to one of the Templar standing besides him. "See what you can learn."

Leane glanced at him, her shield and sword strapped to her back, and then slowly nodded. "Try to adopt some of Valerie's charm."

Saul felt a kick against the back of his calf.

 

[Kaska]

Leane walked over to her and could be seen leaning against the railing, attempting to make conversation with the ranger that now stood tense at her side. Kaska's expression remained closed off and unfriendly, what attempts Leane made to warm up to the girl rejected.

She came back to Saul with a slight purse to her lips, Kaska's abrupt manner grating her. "I'm going to take Valerie's charm and shove it up her ass," she grumbled, flopping down besides him.

 

[Saul Talith]

Saul shrugged. "Perhaps well send Owinn to seduce her next."

Leane stared at him.

A shrug rolled over his shoulders. The young Commander was not above prostituting his soldiers if it meant he could find out for sure what they were walking into. There was still quite a bit of this whole thing that they had not yet been told about.

Something that made him nervous.

A sigh escaped him, head shaking as he tossed his helmet over to Leane. He didnt want to set it down on the deck only to see it roll over into the sea a few moments later. He'd likely need it after all of this was said and done.

"Hold that." Saul said as he sighed again and went to talk with the Ranger.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska ignored his approach, her expression remained tense and shoulders squared.

"We'll be on here for seven days," was all the information she parted to him in that moment, sensing his intentions and throwing him a bone. She remained tight lip on the rest, finding herself with many reasons to fear imparting anything else.

Not until they were further away. Not until she could be sure nothing could go astray and get back to her father in Alliria. She wasn't going to mess this one up.

 

[Saul Talith]

"I need to know more." Saul said simply, squatting down in front of the Ranger. His face was as impassive as he could make it.

Direct conversation had always been a token of his, something that he used to approach those who often did not want to be approached. He didn't particularly care about being politic at the best of times, and now even less so. He had brought his men, they were on the ship, and now he deserved to know the whole of the truth.

If only so that he could make a plan.

"What fortress is the lich holed up in?" That was one of the most important things for him to know. "Has he raised anything else?"

There were many different kind of Liches. Some were adept at destroying villages, others could summon while armies. Some could do both. "I need to know."

 

[Kaska]

Kaska pursed her lips, taking a deep breath from her nose to keep herself in check. "I know you do. But not until we're farther out," she said firmly, looking away from the silhouette of Alliria to acknowledge him then.

"This is too big to risk, you'll just have to be patient. I will tell you everything you want to know on day four." She glanced behind her, an animalistic gleam to her eyes. She was fully aware just how overwhelmed and outnumbered she was to them, a fact that would pose for legitimate danger out on the streets.

She had every reason to be nervous about her own safety. And about what they could do with her information if they were still close enough to home and decided to turn back around. In some ways, she couldn't help but to feel like her and Lia were risking their careers if just a little, by playing so hard under the table.

But if her suspicions were right ... it may very well be the thing that saves them all.

"I know you don't have a reason to trust me," she commented, a bit of humble softness to her tone. "But I'm the one at risk here, so just for a moment ... trust that I wouldn't fuck that up."

Well. Anymore.

 

[Saul Talith]

He considered for a moment. Four days, that would only leave him three to plan.

Saul well understood her fear of course. She was a relatively tiny girl and right now she was outnumbered thirty to one. Fifteen if one counted the Ship captain. Hell, he himself probably would have been enough to just kill her and throw her into the river.

A thought that had likely already occurred to her. "The fortress."

The Commander repeated.

"Give me that at least." Everything else she could keep for now. "I can't plan an assault in three days."

Well he could, but it would be a bad one.

 

[Kaska]

She considered this, her hand tightening on the pommel of Lia's sword. "... Valeer," she finally relented, tension coating her tone. She glanced at him sideways, her nostrils flaring as she braces for the slightest sign of betrayal or ill will now that she had given him what he needed. He could still just throw her over and go for himself. He didn't need to include her at all.

Even though it was her ship.

Her knuckles were white on the pommel.

 

[Saul Talith]

Saul considered for a few seconds, his gaze traveling away from the girl and towards the shores.

Lips thinned. "An interesting choice."

Not one he would have made. Part of Templar education had always been learning about the dozens of fortresses and Keeps that were abandoned all around the world. Saul knew most of them off the top of his head, Valeer especially. It had been a key point during the second schism, what the Rangers called the Templar War. It was during that conflict that hia Chapter had come into being.

"It's an old Ranger Keep, three days ride from the Twin Holds." He was sure the girl knew that. "There's better citadels to occupy, especially in the Reach."

So why that one?

 

[Kaska]

Kaska pursed her lips, speaking tightly. "Yeah. I know." She turned back to the water, aware that she was not as blank of a book as she would like. But she never really had to tried to be.

Ah well. As long as the information stayed from him.

"And there will be no pissing over the boat." She added, an afterthought.

 

[Saul Talith]

A very odd chooce. He wondered if there was some type of connection. Liches were often bound to a certain place or object, somewhere or something thay held significance to them in life. It was one of the few ways to kill them. He frowned for a brief second, fingering the hilt of his sword.

He faced the water, ringing his knuckles against the wooden railing. "Stopping at the shore will slow us down."

Saul pointed out, not bothering to hide his amusement.

He wanted to know more aboutthe lich, but it was obviois to him at this point that Kaska would not be very forthcoming. Part of him was confident she didn't actually know anymore anyway. It of course left him with only a scant few details to go off of.

"The fortress was besieged by Templars at one point." He said quietly. "There's a tunnel that the Rangers used to supply themselves and hold out. Do you know where it is?"

It would be helpful.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska took a deep breath in and out, trying ever so hard to keep herself level.

Maybe that's why Lia chose her to carry out this mission. It wasn't because she trusted her-- she saw a moment to force Kaska into practicing manners. The thought was unhealthy, but it bubbled up all the same, Kaska's time away from Lia leaving her to slowly disintegrate towards old perspectives.

"I don't. But my Sergeant will. That was the one thing I didn't research with her. All the same, she will tell you when we get there. And we are stopping," she insisted without explanation. Her eyes flickered to her sword, an unconscious tick towards her reasons why.

She needed to train. Every day, she needed to force herself to lift the heavy sword and become quick at it. Time was closing in and she would could not afford to stay stagnant a week with a weapon so unfamiliar to her.

And she would absolutely not train in front of the other Templar. No way in hell would she let them see her in such a week state.

"If just for an hour. It's necessary." Lia could spare her that.

 

[Saul Talith]

Saul shrugged. "It's your friends."

Perhaps the girl was shy about peeing in front of others. Not everyone was used to the life of a soldier, though he found the hang up to be slightly odd coming from a Ranger. From what he heard of them they urinated all over one another all the time. Uncouth louts.

It didn't particularly matter to him all that much. A few hours difference in their arrival wouldn't end the world by any means, plus it might give them some time to scope things put more.

"You're not very affable, you know." It was an idle comment, not designed as a jab but a statement of fact.

Saul had met the gruff types before, especially in this life. There was something to be said about them, though just what the Templar didn't know.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska smiled tightly, not looking away from the water. "Yeah. I know." All the better, really. Not that she'd comment on that

She stretched out, then leaned against the railings, slowly finding it in herself to relax a little bit. "You wouldn't take me seriously otherwise," she stated bluntly.

 

[Saul Talith]

Saul let out a chuckle.

"I wouldn't say that." There was a difference between being affable and being a complete fool. Granted some folk took that line a bit too far, but the line was still more than there. He frowned for a brief moment.

Would he have taken her seriously?

The Commander would like to think he would. If only because Ana would have speared him for doing anything else.

"Despite the rumors were not all monsters." Saul contended. "Nor unreasonable."

 

[Kaska]

She gave him a thick look, her lips pursed and a brow raised in subtle challenge. "I hear your men when my back is turned. I was raised with Templar giving crap to my father, it didn't matter where we were, what we were doing. Unreasonableness is engrained in our interactions. Forgive me for not being more affable, but I've been tracking this fucker for four months and I don't care to risk it with jokes," she snapped, edgy.

She, at least, viewed this as a massive threat. Liches were run of the mill for Templar, equipped and trained to deal with the tricks up their sleeves. But rangers? She had walked in blind. And she had suffered for it, that much was clear as day, an animalistic fear tinging the edges of her expression.

 

[Saul Talith]

He shrugged. "Templar and Rangers have been fighting for so long that we're all taught to go at each others throats before we even meet."

That was certainly how Saul had remembered it. He'd hated the Rangers long before he had even met a single one of them. It was something that he found difficult to admit, if only because it made him seem a greater fool than he had any right to be in the first place.

"You should be proud for tracking it, Liches are notoriously difficult to keep up with when they're not locked in one place." Saul commented dryly. "Once free they tend to stick to their own schedule."

The fuckers were annoying. "We're ultimately here to help you. Not to take some imagined glory or slight you somehow."