Open Chronicles The Bounty

A roleplay open for anyone to join
"I didn't mean for you to tell me again. What I meant was; is that what you're thinking about? You're...much more preoccupied than I've seen you so far." If she was capable, Myrcella would have been able to make a break for it. But as it stands she wasn't. So she chose to stick with the hunter. "You're not ill, are you?"
 
"No. Just thinking. If I'm being honest, about this mission. Mostly, why you? Yes you're a nobleman's daughter, yes you're important, but there are so many equally easy targets with even greater importance. I'm not sure if it's personal, or if there's an ulterior motive. Either way, I'm taking you to them. You may think that if I doubt their motives why do it, no I am not blindly loyal, but I am being paid, so I do as I'm hired. Now let's get going."
 
Myrcella frowned a little as he told her to get going. With a small sigh she started walking. Of course what things the hunter was thinking of were things that she had been thinking if a lot. But it wasn't as though she had the answers.

"It's probably personal. Maybe to get after my Father or my Mother. And I told you that my parents would probably pay you more to take me back home.. So let's just go back."
 
"And I told you that it's more likely that they have me executed on the spot. I don't enjoy doing this, but for someone like me work is scarce and I need to take jobs where I can get them. Besides, we're almost there as it is, so turning back is not an option."
 
Almost there. That brought a cold chill down her spine. The last place that she wanted to be was wherever there was.

"What if you gave them their money back? And if you spent some of it, my Father could give you the difference. What about that? There's a good idea, don't you think?" Her nervousness started to get her to talk all the quicker.
 
He sighed. "Look, I understand how you feel. I know that your situation is rather unfair. But I cannot do that, I've known too many nobles and landowners to believe that they will do anything more than arrest who they don't like, regardless of crime."
 
"Well you don't know my father. And if I ask him not to punish you, he'd respect that." At least she thought as much. Her father tended to let her have her way. Not that she ever got into much trouble other than picking on her twin brother too much.
 
"And how can you be certain of that? Have you ever had children? And if that child was taken from you, how would you react?"
 
"No, I haven't had any children. I haven't been married yet. There hasn't been any suitors." Not that Myrcella had looked, yet. Her mother had suggested arramging a marriage for her, but she shied away from that.

"But we have horses. And sometimes one or two are stolen."
 
"It's not the same. Horses are domestic animals, children are things that you raise as your own, and oftentimes helped create. No, horses aren't the same."
 
Myrcella sighed. She loved her horse dearly. Been there with him since the day that he was born. And she looked after him well.

"You may treat horses in a certain way, but we look after them well. When you caught me I was just on my way to the barn to give my horse his bedtime snack and grooming. I did that every night. I don't leave his care to the stablehands."

It was difficult trying to get through to him, and she knew that once she saw other people that could be the ones that ordered her kidnapping, she was going to be very scared and nervous.
 
"Does it speak to you? Does it want you to hold it close to you? Is it so dear to you that you would throw down your life to save it's life? So dear to you that you would sell your soul to the devils to make sure that it was alive and well?"
 
"No, he doesn't talk. But he does give me hugs, shows me affection. But no...I don't think my Father would let me risk myself for him." As the discussion continued, Myrcella felt more and more like she didn't know anything about the outside world.

But that probably won't matter soon enough.
 
(Sorry for the wait, IRL stuff got in the way.)

He didn't respond. That day and the one that followed were relatively uneventful. On the morning of the third day, a town came into sight. They left the horse outside the city and went in, he put a traveling cloak on her to hide her bound wrists, but she would be able to see his hand on his dagger should she scream for help.

She was taken into a dark, deserted and filthy backstreet. There, three men in cloaks, their faces shrouded by the hoods, were waiting. The one upfront took her arm and said, "your payment is inside. Follow them and they will show you."
 
(No worries. It happens to all of us)

Myrcella hated being bound again. But did she really have a choice? No doubt the hunter's employers expected as much. But she walked slow, the one bit of defiance that she could muster.

People just went about their business. Maybe they had seen such things befire, she didn't know. But the smell of foods made her hungry.

The three cloaked men that she saw in the ally made her blood run cold. This was it. Her fate would be known. One took her arm and despite her fears, she spoke up. "Who are you?"
 
"That is not your concern. Now move." She was shoved far more roughly than Udalof ever did aside from her first day of being a kidnap victim. She was brought to the north side of town to be loaded into one of several covered wagons pulled by horses. Inside there were several others like her, young adults and juveniles, men and women alike, all wore moderately expensive to very expensive night clothes, some she might recognise from her being a nobleman's daughter.

Back with Udalof, he was brought inside, but he had a gut feeling that something was wrong. He turned around just in time to stop a dagger from coming down into his chest. He swiftly disarmed and slew the attacker then cut the throat of one of the cloaked figures and held the other at knifepoint. After a swift interrogation he killed the second one and donned his cloak. He went into the upper floors and searched the offices. He found the necessary documents and got out. He had business to attend to.
 
Myrcella nearly stumbled as she was pushed, her body still quite tired from the journey. None of her concern? Of course it was!

The wagon that she was put into was a bit of a relief, but also a great cause for concern. There were others inside that looked as though they were taken in the night too. "Do either of you know what's going on? Are we all to be hostages?" That was about all that she could guess, hostages to keep prominent Lords and Ladies from sending their soldiers to war.
 
By Udalof's findings, it was the exact opposite. The interrogation and the documents gave him sufficient evidence to believe that the ones responsible for hiring him wanted to start a war between the many regions of the kingdom, by making each noble believe that one of the others have their children. Now he understood, this wasn't about vengeance, he delivered her as nothing more than a means to an end. He wasn't the best person in the world, but he knew what lines shouldn't be crossed, and he turned the documents and reported the confession to the local militia, and a force was rallied quickly and several letters sent to each of the barons and nobles to explain the situation. But as for who was responsible was yet to be discovered.
 
None of the others in her wagon knew why they were kidnapped or by whom. Trying to escape wouldn't be very wise. They didn't know where they were. How long their respective journeys were, Myrcella didn't know either.

She resigned herself to leaning against another girl about her age, each of them taking comfort of company in their situation.

And that was when she heard the commotion from outside of the wagon. She moved over to one of the flaps and tried to move it to see what was going on.
 
When she looked out, she would be immensely surprised to see the cloaked men drawing swords to fight off the local militia. The militia weren't the armed with the best weapons or armour. They wore simple gambeson armour and carried wooden roundshields coupled with short spears.

The wagons began moving, and in a rush. They were suddenly rushing down the dirt road away from the fighting, they couldn't lose their hostages. The militia fell behind and it seemed all was lost until a pained whinny was heard and the wagon suddenly turned to the side and flipped over onto it's side. A horse's galloping hooves could be heard as they passed, and the snap of a powerful bow being fired could be picked up by keen ears.

The three other carts met similar fates. The drivers were slaughtered, no, butchered by the mystery saviour. Who turned out to be the one who delivered Myrcella to the cloaked men in the first place.
 
Myrcella thpught that they were saved, for the briefest of moments. But then she fell back in the wagon as it took off, landing onto one of the other hostages. The ongoing ride was bumpy and being bound, it was difficult for anyone to keep purchase on their seats.

And then it happened. The wagon tipped over. Everyone screamed as they fell on top of eachother, unsure of what was going to happen next. Were they to be killed too?

A few were brave enough to venture out, Myrcella included. She crawled out and moved the folds of her dress so that she could stand. She brushed her hair away from her face and saw her kidnapper killing the last of the drivers. All that she could do was watch in frozen silence.

Who was he working for now?
 
The militia came by swiftly, seeing to any injuries and answering questions about how they found them. Udalof returned to the militia and apparently was giving them instructions, since they weren't exactly high ranking and he was a scary guy they did as he ordered for the most part. He and a few others got the wagons back up and in working order.

The militia captain then spoke to those recovered. "Everyone, your attention please! I know that many of you are confused about what is going on, and I would expect nothing else, you will get your answers! But first, you must be moved to safety! From the evidence brought to us from an anonymous witness suggests that those who ordered the abduction of each of you have a great many resources available to them and many city contacts, therefore you will be moved to one of our frontier outposts to be guarded! Meanwhile we will see to it that the information we possess is brought to the proper authorities! We will find those responsible for this, and see you home! For this task, someone has volunteered to help protect you from any recovery attempts made by this mystery organisation! A man by the name of Udalof, a mercenary, and fairly well revered in the underground! You will be safe with him!"
 
Myrcella was ever so greatful that their bindings were severed. She rubbed her wrists and then checked out the bruises that she gained from the wagon overturning. Was she cut too? It was hard to tell in some places, but she didn't believe so.

Her attention turned to the militia captain and at first she was relieved that they were all rescued. That is until they were all told that they could still be recaptured and had to be taken to some outpost. What also caught Myrcella by surprise was the fact that her kidnapper was now their protector.

Is this what he was busy thinking about these past few days? She quietly walked over to him. "Udalof? Is what the man is saying true?"
 
"It is. I agreed to deliver you, but I wasn't aware of the magnitude of what they were planning. I didn't sign up to start a war." He tells her. "Stay with the rest, the militia will keep you protected while I clear the area."
 
Myrcella nodded and stayed where she was told. She wasn't the most valuable target that was captured, but she was certainly one of an extensive list. And everyone looked just as confused as she did.

This was indeed most distressing news. There was no doubt that her Father would go after those responsible. And now she had her word to uphold. Yes Udalof took her to the ones that hired him, but he also ensured her release and the release of others. She'll have to do everything that she can to keep her Father from wanting his head.

It was going to be a long journey home. And there was still this mystery group to look out for.
 
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