Open Chronicles The Geatest Show!

[Kiileet Glassdancer]

Twenty wagons slogged through a dreary last stretch of muddy road on their way to the great city of Alliria. A heavy rain had carried on through the night which didn't make traveling ideal, but with their objective so close it would have been a shame to stop.
The wagon train kept a steady pace with their horse and ox drawn wagons heavily laden with their tents and amusement equipment and tools as well as the covered wagons carrying the staff and workers, as well as a few travelers they picked up along the way.
The train was traveling along the Allirian straight following the muddy road that was non-the-less well traveled, some people sang songs from the wagons as they traveled, some of the musicians practiced their routines while on the road which helped keep most predators warned and away, a few mercenary guards rode along the edges of the caravan, but they were relaxed without any danger in sight for miles.

Kiileet Was sitting not far from the leading wagon, just a couple wagons back next to the driver of his wagon with his feet propped up on the foot board as he enjoyed the smell of the fresh rainfall in the autumn air while the soft music drifted up from the passenger wagons to cheer the traveling troupe.
He had his tall hat tipped down to cover his face as he leaned back in a completely relaxed posture with his hands behind his head and a light smile danced on his lips in the serenity of the scene.
In spite of the muddy road they were making good time, and thanks to the carpenter they met a while back, no wheels have fallen off yet.
Since he wasn't really sleepy but just enjoying the early morning, he would glance up from time to time from under the brim of his top hat to admire the shore and the Allirian Strait.

 

[Canso]

It was rare for him to leave the city. Not that he had any particular qualms for doing so, Allria was just simply the best place for a street performer to do his trade. The bustling streets of the Outer City meant that at least one or two people from any given crowd would be interested in seeing what he had to show.

But out here on roads…

Sure, he’d see people milling about, usually either heading towards Allria, or like him, leaving the city. Most were more concerned about their own belongings, or making sure that they got to whatever ass-end of the world they headed towards as soon as possible. Not to mention the traders and merchants who would scoff at whatever poor lout happened to come too close. It would be difficult to make a life for oneself out on these roads. At least, it would be difficult to be a performer out here.

As it so happened Canso was as giddy as one could be. After accidentally knocking into a lone merchant on the road, he happened to come across a small pouch of coin. The luck! Of course, the merchant, who quickly realized he’d lost his pouch was much less happy, and had chased Canso right off the road and into the wilderness. Thankfully he’d been able to lose the merchant shortly afterward, but he took his time before returning to the open road. Deciding not to tempt Lady Luck by heading back to the main road, Canso instead opted to take another - more scenic - route back to the city.

A grin plastered on his face, he placed the coin purse into his coat’s pocket. A small sigh of relief escaped his mouth, the adrenaline rush finally starting to die down.

Now, all he’d have to do was head back to town, maybe accidentally run into someone else along the way. Someone less observant than the merchant this time, so he could avoid another game of cat and mouse. Hopefully he’d be back by evening, where he could put the coin to good use. Ah, it really was so much easier to borrow items from the careless out here. Few guards, no ruckus, and a lot of area to run. Why hadn’t he thought of this sooner?

Making his way down the beaten path, he slightly cursed the mud that was starting to rub into his boots. Perhaps going back to the main road would’ve been a smarter idea. Sure, he risked running into the merchant again, but gods… it would take him forever to get all the mud off of his shoes.

That was when he heard the sound of oncoming traffic, too late, as it would turn out, as he’d been too preoccupied with the mud. By the time that he turned around, he noticed a bunch of wagons heading in his direction. He attempted to step back quickly - too quickly as it would turn out, as the accursed mud propelled him backwards so he landed with a sickening smack into the wet ground.

Was this what people meant by karmic justice?

 

[Kiileet Glassdancer]

The first couple of wagons passed by the fallen man on the side of the road, but when Kiileet saw the man sitting in the mud he grinned, hopped out of his wagon and trotted up to him.

He stopped beside the man and gave him a quick look over before addressing him, "Ey there lad, seems a rather odd place to take a breather, don't-cha think? Come ride with us a wee while if we be heading in the same d-rection, yeah?"

He took off his top hat with a flourish and bent down to offer the man his gloved hand with a warm smile on his face.