52. Travelers
Cerone and Alyssa hadn't moved from their defensive positions, but the calm and slightly irritated words from the man didn't seem hostile. The man held a hand to his face. Turning to look at the man he called Rau. "Do you realize how long we have been tracking these kids? We have to backtrack days of travel now!" He smacked the side of the mans head and Alyssa managed to picked up a whispered sorry, over and over from Rau. The first man turned back around and let down the hood over his head. He was a striking beauty. He had a perfect jade like face. His eyes shone like bright diamonds and his silky black hair held in a perfect slicked back style, which only further accentuated his looks.
"Sorry for the fright kids. What are you three doing out here all alone though? We are far from any city or village right now." The man looked past Cerone to see Rys and he frowned. The children definitely weren't related and they looked to be around the same age. He started to make wild assumptions and theories before the woman to his right disrupted him. "Nort, they're just kids, stop scaring them." The woman undid her hood and stepped further into the light. Just like the man she was an exceptional beauty. She had dark brown eyes and auburn hair that laid down on her shoulders in perfect loose curls. Both of them were far taller than what normal humans were, but unlike elves they didn't have pointed ears. The woman undid her pack and set it down, then removed the rest of the dark robe. This revealed the tight-fitting leather armor that covered her body, showing curves in all the right places. On her hips was a saber and a short cross bow. She removed the weapons, setting them down slowly and began to approach Cerone and Alyssa.
"It's ok kids, we aren't here to hurt you. We have been tracking you by mistake. Is it alright if we share this fire with you and we have a chat?" The woman got down on a knee and brushed a stray strand of hair away. Cerone and Alyssa still hadn't moved, but Rys was the one to speak up. "Guys, I think its alright. If they wanted to hurt us, I don't think we stood a chance. Look at his neck." The two girls looked back to the guy. Just like Rys said on the man's neck was a blessing sigil, only it was one everyone knew. People whispered about it often and spoke of it with reverence. The sigil of the hero. Every generation a number of people are born with the blessing of the hero, and an equal amount are born with the blessing of the villain. They are diametrically opposed and always in conflict. The blessing of the hero forces a person to be righteous and good, while the blessing of the villain forces a person to be vile and devious.
Cerone and Alyssa relented their defensive posture and took a seat. "We are sorry, its been a rough fight for most of our travels so far. Please join us. We don't have much though, I'm sorry."
The man laughed heartily. "I like you kids! I'm surprised you noticed the sigil so quickly! And don't worry about anything, we are intruding on your camp. We will provide food." The man beamed a wonderful smile. "I'm Nort! This is Rau, our tracker." Nort pointed a thumb in the direction of the man he had berated earlier. Rau only gave a slight nod at the three of them. "This is Uvolia, our scout." He pointed to the woman, who smiled politely at the kids. "And this is Breken, our brawler." The last man undid his hood. What they had assumed was a pack was actually a massive hammer strapped to his back. He grunted as his bulging form was revealed. The man was a walking mass of muscle. "And together this is the hero's party!" Nort held his hands out in a grand gesture, something that was clearly rehearsed.
The four of them quickly took a seat around the fire and Rau began cooking a meal from supplies in his pack for the seven of them. Uvolia got back to the point at hand after the simmering of food began. "So why are three young kids out here in the wilderness?" Uvolia seemed genuinely worried about them.
"We are trying to get to the port. We want to travel the world!" Cerone expertly lied, even managing to feint excitement that would make the greatest actors jealous. "We were slaves during the Ryden and Morden conflict, but our master died, giving us our freedom and now we want to explore the world." Cerone acted childish, but it only sold the lie further, hiding the truth of them being hunted. Uvolia took the bait with sincerity.
"Oh my, what grand ambitions! You do realize it's very expensive to get passage, right?" Uvolia spoke earnestly. Cerone and Alyssa nodded their heads. Rys had leaned back against the wall, he had opted for avoiding the conversation and resting. "Well how do you plan to get the money you need?" Uvolia continued.
This froze the two girls as they looked at each other. "Umm, we aren't actually sure yet." Alyssa spoke. This caused Nort to give out another hearty laugh. "Big dreams are enough to start your journey, but you're going to need a more concrete plan to get you there." He bellowed. "Uvolia tell them about your family, you kept complaining that your parents needed more hired help, how about hiring these kids until they can afford passage?" Nort asked Uvolia.
Uvolia froze up and looked menacingly at Nort. "Stop trying to always meddle and help everyone. And I know it's not your blessings fault so don't even start!" Uvolia snapped. She sighed after a minute, contemplating what he had said though. Alyssa and Cerone looked at her expectantly. Uvolia clicked her tongue and looked to the three kids. "I suppose Nort is right though. My parents run a storage house in Afeerbah and they are getting older and need some people to take inventory and do more of the day to day foot work. Would you three be willing to help with that?"
Before they could speak she continued though. "You have to know how to read and write though!" Alyssa and Cerone's excitement dwindled. Alyssa's commoner family didn't teach her and Cerone had been taken at such a young age she never had a chance to learn. Rys leaned up off the back wall though. "I can read and write well, but these two cannot. Is that enough?" Uvolia nodded her head and reached back to her pack. She scribbled something on a sheet of paper and handed it to Rys. "Take this to Breeze storage and holdings. I don't know how much they will pay, but it will be enough to at least live in the port until your older to get better paying jobs." Uvolia gave a smile at the three of them. Rys took the note, folding it up squarely and tucking it into his pack. "Thank you Uvolia." He spoke.
The group had a merry conversation for the rest of the night before going to sleep. The food Rau cooked was amazing and Breken ate enough food that it may have been more efficient to just roast an entire deer for him alone.
As they slept a noise jolted Alyssa awake. Days of travel on their own had caused her sound sensitivity to jump up significantly. She was now stirred awake by any noises out of the ordinary. Alyssa stood and looked past the dying embers of the fire. The rain had stopped, and moonlight now gave a haunting glow to the surroundings. Looking out into the dark she noticed movement of small figures, led by one larger figure. Alyssa squinted, trying to see better in the dim light. An arrow flew past her and struck the wall. "Wake up, ambush!" Alyssa shouted as she dove for cover. Cerone quickly gained her wits about her and stood in a defensive posture. This wasn't the first time they had been ambushed on the road. Rys also stirred. He had refined himself enough on the road at this point to be useful in a fight.
The group made a fatal mistake though. They had been used to traveling alone at this point and being in the church they could always freely use their abilities. Cerone cast the red mist and Rys began summoning vines out of the ground. The hero's party looked bewildered by the skills. "What they hell is this?" Uvolia exclaimed.
The group of three looked at each other and collectively thought. 'Shit now they know.' The confusion of the hero's party was set aside for now though as goblins began rushing into the camp one after another. Nort and Breken took the front and drew swords, slashing at the first that entered into arms reach. Uvolia took out the crossbow and began firing it at goblins. Every shot landed and the arrows caused the small bodies of the creatures to swell up and explode shortly after. Rau began casting small magics, each landing with lethal accuracy and with just enough force for a kill.
The group of three gritted their teeth and joined in the assualt. Rys used his vines to control the goblins and make them easier to hit or kill, Cerone casted fire magic and Alyssa used blasts of sound to stun and kill.