Paths of Eriador Free RP

[Romeran]

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Haldan and Scout
Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains
@Rillewen

The potentially dire situation both with the weather and with the children running away from some unknown group of people was completely lost on Scout. The wolfhound knew he was supposed to watch over Fern but mostly he was excited to go outside with the girl and also excited for food later. As soon as they stepped outside the dog practically pounced into the snow. Fern exclaimed eagerly at the sight of the snow and Scout’s actions seemed to mimic the sentiment.

The arc of the snowball and Fern’s command immediately sprung the wolfhound into action. Despite his best efforts, however, he was unable to catch the snowball before it hit the snow. Nevertheless, Scout dived into the snow as if he would be able to recover the snowball from the pile of snow, fruitless though that effort would certainly be. Scout only dug around for a few moments before himself realizing he wouldn’t be able to find the snowball. He looked up and back towards Fern, snow covering his muzzle like a beard.

In the ranger hut, Haldan and Thorn worked diligently. It was Thorn who eventually broke the silence. Haldan wondered if perhaps he had come to realize that the ranger’s food store would now have to feed more mouths.

“I’m sure that would have been difficult. Usually people don’t leave their food lying around in convenient places for runaways to steal.” He said, truthfully. Haldan expected by this point that the children had clearly run from an unfortunate situation which likely meant that other people may have tried or considered running. When holding onto, more or less, captives, it generally meant that important supplies for survival were likely kept under watchful eye to prevent runaways from thinking it would be easy to steal important supplies.

“And I imagine you likely left in some haste and when the opportunity arose.” He added, assuming further explanation. He did not want to directly ask questions, but perhaps if he showed that he understood their predicament and the decisions they had made then they would be more likely to open up to him.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

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Thorn and Fern
Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains

Laughing lightly as she watched Scout run after the ball of snow, which soon disappeared into the rest of the snow, she wondered if he would actually find it. But it seemed that no, there was no scent on the snow that would help him to distinguish one clump of snow from another. Or so she guessed. That was how dogs find things, right? That's what she believed was the case, anyway.

She made another one, despite it making her hands cold. "Here, catch!" She tossed this one more toward the dog, this time, so that all he had to do was jump up a bit and catch it. She found it funny to watch when he caught the snowballs, as the ball would burst into a puff of powdery snow.

After several more snowballs thrown to the dog in that fashion, she eventually decided she felt too cold to keep it up. Taking the pot she'd brought out with her, she went over and found a nice clean patch of snow and packed as much of it into the pot as she could fit. In fact, it was heaped up. She figured, since it was all fluffy and powdery, there must be a lot of air in there. So, as it began to melt, there would be less water than snow, so it would be better to have more than they appeared to need.


Thorn frowned slightly as Haldan replied. He inwardly debated how much to tell, and how much he ought to keep to himself. There were some things he worried, if he told too much, the ranger might figure out something that Thorn didn't want known, and he didn't know him well enough to be completely sure whether he might decide they should go home, if he learned things he didn't like about them. He tried to put aside what knowledge his family had always given him about rangers, and also, what he knew his family would do in Haldan's position.

"We just.. weren't able to bring anything besides what we've got," He answered after a moment. "We were sent on some errands. I figured people would have asked too many questions if we'd tried to bring anything else." He explained, as vaguely as he could manage. And hopefully, that might be enough to make him understand something about it. "We were supposed to be back by lunchtime, so they would have wondered why we were bringing food and any other supplies, so... they might have gotten suspicious." He kept his gaze down as he focused on peeling the vegetables.

[Romeran]

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Haldan and Scout
Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains
@Rillewen

When the snowball was thrown directly towards him, scout jumped into the air and caught the snowball in his mouth. White snow sprayed out in manifold directions collapsing instantly as Scout closed his jaw around it, trying to catch the 'ball'. Regardless of his inability to catch the snowball, Scout did not seemed bothered and excitedly attempted to catch several more, with the outcome being the same in every case. The wolfhound appeared to be very much enjoying this play, and wagged his tail eagerly, dropping into a play bow between each toss of the elusive snowballs. Eventually, Fern decided that they had a real task to attend to, much to Scout's chagrin. He calmed quickly, however, and instead sniffed the air and walked in a wide circle nearby Fern, looking back over to the girl repeatedly.

Meanwhile in the hut, as Haldan worked he did not press the issue with Thorn. The ranger was somewhat concerned about the circumstances of who held -- kidnap? -- children in such a manner that they would choose to run away. Was this a threat which Haldan and the other rangers should be aware of? Clearly they had fed the children lies about the rangers, that they had heard of them at all was already somewhat surprising. But Haldan did not feel he had yet earned the boy's trust. Fern was younger, and seemed more willing to trust him, but Thorn was older and clearly felt protective over his younger sister and the need to guard information. Pushing them too hard, would likely result in them pulling away rather than offering any information. There would be time, he decided, the weather was likely to make certain of that.

"A reasonable decision." Haldan said, while it was perhaps not wise to leave with so few supplies, Haldan assumed it was unlikely they would have been able to do so otherwise. Without any better understanding of their circumstances, it was hard for Haldan to suggest whether the alternative of staying was a better decision or not. So he had concluded with 'reasonable'. Given the assumption that they must escape, it seemed logical enough.

"You think they will look for you." he said. It seemed like a question but it came out more like a statement.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

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Thorn and Fern
Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains

Thorn decided to keep quiet, and not offer anything more about their predicament. He paused to think when the ranger spoke of whether 'they' would come after them. "Yeah, I reckon they might." He agreed reluctantly, holding back a sigh. His mother would not likely let him go that easily. He wondered whether she'd have any worries about their safety, or if she only cared that their leaving would be quite a nuisance to her, and would negatively impact her operation.

He considered things while he finished up with the vegetables. "Maybe.. we've traveled far enough, they'll give up." He couldn't help hoping. With how cold it was, and the sudden snow, maybe they'd assume that the two would have surely perished from cold, and that there was no point in continuing a search. Though, if he knew his mother, she'd insist that they keep looking until they found something.

Fern came in about that time, breathless, her cheeks red from the cold, but grinning. "It's so much fun!" She declared. "Thorn, we should go out later! We could have a snowball fight." She giggled as she set down the pot, heaped with snow. "Ohhh, we could make a snow ranger!" She suggested with a grin. "Want to help, Haldan?" She asked, hoping to get him involved as well.

"I don't think we'll have a lot of time for playing... We have to cook supper, and then we'll need to sleep. And then we'll be leaving pretty early.. right?" Thorn mentioned, glancing at Haldan questioningly. Then, sighing slightly, he frowned at his sister. "Fern, close the door, it's cold out there."

Rolling her eyes, Fern closed the door after Scout had come in. "It wouldn't take that long, would it?" She looked at Haldan questioningly. "If you helped, we could make a bigger snowman, faster." She mentioned, smiling hopefully. "Maybe while the food's cooking, or something? I've never made a snowman before."

[Romeran]

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Haldan and Scout
Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains
@Rillewen

Haldan simply grunted in acknowledgement of the confirmation that whoever Thorn and Fern ran from would likely look for them. He wondered how many and how well armed. But the boy did not seem forthcoming with any further information so Haldan decided not to pursue the matter.

“I expect the weather should at least set them back as much as it set us back.” Haldan has no clue how quickly they were likely to give up on the search not really knowing who they were or why the children had left — and what whoever was looking for them wanted from the children. Haldan was confident in his ability to move quickly and with minimal trace through almost any terrain but he had been slowed down by the children. He lacked confidence that they would have reasonably outpaced someone following them. Especially if they had a degree of skill in the woods like the ranger had. Not that he knew anything about the people who may have been following them.

Presently, however, Fern returned from gathering snow to melt and boil. Scout had followed her in and had snow all over his face and back. Clearly the two of them had enjoyed themselves outside. Haldan wasn’t particularly surprised. Scout was still a relatively young dog and full of energy. The wolfhound enjoyed playing and enjoyed the company of children although he only got to spend time with them infrequently, usually when they went to visit Haldan’s father’s village.

“I’m glad you two had fun.” He said, truthfully. Children and young dogs had plenty of energy and they would sleep well tonight he guessed. Haldan held his hand out to take the pot from Fern and went to put it on the stove. The water would boil first and then he would work on making a stock and then a stew once he fished out the bones.

Thorn seemed far more serious than his younger sister. He was clearly still quite concerned about their predicament and escaping whoever may, or may not, be following them. Haldan didn’t say anything as the two of them talked. But eventually when there was a pause he weighed in.

“Weather permitting we will leave fairly early. But we will see what happens tonight with the weather. If it gets much worse we may be better off waiting out the snow storm here.” He said first in response to Thorn’s question.

“I can do the cooking here, if you two would like to go spend some time in the snow.” He said. “But take Scout with you.” The dog would enjoy more time with the children but would also be a good watch dog and would herd them inside rapidly if something seemed awry. “But don’t go out of sight of the cabin and don’t stay out after dark. There’s probably no more than an hour left of light this far north at this time of year.” Perhaps playing with Scout and Fern for a little outside might ease Thorn’s nerves and let him relax a little. Besides Haldan wouldn’t mind the peace and quiet while he prepared dinner.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

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Thorn and Fern
Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains

Fern couldn't help grinning when Haldan took away any excuse Thorn had for not coming out to play. While she had been asking Haldan if he would come play, and even help make the snow-ranger, she was also fine with just Thorn coming out to play. And Scout! She grabbed Thorn's arm. "See, we'll have plenty of time! Come on!"

Thorn hesitated slightly. But, he had finished with the vegetables, and it seemed all the other tasks had been done, except for actually putting the meal together. And he didn't know how to do that. "Alright, fine." He agreed, getting up, and grabbed the wolf pelt he had been using for a cloak. "But only until it gets dark, and then we come inside." He told her, leading the way outside as he put the borrowed fur hat on his head.

"Yay!" She grinned at Haldan thankfully, then put her hat back on and hastened after her brother. "Come on Scout!" She encouraged, holding the door so he could come out with them. And soon, they were outside, working to make a snowman in between throwing a few snowballs back and forth, or throwing one for Scout now and then. Neither Fern nor Thorn really knew how to make a snowman look like a ranger, as she wanted to do, but they ended up sticking a small branch of pine needles onto the chin part of the completed creation, giving it a 'beard' similar to what Haldan had. Fern giggled as she stood back and admired their work, then thought it needed something. "Maybe we could give him a sword?" She suggested, looking at her brother thoughtfully.

Thorn considered that, then found a branch that had two little twigs branching off in either direction, which made it look a lot like a long blade with a hilt, and then a handle. He leaned that against the snowman's side. "There. He's got a sword now." He declared, nodding in satisfaction.

By then, it was starting to get a little dark, and he noticed that it felt colder, too. "Let's go in and see if supper is nearly done," he suggested, noticing that he was starting to shiver and his hands felt very cold. Fern must be about the same, he figured. "Come on, time to go in." He wasn't sure how much Scout understood of their words, but he figured if they both started inside, he would surely know to come along, right?

[Romeran]

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Haldan and Scout
Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains
@Rillewen

The water started to boil shortly after the children and Scout had gone outside. Haldan added the bones from both the fish and the grouse into the boiling water. The leftover end bits of the vegetables and skins (both meat and vegetable) he also placed into the pot and finally some of the salt and ground herbs he kept in a small box. This would create the stock of the stew that they would eat. As the water boiled the smell of the cooking bones and vegetables filled the cabin. Haldan skimmed off the scum forming on the top, having fallen off the bones and vegetables as the stock boiled, until the stock ran clean. Eventually, he also removed all of the vegetable ends and bones, leaving only the broth. Small bubbles of oil could be seen in the broth from the small amount of fat that remained on the bones.

Once the stock was created, Haldan added in the vegetables. They would take longer to cook than the meat. Haldan busied himself keeping the pot from boiling over, tending the fire on the stove, and tidying up around the cabin. Eventually he added the meat gauging roughly when the vegetables would be done. Even Haldan's stomach was beginning to rumble as the smell inside the cabin wafted over him again. The children and Scout should return soon, he guessed. It wasn't dark yet but he could tell from the little light that was entering from the outside that it would be so shortly. The muffled sound of the children playing, talking, and laughing along with the occasional bark or jump from Scout would make its way into the cabin, reassuring Haldan of the children's presence and proximity.

Meanwhile, Scout was thoroughly enjoying playing with the children, catching snowballs, and chasing them as they played in snow fights. He did not understand the snow man (or snow-ranger) that they were building. The children in Haldan's father's home would often build such strange things with the snow, but Scout never really understood. They never smelled like humans, or animals of any form, so the idea that this was meant to represent a man went straight over Scout's fluffy head. He cocked his head curiously as they worked, but eventually paced around and sniffed the air, eventually finding a comfortable spot in the snow where he could simultaneously watch the children construct their snow creation while also watching for any unexpected visitors.

Scout could easily smell the food cooking from within the cabin as his sense of smell was far better than Haldan's or any other person's. Eventually he couldn't stand it anymore and got up from where he sat and wandered towards the smell of food. The children seemed mostly done, and were adding some sort of finishing touches to their creation, although he still did not understand what it was meant to be. Scout was now looking more forward to food, than he was to playing outside. He was glad when Fern indicated that it was time to go in, and followed after the children quickly.

"Just in time for food" Haldan said, as they entered.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

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Thorn and Fern
Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains

"It smells delicious!" Fern declared eagerly, glad that it was warm enough inside that she could shed the outer wear and leave it to dry by the fire. She bounced over happily. "We made a snow-ranger." She informed him with a grin. "You should go see him. I'm not really sure what rangers look like, except for you, so we tried to make him look sorta like you." She explained, then tried to see into the pot that Haldan was tending. "Do we have enough bowls?" She suddenly wondered, concerned, since the ranger probably only had enough for himself, right? And she hadn't seen any extras anywhere.

Thorn made sure the door was closed after them, and nodded slightly in satisfaction to himself, upon seeing Fern going over near the fire. She had her hands put out near it, to warm them. He soon joined her. Hearing the question about bowls, it reminded him of yet another thing they ought to have brought along. If only he could have prepared a little better. And maybe he should have waited a bit more, found a better opportunity, but he also didn't know how much longer he could have waited without risking Fern's safety.

[Romeran]

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Haldan and Scout
Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains
@Rillewen

Haldan couldn't help but smile at the reference of the 'snow ranger', letting out a small chuckle at the idea. He supposed that meant they no longer found him particularly scary, which was a good thing given the tales they had told about rangers. The children seemed to be slowly warming to him, and if he was honest with himself he was warming to the children as well.

"I'll make sure to take a look after we eat." he said. And since he would likely go out to smoke his pipe before bed, he wasn't lying, even if he was likely to have gone outside regardless.

"For now let's eat" He said. Fern's question was timely and reasonable. "If you check the drawers underneath the bed where I got those chopping boards there should be a few wooden bowls and some wooden spoons as well" he instructed Thorn who he had guessed saw from where he retrieved the boards. The ranger pointed towards the drawer as he did so, to ease any confusion.

While this particular cabin was largely used by Haldan alone (not including Scout and Willow) he rarely used more than one bowl and he did not carry more than one either. But regardless he kept extra bowls here both so that he could replace them over time when he revisited and to share in case he, or another passing ranger, had unexpected companions. A ranger could never be too prepared.

Meanwhile, Scout moved as close to the fire, and conveniently the food, as he could. The snow on his pelt melted and then converted to steam as it warmed from the furnace. Scout's tongue hung out as he watched the boiling pot of stew that Haldan was now stirring. "There's some special food for you as well, Scout" the ranger said.

When the children were ready and had retrieved the bowls, the ranger ladled the soup out to the three bowls generously. He put the giblets from the fish and grouse into Scout's bowl from Haldan's gear bag and gave it to the dog to eat as they ate as well. While the beds made for fine seating, if one preferred, Haldan sat cross-legged by the fire. He smelt the soup deeply a few times before he ate. In a city it wouldn't have been called fragrant or aromatic, but in the wilds and with the snow outside, to Haldan both fragrant and aromatic seemed perfectly apt descriptions. Haldan blew on the broth several times before eating, but still found the soup too hot and inhaled sharply trying cool the food in his mouth, looking over with a small grin to the children in humor over his eagerness.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

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Thorn and Fern
Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains

Thorn soon found the bowls, and it didn't take long before they sat down with a bowl of stew each. Haldan quickly proved that it was too hot, so Thorn set his aside for a minute to cool.

Beside him, Fern blew on the surface of the stew a few times, then filled a spoon about halfway and blew on it several times before testing to see if it was cool enough. She decided this worked well enough and continued this process for several more bites. "It's really good." She declared.

Thorn held off from daring the hot stew for as long as he could before testing a spoonful after blowing on it. He had to be cautious with it, but it wasn't long before he was able to eat slowly, same as Fern. He tried to be careful not to burn his mouth, but it was a bit difficult to manage until the stew had cooled a bit.

"So, how far are we from where we're going, anyway?" Fern asked in between bites. She felt like they must be nearly there, right? They'd been walking for ages and ages already. But then, she wondered if the snow had slowed them down somewhat, but she figured they should be close-ish, right?

Thorn glanced toward Haldan as he waited to hear the answer to Fern's question, as he really had no idea. He knew how long they'd traveled with their family to get from where they used to live, and therefore how long it ought to have taken for them to get back in that region. But he also suspected he may have wandered around lost for a few hours before he and Fern took shelter in the cave where Haldan found them. They might be way off course, for all he knew.

[Rillewen]

Private - Solo thing

"Blade" & Ruby
In a small village located near the Greenway
Fourth age; after the return of the king

“The road is in desperate need of repair!” Blade announced loudly to the gathered crowd of villagers. “As you well know, the Greenway is called such because it is covered in grass, it has fallen into such a state of disrepair. While it is not the only portion between here and the beautiful White City, which have fallen into decay, overgrown with weeds, barely even findable anymore, it is the longest." He explained. "The king has sent us, as his Ambassadors, on this mission to gather all the workers we can muster, from every city, village, and hamlet.” He looked around at the villagers. Some looked intrigued, already eager to pitch in and help, while others looked skeptical and hesitant, while one or two looked a little annoyed. They weren’t going to get enough volunteers, so he improvised, altering the ‘request’ to a ‘demand’. “It’s vitally important that everyone does his or her part, and therefore, the King has decreed that anyone with strong arms and a strong back, capable of physical labor, must put in a months’ worth of labor on these repairs.” He held up a rather official-looking scroll as if to show proof, and proceeded to read from it, “Anyone who refuses this mandate shall, instead, spend that month in gaol for defying the orders of the king.”

He glanced around as a slightly shocked murmur swept through the crowd. “Please, I urge you to think of this as a great opportunity to better your beloved, reunited kingdom.” He spoke up, above the noise. “We each must do our part in restoring the kingdom to its former glory. Imagine, once the roads are repaired, how much easier it will be to travel from city to city! Trade between different areas will certainly increase! Your small village would thrive, and blossom into a bustling town before long.”

“And as for those who can’t work on the repairs, in person,” Ruby put in, casting a glance around at the gullible villagers, gathered to listen to this proclamation from the ‘King’s Ambassadors’, “any monetary contributions would go a long way toward helping achieve this monumental goal. Building a road is tremendously expensive, and our gracious king prefers not to enforce any new taxes to see it done. Yet, if you would consider an offering to aid in this effort, he would be highly pleased with your dedication to this cause. The more money we can raise on a voluntary basis, the less he will have to tax you, later.” She explained. “This is your land, after all. Don't you want to see it flourish? What’s a few coins now, maybe a bit of jewelry.. compared to the riches that you’ll have pouring in once this road is restored?”

As the crowd murmured among themselves, Ruby managed not to grin as it seemed the people were buying their story. A few of the people even began to come forth, some eager to offer what they had on hand. A few others still seemed hesitant, but what could they do against the threat of being imprisoned? She didn’t really care how willing they were; what mattered was that they did it.

The couple continued their con, building up the value of having a good, proper road, and stressing the fact that those who refused to help in some manner would be imprisoned. By the time Ruby and Blade were finished, most of the villagers had declared their intentions to aid in the rebuilding of the road, anxious not to spend that time in a cell. For those people who continued to murmur in discontent and worry, Blade and Ruby spent some time reassuring them that all would be well, just as long as they followed the king’s orders. It wasn’t the first village that had been scammed by the bandits, nor was it likely to be the last.

“We begin tomorrow morning.” Blade declared, after getting a rough count of how many folks were signed up to have a hand in rebuilding the great East road that would unite the different parts of the kingdom. “We will meet at the old bridge at sunrise.” He told them, looking around. “Bring any tools you have. Shovels, pickaxes, things of that sort. And remember, this country is ours, all of us! We must all work together to make it better and more beautiful!"

"And the king will most certainly look favorably toward anyone willing to offer his or her time and effort toward bettering the realm.” Ruby reminded them with a smile. With that, the two “King’s Ambassadors” bid the people a good evening, and set off back toward their camp.

---

“Suckers,” Ruby laughed as she and Blade joined the rest of the camp. “So, looked like about two dozen, right?”

“Yeah, give or take a few." Blade grinned. "Hopefully they’ll bring even more folks, tomorrow.” He smirked. “So we’d better make sure we’ve got our archers ready to surround them once we get into the woods. We don’t want a repeat of that other village, trying to use their pickaxes and things against us.” He rolled his eyes, still a little annoyed about that.

“Don’t worry, we learned from that mistake.” Ruby pulled him into a kiss, sliding her arms around him, then eventually pulled away to grin up at him. “We’ll be ready. They won’t dare put up a fight.” She sighed, leaning against him. “I sorta miss when we just waylaid travelers on the road and killed them all. It was so much more fun.”

“Yeah, me too, babe. But this is more profitable, like your mom says. The gold we get just for one captive far outweighs the pathetic amount we used to get. Remember how many times we used to go weeks without anyone happening by, and then end up with only about ten coppers by the end of the month?”

“Yeah..” She made a face, then shrugged. “Well, I guess it’s also fun watching the idiots fall right into our trap.” She conceded. "Plus, with Clyff working his group over in Rohan, and us working Bree, Mom can keep operations running in the home base.." She frowned. "Too bad Thorn and Fern had to turn traitor," She grumbled, annoyed at her youngest two siblings for abandoning the group. "If I ever get my hands on those two again, I'll kill them." She muttered her vow so that only Blade could hear it.

"I'll help," He grinned slightly as he nuzzled her neck.

Grinning, Ruby ran a hand through his hair, then eventually stepped away with a little sigh and a lingering look at her man. "For now, let's worry about making sure this goes smoothly." She suggested, then looped her arm through his and led him the rest of the way toward their camp.

"Alright guys," Ruby addressed the group of bandits sitting around the campfire a short distance away. They looked up as she approached, giving their full attention to the 'second in command' of their group. “We’re meeting the suckers at the old bridge at first light.” Ruby looked around at the gathered men and women, criminals and ruffians who had been driven out of other lands, like the Shire. “You all know the drill by now. Surround ‘em, don’t give anyone a chance to be a hero. We’ve only got a few days left to meet up with the captain at the rendezvous point, so we can’t afford any delays and we need to have as many prisoners as we can get. Everyone get a good night’s rest.. except those on guard duty. I expect everyone who'll be involved in the mission to be at their best tomorrow." She spoke with authority. Once all of her followers had acknowledged her words, Ruby turned to grin at Blade, her words to him becoming more private. "We're going to win that bet against Clyff,” She insisted, recalling her brother’s claim that he would bring back more captives than the two of them.

Blade smiled and kissed her. "I'm sure we will." He answered. "Come on, let's get some rest." Together, they set off to the tent that was theirs. Tomorrow, they would have a load of captives to take down the river, to meet up with a certain pirate captain who would be coming by to collect. A boat waited near the old bridge to accomplish this feat, which would leave no tracks for anyone to follow. And after they'd gone, there would be no trace of the Copperheads for anyone to follow, either. It was a perfect scheme.