04.03f - "Passing trains"

Mid afternoon arrived without so much as a single disturbance when a forward scout came riding back at a brisk pace, approaching the guard wagon. The side door cracked open and the guard gave his report to Leda inside while riding near the wagon. A few sentences are exchanged back and forth, before he nodded and then galloped ahead. Moments later, Leda emerged and hopped down from the moving cart. Able began to hang back a bit to be able to hear what she said.

Calling a guard over, she told him to relay this message to the caravan, saying "The other train is about a mile ahead, there is a spot we can vacate the road a quarter mile ahead. Southbound traffic has right of way on this part of the Trade Way. Their scout informed mine that their Captain is intending to make good time, and bypass us with a nod. They only experienced minor difficulty in the Fields but it put them a bit behind schedule. If anyone needs to do road trading, I suggest you hurry on ahead and do it while you double back our way."

Hearing this, Bismark took off at a gallop towards the other train. A few merchants dispatched assistants to go inquire with the other train - about a half dozen folk followed behind Bismark . . . but not nearly at the same speed. As he approached, Bismark looked to see who might be the captain and made a beeline for him, slowing as he got close.

"Report?" A tall grizzled man with flakes of gray in his bushy beard inquired as Bismark rode up to him, turning his attention away from the other scout and the lead merchant.

Bismark addressed him. "Greetings, sir, I am with the northbound caravan."

"I assume you're one of Leda's scouts then?" He asked.

"Vell, one of her guards.” he corrected. “Ve vere told if ve vere to do any trading to be quick about it, as ve hear you are needing to make up time on the road."

"Aye.” the captain answered. “We were beset by goblins when we first entered the Field to the north. Lots of troubled dreams and some of my guards say they saw some Grumkins and the youngest says he swore he saw a giant or three to hear him talk"

Bismark made a mental note that he hadn't seen Gamble for a little while, but quickly brought his focus back. "Sounds like a rough trip. I vill not vaste much of your time here captain. I am searching for a priest or cleric of Helm, and vas hoping one might happen to be in your group"

Some of the nearby guards chuckled, and whispered amongst themselves.  "He's got the clap." “The Baldur's Gate Bumps” laughed the other.

The captain thought for a moment before answering. "Helm? No. There is a chap with the furrier who worships Torm. If memory serves those gods were friends of a sort back in the days of gods."

Bismark looked down their train of wagons. "hmm. could you point me to which wagon is theirs?"

"Third from the rear" he answered. With a nod, Bismark pulled the reigns to turn his horse and rode back down the wagon train.

"Furrier?" he said out loud, suddenly realizing that he didn’t know what a furrier was. Up ahead he could see a wagon piled up with a ton of furs. "furrier... furry… er... hmm, maybe that's it" he said to himself.” "sir?" he called to the man driving the wagon. "I was told that you have a follower of Torm in your party, might I speak with him?"

The driver called someone up, and Bismark was introduced to Martin, a middle aged human male, heavily scarred on the arms and cheek and not smelling very well. "What can I do for you? Interested in a nice fur lined cloak for the road north?"

"Well met, sir." BIsmark said, eyeing the furs. "Perhaps, after my more pressing business. I am told that you are a follower of Torm, who is a companion of Helm?"

He looked at Bismark for a moment then belted out a genuine laugh. "I wouldn't say that too loudly to any fellow Tormites. There are those members of that order who . . . are pretty anti-Helm. Evidently only one god can have a gauntlet at a time"

Bismark continued, a little concerned about that reaction. "Vell, I don't know about Torm's gauntlet, but I follow Helm. I seem to have angered him, he has abandoned me completely, or I have otherwise lost his favor, though, and I am at a loss as to how to make things right by him. I had hoped to run into a priest of Helm when i heard you were coming, but I thought you might be able to help me. There is no one in our caravan that I am aware of that follows either."

Martin told him "I can't speak to the exact teachings but I can tell you what I know." Bismark rode closely listening intently. The two talked, speaking for about half an hour, during which Bismark learned that generally Helm's followers are considered extremely diligent and downright merciless by some when it comes to defending the weak. Dedicated to the destruction of those who abuse their power through physical means. Helm followers need to take the charge as "Guardians" extremely seriously and if they have anger, make sure it is focused anger. Falling out of Helm's favor is evidently common and can be reversed with genuine atonement and acts of Guardianship. The train eventually made its way back to passing Leda's charge and the captain of the southbound train headed over to speak with Leda, who greeted him warmly and they briefed one another as the wagons rumble South.

After their conversation about Helm, Bismark purchased some hide leather and a fur from Martin, telling the man “thank you” as he rode off with his supplies and newfound knowledge, pulling in line with Brynne. "Picked up some supplies for a project while we're on the road." he said, patting the thick hide. He stopped, placing the supplies in his saddle bags and remounted, finding Able. "Able, I am feeling much better now. I know vhat I must do. Thank you for ze talk"

As the train resumed moving northward, a couple of the merchants from the opposing caravans shook hands. Word started to go through the train that they would continue till just before dark, camp, rest the animals a full day, and then try to make it as quickly as possible through the fields. Assuming no major problems the fields would take about 5 or 6 days of traversal.

As night approached, Leda called for a halt and reminded everyone that they will be resting the animals all day tomorrow in preparation for the trek through the Fields of the Dead. Take extra care of your animals, sleep well, and guards will now begin to always work in pairs.

Brynne looked at A'postrofae and grinned. "Wha' I'm hearin' is this is tha las' night o' safety fer a bit" then she presented a bottle. "Little bit wouldna hurt, eh?

A’postrofae grabbed the bottle and took a hefty swig

Seeing Brynne and A'postrophae, Blak circled with them plopping down on a log.  "Ooph. This is more riding than I'm used to. Why the last time my ass was this sore..." A’postrofae looked confused. "..was when my da tanned my hide for asking someone else to watch my little sis while I ran off to play."

“Oh I thought you were taking about sex again.” Apostrofae said.

"Sex?  No, when do I talk about that?" Blak told her

"No' directly, ya don'" Brynne said.

“You talk around sex.” Apostrofae poitned out

Brynne took back the bottle, drank, and then offered it to both elves. Apostrofae looked in her bag. “I have some gin in my bag if you want some.”

"Are you sure you aren't just hearing about sex?" Blak asked.

Brynne swallowed the liquor and exhaled. "Ahhh, tha's tha good burn"

"Erm, no 'ffense meant, but I Respecfully Decline tha' gin. Till me whiskey's done" she said with a laugh.

Blak looked at her, trying to judge her age as Bismark walked by to find a spot semi nearby and sits down, pulling out his holy book. "I mean, you may be going through the change soon, eh?"

Brynne  looked confused. "Wha? Wha' change?"She looked around, trying to figure out who Blak was talking about

“I’m no longer a child if that is what you are asking.” Apostrofae said

She whispers loudly out of the side of her mouth, "He better be talking to you." she said with a snicker.

"Yeah, I was talking to A'postophae.  The change is something that happens to us elves when he hit a point in our adolecense.” Blak explained, as Apostrofae started to blush. We all get...well...fired up.  Promiscuous as it were. Like the nursery rhyme says after all:

> *When will I feel it, mother?*
>
>

> *When will I feel Corellan's touch?*
>
>

> *Will it be in the warmth of the sun?*
>
>

> *Or in deep blue starlight?*
>
>

> *Will it come when the air is still?*
>
>

> *Or when gales blow petals through the glade?*
>
>

> *All of those times and none, my child;*
>
>

> *When he awakens you, you will know.*
>
>

The  beryn fin”

Apostrofae looked at Blak. “I don’t think that he is stupid enough to ask you that question. Bismarck’s pig sticker would be the least of his problems.” drawing a laugh from Brynne.

"The  'beryn fin' means 'the time of discovery” Blak explained, "And it can go on for what other races would call a while"

Brynned perked up, paying close attention. "oh-o! Sounds interestin. Dwarves is jus' randy all tha time, near as i kin figure. Prolly tha whiskey."

"This is more of a spiritual journey then a sexual one,but to you of non-elven blood, it may just seem like us younger elves are sort of whorish." he said with a wave, and then a frown. "Eventually, though, each individual discovers that their heart has developed a capacity for lasting and exclusive love, one way or the other.  The sex of ones partner doesn't matter. What's more important is that a person's spiritual progress is unknowingly intertwined with that of another. This soulmate is called a thiramin "

"Ya' learn sumthin new ever day!" Brynne snorted.

"The other half generally knows as well, or so it is said...two souls unknowingly searching, yearning to become one..." Blak continued.

“I never got a chance...” Apsotrofae said, reaching for the bottle take a drink, then sitting quietly.

Blak skipped a chord awkwardly. "Oops, sorry." He started strumming again, lightly, saying in elven. "I'm sorry. I didn't intend to dredge up any painful memories."

“It is fine.” she replied in elven

Brynne patted Apostrofae on the shoulder and Blak nodded.

Brynne raised her eyebrows at the two of them, then looked over and waved to Bismark. Bismark glanced over and waved, then went back to his reading, every so often looking in his backpack.

Apostrofae looked pensive. “I should stop calling it a pig sticker. Your pig probably wouldn’t like it.”

"Prolly no" she agreed

Apostrofae saw Brynne looking toward Bismark. “He looks in his books for why his god has taken away his blessing when it is as plain as the nose on his face.” she said, nodding in his direction.

"Oh, ah, is tha' what's goin on?" Brynne asked.

Apostrofae closed the lid on her bag. “That is what I have overheard from the guards.”

"Huh." Brynne nodded, as Blak started working on tuning his zither.

“Speaking of the caravan, how is your search going Blak?” Apostrofae asked.

“So, any sign of the cultist?,” Apostrofae said, quickly trying to change the subject.

"Ah, well, none today that I could find.  It's good for me to do these rounds though daily.  Other than getting my hide more broken in, those around get more comfortable with me coasting around.  I'll continue as we go, if nothing else." Blak explained. "Leda also mentioned that there are other points along the way where some of these wagons may exit, and others may join. From what we gathered, I sort of thought they'd be with us at the start.  I must have missed something"

“That is what I thought too. They were coming up from the south. Joining later doesn’t make sense.”

Blak thought out loud. "I wonder if all these animals could help.  Like, can certain animals know how to tell a certain peoples apart from others by sniffing them out?"

“Maybe.” Apostrofae told him. “the cultists would have been in the cave. I’m not sure how I would tell the animals to smell for that.”

"What about the extra robes and papers and such we took from them?" Blak asked.

“True, I could talk to warpig and maybe Brynne could walk him through the caravan. Pigs have an excellent sense of smell.” she told him

Blak continued to fine tune the zither. "Also, did anyone take any of those broken egg shells or scales? Not sure if those have a smell, but those guys certainly would be handling the other ones"

“Gamble had a scale. I still have a robe.” Apostrofae grabbed the bottle from Brynne.

Bismark walked over to the edge of the group. "Blak, may I have a vord?" and raised his hands, palm up to show his lack of weapons

"Oh, of course Lord Bismark.". He stands nods and gestures toward where he was seated amongst the others then walks off toward the latrine pits.

"why over zere?" Bismark said, following him and shaking his head.

After a fe yards, Blak realized that Bismark for some reason didn't get the hint. "Oh.  I'm sorry, but I thought you meant you wanted a word with them. If it is a word with me you want, now is not the time"

"I see. Vell vhen you have a moment, I vould like to speak with you, Blak at your... leisure" and then Bismark turned to walk back to his belongings.

Blak started humming a bawdy mercenaries tune about an unbelievably good-feeling piss, as he headed off to the latrine pits.

After Apostrofae saw Bismarck walk back to his area, she excused herself and walked over to him. As she walked away, Brynne called to her. "Eh! Sweetheart! Don' ferget we're gonna talk ter the pig in a bit! I got some things I'd like ter say ter him!"

Apostrofae acknowledged her, and continued on to him. “Bismark, I would like to explain my reaction to your behavior after the fight. You seem to be confused as to why I am upset. You think I care about gold. Where I come from we don’t have currency like gold. We are...were a small group of elves in a very hostile environment. Yes we owned our own things but we all worked together. We did what needed to be done and we shared what needed to be shared. What we didn’t need was property of the group for those that needed it. What you did was shocking to me. It was like you walked into the town supplies and said this is mine now. It just isn’t done...at least it wasn’t done. I guess I need to learn new ways. They seem selfish to me. I need to go help Brynne now.” and she turned to leave.

"Apostrofae..." Bismark said as she turned.

“What?” she asked.

Bismark told her "You had a very different childhood than I did, and I had to fight, beg, and steal anything to just survive. I never had much, but the man that taught me how to use a sword... he gave me something that was priceless to me. It isn't the same I know, but in a way, when I saw that sword, it became to me, a little like your mother's dress is to you." Bismark shakes his head "It doesn't excuse my behavior, and maybe I need to relearn how to live in a group as well, but I wanted you to know where that was coming from."

Apostrofae stared at him. “What he gave you, what you cherish, is not a thing. It’s not that sword that you seem dead-set on keeping. It’s the skill that you have used to help those around you. That sword wasn’t there in the camp when you stood against the drakes, you were. I saw you teaching that young girl how to fight and I saw how much you loved doing it. You don’t need a fancy sword on your belt to do that. All it has done is taken what you love away from you and from what I hear distanced you from your god.” She paused. “Also, my mother gave me that dress. I did not take it. So please don’t compare the two.”

Bismark lowered his head. "You are right, of course."

“Now... I need to help Brynne with warpig. I wish you luck with your god. Mine does not hear me anymore.” Apostrofae said, turning to walk back to Brynne where she grabbed the bottle and started chugging its contents. She started coughing afterward, saying between coughs, “I have more in my bag.”

After a moment, Bismark pulled out the hide leather he had bought and started cutting and sewing it, working the pieces into shape.