Two horsemen ride up to a tavern...

Akiran shrugs after taking a healthy swallow of the Tavern's signature whiskey. "Well the Crossroads it is! My home away from home, I have friends there with lucrative opportunities for exceptional beings like yourselves. Could be a chance for us to fill our pockets before continuing our good work."

Ascian holds Katrin's gaze for a long moment before nodding shortly.  "He'll be slow for a few days longer,"  he says simply by way of explanation, hand falling to Ember's fur as his eyes shift to Akiran. "You have work there. I'll need it."

Emptying the mug and setting it down somewhat carelessly, Akiran laughs and says "The Legion always has work for those with exceptional talent. With your talents they would be throwing gold at you." Waving the waitress over he adds as an afterthought "For a bit of work"

Katrin's eyes darken as Akiran mentions the Legion again. But she keeps a smile on her face, nodding to Ascian. "I can spare a few days. My journey is not urgent." Yet.  

Thezra sits at the table watching the others. She hadn't expected to be here so long, especially after completing her goal and restoring some order to things in the clan. Yet a demonic shadow hung over her still in the form of Duar'ken, and Kerak's words replayed in her mind. As the others start setting out plans for a journey to the crossroads, she pipes up finally,  "This is strange for me to say but... if you would have me, I would join as well. I admittedly had hoped to return home with this famine and... heresy behind us. But Chief Kerak brought something to my attention I cannot ignore. The man may be dead, but Duar'ken's presence lingers, and the signs all point east, in the same direction as these Crossroads." Pulling the note she'd been given out, she places it on the table, facing the others, and allows those with interest a moment to scan it over, "I cannot rest until I know what he was hiding. What drove him into the heart of darkness."

As the waitress refills his mug he says   "Fortune favors us, that our journeys all point to the same path." Looking over to Thezra "Have you mentioned this to Captain Beshk? With how much trouble Duar'ken has stirred up for the Heartlands, we may be able to get a tidy bit of gold for investigating the issue. No nation wants monsters running rampant or fell beings making deals in their backyard."  Leaning back and taking a sip of the whiskey "And my friends there are few pleasures greater in life than getting paid for something you would have done for free."

Thezra sizes the dragonborn up for a moment and simply stares at him, face unchanging, “You may not believe this, Akiran, undeniably of Dragons, but there actually is more worth in life than the pursuit of gold and glory. I did not stand against my own people to turn a quick copper, and I did not fight Duar’ken because the money was good. There are reasons that go beyond material wealth.”  She shrugs, “But yes, it would seem the spirits guide us in some way if all of us have so much to do in the same place.”

With a soft laugh Akiran shrugs "And for you that may be fine. For myself a happy life is my name and triumphs on the tongue of every tavern's bard, my mug never empty, and my pouch overflowing with gold." Meeting the orc's eyes "Thezra of the Orcs, I will never judge what you hold dear. And I hope you will extend the same courtesy. Or our new found friendship will be very short"

"I am with the dragonborn, I would gladly fight against creatures like Duar'ken in defence of these lands and to protect my friends, but to be paid handsomely for it would be no bad thing." Kaed touches the necklace given to him by Na'arik and smiles, " but then I have already been given a kingly gift so I am content if there is no gold this time."  Stretching he begins to move around the room, pacing like a cat. "I have no reason to be anywhere but I would not leave this band of heroes so if our path leads to the Crossroads so be it. I would gladly cross swords with Gesrik and rid the land of one more danger, but let us see what fate has in store."

"It's not judgement on you. I simply have no desire to turn something that is personal into a cheap money grab. It is more than that to me, and it befouls it to seek financial gain out of what is an attempt to help my people." She looks at the dragonborn and sighs, sitting back in her chair.

Raising his mug to Kaed, Akiran pushes his chair back slowly standing to his feet  "Well said!"   Looking over to Thezra "But that is the beauty of it we can help your people and be fairly compensated for our efforts." Pausing he adds "I mean no offense when I say this but your people rank very low on my list of concerns. And from your demeanor  with the villagers earlier I'm sure that is a sentiment you understand. But if I can help an ally, make a tidy sum of gold, and do a good dead. My friends I consider  that to be a grand day. But if it cheapens it for you that is fine. Keep your honor and turn down their gold, by that is not the path I walk."

The tension between both Akiran and Thezra is palpable. She leans forward, tapping her fingers on the table. "There is merit in what both of you say. But," she looks at Thezra. "It is as Akiran says. If you are not quick to judge us, we will show you the same courtesy. If not....I don't like traveling with people who see the world in black and white." 

"I haven't judged anyone. I said I have no interest in profiting off of my own people's issues, just as I'm sure you had none in profiting  off the troubles of this village, yes?" She looks from the dwarf to the dragonborn, speaking again to him, "Of course considering your own calls for glory and gold earlier, not caring for these people is something we have in common then,"  she grins wide, her tusks jutting far up from her lower jaw, and raises a mug, "To living without honor my friend! May it never get in the way of what truly matters in life." She downs her mug and slams it back onto the table, reclining back in her chair a bit.

Katrin leans back, taking a long drink of her ale.   "Nonetheless, these people are important to me. As are yours to you. We have that in common, I think."

Climbing quietly to his feet, Ascian slips away from the group to where Marianne is standing, Ember a silent shadow. Reflexively he angles himself to keep an eye on the others in his peripheral vision, the tension thick enough to make him want to leave but too thin to yet act on. He looks at the sorceress evenly. "You should know. There are people looking into you."

Akiran's eyes narrow and his scales flair at Thezra's jab, his honor had been sore subject for the warrior for far too long.  His cold eyes in stark contrast, to his still pleasant voice "Charming. It is a wonder that your silver tongue didn't win over more of your people ."  Lifting his mug he looks to Thezra "to friends! May they always answer when you are in need" and downs his own mug

Kaed raises an eyebrow as Thezra toasts to living without honour, and looks at the dragonborn for a moment in turn. "My friend, Akiran may decry honour but he has plenty I don't doubt this. As, I am sure, do you. Few walk this path without some, even if mundane needs such as food and drink make us need a payment for our deeds." He drains his drink with relish, "I consider myself a decent man when all is said and done, but I would rather be paid for my work than not. The farmers I defend do not feed me and put a roof over my head when the enemy are far away, they are only my friends once the warcrys are heard. What we do is of worth, to be paid for it is no stain on our honour. What I do, I do because I can, because most cannot. In truth there is only one Kaed." His smile gives lie to the boasting but the scars he wears are the evidence of his willingness to put himself  in harm's way.

sansasnark said: Climbing quietly to his feet, Ascian slips away from the group to where Marianne is standing, Ember a silent shadow. Reflexively he angles himself to keep an eye on the others in his peripheral vision, the tension thick enough to make him want to leave but too thin to yet act on. He looks at the sorceress evenly. "You should know. There are people looking into you." Marianne glances up at Ascian, flexing her right hand as if working away a cramp. "Oh?" she says with mild curiosity. "And what people would that be?"

Ascian looks over the balcony down at the others, watching the tension simmer and Kaed take it over. He turns at last toward Marianne and leads her and Ember wordlessly to the terrace he'd spent much of his time here on, glancing between the gap in the wooden floorboards to ensure Audar isn't lurking where he'd taken to. "Some of the residents. A dragonborn, to be specific." He looks back up at her.  "Doubt he's alone. I know they're not a threat to you. But they're going to keep looking into it after we've gone."

Her amethyst eyes narrow. "Audar, right? I assume he's the one that sent for the military? I'll make sure to keep a special eye on him." She pauses, nodding to herself. "Thank you, Ascian."

Ascian shrugs an uncomfortable shoulder, gesturing back toward the door as he offers by way of explanation,  "You tried to help me." 

"And I will help you," she says. "As soon as I figure out how."

"Thanks. You don't have to." He shrugs again and nudges Ember toward the door. "Akiran thinks there's money in the Crossroads. For your cleric. I don't know when I'll be back here again."

"You and your friends will always be welcome back here," she says. "And I can reach you by arcane means when I figure out what's going on." The mage remains outside as Ascian heads back into the tavern.

Wordlessly, Katrin stands up from the table, and the silent tension held there. Leaving her half-drunk ale, she exits the tavern, walking down the road in the cool night. Without meaning to, she finds herself at the steps of a familiar house. She walks slowly around the large wrap-around porch, to see Rose leaning against the rail, looking out over the now-flourishing fields. After a second, she clears her throat and steps up beside her. "I'm going to the Crossroads. In a few days."

Rose looks at Katrin with a sad smile. "I figured you'd be heading out soon. Eventually, at least."

Katrin doesn't say anything for a few minutes. "I'm coming back." She looks over at Rose. "I will always come back." Another long silence. "There's something I need you to know. Before I leave."

This statement draws Rose's full attention, and her brow furrows in worry. "What is it?"

Katrin takes Rose by the hand, and the two sit on one of several porch swings dotted around the porch. Katrin's legs are just a bit short, and she scuffs the toe of her boot on the wood. She looks off across the fields. "They're Dwarven-made. The guns."

"The...guns?" Rose asks, but the confusion fades to understanding. "Those weapons they used." She nods, looking at Katrin, knowing that the dwarf has more to say and more to explain.

Katrin nods, her eyes vacant and far away, reliving past memories. "My father is the greatest blacksmith that Dwarven society has seen in centuries. The things he crafts, finer than anything even the Elves could produce." She smiles to herself, then looks back at Rose. "My family has been crafting fine weapons and armor for centuries. Up until the end of our Golden Age." Her eyes grow hard. "That's when my grandfather died."

Rose listens intently. As Katrin pauses, she says, "Did your father come here to make weapons for the Heartlands?"

"No." Her voice is, perhaps, harsher then she intended. She takes a breath. "No. He didn't. We didn't. We...didn't leave Hol under the best of circumstances." Her voice wavers as the old memory resurfaces. "Before Grandfather died, my father's older brother came to a family meeting with...something new." A few moments pass in silence. "My father and his brother never had a close relationship. There was always an undertone of competition between them. Everyone knew, even though no one ever said it, that my father was the preferred heir. The favorite child. So, they were constantly working to one-up the other, to prove they were the worthy successor to the oldest Forge on Hol." She shrugs, and it almost feels helpless. "So my uncle came up with something new. Never before seen on Hol or any other continent. Guns."  

Akiran nods approvingly at Kaed before making his exit from the tension filled table. Heading to his room he hastily gathers his old armor, still fuming from Thezra's accusations. He had offered his help and at no charge to Thezra, and despite this the orc had the gall to insult him. He had done enough charity for her people, they can pay the gold price if they need his blade again. Finding a bag Akiran pauses as his gaze runs over his former second skin. He had lived in this armor for years, it was his pride and joy his own statement to the world. But his new armor was simply better. .And that was the way of the world, the new replaced the old, the strong replace the weak, hanging onto something that had outlived it's usefulness was a burden Akiran rarely bore.  Hefting the bag over his shoulder he makes his way too the Heartlands' camp. One of the soldiers directs him to Beshk, seeing the fellow dragonborn "Captain Beshk, how have you and your men faired since the battle?"

"And they forced your family to leave?" Rose asks. "Was there a fight?" Beshk nods to the silver dragonborn. "Fairing well, I think. We'll be staying for a few more days, then returning to The Crossroads." He looks about at his men, then back to Akiran. "Something I can help you with?"

"We chose to leave. There was.....overwhelming support for my uncle's invention, and they wanted my father to make them. He refused. And things got....bad." Katrin rubs her temples, suddenly very tired. "It nearly tore us apart. And..." She glances down at her own shoulder, where a bullet had pierced her skin. "My uncle...he nearly killed my father, with his prototype. But I...stopped it."

His voice cheerful "Fortune favors us Captain! The other defenders and myself are headed to the Crossroads as well. Though I believe we will be leaving before you.  Our trip to the Crossroads is why I have sought you out. We've done good work together and I must admit that I have come seeking a favor."     Hefting the sack filled with his armor he sets it in front of Beshk, untying the straps so the silvery chain can be seen.  "But among my people it is rude to ask a favor without presenting a gift. My former armor, it is well made chain mail and could serve one of your soldiers well. Perhaps even Private Jenkins if he is able to bear it. Consider it a gift to the Heartlands to serve in your noble work." 

Rose's hand almost immediately rises to Katrin's shoulder, fingers tracing the scar. "I'm so sorry, Kat. I had no idea it was that bad." Beshk looks quizzically at the armor, and takes a closer look. "This is indeed well made," the dragonborn says. But he takes a step back before accepting. "What sort of favor?"

Katrin's hand reflexively reaches up and grabs Rose's, almost pushing it away. Her breath tightens, and for a moment it seems like she might push Rose away. But then she relaxes, her fingers letting go of her hand. "I just needed you to know. Before I left," she whispers. Katrin leans into Rose, burying her face in her shoulder, stifling the tears that threaten to spill out from her eyes. 

Akrian's eyes light up at the compliment "Thank you, I am truly honored by your praise. Time permitting I would be more than willing to resize the chain to fit it's new owner." Though he sees the captain's reluctance "Nothing improper captain. I believe we have done great work together, and wish to continue it. The situation between the villagers and the orcs would surely have escalated,." Pausing he shakes his snout and says in a somber voice "If the orcs got more desperate or if the villagers attempted to mount an defense on their own.  It could have been the end of this village.  " Pausing he begins speaking again with his voice growing more hopeful and energetic "But we all came together, the soldiers of the Heartlands and the defenders of Fireblade and did our duty to make sure that didn't happen. And on top of that the Tavern's defenders found a way to cure the famine and make peace with the orcs." "My favor is simply to find a way to continue this good work after we make our journey to the Crossroads. If I may be so bold, I would ask two things of you. One is a letter of recommendation & acknowledgement so that other honorable servants of the Heartland will know our worth, and for the other we have found that there may be a lead on where the Orcish Priest got his magics. We hope to investigate and ensure that something like that never happens again within the borders of the Great Heartland nation. But a task like this can be trying and expensive and we hoped that the state could help reimburse us for our costs and time spent."

Rose kisses the top of Katrin's head and holds her close, the pair staring out across the fields as the sun sets behind the hills. Beshk nods. "If it were up to me, you'd have all the resources you need," he says, pausing for a moment. "But it isn't up to me. I can write a letter, certainly. And I can give a recommendation to my superiors when I get back to The Crossroads. I do have access to a bit of discretionary spending, but it won't be much. Give me a few minutes." Beshk returns after a quarter hour with a letter of conduct, telling of the group's actions and of Duar'ken's demonic links, as well as a promissory note for a Quartermaster Dredan for a fund of 300 gold pieces to be dispersed to the group for "services rendered." "Take that to Fort Catrae in The Crossroads. They'll make sure you're compensated."

His eyes beaming he nods and says sincerely "Thank you Captain, I truly appreciate your help." Gingerly folding the note and placing it in his pouch "once we are both in Crossroads we must share a drink my friend!" He then turns to head out "And truly if you need any helping sizing the armor, I would be grateful to help. This armor has been my second skin for years, and I want to make sure it protects it's next owner in the same way." "Safe travels Captain"

The next day, the group bids the village of Fireblade farewell and sets out on the road to The Crossroads. The road is quiet, and fairly uneventful. After he heals, Ember takes to running alongside Ascian's horse. The wolf runs circles around the riders, much to the horses' chagrin. The larger beasts snort in annoyance at the hyper-energetic wolf. But the wolf eventually runs off its energy and trots alongside Ascian. On the fifth day, about midday, during a meal break, Katrin and Ascian both look up to see a glint of sunlight off metal past the treeline. As soon as the two look up and spot the glint, it disappears. 

Katrin doesn't move for a split second, noting that Ascian was looking in the same direciton. Standing up, she walks over to where Ascian sits, Ember beside him. She eases herself onto the ground, giving the wolf a gentle scratch behind the ear. "You saw it too." She leans back onto her hands, staring off in the direction the humanoid had disappeared. "Gesrik having us followed, maybe." 

"Maybe." A faint frown pinches Ascian's brow and his eyes don't leave the spot the metal had disappeared into as Katrin approaches. "They've been following us a long time, if so. Want me to go look."

Katrin shifts on the heels of her palms. "They likely know we've seen them. Though it couldn't hurt to get a better look." She absently scratches Ember's ear again. "Be careful. I'll keep watch from here. Get a few others on it as well while you scope it out." She stands up, nodding to Ascian, going over to Kaed.  "Ascian and I saw something. Someone. Could be Gesrik having us followed, but Ascian said he can take a closer look. I thought we should have a few more eyes on the lookout from here in case anything goes wrong." She looks back over at Ascian, nodding in affirmation to the young man. Another look at Kaed, then she walks back over to Ascian, her fingers lightly grasping his for a split second. "Good luck," she says quietly, and a silver streak of magic twists up the young man's arm, scattering as it reaches his chin. 

Ascian startles at Katrin's touch but nods shortly, quietly telling Ember to wait for him before stealing toward the treeline. After almost two weeks of constant companionship it feels suddenly strange to be on his own again, and even once he's disappeared into the foliage he can't seem to focus on the task at hand, sending several looks back over his shoulder to make sure the wolf had obeyed. He isn't gone long before he frowns and reemerges, attention zeroing in first on Ember and then Kaed as he reappears at the barbarian's elbow. "Come with me," he says, nodding toward the woods.

Kaed follows Ascian and looks for tracks, but is unable to find any clues to where their pursuer may have gone.