He's a servant, and his name is Brill. He smells bad which is why your remember him so easily.
He spins around quickly and you see his one eye lags slightly and is misty white.
He looks like he's about to speak and then realizes he only has moments before Pol and Wolf come out.
"I'll get you some other time"
and he turns and runs for the servants quarters.
"Maybe instead of asking me to gather firewood you should have asked me to watch the door. You guys just missed Brill listening to you two at the keyhole. He's obviously more than a nosy servant looking for some gossip, so I hope you two weren't discussing anything of great importance."
Wolf asks who Brill is, and which way he went.
He also asks if you would be willing to lead the way, and hushes Pol's objection at this point.
I tell him, "Brill's one of the servants here. He shouldn't be too hard to find, we just have to follow the smell." We head off after him.
You get to the servents quarters and it takes you a minute to find the correct room. When you open the door you see the place an absolute mess, partially because Brill is a very messy person but there are obvious signs that things had been packed with little care for everything else.
Wolf starts cursing and says you have to hurry to the stables. He knows the way there, as do you. He breaks out into a run to get there. For how old he looks he doesn't show it at all with his running. You can keep up due to your youth and age, but you don't really run much faster than he does.
When you get to the stable you see the smith Durnik there. He's calming a couple of horses and looking irritated by a broken railing.
"I heard a crashing noise a moment ago and ran out here to check what it was. One of the horses is gone, I think a thief snuck in."
Pol also arrives shortly and asks what happened and Wolf explains that Brill escaped and stole a horse. They're going to have to start the trip as soon as possible. He's going to go find Silk and Barak and be back with them. She's to have you packed and ready to go.
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GE roll 20, Brill is going to have been ready to run.
I say to Pol as soon as Wolf has gone on his way, "Let's get packing, I guess."
Pol sighs slightly, obviously sad to leave Faldors farm.
"I have to go tell Faldor, he's been so kind to us I can't leave without saying so to him."
She leaves you to your packing but reminds you to pack your warm clothes, you may not be coming back. (erastide is in early spring, just to give you an idea on the current season)
She comes back in about an hour, with Durnik with her.
"Goodman Durnik here insists on coming to protect us, and I can't seem to persuade him otherwise. You all packed?"
"I am." I'm sure I am, since I'd like to travel as lightly as possible. I'm confused, is his title Goodman or his name? "I'm glad you're coming; able hands are always welcome. I take it you're a skilled combatant?"
Goodman is a way of signifying a good profession but lacking nobility. Smiths are not servants, but they have no noble title.
Durnik responds "I've never had need to be in combat, but I know how to use a hammer and am willing to protect Lady Pol at all costs."
He's very strong, but it's easy to tell he has no training as a warrior.
Wolf arrives shortly with two others on horseback. The one is a monster of a man clad in a rusty looking chainmail vest and with a sword larger than you strapped to his hip. He's about 6 foottall and has bright red hair and a full beard.
The other companion is a much smaller man, around 5'3" or so, and looks what could be best described as twitchy. He has a visible long dagger at his hip, and is wearing looser fitting clothing than his larger friend.
Wolf asks why Durnik is here, and accepts his offer to come along, but insists they have to hurry. At which point Durnik helps Pol and you mount the horse and you head out following Wolf.
Okay. Let's see where this takes me.
You set out north then.
Wolf introduces the two men. The big was is Barak and the small one is Silk.
There is constant banter between the two, often devolving into how Silk is an evil little man. They've obviously been good friends for a long time and know Wolf and Pol quite well but don't seem to know Durnik.
You ride well throughout the day and as night sets Wolf decides you should set up camp to the side of the road. Durnik sets up a campfire a little ways in and Pol begins cooking. The meal isn't as good as back on the farm, but Pol's cooking is still good.
Barak, Wolf, Silk and Durnik split up the watches for the night, and you all go to sleep, except Barak who is on first watch.
Just stopping here to give you a chance to do anything.
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GE roll 17
Intuition roll 23
I'll take a watch, I insist. I am suspicious of Durnik and will try to read his mind several times. Pass or fail I will ask Wolf in hushed tones how sure he is that the Goodman is a good man.
Durniks thoughts are often very utilitarian. He thinks about the condition of the horses, potential campsites, very much trying to protect something, and you get a feeling it's Pol. His mind is a paradigm for the Sendarian people, ordinary and hard working.
Durnik notices your behavior towards him and asks if he's done something wrong or something to offend you. He also offers his apologies for whatever it was.
Wolf assures you that Pol knows Durnik well enough to know he's a good person, and not to worry about him.
As to taking watch Silk allows you to share his watch with him, so long as both of you are awake. You get the feeling it's either that or nothing.
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Durnik's insight roll 12
Alright alright, I'll share watch with Silk. I'll let Durnik slide for now. During our watch, I'll talk with Silk quietly, paying attention to our surroundings, "So, you seem to be a rogue of some sort, judging by your equipment. I'm guessing you know how to use that blade."
"I'm called many things... he prattles off a long list of derogatory terms he's been called, presumably in anger... and I guess rogue is about as fitting as the rest of them, although lacks the venom the rest have. Which blade are you talking about?"
This causes you to look closer at what he's wearing. He has two long daggers at his belt, one that's harder to notice than the other. He also has a knife in both boots, and has a couple more strewn about. You count 3 excluding the ones at his hip.
He chuckles slightly and continues
"I guess you could say I know how to use them, necessary precaution for a Drasnian merchant."
Look back to the surroundings, digesting the fact that he's being less than straightforward with me in my opinion. So, a test. "So you're a merchant, then. I guess you get around a lot, what with travel being a part of a merchant's job, generally. Do you know anything about this?" I show him the birthmark in my palm.
Silk and straightforward don't really go together. His face reminds you of a rat, which a predominately large noise. He does seem very friendly though.
"I've never seen anyone with that type of birthmark, and I've been just about everywhere, although I keep out of Mallorea, but you're definitely not an Angarak so I doubt you'd share birthmarks with them."
Alright, so maybe he really doesn't know. I find it hard to believe, but still believable. "So, how many days travel is it to our destination?"
"We're headed to Cherek, so probably about a month or so. To our first stop that is, I have a feeling the old wolf is keeping something from me."
"Join the club."
The rest of your watch passes uneventfully, Silk spends a good deal of it sharpening his knives. He had two you hadn't noticed before, but you didn't see where they came from.
Your watch was third, so you wake Wolf for his watch and you and Silk go to sleep.
You ride hard the next day and arrive at the outskirts of a Sender town in the late afternoon.
Wolf turns to Silk:
"Could you find us a wagon? I'd prefer to be a little less obvious as we start passing through towns, and you know how invisible honest merchants are."
Silk: "Honest merchants? I think you may have lost your mind. I can find us a wagon though, and I'll have it loaded with potatoes. They have a high price in Cherek right now."
Wolf:"We're not on a money making expedition, make it quick."
Silk is already riding off as Wolf says this.
During the conversation Silks fingers are forming intricate designs in the air, very quickly and it's very hard to follow. Silk is a trifle odd sometimes.
Did you want to follow Silk or stay with the group while silk gets a wagon and gets it loaded?
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Intuition roll:17: noticed it happen this time.
bump
Hunkus bumpus!!!
Alakabump!
Definitely staying with the rest of the group. I'd rather ta along with him, but considering that the group exists because of me, I don't really see as I have a choice in the matter.
GE roll 14:
Silk turns around and flicks his hand slightly to Wolf. Wolf then asks whether you would want to tag along with Silk, you may learn something from it
The group is here to protect you yes, but any one member is enough to take down a good sized force. I'm only rephrasing the same question because I had meant for it to be obvious the group was extending you the option of going with Silk.
Of course I'd like to accompany him.
Silk is changing his clothes around slightly, puts on a brighter colored tunic and hands you a knife while repositioning his own.
"You shouldn't need it, but you shouldn't be unarmed around some of the people I deal with. Also, my name is Ambar, don't dispute that when I introduce myself."
His face changes slightly, his eyes seem duller, as if he were a man of lesser intelligence and he rides less gracefully.
You enter the town and he introduces himself as Ambar of Kotor to a stable attendant and asks to purchase a wagon. The attendant agrees and says it comes to 50 gold pieces.
Silk appears outraged and informs the attendant that he is no novice to the trade business and he can't afford to pay more than 13 pieces and maintain a profit. After about 15 minutes the price is reached at 19 gold pieces.
Silk then gets on the wagon and brings it over to a produce stand and haggles for filling the wagon with potatoes. He's speaking with another Drasnian merchant but at no point do you hear them actually mention the price, but you notice hands flickering slightly. Silk then pays the man and watches the goods be loaded.
You then begin bringing the wagon back to the group. In all it took about 45 minutes, and it's getting late.
I will read the mind of the man when Silk is communicating with him in what appears to be some sort of sign language to determine if that is what I am seeing here.
I return the dagger to Silk when we arrive back, and hope to arrive at our destination without being bothered so that I can resume my training.
You can't seem to get a hold of the drasnian merchants mind.
When you get back to the group you redistribute items, some carried on the horses packs and some now carried in the wagon. You can either ride on horseback or ride in the wagon. Pol is almost always in the wagon, and the rest are normally on horseback, with Wolf being the most likely to also be in the wagon.
Wolf seems impatient with the pace the wagon is going, and snipes at Silk who reminds him the disguise was his idea, and an empty wagon doesn't make a good disguise.
Most nights are spent in the woods, a ways in to avoid detection from the road. One day around dusk you see the familiar man on horseback on the top of a hill while you are fetching water (a duty often given to you as the youngest of the group).
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Mind reading roll:89 failed
GE roll for trip:13, looks like you won't be bothered during the trip much, still a bit though.
I ride on horseback. First of all, I want to get my skill up, and secondly, I imagine it will be good for my stamina riding all day and working up those riders' callouses.
I'll motion to the man on horseback to come over.
He smirks and shakes his head. He motions for you to come to him instead.
You notice that while appears with the sun at his back which is why you can only ever make out the outline of him that he has no shadow. At this hour he should have a long shadow stretching towards you.
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Intuition check 18
I shake my head back and motion HIM towards ME again.
He doesn't move towards you and after a few minutes rides off down the far side of the hill he was on.
I'll let the wolf know.
Wolf responds "The murgo from the farm? That's a problem, I thought we were being careful. What did he look like?"
"He was standing with his back to the sun; he wasn't casting a shadow. I motioned for him to come closer, and he motioned for me to come closer, and I motioned to him again, and he left."
"Ah, well that's concerning, but manageable. Come get me immediately if you see him again however. I have ways of dealing with him."
(I'm blanking for a moment, going to get some sleep and think about where I'm taking this all next in the morning. Figured if you wanted to say anything in response to the above I'd give that chance though now.)
I let Wolf know that I will let him know, then I continue, "I wouldn't mind also having a way to deal with people who want to do unspoken bad things to me."
"What did you have in mind? I can try and convince your Aunt Pol to allow Silk or Barak to show you how to use weapons if that's what you mean. Your other talents would make a lot of noise while learning, and we can't afford that though. I'll start you on that training as soon as possible though."