The Family Business [M]

[DragonSong]

"Thank you." Shyla smiled at him again, paid for her drink, and then made her way back out onto the thin road that ran down the center of the village. She had to ask a passerby just where exactly the chapel was, but once she had her heading she set off--carefully, using her walking stick and keeping close to buildings so she could orient herself. It would have been easier to navigate if she had found a local bird or similar animal to use her Sight, but she hadn't wanted to risk drawing more attention than necessary by bringing a wild creature into town with her.

The chapel doors were open--she could hear the general soft noises inside too easily for it to be otherwise--and she made her way in cautiously.

"Ah, hello?" she called in the direction of the sound of sweeping. "I'm looking for a Brother Lukas?"

[MadEmperor]

"You found him," a friendly voice answered from the same direction.

[DragonSong]

"Oh, good." She smiled and took a few steps toward the voice. The end of her stick fetched up against a pew and she corrected her course to walk around it. "I spoke with a man in the tavern who said you or a--a Father Nazan might be able to tell me a bit about when the mountain roads might be clear?"

[MadEmperor]

The portly man paused in his sweeping, finally deciding to take in the girl who had approached him. After a moment of thought, he answered, "That's a more complicated question than you might think. The wolf shifters of Kilanthro are a wily breed, and even without them, the roads will never be exactly safe. Though, they're a sight safer than hiking across."

"If it's not rude to ask, what business does a blind half-elf, slip of a girl have in Hyoite? There's nothing but snow and barbarians there."

[DragonSong]

Shyla ducked her head and shuffled her feet, trying to look as sheepish as she could manage.

"My--my ma had another little one this last winter," she murmured. "It's too many mouths under one roof, and my--a boy sweet on me is apprenticing with a fur trader up north." She scuffed her foot against the floor again. "We, um, moved the wedding up, so they could get me out of the house."

It wasn't precisely an unheard of sort of tale; especially with the disruption stirred up by the civil war, there were plenty of poorer families who would shuffle their elder daughters off to the first man who might be able to provide for them, so that they in turn could focus on providing for the family's younger children.

It was a little odd to send a blind girl to meet her new husband in Hyoite by herself, but... Well. The reality was that Shyla had been left to the mercy of the mountains as little more than a toddler, so clearly it wasn't outside the realm of possibility for people to be so callous.

[MadEmperor]

The man's voice grew sympathetic and more than a little outraged. "And they send you on such a treacherous journey alone? How callous."

"Perhaps some of our militia boys would be willing to escort you, at least part of the way," he said thoughtfully.

[DragonSong]

"Oh no, that--"

...May not actually be a terrible idea.

She would have to get a message to Felan, make sure his squad was ready for it, but...

Well. An ambush would certainly take care of at least some of these zealots.

"I--I wouldn't want to inconvenience anyone," she told Lukas, ducking her head again. "But, if you're sure it would be alright... Might I think on it?"

[MadEmperor]

"I'm sure Elgin can spare two or three men. But, of course, take all the time you need."

He frowned. "Well, perhaps not too long. Elgin may be difficult to get a hold of once his plan is underway."

[DragonSong]

"Oh?" She blinked and chewed at her lower lip nervously. "When--when will that be?"

Not suspicious, not suspicious, she told herself. If she really was hoping for an escort, it made perfect sense for her to what to know by when she need to make a decision.

[MadEmperor]

"Can't" or won't"say for sure, but I'd wager a guess it won't be at least until the weekend. Perhaps not even until the full moon. Wolves are quite active then."

[DragonSong]

Oh great. That old superstition--sure, there were lycanthropic shapeshifters who were affected by the moon cycle, but very few, if any, of the Kilanthro packs fell into that category.

"Thank you, Brother," Shyla said with a bright smile. "I know I've already taken so much of your time, but if I was, ah, to speak with Elgin, where might I find him?"

She shouldn't push--she had the information they needed, and even a little more. But...she couldn't shake the idea of doing something more. The opportunity had presented itself, after all; it would be foolish to waste the chance.

[MadEmperor]

She would just have to ignore the tiny, disapproving Aeris on her shoulder.

The monk squinted in slight suspicion, but her story was, at least, plausible. It just barely tinged his voice as he replied, "He should be at the wooden fort just outside of town. If you follow the road upslope, you can't miss it. Just tell the guards that Brother Lukas sent you, and he should agree to meet you."

[DragonSong]

"Thank you." She smiled in the direction of his voice again and dipped her head respectfully before making her way back out of the church.

Once outside, she used her previous method of navigation to make her way back to the stable where she'd left Whiskey. Thanking the hostler, she took the massive dog's reins and started back down the road she had used to get into town.

As they moved, she had drawn a stick of charcoal and sheet of parchment from her small satchel. Whiskey walked slowly, allowing her to use his eyes so she could scratch out a quick message: They're going to make a move before the full moon. Priest offered me an escort by the militia—I'm going to talk to the leader. Be ready to ambush.

She tucked the message into Whiskey's halter, then sent him off into the woods with a pat on the shoulder and whispered instructions to go back to Felan. Whiskey was well-trained; without a rider, he would return to the Howler's last set camp.

That done, she started up the slope toward the fort that Lukas had indicated. She made sure to walk in the middle of the road, so any guards could see her coming a long way off and wouldn't think she was trying to sneak up on them.

[MadEmperor]

The pair of guards at the gate cross their spears as the strange girl approached. "Halt! Identify yourself!" the one on the left demanded.

[DragonSong]

She stopped and raised her hands to show that she was unarmed--well, except for the walking stick, but they didn't need to know how potentially deadly that was in her grip.

"M-my name is Millie," she called in the direction of the guard's voice, though she made sure not to show just how well she knew where he was, aiming a little to the left. "Brother Lukas sent me. I--I wanted to speak with Elgin."

[MadEmperor]

"What about?" the man asked impatiently.

"Forgive Walt's lack of manners. No one ever taught him how to talk to a young lady," apologized the other.

Walt quietly muttered something impolite about half-elves.

The more civil guard continued, "However, we do need to know what this is about."

[DragonSong]

Well. That was actually a new one.

Shyla was quite used to people treating her differently because of her blindness--even some Howlers--but her bloodline had never been an issue. For a moment she was genuinely thrown, and didn't have to put much playacting into her "Millie" persona as she replied cautiously, "I, ah, I'm traveling north, and--well, I spoke to some folks in town who said it might be safer with--with an escort."

[MadEmperor]

"Ahh... and Lukas directed you here. That makes sense.  I'm sure Elgin will want to at least hear you out."

A runner was sent to inform the commander of his visitor, and word quickly returned to show her to his command tent. Once inside, the guards were told to wait outside by a man with a raspy voice.

"So... I'm told we've been volunteered to help you," the commander chuckled, though it was clear he was irritated by Lukas' presumption.

[DragonSong]

"Oh, well, I wouldn't say that exactly," Shyla told the commander hurriedly. She hovered near the entrance of the tent, trying to keep an escape route in easy reach without seeming too obvious about it. "Brother Lukas just said I might talk to you about it, if--if you've any men to spare."

She bit at her lower lip nervously, trying to channel fresh-from-the-homestead "Millie". "It's just, I'm expected north, y'see, but I'm...worried about traveling through the mountains on my own..."

[MadEmperor]

Elgin made a "hrmmm" sound as he mulled over the idea. "Sending a blind girl through the mountains alone? Disgraceful..." he said with pitying distaste, but with a hint of sympathy not directed at her.

Once she repeated the rest of the story she had told Brother Lukas, he said, "I think I can spare a few of my boys for such an endeavor. Mind you, they cannot accompany you all of the way to the other side, but it would be the right thing to do to at least get you past shifter territory."