The Failure and the Brat... What Could Go Wrong? (Zozee)

[TheHighwayman]

Thriv caught Elizabeth's glare and just smiled back. It was a good thing she was okay with the trip; he'd have felt terribly guilty if she'd been forced into something she hated. After that he fell silent, once in a while having to resist the urge to hum a tune or pester the lady with idle chatter. This was awkward, travelling in silence with somebody else. If he hadn't been used to travelling alone it would have driven him half-mad.

For now, things seemed they were going to go smoothly. There were no signs of bandits, slavers, giant cats, ogres, or what-have-you. Thriv alternated between alertly scanning the road ahead for currently non-existing signs of threats and thinking on the strategy training his dad had insisted he had; running through games of chess and real life battle scenarios in his head. Though all that would have been visible to Elizabeth was that the young man was thinking really hard on something or other.

Eventually, with a mild grunt of frustration- he'd screwed up badly on that last scenario- the knight looked back to see how Elizabeth was doing. "You alright? You look a little tired back there. Snow too, at that. Oh, here, I've got an idea." Thriv got down off of Spire and offered Elizabeth a hand down. "You get on Spire, get some rest, and then that'll make things easier on Snow. I'll just walk for now."

[zozee9]

Elizabeth sat peacefully on Snow as they continued moving. She was quite glad that Thrivaok had decided to be quiet, though the silence was a little creepy in the woods. At least the birds were happily singing. She just did her best to ignore her bad thoughts and focus on her good ones... like buying new dresses when she reached her aunt and uncle's place.

When Thrivaok finally did speak, her mood had gotten slightly better. Of course, for Elizabeth, that barely meant a thing. She glanced at Spire and planned on vetoing his offer. He was a black horse. She liked her horses pure and white, like Snow. But she was tired, and a black horse was still better than a brown one or a splotched colored one. So she accepted his hand (though barely touched it, not wanting to dirty her hands even more) and got off of Snow. Then she carefully got on to Spire, sitting as she normally did on her horse. If this would work on a warhorse would soon be discovered.

[TheHighwayman]

Spire was really, really tempted to jump and launch the young woman off his back. It was one thing to give her a short lift back to camp, but to let her ride him for an extended amount of time? Ridiculous! The girl wasn't even riding properly! The charger was just about to jump when he caught a warning lift from Thriv, and the charger snorted and shook his head. Spire never would understand how the young knight put up with people like that. Fine, he wouldn't jump. He would've made it a point to make it a bumpy ride, but then the horse realized that'd just make it harder for Elizabeth to sleep, and he'd have to put up with her longer. Though the charger probably would have been a little bit rougher than Elizabeth was used to; he was trained for battle, not convenience.

Thriv didn't seem to mind the situation much, himself. He had to walk pretty briskly to keep up with the horses, but all that meant was he didn't need to keep his thoughts busy. Besides, it was good exercise. He patted Spire on the neck and grinned. "There you go, big guy. That's not so bad, is it?" Then he patted Snow and said, "And a little easier on you, isn't it?" That imbecilic grin still plastered on his face, Thriv fell silent and just focused on keeping up.

He didn't have to worry about that for long though. Soon enough Thriv gave a cheer and pointed. "Look, smoke! We must be close to the town! Time to find that inn." Thriv quickened his step as the smoke was soon followed with the sight of wooden buildings down the road. Though something about the buildings didn't quite sit right...

[zozee9]

Elizabeth couldn't ride too comfortable on the horse, but she decided it would be best to try to get some rest, anyway. Even she knew she couldn't fall asleep sitting how she was, though. She she lifted up her dress, flung her left over the horse, and put her dress back down. Then she laid sideways, propping up her head on her arm that was resting on her leg. It wasn't the best position, but she didn't know any other way to try to sleep.

Just as she was about to close her eyes, she saw the town. And heard Thrivaok sound horribly excited about it. But that was simply illogical. Closing her eyes, Elizabeth stated, "That's stupid. Was the sign that we saw earlier off? There was no way we could have travelled what was supposed to be a two day walking time this quickly—even if we were riding horses."

It was probably just a small town that didn't deserve signs, she decided. And if it didn't deserve a sign it hardly deserved attention. Probably didn't even had an inn.

[TheHighwayman]

Thriv scratched his chin. Maybe she was right... but a town was a town, and it was worth having a look. Still, something definitely bothered him about the town, though he couldn't put his finger on it...

As the pair (or quartet, if one decided to count the horses) neared the town- or village, as that might have been the more appropriate term for the relatively small gathering of houses before them- the problem became abundantly clear. "They're huge," Thriv said, staring at the houses which were all twice the size of a human home at minimum. It was almost as if they'd been built for giants... or ogres. Thriv gulped at the thought.

Perhaps it was fortunate for them that none of the village's inhabitants were anywhere in sight. The road down to the village was completely clear, and the knight couldn't make out any signs of movement within no matter how hard he squinted. "I... don't think those are human houses, but..." Thriv looked to either side of the road and noted that it rose to a sharp incline on either side. No going around. Hrm... a suspicious village positioned at the perfect place to discourage finding a different route... something told the young man this was a trap. "...We don't have many other choices."

He was about to suggest turning back and trying to find another way when a booming voice rang out from the hill above them. "Travelers! Guests! Welcome strangers! Not many new faces around here!" The speech was somewhat slow and rough, as if the speaker had to slow to think about what he was saying, but it was certainly a decent example of the common trader's tongue. More importantly, looking up revealed the speaker to be a decent example of an ogre... and an even larger one than the pair they'd confronted before.

The large creature gave a hop, and half slid, half jumped down the slope behind them. The ogre gave a broad grin and a laugh. He was better clothed than the others had been, at least. Where Mug and Crug had simply been covered by crude loincloths, this ogre wore a (very large) set of simple pants... though he still went bare-chested. "What brings ya here? Come, come. You're tired, of course. I can get you food, a bed, rest!" The ogre didn't seem to want to take no for an answer, as he caught all of them up with his massive arms and pushed them along with him.

Perhaps one would have expected Thriv and Spire to fight, or flee, or something, but both of them seemed perfectly okay with the situation. Oh, sure, Thriv was a little nervous, but he'd heard rumors of monstrous races who'd settled down and built peaceful lives, and this ogre seemed to fit the bill. Besides, what was he going to do if he wasn't? The ogre could crush him like a bug before he even drew his sword. Spire, whatever his reasons, wouldn't have run if Elizabeth had told him to- though he did walk slightly ahead of the pushing arm for comfort's sake.

[zozee9]

Elizabeth, opening her eyes, gave up on sleeping on the horse. She would just find a nice, comfy bed in this... village? Looking up, she realized just how big the houses were. Her companion seemed to like to state the obvious, seeing as he said just that.

It wasn't until she saw the ogre that she put it all together. While he might look and sound more dignified than the ogres they had met in the woods, she did not think of him much better. She hated ogres. So even though he offered food and a bed, Elizabeth was quite suspicious. He probably wanted to feed them to make them fatter and then eat then while they slept. She shuddered at the thought.

And then he tried to touch her with his arms. She immediately leaned forwards, so that she would be out of his reach. Luckily, it seemed like that Spire had enough sense to walk faster as well. Elizabeth turned towards Thrivaok, her eyes wide. He seemed to be accepting the situation just fine. She mouthed, "Shouldn't we run?" Elizabeth was not going to risk saying that out loud, in case the ogre noticed and decided to eat her then.

[TheHighwayman]

Thriv caught the question and glanced at the tree-trunk of an arm pushing him forward, then back at Elizabeth and shook his head. Even if they did get out of his reach, he could probably call for help and cut off their escape. No, either they were friendly or they were feigning it for now... best play along and wait for a better chance.

The pair were led down into the village- right into the middle of it, as a matter of fact. Once in a while there was a glimpse of another ogre in a doorway or off to the side, but they all seemed to be too busy with their tasks to pay any mind to the newcomers. "Most of us are out dealing with a bit of a bandit problem. They'll be back soon," the ogre said with a somewhat unnerving grin on his face.

Thriv scratched his head and gave a puzzled frown. "What bandits would be dumb enough to steal from ogres? It doesn't even look like you've got much here to steal..." The young knight had a point- a quick look across the village would clearly show the houses were somewhat crude, and there certainly didn't appear to be any sort of real wealth.

"It's not us they steal from- they tend to attack the few traders and peddlers who pass this way. They get killed and we don't have access to... what's the word for it? Goods? Supplies? Supplies, that was it." The ogre stopped the bunch in front of a building slightly larger than the rest right in the center of the village. He gave a half-bow and gestured towards the door. "Here we are. This is my home- we've got a spare room, can put you up for the night. I've got a bit of goat meat left, and there's a grassy bit nearby for your horses."

[zozee9]

Elizabeth glared at Thrivaok when he shook his head. She could tell what he was thinking, but it didn't matter to her. Surely he could distract the ogre while she ran, if nothing else? But she knew that Spire wouldn't listen to her. With a sigh, she wondered why she let Thrivaok convince her to go on his horse.

Elizabeth, unlike Thrivaok, didn't question the whole bandit problem thing. She just assumed the ogre was talking about bandit ogres. Which they all were, in her mind. But as her companion kept speaking, she started to doubt the ogre's story. And when the ogre paused after saying 'access to', she couldn't help but think he was going to end with food. Because the killed traders couldn't be eaten anymore.

So she threw another worried glance over at Thrivaok. Entering the house, she wondered if the ogre actually expected them to sleep. Elizabeth believed that the second her eyes were closed, he'd snap her neck in half and then boil her. Or maybe he'd boil her alive. She shuddered at the thought. While the ogre could easily do both of those things with her being awake, she didn't question it.

[TheHighwayman]

Thriv stopped at the doorway and shot a look back at the ogre. "We'd be glad for the hospitality, but we really should keep moving." He tried to step back around the ogre, but the large creature continued to block the way back onto the road. Thriv peered up at the ugly, tusked face and raised an eyebrow. "Well? We don't really have the option of staying, sir."

The ogre gave Thrivaok a good natured pat on the back- which once again almost knocked him over. "Ah! In a hurry? Sure, sure, I understand. Of course, you have time for a good meal, right? Or at the very least let us give you a few supplies for your trip." The beaming ogre didn't look sinister, but the simple thought of a generous ogre would put anyone at unease.

Shooting Elizabeth an apologetic look, he shrugged and relented. "Alright. A quick meal and supplies, but then we really should get moving." At that, the knight and the ogre both stepped into the oversized building, the former taking in the curious interior. Most of it looked not too different from a typical human dwelling, sparse and without much furnishing, but there were a few animal hides scattered about the place. There was a large wooden table with a few bowls of stew set out on it. Perhaps most notably, the house didn't smell. In fact, it almost seemed to stink less than the average farmhouse.

"Help yourself to what's out, I'll put a pack together for you." The ogre grinned and lumbered off into another room, his heavy footfalls audible all the while. Thriv shrugged and hopped up onto the ogre sized chair, looking somewhat childish with his legs swinging in the air in the process. The knight tentatively took a spoonful of the soup, grinned, and dug in. "This is pretty good, actually. Nothing like back home, but definitely good."

[zozee9]

Elizabeth's eyes widened in horror as Thrivaok took a sip from the soup. Her voice frantic but quiet, she leaned forward on Spire towards him and said, "That's probably human!" Then she scrunched up her face at the thought that he just ate that. "Cannibal."

While she was glad the ogre left the room, she was pretty sure he was just getting everything ready for his meal: them. So she had absolutely no intention of getting off of Spire. While she might not like the horse much, even Elizabeth doubted that he'd stay still while being cooked alive. And she knew that the horse was fast.

Snow, the less fast horse, was still nervously waiting to leave by the door. She would've run if she believed she had any chance of getting away. But without this belief, she just stayed where she was, looking at Thrivaok with eyes full of anxiety, just like Elizabeth was.

[TheHighwayman]

Thriv rolled his eyes and quickly polished off the bowl. "It's not human, it's beef. Unless people taste like cows- and I don't think we do- I doubt I'm in danger of cannibalism, miss." Seeing as she didn't seem to want to eat, the knight pushed aside his own bowl and reached of the one across the table- which he started on with as much gusto as he always seemed to eat with.

As soon as Thriv finished with that one- an impressive feat given the size of the bowl- the ogre's thudding footsteps came closer once more. "Hah! You've got the stomach of an ogre!" The large creature stepped up to Spire- the warhorse seeming largely unconcerned- and tied a large sack to his saddle. "There, that ought to keep the both of you for a while. If you really have to keep moving, just do us a favor and spread a good word for us along the road, eh? It wouldn't hurt to see one or two more traders pass this way."

Thriv nodded and led Spire- and Elizabeth with him- out the door. "Well that was nice of him, huh? Didn't ever expect to see a nice ogre in my lifetime." Thriv grinned and started back along the road, figuring they'd stick to the earlier plan of letting Elizabeth and Snow get a little rest. Oddly enough, he felt pretty invigorated after eating- and it was a little more than he'd have expected from simply having a full stomach...

[zozee9]

Elizabeth gladly let Thriv eat her meal. Even if he was right—which she doubted—and it was just cow, she had no interest eating a meal cooked by an ogre. But maybe she'd have to rethink her plans of traveling with a cannibal.

She squeezed her legs tightly around Spire when she heard the ogre returning. The horse didn't move, to her disappointment, and stayed still even when the ogre set a sack next to her. Elizabeth, on the other hand, was leaning as far away from the ogre as she could while retaining her grip on the horse.

She was quite glad, of course, when they were allowed to leave. She didn't respond to the annoying fool's words. Nice ogre? He was probably still following them, with plans to make her live in fear before being killed slowly. Elizabeth glanced at her own horse, who seemed just as scared as she. Smart horse, she thought. Smarter than that clueless idiot who's supposed to be protecting me.

[TheHighwayman]

Thriv, naturally enough, didn't seem to share any of Elizabeth's fears. In fact, he started humming again, and there seemed even more spring in his step than there'd been before. Soon enough though, he stopped his humming and scratched his chin. "Hrm... something's still bothering me about that stew though, tasted like something Father had made for long training days- there was an herb they'd put in the food that kept us on our feet for longer. There was something else about it though... what was it? A reason they didn't use it all the time... Ah well, I'm sure it's safe enough."

As sure as he sounded- and felt- he couldn't quite shake the feeling that the forgotten tidbit was somewhat important. He didn't think the ogre would intentionally cause them trouble, but if he was thoughtless or gave them ogre-sized portions of something... Ah well, he knew it wasn't poisonous, at least, so they'd deal with whatever might come when it came.

"So, if that wasn't the town the sign mentioned, do you want to see if we can reach it tonight? Or would you rather be sure we can make camp before nightfall?" He didn't mind either way, as it wouldn't make a great deal of difference in the long run regardless... though the chance for a night's rest at an inn where he didn't have to keep watch was a nice prospect.

[zozee9]

Elizabeth was just about ready to throw a shoe at Thrivaok. Of course, her shoes were much to precious for that and she wouldn't want to dirty them. But his humming was killing her. And when he finally stopped humming, he replaced it with annoying words instead.

Except she realized that maybe the words were important.

There was probably poison in that stew. Nasty ogre poison. And yet the fool ignored this possibility and moved on talking as if nothing was wrong. And Elizabeth was not going to ignore that.

"You idiot, there's probably some kind of poison in there!" Her eyes wide, she continued, "I bet it will make you get super fat until you can't move and then he'll boil you and eat all your meat. You'll have a ton of it since you're fat. And disgusting." She didn't bother responding to his question, seeing as the current problem was much worse.

[TheHighwayman]

"I told you, my father had the same thing fed to us, and I'm still here, aren't I? No, there was something else about it that made it inconvenient for extended use. Besides, why would he give us something like that and then let us leave? Our horses are probably faster, so now that he's not right there, we could outrun him if we wanted too." The knight just shook his head at Elizabeth's fears. If there was anything sinister about those ogres, it was more complicated than just bashing travelers' brains in and eating them... Besides, Thriv didn't think there was any reason to suspect them- they'd given him free food and offered a place to stay.

Well, if Elizabeth didn't want to chime in on the other issue, they'd just keep walking for now. If there were any signs of the town, Thriv figured they could keep moving; if not, they could just make camp before it got too dark. Simple enough. But really, what had the reason been? Surely it was significant if it were enough to limit the use of such a useful herb? Thriv wracked his memories, but for the life of him he couldn't quite recall...

[zozee9]

"I don't know, maybe your father was an idiot like you!" Elizabeth responded arrogantly. She ignored his first argument of still being alive since she hadn't come up with anything to counter it. "Can I get on my own horse now? Spire is making me feel sick." He didn't walk as smoothly as Snow. Plus, it hurt to sit how she was: normally.

Not knowing what else to think about, her mind remained on the herb from the stew. While she didn't necessarily care about Thrivaok's wellbeing, she certainly would prefer her bodyguard to stay alive at least until she could find a better one. But being a potion maker's daughter, perhaps she would know the herb he was talking about.

"That herb," she started, speaking a little more gently. "What did it look like?"

[TheHighwayman]

At the comment about his father, something in Thriv's head snapped. He didn't care if she were a whiny brat, he didn't care that her comment was more ignorance than anything else, he didn't care that he was technically supposed to be protecting the girl; that was over the line. The knight wheeled mid-step, glaring at Elizabeth with the same sort of ferocity that had let his father scare off entire groups of bandits without a fight. Even Spire flinched almost imperceptibly away from the young man.

"Let's get one thing clear, miss- I don't care if you insult me, I don't care if you make demands that would make a princess sound humble and hard-working, and I don't care if I'm traveling across most of the world just so you don't get yourself killed." Thriv took a step closer, putting him right next to the saddle. "But my father was and is a hero. He risked his life time and time again to protect complete strangers, he slept out in the cold when the local taverns didn't have enough room for his men, just so one more could have a bed; he's faced monsters that made that cat look like a newborn kitten for the sake of small, out of the way hamlets. I may not deserve to be his son, but while I carry the sword he gave me there's not a chance in Angsar's name I'll let you insult him." Thriv leaned in closer and clenched his fists. "Are we clear?"

[zozee9]

Elizabeth visibly jumped on Spire when Thrivaok glared at her. It was as if he was burrowing daggers into her skin, piercing her veins. And when he started talking, she leaned slightly backwards, as if trying to avoid his words. What he said meant little to her, but how he said it frightened her. But more than fear, she felt irritation.

Now moving back forwards so that she was sort of leaning over him, Elizabeth replied, "You can NOT tell me what to do. You are my client, and nothing more. And sure, brag about your father and all. But have you felt the pain that I have? What would you do if your father actually did it all out of greed and lust—not to help people?" Her voice was slowly raising. "What if he was just using all of his men, trying to win their confidence with lies and petty deeds? And then you found this out, after everything you believed? Would you waste your time worrying about other people?!" At this point she was shouting. Then, getting almost as quiet as a whisper, she said, "Maybe you would. But you can't expect me to."

Elizabeth sat up straight, her sad eyes lingering on Thrivaok's before looking at the sky. She took a couple of deep breaths, moved around a little in her saddle, and put on a smile. The only sign that she was still agitated (ignoring the fact that Elizabeth doesn't normally smile) was how hard she was clenching the reins.

[TheHighwayman]

Thriv kept his glare leveled at the girl, wanting to yell at her that firstly, 'client' implied she was paying him, and secondly, even if she had paid him, hired bodyguard wasn't the same as a servant. What she said next gave him pause, however, and he remained silent until she'd finished. For a moment a look of pity crossed his face- he may not have understood exactly how she felt, as her problem was the opposite of his own, but the young knight figured he could guess well enough.

Taking a deep breath, he let go of the saddle and stepped away, starting off down the road again- with Spire following a moment later. The man's eyes were practically glued to the ground as he mulled things over in his head. His father wouldn't leave Elizabeth to get herself killed or kidnapped by bandits, he knew, but after that outburst she might very well not want him around any longer. "Hrm..."

Well, no sense in dodging the issue. Thriv tapped Spire's flank, and the horse drew to a stop. "Alright," the man started, doing his best to keep a calm voice. "You need a bodyguard, and I need a quest, so if you're still willing to have me along, I'll do what I can to keep you safe- but you aren't paying me, so I'm not working for you. I'm doing it as a friend, or, if that's not how you want to think of me, as a knight-in-training." He held out a hand and grinned. "Sorry I upset you, Elizabeth. I'd never hurt a lady on purpose. I'll forget what you said about my father if you don't hold my own words against me.... The trip will be long enough as it is, we don't need to make it seem longer by being at each others' throats."

[zozee9]

Elizabeth's fake smile did little to cheer her up. It reminded her of all those annoying parties she had to go to, the same smile plastered on to her lips. But now, now she would give anything to go to those parties. She would have kept dwelling on this thought, though there was nothing she could do to change it, but Thrivaok interrupted her inner sulking.

Spire suddenly stopped, which almost made her lose her balance. She listened quietly as he spoke, his words seeming sincere. Normally when people apologized to her it was words full of lies, or fear. But not his.

"Hmph," Elizabeth started, not wanting to show that he actually got to her a little. "I guess it's fine—but just this once. However, I do think you're mistaking something: I was going to pay you. It's only the noble thing to do."