Road Rage! (Highwayman!)

[Paradox]

Sekeo stared at the man, "You want nothing in return?" He echoed softly and shook his head, "You are a ssstrange human, I think. You do not think of ssself. Not a bad thing though." The kobold mused. It was an interesting concept, selflessness. Most selfless people were foolish , but also brave. It wasn't a bad quality to have, he thought. It didn't make a lot of sense to him, but brave people often did great things that often went beyond comprehension. Again, he shook his head and set these contemplations aside in favor of focusing on the task at hand.   

"Rough crowd, yesss. Three men. They're armed with swords. Dark clothing. Leather armor, I think. Dirty appearance, scars ,strong bodies. Big men. They're fighters. Probably mercenaries. " Sekeolath'zhin observed, squinting at the men from his hiding place in the bushes. " Might not be looking for me, but it feelsss like too much of a coincidence for them not to be. Their posssture sssuggessstsss that they're looking for sssomeone. Probably me."

One of the trio turned around, peering down the road where Kyt and the kobold had been standing before only to find it empty.

"I've avoided Bassshir thisss long,"  the kobold hissed softly, weighing his options, " direct confrontation issss bad. I do not doubt your magic, but if Bassshir thinksss I am capable of taking out four men, then he may sssend even more. Powerful you are, but limitsss you have. " He tapped his narrow chin with a claw, "  We could wait here for sssome time and sssee what they do. Or, " he glanced back over his shoulder, "we could try a detour. I know another path. It isss sssafe enough. It crosses the opposssite ssside of the river and windsss around. Isss a longer way ,and indirect but it isssn't likely that they know of it. Few humanssss take path."

And with good reason too. The path crossed , rather briefly, orcish territory. 
"If we wait a little longer, "he looked up, "the sssun is setting. Soon their eyesss will fail them and we could essscape. Even if we make noise, humans are so clumsy and helpless at night. My eyessss work bessst in darknesss. I can guide."

But these men would probably find them again. He had a feeling that they would though he was a bit surprised they'd even found him so soon to begin with. They must have had a tracker among them.

He knew that they'd never stop chasing him and he'd probably have to face them eventually though he was sure that he could keep running. Running away was always what he'd done and he'd gotten away this long. Why would such a plan fail him now?

"If we move quickly enough, we could be in Arca about an hour preceding nightfall. Maybe a couple hoursss at mossst. Or, if you're feeling brave, we could risssk trying to passs them, " he shrugged his small, narrow shoulders, "but I do not think that would work very well. Not for me." 

[TheHighwayman]

Kyt thought on their options. It certainly wasn't a simple matter. His magic had given him a small glimpse into the kobold's thoughts, and he knew there was some unspoken danger on the longer route. Still, his only idea for getting past the thugs was absurdly risky, and the kobold wouldn't have suggested another path if he didn't think it would work. He figured it would probably be best to trust Sekeo's judgement in this, but that still left the issue of continued pursuit. Could they maybe carry on and find a place to confront them where they'd be at an advantage? Or perhaps confront the source and get him to call them off? Either would be extremely difficult, but it seemed to him they'd best keep avoiding trouble for now and hope a better solution would present itself. More worrying was the sheer number of men sent after a single kobold. Bashir's employer must have been very concerned with the kobold's abilities- no, that couldn't be it. The mercenary wouldn't have confronted him alone if that were the case. Perhaps it was just a desperate need to acquire the ring? But why draw so much attention to the item? It seemed to Kyt that the most likely explanation was that they feared the ring itself... not a good sign.

"Alright. We'll try the other path. We'll need to do something about the men coming after you eventually though. No matter how many times you might be able to escape, it just takes one bad day and you're done." Kyt flicked the stone he'd picked up earlier off to the side- now wasn't exactly the time to be worried about habits. He muttered to himself, "Why do I get the feeling I dragged myself into something that isn't going to be over any time soon? Right then," he spoke up. "Lead the way."

[Paradox]

ooc: This is a short post to move things along and get us back on track. :)

ic:

Carefully as he could, Sekeo guided the man down the grassy hill towards the riverbank. In near-complete silence they did travel with little more than nocturnal song of insects , frogs , owl hoots and the occasional wolf howl to foil the would-have-been quiet. Each time there was a particularly loud noise such as a wolf's howl, Sekeo's dry, scaly little hand would tighten a little too hard on Kyt's sleeve so that his claws would dig through the material.

Time was lost on the pair of them, but they walked with good fortune for they reached the woods with little incident. "Thank the Night Lady!" Sekeo released his grip on Kyt for a moment to grab a medallion that hung from his neck with his Goddess's image on it. He kissed it and offered it a silent prayer before he grabbed Kyt's sleeve again and pulled him along. "Isss okay. We are in the forest now. Not much farther to go, tall friend." The unusual pair stepped into a small clearing and Sekeo paused, "Thisss might be good place for sssmall break, I think. Eat ssssnack , rest feet and take care of bodily function business." He nodded.

[TheHighwayman]

At that, Kyt gratefully sat down and pulled a slightly stale chunk of bread from his cloak. He wasn't one to be easily rattled, but traveling over ground he had no knowledge of always made him nervous, and his hands shook slightly as he swiftly devoured the small morsel. Swallowing, he said, "Well, while you take care of that, I think I'll make sure there don't happen to be any more of your friends lying in wait for us nearby."

With that, Kyt folded his legs before him, left his hands in his lap, and began to slip into a trance. His body stiffened and his breathing slowed, and his eyes began to glow somewhat eerily through his blindfold. Meanwhile, his mind was probing the nearby area, trying to push his powers to their greatest maximum range. Now he could sense every bit of life for about a quarter-mile in any direction. Most of it was just plant-life, nothing he couldn't filter through. Ignoring bugs and small rodents, that left one or two wild cats, a number of birds, and one other group of sentients... but something was wrong. They certainly gave off the feelings he'd expect from people searching for something, and they were certainly crude and brutish enough to be hired thugs, but they didn't seem nearly deliberate enough to be any sort of pursuit. What then? Whoever they were, they weren't too close... yet.

Kyt's head snapped up and the glow in his eyes faded. "Sekeo, are there many bandits in this area? Or anything like it?"

[Paradox]

Sekeolath'zhin wrinkled his long, scaly muzzle at the inquiry, "I don't think sssso. No banditsss." The kobold found a patch of dry dirt to sit down on and un-shouldered his small pack. He dug through it for a few moments and then produced a strip of dried, salted meat and chewed slowly on that.

Then, he added with a shrug, " There are orcsssss, but nothing to worry about. " He said so off-handedly as though that weren't such a big deal at all.

Ooc: Pausing for the possible moment of "WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY THAT BEFORE WE CAME HERE!?" Thing...haha. Feel free to reply in whatever manner you deem fit.

[TheHighwayman]

"Ah," the young mage said, as if being led into orc territory with no forewarning were perfectly reasonable. Maybe he wasn't bothered by the deception? "Well, if they aren't to worry about,  I suppose the group- how many was it, four? Five?- headed our way right now won't be a problem. I'm sure we can handle it." While Kyt generally thought sarcasm was a waste of energy, his voice was dripping with it for once- yep, he was definitely annoyed. "I assume you have some foolproof plan to deal with them, seeing as you willingly dragged us into their lands..."

[Paradox]

Sekeo did turn his draconic head in the man's direction to regard him quizzically , " There's three or four tribes that live here. Hundredsss of orcssss. Maybe thoussssandsss ,but they never bother me. Sssome are nice. Make good trade for sssshiniess."

It failed to occur to him that orcs and kobolds sort of got along together whereas orcs and humans- well, there was a considerable amount of hatred and racial tensions between them.

Sekeo was familiar with a tone of annoyance, however. The kobold frowned, " Why are you upsssset? Oh...I get it. You're racissst. No like orc. Isss that it? "

[TheHighwayman]

Kyt rolled his eyes- a largely pointless gesture, thanks to the blindfold. "I have nothing against orcs- unfortunately, they very often seem to have something against me. So, if you don't mind, I think I'll just hide in these bushes here until they're gone." And so he did, disappearing rather thoroughly for someone who can't see. It wasn't a moment too soon, as the sounds of guttural laughter and trampling feet could now be clearly heard just beyond the brush. If Kyt was fortunate, they'd not notice the kobold and pass them both by altogether. Of course, Kyt was rarely fortunate.

The young healer just barely resisted the urge to hold his breath- better keep his breathing low now than need to gasp for air at an inopportune time. At least he could tell from the orcs' spirits that they were likely on the return trip from a hunt, and thus focused more on enjoying themselves than sniffing out more prey...

[Paradox]

Fortunate, it seemed, had completely abandoned this crazy ship. Several orcs came stomping through the clearing and they probably would have passed Sekeo had the kobold not elected to make his presence known. Out of habit , the foolish creature waved a tiny clawed hand, "Hello, friendsss."

The orcs's attentions were drawn away from boasting about their success in the hunt to the little lizard-man seated on the ground before them. "A kobold," One of the orcs grumbled, stating the obvious.

"What're you doin' here?" Another inquired, not sounding very friendly."This is Redskull territory."

Sekeo stood up, "Me? I'm jussst passing through to the big human city, Arca."
The orcs looked at one another. "Gwah hah! Why would you wanna go there? "
Sekeo drew himself up to his fullest height and puffed out his chest, tilting his head up and jutting his chin out and declared with great pride, "Becaussse, I am a shinniessss collector."

Now the orcs were more interested and circled around him, "Oooo" they all said in unison. It  was one big green circle of dimwits.

"You have some shinnies on you now? Want to trade?" One of the orcs asked enthusiastically.

Sekeo looked doubtful, "Sssome, yesss. I show you, yess? "

The orcs rubbed their hands together eagerly.

However, one of them sniffed the air and stepped away from the circle. "Huh...s'funny. I swear I smell a human."


Ooc: I don't necessarily have plans for this so feel free to control any of the orcs as you please . If you'd like me to write more, let me know. xD

[TheHighwayman]

Not good. Really not good. Kyt's few remaining options flashed through his head- could he use his magic on them? No- he'd be exhausted after another use, and he couldn't exactly expect the kobold to take three orcs on alone. Intimidation? One rather thin mage- who could look rather creepy if he wished, to be fair- against four large orcs? That wouldn't work without some form of trickery, which he hardly has time to prepare. Negotiation? Better, but he'd rather not chance it. In the end, Kyt decided to just stay calm and wait until the last possible moment before breaking his cover- maybe Sekeo could find a way to keep them from finding him, or maybe he'd just get lucky. He could also try and glean what he could from the natures of their spirits- it wasn't much, but the knowledge might be turned to his advantage...

One of the other orcs, meanwhile, sniffed and shook his head. "You're always smelling human- and the last time you did I ended up face ta face with a skunk. Come on, kobold, let's see 'em!"

[Paradox]

Fortunately enough for Kyt, the kobold didn't inform the sniffing orc that he did indeed smell a human being. Grinning toothily, the "shinnies collector" removed some gold and silver items from his bag. One such thing was a silver goblets encrusted with rubies, emeralds and sapphires. "Thissss pretty I take from ssssilly human noble. Issss very sssshiny, yesss? You like?"

The orcs hopped up and down, hooting and hollering with enthusiasm and nodding their heads. Yes indeed. They did like their shinnies!

"What you want to trade for it?" The largest among the orcs asked .

Sekeo thought for a moment. "Hm. I don't know. Make an offer."

The sniffing orc stepped closer to where Kyt was hiding, " Naw. I don't think it's a skunk. "

ooc: And then a skunk appears next to Kyt...dun dun dun! xD Camouflage attempt foiled.xD Kidding, kidding.

[TheHighwayman]

Stubborn orc! Kyt could tell he had no plans of just giving up and walking away, so it was time for some kind of action- but what? Wait... he'd noticed that his trance tended to disturb some people, maybe it would frighten the orcs as well. It might at least give him the chance to get a few words in before they jumped him. As the orcs drew closer, Kyt pulled his blindfold away, wrapping it about his left hand. Then he began to withdraw into himself, focusing solely on his magic. Normally he would only do this to study larger distances, but this time he concentrated on the details, figuring he might as well try to pick up any bits about the orcs he hadn't already. When they found him, they would hopefully not see a frail physician in a rather tattered travelling cloak. Instead, they'd see a mighty sorcerer preparing to decimate them with his arcane power... hopefully.

Kyt certainly hoped it worked, because as his eyes began to glow, several of the orcs took notice. He hadn't expected the glow to penetrate the brush, but oh well. Two of them turned away from the bartering kobold, preparing to part the bush in which the mage was hiding. "Eh? What's happenin' there?" one grunted.

[Paradox]

Sekeo's attention was also drawn away from the bartering now , but not before he had exchanged his silver cup for the one thing he adored collecting the very most.  A nice pair of shiny gold buttons that had likely been pilfered off some poor, dead fool of a human that had taken the wrong turn in the woods.

"Hrm?" The little kobold hobbled as quickly as his legs would carry him over to where three of the orcs stood looming over Kyt's hiding place. Sekeo knew the silly human was in there, but wasn't sure why. Maybe the man had to do private human things? Humans could be quite silly in their habits and they tended to be very , very upset when they were disturbed! He knew enough about privacy from spending time with bandits to know better!

"Oh...I am ssssure it isss nothing." Sekeo assured them, but they weren't listening.

"It IS a human!" The orc that had been initially suspicious growled. "What's he doing HERE in our -"

"What's wrong with his eyes?" Another orc pointed out, his deep and gruff voice wavering as though he may have been fearful. And the orcs stared.

"Wizard! Run away or he'll melt your face! " They all panicked and scrambled to flee , some of them dropping their belongings and nearly tripping over one another as they went.

Sekeo almost had a mind to follow them because when he saw Kyt looking like THAT-well, he WAS a coward. "Eeeek!" He threw his scaly hands up into the air and dropped to his knees to pathetically cower before the human, "Don't kill me!"

As if he'd forgotten that this man had previously gone out of his way to save the scaly little fool's life.

Silly Sekeo!   

[TheHighwayman]

"You DARE to cross my path!? From this day forth a thousand plagues will fall upon all of you, and every night will be filled with the nightmares you should count yourselves fortunate I choose not to inflict on you in the flesh... for now! Flee, mortals, and pray I never see you again!" Perhaps his maniacal taunting- which actually ended up sounding rather sinister, to his credit- was pointless and possibly risky, as the orcs were already running... but he couldn't help himself. Once the orcs were out of sight, he began to wrap the blindfold back around his now returning to normal eyes. "I can't believe that worked!" he chuckled. Kyt's heart was still in his throat, but he had to admit, he felt immensely clever. Patting the kobold on the scaly head, he continued, "Now, I believe we should get moving before more of them show up and I don't have time to prepare another such little surprise. You said it wasn't far?"

[Paradox]

Sekeo cringed at the man's touch, but he looked up with his wide, reptilian eyes and made a peculiar squeaking sound that didn't sound all that...appropriate for a creature of his appearances. "Oh! OH! " The kobold hopped up to his feet and pointed a claw at the man, shaking it as if to scold him. "You are GOOD. Very clever. Yessss. You are like Misster Hubert.

He paused to collect a few trinkets the orcs had carelessly dropped in their departure. " But I don't think you needed to do that."

Sekeo nodded, " No. Not far. The way only crosses through orc territory for a little while. It'ssss much safer than the main road. Trussst me. Well, maybe you know. You are a traveller. Lotsss of banditsss on big roadssss lately, yesss. And many are much more dangerousss than sssilly orcsss. Redssskull clan isss okay. They are jussst hunters and scavengersss. Not really much trouble if you know how to barter good. They love sssshinniesss."

He shook his head, staring up at the much taller human, " They won't come back. They're afraid of wizardsss. Not ssstupid enough to take chancesss. OTher clansss though...hm. They're not ssso afraid , but we probably won't meet them ssso you need not worry. "



 

[TheHighwayman]

"You're sure about that? If it comes to a fight, my magic won't do much good against more than one opponent, and if the other clans are worse than these... well, I'll not say I'm afraid of death, but I'd prefer to avoid it for the moment." Kyt stretched- that bush had been cramped- and shrugged. "Well, I suppose the longer we stand here, the more likely it is more will show up. Whenever you're ready, Sekeo. Oh, by the way, are there any branches lying about that would make a good walking stick?" Kyt had grown rather used to the old one, and a replacement would be rather useful if they were to stay on unfamiliar ground. Plus it might give him something to hit any orcs or bandits with if need be- not much, but two weapons were better than one weapon that sapped your strength to use...

[Paradox]

Sekeo stared at the man, " You cannot make it rain fire ?" He almost sounded disappointed. "What kind of wizard are you?"  So polite, the kobold was. He shook his head and wandered off some ways to hunt for a fallen tree branch large and sturdy enough to serve as an adequate walking stick for his tall friend.

As he was busy with that , the orcs returned but this time...with an even BIGGER orc . He was a mean looking fellow with tattoos ,piercings galore and a Mohawk. The big fellow glared at Kyt and then at Sekeo who had yet to notice them until...

"That's them! The thief and his wizard. They tried to kill us and take our stuff!"
Sekeo shot up like a terrified cat and bolted, leaving Kyt to fend for himself.
"Get the rat. I'll deal with the wizard." The big orc told his smaller friends. The smaller orcs were more than eager to leave Kyt and the big orc alone to chase the smaller, weaker Sekeo who didn't have scary face-melting powers.
The big orc sized Kyt up, " So, wizard. What are you here for? " 

Ooc: Meant to post last night. Fell asleep at the desk. -.-

[TheHighwayman]

The healer grinned. "Not much of a wizard, to be honest. I'm just your average physician with a few gifts to make up for his handicap. My job's to fix people who get hit by fireballs and the like, not make more of them myself." Though now that Kyt was thinking about being some sort of sorcerer, he realized if he could figure out that one thing he might very well be able to do some damage... Ah well, that was the territory of others. He'd not have the stomach to use that sort of power even if he had it, anyway. The healer was suddenly snapped from his thoughts by the sound of more orcs approaching.

Well... crap. Kyt really should have been paying more mind to his surroundings. Too late to hide now- time for diplomacy. Kyt folded his arms and tried to get a feel for the orc's nature as he spoke- if he was reasonable, maybe he could talk his way out. If not... well, maybe the smaller orcs would break and run if one of his mental shocks could knock out the leader. "We're just passing through- my friend here is in possession of a rather dangerous item, and naturally has the attention of a few people we'd rather avoid. As I doubt that item would be of any use to you, fighting us would be a lose-lose situation: even if you did kill us, you'd become the target of someone a good deal more dangerous and with a good deal more resources. Not good for you or your people. So, if you'll move aside and let us pass, you'd be doing us both a favor."

As he spoke, Kyt's mind was flying through possible battle plans. If the orc charged, he'd just have to make contact and he could work his magic- of course, the kobold would pretty much have to carry him the rest of the way if he did, but it was better than nothing. Now, did he have a weapon? Kyt couldn't tell that rather important detail- weapons didn't have spirits, and the way the orc was standing didn't give anything away. His otherwise calm facade was broken by a quick gulp- this was not what he'd signed on for when he'd left Arca to help that village!

[Paradox]

The big orc stared at him. When he spoke, the brute's words were surprisingly intelligent for one of his ilk , "That kobold is your ...friend? " He sounded doubtful and looked suspiciously at Kyt. " Don't get many humans coming through here who don't mean us any trouble. They think we're one of those damned Bloodskulls."  He smirked ," I ain't afraid of any humans, but I don't like the sound of this item. Whatever yer carrying, I don't wanna know. I've heard enough stories 'bout wizards and their cursed items to know better than to interfere. You didn't kill any of my boys so I'll let you pass. Just keep walking and don't give me a reason to change my mind."

It didn't take long for the orcs to catch Sekeolath'zhin and drag the kobold back to Kyt and the big orc, kicking and flailing about quite pathetically, "No,no,no! Pleasssse let me goooo! I'm jusssst a merchant! "

"Merchant?!" One of the orcs holding the kobold bellowed and lifted the little creature high above his head. He shook the little thief, freeing up a rain of jewelry , coins and all manner of shiny things. Now how Sekeo managed to stuff SO much into his seemingly tiny pockets was a complete mystery. Perhaps they those pockets were magical. "Looks to ME like you're a thief!"

"ME? No, not thief! I am honesssst businessssman! Really!" The kobold insisted. "Let me go and I'll give you five percent disssscount!"

"Quiet, you scaly little lyin' rat!" The orc holding him snarled.

"Oi! That's ME lighter!" One of the orcs rushed forward to collect a uniquely decorative cigar lighter made of solid gold and shaped like a dragon from the ground.

"I don't know how that got there," Sekeo lied , trying to appear as small and innocent as his draconian self could.

"You little-! " The orc holding him turned him upside down and shook him harder this time, shaking everything free from the thief's person.
"What the -?" One of the orcs bent down and scooped something up. He held up a faucet handle with an utter look of bewilderment on his ugly face.

"Ohhh . Don't take that! It'ssss mine!" Sekeo whined and flailed about, arms pinwheeling in a most ridiculous fashion. "Don't take my ssshinniesss! "   

"Alright, boys. Drop him. " The big orc instructed and just like that, Sekeo was released and he tumbled face first into the muddy earth. "Oof!" He was hardly injured and immediately scrambled to recollect his belongings. "Mine MINE! " The kobold ranted possessively and shoved whatever the orcs did not take from him back into his pockets.

"Ohhh...bad ocrssses! BAD! Sssstealing from me. "Sekeo let them know he was very ,very upset but when one of the orcs shot him a silencing glare the kobold dove behind Kyt as if he expected the man to protect him DESPITE having run off at the first sign of danger and leaving the healer alone to deal with the danger.

"On yer way then, you two," The big orc nodded at the odd pair and then gestured to his orcs, "C'mon boys." In unison, the orcs lumbered away.
"That'sss right! Don't come back! Sssstupidssss!" Sekeo yelled after them, fuming. He picked up a pebble from the ground and feebly threw it after the retreating orcs. It fell way short of it's mark but nevertheless, the little kobold was feeling quite empowered. "Well, we sssshowed THEM."

And all seemed quite well until Sekeo checked his belongings over and realized ...

"Uh oh. Oh no! It'ssss gone! GONE! Oh noessss!" He grabbed hold of Kyt's sleeve and yanked on it frantically and multiple times. " Kyt! They took it! They SSSSTOLE it! Away, away! The ring issss ssstolen!"




Ooc: Oh geeze. I thought I posted for this. :/ Apologies!

[TheHighwayman]

Kyt had just been standing by as the orcs accosted the kobold. No need to intervene unless the orcs made a serious effort to hurt the little guy. He rolled his eyes as Sekeo hid behind him- what did he expect the healer to do, kick them in the shins or something? Sure, he could have stepped in and tried to negotiate, but the kobold had already dug his hole even deeper by lying. Besides, he felt he was probably pushing his luck with situations like these as it was. Smiling as the orcs walked away, he really, really hoped this was the last of any excitement they might see until they got to the city.... Then the kobold mentioned the ring...

Kyt facepalmed. He couldn't help it, this was just getting ridiculous. Now they were going to have to try their luck with the orcs again- and Kyt's luck had never been very steady. "Well, I suppose we'd best be after them then," he said with a resigned sigh.  "You know, you should have just told those orcs they'd dropped what you took in their flight- which was true, and that you had simply picked them up for safekeeping until you crossed their path again- which I greatly suspect isn't. Ah well, too late now. I suppose we'd best be after them now."

Walking quickly after the orcs- he could still vaguely feel the orcs' spirits in the distance- he called out. "Hey! Hold on a moment!" The healer shot a quick glance back and gestured for the kobold to follow, with a quick warning of, "I suggest you contain yourself this time. I can't negotiate if they find you picking their pockets."