The biginnings of Fall, and the Meeting of the thieves.

[Anonymous]

I dismounted off of my blood red stallion, he snorted but otherwise did not move. Holding the lead-ropes of the three other horses, I moved to a large tree and tied them there, I checked thier legs and hooves; coming back for Durion, I repeated the process. Also removing his saddle. I slowly turned in a circle. It was like a clearing but not exactly. I moved over to my left searching the forest floor for dry wood. After I collected enough I set it up for a fire. I moved to my pack and removed a pan, and some dried meat. Pouring some water in the pan I tore the meat into pieces and set it to stew. I leaned back waiting for my food, it was dusk now. I was waiting for in a few minutes Lithonion my ash colored Moon dog would be coming, wagging his tail, a sign that we were alone and the surrounding forest was safe.

[Anonymous]

Weston and Charmaine had been given a job by a rich merchant in Arca to go steal some of his rival's merchandise. The town, or rather outpost, that this rival was stationed at lay somewhere in the Terrin Mountains. Apparently it wasn't a large outpost, but this person made a killing off of travelers coming through. Charmaine didn't care why their employer wanted this stuff stolen, she just cared that they got paid for it.

They were walking in the directions they were given when Weston heard something. "Someone's there." He said softly as he and Charmaine ducked down.

"Stay here. I'll scout ahead and see who's there." She said and then very quickly and with no noise at all, stalked forward to see who was ahead. Charmaine excelled at stealthing and once she was in stealth mode almost nothing could see or hear her. Wes on the other hand wasn't as quiet, hence why he was staying behind. Ahead in the brush she saw a person checking on their horses. From the looks of it they had been riding for awhile.

[Anonymous]

Slowly I stood up, my knees popped, I turned slowly; looking for Lithonion. I shook my head, and moved back to my pack, pulling out a bowl, and spoon. I ladled some of the "stew" into the bowl I slowly began eating. I couldnt wait till I sold these three horses, Id be able to buy some good food. Bath in a hot spring. I stared at the water/meat stew. It still tasted flavorless. I sighed, sat the bowl donwn and went back to my pack for a biscuit.

[Anonymous]

Weston stayed put where he was and surveyed the surrounding area to make sure there was no one else in the woods. He didn't even bother looking for Charmaine, he knew it was pointless. The could never be seen if she didn't want to be. For now he would wait quietly until he either heard something or Charmaine came back to him. A part of him worried for her, but he knew that was silly. If anyone could take care of themselves it was her.

Charmaine kept low to the ground and very, very silent. It was hard to see the woman through the foliage, but she had a pretty good idea where she was. Charmaine made a wide circle to come in behind woman. The element of surprise was her best weapon and one she was good at using. She poked her head up above the ferns and saw that the traveler was close in front of her. She stayed there, wanting to just observe the person first before making any kind of move.

[Anonymous]

I had been trying to igonore, this feeling of being "watched." Durion snorted, straining against his leadrope. I moved to the blood red stallion, placing a hand on his shoulder. I reached forward and loosend his leadrope, allowing him to move closer to a clump of grass. I combed my fingers through his black mane.
"Dur, what could be keeping Litho?"
Durion tossed his head and nickered. I patted his neck then turned to the other horses, two palimino mares, and one buckskin stallion.

[Anonymous]

Charmaine watched closely and observed...absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. This woman seemed to be just regular run of the mill traveler. She rolled her eyes at the boring situation she was now in. Perhaps she should just walk out and introduce herself. Before that though, she should probably go back and get Weston. She turned around and as silently as she crept up, she crept back. "Weston. Come on. We're going to introduce ourselves."

"We are?" He asked confused, but standing up to go with her.

"Yep. There's just one woman with some horses. Come on." She said and then led them through the woods to the clearing. They didn't even bother being silent now as they moved through the woods to the clearing. "Hello there, traveler. What brings you to these parts?" Charmaine said as they broke into the clearing where the woman was resting.

[Anonymous]

I looked up upon hearing someone speak. There was a woman, her hair was in a ponytail, it was white with black stripes. I looked into her brown eyes, then shifted to look at her partner, He was only an inch taller than his female compainion. His eyes were brown almost alike his companions, he also had brown hair. I fluidly stood up, they were almost a little under a foot shorter than me. "Hello, Im travelling this way to sell some horses. Why are you travelling through here?" hesitantly I added "Friend?" At that moment Lithonion decided to walk out of the forest (to my right.) I looked at him, he was covered in mud and had plenty of burrs in his long ash coat. I sighed, "And what trouble did you get yourself into?" He looked up then laid down, his head on his paws. I looked back at the "new comers" waiting for a reply.

[Anonymous]

Weston watched the woman's body movements closely. Being a skilled fighter as he was he knew how to read a person's body and therefore is she planned on attacking them, he'd have a moments warning. Luckily though she didn't seem the violent type. "We're on our way to a small outpost that's somewhere in these god forsaken mountains." Charmaine answered her readily enough. Of course she wasn't going to say they were going there to steal things, that would just be reckless of her.

"Horse seller, eh? Those aren't bad looking horses. I prefer my own feet though." Weston said, looking the horses over. He didn't have an eye for horse flesh, but he guessed she'd make some profit off of them. Weston didn't care for horses, neither did Charmaine. The creatures were just too big for their liking.

[Anonymous]

I smiled, the woman, I liked her; she was striaghtforward, and everyones favorite sarcastic! I smiled then gestured towards the fire. Would you like to join me? or do you already have a camp set up? "Well to be truthfull I dont just sell horses, I train them as well." I shook my head. "They are amazing animals."

[Anonymous]

At the mention of joining her camp Weston was instantly interested. He was tired from walking and he was hungry. From the looks of it the woman had some food almost ready. "No we don't have a camp yet. Want to join hers Char?" He asked his partner.

Charmaine thought about it for a second, but in fact she really liked the idea of resting. "Sure why not. Thanks for the invite." She said sitting down next to the fire. "The names Charmaine Tosscobble. This is Weston Thorngauge. We're from Arca. Can't really say I'm a fan of horses, but a guess they have their uses."

[Anonymous]

I smirked at the snort Durion threw in our direction. I moved back to my pack, grabbing a few spices, and threw some in the pot. "Im Falathiel Ithilwen, you may call me Fall." I crouched closer to the fire and stirred the stew. "Its not much, Ive been running low on supplies." I smiled apolegetically.

[Anonymous]

Weston sat down beside Charmaine. "It's nice to meet you Fall. Nice of you to invite to humble travelers to your fire side. These days it's hard to trust people." At his last statement Charmaine gave him a bit of a nudge in the side. No need to make their new friend suspicious. Not to mention that she didn't have anything that Charmaine would want to steal.

"That stew smells very good. We've got some bread and cheese that you are welcome to share." She said quickly to cover up what Wes had just said. "You on a long trip then?"

[Anonymous]

I looked at Weston. "Sometimes, you have to take that risk, besides, you havent done anything...yet..." I turned to Charmaine "Thank you." I moved back to my pack and set about grabbing more bowls and spoons. I ladled soup into thier bowls and handed them to Charmiane and Weston. I sat back and Litho moved closer to me, allowing me to pluck out some of the burrs that were stuck in his coat. "No I dont really have much farther to go. How about you?"

[Anonymous]

Weston and Charmaine took the offered bowls. The stew looked as good as it smelled, of course a hungry halfling could and would eat anything. "Thank you." They both said in unison as they started eating. Charmaine did take a second to break out the bread in her pack. It wasn't the most well made bread, but it did taste good and wasn't burnt. "Here some bread for you." She said offering Fall a piece and giving a piece to Weston.

"Nah, we don't have too much longer to go. At least I don't think we do. We've never been to this outpost, just given directions to it. So we're traveling a bit blind." Weston answered in between mouth fulls.

[Anonymous]

I gratefully took the offered bread. "Thank you." I stared into the fire, absently nibbling on the piece of bread. I looked up at Weston, as he answered, I smiled. "I didnt know there were any outposts in these mountains."

[Anonymous]

"Yeah, neither did we. I'm sure these mountains hold many other secrets we know nothing about. Nor do I really care to know about them. They can stay secrets." Weston said as he continued to eat the delicious food.

"I don't know about that Wes. I mean, what if one of those secrets is a huge buried treasure. Wouldn't you want to know about that?" Charmaine asked as she dipped some bread in her soup. Weston nodded thoughtfully, though didn't comment.

[Anonymous]

I stiffled a giggle, I noticed how differant the two of them were. Charmaine is adventerous and Weston prefers to keep to himself. I shook my head wondering how they met, still I figured that question could wait till they were done eating. I shook my head once more a smirk playing on my face.

[Anonymous]

They ate in silence for awhile. Talking wasn't nearly as important as filling their stomachs with good hot food. Weston kept a look out in the woods around them. This was just a habit of his. He and Charmaine had been ambushed on more than one occasion that him being a bit paranoid was understandable. Especially in a place they'd never been before. Charmaine wasn't as cautious, but it was very hard to catch the halfling off guard in any situation. She got finished with her meal and sat the bowl down. "So how about we travel together. At least until the outpost. Safety in numbers, am I right?" She suggested.

[Anonymous]

I studied them for a moment. "Alright, its fine with me...Theres more stew if you would like." It appeared they hadnt eaten a while. In the stew pot there was perhaps maybe a bowl and a half. I rolled my neck, this motion was accompanied by three loud pops.

[Anonymous]

"Oh, I think I might explode if I eat any more." Charmaine said raising her hand up. "Good. It'll be better to travel together. I'll probably scout ahead of you guys though, to make sure no one is lying in wait for us." She explained. As quiet as she was, Charmaine preferred to stay in front of those who made more noise, so she get the drop on unsuspecting enemies.

"I'm fine as well. The stew was very good. Thank you." Weston said.