Listan Woods
Unlike it's sister in the East, the Listan Woods are a rather pleasant place to pass through before retreating into the quiet stillness of the Solentine Mountains beyond them. Several trading posts and trails weave themselves through the forest, and travelers are always passing on the main roads out of Lucenbourne. However, enemies lie close to home, and bandits often raid and pillage the small villages and passersby. There is no definite sense of evil presence here as in the Virulai, but the danger is still very much real.
The troupe had only been traveling a few minutes before Marcus' itching hands reached into the bag at his horse's side for the map of the wood. His Uncle's work was thorough and it was easily read that if they kept on this path, it would take them straight to Ijanallo's Pass--this was the main road after all, and the only road leading directing into Habibia. As he read, he watched a pair of bickering elders on their cart, carrying loafs of bread and nondescript baskets. They paused ever so briefly and their eyes wandered to the formal-looking travelers. If they stayed on this road...it would be much too obvious that some action was being taken by the Emperor, and not all inhabitants of the Listan were so innocent or civil as the average trader on these roads. "Wait," Marcus said, pulling gently on the reigns of his stallion and showing his hand to the others. "Have any of you passed through these parts before? Often, mayhaps...?"
Alia hesitate, unsure whether or not to give up this valuable information. It might be a wise plan to keep a trump card in case she fell out of favor with the party. On the other hand, if she should guide them, she might gain some respect or, at the very least, trust. In the end her want to be trusted won out, she had more than one trump card after all. "I have, once or twice that is, traveled through here. Why?"
Marcus followed the tediously inked trails with his finger, looking up occasionally at the path they were on as if expecting it to light up and point to the direction they should go. "We need to get off this road, I think," he explained, just loudly enough for the other riders to hear. "There's too many people, too many witnesses, and not all of them on our side. The poor will give up anything useful and even lie just for some bread under the table. We can't risk letting our faces be seen, and in a group." He could see, a little further away, where a smaller and less-worm path faded into the main road. It seemed shaded, dark, a little less open and familiar. The map seemed to point out that only one particular trading post operated there, probably storing nothing much but food for other travelers. Eventually, as it winded through the back paths, it again joined with the main trade route a few miles south of the Pass. It could work. "I just hope my Uncle's maps are correct. A guide would certainly be helpful here." After one last elongated peek, he folded the parchment and tapped it back in place inside the bag. "We'll follow
that route. It should still take us to the mountains safely, just...flankin
g the main traffic."
Alia rode up and glanced over Marcus's shoulder at the map. "Well," she started, "I don't know all these side roads, but they all go past the same landmarks, so it won't be too hard I reckon." She grinned mischievously and looked back at Bedevere, "That is if you can trust the spy to lead you."
Bedevere looked at Alia then at Marcus's back, "Assuming the spy survives the night.." he remarked with a straight face. During their move from the city to the forest, Bedevere had put on a large cloak which was held on by a bronze button on his right shoulder to help conceal the Departments captain colored tunic, something he refused to change out of even though it would attract un-wanted attention.
"Is that a threat?" asked Alia aggressively, turning her horse and drawing a knife from the straps inside her boot within an eye blink. She pointed the knife directly at Bedevere's face despite the several foot distance between them, "Because I don't take well to threats."
Yale's brow furrowed in slight annoyance. "Pulling a knife on our own kind? What kind of team can we hope to be if we cannot learn to trust each other?" she reasoned lowly, glancing around them at the few traders who had noticed and hurried by to avoid a potentially very bad situation. "There is no reason not to trust each other. We were all called equally by our own Emperor. Revealing our purpose in these parts may have us all killed by evening. Put the knife away. At the very least until it is necessary." She glared fleetingly at the squabbling pair, then clicked her tongue to start her mare at a trot towards the proposed trail they were to follow.
Alia bitterly sheathed her knife, but did not remove her eyes from Bedevere as she spoke to Yale, "My intention on this mission was not one of fighting; however, I've learned to take nothing for granted. I will halt this useless bickering if he does. If not, I am prepared to defend myself. What say you Bedevere, shall we put aside our dispute, or do I need to watch my back for you?" She was well aware that the comment was not entirely friendly, but her intention was not to be friends, nor did she plan to turn her back on Bedevere, even if he agreed to leave her be.
"I wasn't bickering, i was simply warning a..person..such as yourself that only armed with a knife isn't going to help much once we get into more 'darker' areas. You don't need to watch your back for me spy." Bedevere said, who didn't seem to hold any anger when a weapon was pulled on him, in fact, he had made a small smirk at the thought of Alia challenging himself.
"People, please," Marcus snapped in exasperation, resting a hand on the hilt of his sword. "If we're all going to argue, let us do it somewhere less open than in the midst of traffic. Come, and calm yourselves." He glared at them each then turned his horse to follow Yale at a slow trot, shaking his head vaguely and wondering how it was he was paired with such strangely different people.
Alia finally turned her back on Bedevere, making a mental note to not appear as if she was watching him. Something about him made her skin crawl. The sooner she was out of his presence, the better. Instead she turned her mind toward the task at hand. Leading this little band of "warriors" could be more difficult than she had first anticipated. Shrugging this off, she pulled forward, but still remained respectively behind Marcus. She didn't need any more enemies in this group.
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