On the Road at Last – 3C-QO

Chapter 3 – Getting Underway (continued)

The sun was still high in the sky when the seven of them were let through the east gate of the city. Once they were out of the way of people coming and going through the gate, Kaylen took a moment to observe his party. For the moment they were on foot, leading their horses and ponies.

Closest to Kaylen was Lyria, her brown hair held back in a ponytail as she walked alongside Dinnae. Kaylen was struck in that moment how similar the two looked in many ways. Not quite the family resemblance he shared with his sister, but both families had dark brown hair and blue eyes, though the Gallowglass’ eyes were a brighter more vivid hue. In her armor, Kaylen’s sister was not especially stealthy, though it made less noise than he might have thought on first sight. Her great sword was sheathed across her back with a light crossbow and a dagger hanging from her belt, and her gear was mostly in her black and white stallion’s saddle bags, though she kept a few things in belt pouches.

Like the swordsman, Dinnae also wore her chainmail armor openly, with a medium sized shield slung over her shoulder and a light battle-axe at her waist. The girls had selected a weapon with a spike on the reverse of the axe head, and a spear tip on the top so that it would be versatile in combat. They’d gone with an axe over a sword due to her already having familiarity with similarly constructed tools. She also had a wicked stiletto dagger hanging from her belt in the back, hidden by her cloak. She wasn’t fully comfortable with her brown speckled pony yet, but it was a very calm creature that was doing a good job setting her at ease so far. Dinnae had the fullest figure out of Kaylen’s companions, at least as well as he was able to tell through their armor and clothes, with an above average bust and wide hips.

Just past the two brown-haired girls, Talindra and Janel were having a conversation too quietly for Kaylen to overhear. The elf’s silver hair was still coiled around her head with just a short tail emerging from the back, the hood of her green cloak was down, and through the front part one could see her black breastplate over fine chainmail that was also darkened for stealth. For a moment, Lynn met Kaylen’s gaze over the shorter tanner’s head, conveying without words her desire to speak with him in private when they had a chance. Her bow was slung unstrung in a pouch attached to her quiver on the opposite hip as her gracefully curved long sword, and unlike most the others she carried no pouches and didn’t have any visible pockets either, though she had filled up her grey mare’s saddle bags pretty thoroughly. Talindra was an inch taller than Kaylen’s sister, putting her only a few inches shorter than Kaylen himself, and while she was slender, her armor obscured the details of her figure except for a bit of lean muscle definition in her arms where they weren’t fully covered by her chainmail sleeves or bracers. But her grace and fair features in her face made her quiet appealing, particularly her large emerald eyes.

The kitsune was the shortest member of their team, though not by a huge amount, and her robes and wraps in dark to neutral colors concealed not only her presence when she was being sneaky, but also much of her figure, including of course most of her bright red hair and matching fox ears. It occurred to Kaylen that Dinnae probably didn’t know what Janel was, and he wondered what she’d make of her greatest advocate among the team once she learned that bit of information. Janel’s short bow was slung loosely over one shoulder still strung, while tucked through the sash at her waist was a sword of foreign design, curved like Talindra’s, but shorter with no pummel and a small disc guard. She had a few pockets that Kaylen had seen, but they were inside her robes, rather than carried on her belt, and her mottled brown pony was packed similarly light to maintain speed and mobility.

Ursa Cloudwalker, the half-giant, stood tall in the front looking out over the landscape ahead of them. Her shield and a heavy pack were slung over her shoulders, though it didn’t appear to weigh her down at all. She wore a few pouches on her belt and a sword scabbard on her right side, while a long heavy spear was held in her right hand, the butt end on the ground as she used it like a walking staff. As she turned back to regard the others, her black hair tied back into a tail with an equally black ribbon flowing in the light breeze.

Finally, Kaylen turned to regard Sister Alanthea as she approached him while Lyria was helping Danny into her pony’s saddle. Alanthea’s grey cloak was thrown back, showing her blue robes of office and belt of swords along with her satchel of knives. “I heard Talindra speak about the magic you used at the **** auction. I would have liked to see that.” She said. She was the tallest of the girls besides Ursa, nearly level with Kaylen’s height, though her thin frame and ethereal presence made her seem taller.

“Didn’t the high priest say you’d been admonished for studying magic?” Kaylen asked.

Alanthea shrugged, her pale blue eyes sparkling. “I’m not at the Cathedral anymore. Surely you don’t mind me simply watching?”

Kaylen couldn’t resist chuckling. “No, I suppose you are welcome to look.” He agreed, wondering if she understood the potential double meaning of his words.

“Thank you.” The pale-haired girl curtsied and turned away from him to mount her pure white gelding.

“You’re welcome, Sister.” He said with a subtle bow of his own. Then he stepped forward alongside Alanthea’s mount and called each of his teammates to attention. “We should all take a quick look at the map before we set out, so there’s no confusion over the route we’ll be taking.”

Lyria and Talindra moved right in front of Kaylen, with Janel just a little behind the silver-haired elf. Alanthea and the brown-haired tanner stayed on their mounts and Ursa stood back so as not to crowd the smaller members of their group.

Kaylen retrieved the map he’d purchased from his scroll case, along with the quest directions. “This is the village that reported the sightings we’ll be looking into.” He held up the map and pointed to a small spot some distance away from the city they’d just left.

“The main road will take us part way there, but we’ll need to make sure we don’t miss this smaller road that branches off to the north into the forest. I’m not sure what kind of speed we’ll make, but we should be able to make it to the logging village before nightfall if everything goes well. Does anyone have any questions?”

He allowed his sister and elf companion to examine the map until they were satisfied, and gave their kitsune infiltrator a moment with it as well. Then he offered the map to Alanthea, who declined, and then Ursa, who held it gingerly for a long moment before handing it back. “Would you like to take a look as well?” Kyalen asked of his **** girl, sitting astride her pony.

“Sure, but I don’t really know how to read maps.” She admitted.

The blue-eyed girl leaned close as Kaylen explained what the lines and symbols on the map meant, but soon everyone but him was mounted up and ready to go, so he put his map and sheaf of quest papers away and vaulted into the saddle of his black and brown mare. “Alright everyone, let’s move out.”

They rode as the sun moved slowly across the sky, dipping down towards the horizon behind them. They passed by the occasional merchant caravan who always seemed eager to exchange news, and a few lone travelers who stayed on their side of the rode and didn’t speak to them.

They’d been on the road for a few hours when a shadow passed over Kaylen’s group. He looked up and spotted what appeared to be a horse with great feathered wings; Kaylen remembered it was called a pegasus. Riding the creature was an armored figure with a collection of spears and javelins, and close behind him were three more airborne adventurers, two riding on a flying carpet, and one wearing priestly robes with radiant wings of his own bearing him aloft.

They moved swiftly to the north and a little to the east of Kaylen and his companions, and it was only a moment after he’d observed them that Talindra pointed ahead of where they were flying. “Look there, a wyvern!” She called out. Straining his eyes, Kaylen could barely make out a shape in the distance over the forest that was their destination, and sure enough it appeared to be directly in the path of the flying heroes above them.

There were murmurs among his teammates as Kaylen himself closed his eyes, and spoke a careful incantation to enhance his sight. When he opened them again, he narrowed his focus to that spot in the distance, now clearly able to make out the details of a winged dragon-like creature flying above the trees, alongside about a dozen smaller creatures that resembled large birds with humanoid heads and torsos; harpies, he realized after a moment. They seemed to be circling something they could see on the ground, and then the wyvern began a dive, and the harpies followed, disappearing into the canopy.

At that point, Kaylen dismissed his spell and turned his attention to his allies’ conversation. “…of our own someday?” Janel was turned in her saddle to address her question to Kaylen.

“I’m sorry, can you repeat that? I was looking ahead with magic.” Kaylen replied.

“I asked if you think we could get flying mounts of our own someday.” The red-head kitsune repeated.

“It’s something we could work towards, certainly.” Kaylen assured her. “So long as we’re able to take on greater threats, such as the wyvern and harpies it appears that group is after.”

Janel looked forward again, to where the four flying adventurers were rapidly disappearing, and seemed happy with that potential in their future.

It wasn’t much longer before they reached a poorly labeled crossroad. There was a sign that was little more than an unusually tall mile marker, though it only listed the city they’d come from and the next big city further on. The smaller road to the north had no label, even though on his map the logging village in the forested foothills it led to was called Glenvale.

He took a moment to confer with his comrades to make certain they all agreed this was the correct turnoff, and then they began riding north, leaving the highway behind.

It was another hour, as the sun began to close in on the horizon to their west, that Kaylen called a halt to their journey to rest for a few minutes and eat some of their cheese and trail bread. They put their mounts on lead reins to graze while they each found a place to sit on grass or rocks.

After retrieving some food, Lyria moved to sit next to Kaylen. “I was talking a little with Danny.” She began, “It sounds like you really came through for her and her brother. I was a little apprehensive when you came back with a ****, I thought you just needed to see the reality of it for yourself. But I’m glad to hear what happened, and I wanted you to know I agree with your decision.”

“Thanks, Lyria.” Kaylen smiled fondly at his sister. “That means a lot to me coming from you. I hope I never give you reason to doubt me.”

She responded by giving him a one-armed hug, though with her armor it was not as comfortable as it might have been otherwise. “I’ve missed you, you know. I’m really looking forward to getting to know you all over again.”

“I feel the same.” He agreed, enjoying her momentary embrace.

They each took a few bites of their food, but then his sister lifted her head from his shoulder as Talindra approached them with a handful of her own food. “I wondered if I might sit and speak with you.” She told them.

“Do you need me to give you two some space?” Lyria asked.

Talindra shook her head. “This concerns our effectiveness as a party.”

Kaylen gestured for Lynn to sit, and she gracefully crossed her legs under her, taking a seat on the grass facing them both. “I am not a mage, but I know a little about magic. It seemed like the spell you cast at the slaver’s office did not entirely go as you expected it to.”

Kaylen nodded, “I may have put a little too much mana into it. I hadn’t intended to affect everyone in the room, just Dinnae.”

“Is this a common issue for you, or was it the emotion of the moment?”

Lyria glanced back and forth between them, obviously curious about the details, but she didn’t interject.

“It’s not an issue I’ve had in the past, to be honest.” Kaylen admitted. “But I didn’t feel like I was overcome with emotion either.”

“If that is true, then it is quite strange. If it is not presumptuous, would you permit me to keep an eye on you when you are casting spells, just to see if I can glean some insight if it happens again?”

“That should be fine, I would welcome your insight.” Kaylen assured her. “Though hopefully it won’t be an issue in the future.”

She offered a soft smile, “It is better that whatever the issue may have been you learn to handle it rather than simply avoiding it. If you can reproduce the effect, you could make use of it to yours and our advantage.”

“An excellent point. Thank you.”

“Of course.” Talindra nodded.

“I hope it was nothing serious?” Lyria asked once it was clear the elf girl was finished.

“No, just my spell ended up affecting a few more people than I had originally intended. Nothing harmful. Though if I had a similar issue with a combat spell it could make things tricky, so I’ll be extra careful until we figure out what caused this incident.”

“I guess that’ll have to do for now.” His blue-eyed sister acknowledged. “But promise me you’ll let us know if you think there may be issues.”

“I promise, Lyria.” He vowed as the two women got to their feet, with Kaylen following a moment after.

Soon they were on their way once more, and as they moved along the narrow road towards the mountains, they passed only one large cart carrying a stack of huge logs. They rode in pairs once they entered the forest, with Lyria and Talindra in the lead, and Ursa bringing up the rear on her own. Kaylen found himself just behind his sister alongside Dinnae, who seemed content to occasionally watch him from the corner of her eye, but would look ahead when he turned towards her.

“There isn’t something on my face, is there?” He asked, after catching her looking for at least the fourth time.

“No, nothing.” She said simply. Kaylen sighed, and turned his own gaze forward. But then after a moment, the **** girl added, “I know this could have gone a lot worse for me if it had been someone else. I feel like I really dodged an arrow back there.”

“For what it’s worth, I never imagined I would own a ****, indentured or otherwise. It was only because of Janel’s urging that I decided to try to step in, hoping to be a better master to your brother than he might have otherwise found himself serving.”

The brown-haired girl nodded, but then looked down. “So um, when I first barged in, and tried to convince you to take me over Gregory…”

“I didn’t buy you because you offered your body. As far as I’m concerned, you are not bound to that in any way.” Kaylen assured her, guessing what she was getting at.

She blushed even deeper, and smiled at him, “Thank you. I mean, I would have gone through with it, because I was serious when I made the offer. But I’m grateful to you just the same. Maybe, we can revisit the idea at a later date?” She suggested.

“If you wish, we can discuss the matter again, once we’ve come to know each other better.” Kaylen returned her smile, but then the horses ahead of them slowed, and Kaylen looked up to see Lyria and Talindra calling a halt and turning in their saddles to face the rest of the group.

“There’s something up ahead.” The elf marksman advised them. “Off the path, to the right, maybe a hundred yards.”

The group strained their senses, looking out into the trees, and sure enough there was a rustling through the underbrush that stilled almost immediately.

“Should we investigate?” Lyria asked.