What lies beyond the trees, (Tags: Kevarre, Sorcha, & soon, the riders)

Nearing midday, the caravan had been on the road for almost two days -which was about half way through their journey if weather remained as clear as it had been, and no unsuspected surprises got in the way. They had passed only a couple of points along the way where geography offered more strategical locations for attacks suspected by the holdless; and one of those locations had been the site of a previous raid already. But thus far, their plan to beat the raiders to Igen seemed to be working. There hadn't been any signs of other humans in the area.

Another two or three days like this wouldn't be so bad, Yeoun thought. It was peaceful outside of the main hold, and certainly what he was more accustomed to, having grown up in the countryside. It had been a lazy day thus far, and Yeoun had been riding on runnerback toward the head of the caravan by himself, flanking one of the first carts in the line while the rest of the four Blood Moon Squad boys were spread out to cover other positions. Sorcha was also with the caravan, but the girl was riding with another passenger who'd paid for passage with the caravan going to Igen. Together, they'd been acting as though they did not know one another -and no one else happened to be the wiser.

Somewhat slouched in his posture, Yeoun glanced idly up toward the sky, looking out over a skyline of trees ahead of them and gauging the time by the position of the sun. They were about to enter the edge of the forest spreading out between there and the foot of the mountain housing Igen Weyr, and that was his cue. Yeoun slowed his steed in order to fall back to where Kevarre rode.

"Since we'll be entering the forrest soon, I'm going to scout ahead just to be certain there's no sign of raiders. I'll signal if I run into any trouble." Not a man of many words, Yeoun knew that was all he needed to say for Kevarre to keep an extra eye open until he returned. He knew that Kevarre would be thinking the same thing as he -that it would be better to be looking ahead at this point. If they happened to get into the forest and be put under siege, it would be much more difficult to defend themselves. Out in the open, they could maneuver the carts to create a more defensive posturing for themselves and buy a little advantage, but they wouldn't have that chance amoungst the trees. Maneuverability would be much more limited.

After receiving acknowledgement from his best friend, Yeoun spurred his steed to a gallop, leaving the caravan behind him.


[Sorry just trying to set the scene here >D ]


Yeoun entered the forrest knowing just where the holdless band should be hiding out. He and Sorcha and gone over the map, so he knew what to expect when he got there. Since the caravan had left ahead of time, the holdless band obviously wouldn't be prepared for their arrival and thus Yeoun needed to tip them off to the caravan's coming. Of course, he couldn't make it obvious that he was communicating with them.

The young man's eyes flashed from one point to the next between the trees, looking for the signs of habitation he was expecting to find; and when he reached a certain point, Yeoun purposefully urged his runner up an embankment, on a less beaten path. It was there, as he looked around, that he located the holdless camp's invisible borders. Well, invisible to everyone but those who knew how to find them.

Nothing would have seemed out of the ordinary, but for the few booby traps they'd laid just in case of discovery. Prepared for that eventuality though, Yeoun was the wiser, so drew his sword, and with it, set off one of their traps after ensuring that both he and his runner were at a safe angle.

Several arrows whizzed through the trees, shooting into adjacent trunks or becoming lost amoungst the leaves. At the same time, he could hear the soft sound of tiny, tingling bells; each of the bows triggered, had been attached to one of the lines of bells put in place to alert the group of any unwanted attention. And that was exactly what Yeoun hoped to do -alert them. Though he couldn't be in direct communication, this should be enough. At least now they'd be on the lookout and Yeoun could honestly tell the members of his own team that he had not see any raiders. He hadn't.

Without waiting for a reply from the camp, Yeoun left the embankment to return to the road. He continued to be on the lookout for anyone coming up behind him, as none of the holdless would realize that he too, was working with the rebels, so if they happened to catch up to him, they might attack. Either way, the young man continued at an easy gallop to re-join the caravan.




The caravan had gotten closer to the forrest's edge, but it hadn't taken him long to return, so they hadn't gotten close enough to have noticed anything suspicious on their own. Going back to meet Kevarre, Yeoun assured him with no sign of deception, "Looks like the coast is clear. If they're out there, they're hiding themselves well. Let's see if we can get them to move a little faster so that we get to the next creek by nightfall. Resting there would be ideal."


After a moment, Yeoun had gone to speak with the caravan master, and the man was nodding his agreement before Yeoun fell back to ride alongside Kevarre once more.

Sorcha was in the caravan, ready to plant evidence as needed before she would disappear and head back to prepare for her next, equally important assignment. She listened as the man who had bartered passage began to talk her ear off about his family.

“So you have any family?”
“No.” Why it mattered she wouldn't know. would the guy shut up already...erhg.
“What happened to them?”
“They’re dead.” Conversation? This was more like an inquisition.
“Really? How did that happen?” Inquisition or just plain nosey, it didn't matter. She didn't like it.

“I killed them.” She said and knocked the guy out. He’d be asleep for a while. Moving to the front of the wagon, she sat next to the older man driving. “Tired of the chit-chat?” He asked with a smirk, meanwhile taking a moment to look the young woman over up and down.
“Yep. I’d like to sit up here if I may?”
“Of course.”

She allowed her cloak to cover most of her features as she scanned the people she could see. Her thoughts after realizing half of them were dozing off from boredom were that this was going to be all too easy. She watched with little interest as Yeoun left to clear the road ahead.

Kevarre sat upon his runner, comfortable after all the traveling they had had to do lately. Finally back at the main hold and they were out on another mission. Well at least there was the prospect of real danger this time. They weren’t stuck with a cranky and lonely old crone. Things were looking up. After a few successful missions like this, they would start to receive honors. He would be on the way to redemption. Nodding at Yeoun’s announcement that he would scout ahead. Kevarre used a hand signal to tell the others to change to a three man formation.

Knowing Yeoun to be honest and a good tracker, he had no doubts going in the coast was clear. “Alright. We continue on then.”

He signaled the Blood moon squad to resume a four man position. Telgar’s forests were not good for travelling with goods. Kev felt the need to check and recheck his weapons as they rode on. He trusted Yeoun but then the road ahead could always change and he was a bit paranoid about that. Forests were a great place to have a small force of men attack caravans. They could move through the trees easily and blend.

The only thing that kept men from being evil and taking things which were not theirs was their own moral conscience. Kevarre wasn’t some high born hold boy. He had been starving, scraping to survive with a little sister dying of fever. He would never have resorted to crimes of this level. To be so inconsiderate of other people’s lives and the things they value and worked hard for.

Had Yeoun been there to watch the scene between Sorcha and the man trying her for idle chit chat, he probably would have laughed. After spending more time in her presence, though he'd never say they'd become friends necessarily, he was getting accustomed to her temperament. Even if it were only for the sake of necessity they had to work together or be together, he could say at least they'd be able to work well together as companions in that light -to get the job done, so to speak. Both of them were doers; when a task was set before them, neither of them liked to tarry in accomplishing what needed to get done. Thus far however, his missions under supervision of the Chorong Rebels had been nothing significant. But today, that would all change.

Today, he had officially assisted the Chorong in their cause, and now that he thought about it... he could be officially labeled as a traitor of Telgar. As he rode alongside Kevarre though, that thought didn't have time to set in. He was simply looking forward to what events were about to come their way.


Until that expected time however, Yeoun, being a little bored, visited with Kevarre. "Well, even if there's no raid, at least we'll have a chance to visit the Weyr and see some dragons up close." And that in and of itself had to make up for some of the lack of excitement otherwise. The Blood Moon member had his head tilted back then, eyes squinting up at the sky to see if he could spot any of them yet.

Yeoun did wonder just when the riders would arrive, who were soon to be accompanying them on the remainder of their journey. He wondered how long the holdless had to carry out their attack before riders arrived. If that time was too soon, then things might be cut short and he might not get the chance he needed to plant false evidence on one of their holdless bodies.

For a brief moment, he thought that it was pitiful that the holdless had no idea that they were being used as fodder so that a couple of their corpses could be used to mislead the Telgar Guard as to where next they conducted their investigations in search of the Rebels. On the part of the Chorong, it was necessary for self preservation now that Telgar was sure of their continued existence. And those holdless men had no idea they were walking into a trap. Just like the caravan had no idea what now awaited them.

As soon as Kevarre made the motion to hold their positions, Yeoun reacted to his friend's signal. Yeoun spurred his mount forward to stop the caravan, signaling them to arrange themselves in a more defensive position -which they did. Most of the carts started moving almost immediately, though many of the passengers paying for travel with the caravan who weren't used to the periodic raids, were in a panic. And there at the front of the caravan, Yeoun found the driver of one cart already knocked out. His eyes shot up to see where Sorcha had gone to, if she was the culprit, but she was already headed toward the back of the line again to finish her work.

Everyone else seemed too distracted by the incoming raiders to notice Sorcha making an escape; or to notice the punishment of caravan members she'd just carried out. Her targets had been uncooperative members of the caravan that they needed to be sure were not able to put any kinks in their plans -now or in the future. The Rebels were doing well to have an entire group of traders formerly working in favour of the Holder of Southern Telgar Hold, who were now cooperating with them instead. They'd been able to acquire a lot of raw materials that way, having it safely transported to hidden storehouses.

In any case, Yeoun now focused his attention on the raiders coming at them. While Kevarre and two of the other Blood Moon Squad began letting loose a barrage of arrows, the young man signaled for their own group of five to take up their own formation so that they could defend the people and the goods depending on them now.

Yeoun drew the sword across his back, and readied himself. Motioning one of the other Blood Moon boys, the two of them took off on their mounts, racing to the fray of holdless.

---

Nayh felt no need to rely on Sorcha for her own safety. Her own safety was her own concern, once the holdless band attacked; unfortunately she could not tell them -and they might not care-that they were fighting on the same side. Anyway, she only had one job to do here, and that was to watch Yeoun and make certain that he did his own part. She hadn't been given any other task for the time, because it was important that Yeoun prove himself as a member of the Rebels. Along with Sorcha, he would be the one planting false evidence. Nayh was not truly capable of killing these holdless raiders anyway. Not in this kind of situation. She was much too timid for physical combat.


Sorcha had rushed by her, and she watched the other girl for a moment, wonder just what was going on. She herself had not seen the raiders appear yet. The cart she'd been riding in however, had started to move in another direction, and she was unable to get out just yet.

There were voices over the commotion that passengers should stay calm and group together, not going into a panic. They had soldiers here after all, protecting them.

Nayh's hands went to the side of the cart, looking out from it. Taking cue from Kevarre nearby, who was the nearest Guardsman to her, she turned her worried eyes toward the forest's edge where the raiders now began appearing from. Soon, she was following Yeoun's movements, where he helped to direct the caravan into a more defensive position.

Kevarre did not have time to watch the other members of the squad, he trusted them explicitly. As Yeoun went to make sure everyone was in a defensive position, Kevarre began injuring and possibly killing some of the people attacking the Caravan. He wanted to take them alive. However, he also wanted to protect those with the Caravan. So he kept a wary eye and took out those people who seemed to be endangering people first, then he worried about the supplies. He was an expert bowman and these attackers were beginning to see just how much of an expert he was.

He wasn’t someone who rejoiced in killing. Quite the opposite, he took killing people very seriously. Kevarre aimed to wound these men for that reason and also because it was far easier to question men who were alive. If they killed them all there would be no one to question. The wagon closest to him had a young woman in front who seemed completely bewildered. He was going to have to pay close attention to that one. Women were completely incompetent.

Too busy to really expand on that thought, he was now in the uncomfortable situation of being in a much closer quarter encounter. As if that were going to be a problem! He grinned, taking the sword from its sheath he slid off of his runner and began fighting his adversary on foot. He dispatched the man easily, using the hilt of the blade to knock the man out.

Meanwhile Sorcha remained in the brush, watching the scene unfold. The Squad were better fighters than she had anticipated but then she was happily surprised by it. Maybe Yeoun’s friends would be more of a challenge for him than she had initially thought. Her eyes wandered to where Nayh sat. The only person she was concerned about was the other girl. Hopefully the boys would treat her as she assumed they would, as an innocent bystander.

She was not happy when she saw they were only injuring the people who attacked and not killing all of them. Really? Was anyone that good at heart? She doubted it, highly. Irritated that her job would become more difficult, she realized she was going to have to go with the caravan to tie up any and all loose ends. She could leave with Nayh and be sure the other girl made it home safely.

While Kevarre struck down their opponents, avoiding having to leave them mortally wounded, Yeoun did opposingly. Like his friend though, Yeoun did not enjoy having to take a man's life -and he'd only ever taken one life; that is the life that caused him to abhor the thought of the atrocious act. And not a single other soul would possibly ever know his strife.

But Yeoun also couldn't afford to leave these men alive. Not only was it in order to fulfill the directives of his new Chorong master, but because in a way, he let killing became his punishment. It was self-incrimination for ever having slain his own father. It was punishment for having decided to go along with the Chorong in the first place. He was determined though, to find a way to minimize the number of lives he'd have to destroy along the way.

The newest Chorong member would need a corpse or two though, to plant false evidence on in order to fulfill his own secretive mission. So, though he was at first reluctant, Yeoun reined in any hesitation and went for his first kill.

From runnerback, he held great advantage over those who charged at the caravan. He was able to quickly cut down two or three men. From his periphery he could see another two or three collapse nearby, having apparently been struck by Kevarre's arrows. But when the rest of that wave of attackers had passed, the rest of them closing in on the caravan's position, Yeoun turned his runner about in order to prepare a charge of his own.

Spurring his steed ahead, the Blood Moon boy's sword arm was poised to strike the next holdless mercenary before him.

Before he could bring his sword arm down though, the holdless had made their way through the caravan's outer ring of defense, where carts and wagons were in a haphazard ring to surround the group of women or children who huddled at the middle of them. Unable to navigate further on his runner, Yeoun swung himself to the ground, taking off immediately for the mercenary nearest him. At which point, luck seemed to be with him.

While he was catching up to a straggler, other caravan members and Blood Moon members seemed preoccupied in protecting the inner circle of their position. That left him a brief opening to plant his evidence on the next corpse. The opportunity before him, Yeoun drove his blade through the man's back, quickly drawing the fake map from beneath the collar of his tunic, hiding the motion behind the man's figure there.

Withdrawing his sword, it was as the man collapsed, that Yeoun followed him to the ground, turning the body over after making sure no one else looked his way. He placed the map amoungst the man's clothing carefully, bringing his blade across the man's throat to be sure of his death and inability to speak in witness to the traitorous activity before pushing off from the ground at a near run to assist his comrades.

---

Nayh was not nearly as formidable in her efforts on this particular mission -in fact, she was a little frightened. But fright was diminished while her eyes followed the man she admired most -Yeoun.

Of course, that couldn't last forever. Nayh was interrupted by another woman pulling at her sleeve, trying to get her to join the rest of the group forming together at the middle of the wagons for safety. Deciding it would take her closer to Yeoun anyway, Nayh moved to hop out of the wagon and follow her.

Just as Nayh was about to leaver her spot, she took another glance back at Yeoun to watch his progress, in hopes that he would not be injured here. Suddenly afraid though, that Kevarre would turn and see him, as he'd run out of targets for his arrows, Nayh looked for a way to distract his attention, seeing as though Yeoun had his own mission to fulfill. And if she had any say in it, she'd do whatever she could to help him out.

So, as Nayh went from the Wagon, fate would have it that a lone mercenary had snuck his way around behind their position. Of course, Nayh's sudden fright was natural, but couldn't have been more perfectly timed. With a frightful cry, the girl screamed and picked up her skirts to run in the other direction, toward the center of the caravan's defensive formation.

And with any luck, that would draw Kevarre's attention, too. None would be the wiser.

With another man down, all Kevarre knew was that these Holdless were still coming. Doing his best to find a better position he decided he could see better from his runner’s back. The steed luckily was close by. Despite the chaos it remained with him. He was growing rather attached to the beast as time went on. He got back up on his runner in time to hear the scream of a young woman. He didn’t have to look to know who the scream came from. Women. He wanted to shake his head in irritation.

Turning his runner in a wide circle, he allowed it to canter towards where the girl was. His arrow released from the bow, as he used his legs only to remain in complete balance on the runner. The arrow took the man down and had likely killed him. Since Kevarre had acted instinctively to save the young woman. Setting his bow back into its sheath, he freed up his arms but he didn’t bother guiding the runner with the reigns. Nayh wasn’t running fast enough to outrun Kevarre’s runner. Reaching down as he started to pass her, Kevarre lifted her onto the runner, placing her sideways in front of him.

Although he was fuming a little bit at the stupidity and stubbornness of women, he decided not to waste his breath. Women did what they wanted and were a constant problem. If they would just do as they were told. This girl would have been perfectly safe in the center with everyone else. The time it took to reach the center where the other people were gathered was not enough to even say what he was thinking about anyway. When they approached the people in the center, he slowed the runner.

When the beast was stopped, he slid off first, reaching up to help her down. Once she was firmly on the ground, he let go of her. It was like Kevarre to act according to his higher moral code. He knew the girl was going to be trouble but it didn’t stop him from feeling obligated to keep her safe. He fixed her with a blue eyed stare, “Stay here.” He wasn’t going to take no for an answer. He mounted the runner again. Not taking time to say anything more and fully expecting her to comply, he repositioned his bow.

Sorcha heard the scream too and knew Nayh must be doing something to help Yeoun. They had agreed they wanted the young man to succeed. Mostly because Sorcha found his company amusing. He didn’t seem to know whether to hate her or befriend her which was a most interesting situation to be in. She generally trusted her first instinct about people. And she had always found Yeoun to be interesting. Nayh she had known for a while and trusted the other woman enough… well more than most people but not all. There was one person she trusted more. Then there were very few people Sorcha knew well enough to think about trusting.

Watching everything that was unfolding from her position, she was really not liking the archer. Why couldn’t he kill them? Hopefully Yeoun would be able to handle most of the ones he was taking down without killing. If not, she needed to do some clean up. They really could use an archer that talented in the Chorong but she wasn’t sure that Yeoun could trust his friend enough to tell him about the Rebels. They could potentially try to recruit him using someone else. If he refused that would be very bad and put her in a difficult position where Yeoun was concerned. She had promised to leave the Blood Moon Squad safe. Recruiting would endanger them whether they agreed to join or not.

Nayh was running and could hear the thump of an arrow hit its target not far behind her, and then the man tumbling from his injury, but she did not expect to be drawn up in the arms of the young soldier on runnerback.

It was at first the surprise that caught her breath, but even through the rush of adrenaline, she was conscious enough of his hands on her that she couldn't help but blush. How embarrassing! Nayh had worked as a pillowcrafter for long enough that she should be used to the hands of men on her body, yet somehow this was different. There was no lewd intention behind his actions.

Afraid that she might fall from the runner, Nayh's arms held Kevarre about the waist while they rode. There wasn't much time to daydream while she held onto him, fingers clutched to his tunic, because soon, they were back with the rest of the group. The briefest thought crossed her mind, that it was a pity she'd have to leave the spot now, because Nayh had never been so close to such a handsome man. And he appeared to be so young to be in the guard and sent on a special escort mission like this? He must be incredibly talented.

Even as they came to the group at the center of the Caravan circle, Nayh was staring up at Kevarre a little dreamily, in the middle of those thoughts. But before she knew it, Kevarre was dismounting the runner, her eyes happy to follow, and her hands taking resting upon his shoulders as he helped her down.

As he helped her to dismount though, it was in her mind's eye that Nayh could see some similarity between the man and someone else she knew. It wasn't Yeoun...they didn't look anything alike. And they certainly weren't alike in manner.

Oh! That was it. The Guardsman seemed rather abrupt -like Sorcha. Y'know, maybe his facial features were similar, too? At first Nayh looked on Kevarre, gauging how true that might be, but to her own surprise, the girl started believing in their similarity more and more as she stared at him. She must have looked dumbfounded or in shock or some such, as he left her there to mount his runner once more and take off again. It was before she could do or say anything else -not even to thank him- that he had left her there with the others.

---

Yeoun had knocked a couple more holdless unconscious and the immediate area surrounding the people who sought sanctuary there behind the circle of carts and wagons. Since the other Blood Moon boys seemed to have preoccupied the remainder of the holdless band, Yeoun turned his attention to members of the caravan who'd been injured. The young man's sword was quickly sheathed and Yeoun went to kneel beside a man who'd been lain on the ground next to where the caravan's healer was already helping another injured figure.

Yeoun helped another woman prepare a tourniquet for the man's arm to stop the blood flow there. Apparently a bit squeamish, the man was being obstinate and state of panic and inability to hold still make things difficult for anyone to treat him. Without any form of sedation, Yeoun procured the use of one of the needles he kept handy on his belt to immobilize the arm through an acupuncture point. "Calm down." But that was all that was said before Yeoun overheard the shouts of others, which foretold the arrival of another holdless mercenary.

Throwing a glance back over his shoulder, the Blood Moon member was turning even as he rose from his feet, to face the new threat; but with so many friendlies nearby, there was no way he could safely swing a sword around without catching someone innocent in the crossfire so to speak. So he looked to procure the use of another needle.

Quickly angling himself between the holdless attacker and the caravan's members where they huddled, Yeoun's left arm shot out, grappling hold of the mercenary's wrist just as the blade began to thrust forward. But after that, he was unable to move. Yeoun jabbed the tiny needle into the man's arm near the elbow, paralyzing the limb where it was at, and with a spin on his booted heel, a second needle was pinned into the side of his neck. Yeoun's attention left him there, unable to do anything but talk -it was as if time had frozen him in place there. But Blood Moon's Yeoun moved on, agilely leaping up to navigate over some fallen crates that barred his way, joining up with the rest of the Guard team.

The caravan should be just ahead of them, N'kyr thought as Ramirath came out of between.  He could see signs that runners had passed along the path below them fairly recently, as well as fresher wheel tracks from the carts.

Quickly turning to take stock of the other riders, he was thankful to see Raidenth appear as he looked.  Good-- so the green and her rider were hopefully back to focusing on the mission, instead of the girl's apparent idol.  Or at least her dragon was, if the rider wasn't.

"Fan out," the young bronzerider called to the others, indicating a formation similar to what they used for sweeps.  It would cover the greatest amount of territory, so they could keep an eye out for raiders as they moved forward.  He and S'jiro would stay slightly forward of the two greenriders-- bronzes would be far more intimidating were they to meet up with any unsavory characters.  And the traders would likely see them as more official representatives of the Weyr, anyway.

While Ramirath turned to move into his own position in their small 'wing', N'kyr raised his hand in a signal to move forward.  Before they'd gone more than dragonlength, however, the unmistakeable sound of a scream reached their ears.

"Shardit, something's wrong!" Tasha yelled, more to Lance than the bronzeriders.  "We need to move fast!"  And without asking, she urged Sionnath ahead, the small green far more agile than her bronze counterparts.

"Formation!" N'kyr angrily responded, though he doubted she could hear him.  Ramirath beat his wings harder in an effort to keep up with the other dragon, and he could see Raidenth coming up alongside Zemarith to  his right.  They had no idea if anything was truly wrong-- whoever had screamed had probably just seen a snake or some other creature.  Lord Matoi and Captain Toshiro had assured them no one knew of the plans for the caravan to leave early, so surely it wasn't the raiders.  And even if it was, seeing dragonriders so clearly disarrayed would be less likely scare off anyone, wouldn't it?

Screw formation, Tashamoretta told her green. Tell Raidenth something's not right with the tracks.  And there's far too much yelling ahead of us-- they need our help!

Not that she much cared how N'kyr thought she would behave on a mission but desptire her outburst she never had any intention of ignoring her duty. Lives might well be at stake. Following behind the Bronzeriders just slightly, she understood Tasha's shouting, even if she could barely hear her.

Looking down she thought the same thing Tasha did. There was already something wrong. Raidenth was a little larger than Sionnath although still more at ease navigating closer to the tree line than the Bronze ones would be. The green dragon moved past Zemarith at a much greater speed than they were probably expecting from her. Smiling she let the thought of, we were placed in charge of this part of the mission, we'll do as we please.

Raidenth moved in right behind Sionnath, allowing Lance to hear the shouting for herself. And then she saw the Caravan it was stopped the people were gathered in one group while the guards were dealing with their assailants but it did not appear that the guard were a normal compliment, there were more Holdless down than up. Then there was a high pitched whistle.

---

Shards! Dragons. She pouted and then gave the whistle for the Holdless to retreat. In the meantime she knew she would need to do some clean up. Anyone that was alive better get out of there. If they were captured alive, she would see to it herself they died before a single word could pass their lips.

As men and women retreated from the caravan into the woods, she emerged from her hiding place and slid under the nearest wagon. It would be somewhat plausible to say she had been hiding there during the attacks. It didn't seem to take long for other people to see what she had seen.

----

Kevarre heard the whistle and saw the retreat before he saw the cause. Looking up as something moving caught his peripheral vision, he saw the two green dragons. Something behind them caught the light of the sun and shone rather than glinted in the light. A Bronze perhaps? He wouldn't know. He was just glad they had come because he was going to have to start killing the Holdless instead of incapacitating them. They only needed a few to interrogate and the rest would be a hassle to drag with them to Igen Weyr.

As the Holdless retreated he did not raise his weapon but rather looked for Yeoun. When he found the other young man he had his runner charge up beside him, "Do we pursue them or continue to Igen weyr?"

Having been engaged with an opponent, it wasn't until he heard the whistle that Yeoun realized dragons had arrived behind them. Cutting the man down before he could try to withdraw in retreat, Yeoun then looked back, gazing skyward, where the two bronzes and two greens flew overhead. Momentarily though, Kevarre stole his attention.

Seeing as the Holdless had all turned to make a run for the forrest's edge to find sanctuary from the impossibly large (dragon) reinforcements come to the caravan's aid, Yeoun made a grimmace. With his sword, the young man cut the air, removing most of the blood from it before sheathing it. "Do we have any hostages to question already?" If they did, there was no need to separate from the caravan they were supposed to remain to protect. The Blood Moon boys had received to particular order to pursue the holdless, though it might make sense for a pair of them to do so. And with dragonriders here, any secondary sieges planned out for the caravan were much more likely to be abandoned.

They needed to search all of the bodies left for dead, too.

In any case, it seemed the better choice to send two of the Blood Moon Squad to chase after the holdless to see if they could track down a camp location or find other clues to return with. Taking that extra step of initiative shouldn't compromise the Rebel's plans, so Yeoun didn't see any harm in it...Taking on that usual countenance of seriousness, it was after several breaths that he answered Kevarre again. "Create a team of two to follow after them. Yourself and one other." Yeoun was certain that with these numbers, it was likely that every one of the men at the nearby holdless camp had played a part in the seige, so they shouldn't have to worry about running into any other large groups as they pursued. Yeoun didn't want to endanger his friends by sending them with too few to defend themselves if something like that were to happen. Either way though, Kevarre was the expert tracker amoungst them, and knew how to signal if something should go wrong.

Even if he'd decided to join the Chorong for the sake of his father's legacy, he was not a heartless human being; he cared more deeply for his friends -the Blood Moon Squad- than he cared even for himself.

---

Bronze dragons in their usual lead position in wing formation, it was rare that they ever dropped out of some sort of formation unless they were rotating blues or greens out for replacements on long Threadfall drills. So at first, it surprised him when Lance raced ahead of them; but remembering that it was Lance who, in the apparent emergency situation had the most experience, he decided it wouldn't be a bad idea to follow her lead. Of course, after N'kyr gave them the OK. He wanted to hear it from their temporary Wing Lead that the had permission. In such situations -or even in drills- communication was paramount for opperating effectively as a team.

Initiating that communication since he hadn't heard anything yet from N'kyr, S'jiro communicated through Zemarith, Zem, confirm new orders with Ramirath.

Eyes taking longer to look down on the scene then, S'jiro tried to make out just what was going on -who was who in the conflict below them as they were on the approach. But soon it was made clear, as the caravan's attackers were making haste in full retreat from the dragons. As they should. S'jiro didn't want to have to engage holdless in combat. He didn't want to have to ever engage anyone in mortal combat, as the case may well have been if they'd landed in the midst of such a seige. But... if they could isolate one or two of those trying to escape, from the outskirts, wouldn't it be a good idea to use the dragons to capture a couple of them alive?

Telgar's Lord had also requested they try to scout out any holdless camps and mark the coordinates on the maps given to them. He wondered if N'kyr would order them into separate teams to cover both of those tasks. Since holdless were now retreating, they could always pursue them from the air to their base of opperations and then do further scouting ahead before the caravan was back on its way. Anyway, they would have to wait for N'kyr to make the call.

My rider says you are to come back in formation.  We were told not to engage, only to check things out.  Ramirath's orders were ignored by Sionnath, though the green did at least respond.

These are my rider's people.  We go to protect them.

N'kyr bit back an ungentlemanly curse when his bronze relayed the words.  It was obvious Tasha was reacting to the situation, and Sionnath was taking her cues from her rider.  Obviously, it hadn't gotten through that the caravan they were following wasn't actually the greenrider's family, but rather people in a similar profession.  It was always possible Tasha hadn't bothered to fully explain in the first place, too, which would be just like her to do-- react first, consider the consequences later.  It thoroughly irritated N'kyr during practice, though there, at least, the potential risks were fairly minimal, compared to the possible problems they could be running into now.

Tell Sionnath to slow down to allow Raidenth to catch up.  By now, the bronzerider could also see who he assumed were the raiders retreating into the trees.  Both of them need to swing east and come in from behind the caravan-- the attackers may have arrows.  We will follow with Zemarith.

From his vantage point, N'kyr knew they wouldn't be able to tell holdless apart from the rebels, but, seeing as there were so many fleeing-- as well as a good number on the ground-- he rather thought it a safe bet that these were no truly organized attackers.  Of course, they could simply be regrouping somewhere behind the trees, faking the dragonriders and the people in the caravan on the ground out before returning.

Just how far would they go from the wagon train if that were the case?  And if it wasn't, how far was their camp?  Part of their orders had been to scout for such temporary residences and mark them on the maps they'd been given.  This would be perfect timing, for a rider or two to follow them, which would also make sure the raiders continued to run away.

But who to send?

Tashamoretta was a logical choice-- a petty part of him said it was fitting punishment for not following orders-- because she'd have a better idea what to look for than the rest of them.  She'd know what sort of terrain and trees offered the best protection.

And since riders conducted sweeps in pairs, he'd have to send someone else with her.  S'jiro was the next logical choice, simply because, as far as N'kyr could see, the other bronzerider had no truly useful skills in this situation.  He was also holdbred, and a bronzerider, of course, but it would be N'kyr's job to speak to the guardsman in charge and the leader of the caravan-- or whoever was acting in their stead if things had gone poorly for them.  S'jiro would simply be an accessory.  Especially seeing as N'kyr had no idea if the other young man knew how to wield a weapon of any sort.

Lancelle, on the other hand, knew how to fight, which was why the Weyrwoman had sent her on this mission in the first place.  Though N'kyr didn't relish the idea of her sticking with him, it made the most sense.  If for some reason they were needed on the ground to help protect the caravan from a renewed attack, she was the best choice.  And though he, himself, had rarely lifted a blade outside of gentlemanly pursuits, he at least knew what to do with one should the occasion arise.

He just hoped the opportunity wouldn't present itself.  He'd rather not have to clash with holdless or rebels on the ground.

You would not need to.  I would bite them.

Hush, Rath.  There will be none of that-- we don't need to disrupt Weyr-Hold relations by you biting anyone.  Now, tell Sionnath and Zemarith to make a wide sweep following the retreating attackers.  Raidenth is to fly around the other side of the caravan from the east, and we'll go around from this side, to make sure we run the rest of them off.

In doing so, he could watch the caravan and see if he couldn't figure out who the leader was, and who the head guardsman was, so he could then call down for a status report.  It would be better to make sure all the raiders were gone before they landed to see what other help was needed.

Ramirath’s requests we maintain formation. The dragon’s mind voice was a bit more smug than usual. N’kyr is going to risk people’s lives by over thinking. We continue on with Sionnath until he has a better idea.

As if arrows would hit me before I dodged them… The green was indignant and a little more pushy than usual though Lance attributed that to the less than supportive Bronzes and their riders. I’m sure he didn’t mean to be insulting to your agility. There is some danger to you out there. He’s merely trying to avoid injuries. The last thing we want is to be grounded a second time in as many Turns.

However much Lancelle might mistrust the Bronzeriders, she needed to obey orders in the air if she saw no logical reason not to. As long as they were not putting Raidenth into more danger, she was fine. So Raidenth flew east as directed, she began to see people running from her and again spoke to her rider. They are afraid. The voice was almost gleeful. You are large and have teeth, claws and not to mention your temper…

Really… I thought it was the firebreathing. Hmmph.

Chuckling to herself, Lance let the thought rest there. The people who were running were scattering in all kinds of directions. Either they were not as organized as they seemed or they were very well organized. They had been instructed to disperse and not meet at one point. A wise tactic, considering.

When Ramirath’s instruction was to head around the side of the Caravan she did so immediately. Not missing a beat, the green was moving in a direction that would ensure the people on the ground had left the Caravan alone. For now.

Ramirath said we are to follow those who are retreating from the caravan.

It's just like Lord Matoi said, then. From this vantage point, it did seem as though the caravan's attackers had all started running, afraid of the dragons as anticipated. S'jiro could see them all scatter similarly as Matoi had mentioned too. Whether or not they were organized enough to realize it, it gave them a certain advantage, scattering as they did. It certainly made it harder for them to be trailed in order to find their camp, or be able to easily capture more than one or two of them. Tell Sionnath to form up with us as point lead. Follow in the general direction of the largest group of them. Even if you lose sight of them through the trees, we should be able to spot their camp more easily from up here. All senses alert for any sign of their habitation -wherever they might be headed.

The great, ruffous bronze angled his wings, veering out of formation behind Ramirath in order to take up the lead position in their now even smaller team of two, with Sionnath, who was supposed to come in behind them. With tight communication and response time, their movement to take on a new vector was enough to let N'kyr know that they'd understood and were complying with his orders. And Zemarith was already following through with the green he'd been paired with. Sionnath. Form up with me. We will follow the greatest number of them fleeing until we find some sign of their camp.

The bronzerider didn't look back to see if Tasha was trailing them or not; he expected it. And though he hardly let the though linger in his mind presently, as he had a much more pressing task at hand to focus on, but if she did not, he would be the first to confront her as soon as they landed, to find out why not.
But put that at the back of his mind. Training with Halcyon wing had taught him to trust...though it seemed instinctive for him not to trust a green outside of his own Wing.

---

With dragons soaring overhead, Yeoun squinted up at the sight, shielding his eyes from the brightness of the mid day sun as he watched them. He watched them break off from one another into pairs after a moment, deciding that he should find his runner and tie her reins to something sturdy and try to calm her so that as one of the dragon pairs circled to land, she wouldn't take too great a fright and run off.

The Blood Moon guard secured his weapon at his side and started off at a jog to get to the runner before she bolted for the vast, open fields behind them. Just in time he got there. He was calming the mare, tying her off to the back end of a cart by the time they'd landed.

It was pure, dumb luck he supposed, that he'd been able to plant their falsified evidence and silence those few, unsuspecting holdless before the dragonriders showed up. For the sake of the Chorong Rebels, it wasn't a good thing to see the Hold teaming up with the Weyrs to maintain stability. If that's what was happening here, then it might mean that the rebels would have to rethink their strategy. Of course, Yeoun had little idea yet exactly what it was that the Lord General Galedon had planned, in all truth. Seeing dragons fly to the aid of the holds though...could be a serious blow to the morale of the Chorong; even if this was just for appearances sake in the end.

So many questions would be left open ended. What would happen if the Dragonriders helped the Hold to achieve its own ends? Any number of grandiose theories could arise from that single thought. Though...perhaps it would just reinforce the Rebel's determination?

So many things could be implied. So many things could become their reality. What would be determined in the end?

Whatever happened, Yeoun wouldn't let anyone, human or dragon, interfere with achieving the ambitions he was only just beginning to realize.

Tasha didn't bother holding back the choice words she would have loved to say to N'kyr's face at the bronzerider's orders.  She didn't want to follow the attackers, shard it!  She should stay and help the caravan-- she knew traders.  They'd respond better to someone less stiff and snobby.  Plus, she knew better how to help with injuries.  What did N'kyr know?  Formations?  That wouldn't help them here.  So why was he sending her off?

Ugh, and now she had S'jiro ordering her around?  What a load of wherry dung!  Why should she have to listen to him, when he wasn't even part of her wing?  But if she denied his orders, she'd be going against both of the bronzeriders.  And the stupid men would likely report her back to Karene, and then she'd be in more trouble for going against them on an official Weyr mission…

Stupid fracking bronzeriders...

Sionnath wasn't nearly as annoyed as her rider.  The green rather thought chasing the raiders would be far more fun than landing while her rider helped the members of the caravan and its guard.  So she turned at the wordless assent from Tashamoretta, following Zemarith.  Maybe not exactly in the position he had requested-- she was having a bit too much fun flying low and chasing a particular person until they ran into a tree in their haste to flee from the dragon seemingly coming straight for them…

But she formed back up, relatively in the right spot, once that was done.  But it difficult not to try the same trick again.

>>>>>

We should pass and loop back around, to make sure we have sent them all running, Ramirath told Raidenth.  The movement would also give both riders the chance to survey the situation on the ground.  If you or your rider notice anything strange, tell me.  The words, of course, were an order, but at the same time, delivered in Ramirath's usual friendlier-than-his-rider tone-- colored a bit by his disappointment in not getting to chase, himself, though.  Especially when he noticed Sionnath getting to have a little fun with the raiders.  Why didn't he get to do that?

Pay attention, Rath.  We don't want to miss anything that might be helpful to Lord Matoi.  What they could really see from the air, he wasn't sure.  But it wouldn't do for them to miss a clue because his bronze was distracted.

Ramirath grumbled a bit, but did as he was asked.  It appeared that most of the attackers had already run off, so the extra pass behind the caravan was almost unnecessary.  So the bronze was, of course, sad, that he didn't have anyone else to chase.  Maybe there was someone left in there, hiding in a wagon… and when they finally came out…

N'kyr was less excited at the though that there might be someone still hiding amidst the wagons.  He'd certainly prefer to find only the train personnel and guard members to be left, with no further confrontation necessary.  It looked like that was the case, but he couldn't be completely sure.

Deciding it was finally time to seek out the leaders amidst the people left alive, as Ramirath drew closer to the circle of vehicles, the bronzerider called down, "Is everyone accounted for?  I need to speak with Yeoun or Grel."  Of course, he'd been given basic descriptions of the two men, so he rather thought he'd picked out Yeoun, but he wasn't sure about the caravan master that had been named.

Raidenth complied with Ramirath's orders, coming around and then meeting the Bronze where N'kyr moved in low to speak to one of the lead guards. It would make more sense to land and go in on foot, but since he had decided to take control, she would let him deal with the consequences of his decisions.

The green hovered, just above the Bronze to his left. Waiting to hear the answer of the Guards. It looked like it was mostly the "enemy" who had casualties. Since when did they aim to kill when they needed information? She wondered, noting, even from this distance where some of the men had received their blows. She kept her thought to herself though since they would no doubt have a perfectly acceptable answer should she ask ad if they were corrupt, as someone must be if the Caraven had been attacked, they would then realize the riders were not simply there to defend them. They were investigating what was going on.


---

Kevarre's runner, started to bolt as the Bronze came closer. Really? He had to just hover there above everyone and spook all the livestock!? Ugh. "They'd be better if you weren't scaring the runnerbeasts." Kev grumbled, though he wasn't exactly sure had been loud enough. If he had, he was sure to hear something back from the rider. Generally he had respect for dragonriders but the Guard had this handled. All the people were accounted for except one.

And that one was sliding out from under one of the wagons. "I'm here." She said, shakily. Sorcha was a good enough actress, she could pull off the scared young woman who hid to avoid being killed or injured.

"Okay then. Everyone is accounted for." Kevarre said, then looked to see if Yeoun was prepared to speak to the dragonrider. Maybe he could tell the man to land. It was enough that he had nearly been unseated by his runner. If the beasts pulling the wagons ran off, it would be the dragonriders getting everyone injured.

As Kevarre had brought his runner around, accounting for all of the Caravan's people, Yeoun had started to step toward the Bronzerider hovering nearby. He nodded at Kevarre's words and then waved his friend off. He'd already suggested that Kevarre and his brother trail the retreating bandits if they were able -though, eyes following after the other pair of Riders that took off toward the treeline, it seemed as though they too, had taken that imperative. So, if Kevarre decided not to use his tracking skills to hunt the holdless down, then he would leave that up to his best friend's judgement. After all, he did trust Kevarrre explicitly. If Kevarre made a judgement call that went against what he'd suggested, then he could only understand that it was for some very good, if not unforeseen reason. Of all people, he did not fault Kevarre for almost anything.


The Blood Moon member already spoke little and spoke fairly quietly when he did, so he wasn't about to yell into the sky at N'kyr. It would have been rude for the Bronzerider not to meet him on the same level to talk anyway. He doubted the Caravan's leadership would take kindly to doing so either. After all, if the dragons continued to hover there, the dreybeasts and runners would become far too agitated to control; it was all going to just make communicating more difficult. Already he worried that the livestock was restless where they stood, their respective keepers devoting their time now to calming the animals.

Yeoun waved N'kyr down, signaling he should land a distance off and then walk to join them so that they could address what it was the riders were here to accomplish. So, arms at his sides, Yeoun took a firm, unmoving stance in place, waiting for the Riders to land before he would address them.

---

Far from being bossy, S'jiro was simply relaying the directives he'd been given and making sure she understood where they were going. Clear and direct communication between the members of any wing was imperative. Flighty Greens. This is why he didn't care for commoners. Still, little of Tasha or Sionnath's resistance to orders was relayed through Zemarith, so he tried to ignore the fact that the girl was being a typical Greenrider right about now, trying to simply trust that she'd follow the chain of command.


As the two of them did their sweep over the open plain beneath them, following the holdless who scattered into the trees, the Bronzerider watched through Zemarith's keen dragon eyes into the trees to trace just where they were headed.

Zem, keep in touch with Ramirath for any updates on his end. He didn't know if any information the other Bronzerider came up with would help them out as they scouted from above, but anything was possible.

If N'kyr had heard Kevarre, he didn't bother to let on.  There were more important things to take care of than dealing with snarky comments, annoying as they were.  Then again, he'd had Turns of dealing with rudeness aimed at him and had learned at least how to hide when it bothered him.  Mostly.

Instead, he paid more attention to the man waving him in to land.  Taking one last look around the caravan to make sure it at least looked safe enough to land nearby, the bronzerider had Ramirath relay to Raidenth that they should touch down near where Yeoun had indicated.  It was far enough away from the animals in the caravan, and hopefully close enough that should any further danger arise, the dragons could reach them quickly-- if those left on the ground weren't who they appeared to be, Ramirath and Raidenth would be able to get to them.

A moment or two later, N'kyr waited for Lance to join him before heading back towards the caravan.  He wasn't carrying a weapon, save for the beltknife he always carried, and hoped he wouldn't need one.  J'ace had, of course, taught him a few dirty moves beyond what they'd learned in weyrling training, but hand-to-hand combat still wasn't his forte.  Not that anything outside of fencing really was, though.  So he just hoped it wouldn't come to that, that they weren't walking into a trap.

>>>>>

Tasha didn't see signs yet of any steady encampment.  No tents, no utensils, no smoldering embers left from a fire.  The raiders wouldn't have had enough time to clean up before they had attacked if they'd been interrupted, but then again, they were still running.  Just how far away from the road had their camp been?  And if they were that far into the woods, how had they known the caravan was already on its way?

It didn't make sense.  For the attackers to know to converge on this particular spot, they would have needed to be following the caravan for some time, or have scouts posted.  And they wouldn't have sent everyone ahead unless they knew to be ready for an attack...

Surely their encampment had to be close-- they'd come on foot, not by runner.  Unless their runners were hidden amidst the trees… and if they were, then they would have needed advance notice of the train's passing to have the time to tie them off and make sure they were a safe enough distance away to remain quiet… And yet not a single runner was found below them, fleeing with what were presumably Holdless raiders…

Just where had they come from?

Had they possibly been warned by someone else?  It would fall in with Lord Matoi's suspicions, but who could it possibly have been, if he trusted those he'd sent?

My rider says to be careful, Sionnath told Raidenth.  It wasn't necessarily a matter of hierarchy-- Lance was her classmate, and a friend.  It was natural to warn her and her green.  The camp seems far away for Holdless on foot to have seen the caravan coming with little preparation.  The last was actually relayed to Zemarith and Ramirath, as well, though it was technically speculation.

Lancelle followed N’kyr’s lead. She wasn’t all that thrilled, obviously but landing was the only thing they could do, given the circumstances. The large green landed several feet away and behind the Bronze. It didn’t take long for her rider to dismount and tell the dragon to take off the minute she felt she might be in danger. The only thing she was worried about now was the green being attacked because she was on the ground.

Raidenth heard the concern from Sionnath, Lance is always cautious. Let us know if you see anything unusual. The greenrider was almost too cautious especially in social situations. Following N’kyr towards the caravan, she nodded, to indicate despite what he might think, she had his back. They could be walking into a trap if these people were not who they said they were. Although it did seem to her the men on runners were some sort of guard unit.

Before they met up with the Caravan Master and the guard leader, Lance reached her arm out and grabbed N’kyr’s shoulder to get his attention quietly. Removing her hand as soon as she had his attention she whispered, “Since we know someone in the group is responsible for alerting the Holdless, if that’s who these people really are, we need to be careful. Don’t allow people to surround you. There needs to always be an escape route in your mind. I don’t like the way the people scattered all over the place when we arrived.”

“I can question some of the other caravan members if you want, while you talk to the leaders?” Or she could be quiet and be on the lookout for more attackers. Still she would feel much better when the pair of them were out of this situation and back on their dragons.


Kevarre was going to run off the rest of the holdless but since the riders were already doing that, he instead made it his job to figure out if any of the supposed Holdless were dead. Dismounting his runner, he tethered the beast to a tree nearby. Last thing he needed was for the darned thing to go running off. Gesturing for his brother to help him, they began to move the dead near the center of the road. They would have to burn them or bury them. Frankly he would prefer to burn them.

He pulled the two corpses from the wagon who were evidently killed during the attack, setting them in the same pile as the others. Just because they weren’t Holdless didn’t mean they would have a different outcome. It would be ill advised to leave corpses lying around, no matter what group they were with

Watching as Kevarre and his brother gathered assistance from available hands in order to round up the corpses left behind from the attack, Yeoun thought to stop him at first, preferring to return the bodies to their families; but then again, they didn't really have any sacks or crates to store the bodies in until they made the return trip to Southern Telgar Hold. It was all very unfortunate.

Yeoun turned his attention back to the Riders who landed, sparing a quick glance toward the Caravan Master to see that he was on his way to meet with them, too. After all, Yeoun wasn't the authority in the caravan as much as just the one in charge of security detail. Of course, that might have been a surprise to anyone else here, considering he was no older than most graduating apprentices or Junior Journeymen.

The young man approached the Riders but allowed the Caravan Master to lead the conversation. It really wasn't his place to do so. He probably didn't need to be speaking with the Riders at all, but depending on their purpose here, he might be needed after all; so better to wait here to see.



And indeed, as Yeoun had left the opening, as both Dragonriders approached, the caravan master began, "Oh, Thank Faranth you're here. I don't know how you knew we needed the help or where to find us, but your arrival is welcome."

---

Zemarith pointed out to his rider that there were signs of permanent or semi permanent structures up ahead just a little ways. Quickly, S'jiro had the Bronze pass word along to Sionnath and her rider regarding the position, beginning to mark the coordinates on his own map.

The Bronze hovered there momentarily so that they could better survey the area.

How many buildings did that look like? Five? Do you see anything else down there, Zem? Meaning anything else of noteworthiness. It was hard to see through some of the trees, where they were grown thick and had not been completely cleared from the area to build.

Zemarith responded with his own mental version of a shrug. But, he'd indeed found something. This one looks different. And he shared the mental image with his Rider.

S'jiro nodded agreeably. You're right. It looks like some sort of temporary storehouse. This must be the camp we're looking for -or at least one of them. It was easy to surmise that they kept stolen goods or perhaps an armoury within such a space for their own use, or perhaps until stolen goods were ready to be moved to wherever they'd hidden their headquarters. Of course, S'jiro didn't know much about those sorts of things; it made him a little uncomfortable just to be on this sort of mission.

Dragons.  How very unfortunate. That was not to say that such an arrival had been wholly unexpected. If Riders had any quality which could be called their defining trait it was that they had a preternatural gift for showing up when their presence was the least desired. This, Galaeanyss thought, was one of those times. Was it truly asking too much that they mind their own business for but a single day? Or, for that matter, that they all forget how to de-Between or whatever it was that they called that little feat. Now there was an image that brought a crooked smile to her lips: that they would all just disappear. Oh, were she to be so lucky.

    The little Lady spun about on her heel. Her boot caught a twig mid-turn. It snapped cleanly under her weight. She marched away from the body of the man she had been watching die and toward where the meeting place with the Riders had been apparently established. Her gray cloak swished along, slapping heavily against her backside with each step.  It was better to deal with this problem herself rather than to let some mind-addled fool bumble it.

Galaeanyss arrived just as said fool was groveling his greetings. “Yes,” she said, her brown eyes on N’kyr. She pulled her hood far enough off for it to clear the ruby spike that held the loose bun in which she wore her hair before allowing the cowl to fall along her shoulders. She had worn it throughout the little massacre. She, of course, had not directly participated in the event; such things were beneath one of her standing. She did however enjoy the show. There was something heartwarming to be found in the way that blood could fountain from a body. It was quite beautiful. “How did you manage to find us?”

    Nyssa actually gave Lancelle a full moment’s notice. She looked familiar in a ghostly sort of way. She was one of the brats from Fort, wasn’t she? A snicker slipped through Galaeanyss’s lips. Even at the Weyr N’kyr had managed to find a way to slum it. “And I see you’ve brought the help with you. How thoughtful. Now I shan’t have to carry my own luggage.”


OOC: I am totally disrupting yo' Plots.  

N'kyr barely had time to stiffen before Lance had removed her hand from his shoulder.  She might have noticed, or she might not have-- it wasn't personal, just simple reflex, especially given the strangeness of their situation and his heightened awareness of their surroundings.  Too many times one of his brothers had managed to sneak up on him, even if that had been several Turns ago, and he'd relaxed somewhat since coming to the Weyr and Impressing Ramirath.

Still, whether the greenrider paid attention to is reaction or not, he took in what she had to say without betraying himself otherwise.  And he had to admit, it was good she felt similarly about the whole thing, that she was also suspicious of the way things had panned out.  As was Sionnath's rider, given the message Ramirath had just passed along.  The girls, at least, were being sensible about the situation for the time being.

After nodding slightly in response to Laance's warning, N'kyr then gave a single shake of his head at her question.  "No."  But he wasn't disagreeing simply to be contrary, or to keep control of everyone's actions, in particularly greenriders whose rank was below his own.  "There are only two of us."  In other words, there was safety in numbers.  If she was recommending they not let others surround them. wouldn't it be better for them to stand closer together?  If things were what they seemed, then she could help tend the wounded and talk to others, but he didn't want to take that chance.

As they approached the small group waiting for them amidst the mess of the caravan, the bronzerider tried to keep Lancell's advice at the forefront of his thoughts.  An escape route would be a good thing, just in case Ramirath and Raidenth couldn't reach them.  However, there weren't many choices, other than picking their way over the rabble on the ground.  The trees would provide some cover, like they had for the attackers that fled, but would make it harder for their dragons to retrieve them.

Focusing on the man who'd spoken, N'kyr nodded and met the caravan master's eyes.  The man seemed genuinely grateful, and a bit harried, if nothing else.  That, of course, didn't mean caution was unnecessary.  

The second voice that spoke set his nerves even further on edge.  Steeling himself to keep his expression as neutral as possible, though inwardly he was wondering just what in the name of Faranth's First Egg Nyssa was doing here, the bronzerider gave the girl his mother had birthed a cool glance before giving his attention to the caravan master once more, as if Galaeanyss hadn't spoken.  "We were on our way to fly sweeps over Igen territory, to better familiarize ourselves with the lay of the land."  It was plausible, at least, and in a way, partly true, even if not all of their small party would be transferring in the end.  "It's fortunate we spotted the wagons when we did.  Is everyone in your number accounted for?"

Nyssa's comments were, of course, ignored, much as they irritated.

Should I eat her?

No, Rath.  Much as the idea appealed to N'kyr, it wouldn't do for his own dragon to eat a member of a Holder family.  Even if she deserved it, and Ramirath was merely reacting to his own memories.

>>>>>

Tasha nodded when Sionnath relayed the bronzerider's message, already in the process of noting the same things on her own map.  Of course, neither S'jiro nor his dragon could see her gesture.  Nor could her green, but Sionnath would feel the mental assent instead.

We should go closer, try to tell what is inside that building, Sionnath relayed to Zemarith.  Or split to head north and south and look for more camps.

Lance acquiesced, "Alright." They would stick together then, though it needn't be said if the whole group were to attack them, there were still only two of them. There wasn't much safety there at all. Even if she could handle herself better than a typical rider in a fight, she would not be able to handle that many at one time. And though N'kyr likely had training from being raised in a Hold, she doubted, quite highly, he could defend well against more than one attacker.

While she heard what the Caravan Master said, it was the second person who spoke up who got her attention. The help? Lance's green eyes were livid and it only took about two seconds to fly of its own accord toward the young woman's face. As her fist met with the other girl's jaw, she said, "Talk to me that way again and I'll remove your head from your body."

She didn't wait to see how N'kyr would respond. Nor did she care about what the young woman would say next. She was a dragonrider, which was far better than anything that little brat would ever be. Ergh. Why did people have to be so irritating???!! In the meantime she had completely missed the interaction between the Caravan Master and N'kyr.

Nyssa would have been quick to complain about being ignored by her brother. She would have been equally quick to spout off a string of indults. As it turned out, she got the chance to do neither as Lancelle was even quicker than the little Lady’s mouth. Before she could formulate a properly scathing retort, she was spinning away. The dirt rushed up to meet her. Nyssa landed flat on her stomach with a deep thunk.

Seeing her mistress go down, Tlina’s breath caught in her throat. The box of goods that she been gathering clattered against the floor of the wagon. She dropped from the vehicle. Her feet hit the ground in a rush of muted slaps. She pulled a pair of daggers from the sheathes at her waist. Tlina cleared the last meter between she and Lance in a leap that sent her sailing over Galaeanyss’ prone form. She slashed the twin blades in a crisscross ahead of herself aiming to disarm the woman in a rather literal sense.