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

The Caravan Master was nodding, reassured at the dragonrider's presence. "You've really done your good deed for the day, Bronzerider. Thank you for helping us run the last of those holdless rabble off."

Nearby, Yeoun had been watching between them, nodding appreciatively when N'kyr expressed concern over the possibility of losses amoungst them. "I believe all have been accounted for."

That is, all but one. Well, the girl who'd suddenly appeared there beside them, marching directly toward the Bronzerider hadn't been accounted for per se, but she was there. Yeoun didn't recognize the girl from the group of young women who'd been gathered at the center of their formation for protection...which meant she could just as likely have been a stow away, having kept her presence concealed this whole time. That thought in and of itself was a strange one.

Judging by the Caravan Master's puzzled expression and following stutter, he hadn't known about her traveling with them either. How had the Caravan Master or any of the other load supervisors missed her being there? She had to know that being a stow away was a crime -though a minor one. Supplies were limited and rationed as they went, even if the journey was only a few days. And to take those supplies without the knowledge of the Caravan Master was theft. Even if she'd brought her own supplies, it was still considered receiving services without payment.

The shadow of a displeased furrow of his brow was present upon Yeoun's features for the briefest of moments, though the expression transformed into one of faint surprise when the Greenrider landed a punch on the other girl.

The Blood Moon Squad member stepped in closer to the two of them then. He seemed to be addressing Lance more than anyone right at that moment, but the words could have been directed at any of them. "If the purpose of the Dragonriders is not to create more violence than we have already suffered, then I'd ask you to please refrain from doing so."  The young man met Lance with a hard stare before turning it upon N'kyr, as if expecting him to step in to deal with his own wingmate.

About that time though, the young guardsman heard racing steps from somewhere further behind him. Pivoting on a booted heel, angling himself in that direction, he found himself astonished to see a second unknown young lady charging at them -or was it at the Greenrider?- with weapons drawn and flashing wildly before her.

Purely on instinct, Yeoun reacted, and he figured it was for the best. It wasn't for the sake of the dragonrider's, but to save face for their caravan. What caravan allowed its members to attack dragonriders? And though these two girls were likely not supposed to be here, the Riders didn't necessarily know that. And drawing a blade on a Rider -or anyone- was no joking matter. Which made Yeoun wonder, why the escalation from hands to blades so quickly? Who were these two girls?

Tlina seemed perfectly focused on the Greenrider before her, so while she went swinging, Yeoun intercepted her. The girl's arms already in mid swing, it would be harder for her to re-angle her weapons before he'd made his own move. So, as Yeoun closed that gap between them, he caught Tlina's left wrist in one hand, and having already procured one of the fine needlethorns from his unsuspected stash, it was a fluid motion that could possibly have even gone almost unnoticed that precisely placed it under the skin of her forearm, protruding from somewhere close to her elbow at a critical point that would have paralyzed her arm. She would no longer be able to move that arm, nor use the weapon in her left hand, until the thin needle was removed.

It was likely that Tlina had been stopped short of her target, or perhaps even pulled off balance as Yeoun gave a tug on that arm as he spun away to the side, putting an arm's length between them again. By that point, he'd already taken two more needles into hand.

But whatever happened after that, he still thought to give her another warning. "There is no need for a weapon here. Drop your blades, Miss." Of course, if she didn't she would be considered a disturbance of the peace and her drawing of any kind of weapon would be taken much more seriously. Not to mention, they were probably about to have some angry dragons on their hands. And that's the last thing that they needed.

N'kyr could have saved them all the trouble had he known Lance would react as strongly as she did.  Then again, he probably should have expected it, given what he knew of the greenriders who'd been sent on this mission.  He had thought Tasha was the more hotheaded of the two, though, which was why he was grateful she wasn't presently near the girl his mother bore as well.  One irate greenrider was bad enough; two would have been more than doubly worse.  Especially as he knew that ignoring Nyssa's words was far more effective than reacting to them at getting her to go away.

Much as he actually appreciated seeing Galaeanyss knocked down a peg, reports of the incident getting back to Karene would not go over well.  And of course, he'd likely be blamed for not being able to keep his fellow riders in hand.  Indeed, it seemed the young man he thought was a guardsman was about to do just that, given the look he got shortly before Tlina made her presence known.

Like Yeoun, the bronzerider had to wonder just why the handmaid had drawn blades when Lance had simply used her fists.  Of course, he had no idea Tlina was trained in such weapons, though again, he supposed he shouldn't have been surprised.  His female sibling rather had a penchant for finding trouble, and what better way to keep it from returning the favor than to have a bodyguard close at hand?

That aside, N'kyr knew he needed to attempt to diffuse the situation even as he had to mentally wrestle with Ramirath, who had drawn to his full height and flared his wings.  "Indeed, we are here to help, not to cause more trouble for you and the members of your caravan after what you have already dealt with this day.  Given what we witnessed, Greenrider Lancelle was already on edge and unfortunately reacted inappropriately to the situation.  I am sure you can understand how the fight or flight response can impair judgement."  And Lance's wasn't the only in appropriate action one he was referring to.  However, he wasn't about to apologize to Nyssa by any means, especially when such a hit had been coming for a long time, and hoped his words would be accepted as such by the caravan members, seeing as he knew they needed to save face with the men.  "I assure you there will be no further incidents and we would like to help you clean up in whatever way we can."

((OOC: note, his response can be interpreted as after some reaction from Nyssa an Tlina if you like….  I can always modify it if necessary!))

She was shocked really that the handmaiden had reacted so violently. Though she was more than capable of dodging out of the young woman’s war path and arming herself to defend, she decided it was better simply to move away and not continue to engage the young woman. Not that she had much choice as one of the Caravan’s guards made it clear the other woman would need to disarm. Lancelle moved back, just behind N’kyr and did her best not to stare down Tlina or Glaenaryss.

“I apologize if my actions have caused more trouble for you. It will not happen again.” Lance said, but then she had already taught the only lesson she wanted to teach. The young lady would do well to leave her alone. Her words were only mean to reassure the Caravan members and the guard. She knew that N’kyr would be livid, because he would have to inform the Weyrwoman.

In a whisper, “I’ll take full responsibility for this. There was no way you could have known what I would do…” She said as quietly as she could from her position just behind and to the right of N’kyr. Her voice was low enough that no one else would hear. Well then the Caravan Master didn’t have everyone accounted for…unless the two women were stow aways. If so, she wondered what Telgar’s laws were concerning such actions.

Raidenth meanwhile, watched Ramirath grow agitated. Whatever for? Hers had put that little twat in her place and now everyone was refocusing on business. It would all be well.

You really should consider telling N’kyr next time so that Ramirath does not get so worked up.

Not concerned for me at all, are you? She said in a snippy tone of voice.

You can handle yourself. Not so sure about Holder boy.

Fair point. Though it seems Holder lady’s tend to be well prepared for violence.

Yes. The little lady is mostly unharmed though. I really doubt you’ll be in much trouble…You don’t think they’ll ground us again? Do you?

Faranth help us, if they do.
They were both feeling rather emotional today and neither one was willing to admit that it might be, now that Raidenth was no longer grounded by Galadrieth she was able to fly. And that being the case, she was able to fly to mate as well. Her hormones were likely going through the roof now.

Tlina barely felt the prick of the needlethorn barb. She was too focused of Lancelle to be paying attention to everyone else in the cluster of people. She was the threat and likewise served as the primary target.

Ignoring the request to put away her weapons, she drew her right arm up, leveling the blade in a horizontal guard. Her left extended out to the side, drawn partially back to be ready to strike if need be.




Galaeanyss pressed herself up on her elbows. She glared fiery daggers up at Lance. How dare she? Who did she think that she was? She was going to pay for hergall. "Remove ~my~ head?" she spat. Droplets of blood accompanied her words, leaving dots of red to compliment the grime that now covered her clothing. "Tlina, kill her."



Tlina's brow twitched. This was not the kind of situation that she enjoyed being put in. Hadn't there been enough violence already? Wasn't the caravan proof of that? She could certainly understand why someone would want to strike her Lady. She had done more than once herself. But someone else, a stranger hitting her was something else entirely. It was Tlina job to protect her mistress. Granted, she had been trained solely to provide back-up for the Hold Guard rather than an independent warrior, but what other choice did she have right now?

"Leave," Tlina said to Lance. Her eyes flicked to N'kyr, now between she and the Greenrider. He would understand. He was raised with them. She was Galaeanyss' companion, friend, protector. She may not want to fight Dragonriders -she respected them, even envied them- but her loyalty to her Lady had been ingrained within since she could barely walk. She would fight to defend Nyssa whether she wanted to or not, whether she could win or not. It was who she was. Unless Lancelle was a Goldrider, then N'kyr would likely outrank her. He could put an end to this before it got out of hand.



The dagger in Tlina's left hand slipped from her fingers. She had not noticed the cold numbness that had spread down her arm. The poison had worked its magic while she had been otherwise occupied. Galaeanyss had to spread her legs to avoid being cut as the blade stabbed in to the dirt. "What are doing?" she complained. "Just kill her already."

As soon as Tlina's attention was turned on Lance, Nyssa's words spat with blood, Yeoun reacted. He was playing the role of peace-keeper on this escort; he would end this here.

In a change of tactic, Yeoun, reached to grasp Tlina's numbed hand, placing the needles within her forearm for safe keeping as he twisted the girl's arm behind her back and then applied pressure at the soft point between index finger and thumb. The pressure point would have caused some measure of pain while in that same fluid motion, he brought his opposite hand to another pressure point, atop her shoulder. The use of both would be enough to position her as he pleased, which, with downward pressure, was on the ground, flat on her stomach.

Her remaining weapon was no longer a threat to him since she could not stab behind her back, so he made no point of disarming her of it yet. Since he had no cord handy with which to bind her arms, Yeoun took the hand from her shoulder to apply it to the side of her skull where she lay. Even if he had relinquished hold of her trapped arm at that point, any pressure applied to the head would keep her prone. Muscles in the neck were incredibly weak next to others in the body, so as long as her head was immobile, there was little she could do to free herself. And if she persisted with her remaining blade, trying to slice at the hand that now rendered her head immovable, it would easily be swatted aside, and she would still be unable to remove him.

In those scant seconds, Yeoun called for Kevarre or one of the other Blood Moon boys nearby. He did not see Nyssa as a threat, seeing as she seemed to want to rely on others to do things for her, but he needed someone to bring him rope to bind the girl with. It was too bad they weren't in full Guard uniform with all their usual accouterments, or it would have already been done. And honestly, Yeoun didn't want to be responsible for knocking a young woman unconscious if he could keep from it. Yeoun had always been a rather courteous sort. Given the situation, this was the best he felt he could do, while at the same time, not allowing Tlina to go bringing about the injury of others.

((Haha, sorry, Kate, but I find it funny you spelled it Glaenaryss.  Were you watching Game of Thrones? ))

No, N'kyr hadn't been able to anticipate what the greenrider would do.  But, neither had he anticipated Galaeanyss and Tlina being with the caravan.  And that was likely something he'd need to relay to Lord Matoi and Karene.  Because it was certainly strange for a lady of Crom to be found traveling with a tithing train meant for Igen.  It was possible Lord Matoi knew of her desire for passage through the area.  But it was also possible he didn't.  And the bronzerider was more inclined to believe the latter rather than the former, given what they'd been told when the Lord of Telgar had sent them on this mission.

Had Matoi known he had more 'esteemed' guests traveling with his train, N'kyr doubted he'd have been as… casual about the loss of the train and its men as he'd seemed.  He'd likely have sent more men as escort, and asked the dragon riders to travel with the train from the beginning, if only to protect the lives of the Holder women who moved with it.

Then again, there was also the fact that Galaeanyss could easily have gained passage anywhere with a dragonrider, had she wanted to travel by more… conventional means.  Which also led him to believe Lord Matoi and Karene would have no knowledge of her presence.

And it was extremely likely their parents had no knowledge of it, either.  Which led him to wonder if he should contact his mother as well as Lord Matoi and Karene when this was over.  Not for Nyssa's sake, or Tlina's, but for his mother's.  She would most definitely be worried, even if she knew of her daughter's leaving Crom in advance.  By letting her know he'd seen Nyssa, that she'd been well, he could at least save Naryssa some heartache.

Though he didn't turn to Lance behind him, he gave a single shake of his head to indicate he'd heard her words.  While he agreed she should take full responsibility for her own actions, he would acknowledge his own, as well, in not warning the greenrider of who his sibling was, considering she apparently hadn't noticed a resemblance between them.  Not that there was much of one, since Galaeanyss had black hair and brown eyes to his pale hair and gray eyes.  But if one looked hard enough, there were a few facial features they shared.

Focusing his gaze on the daughter his mother bore, N'kyr shook his head.  "I doubt Lord Kanton would approve of his daughter's handmaiden killing a dragonrider."  Well, with the exception of himself, maybe.  "Even if he tithes nothing to the Weyr she hails from.  Such an action might win him disfavor from Telgar, and thus from the other Weyrs and Holds."  Which would, in turn, tarnish the reputation of his children.  Especially daughters of marriageable age.  Something he doubted Nyssa would want to happen.

Of course, there was always the chance it would also win Crom favor from some of the Holds who believed dragonriders had outgrown their welcome, but that was an entirely different problem.

Having shifted his gaze from Galaeanyss to Tlina, he then added, "The other riders and myself offer our assistance to the caravan, which I am certain could use every available pair of hands.  That being the case, Greenrider Lancelle's presence is needed here."

Refusal to accede to the handmaiden's demand, even as it was an entirely logical response.  If the caravan members questioned his reaction, then so be it.  But they would also serve as witness to the fact that, while Lance may have taken action first, Tlina's response had been entirely out of proportion.

He almost felt sorry for handmaiden a moment later, when Yeoun took her to the ground.  And really, this almost reminded him of some of the situations his classmates had dragged him into, if only for the complete absurdity of it all.

Kevarre watched for a moment as Yeoun and the Bronzerider tried to get the women under control. Nodding to two of the other squad members, they went to help Yeoun bind the girl until she decided to behave; although he had a feeling that wasn’t going to happen. Women were infuriatingly difficult to deal with. Really, couldn’t they behave for more than one minute? It was simply more proof that women were not to be trusted, with anything. The young man continued to look at the bodies.

While he was moving the bodies he came across something rather odd. He chose not to move this particular body but rather called for Yeoun to come and examine it himself. “Yeoun, stop playing around with the girls and come over here, you are going to want to see this.” He couldn’t help but stare at the man’s unmoving form. Kevarre wasn’t afraid of death but he didn’t like the idea of an organized group of Holdless either.


Sorcha watched the events unfolding, acting completely oblivious as to how to knock anyone out. She wondered if these girls were distracting the men from the mission on purpose or if they were really that petty and selfish. Some women would never learn to do what was needed, not what they wanted to do. The dragonrider was almost as bad as the lady and the handmaiden was an idiot. Pulling out weapons against a dragonrider on a caravan protected by the Weyr. She would shake her head at it, if she cared enough.

However while everyone was distracted she moved over to stand next to Nayh and whisper, “If I’d known we’d be sitting here forever, I would have arranged a plan b.” Although she supposed this would give them more time to piece things together. They would see the items she had planted on random Holdless, not all of them would have something but some of them would. And if the majority of them did have it, well wouldn’t that make the Guard suspicious. The Holdless were an organized group of people, clamoring to have their Lord accept them back into society.

The Rebels didn’t want a place in society. They wanted to make the Guard and the Lords of Telgar Hold, pay for their past transgressions in blood and death. There would be only one way to appease them and it was not through being nice.


Lance ignored the handmaiden and kept her mouth closed. She decided at this point it might be better to yield to diplomacy, something that N’kyr might actually be good at. At least he hadn’t given her over to the handmaiden. She was actually a little shocked by his loyalty to a wingmate. Especially herself, considering they never really got along. Then Lance never really got along with most people, especially not riders in command of her.

When he brought up helping, she suggested, “Maybe we should start looking for dead inside the wagons?” And that would be a great way of figuring out what exactly the Caravan was bringing to IGen Weyr. What if the Holdless were really after food? What if they attacked out of necessity? Did they really know the full story of what was going on in Telgar Hold. Lance had decided not to pay any more attention to what had happened only moments before. She was here on a mission, she had decided to be a better person and simply let go of what the Handmaid had said and what she had threatened physically.

Having voiced her suggestion, she waited. She didn’t know if the Blood Moon Squad would catch on to her underlying reason for searching the actually wagons. Even if they did, they might allow the dragonriders to search them, if only to sate her curiosity. Whatever they might decide, considering what had just happened, she had to wait for N’kyr to agree.

OOC: Clearly she was attempting create a new member of the family with Glaenaryss.


IC:

Tlina had been too focused on Lancelle and N'kyr to see an attack coming from another angle. She was far from experienced in this particular aspect of her job. She was too easily distracted, missed the wider picture. She paid for it. Before she had a chance to figure out what had happened, she was on the ground. The taste of dirt filled her mouth. She spat a clump of the stuff out. A bit lingered on her tongue, so it did little to clear away the taste. At least it was not blood. The last thing that she needed was another scar to add to the collection.

Tlina struggled under the weight of her attacker. It did not do her much good; she was not the weakest of the group but she was not the strongest, either. She could at least take pride in the fact that she did not cry out for the spike of pain in her arm. Somehow she doubted that would have been the case had she landed on her dagger. Where had that gotten off to, anyway? She must have dropped it on the way down.

Great.

That limited her just kicking at Yeoun. All of those Turns sneaking around and squeezing in to places too small for her body had left her surprisingly flexible. On a good day she could curl up and touch the back of her head with her feet. That made it fairly easy to kick at the boy mounting her. The only real drawback was from that position she could only muster up so much speed before whacking him. She served as more of annoyance than a threat.





Nyssa growled, not caring who heard her utter such an undignified sound. "You're useless, you know that? How hard could it be beat down a single Rider-girl?"

Galaeanyss hauled herself up to her feet. Her outfit was filthy. Someone was going to pay for that. It was probably going to be her parents.

"Don't think that just because you cower behind Nykyr that this is over," she snarled at Lance. "You will rue your decision to touch me here today. I promise you that."

To Tlina, she added, "Get up; you're embarrassing yourself."

Yeoun could have rolled his eyes at Kevarre's retort; he should have expected as much from his friend. Well, whatever had caught Kevarre's attention instead had better be important.

Figuring that the girl within his grasp would prove pretty harmless once disarmed, Yeoun held her wriggling form down, using his own legs at that point to hold hers still. Hands patted Tlina down, searching her for remaining weapons after disarming her of the one she still held. When he was satisfied that she held no other lethal instrument, he stood from the ground, making sure he had all of Tlina's knives in hand, so that she couldn't go after the Greenrider with them again.

At that point, he was rushing to Kevarre's side. He didn't bother answering in reply to the greenrider's words, as others would be able to decide about ther Riders' next course of action while the Blood Moon boys did their own share. The Caravan Master might have a say in it.



The caravan master was astonished by the aggression displayed by Tlina and Nyssa, but even more so when their identities were confirmed by the Bronzerider. His attention migrated back and forth between the two before finally speaking up again -once Yeoun was darting away.

"Bronzerider, we could use some help collecting any spilt wagon contents or broken crates. If there are any bodies in the way, it looks like they're collecting the bodies over there. Start another pile if you like; no need to haul them further than necessary."

The man stopped short of sending them away to begin helping, in order to give another suspicious glance Nyssa's way. Though, when he spoke up again, it was to N'kyr. "Since our stow aways are in relation to you, Bronzerider, please control them. I cannot be held responsible for their wellbeing on a journey like this. And when you go, I would ask that you take them with you, to return them to a safer locatoin."


(hope that works! attention's been divided, so did the best i could in a short time if it needs editing, lemme know.)

Had N'kyr been one to gloat, he would have made it a point to do so over both Tlina's defeat and Nyssa's obvious encounter with the dirt.  Since he wasn't, especially given the young women involved in this particular incident, he did his best to ignore both the handmaiden and her lady.

Instead, he focused on what was going on around them, watching Yeoun quickly move away at the call of one of the other young men, and wondering what had been found.  He took a glance around at the rest of the people starting to clean up and noted that no one else seemed to be finding anything suspicious.  Of course, they still could, given time, so he'd have to keep his ears sharp for anything he might overhear.

Lance's suggestion was indeed a good one, though he wondered if the caravan master or his help would think it a bit bold.  Then again, it appeared the guardsmen had clearing the ground potentially under control, so maybe it wasn't so strange a thought.  Either way, he wasn't sure it was the best place to start without appearing as if they were looking for something.

Nodding to the caravan master, the bronzerider outwardly agreed with the man's request, even as he thought it not the most useful task for himself or the other riders.  They weren't drudges.  However, they were here to help, and by cleaning up the crates, they could ostensibly search for clues as to who the attackers had been.  Presumably that's what the guardsmen were doing, but it wouldn't hurt for the riders to do so as well.  "It will be fortunate if we find few crates that have been damaged.  But we will help to inventory what has been lost in any case."  Personally, he really didn't want to be handling any dead bodies-- maybe they could find some reason to call a guardsman over to help haul one away if necessary instead of doing it themselves…

Of the caravan master's request to take Nyssa and Tlina with them when they left, N'kyr responded, "We will return them home, or take them to their appointed destination once we have seen you safely on your way."  Of course, he and the other riders knew that meant after they had escorted the caravan to Igen to prevent further attacks, but for now, he'd leave the message as it was.  And hope he could manage to get rid of his two extra charges sooner rather than later.  Maybe he could pawn them off on S'jiro once the other bronzerider returned from his sweep…

Once it was obvious he no longer had the caravan master's attention, N'kyr turned to Lance and indicated she should come with him towards the wagons.  "Search as you can," he told the greenrider lowly.  "If you find something, let myself or Ramirath know."  He rather hoped it was understood that if she found something that should not be revealed publicly for some reason, that she would communicate via their dragons.

Manual labor having never been one of his favorite tasks, the bronzerider then proceeded to find the nearest pile of clearly toppled crates, eyeing it for a bit longer than was probably necessary as he debated the best way to move the topmost pile of split wood.  There really wasn't a good way to move it, so he finally settled for just putting some muscle into it-- while actually trying not to get too dirty.  It came from Turns of habit, and they weren't at the Weyr, where he and the other riders tossed around firestone and it didn't matter as much whether he was filthy at the end or not-- here he was the lead representative for Fort, and it wouldn't do for him to end up covered in whatever was in any of the crates.  Of course, this just made for some slightly awkward maneuvering, and some mental conceding that he was just going to have to grin and bear it and hope he didn't wind up with some liquid or anything else inside the crates he was moving.

When his friend approached at long last, Kevarre indicated the body they were about to drag. "Well?" He said quietly to Yeoun. "What do you think it means?" After all, wasn't Yeoun supposed to be the leader, the smart one? "And he isn't the only one."

"A lot of the others..well, you'll see for yourself." Kevarre was talking quietly. He didn't want to be overheard. Especially not by any of the women or the dragonriders. The dragonriders might be on their side or they might simply be there because the Lord Holder requested some help. He highly doubted they would normally be concerned about a caravan of tithes going missing, here or there.

---

Lance kept her thoughts to herself for now. She didn't like the way the Guards kept themselves apart from the Caravan Master. Did they not trust the man? Whatever they had found, they clearly wanted the riders to have nothing to do with it.

Seeing the man pawning the troublemakers off on the riders to take care of she could have almost laughed. They clearly knew N'kyr and it wouldn't be a long shot to guess he had grown up with them or knowing them but she honestly thought, they would be better off dumping them off in the Southern Continent or the middle of Big Bay in hopes that no one would see or hear from them again. Raidenth might even go against dragon nature and flame them.

Raidenth, be sure to inform Ramirath that I won't be allowing either lady to offend you and if they should scoff at riding a green it would be better for everyone if he and S'jiro transported them. She didn't like either the Lady or her Handmaid. One was arrogant to the point of idiocy and the other was impulsive and thoughtless.

After thinking about how she really didn't want to deal with either woman, her attention was back to focusing on N'kyr and the Caravan Master. Looking through the wagons might tell them more than any person would. If they paid close attention.

Picking up on N'kyr's subtle hint they should walk toward the wagons, she walked next to him. Her voice matching his in volume, "I will." She smiled mischievously, "Not to worry I'm the soul of discretion." Lance laughed a moment and then made her way to the back of one of the wagons.

She ended up inside the wagon that Sorcha had been riding in on the way in. What she found was a bit...disturbing. No wonder the head count was confused. There were two men dead inside this wagon. Lance had been under the impression that the fighting had only occurred outside the wagons.
Raidenth...
Do I look like a pigeon?
N'kyr asked me to relay findings through Ramirath. I can't exactly communicate with him myself. She said in obvious irritation.
N'kyr is it?
He is in charge.
We should be in charge.

If we continue to sabotage this mission, we won't be allowed out of the weyr let alone unsupervised. And you said you wanted to go to the beach.

Alright. Ramirath. My rider has found two dead men in the caravan she entered. Neither have defensive wounds and both seem to have been killed inside the wagon. They don't appear to have been moved. My rider wishes to convey that she believes there is a traitor among those involved in the Caravan. She says be careful. I should think your rider would know to be careful without her saying it.

((the code eats my post when I edit, whats that about????))

Once the ruffian removed himself from her handmaiden, Galaeanyss allowed her attention to shift back to the conversation at hand. Apparently the caravan master found his defenses to be somewhat lacking. “Clearly,” she agreed, none too pleased at the job his protection detail had done thus far. “We could have been killed and that would have put a mild damper on the rest of the day, wouldn’t it?”

Nyssa look to the Bronzerider when he spoke. “What do you mean ‘after we see you on your way’?” she asked indignantly. Beside her, Tlina had gotten back her feet. She wore a sour expression and was attempting to massage feeling back in to her arm. “There has been enough of a delay already. How much longer do expect us wait?”

OOC: Sorry that it so short. Just not in much of a writing mood the last few days. (-_-)

After that, the caravan master tried to ignore the two young ladies who'd stowed away on the journey, deciding to lend his attention more then, to getting the group re-organized and helping or answering questions and issuing directives to those wanting to know where to go to help next. 

Yeoun on the other hand, stooped beside the bodies where Kevarre had indicated. The young man did not find it a pleasant task, gazing upon the dead or searching their bodies when the corpses already started cooling to the touch. He wasn't a queasy sort though, really, so it wouldn't have shown in his expression.

Reaching to pick up what must have been the evidence left behind by Sorcha, he realized, Yeoun turned it over in his hand quizzically, taking a moment to inspect it. His eyes turned to other corpses then, wondering what other bodies might hold clues for the Guard to get their hands on. At the same time, he was muttering his thoughts out loud enough for his best friend to hear. "Do any others carry such items? This could be what the Captain is looking for." 

It was possible, since they'd already discovered one. To be honest though, Yeoun wasn't certain what all Sorcha had placed on the bodies; nor exactly how many carried 'evidence'. So, perhaps there were only two. One accounting for his, one for hers. 

Regardless, he was turning his eyes down to the evidence in hand again, as though he were studying it before finally tucking it into a pocket. Shuffling along the ground, he turned over a couple of the corpses to look through their clothing. He didn't know whether or not the body his map had been placed upon was already within the pile.

Just as the caravan master did, N'kyr ignored Galaeanyss' outburst.  Considering she was a stowaway in the first place from the sound to if, he didn't think it worth giving her any sort of answer-- she could wait, or she could walk.  It was her choice.  He knew which option he'd prefer, of course.

Ramirath snorted at the thought that either his rider's clutchmate or her drudge girl would get away with offending either of their riders.  And he certainly wasn't going to allow either of them to ride unless it was absolutely necessary.  My rider has already told me biting them would be wrong, the bronze told the green with disdain for the two young women being discussed clear in his mindvoice.

N'kyr's brow furrowed faintly at Lance's open smile, as if they'd shared a joke.  He hadn't been making one-- he'd wanted her to be cautious.  Perhaps the previous incident with Nyssa and Tlina had gone to her head, and it was more of a hysterical reaction?  Not that Lancelle was known for such emotions-- he rather thought she was quick to anger, not upset, and she'd proved that true earlier.

Ignoring that, he continued to work on sorting through crates as the caravan master had suggested.  Nothing of import to their mission was appearing in the mess of busted containers and herbs and… tubers, maybe?  He wasn't sure what exactly the orange mess was he'd just barely avoided smearing himself with but he was quite happy to put the crate partially covered in it down.

He'd just begun righting some overturned jars when Ramirath's message came through.

A traitor?  He didn't have to ask himself if it was possible, because certainly it was.  And it would explain a lot about the attack, when he thought about it.  How the holdless, or whoever they were, had known when the caravan was coming.  How they'd known where the caravan would be traveling and when.  Of course, he had no real idea who the traitor could be, but that meant it could be anyone, from the master himself to the guards, to any of the seemingly frightened wagon drivers and their women…

We'd best continue to remain on guard, the young bronzerider sent through his dragon.

Of S'jiro and Tasha, still out in the field as it were, he asked his bronze, Have they found anything else?  Tell them Raidenth's rider believes there is a traitor here amidst the caravan.  If they are not following an active trail, they should return.

The young man nodded, "There are more on the others." He wasn't the leader but he understood what that meant. "We should report this back, take what evidence we will require and then burn the bodies." Kevarre didn't want to leave things for everyone who happened by to see. He wasn't sure how much they were going to need to tell the riders. Better to give the information they gathered to someone higher up and let it go from there.

-------

At the same time, Lancelle was wrapping up her investigation inside the wagon. She had Raidenth continue to send information to Ramirath about the two victims. They did not appear to be Holdless at all. Someone shorter than them killed them. From the lack of defensive wounds she would have to assume they weren't expecting to be attacked.

She had a lot to think about and she wasn't so sure she trusted the caravan master or any of the guards with this information but they would need to be informed in order to understand the full scope of what was happening here. Whatever the case was, this had been organized, someone knew where the caravan would be and someone had been riding that was a traitor.

Lance could not be sure who that person was, so she left the thought there in her head. There was a time and a place to discuss this.

Raidenth went ahead and sent her thoughts to the other dragons, all three of them, Lance says we should move the Caravan along to Igen Weyr and interrogate people from there. No need to make anyone suspicious now. She has enough to go on to narrow down who was possibly behind it. She says the Lady and her Handmaid may be suspect and must come with the Caravan to Igen Weyr.


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(To close)

Once the Blood Moon Squad gathered what they needed from the victims, the bodies were burned. The Caravan then made its way to Igen Weyr, where there was no further difficulty. S'jiro made contact with Weyrleader D'nier who has given them permission to interrogate the people in the Caravan on arrival to Igen Weyr.

Since it is then made clear that Tlina and Galaeanyss were not behind it, N'kyr was permitted to take them back to Crom.

All suspects were released since nothing could be proven. Sorcha and Nayh returned to Southern Telgar where they continue to be in business helping the rebels.

Yeoun and the blood moon squad returned to Telgar Hold proper and gave a full report to Lord Holder Matoi.

Since the mission, Weyrwoman Karene and Lord Matoi have been in contact and have both agreed there is more organization behind all of this to simply be Holdless attacks.

(Thread Closed)