The Lead Crown: Ch 2a, League of Leaves (Pt 3)
Tranquil Waters: The Lead Crown Ch 2-3, League of Leaves
Despite the group's constant requests, suggestions, and demands otherwise, the wild man known as Henry Evans seemed to have little concern about inviting himself along. He spent his time talking, chatting, and engaging in idle banter... always on what might be deemed a reasonable subject for small talk, yet somehow always presenting it in a way that got Kesst's scales standing on end.
After his discussion on the best way to skewer a pig so that it could roast alive over an open fire, most of the party had experienced more than enough, despite the fact that the man argued that the flavor was that much finer for it. Tobias, Theo, and Nicholas took turns trying to convince the wild man to leave, and each had their own particular method for going about it as 'delicately' as possible.
Tobias argued that the group was headed toward the tribe lands and that Henry would be best suited if he headed elsewhere; the human argued that he was at home anywhere and that he could tell the party needed his help. The prong horn mentioned that Henry made the tribesmen uneasy, to which the wild man countered that it wasn't his problem if they were superstitious... and then went on to note that he took an interest in the party specifically because they hadn't tried to throw a spear at him. He then glanced at Enarork and winked; the bear chose to ignore him.
Theo spoke up next, and pointed out that the group didn't know him very well and that, while he seemed like an open and very trusting individual, he obviously couldn't fault them for being somewhat hesitant to welcome him with open arms... especially since they had just met him in the middle of the wilderness. Henry nodded, a smirk on his lips as he acknowledged the argument and explained that the road was long and there was plenty of time to get to know him-- he then argued that HE should be the one more concerned since the party was only dealing with one stranger while HE was dealing with six.
Nicholas took the next opportunity to talk and bluntly explained that the group hadn't exactly given him permission to join them; Henry pointed out that they couldn't tell him where he could or couldn't go since the road was wide enough for any number of people to travel along it. In fact, he questioned Nicholas' manners by suggesting that perhaps the sailor were a little too full of himself if he thought that he had a say in all the goings on of the travelers of Lehsunia, and he followed it up with a grin... and a swig from one of his grime-covered water skins.
Kesst, who was thankful for the fact that Henry Evans managed to occupy the party's attention, actually felt a little more at-ease with him around-- more focus on the human meant less focus on the dragon. Sanmer, despite his abnormal interest in Kesst, was fairly equally spreading his focus between the two of them. The dragon didn't yet know what the fox's angle was, but Kesst had little doubt by that time that Sanmer knew something was up... why it was the fox was helping him hide it, however, was quite the mystery.
Everyone was so wrapped up in considerations of Henry Evans that, in the end, it resulted in an unfortunate turn of events. The party spent so long trying to figure out what to do with the unwanted traveling companion that they didn't see the encounter until it was too late. "Hail, travelers!" came a call that was all business.
"Good morrow." Tobias returned the greeting in a casual and unconcerned tone to the five mounted men as they approached. He came to a stop and, with him, the rest of the party. The men on horse back all wore a riding tabard displaying the holy symbol of the Church; Kesst had seen such groups often enough to realize what they were... Seekers.
Although the Church's grip stretched far and wide, its methods were rigid and predictable-- there were occaisonally ways people found to slip through its fingers. The Seekers were the Church's answer to times when a light touch was required... and the 'light touch' usually meant a mobile, reactonary, and dangerously decisive group of very capable veteran hunters.
The thought pushed Kesst further toward the back of the group... until he realized that the Seekers were surrounding the party and that there technically was no 'back of the group'... so he settled for the furthest point from the large, scaled figure clad in the robes of an Inquisitor.
Remaining quiet, the dragon turned around to face the man on horseback nearest him: a brown-and-white furred hound of some sort. Kesst wasn't sure whether he was relieved or disconcerted that Sanmer moved into just the right position to block any errant views of where his wings might be seen.
"You are obviously men of the church..." Theo spoke up, "What brings you out so far into the countryside?" The ermine had moved to stand beside Tobias, both facing the individual who had called to the party: a cheetah, whose build was on the more muscular side for his breed... probably from years of practice swinging the enormous horseman's flail that sat snugly in the slip by his saddle.
"Church business." the hound spoke up.
"A similar question might be asked of University Scholars." the hint of pointed curiosity spoken in the unmistakable syllibants of a dragon meant that Kesst didn't need to see who it was who spoke; he knew it was the Inquisitor. The simple comment held a strong air of judgment... and accusation. The boar next to the Inquisitor let out a grunt of agreement.
"My name is Tobias Severna." the prong horn announced, "My current studies involve the lands north east of Lehsunia, and the tribes that live there." Tracking the antelope by sound, Kesst could tell that he was moving to address the Inquisitor, and the young dragon silently hoped that the answer would be sufficient.
"I had always been under the impression that most Scholars preferred to work alone." announced another one of the Seekers. With his back to the Inquisitor, Kesst couldn't tell which one of them had spoken, but he would have guessed one of the two previously silent men... probably the civet, since the voice didn't have the usual gruffness found among the majority of boars he had met in passing.
"It's a common misconception, your Excellency." Theo noted, and Kesst was idly surprised a Scholar knew the proper title for an Inquisitor, "Many of the L & L Scholars have issues sharing the spotlight, but most field scholars are--"
"Elanel?" a grunting, deep-chested voice interrupted the ermine-- it had to have been the boar, "What is an 'Elanel Scholar'?"
"L and L." Theo clarified, "Library and Laboratory." the ermine chuckled, "It's a term used in the University to describe Scholars who prefer to work indoors."
"Then it would be fair to say that Mr. Severna is a field scholar." the Inquisitor's casual comment was still surprisingly filled to the brim with scrutiny.
"That is correct." the prong horn confirmed.
"As am I." the ermine added, "Theo Vinson, at your service." Kesst didn't need to look back at the men to hear the scholar's bow; his fine clothes ruffled enough to make that obvious.
"I am sure you are." through process of elimination, Kesst was certain that the voice belonged to the civet, "Perhaps your party might answer a few questions." Although the civet didn't have the tingling promise of fire and brimstone in his voice that the Inquisitor held, the words were, nevertheless, not precisely pleasant.
"There some kinda problem?" the surprisingly quiet Nicholas Poole finally weighed in with his usual lack of tact.
"Should there be?" inquired the boar with a grunt.
"Your studies on Tribals explains the bear..." the Inquisitor spoke up immediately, "...and perhaps this man."
"Henry Evans, yer Exaltanty." the unkempt human replied from the middle of the party. Kesst did not miss Henry's use of a different title, and he had a feeling it wasn't by accident.
If the Inquisitor noticed he didn't let on, and continued unabated, "And Wyranese it seems, if my ear for accents are any good." the dragon added.
"And here I always assumed dragons didn't have ears." Henry countered.
"I take it you two humans are hired laborers?" the hound near Kesst questioned.
"What?" Nicholas turned and stepped up beside Kesst, "Don't think we look official enough to be the book-y sort?" and he spat on the ground for good measure.
"Belligerance often shields guilt." the cheetah spoke, paw resting on the hilt of his horseman's flail, "Tell me, sir... are you hiding something with your brash comment?"
"Nah." the sailor was quick to acknowledge, "I just don't much care for people that go about sayin a man's not good enough for somethin cuz he doesn't have the crowns for some suit and tie." and he spat again.
"God loves all His children." the Inquisitor rumbled, "Rich and poor... noble and common... exceptional or mild..." his pause was longer before adding, "...innocent or guilty."
"I'm sure many of the guilty often find themselves questioning how much God loves them." Sanmer spoke up with a smirk. Kesst sighed inwardly when he realized that the fox was only calling more attention toward him.
"Fathers must sometimes be called to punish their children... only the most insubordinate of children fail to eventually learn that this harshness is for their benefit." the Inquisitor explained.
"Scholars... a Tribal... and a Wyranese human..." the cheetah cut the discussion short, "Very out-of-place for Lehsunia, if I were to say."
"What would be the best course of action, Brother?" the Inquisitor spoke, but his tone hinted that he already knew what the answer would be.
"We will take them into custody." the cheetah confirmed Kesst's suspicions, "If they have nothing to hide then they have nothing to--" he didn't have a chance to finish his comment as a rock sailed past either side of his head... and the rope connecting them wrapped around his neck. The bolos took him off his horse.
"I don't take kindly to 'custody'." Henry announced, pulling another set off of his belt.
"Bloody hell..." Nicholas growled.
"Wait!" Tobias shouted, "We do not need this to escala--"
"Kill them all." the cheetah gasped from his place on the ground, fighting to untangle the rope from his neck.
Nicholas grabbed a thick branch up from the ground and took a step back as the Inquisitor spurred his horse forward. Enarork took up a spot next to the sailor, gripping his walking stick in a defensive staff stance. Kesst took a step back, but a paw latched onto his arm, "Might want to take cover, kid... horses don't exactly make this a fair--" but the fox's words stopped immediately as, one-by-one, the horses whinnied, falling with blood pouring out of their necks, "--fight."
Henry skidded to a halt, turning around with a curved short sword in either hand. He smiled as the Seekers fought to clear themselves from their dying steeds, and licked at the blood on one of his blades, "They're just a bunch a scholars... yeh really wanna waste time on THEM?" his grin became predatory.
The Inquisitor was up first, his cloak billowing out as two battle axes emerged, "Kill that human." he directed to the three standing Seekers. They moved to comply as the cheetah finally managed to get a knife between his flesh and the rope of the bolas, and began sawing himself free.
The imposing dragon approached Nicholas and Enarork, "I will handle these two. Take prisoners... when possible." Kesst, honestly, would have preferred to have heard kill orders.
"Stay down unless you want to be a target, Kesst." Sanmer warned, pulling the young dragon under cover, "And here I thought you had some brains!"
"They didn't even look at me." Kesst murmured, as much to himself as Sanmer, "Why are the Seekers even out?"
"Ours is not the place to question--" the fox noted, as if quoting from one of the holy scriptures the dragon had heard throughout his youth, but the ending portion was dramatically different, "ours is the place to shut up and not get killed."
"Three-on-one?" Henry questioned from off to theleft, "How's that even fair?" the human was circling around to the side, watching the hound, civet, and boar as they spread out in an attempt to flank him. From his vantage behind a boulder, Kesst was able to watch their movements, "Tell ya what... we'll wait for yer two friends... should at least give yeh a fightin chance... whadda ya say?"
Apparently not interested in the human's banter, the three charged. What happened next occurred at a speed so dizzying that Kesst lost track of the motions but, as the blur of action came to an end, Henry was behind all three of the Seekers. The wild man's short swords were bathed in fresh blood while the boar's headless body stood for a half second longer before falling over; the hound crumpled to the ground with his innards protruding from the wide opening in his abdomen. The civet stood a moment longer, gazing down in disbelief at the hound's sword, which had somehow found its way into his sternum.
"GUH!" Nicholas grunted, sprawling from the impact of the Inquistor's axe; the dragon had swung the flat of the blade right into the sailor's head, and it left the human reeling.
Enarork fared better, having successfully blocked the axe strike meant for him, but the Inquisitor followed it up with a decisive kick to the bear's gut. The tribal's fortitude was apparently greater than the dragon had anticipated, however, and Enarork countered with a rap to the dragon's knee and a quick strike with the other end of his staff, landing it right on the Inquisitor's shoulder.
The strength of the blow forced the dragon's torso down and opened his neck up to attack... by the bear's teeth. Enarork bore down on the Inquisitor, forcing him to the ground as fresh blood welled up around his muzzle clamping down on draconic flesh. The tribal merchant didn't let go until the dragon stopped struggling. By that time there wasn't much blood left to flow. The trouble, however, was not yet over.
"The cheetah!" Sanmer shouted, motioning to the final member of the Seekers, who was fleeing.
Kesst knew enough of the Seekers to be aware that they never fought to the last man-- the cheetah would return to the Church and report what had happened. If he got away there would be no way that anyone present would survive for long; the Church did not forgive the death of holy men at the hands of anyone... let alone prisoners fleeing a city.
"Eh.... let him run." Henry grunted, strolling over to where Kesst and Sanmer were hunkered down, "God damn cat won't get too far without his horse anyway." he flopped down on the rock and began rubbing some sour-smelling unguent on a large gash he'd obtained on his forearm. Kesst hadn't noticed until then that the human had been hurt. Looking back at his three dead opponents, however, Kesst couldn't argue that the trade off was still far to Henry's benefit.
"He'll report back to the Church." the dragon spoke up, still watching the cheetah run... quickly out of any distance that might allow them to catch him.
"Nah..." Henry countered, pulling off a leather glove to assess how far down the cut had been delivered, "He's goin' straight for a field a quick sand." Kesst watched the human as he peeled the bloody glove off and began using it to wipe the wound clean. The remnants of what once appeared to have been some kind of circular tattoo on the back of Henry's hand caught the dragon's attention, but it was hard to make out since the flesh there had obviously been scorched or branded some time ago.
"And there he goes." Sanmer confirmed, eyes still on the cheetah. Kesst looked up and saw, as Henry had indicated, that the cheetah was struggling to move as he was slowly sucked down into the ground.
"Are we going to help him?" Theo asked, slowly making his way toward the boulder where everyone had gathered.
"Nope." Henry announced, quickly wrapping his arm with some semi-clean linen bandages, "Only way we could help him would be t' put him down... and that'd be a waste a arrows."
Tobias strolled over to join the party at the boulder as well, "That was some amazing swordsmanship, Mr. Evans."
"Eh." the human shrugged, "It'd be amazing if they didn't nick me." he presented his bandaged arm, "Still... kinda shows why ya shouldn't be so quick t' get rid a me."
Enarork helped Nicholas up, and the two came to join everyone else as well. Henry Evans' display of martial prowess was very convincing, that much was true as far as Kesst was concerned. What went a long way in counteracting that argument, however, was what he did next. Henry went around to each of the dead bodies and deftly sliced them open, brutally pulling their rib cages asunder, and then tore into them with feral intensity.
One by one he pulled their hearts free and took a bite... then stuffed the torn remnants into the corpses's own gullets. Standing, Henry returned to the group, blood pouring freely down his chin. He smiled, declaring in far too friendly a manner, "Alright... ready when you blokes are."
Enarork announced quite simply "Kaumaka." and left it at that.