To Kendath, who seriously needed a lesson on anger management right then, selling Evlyn actually sounded appealing. He didn't find himself too fond of Merrin either. She'd been perfectly fine taking off with the Grapewing Brandy, so why not this? Theft... decapitation... same general idea...

"Listen," he snapped. "It wouldn't be called a 'bounty hunt' unless the subject is guilty himself. There's a difference between 'bounty hunt' and 'assassination.'" He waved an impatient hand at the poster. "What else do you propose. Unless you want to search the continent for Lady Elayne's precious hamster, I would think..." Catching sight of Merrin's set expression, he trailed off with a groan. "You're not serious... I hate hamsters...."

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"I don't want to go hunting for hamsters," returned Merrin edgily, no happier than he with this turn of events. "Just because someone's guilty doesn't give anyone license to go after them with a hatchet - gold or not!"

Perhaps Evlyn's strange preoccupation with Kendath was grating on Merrin more than she would have liked to admit, but it didn't change the fact that backing down was something she did not intend to do. She would walk to wherever they were going if need be - horses or no they'd get there eventually. Merrin gave them what she hoped very much was calmly even look, though she suspected it wasn't.

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Garthag wondered whether he should bring up the fact that he was carrying a fat purse just right now with him and that he could buy what they needed, but then again he hadn`t had any fun in a while so he might as well let it be. After all he believed that only the strong survived and that people should help themselves, he wouldn`t raise a finger to help them for now. Garthag mused mysteriously as the conversation took an awkward turn. By the gods they were like a married couple, Kendath and Merrin, but this based on a dry stereotype Garthag had formed out of married couples.

"No offense Merrin, but I find you out to be the hypocrite I thought you were in the beginning and I wasn`t wrong all tough you did make me doubt. And what are you going to do against the shadowers? Will you spare them even if they deserved it? You are just weak with the loss of your precious Wyvern."

Garthag said and hoped he had hit a nerve because he expected Merrin to go ballistic.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

"You know very well that this is different!" snapped Merrin, fists clenching. She grappled with unreasoning anger for a moment - how dare he refer to Wyvern like that! - but fought it down enough to only direct an icy look in Garthag's direction, chin up defiantly. Hypocritical! Her! Merrin found herself clenching her fists so hard her nails were digging painfully into her palms. She loosened them with a conscious effort. "If, as everyone seems to think," she began slowly and deliberately, "the gods have chosen me to do - to - well, this, then we will be going by what I think is right."

She sounded like an arrogant prig, thought Merrin in dismay. She needed their help - not this!

_________________

Kendath's head was beginning to throb again, and the bemused stares of the passerbys were hardly helping. Merrin looked fairly apoplectic - Garthag seemed to have that effect on her. Eliminate one of them. Problem solved.

"Shut up!" he shouted. And suddenly he was the diplomat? Excellent, now if only he could find a blunt cudgel someplace... the pommel of his falchion should work... He cleared his throat and met both his companions' glares with an equally irate glare of his own.

"We're going hamster hunting."

He took a breath to calm himself. Crossing his arms over his chest, he leveled a simply terrifying look at Garthag. A tiny voice at the back of his head told him that if Garthag had his magic back, he himself would be no more than a charred spot on the ground.

_________________

Garthag chuckled out loud at the words "We're going hamster hunting" and threw an amused gaze towards Merrin.

"Indeed you must chosen by the gods when you are tasked to search vermin's for some petty coins. Ah... I haven`t had this much fun since I and Kalma burnt down all of the opposing villages, then let them freeze on the tundras before having them killed by a horde of barbarians..... Just joking..."

He added afterwards as he do doubt received a furious and judgemental look from Merrin, perhaps even from Kendath.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

“We are doing no such thing,” returned Merrin stubbornly. One glance at the much-debated notice told her that that ridiculous suggestion, if completed, would earn them another measly ten silver pieces, the effort of which she did not intend to go to. “Walking won’t hurt any of us,” she added, hoping fervently that they did not decide to argue further. She wasn’t sure she could hold up underneath it. “Five silver will get us a tinder and flint and enough food to last until – until – something else. ”

Merrin turned to Kendath pointedly to indicate she wasn’t going to argue about it. It was a completely alien sensation, this leadership business. “You need a healer,” she said, meeting his gaze unflinchingly. “If you’ve decided to stop passing out insults left and right, Garthag, perhaps you’d like to come, too.”

On the last word her voice trembled slightly and Merrin turned to stalk away from them, hoping that Kendath at least followed. She had no idea if she’d made them think her insufferably arrogant or pathetically incapable.

_________________

Kendath shot her an incredulous look. Was she mad? He had a partial idea where the next step of their journey would take them, and walking the entire way would kill them. Not to mention the provisions they'd need. Until something else could only take them so far, and he was no ranger capable of keeping them alive off the land that long. Unless he'd underestimated Garthag where forest lore was concerned...

However it became apparent soon after, upon a second glance at her rigid back and resolved stride, that she was beyond capitulating. Merrin certainly learned at an excellent time how to make group decisions. Still, at least it spared them the humiliation of hamster hunting for Lady Elayne.

"We can walk," Kendath conceded, half lacking conviction, half in profound relief. "Merchant caravans will pay for guards on the road. And... yeah. Until something else." Inwardly shaking his head, he trudged after her.

A general store on the street corner probably sold the supplies they needed. They would purchase their provisions and go, hopefully make Merrin see the intelligence in taking up at least the merchants' job. Walking around with empty purses wasn't an ideal move, especially when stakes were this high. And no, he did not need a healer. All he had was a bandaged midsection that didn't even hurt - as much - anymore. Not only that, but he'd also stopped feeling feverish ten minutes ago. On the contrary, Garthag obviously needed assistance. They couldn't let the wizard's festering leg hold them up.

_________________

Merrin saw the store, and noted the neat packages of dried meat hanging in the window and the several other cheap necessities that would do them a world of good in their travels, but she stalked past it and turned around to give Kendath a nonplussed look.

"You're going to say you don't need a healer," she said, folding her arms again. It made it hard to be emphatic when he was a head taller than her and she had to look up in order to meet his eyes - never something she was entirely comfortable with, possibly because it was very hard to deny the tingle that ran through her every time she did it. While I'm at it, I might as well insist he gets that looked at, she thought resignedly. "Well, you do. As does Garthag. If we're going to be - er - walking."

Merrin was reasonably sure her cheeks didn't go rather red upon saying it, but it took a momentary battle. "If - if it'll make you feel better," she added, thrusting out her splinted and bandaged wrist, "I'll tell her I'm injured too and then we'll all be - equal - or something." This time she did go red. With leadership business apparently came the art of speaking authoritatively, also something she was finding herself mediocre at.

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Evlyn hid her head in her hands. This was the Chosen? True she'd been out of it for a long while, and she had no idia about what had exactly happened. But she'd heard rumours, and she knew about Merrin at least. Why Garthag had suddenly changed sides and what exactly had happened to Semri were things that she would find out...

Merrin was useless, as far as she'd seen, the girl had got herself captured, been rescued, lost the Crystal, decided they would go 'hamster hunting' and said 'er' every few minits. She looked at her disparingly. She was the Gods Savior, the was the person Kendath, and therefore by defult Evlyn had decided to follow.

Of course she could go and enter the tournament herself...No, let Kendath's love sort it out. Thats who'd he'd sided with, and she wouldn't try and get him back.

(i'm going to Cypres untill Wednesday tonight so i won't be posting, sorry. I was also thinking of bringing Jemx (my dragon) back, unless people would prefere to carry on with the Dragonless theme?)

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Made by Lembas

[all our dragons will return at the opportune moment. for now dragonless ]

Kendath muttered something incoherent under his breath. He glanced once at her wrist and said in exasperation, "That's not the point. I'm perfectly fine. No need to stop and waste coins on..." He trailed off and decided to simply glare. What was the use?

The shopkeeper looked up when they entered. In the space of five seconds he assimilated their scruffy appearance and decided they probably weren't worth his time. "You got money?" he asked gruffly.

If Kendath had replied to that, they probably would have found themselves back on the street within three minutes. In all gumption he snapped his mouth shut and ignored the question. He picked up a tinderbox, rabbit trap, and backpack off the far shelf. He normally stored provisions in Gyre's saddlebags, but now they had to become their own pack mules.

_________________

Merrin instantly saw the use of a dozen items the moment she entered, and the next moment had regretfully mentally discarded all but a few. Likely what Kendath had already picked up - and those were necessities no matter how you looked at it - would take up the majority of their silver. Merrin hesitated a moment. The rapier hilt hanging from her belt, empty from when she'd lost the weapon in yesterday's skirmish, was set with several small gemstones down the length. Nothing gaudy or especially valuable, but she made her way to the back counter.

"Ah -" she started, and the gruff storekeeper looked up from where he was meticulously cleaning the jaws of a large trap. Rubbing his large calloused hands with a cloth that looked as if it might make them dirtier if it did anything, he raised an eyebrow and Merrin thrust the thing across the counter, smothering twinges of regret. She'd had that rapier for three years now, starting on four. "Would you be able to give me anything for this?" she queried, turning it over to show the intricate metalwork set with tiny gems.

"What use d'you think I'd 'ave for the likes of that, lass, I'm but a - " he cut off abruptly and stared at her a moment, gaze almost calculating, before disappearing into a room behind. Merrin craned her neck to see what he was doing, curious.

When he returned it was with a light saber, curved ever so slightly, that he dropped on the counter in front of her. "Believe that'd about fit your sheath there."

"Oh - I can't," said Merrin regretfully, turning the weapon over in her hands. The hilt was wrapped with gold wire, balanced perfect in her hand. "I haven't money enough, though it's lovely, you - "

He pushed it back toward her. "'Twas a gift to me, girl. Not as though I'll ever have reason to use it here. Go along with you."

He waved her off, lumbering into the other room and Merrin was left to examine the lithe blade with an air of surprised gratitude. It did fit her sheath, come to that.

_________________

As they left the general store, the unfamiliar sabre hanging from Merrin's belt caught Kendath's eye. He'd seen the shopkeeper hand it over to her - something about a gift. Convenient. Walking around with an empty scabbard wasn't very intelligent either.

Once outside, he glanced both ways down the street, at the looks they were receiving from casual passerbys. At length he beckoned them through the town square, to a small alleyway beside the local inn. He sidestepped a pile of refuse on the ground not a second too early. Blithe laughter floated from the inn's partially open shutters, but it seemed they could converse in relative privacy.

"About our next move," Kendath began, deliberately turning the words over in his mind. He frowned, not liking the aftermath, but he could think of no better solution. "The Shadowers have the Shard. We need to find the Shadowers. Unless Garthag here has something he needs to share, none of us know where it is. The Shadowers would have sequestered themselves after the Lost Battle - fair reason why we've never heard of them until our jaunt back in time."

He paused and scanned his companions, trying to judge their expressions. None of them had interrupted him, which he deemed safe to continue. "I have... a thought. We used to - the Meiltha had an agent they called the Seeress. Her allegiances are... mercenary I believe. She could divine the Shadowers' citadel."

_________________

Mercenary allegiances. Money would no doubt be involved there, but Merrin discarded the thought - gods willing, there'd be some way to acquire the necessary funds before they reached this seeress. After all, if she could trust them to keep her safe in the presence of someone like Ironlegs, money should be a trifling matter. Not to mention they'd kindly provided her with a weapon just now.

Merrin nodded. She couldn't see another viable course of action, and had accepted long ago that Kendath knew these things generally far better than she. A guilty twinge at being so stubborn in her refusal of their earlier monetary opportunity arose and was fought back down. "We'll start in the direction of this - Seeress, then," she said slowly, unwittingly running her fingers over he unfamiliar feel of wire-inlaid hilt under her hand. "How far?"

It would be much further without their dragons, far or near. Merrin shied away from the thought. Thinking of Wyvern still made her feel the raw hole he seemed to have torn from her heart - it felt like probing the edges of a wound not yet healed. No, no use thinking of that.

_________________

"Mountains," Kendath replied with a noncommittal shrug. "Not far from where Evlyn and I first... ah... met you. I know the way by dragonback - two days - though considerably longer by foot." He thought for a moment. He wasn't overly familiar with the region, especially not by terrain. The view from Demon's saddle would prove just a little different from the view down here. "I believe the first part of the road is frequently traveled - it runs past Amarinth. We could snag a ride on a farmer's cart in exchange for protection from brigands."

"Hey! What do ye think yer doin' back there?"

Kendath sighed and turned in time to come face-to-face with a cheerful innkeeper, who also happened to be waving a hefty butcher's knife. The man took a few steps forward, caught sight of their weapons, and wisely chose to halt his advance.

"Ye can't come back here," he said obstinately. "Folks'll think yer up to no good."

"Sorry," returned Kendath with questionable sincerity. He followed Garthag and Merrin back out onto the main street. "Amarinth is northwest of here." He looked at the sky, judged the sun's location behind a mountain peak, and set off back down the street.

_________________

Garthag sighed as he tired of this babble and grabbed his fat purse from a pocket of his robe, he took a few coins on his palm and pushed them around with his fingers. He then gazed at his own leg and as Merrin had pointed out he required a healer, he sneered quietly at the thought of staying put, but he would at least get a horse for himself after checking up on a healer.

"This prattle bores me, I will seek out a healer and have proper treatment for my leg... you should buy what you need with these..."

He said throwing the half empty purse to Kendath as he himself took the rest in his own pocket. He flashed an innocent smile before limbing away to find a healer, after a few blocks of houses he stopped before a simple house that seemed to have once been used as a shop that had now been turned into a healers place. Garthag entered and gazed at a middle aged woman who was treating another patient, she would have to do and his money would probably be more than enough. Garthag rudely, uninvited sat on an empty chair and placed his wounded leg on another waiting for the healer to take a look.

The woman accepted the coins happily and made a quick check on Garthag`s leg, no words were exchanged and there was an almost eerie silence. The way Garthag had entered and acted told that he did not want anything to do with anyone else, especially those below him. The healer fixed the wounds up best she could and handed over a new package of bandages as it was obvious they need to changed. The wench had poured some sort of herb on his wound and Garthag could only answer the herbs stinging with a grin.

"How long?" Garthag inquired about the healing time as he stared at his aching leg.

"a few days if you want to keep your leg" The woman answered with a cold tone.

"Well I shall not burden it then for I have travels to undertake"

Garthag answered shortly before making his way out of the healers house, he gazed around the street quietly, he quietly stared at the dirty streets that brought back memories. This village reminded him of another village that had once resided in the north, his home village where he had first learn magic and spent the beginning of his life. People going about their business, trying to make their everyday living and caring for their families, the very spirit of many villages. What had become of that place now? Garthag had burned it down to the ground.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!