Mags

"Of course!"

Maglor rubbed his back while he cried. "See? I told you it would be alright."

"Oh look!" @The Halcyon Girl "Is that it?"

"We don't know, he lost it."

"He lost a black and purple flower," Maglor explained. "Okay . . . maybe we could find a different flower that's just as special? If we can't get one like the old one we could find something new!"

"Ah yes, of course," Maglor replied gently. "I'm sure we can find one that's purple and black."

@Dragonheir

Both men fall to the ground. The bandit frantically tires to wipe the goo off with is hands, unsure what it was. It misses, sinking into the dirt road. The group is straggling, with most of them laying on the ground bleeding out.

The man finally collapses. 2 down, one injured, one fled, 3 still approaching from the left. One of them shot a crossbow bolt at Alvar, wise enough not get too close. Calum engages one of the other ones left, hitting them with a quick succession of sword-strikes. The archer was too far away already, and the bolt hits the trunk of a tree

It sunk into his shoulder, and he stumbled back, club still in hand.

The poisoned man fell to the ground, immobile. Another bandit, this one with a pale blue mask, stabbed a spear up at him. The man dodged, switching his club to his other hand, and swinging it again.

The figure in the woods stands up and starts running through the trees, quickly disappearing. The bandit lets out a low whine from behind his mask, and grabs the hand Dint is holding the bolt with. He yanked on it, freeing his arm and ripping the bolt away from Dint.

The man growled and ripped the dart out. About half a dozen bandits ran out of the woods towards the wagon, weapons drawn. Someone still behind the tree-line shot an arrow at Eublech. Nera shot a bolt in their direction, but she couldn't see if she hit. Another arrow shot through the air at him. The first of the bandit's reached the blue wagon (which was in front), and they started to climb on. The bandit crumpled to the ground, holding his leg. Another one wearing a grey mask rounded the wagon, and swung a club at Dint.

The man gasped in pain and sunk to his knees. A masked person ran out onto the road. "Stop! Let's not have this in violence yeh?" He held an unsheathed sword. "There are many of us, and we just want to take what's ours--no hurting no hurting." Nera frowned. His accent was thick and she didn't recognize it. She trained her crossbow on him, waiting to see if he made a move. "What's going on?" Lady Genuhk asked from inside the red wagon. She poked her head out. "Oh . . ."

"I see, well, finding a purple flower shouldn't be too hard." He took Bad's hand. "Let's go look, alright?"

After several minutes, the city slowly fell away as buildings spread out. An hour or two later, and they were out on the open road, following a wide highway that lead to their destination. The sun sank a little, as afternoon came upon them and shadows grew. The highway cut into a thick wood after passing the last of the farms. The trees cast long shadows over the road. Any other traffic had died away, and the wagons were alone on the road. A little while later a dark figure dashed out from the side of the road, stopping in the middle in front of the party. They had up a hand, and raised a crossbow threateningly. A few other masked people poked out of the woods. Bandits, very unexpected I know. Nera squinted at them. Their clothing looked strange, like intentional costumes. Had the city not wanted to hire real mercenaries to test them, and instead settled for theatre players? Well it would make her job easier. She loaded her crossbow. @Ancient Elantrian @Just_a_Fan @J. Magi @BrechioSwordMouse @Scars of Hathsin @SmilingPanda19 @TheRavenHasLanded @Dragonheir @Spark of Hope @SpiritOfWrath @TwinSouls

"Oh . . . no I don't need any food, thank you." He patted them on the back. "It'll be alright, what did it look like?"

July and August came down from the second floor after several minutes. They had both changed into some spare clothes July had had on him. The tunic and hose were clearly too big for August, if only because of July's height, but it was good enough. They got their horses ready for the journey, and loaded July's bags onto one of them. They'd decided to ride on the same horse, and use the other one as a pack animal. That way August could lean on July and maybe get some sleep while they traveled. They were completely ready to go within the hour. July poked his head in the tavern to let everyone know so they could get started. @Through The Living Glass @The Bookwyrm @Spark of Hope @TheRavenHasLanded @anyone else ----------------------- Right after dawn, a few miles from the village "That's it?" October growled. A hot rage filled his heart, threatening to overflow. Here he'd thought she was just a few hours late but . . . The poor scribe that had gone with September nodded, adjusting his glasses nervously. He was covered in mud and had run all the way there from the village. "You don't have . . . oh I don't know . . . any USEFUL information!?" He took a ragged breath trying to control himself. They had no leads other then a stinky little village and August had probably left already. The scribe just stared at the floor. "I . . . already told you what I saw . . ." "WELL YOU DIDN'T SEE ENOUGH!" October ran a shaky hand through his beard. "YOU CAN'T JUST TELL ME MY COMPANION IS DEAD AND-" "Oh go easy on him, no one expected August to have help," June said lightly from where he was seated in corner of the tent. He had his feet propped up on the map table, studying a small glittering piece of jewelry in his hand. His loose black hair was long enough to touch the floor. "What are we supposed to do now? August isn't just going through a phase anymore, this is an act of rebellion!" And he'd decided to start things with quite a fanfare, hadn't he? Not money laundering, not smuggling operations, no he had to start with murder. "Maybe," June replied, eyes still focused on his hand. Between his fingers was an ornate earing made of pearls. The scribe had picked it up as he ran away. September had been wearing the pair yesterday evening, before she'd gone off on her own. "But it's not like things will change. So he killed someone. So what? We already knew he was good at that." October waved an absent hand at the scribe, dismissing him. The small man rushed out of the tent, clearly relieved to get away. "He didn't just kill someone, he killed SEPTEMBER." October didn't care if August made a mess as long as he didn't have to clean it up. Something like this would completely derail his planned campaigns. "Father'll appoint a new one in a few months. He likes his perfect numbers and 11 doesn't quite work." June swung his legs off the table and dropped the earing on a map he'd ruined with his boots. "Don't you understand how big this is?" October said, restraining himself from yelling again. "I'm tired of that uncaring attitude of yours." June giggled, "I'm the uncaring one? Aren't you the infamous warlord who's murdered thousands? I'm a bard, buddy." October glared at him. "That's not what I meant, and you know it." "I just know when to choose my battles, that's all." June picked up his bag, which he'd dumped in another corner of the tent. "You lack conviction." "I actually have a life?" He shrugged, and made a stupid face. "Plus I have far more important things to be doing right now." His eyes hardened slightly. "You want to find August, I don't have time for all this." "Still worried about that twin of yours? He ran away without even telling you right? I'll bet he left because he couldn't stand you like the rest of us." June just stared at the floor. Anger looked childish on him even though he was the taller man. "July loves me, he wants me to find him." "How exactly are you going to reach him? Sit on the side of the road singing a pretty little song hoping he'll hear you? You won't find him on your own." October brushed some dust off of his dark armor and waited. June frowned, a darkness in his expression. "I . . . I . . ." His eyes searched the dirt floor. Suddenly, he shifted, relaxing as if he hadn't heard October's last comment. Forcing himself away from wherever it had taken him. "Do I haaaaaaaaaaaaaaave to come?" He pouted and tucked a stray lock of hair behind his ear. October nodded to himself, playing into it usually worked in his advantage. "Yes. September was your friend too was she not?" June made another face. "Nevermind, I need you to make August come out for me." "So I'm the bait?" June neared the entrance of the tent. "That's lame." October followed, grabbing his scimitar from the table as he passed. "I'm not going to threaten to hurt you or anything, I just know August will listen to you and I can use that to trap him." "Now that's uncaring!" June exclaimed, laughing and waving a hand. "See?" October just rolled his eyes, and played another card. "Father said you have to do what to I ask--" "Yeah, yeah, Father this, Father that . . . I'll go get my horse ready or whatever." He slipped out of the tent. October sighed, as he watched him run off. That man gave him a headache. After giving instructions to a few assistants, the whole camp was buzzing as the company stirred to action. Servants packed up the tents, soldiers fell into ranks, June came back on his horse. A few minutes later they were off.

"Oh, are you blind? And yes, I need food, it gives me energy and keeps my body running." Maglor nods patiently, not really understanding.

"Ah, that is the only thing I can eat, you see."