Garick smiles"Ho there Master Oleg! All is well. We struck a stout blow against the group that have held you at their mercy." Garick picks up the Shade's lead as well as Kal's horse putting his arrow away. he says "I will see to the horses Kalsgrim." He leads the horses toward the outpost.
"Ah well speak the devils name and they shall appear," laughs Oleg as he begins to approach the cart. Before he can inspect it he notices the man riding aboard. "That you Tuck? What're you doing here? Last I heard you joined with those thugs."
The two men assembling the tents look nearly identical, clearly twins and younger then the man near Oleg. "We're with Lord Kesten. I'm Konner and this is Connar. We're Swordsons. Bound to serve House Garess."
Tuck raises the bonds around his wrists. "You have the right of it, Oleg. However I'm currently under a new contract with Priest Janku. Like Kalsgrim said, I promised a year for my head and hide."
He lifts the side of his shirt to show the two pink scars from the arrow wounds. "Sheer luck saved me when these men attacked Kressle's camp. I don't think she even knew what did her in at the end."
Oleg is grinning ear to ear. A bizarre expression for his usually serious demeanor. "Boy, you did find the lucky clover. It's alright Janku, you can untie him. Tuck's a friend if he hasn't told you already."
"Actually, Oleg," the ex-bandit says pointedly, "They caught me as a thief, and I'll serve them as their prisoner until they deem fit as my captors."
Garick looks as if Oleg just plucked the sun from the sky like an apple from a tree."You speak for this man Master Oleg? We found him in the very camp of the woman who ordered your wife be taken, yet you call him friend. Please if you would share what you have to say on Tuck's behalf." Garick looks at Tuck "Surely the gods smile on you. To be welcomed in the home of the man you have been robbing for months."Garick shrugs and shakes his head.Great!! That priest is going to just eat this up! Perhaps the man is favored by the gods I would have never believed it if I hadn't heard the words with my own ears.
"Well you see, when I got the deed to my fort here we barely knew where to find it. The man who gave it to us sent Tuck along as a guide. Spent three weeks on the road with him and he even helped on some of the early repairs." The brief spell a cheer seems to pass and he grows cloudy again. "After that he set off into the woods, saw him a few times over the next couple months until I got word he was seen with Kressle's lot. Last time I saw him was the first time she visited us."
He lifts a large hand to his cropped hair and runs it through. "Each time he stopped by Tuck would have a letter for me to send back to Restov with a merchant. He never out and said it, but I have a feeling that there's a bit more to him than a simple guide and bandit, especially when the letters were sealed with a Swordlord's signet ring."
While Oleg talks Tuck simply sits with a small smile on his face.
Servayn moves over to the twins from Garesh and lends a hand with setting up the tents, while Ember moves to a sunny patch out of the way, but viewing the proceedings, and unceremoniously plops down, clearly intent on 'supervising' but not helping.
As he helps with the work, Servayn quips to the brothers, "House Garresh, eh? You're taller than I'd have expected." A joke that they've likely heard a thousand times before, hinting that their family has 'close ties' with the dwarves. He smiles as he says it, clearly aware that it's both in poor taste, and yet such an old joke that the sting has gone out of it long ago, and his face becomes more serious. "Good to have you here. Strong as the mountains, as they say, which is exactly the kind of folk we could use more of out here."
Tuck's easy agreement and seeming honor make a tad more sense as Oleg calls the bandit friend and explains Tuck's relationship with the seasoned merchant. Hiding a smile at Garrick's expense, Lukasz was just glad that they were able to help someone, even if in fact he wasn;t a bandit, but a Swordlord agent. Having dismounted and gotten more comfortable, the sorcerer will ensure his horse was comfortable and well fed before joining in the conversation as he says, "Well, it is good to see men of Restov here, it has been quite a trek thus far in the untamed Greenbelt with plenty of injuries, but plenty of stories as well. If Oleg and Svetlana don't mind, how about sharing the space as well as some food? By the way, Oleg, we found some goods at Kressle's camp, you might want to check through it to see if any of it belongs to you." Though the sorcerer had been rather quite throughout the entire trek, he seems to perk up a bit at having a place to sleep and a home cooked meal.
Ox raises his lance and calms visably at seeing the men are of the noncriminal variety, hoping off his horse he will start to take care of the beasts as soon as they get them in the fort along side Garrick.
When he hears the news that Tuck is actually a sword lord he shakes his head in disgust. He could have saved the lot of all some trouble and said so in the first place, or when he asked him about Oleg he could have fessed up to knowing him a bit more than "oh that's the trader right?" bullocks to him, he just earned less of his trust and some of his respect all in one failswoop.
Once finished with the horses, ox will come out of the stable ready for more work. [b] Oleg I'd like to take a look at the fortifications and what not see if there is anything that needs mending, if not then I'd like to get a look at the seige weapons, see if we can't salvage any of them, we might have to mix and match, but I figure we can get atleast one working. I say all this becuase the problem goes deeper than Kressle and Tuck here. We hope to deal with the stag lord away from here, but it wouldn't hurt to be prepared.
Garick looks a bit more upset than before.All right Mister Tuck so just who are you? Do you realize I nearly executed you twice? You were prepared to meet that fate instead of speak up for yourself? I do not know what game you are at sir, but I for one don't care for it. Garick stalks off to tend to the horses. I don't like this one bit. If he is working for the Swordlords why not say something Oleg would have backed him up. No, something more is going on here. Perhaps these bandits are working for one of the houses, and the other Lords do not know about it. Here we are miles away from any of the Lords, and we may be involved in courtly maneuvering. I will have to get Kal, Ox, and Lukasz away to let them know my worries. Hmmm, the porridge thickens in the pot, and we know not the cook.
"I am exactly who I told you, a thief." Tuck's grin vanishes, "I've stolen bread, money, and secrets and I was placed on a mission to keep an eye on the Greenbelt. No one in Brevoy knows too much about what is going on down here and some of the lords decided to remedy that." He gestures to his wounds again. "You woke me with a kick after shooting me, and began demanding information about the bandits and the Stag Lord. Then you threatened to kill me for banditry by association."
"So I decided to keep who I worked for private. Not everyone on Golarion is friend to the Swordlords. Perhaps you'd been sent by House Surtova." Tuck says this last part while deftly twisting his hands free of the rope bonds and re-tieing them to be more comfortable. "As I'm tasked with watching the Greenbelt...your group would appear to be the most interesting site since a man with a dear skull for a head."
Ox's hand instinctively goes to the hilt of his sword as tuck unties the rope. You would've died a quiet fool then, we've been tasked by the sword lords to come clean up what they sent you to keep an eye on, a word of warning from them that you were out here might've been appropriate. I'm glad we have your interest but I am at a thurough loss as to what to think of you. Ox shakes his head and stands his ground,the man is obviouosly dangerous and he doesn't have the faintest clue as to his true intentions.
Oleg crosses his arms. "Ox. With the Swordlords it does not always seem the right hand knows what the left hand writes. Tuck helped me build this fort, I doubt he'll help burn it down."
"Now what goods did you claim that are mine?" He says while looking through the wagon, "Ah ha, my furs and liquor! The rest I don't recognize but would be glad to purchase if you like to rebuild my stock. Would one of you mind helping me carry these crates to the storage room. I'll send Svetlana out to discuss prices of the other items. She has a good head for number."
Shortly after Oleg carries a crate into his home Svetlana comes out. "Oh Tuck!" She keeps her eyes lowered and begins looking over the goods brought from the camp.
Oh Tuck, indeed... thinks Servayn, eyes narrowing.
He leaves the uncommunicative twins to their tent construction and assists Oleg with carrying crates inside, instead.
"Word reached up north that this outpost was experiencing some banditry. No one really wanted to send any men down here for a couple of peasants, but I'm not exactly welcome among the Garess family so I volunteered." Kesten is quiet and seems a little withdrawn. "The Swordsons and Lucas are my vassals and friends so they decided to come with. Here I plan to find redemption, either defending the commonfolk or die trying."
He sizes up Kalsgrim and the other men. "And you are...?"
Ember has turned to regard the man who, to his eyes, appears to be preparing a horse to be cooked (grooming after a day's journey, slathering with cooking oil, so hard to tell the difference...).
For a second, his head dips low, ears flattened, and his tail twitches, as thoughts of chasing the animal enter his head, but he plops his head down on his paws, abandoning such happy thoughts with a barely audible sigh.
While hauling crates inside with Oleg, outside of the earshot of the new arrivals, Servayn places a hand on his arm and nods towards the newcomers outside. "These men are who they seem to be, yes? You are not in any sort of danger?"
Suspicion has kept him alive in rough places, and these Stolen Lands are rougher than most...
Ox shakes his head and can't help but smile at Oleg. "You are more forgiving than I can Fathom Sir, I respect that, I 'll do my best to Try and give him the benefit of the doubt." or at least pretend to so he'll let his guard down, thinking that I have too.
Ox happily helps the others with moving the goods around to where ever Oleg wants them. Hey Servayn, I think we better take Ember to hunt something before she decides one of the horses is fair game. Ember was just eyeballing the new guys horse like it was ready to be spitted and charred.Ox's ears perk as he hears the more important question that Servayn has asked.
Garick pays for the bottle of spirits that he claimed as a prize previously, explaining the reason to Svetlana.
Kesten listens halfheartedly to Corso's introduction. "Ah, you'd be the group I heard about. Seems you're the ones for the exploring and cleansing. I'll keep my duty to protecting this bastion of civilization."
He draws the giant sword from his back and places the tip of it in the ground before him. "Your men can do their job without fear for Oleg and his wife. My weapon will break any who cross it."
Keeping one hand on the fine leather grip of the sword he takes up Kalsgrim's hand in a firm grip.
Perhaps the months of feeling helpless have driven the man to grasp any hands that are offered to him. Pride be damned, if only to keep his wife safe.
"Thanks for the help, lads. If I could ask you another favor perhaps? That woman Kressle...she took my wife's ring. It's not much, a simple thing with a pearl, but I had to save a year for it. It means the world to Svetlana and every day I catch her looking at her hand or rubbing the spot it used to lay." Oleg seems a bit sheepish about asking for more help. "I was hoping to find it among the spoils from the camp...but no luck. If you happen across it in the woods, I would offer very substantial award to see her happy again."
Ox and Garick take in the fine meal, not letting any of the days worries stand between them and a plate of Svetlana's cooking.
Ox tries to remember if he saw a ring like that on Kressle's fingers, he is pretty sure that he checked for loot in most of the oobvious places and certainly would have remembered such a ring.
For dinner the four new men join the party at the tables enjoying the hearty meal. The brothers and Kesten eat quietly. The fourth man, named Lucas, has the bearing of a servant. His hair is short, curly, and black with a barrel chest and well muscled arms. "We've been a bit busy getting ready for the trip, but the air around the town is that the Lords are nervous. Each day they fear the House Surtova will try and strengthen their grip on the Throne, pushing the Swordlords further from power."
"Sounds about the same as when I left." Tuck chimes in. "Ever since Surtova claimed regency of the Throne the Lords have been looking into every shadow for their agents. Some suspected that the troubles in the Greenbelt might have been stirred up by them though that's a far fetched guess."
Kesten stops eating for a moment and let's out a short gruff laugh. "House Garess is a group of short sighted old men who abide by out dated rules and courtly procedures. If there's a law written that says you can do it they'll follow it to the death. To the death with someone who goes against them as well."
There's a story behind this young man and his house. Clearly he's not pleased with them.
Ox takes a big bite of the food in front of him and remains quiet, it seems like the whole lot of em are here because their houses would rather not have them there and that suits him just fine.
After Kal has his say about Lodovka & Politics Ox will ask the new comers Any of you gentlemen have any engineering experience?
At some point during the evening Janku brings up the prisoner problem. While very happy that Tuck is still alive, he understands that there are many bandits whom are not reformable, and wishes to secure a prison for their safe keeping until they can be put on trial.
"Kresen, What is the possibility of constructing a temporary stockade where we could detain any prisoners taken until their fate is determined"?
While resting over dinner, Lukasz listens intently to the topics of discussion, always eager to hear about things form home. While he was glad to be away from his House and in the beautiful Greenbelt, at times, the young sorcerer missed some of the finer things in life, like a soft bed and expensive meal. Thinking to ask Tuck or one of the other strangers about House Orlovsky's involvement, Lukasz decides against it, thinking that if Orlovsky became involved outside of their sending him along on this trip, it would be quite some time longer before anyone would have gotten word of it.
After the fine meal Garick is just about to pull out that bottle he took as a prize.
Corso waves to Svetlana and takes his purse out: "My Lady, could I burden you with the task of getting us something nice to drink, like some great dwarven ale, or perhaps you would have a bottle of fine gnomish whiskey hidden somewhere? I believe a toast to salute this meet is in order. Kesten! Drink with me! And Janku! Come 'round so we can discuss this jail matter!" He looks with a smile at Corso." It seems like great minds think alike Corso I was just about to offer to pass around this bottle. I figured we could all use a couple of good snorts after the last few days. He pulls the cork tucking it in his pouch taking a good swig off the bottle and passes it to Corso.