Chris shakes his head at the half-orc. "I remember my name is Christophe Debroux. I remember being a wandering physician. I had taken a job off a bulletin board in Polaris but I remember nothing more. My family is from Midra but I don't know about a place called Swampwood."
He adjusts his bags, noticing the mud all over his clothes and Renard's fur. A spasm of pain in his right side hit him. "Tell me, madamoiselle, what year is it?"
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"Mighty funny accent ya got there. I think I know Polaris. Nice people, tasty cuisine."
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He...doesn't know what year it is? Why does he seem to be in pain? There are too many unanswered questions here....there is something truly wrong with him and we have to help him.
She looks at Christophe, disbelief written on her face as he doesn't even seem to know what year it is...and what was a mada...madamoiselle? She shakes her head and puts a hand up to her forehead rubbing her temples slightly, "So...let me get this straight. You're out here in the middle of nowhere with no memory of how you got here, or where you're going...and now you're telling me you don't know what year it is?" As she sees him lean over from an obvious pain in his side she looks at him with concern, "Well...the year is 3026 P.M. What year was it when you left for that job? Are...you feeling alright? You seem to be in some kind of pain."
Chris looks at the catfolk perched on the carriage and gives a half-hearted smile. "Some would call it a charming backwoods accent."
Christophe falls to his knees as the half-orc answers his question. Mon Dieu, three years?! Three years gone. What of my family? What of my life? He picks himself up, tears streaming from his brown eyes. He lifts his grey tunic, noticing a jagged scar, already old, running down his right side. The young man shook his head, running a hand through his tousled brown hair.
"I...I have lost three years of my life. It was 3023 when I took that job. This scar...it is new to me, but it is already old," Chris says, his voice shaking. "I need to find my way to Midra. I need to know what happened to my family. Merci...for the answers, as painful as the are. Renard, come...we have to go home."
The young man straightens his clothes and pulls the hood of his cloak over his head to hide his pained expression. He begins walking down the road.
"Well, see ya."
Looking over her shoulder to glare at Flynt, Gashka then looks back at Christophe. Before he can get very far at all Gashka runs up to him and grabs his arm, "Christophe...wait. Don't go...you don't even know where you are. Why don't you come with us? We are headed to Tarth...maybe someone there will know something? Please....I'm sorry for whatever has happened to you....but, if you give us a chance I'm sure we can figure it out and maybe even get word to your family. If you'll just come with us..." Her own brown eyes are filled with compassion for the young man's plight as she looks at him.
Glancing back at the carriage she beseeches her friends, "C'mon guys...we can't just let him walk off like this. It's just...not the right thing to do and all of you know it."
Terra punches Flynt on the arm and whispers to him shush, that's not very nice, he didn't do anything to us yet
Terra hops out of the carriage. she almost is in heaven feeling the fresh dirt between her toes.
Ahhhh. now this feels great she stretches but at the same time looking for others that may be in hiding. felling all around her for potential threats.
Chris stops and turns around, the fox whirling around his ankles. "Vraiment? Honestly? You seem quite packed in that carriage, but if it isn't imposing...I guess not walking in some strange place would be a relief."
Gashka lets out a sigh of relief, "Of course it's alright, we'll make some room for you...it doesn't look like you have that much with you after all."
After doing a little creative repacking, Gashka manages to get Christophe's few belongings stowed with the rest of their luggage. Once everyone is back in or on the carriage, Gashka climbs back up onto her seat next to the driver and motions for them to move on.
"Merci again...I mean, thank you."
Inside the carriage, Chris holds Renard against him, the steady rhythm of the fox's heart calming him. He is nervous, surrounded by new faces. He keeps silent, unsure of everything. He didn't even catch a single name from these strangers.
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"Sorry. Didn't realize we're taking in every stranger with amnesia. My bad."
Gashka just looks at Flynt and smirking shakes her head, "C'mon Flynt, give the guy a break. Maybe we'll find something out in Tarth about where he was heading while we are searching for that other information. I'm sorry, I just couldn't leave him stranded out here like this."
"So you do this often, monsieur?" Chris asks Flynt.
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"I understand. No offense but we don't know anything about him. And neither does he apparently. Just trying to look out for us."
"He seems harmless enough and besides I've learned that having a large circle of acquaintances can be handy from time to time. You never know when you need to know a guy how knows a guy. ya know?" Jin asks.
"Well, when he remembers that he's a dark lord and tries to kill us, I did tell you so."
"Eh. He wouldn't be the only one." Jin mumbles.
"To be fair, I know nothing of you either, so we're both taking a leap of faith," Christophe says.
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"Wait what?" Flynt says not quite understanding Jin's mumbling. "Well I don't know about you, but we've had a sudden influx of people trying to kill us." He says to the new guy.
"I can understand your suspicions then. But I've only lost three years of my life, so I'm pretty sure I am certain of who I am. I can't say for certain that anyone's made an attempt my life. We'll just go with 'maybe'," Christophe says. "All I can tell you with no doubt is that I am a traveling healer, no more or less."
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"Alright. I guess you can ride with us. For the time being anyway."
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Anyka drives the carriage further down the road until night falls. You setup camp for the night and the watch schedule.
Polaris, you've been here a week and helped many people, all of from notices on the town bulletin board. Looking over the new postings, there's one that catches your eye. It's a note indicating a new apothecary opening. Given your current supply is running low, you head for the new shop to see what they have. You knock on the door, and a dark shapeless figure opens it. He says something in a voice you can't understand. "Why thank you Ma'am, I would like some tea." You respond as you step inside.
All goes blank as you sit up from your bedroll, sweating.
Christophe wakes up for third watch, his heart pumping. He goes to the carriage and pulls a pair of leather white gloves from his bag. Going around the carriage away from view, he puts on the gloves and traces his fingers down the strange scar. What did this to me?
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Curious...and frightening... Christophe returns to the camp, giving Renard some attention. He sits and waits for dawn to come.
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The night passes without incident. As everyone awakens, there is a pure silence in the air that is a little unnerving.
Chris gets in the carriage silently. Renard sits in his lap again, looking into his eyes. Yes, there may be trouble and we should be ready.
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Flynt wakes up rather groggily. Lucky for him this was a night free from nightmares of past tragedy. He looks over with a smile at Terra cuddled up next to him and then with a watchful eye to the already awake Christophe. "Where are all the birds?" He thinks to himself before getting ready to hit the road again.
The silence was unnerving. While the open road away from villages was never the busiest of places, something about this silence held a promise of something...dangerous.
Stretching the kinks out of her body, she looks around at their campsite and the surrounding area.
Renard slips out of Christophe arms, bothered by his master's obliviousness and looks for danger.
Gashka feels bad for the young man and his inability to remember anything from the last three years. It must be awful not to know what's happened, or where he's been. She stares out of the window of the carriage as the others talk.
Realizing that they have not told him anything about themselves, Gashka decides to open the conversation. Turning her head to look at Christophe she says, [b]"I'm sorry things have been so rough for you. Hopefully we can find some answers for you in Tarth. By the way, my name is Gashka. That's Terra and Flynt, our driver is Anyka and Jin is the one sitting next to her. The furry Pirate that you first saw on top of our carriage is Tikkle.
Gahska's sleep is fitful at best. Her dreams are disturbing at best, and filled with dark images. She tosses and turns on her bedroll, mumbling and moaning in her sleep. By the time morning finally comes, she wakes up crying, with her body covered in a sheen of sweat.
Anyka moves over to where Gashka lies, awakening in distress. Sitting next to her she rubs her sister's back to comfort her.
"The nightmares again? Really bad this time hunh?"
Gashka just nods her head as she buries her face in her hands. It takes a few minutes for the effect of the nightmare to ware off before she can stop crying. Wiping her eyes with her sleeve she looks at Anyka, "I...I think they're getting worse. It seems like....seeing what happened to Rose brought them back, worse than ever. I would give anything for a decent nights sleep without the horrifying nightmares. I haven't had a decent night sleep since the funeral."
"I know hon, I have them too, though not as often. We'll get to the bottom of everything I promise. Once we're not waiting for something to happen and actively doing something it should help." Anyka says giving Gashka a hug.
"Un plaisir, nice to meet you all," Chris says. "I am Christophe and this is my friend, Renard."
He pats the fox on the head, who seems rather bored.
"It's nice to meet you too...I'm just sorry that the circumstances couldn't be better."
Nodding to the fox she says, "He's a very handsome fellow. It's nice to meet you as well Renard."
The rest of the way they just spend chit chatting about various things.
Gashka hugs her sister back and allows herself to be held for a few minutes. Having her sisters near her always seemed to help, but she knew that Anyka was right. Until they got some real answers, there would probably be very little sleep.
Finally letting go of Anyka, she looks at her sister, "I'm sorry if I've caused you to worry. I know you're right, it's the not knowing that's making it worse and the feeling that there's always something waiting for us...." She shivers though it isn't cold.
Once everything is packed and everyone is ready to leave, Anyka takes the reins and begins driving the carriage towards Tarth. During the entire time, not a single bird could be heard. Just before mid-day, you found the source of the silence.
Pharnox's wagon was off to the side of the road, but that's not what was disturbing. It was the mass of black clad figures, similar to the ones that attacked you, scattered around it. The ground was scorched in multiple locations. In the center of the carnage was the Dark Elf, with three blades protruding from his chest.