Jax smiles at Helena, and nods his head in thanks. "Thanks for the help. I appreciate that. Glad you are with us. I gotta go talk to the boss. Need to make sense of this!" He smiles and bows, before walking toward Valen and Torque.
"Thanks anyway Torque. I should be fine!" he pats Torque on the shoulder and smiles.
"Well... I know what I saw boss, it was there I promise yah. Anyway... Yeah I will look to starting everyone moving. I'll get em ready!" Jax turns and moves back in to the camp, starting to wake everyone up and send them about their duties.
'I know I saw it...'
Nodding, Valen claps Fury on the shoulder. "I don't doubt you Fury. There are strange things in the world and even stranger ones here in Ustalav. Just try and keep your eyes sharp and your wits about you."
It takes just over an hour to get the caravan fully ready to move out, and does so as soon as it's able. After Jax's 'incident', you are all on high alert, weapons at the ready, eyes darting around, trying to see anything that might pose a threat.
Thankfully, nothing attacks, and after making really solid time, you all stop for a brief lunch just past noon.
Frowning softly, Jax jumps to his feet, reading his musket, keeping his eyes open and his trigger finger ready, prepared to blow a hole in anything that moves funny or looks wrong.
[ooc]
"Something wrong, Fury?" Valen asks, setting aside his lunch.
Nine Tail, at Valen's words, pulls his mask down across his face from where it had been riding high on his head.
Jax frowns, scanning the treeline down the metal sights of his gun. "I am not sure. Something... A shadow. Doesn't seem right. Keep talking. Let's see if something happens..."
Nodding and continuing as if nothing happened,"So, Lady Acune you were saying about your life in the temple?"
Swearing loudly, Jax shoulders his musket. "Either I am seriously mentally unstable or someone is messing with my mind...!"
Chuckling,"I don't see why it has to be either or. You've proven thus far you are a little off your rocker."
"Someone..or somethings..are there....right there...or they were?"
Sword out, Nine Tail makes his way to the edge of the firelight. "Something is out there, but I can't get a good look at it. It shifts, moves, or vanishes.."
Looking around and seeing nothing, Valen shrugs. "Well, whatever it is I don't think it'll attack in the middle of the day when we can see it coming. Everyone, try and go back to your lunch and we'll try to lay a trap for it tonight."
"Try pretending that the person on watch is asleep, while everyone else who would be asleep is actually awake. When whatever is stalking us tries to attack we all get it. Unless anyone else has an idea."
Torque makes sure he keeps his voice down when replying to Valen
" We should be careful not to let these things slow us down or tire us out too much - if they haven't attacked yet, maybe they haven't got the strength to. I like the idea of setting an ambush in camp tonight, but if it doesn't draw anything out we should just press on as normal."
He then beckons to Helen
"Perhaps one of our new allies will have an idea what these things are. If there are no local rumours, it's likely they're linked to this buried entity"
"I agree. Helen Miri, what's your take on our elusive stalkers?"
"We need to get these things... I am going crazy!" Jax frowns, sitting back down, his head collapsing in to his hands. He sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face.
"We need to sort this out fast, then get the hell out of this country!"
"We likely picked up some dark spirits after visiting the castle. Hopefully that are just capricious, but even if malicious, let's hope harder they are not organized and simply marking our path for others."
Jax smiled at the woman reassuringly. "Figure of speech Private, no more!" He turned to Nine Tails and nodded softly.
{b]"Seen any sign of anything amiss on our trail so far Scout Tails?"[/b]
"Smoke and Shadow and Bad Dreams. But it seems nothing that needs our immediate concern....for nothing will stick around long enough to get two looks at it."
Mirri and Helena have both heard of something out there. Helena explains "There's been a few stories of weird flying bat-like creatures, but nobody's been able to reliably spot them. If they exist, they're sneaky creatures, that's for sure."
Valen scratches his chin."Well, I've heard a number of tales stating that vampires can turn into bats and there a loads of stories saying that Ustalav is full of vampires. Could that be these batlike things?"
"V-vampires? That Bat was a V-v-vampire?!" Jax drops his musket and dashes to the cart,jumping in to the back and beginning to route around, tossing light, non breakable things out the back as he does.
Hidden by the edge of the cart you hear a pitiful sob. "I NEED HOLY WATER!"
Torque jumps off the wagon, picks up the discarded musket and goes after Fury
"We're being paid to STOP the caravan being ransacked Fury!"
He catches one of the objects being thrown onto the road
"I don't have a clue what holy water is, or how you think it will help, but I DO know..."
He glances over his sholder at Acune and lowers his voice
"I DO know that begging for holy anything is never the best way out of a tight corner. No matter what's out there we'll fight it with our own guts and our own steel. I'm not saying we're safe. What I'm saying is that even when there's no way out but down you don't pray, you fight"
He thrusts the stock of the musket at the gunslinger
Arching an eyebrow and trying to restrain himself from laughing at both Fury and Torque. Patting Fury on the shoulder he chuckles lightly. "It's ok Fury. I was just tossing out the idea. They could be they could not. It's out of my realm of knowledge. We have no evidence to say that they are. So, calm down. We'll get it figured out." Then turning to Torque and continuing the hushed voice. "Holy water is water that has been blessed by a cleric of a god yes. But at it's most basic component it is water that has positive energy worked into it. It's generally useful against undead beings. As far as I know it doesn't have to be blessed. I've heard of alchemists accomplishing the same effect without divine magic. You might even be able to do it."
Taking a loud shuddering breath, Jax turns to face Torque, the silk dress he had pulled out of a chest, falling from his hands. "Wasn't my color any way!" He hiccups and laughs before wipeing his forehead on his sleeve.
"Okay okay... I will... I will take a break. Is there any chance there is a bottle of something a little stronger than water around? I guess not... Probably for the best. I need to be sober. Okay. Sorry Boss. I'll tidy this up again!" He nods, jumping off the cart, and begining to collect up the things he had thrown from the back.
He turns to Torque and claps the man on the shoulder. "Thanks buddy. If we go down we go down together!" he smiled shakily, then nodded.
Helena can't help but burst out laughing at Fury's overreaction. Once he's calmed down she tries to comfort him "Um, I don't think what might be out there are vampires. After all, it's about half past noon, and the sun is most definitely shining high in the sky. I'm pretty sure vampires can't go out in the sunlight."
Frowning softly, chewing over Helenas' words, before sighing, burying his head in the back of the wagon, to hide his embarassed blush. "Someone kill me now..."
"No worries Fury, I'll be sure to bring this story up every time you're chatting up a lady."
Sighing, Jax straightened, tossing the last few things in to the wagon, before turning to the group. "Okay... Psychotic breakdown aside... How are we going to do this? Anyone got any ideas?"
Jax moves back to his spot, sitting cross legged on the ground and begins to clean his musket.
"Like Valen says, feign vulnerability to draw them out. If they don't bite, ignore them."
The rest of the day passes without further sight of the creatures, whatever they may be. Mirri and Nine Tails scout ahead, and find a secluded stream that feeds a small pond which is a perfect spot to make camp. The main road is visible, but there's protection via trees as well as some large rocks that could be easily moved about if necessary.
"Those rocks could be better placed, but if we start building an improvised fortress the whole 'complacency' ruse is going to be a bit thin"
"These rocks won't stop vampires. They can become bats can't they. They flap up and crawl under your bedroll and you are dead by sunrise. Not much you can do but sleep with one eye open...yip-yip" Nine-Tail chuckles to himself as he helps gather firewood.
"I agree. But not moving them could be suspicious too. Let's move them around a little bit. And why don't we use the watch that we had from last night. Hopefully that will draw out our would be pursuers more. Any other thoughts?"
Jax glares at the back of Nine Tails' head, hefting the handaxe threateningly. "They aren't Vampires... I hope...!"
Jamming his fingers in his ears, Jax begins to sing, to block out the voices around him.
"I'm at the bottom of a well,
And the water is rising fast!
It's just one more day in hell,
And I fear I wont last"