Picking at the scars, ~Stormblade

[Conri]

This road was, seemingly, a good place to be according to the number of people walking upon it. True, the rough, dusty surface wasn't nearly as crowded as it would become the closer it came to the capital but it was populated enough. A family with their wagon of goods, coming a day early to arrive in time at the market that was likely tomorrow. A tinker and his cart, calling out even now his willingness to sell or trade. A woman and her guard, riding fine horses and traveling easily, though still faster than those on foot, with their burdens loaded upon their own backs. A poor man stumping along and dragging a foot behind him, not looking to anyone for help and determined to get to wherever he was going on his own two legs. And one elf... The only elf there, a stranger who stood out even without the different racial traits. His clothing cheerfully and dismally ragged, patched and faded until it was merely the memory of colour brightening the cloth.

It was Conri's attempt to make this journey a little more tolerable. Something to distract him as he walked, to make him think of other things rather than the diminishing distance that separated him and the border. But though his fingers played with the reed pipes tied to his belt, he didn't lift them to his lips, and though his eyes traced the rolling, rather flat lands around him, he didn't smile, not even at the sight of a bird, flying far removed from worldly troubles, its wings stretched and seeming so very, very small. He tried whistling, but the sound was thin, riddled with sullen pauses and fearful gasps of breath, so he gave it up quickly.

That something was bothering him was obvious from his hunched shoulders and quiet frown. But then, it might have been merely the weight of his haversack and the way the strings bit into his shoulders and nothing more, for all that he was constantly shifting the leather bag around, hitching it up higher and letting it drop back down again within moments. Perhaps he was simply restless, and the pace he could set wasn't fast enough, though it was as fast as he could walk. Not that he was walking very quickly. In fact, Conri's steps were lagging. Still, no one watching him would have guessed that there were more weighty matters on his mind, even if those matters were only weighty to himself.

After awhile, the elf finally gave in and moved to the roadside, there he tied his silvery hair back, drawing it clear of his pointed ears and keeping it from his eyes, though it wasn't really being much of a bother. It was nothing but an excuse, you see. While standing there, he let his gaze wander across those people moving past him. Perhaps one of them wouldn't mind so much if he attached himself to them. He could use some company. Perhaps that would make all the difference. And, with his strange but usual luck, luck that sometimes deserted him at the worst of times, though apparently it remained with him today, a group of travelers, 10 or so strong, was moving up to pass him. There was a mixture of horses and people and one covered wagon. Among them was a stern looking fellow, covered in some dark material that looked as though it was black iron. Conri had never heard of such a thing, so, whatever it might be, it quickly drew his attention. As did the fact that the warrior, for one must surely be a warrior when wearing such obvious protection, led a horse. He wasn't riding the horse, even weighed down as he was by the material encasing him, he was leading it.

Now Conri, who wasn't all that excited about riding horses himself, wasn't certain if he ought to think this strange, or simply a little odd. But, as this fellow was the most curious of the lot, it fell upon him to become the elf's unwitting companion. Conri stepped back onto the road as the group walked by and fell into step beside the, well, maybe he was a knight. Sword and armour and all. He bestowed an amazingly cheerful smile on all the rest of the party and then settled in for as long a discussion as he could possibly draw from the fellow.

"Hello, you don't mind if I join you, do you? It's dreadfully lonely walking without company."

[Stormblade]

"Over here!" Stormblade yelled at the wagon driver, the only one close enough to be able to assist him. He dropped down to one knew and turned the body over, blood stained the woman's dress from top to bottom, but he could tell she was still breathing. As he rolled her over he saw that she had fallen atop one of the bandits and knife still in hand was tightly closing her eyes in fear of what had transpired.

Stormblade had quietly been following this small caravan from beyond Arrowport as he had experienced far too many bandit raids along the main roads as of late. He had decided to stay longer than usual as more and more people were coming into Avindale and figured if anything he could protect the few that could not protect themselves and see that the reached the city walls safely. This particular raid had occured just before dawn and though he had been able to reach the party in time to defend them from the bandits, a few of the people had gone missing and there was nothing that could have been done until daylight. Once the sun began to rise, though, the party began frantically searching and so far only one person was actually missing and it looked like she had now been found.

"It's ok, you're safe now, the bandits have gone." He said to her, trying to coax her into opening her eyes to see the truth. At that same moment the driver came up and screamed his excitement.

"Elizabeth! Oh by the Gods, Elizabeth you are safe!" he said as he pulled the knife from her tightly clasped hands and pulled her close to him, the undried blood from her dress blending in with the dirt on his own shirt. "We had feared they had taken you but this stranger has pulled us all from the brink of death, however can we repay you, good sir?"

The man was still holding on tight to the woman, who was now in tears, but he extended a hand which the Dragon Guardian firmly shook.

"Do not worry of repayment. If you don't mind however, I would like to accompany you to your destination, just to be safe." Stormblade said standing up.

"Of course, of course, we would be honored to have you by our sides." The man also stood, pulling Elizabeth with him and handing her off to some members of the group who had by then come over.

The party quickly gathered themselves and returned any lost supplies to the rear of the wagon and Stormblade took his place in the back. At this point he had ridden Tenderfoot for nearly a full day in keeping up with the wagon and wished to no longer burden his trusted friend so he walked instead, the horse eagerly and easily keeping stride along side him.

After a few miles the group saw the Gates of Avindale in site and breathed a sigh of relief after making it there alive and in one piece. Stormblade was then thinking of how wonderful a hot meal would be when a stranger spoke to him from behind.

"Hello, you don't mind if I join you, do you? It's dreadfully lonely walking without company." The man said.

Without stopping, Stormblade glanced over his shoulder and saw an elf smiling back at him. In the few times that Stormblade had traveled with Elves he always knew them to dress much different, but he knew he shouldn't judge and by the silvery coloring mixed in this elf's hair he knew he was most likely twice as old as he looked and probably wore such clothes for a reason.

Hardly one to pass up an unusual companion, Stormblade replied, " Most certainly not, stranger. Have you been traveling by yourself for very long or simply taking a stroll outside the city walls?"

[Conri]

Well, that settled that nicely, and he was so very kind to accept company so quickly. After all, he had a whole group of others with whom he could spend his time. that he felt like sharing it with Conri... Was nice. He hoped it would be enough. But though the news, in his mind, was heartening, there was something about this group of people that told him he should look closer. They seemed, tired, battered, eager for a break and more than vigilant for this stretch of road. So, he did look closer, making no secret of his observations, openly curious and frowning in wonder as he answered the armoured man in an absent sort of way.

"Oh, I am most always traveling by myself, though company finds me now and again. Certainly, I've not come from that city." His purposeful emphasis as he spoke was not meant to be an insult of Avindale, nor, indeed, was Conri overly aware that he had just given away his feelings about the place. He was merely answering politely whilst trying to notice what had so caught his attention. In a habitual gesture of focus, he reached up and tugged at his hair, accidentally loosening it from the tie he had just put around it. Perhaps, perhaps he was only imagining things. This wasn't the best of places for keeping his thoughts in order. Too many memories, too many lost wishes. Gone into the past and soaked into the ground he walked on now. The elf shuddered, then picked up his pace to fall into step at Stormblade's side, where he could look him in the eye.

"Don't suppose there's a reason for my being worried with what I'm seeing, is there?" He tried to keep his tone on the lighter side, but it was still obvious, from his frown, anxious looks and soft voice that he wasn't succeeding in believing himself. Which was, really, why he was asking the question. And, as the pause between the last word spoken and the moment when he would find his answer, another thought occurred to him and he brightened, then froze at the implications. "You didn't meet up with some unpleasant folk, did you?"

Oh, please say you didn't. Please say I've nothing to fear and my mind's playing tricks. It would have been so much better that way. Because then he wouldn't have to worry, wouldn't have someone else's cares to add to his own. Normally, he didn't mind caring about troubles that he didn't really need to care about, but now, just for today, it only made things worse. He fidgeted with the leather straps of his haversack as he stared at the man. Face set into a pleading expression, though the man surely wouldn't know what it was he was hoping for. Nor could he realise how hard it was becoming to set one foot in front of the other. But it seemed a struggle of grand proportions to Conri, who was desperately keeping his head from turning towards the city's gates. He'd come farther than he had in a long while, and to turn back now would be to give up.

He'd liked Avindale once, he could remember it as a pleasant enough city, full of people eager to hear a song or two, just as were the citizens of most any city. They'd listened to the news he had to share and offered their own freely. They'd been generous with their coins, and with their praise, and even afterward, there had been many who offered empathy and a helping hand. Who shared his trials, even if it was from no choice of their own. And now, now he was almost as close to the walls ashe could manage.