Warrior Oddity

Hayle Village

'I should probably find Tayoshi first. An information guild would be the easiest way to find everyone else.' Florian thinks as the wagon pulls slowly into the village.

Compared to the other villages this one looked well maintained. For the majority of the villages outside the immediate vicinity of the capital they were poorly cared for and deteriorated into empty shells and slums. Florian knew of some villages like Hayle that had been fortunate enough to be under a competent lord, who cared for lands within their territory. Even a lord who saw beyond his own benefit is a rare sight.

It's a small, humble village. There are flourishing crops in fields, a main street with stalls, signs for an inn and tavern. The villagers themselves looked cheerful and untroubled. A neatly maintained dirt path indicated regular travel through the village, and acted as a sign to say it's safe.

Florian felt thankful it betrayed her negative expectations. She spotted some villagers walking along the road while the wagon dragged along lazily. The villagers were chattering away with a subtle buzzing over whatever news. Florian strained her ears to listen to what common gossip would make the rounds in this remote village, and hopefully some background information about the village itself.

"Did you hear? Those two are going to be executed for treason!" a middle aged woman wearing simple attire exclaimed the news with all the shock and horror of when she heard it for the first time.

"Those two?" Florian noted the younger woman besides her, presumably a neighbor or friend. "Oh you know, the lass that became the planner for the knights...erm, what's 'er name- The Edevane lass!"

"Edevane, you mean Rhetta Edevane?"

"Yes, yes! That's the one, oh and the monster girl too. The one with the scary teeth." her excitement seemed to grow with her friends' recognition. The names pricked Florian's ears. Listening to the idle chatter turned into full eavesdropping.

"If its the monster girl... it's Ditka isn't it?"

The woman chuckled and placed a hand to her mouth "For someone not interested in the capital gossip you even know their names."

"Of course I know, my husband is a knight." the second woman proclaimed that as her reasoning.

"Haha I see, some knights stopped by the tavern and discussed it. Those two are going to be moved to Hayle execution grounds for their execution."

"Why all the way out here? It's odd that they would take them outside to a little village instead of the capital. Especially an execution for treason wouldn't as many people want to see it?"

"Apparently the execution will be sometime tomorrow morning. A few villagers are planning to go witness it" The chipper voice when mentioning watching an execution made Florian nauseous.

"Tomorrow is too soon though...That bastard Basil probably knew about this and didn't say anything" Florian grumbles over once again being caught in his whims without the important information.

"Mister, I'll get off here! Thanks for the ride!"

Florian jumps off the wagon in pursuit of the ladies who fervently discussed and debated the executions. 'They would know the location of the execution grounds.' Florian falls into the dirt not realizing her legs had fallen asleep after the long wagon ride.

Some passing children decide to prod her with sticks wondering if the stranger had been just another drunk fresh out of the tavern. "Leave them alone it's just another day drinker" one of the children comments, Florian stands up suddenly which frightens the children away. She dusts herself off and is embarrassed that she didn't notice her legs had fallen asleep.

Unable to waste any time she runs to look for the ladies from earlier, thankfully they hadn't gotten too far and were still enjoying a leisurely conversation.

"Excuse me ladies, I'm wondering if you could point me to the execution grounds?" Florian politely smiles.

"Oh? I've never seen your face before. Are you interested in watching the execution too?"

"I'm from the temple, so I'm there to provide support...?" Florian cringed hearing her own lie and looked with anxiety towards the woman married to the knight.

"Oh, of course- if you follow the wall along the outskirts you'll notice a path into the forest clearing by the field over there." the woman points towards the forest "Just keep following the path down into the forest, keep walking along and you'll come out at the execution grounds."

"Thank you for the help, may the light of Kleminus guide and protect you and may Saint Myleen grant you good health." Florian puts her hands together and bows along with her words of gratitude.

The outskirts are lined with the half wall, occasional breaks in the wall act as gateways and signs at every splitting path point towards neighboring villages.

The day has disappeared with the traveling. The afternoon sky shows off hues of reds and oranges. Florian plops down on the wall, stomach rumbling with hunger and complaining about not being able to eat brooches and having no money to buy actual food.

"Guess I'll look for edible herbs..." the disappointment in the statement only made the situation more bleak. The severe lack of funds is going to be problematic for the journey ahead.

A hand holding a fresh loaf of bread extends to Florian and comes into view. Despite the caution telling her to shy away from the kind gesture, the gnawing hunger drives her closer to accepting it instead. The one holding the loaf of bread looks suspicious in every right, being a fully cloaked figure whose face is obscured by their hood. There is no sense of danger emanating from the stranger allowing for a small degree of trust.

Hesitation from a life of caution still prevents her from being able to accept and eat the food offered. The mysterious individual, who very awkwardly had been holding their arm out for a few minutes, picked up on Florian's reservations. They break off a piece and eat it themselves, convincing her that there is nothing to be suspicious of in the food.

Unknowingly the act put her at ease, a sense of apology arose "Thank you..." Florian mumbled, too flustered to thank them with confidence.

"If you follow the path down the forest that way instead it's a short cut to the execution grounds." The voice is not one she recognizes however it is soft spoken, clear and masculine.

'Wait- I didn't see this man earlier...' a chill runs down her spine, frantically searching through her memories to see if she had overlooked the stranger. Florian can recall inquiring about the location from two village women, and nowhere did she see this man.

She steadies for a confrontation that never comes. He flicks his hand and nods his head goodbye. Hooking his arms under a large wooden bar he meanders away with a loaded cart in tow filled with various things.

Florian savors the bread, feeling the hunger fading. She finishes off the last bite and pats her stomach happily. Florian stands up and waves towards the direction of the stranger in the hopes that her gratitude reaches him somehow. "Thank you for the food, random person..."

Her eyes wander to the path the stranger suggested, she stops in her tracks. An inkling of realization tugs at her 'A mysterious cloaked figure...a wagon full of stuff...could it have been Kramoris? There's no way right...' Florian shakes the thought from her mind, she may have been a lucky soul but surely not that lucky.

'Probably just another guy with a hood.' She turns away from the road ahead, the nagging possibility refuses to let her dismiss it. Florian runs in the direction of the mysterious man. The time spent in thought may have been too much because there is no one in sight, and the tracks in the dirt were already covered.

Resigning to a potential missed chance she feels the urgency to make up for lost time and takes the previously mentioned shortcut. Florian is thankful for the news of the shorter path and hopes that nothing unpleasant greets her on the way.

The short cut didn't seem that short considering the elongated footpath through the thick brush of trees and bushes. The dense forest is intimidating, only growing darker with the setting sun. It makes it easy to turn people around or lose their way without even realizing it. Florian grows slightly anxious if she has gotten lost as the path never seemed to end.

A loud noise approaches, closer and quickly. There is barely a moment to breathe when Florian propels herself into the bushes away from whatever impending danger is approaching.

Crawling through the bushes and thickets, Florian is obscured from sight unless you look very closely. She keeps the view of the path in sight to prevent getting lost. The sound gets louder, a fast moving wagon charges down the tiny path not caring for anything in its way. The harsh galloping resembles war drums in their intensity, she watches the passing wagon. It carries a cage in tow and two people bound in chains reside unsteadily inside. The horses refuse to slow down and run at full speed, Florian tries to keep sight of the wagon while following it. It finally pulls into a clearing and she recognizes it as her destination, the Hayle execution grounds.