Diverged Roads: Road Less Traveled

[Saruna]

Continued from Diverging Roads
May 19, 122PW

Dust lifted around the horses' hooves as they shifted and stamped in place. They were dark things, and though they were not overly large they had a musculature about them that suggested destrier rather than riding horse or farm horse. Their gear was that meant for riding, however, but it did nothing to disguise the power of deep chest and strong hindquarters. Horses like that could do many amazing things, least of which start or stop on a dime. Their eyes were liquid, and dark, and there was about them so fierce an intelligence that it might seem almost supernatural.

There were four riders, two in front and two in back of the carriage. They were dressed in dark but fine garments. They sat quietly, watching the gathered through the trees as if the trees themselves were not there. Though there was not a warlike quality to their dress, much like the horses, they were armed with shortbow and scimitar. They bore themselves rigidly. There was an air about them that spoke of hunters. Competent hunters.

The carriage was a heavy thing, made at no cheap expense of wood with steel reinforcement cleverly disguised with paint to look less such a common metal. There were carvings at running board and crawling at the four corners of the riding box, to encircle the top of the carriage. They were of fey animals, and gilded quite prettily. It was the sort of carriage no poor man would own, or even be able to rent. Yet for it there was no obsequiousness to it; despite its bright coloration it looked a right somber thing. It looked official.

The curtains hiding the occupants of the carriage were twitched aside, and a dark figure moved behind them. Immediately one of the riders -- the front left -- circled his horse without any visible effort (a trick of well trained horses and well trained men, using careful pressure to command the horse rather than any crude visible fussing) to come around to the window. Words passed there, a murmuring that might have been mistaken for a quiet brook.

"I-i-i-it's the b-bad men," the boy suddenly gasped. The girl's fingers were digging cruelly into arm and shoulder. She grasped him as if he might run from her and leave her all alone if she let go. He took a few steps back, and the girl moved with him in sync.

Saruna looked from Tanobi to Breda to the boy. She wore a confused expression; while she hadn't desired to be caught near the body of Melagone, she found herself thinking what nice crisp clothing the riders were wearing. Being that she spent most of her time as a tailor, she could appreciate such things. They looked like no one official to her, and perhaps not all was lost. So long as they did not make any unreasonable assumptions.

"Now, then," she said, forcing her voice to be cheerful, "they seem nice enough. There's no need to be, ah, afraid." She finished her words lamely, looking back to Breda as if she worried the other woman might be offended.

"Tanobi Durant. Saruna Rischett. Breda Dreaughan."

It was the rider who'd stopped by the window. He was staring straight at Tanobi.

Saruna frowned. She could only assume 'old woman' referred to her. She found it quite rude, though it wasn't a terribly uncommon thing that people said to her.

"You have been found guilty of tampering with magical evidence, and we must ask you to follow us to be questioned."

The boy had stopped moving. He was shaking. The girl had buried her face in his shoulder.

"You're not -- you're not with the Guard, are you?" Saruna blurted the question before she could get a hold of her tongue. A solitary thrill of panic had bubbled up her chest. Had she been discovered already? How could they know?

The man smiled at her. True, most of his face was blocked by trees separating her from the road, but she couldn't stop the sensation that he was looking right at her. "Think of us as. . .intermediaries. Come along quietly and there will be no need for violence."

[Breda Dreaughan]

To be questioned. Come quietly. No need for violence.

Like the little boy, Breda was frozen on her feet, shaking all over.

Breathe. Don't look like you've just learned the biggest secrets of your life. At least Fay is long gone.

The riders dismounted and walked towards them, in a slow, determined pace. Their horses stayed by the carriage like trained dogs.

"Well then, Mr. Durant, Mrs. Rischett, Mrs. Dreaughan," said the spokesman. "Into the carriage, please. The children as well." The other men circled around the small group. "Into the carriage," Breda muttered to herself, instinctively taking a step towards Tanobi. "All of us?"

And none of us can run.

[Tanobi Durant]

Tanobi was not in the best of places to bargain or argue with men who were armed as well as the men before him, their level of training or skill almost irrelevant in the face of such a tactically un-advantageous position as the physician finds his group. Saruna's leg had recently gave out implying both extreme exhaustion and the possibility of serious injury, meanwhile Breda was unarmed and likely frightened to death for her unborn child's safety, after all should things escalate she would be fighting unarmed for 2. The boys firm grip on his loose clothing did little to re-assure Tanobi of his fighting prowess his grip tight yes but tight in the infamous grip of a child whom had not fully developed and would likely have him freeze up or flee in the face of conflict, as right they should. Tanobi though armed would likely fare little better due to his lame leg and easily breakable wooden staff the days of his rambunctious youth long since over.

Jerial had escaped the groups notice and proceeded to the town without their notice to Tanobi's minor annoyance at the lack of level-headed thinking on another mans part. A Fleeting desire to check upon Fay's condition crossed his mind briefly before being quashed by his more pressing concerns. Jerial had taken with him the little chance they would have at being even remotely intimidating as a force in addition to him and his cohorts being the most seasoned and able fighters, not that the Doctor expected Jerial to fight for anyone other than the woman he slung over his shoulders like a bundle of wheat. Situationally Tanobi's outlook on the choices before him were grim, the men were either here for him due to his curiosity to find that which so easily struck down a battle mage or for some unspoken differential purpose such as silencing the witnesses.

Every choice that could be made that led to direct conflict would hold grave consequences for everyone involved on his side even in the event of victory which seems improbable,Tanobi wouldn't even know if the ladies would have the resolve to fight and alone he would surely be struck down. Attempting to flee would be foolish as in an almost ironic turn of events every member of the group has some impediment, a lame leg, an injury, being with child and even the short legs of A child. Despite his profession as a doctor Tanobi had no intention of becoming or creating a martyr, Unfortunately this leaves him a sum of few choices he could offer himself for questioning saying that he is the only one that knows anything about the 'Tampering with magical evidence' which is true. But leaves a woman his senior in addition to a pregnant and exhausted woman alone with two frightened children without convenient transport, not a very gentlemanly thing to do when ignoring the risks.

Tanobi's decision made he strides slowly planting his walking stick into the earth as he goes towards the men stating a simple.

"Very well"

[Saruna]

The carriage seemed to Saruna as though it shouldn't be large enough to fit all of them comfortably, but fit them it did. Inside were already seated two individuals, heavily swathed in cloth and capped with headscarves. Saruna noticed the weave, as she always did, and she judged it quite fine as those things went; it was a heavy mohair wool that seemed to her a bit at odds with the weather. Still, they seemed comfortable enough, though they treated her and her compatriots to frosty silence as they entered and were seated.

The cushion was buttersoft beneath her; a luxury she was not often afforded. The interior was pleasantly decorated in cream, rose and gold, making it almost seem to glow softly with what light came in through the curtains. One of the carriage's inhabitants knocked on the roof with an ebony cane, and they started forward, smoothly.

Saruna returned to observing their hosts. They sat quite properly, and wore very severely colored clothing, almost at odds with the interior of the carriage. One of them had striking blue eyes, while the other's were more of a mundane brown, though the pigmentation was light enough to appear almost as dark amber or honey. Saruna caught herself staring, and pulled her eyes away. She was embarrassed, true, but she was also harboring a small spark of indignation; if not guards, who were these people to demand anything of innocent travelers?

The children had gone stiff and quiet, the girl clutching at the boy with that firm, almost commanding grip. Poor dear, Saruna guessed the girl wanted the boy to take her home in the unreasonable way children sometimes had of those they considered their protectors. They were both staring at the floor, and the boy was as close as he could get to Tanobi without sitting on his lap.

"We haven't done any--" she blurted, since the hosts hadn't greeted or otherwise offered words.

"How often is it that you stick your noses where they do not belong?" The blue-eyed person asked, voice silky-sweet and melodious.

[Breda Dreaughan]

She eased herself on the leather bench with a sigh. Whatever was going to happen, it seemed they would not have to walk back to Marn.

There were two men - or possibly women - sitting inside, dressed in what seemed to be the same leather that covered the seats. Only their eyes were visible between the layers of leather wrapped around their heads. Who wears leather on their face like that? The eyes of the one sitting in the corner were so strikingly blue they seemed to illuminate the dark carriage.

"How often is it that you stick your noses where they do not belong?" The blue-eyed person asked, and Breda realised she still couldn't tell whether it was a man or a woman. Or perhaps something else entirely. The damned little parasite inside her chose that exact moment to kick her somewhere in the kidney region, and she twitched, receiving a glare from the other man. She looked aside.

"We tripped on the sodding mage," she muttered, staring at the floor. "Is that 'tampering with evidence' now? The ditches of the Shanty Town have been littered with corpses for decades, and nobody has ever given a crap."

The blue-eyed man made a cold, almost inhuman sound that might or might not have been laughter. "We're not interested in the corpses of the homeless," he said sweetly. "What happens in the Historic District is seldom… of interest."

"What a pity," Breda snapped back in a moment of bravery, glaring up at the person. "Know a few people down there who would be more than happy to help you with your leather fetish."

[Saruna]

What an odd thing to say. Saruna did not enjoy being ignorant, but neither did she like to be foolish in such a strange setting in front of strange people. So, she did not respond to Breda’s strange comment, but it made her uncomfortable. That made her more alert. Especially given the way the amber-eyed person smiled at Breda’s last comment; it would be more of a feat to not have a reaction to that. For the first time in a long time, Saruna felt like she had something to lose. She found that she didn’t want to be in trouble, or to let this turn into something regrettable. She had a reason to live now, and she could not allow it to be so casually thwarted.

“I – I’m afraid we are going to need to know where you are taking us. This is not right.”

“I think you will be better pleased to travel with us then to face the alternative,” the amber-eyed person said in a reasonable voice. It was a strange voice, high enough to be a woman’s voice but still deep enough to belong to a man.

“What would the alternative be?” Saruna pressed on, using her posture to keep herself from cringing away from the strangers, “I think we should know.”

“Why, it is to be very, unhappy with your city’s ‘guard’,” said the blue-eyed person.

The comment made Saruna go still. The way the word ’guard’ had been spoken implied scorn. Saruna snuck another couple of glances at the two heavily-clothed individuals. Who were they, then, to act so officious and in such control? She thought back to what she knew of Marn. Long ago, the place had been a ruin, or so the word went. It had been that way until the First Settlers had arrived. They had changed Marn, turned it into a thriving place where people could go to have families (so long as you had no magic on you or looked at someone the wrong way). They were Marn’s elite, those few families. They might as well have been Eyropan nobility for all the power they held and the influence they wielded over how the city was run.

“A-are you . . . First Settler family?”

Both of them smiled.

[Breda Dreaughan]

The First Settlers? Breda suppressed a shiver. But if that was true, why were they acting so shady? Were they actually going to offer some kind of deal? And if they were Descendants, why were they talking about "your city"?
She glanced at the others in the carriage. The little girl had looked up at the three words, but her expression was entirely unreadable. Tanobi frowned, but said nothing.

Her feet were falling asleep, and she shifted uncomfortably on the seat. "That's all very well," she said, trying to sound matter-of-fact, "but none of it answers the question. Where are you taking us?"

The spokesperson kept smiling. "You are just about to find out."

Breda startled as the carriage came softly to a halt. It didn't feel like they had travelled long enough to get much anywhere. The children clung to each other, apparently shaking with pure terror. The dwarf glanced from Tanobi to Saruna, looking for any kind of guidance.

"You know where the door is," the blue-eye said softly.

[Saruna]

The carriage was as still as a bubble, weightless and drifting through the various tensions of its occupants. What should they do? What did they want? Questions were imprinted on every surface, raising the bar from stubbornness to fear as the reality of the situation set in. Only. . .how strange. As if they were underwater, there was a certain distant quality to the silence that followed from the blue-eyed that it felt dreamlike. Reality? Surreality. Saruna had never experienced anything like the carriage, the swathed individuals, the uncertain ride.

They had not reached anywhere. They had not ridden long enough to be anywhere. Saruna would know. She had walked that path more times than she could reasonably remember, and she knew with the urgency of her gut that this wasn't right. They weren't anywhere. Before she could even think to say anything – and what would she say? – the door clicked and then creaked open. How impossible not to turn one's eyes towards the sound, the movement. A footman waited beyond the opening door, and she watched the elegant line of his free arm as he extended it out, further –

Green. A path of moss unfurled from the carriage steps, crowned with the roots of trees that looked so much older and grander than any trees Saruna had ever seen from the road. It was as if the sun had turned to liquid gold, splashing over the rich color and lighting it from within. It was so green. Mesmerizing. Saturated. Intense. Heady.

Wind brushed into the carriage, shy and fragrant, and Saruna inhaled the best memories of her childhood on the road. Life. No matter that it was spring and spring's growth had only really just begun – this was a paradise cut from her dreams and succored memories. There was even the distant sound of water, tantalizing and so fresh in aspect that she swore she could smell it, taste its promise on her tongue. It was not something that mortals could resist.

Saruna was drifting forward on joints that had forgotten both age and exhaustion. Her step felt as light as a girl's as she reached out and found her hand cushioned by strong fingers. Eyes captured by the handsome smile of the footman, she was brought down to earth with firm assurance – and then her attention was stolen by the gentle cushion of the moss underfoot. She looked down at it, amazed, and exhaled the milky tension that had clouded her vision in the carriage. Now, now she could see.

"Where?" she breathed, slipping her hand free of the footman's. Then she was standing on the edge of exhilaration, on the edge of discovery and all the things she had ever wanted but had never been able to have. There, beyond the curling shape of branch and trunk, into the distant glow.

"A path less traveled," someone murmured, voice sensual with texture and sound and syrupy sweetness. "A secret."

[Breda Dreaughan]

Breda followed with a bit more caution and a lot less grace. She felt heavy and stiff, even more so than usual, and her feet seemed to be trying to refuse orders. But the footman pulled her out of the carriage, and she found herself standing on the moss, staring at the stunningly green and golden landscape.

The colours and scents were overwhelming. and she could not decide whether they were attractive or threatening. To her, this kind of world was alien and strange, full of life she could not understand. But Saruna moved forward with newfound ease, and she followed. The surroundings seemed to want to encompass the two women. Somehow it felt as if the air itself was reaching to embrace them. Breda crawled forward, torn between trepidation and exhilaration.

She looked back. Tanobi had stepped out of the carriage and was kneeling down, talking to the children. The old man was smiling, pointing with his staff at the trees and the sunlight playing on the leaves. The fear seemed to be melting from the children's faces, turning into wonder.

Someone spoke. Even the voice seemed to be more vibrant and intense than anything Breda had heard before, even more so than the voices of the figures in the carriage. She turned and saw - something.

At first she thought it was a female, then she realized she wasn't sure. It was dressed in leathers like the carriage people, but it's face was uncovered. The face was humanoid, but it was impossible to tell age, race or gender. Thick, red hair covered the ears, and the eyes were the same colour of green as the moss under her feet. There was even the same golden gleam of the sun.

"Who are you?" She asked hoarsely. The figure smiled.

[Saruna]

"Please, walk with me," the figure said, "I'm sure everything will make sense in time."

Saruna looked back. She smiled at Breda, and even held out her hand for the pregnant woman, as if she might be better support. Her hip hardly hurt at all. She felt like a young woman again, bones full of promise. It was as if she had a new chance, a better chance; as if the sorrows that had shaped her life were far behind her and could not hurt her again.

The little girl had grasped the hand of the little boy in one hand, and the hand of Tanobi in the other. The red-haired person was gentler than the strict pair that had met them in the carriage, holding the warmth of a mother in its expression, like a clear pool: welcome all the way down. Saruna felt as if she knew that face and could trust it. "Are we going to the water?" Saruna asked, thinking dreamily of the brooks she'd known in Eyropa.

"Why, yes," the red-haired one gave a little nod, as if pleased with how bright Saruna was. "We shall all go down to the water."

The red-haired one bowed slightly, gesturing them all forward even as the amber-eyed and blue-eyed from the carriage lead the way with their somber silence. Saruna could hardly care about them, any more. She was focused on the red-haired matron. Her face creased up in an innocent smile, free of the strain and the tension that had followed her like an angry dog ever since she'd met Derin. Yes. It would all make sense soon.

[Breda Dreaughan]

She took the hand, puzzled equally by Saruna's changed demeanor as everything else around them. Yet the old human's firm grasp was comforting. She didn't exactly know Saruna well enough to trust her, but her motherly appearance made it difficult not to. From the start, she had been on her side, and even if they were completely helpless, it mattered.

And she felt like they were in a bubble of their own, the two women and the redhead. Tanobi and the children seemed to be somewhere far away, even though her sense told her they were right behind them.

She did not understand the significance of the water. Rather, the peculiarity of the situation made her wonder whether they were going into the water.

Dead battlemages, mysterious carriages covered in leather, rainbow-eyed people who defy all definition. How much weirder would it be if we all just grew gills?

[Saruna]

The moss path opened like a corridor before them, lined with the gnarled limbs of trees far older than they first appeared. Saruna wasn’t sure how she knew that, but before she could follow the thought down she was distracted by the motes of light glimmering in the air. Stray beams of sunlight lit the path and moved the eye off of it, into the depths of the forest as if inviting the stray traveler off the path and into the unknown. She might have wandered off after them, but the shared contact with Breda kept her on the path. Why was that?

Movement caught her eye. She followed it, looking up, and saw a blur of wings. It was no bird or insect, she didn’t think; the shape had been wrong, but she felt that she had missed something wonderful. And as soon as she had the thought, she saw more. Little things. Little faces. A soft peal of laughter. Voices. Ahead of them, the path crested upwards, and atop it was a strange little gazebo. Its construction was unlike anything Saruna had ever seen before, whether in Marn or Eyropa. It looked as if it should not bear its own weight, much less that of its roof, and considering the number of birds perched upon it, it truly didn’t make sense.

But they were so beautiful. Saruna could not possibly name them.

“What is this place,” she breathed the words out on a delighted exhalation, the awe in her voice eclipsing the question.

“This is what your city wishes to crush,” the red-haired said, and there was such a depth of sadness in that voice that Saruna felt herself nearly moved to tears by it.

This? It seemed incongruous with Saruna’s experiences. This was not why she had such trouble with the government, or the people who enforced it. No, it was for the common people, it was –

“They want to take this from you,” the voice continued, soothing and somehow terrible all at once.

[Breda Dreaughan]

She was puzzled. This was wrong. This was not what she had been told before. And "this" had never been hers to begin with, she had never seen anything like this before. The creature's voice and words were bewitching, but now an almost primitive fear in the back of her head was shouting back.

She squeezed Saruna's hand tighter, pulling herself closer to the other woman. "I don't like this. Remember what happened on the road? I don't think this is right. We shouldn't let them take us any further."

The creature turned at her, a gentle smile on its peculiar face. "Do not worry. You will understand in time, just let us show you."

Breda hesitated, confused and anxious. "I don't know who you are. I don't even know what you are, or what this place is. How do you expect me to trust you?"

Something told her it would not be easy to reason with these beings. They were not expecting it. And she wasn't sure she wanted to.

[Saruna]

The red-haired stopped to better face them. In that moment, it was as if they were the only three in all the world. The quiet vegetation of the forest surrounded them, cradling them with the safety and reassurance it provided. Saruna could have stayed there forever, gazing into the beauty the world had wrought around them, safe by the side of this strange and beautiful being. The only thing that caught and snagged on this evolving fantasy was Breda's hand curled into hers. There was sweat between their palms, and it was distracting -- especially because Saruna wasn't sure whose hand the sweat belonged to.

She looked at Breda, really looked, and her concern for another woman's pregnancy lifted her slightly above the coccoon that had been made from her.

"Trust is what we all must do. You speak of strangers, but is that not what lives are built upon? No one is immune to the presence of strangers," the red-hair said, its voice soothing and calm. "We have trusted you in bringing you here, out of danger. Do you truly not desire peace?"

There was sorrow in that voice. Saruna ducked her head, feeling a sudden sting of tears in her eyes. She squeezed Breda's hand, and whispered, "It's all I've ever wanted."

[Breda Dreaughan]

She was physically hurting now. As if her body was rebelling now that her mind couldn't make itself up. She grasped Saruna's other hand, trying to get a proper eye contact with the human.

"Me too." Her voice was desperate, pleading. "But it's is not what we were supposed to do. Nobody ever said anything about something like this." It's what you want to do, though, isn't it? Get your own arse out of danger. You were never a warrior, and you never even wanted to be one. Or could be one.

"So… what do you want from us, then?" She glanced warily at the redhead, unwilling to meet its eyes. "You've brought us here to keep us safe? Or you want us to fight for this place? What about everything else that's happening in the city? With the pamphlets and the sabotage and everything? How does that fit into anything? Is this peace for us five, or for everyone? Shouldn't the children at least be returned to their parents?"

Answer my questions. Show me that you have honest answers, so I can be sure you're the one I should trust.