Objective: Haven Discovered (Complete)|Ilyamen

[Darastrix]

The trip from Autus had been long, longer than Hat-ib had wanted, but the Beastlands were difficult and dangerous to traverse in the best of times, and there still seemed to be an overabundance of wildlife everywhere. The Fists had been able to handle what they'd encountered, though, and she'd been able to make herself useful when injuries had resulted.

Now she frowned at the tents and ramshackle huts--no, they were merchant stalls--that dotted land along either side of the main road into the capitol. "This...is Haven?"

"Guess some people want to leave, but don't want to go far. Or can't." Taxus looked back at the healer. "Haven't you been here before?"

"No," she murmured. "Mother grew up here, but I was born and raised in Autus."

"Ho there!" A uniformed guard on horseback waved to the group as she rode toward them. "What business have you with Haven?"

[tuo]

Ichi nudged his horse forward a couple of steps before answering. "We're here escorting some healers to help with the local rat problem. We may also have extra supplies to trade." He said with a smile.

[Darastrix]

The guard jerked her thumb toward the stalls. "Haven's great market," she said, voice dry. "And begging your pardon, but I doubt a group this size has a surplus that could be of any real help to us. If you're leaving healers, you'd do better to give the extra to them for their own use. We're on rations here."

"He may just be escorting," Taxus spoke up, "but some of us intend to stay and help your people with the rats."

"We've come from Autus," Hat-ib added. "Many of these are Worg's Fists."

Surprise flickered across the guard's face for a moment, and she sat up straighter in her saddle as she looked the group over more closely. "Well, I'll be damned," she muttered. "I didn't even notice. all right, I'm obliged to tell you that you enter Haven at your own risk. Whoever's staying, ride on to the gates and tell the guard to escort you to the former leader's home to find out where you're most needed. Ilyamen's under martial law and her estate is our command post now."

[Kender Bard]

"Did you want to stay?" Verity asked Ichi softly. "I'm not terrible use where the rats are concerned, except perhaps to confer with my brothers and sisters at the temple and see if they've had any visions or need help with any. I suspect if Etaf had anything to say on this matter, she would have spoken with them, not me."

[tuo]

Ichi gave a short nod to Verity. "I am willing to stay here to help however I can, I can only imagine how bad it is inside the city to have this Haven set up."

[Kender Bard]

"We will stay as well and help," Verity decided. "I'll go with you and the other Fists. Perhaps there is a place for me after all."

She had a feeling though that it would be either to teleport or speak with others mentally. She didn't relish the thought but was prepared to help.

[tuo]

Ichi gave Verity a small smile and squeezed her shoulder gently. "Thank you, for not leaving. It..it would be lonely without you. I'm not sure I could have stayed without you."

After saying that he begins to lead the others to the gate and asks someone there where to find the former leader's home and where they can be of most use.

[Darastrix]

"Aye, I can show you there. Those of you with horses might want to leave them out here," one of the gate guards said, jerking a thumb toward a large area surrounded by a rough split-rail fence. "Horses don't worry much about rats and they wouldn't pay 'em much mind 'til they got bit. And at that point, they're good as gone."

"I thought the bite just paralyzed," Hat-ib said, surprised.

"Lady, when something as big as a horse becomes dead weight, you're not gonna be able to do anything for it."

[Kender Bard]

"The rumors weren't exaggerated then," Verity murmured with a wrinkled nose, sliding down off her mount.

Once everyone had dismounted, Iadyn stepped forward with his weapon of choice, a good stout and thick quarterstaff, in hand. "Let's form a loose circle around our healers and the priestess."

[Darastrix]

"Right," Taxus agreed, and moved to Iadyn's left. "How likely are these rats to listen to Beasts?" he asked the guard.

"Not at all, I'm afraid," he replied, and flashed the Beast sign on his palm. Whatever his affinity was, the mark it left on him was subtle, else it was hidden under his clothing. "Beasts with rat and mouse affinities have the easiest time understanding 'em, but they seem more interested in making meals than making friends. 'course it's gotta be getting harder for 'em now, what with lots of folk gone or at least outside the walls, but they're damn smart."

Hat-ib shivered a little and slipped behind Iadyn, checking her pack in an attempt to push her nervousness aside. This was more worrying than Khelek's demon; at least then there had only been one of him and the healers hadn't had to actually go into his house.

Taxus gave a grunt and hefted his shortspear. "So we're going to be in their hunting grounds and marked as prey. Sounds like Beleg."

"Since I'm gonna be showing you to the command post, I'll take point," the guard stated.

[Kender Bard]

"Aye, well, like Beleg it means we need to keep all our senses open," Iadyn remarked with a glance towards Verity. She peered at him, a touch indignant. She certainly knew to be quiet, after all. She lifted a finger to her lips and was rewarded with a frown. She waited until he looked away to smirk.

[Darastrix]

Hat-ib glanced between the pair, puzzled at Verity's expression. Well, maybe it was a little insulting to insinuate that she needed reminding to use the extra senses her Mind sign gave her, but she didn't understand the point of Verity's finger-to-lips gesture at all.

"And it's a fine line between being alert and being paranoid these days," the guard said, and looked to Taxus. "If you've got a smallish furry companion anywhere about--" He cut himself off as Taxus shook his head. "It's just as well. Some people are almost hair-triggered because of the rats and seeing a small animal can make 'em shoot first and find out what they shot after."

Taxus grimaced. "I'd point out badgers tend to be bigger than rats, but from what I've heard, size is relative with these."

"You heard right," the guard said with a nod. "They're small as rats up to big as small dogs. All right then, ladies and gents, if you'll close ranks and follow me, we'll see if we can't get to where we're going without problems."

[tuo]

Ichi stayed close to Verity as they prepared to enter the city, touching his signs and chanting under his breath to be ready to defend against any sudden rat attacks. "Stay close to me, I'll make sure nothing happens to you."

[Darastrix]

Once those able to fight had positioned themselves around the noncombatants, the guard began to lead them into Haven proper. The streets were quiet despite it being early in the afternoon, and the few citizens who were out and about moved with purpose. Even the folk not wearing a guard uniform went about armed, or else held one hand to an easy-to-reach sign. There were no laborers standing about as they waited for work, no street performers, no neighbors pausing to hail one another as they shopped.

The atmosphere made Taxus' hair stand on end, and he adjusted his grip on his spear. It just wasn't natural for such a large city to feel so still. Or smell so...clean. There was the usual smell of wood smoke and the occasional snatch of scent of cooking food, but very little of the pungent odor of midden. A glance toward the edges of the street showed that the typical city refuse was absent, possibly being kept cleaned up in the interest of not attracting the rats with garbage.

As they moved deeper into the city, their escort raised a hand and pointed toward the window of a building farther down. A horned rat the size of a cat was jumping from the sill, carrying the remains of what appeared to have been a chipmunk into the alleyway.

"That is a gorge rat," he murmured, and waved up at a Wind guard who was patrolling in the air. The Wind flew higher and let out a shrill whistle, and a trio of ground guards came running and converged on the alley. There was a crackle of electricity and more squeaking than one rat could possibly make, and the street went silent again. Two of the guards went deeper in to retrieve the corpses and came out with five rats, one bloated to such a size that the guard dragged it out by the tail.

The guard who'd stayed out of the alley let out a shout as another four that had climbed up the rough walls to wait dropped onto the guards and began biting, trying to find unguarded spots so their teeth could break the skin.

[tuo]

Ichi let's out a snarl and touches his fire sign quickly and mutters the chant out before flinging small sized fireballs at two of the rats with great accuracy. "Healers be ready!" He called out.