Chapter 4: Turncoat

[Talyn]

Wolf moves away from Carith and rubs his face as he contemplates how hungry he still is.

He glances at Carith when she denounces him and a small smile passes over his face. Its gone as quickly as it came and he wanders into the camp looking for his ward.

[Breila]

Wide-eyed, Hedra looks up at Callan. "Send me someone who knows about wounds and medicine, then. I know far too little about these things. I can only implore the Protector to keep her alive. I cannot get the arrow out" she now looks more like a horrified child than like a competent woman. That changes, however, when she takes Grace's hands and starts a mixture of prayer to the protector and calls and words of affection for Grace to give her a reason to want to stay alive.

[Stik]

"What can you do for me? You can tell me your name, and then you can 'assist us in our inquiries.' Just a friendly word over by Carson's wagon. I will ask you to accompany us right now, and wait there with Inky for a bit while I settle another matter. Fair enough?" Callan's tone is the bright, friendly tone used by the career constable, the one which issues commands veiled as polite questions, and which accepts no disagreement."

Too much happening at once, Callan thinks. I can't question him and Grace at the same time, and Grace may not have much time left so she needs to be seen to now. But perhaps the time the hunter spends alone with Carith will rattle him a bit, and get him wondering.

"You can leave your weapons and pack here, your friends will look after them."

While he is talking Callan will watch the hunter carefully. If the man makes any offensive move Callan will grab him and bear him to the ground, trusting his mail, and Carith, to protect him.

[Jenara]

Carith grasps his shoulder firmly, "Lower your weapons, now." She orders calmly, unsure as to what Callan was attempting.

[Ismaels-Legacy]

The man simply snickers as a slight smile creeps up at the edge of his lips. "I'm not wielding my weapons, and if it's all the same to you, I'll keep them on my person. There's too many unscrupulous people about tonight." With the last statement he nods slightly to Grace. "Now, let's go see Carson! I'm sure that will be enlightening!" His joviality is completely unmasked at this point.

After stern glares from Callan and some rough handling from Carith, Carson is located. He takes one look at the man who is trying his best to stifle a smile beneath his close-cropped brown beard. Carson, after controlling his momentarily flaring temper, sighs and says, "Hello, Reuben. What have you gotten yourself into now?"

The woodsman smiles and replies, "Oh, the usual. Subverting your orders for the greater good and all that." Clearly, these two have a past.

[Ismaels-Legacy]

Hedra's chanting is keeping the girl from slipping away, though her touch is getting colder and clammy. She has constant sweat beading on her brow and her breaths are coming in short gasps. She has yet to open her eyes, which still flicker behind her eyelids.

[Jenara]

"She was foolish, but she followed her family." Carith says with a hint of compassion in her voice. "If she lives or dies is not in your hands."

[Ismaels-Legacy]

Carson's eyes turn stone cold at the comment. "No, she stole food from a caravan of women and children. That means I choose whether she lives or dies."

[Stik]

[OOC] One important point here is that the subject spends some time in isolation prior to questioning. And since we are bringing him to see Carson, and plan to accuse him of collusion with the bandits, we do not want his weapons around, lest he use to either attack Carson, or fight his way out of the encampment. Ditto for his pack. If he does get away from the caravan, he needs to be unarmed and without supplies
Rueben’s weapons can stay behind. If he does not comply, they will be taken away from him. If he resists, they will be taken away from him, and he will receive a variety of contusions free of charge. [/OOC]

Callan makes his voice is quiet, so that only Rueben and Carith can hear: “It’s not all the same to me, Rueben. If it were, I wouldn’t have asked. So I will say it again: leave your weapons and your pack here. Otherwise, I am going to give the word and Inky here is going to beat you up a bit. Do you really want to get your butt kicked by a girl in front of all these people?
"Do everyone a favor, leave your weapons and pack here."

[Breila]

Hedra bends down low over Grace, talking softly into her ear. "Listen to me, Grace. You still have a chance to live, and to avenge yourself on the brother who betrayed you so cruelly. And even if you don't live, I know there are people here who want to avenge you. But for that, we need to know everything you can tell us about him." She continues to care for Grace as best she can, hoping Callan will send someone over who knows more about treating wounds than she does.

[Jenara]

(ooc: Carith was talking to Rueben, not Carson, she said Rueben was not the one who decided.)

Carith says nothing, her grip tightening.

[Ismaels-Legacy]

[OOC: Jen - even though you were speaking to Reuben, Carson is the one who answered. He's just asserting his authority.

Stik - there's a reason for Reuben's cavalier attitude, which will be revealed in the following post. ]


"Master Callan, I appreciate the concern for the safety of the group, but Reuben is......tolerable." It seems as if he has to force even this minor compliment from between his teeth. "Much like Ignatius, I trust Reuben, despite his desire to constantly question my decisions." When Callan and Carith simply look at him, Carson sighs and mumbles, "Reuben's my brother. STEP brother." He adds the last part when he sees that the admission brings a smirk to Reuben's face.

"Dear old mum would be proud of her son, were she alive, to see him preparing to execute a child!" Reuben's scathing words are proudly announced with a broad, toothy smile on his face and no trace of scorn despite the venom of his choice of words.

"Our Mother IS alive, you dolt!" Carson says, suddenly breaking his calm and shouting at Reuben. Apparently this is exactly what the woodsman was intending because his mirth has reached new levels.

"Yes, well, I haven't seen much of her since I've been braving the wilds to hunt game for the huddled masses back in Holgrim." This family squabble seems to have a long history behind it.

[Jenara]

"Family are expendable." Carith grins, "I could see that he has an accident." Seeing everyone's face she smiles, "A joke, nothing more."

"Grace has information, that is obvious, yes she has stolen from you, but surely making it alive to Holgrim is more important." The warrior says quietly, "We keep her alive if she lives, and I[/] will watch her."

[Stik]

"Which son would your old mum be prouder of, Reuben? Because the way I see it, you just convinced the dwarf to murder a wounded child, and supplied the murder weapon.
"It seems that by finishing her off quickly you might have stopped her from revealing what she knows about the robbery. Now I'd love to hear you invent some alternate explanation, but I have to see what I can find out before the kid crosses over on her own. Carson, all due respect, deal with this, please.
So saying, Callan leaves the conversation and rushes over to Hedra and Grace.

[Ismaels-Legacy]

Reuben shrugs, looks at Carson and asks simply, "Were you going to execute her?"

"Yes."

"You see? I wasn't doing anything that wasn't already pla...."

"Until a better option was presented to me." Carson took far too much pleasure in diverting Reuben's tirade. Carson looks to Carith and says, "She's under your care. She shares your rations, when we have any, and you share her fate. If she flees, you'd better disappear too, because I'll have you branded an outlaw otherwise."

Reuben throws his hands up in the air in exasperation. "Well, jolly good show THIS is!" With that he shrugs Carith's grip off of his shoulder and stalks away.

Carson glares at the man's back as he leaves and talks to Carith without removing his eyes. "Your proposal made sense, you know. I wasn't just doing this to get at Reuben. The girl obviously has information that her brother wants hidden. Of course she has to live long enough to deliver it. That said, there IS a rather substantial bounty on the bandit leader's head. It's not coin of course, (Nothing is any more) but it IS the favor of the guard in Haven, which can generally come in far more handy than any coin."


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Hedra's ministrations seem to be helping, though someone is going to have to administer medical attention in addition to the prayers being offered. The arrow cannot remain in the wound lest infection set in. There aren't many options in the way of medics in the caravan, but perhaps there's a herdsman or a veteran soldier who's dealt with wounds? Either way, the girl needs help.