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Outside the bungalow are your horses, tacked and saddled, although the stirrups are still run up and the girth straps hang completely slack. Hiric is a diligent servant, but not above making a point and sending a subtle message.

An extra horse stands nearby. Not tied up but standing quietly in the yard nonetheless, the small stallion stands perhaps thirteen hands tall, a fair contrast to Praesul's eighteen and likely weighs about half as much, and is short and thick of neck and head. The small horse has a dark mane and is dappled in browns and blacks overall, and wears a light saddle. The horse is so small that at first glance it seems that an adult rider's feet might brush the ground occasionally. Seeing Maughus, the horse raises its head, but does not make a sound. Maughus mounts, looking slightly ridiculous, like a human sitting in a halfling's chair. Mounted, he is not much taller than he was standing.

As your group passes the bridge en route to the icehouse, Papa is waiting, looking a bit tired but nonetheless ready to travel. His two female companions, wearing somewhat less then what women women of this region typically do, at least in public, bid him goodbye and head back across the bridge. Saying nothing, he ambles up and climbs aboard the tail of the wagon as it rolls by without stopping - another subtle message from Hiric.

At the icehouse, a squad of soldiers is waiting. They are armed and alert, and have already moved the body on its litter from the depths of the icehouse to the tunnel mouth. The litter is wrapped in canvas tarpaulins, and Fraso dismounts the wagon to take a look at it before it is loaded onto the wagon: "Are you ready, my friend? We are going to take a little trip," he says, jovially.

Salia wrinkles her nose as the package is brought aboard and lets out a small "Ewwww!" although she is quick to turn it into a theatrical yawn when she sees her employer eyeing her. The corpse's smell hasn't improved any since the last time you all were in its presence.

Daos' nose twitches slightly, turning up a bit at the scent. "Master Fraso...is there nothing to be done about the...odor?" he asks.

Liri brought up the rear of the group, taking in the position its members take and how they communicate. She remains mounted as the corpse is brought out of the icehouse, looking on and around, and absentmindedly patting her mare's neck.

Angel says nothing about the smell, instead she takes her position to the front of the Wagon, she gives Salia a little grin, her offer of a ride on Praesul wasn't looking so bad now, probably.

She nods to Liri, "I hope you enjoy the ride, lets hope its an uneventful one."

"Maughus, Elias is our scout, he usually rides on ahead, the rest of us stay with the Wagon. I trust that arrangement is acceptable?" She says turning to the Newcomer, interested as to his purpose.

Liri nods back and smiles at Angel. "I am a professional messenger, so I travel a lot, and I like to be on the move. But I too hope we will have a peaceful journey. Though I am prepared if this is not so."

Which direction is the wind coming from? Liri will attempt to find a place in the caravan upwind of the wagon.

"In truth, I hope our quest is not too peaceful," Daos adds. "Like a muscle, my magic needs exercising now again or it may atrophy."

"And there is not such a thing as the warrior's exercise field for magicians?" Liri asks, surprised. Though she had encountered magicians before in her professional life, this is the first time she finds herself in a traveling group with one of them.

"It's less an exercise, and more of a study session," Daos remarks. "In any case, I was again speaking in jest. My magic does not atrophy. However, it may not grow stronger, either, without use."

Liri laughs, it's a pleasant, almost tinkling sound. "We still need to get better accustomed, I think, to understand each other immediately. Well, there will be plenty of time for that." She smiles broadly at Daos and anyone else who is close.

"I am confident you will get your chance soon enough, the Cargo we carry will attract attention." Angel replies listening to the exchange, checking her sword in its scabbard she waits to leave.

"You mean aside from flies and crows?" Daos asks Angel with a smirk. He adjusts his backpack straps and his cloak, and ties his staff loosely to his pack, to keep it out of the way.

"Yes, we will encounter those too." She smirks right back, nudging Praesul over to the Wagon.

[OOC]Holy time-dilation-effect, Batman! Eleven posts by three people in five hours.
Stand by: Minor time-warp in progress. Please remain seated until the campaign returns to normal space-time...[/OOC]

JadedDM wrote:Daos' nose twitches slightly, turning up a bit at the scent. "Master Fraso...is there nothing to be done about the...odor?" he asks.

Fraso looks surprised by the question. In fact, he pauses for a moment, wheels turning in his head while he parses the words and interprets them, much in the way a person conversing in a foreign tongue will translate a question into their native tongue before considering it. Fraso eventually responds: "There is little to be done about the fragrance, I am afraid. It is an inseparable part of the taphonomic process. But now that you mention it, there is another problem, one that I had not considered until now. The decedent will continue to putresce over time. I do hope we can get him to the Guild intact."

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Jenara wrote:"Maughus, Elias is our scout, he usually rides on ahead, the rest of us stay with the Wagon. I trust that arrangement is acceptable?" She says turning to the Newcomer, interested as to his purpose.

Maughus snorts a little at Angel's words. "I will watch your point-man awhile. If he is any good, he can have the job." Then he calls over to Elias: "But look sharp, firstborn. Look sharp."

(ooc: lol, you don't know the half of it! Most of the same group scared poor Elvenoff away with our relentless posts!)

"I believe you will find him acceptable."

(ooc: Just helping push him out front so when he returns he won't miss much)

Stik wrote:[OOC]Eleven posts by three people in five hours.

(OOC: Just shows how much we like your game, Stik. We absolutely want to play it, even if right now it's just chatter.)


Liri frowns for a moment, then her face becomes friendly again. "Master Fraso, I have not been schooled in magic, and hearsay is never a good informant, but I have been told that mages can make a small area become very cold. Surely that could be used to keep the corpse fresh, just as the ice has been?"