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Angel rides onwards, Salia in front, saying nothing she watches Fraso closely, trying to stop anything distracting her.

"Salia, " she says after some distance. "Your Fraso, he is a strange one, I knew that when I signed up.. " she lets out a little laugh. "No offense. "

Elias pulls himself back over, looks around, and leans in to whisper.

"What steps? Who are they that you're so afraid of them?"

Salia chews Angels words over for a moment before replying: "A lot of folk in town think that Master Fraso is strange, but he is just a man with strange interests. He has been very kind to my brother and I, since Mother died. He gave us a home.
"You learn to live with the bones. And if once in a while there is a hand crawling in a box..." The girl shudders. "You take the good with the bad, I suppose."

Keeping an eye on Fraso is troublesome. Every time Angel stares at him that squirrel, he has a really bushy tail compared to the ones we saw yesterday. Fraso is right there on the bench next to Hiric, and Hiric has a big green stain on his tunic, probably slobber from one of the mules.

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"Afraid? Me? No, I'm not afraid. Not of these. Dirtnap sends his agents, we send them back to him, usually in pieces," at this, he pats his axe, smiling grimly, "and thus we are saved. I fear none of them.
"Besides, there are only three of them. And we have a whole squad here. More than a match for Dirtnap's minions. He wants me, he's going to have to show up himself."

(ooc: I hope someone relieved Liri on her watch, otherwise she will be so tired today that she'll certainly see things)

Liri rides on into the morning, in front of the wagon, wondering why on earth their two scouts were in the back of the caravan. Hopefully the road is easy to find. At any fork or crossroads, she'll stop.

Angel nods, "I understand, you are lucky to have a home, a place to be." She goes silent, then speaks again, as if judging her words carefully. "You said you have lived with him for sometime, you and Hiric.." She pauses once more glancing away, watching Maghus this time, subterfuge was not her way.

"May I ask how your mother died? And what of your Father?" She keeps her voice low and soothing.

(Ooc: I am sure Angel would have relieved Liri. )

"Mother and Hiric and I lived over a chandler's shop, down the road from Master Fraso. She cooked and cleaned for him. She was ill for a long while, and the healers and priests couldn't help her. She took a lot of medicine, but it didn't help. One night she fell asleep in Master Fraso's kitchen and didn't wake up.
"Father was off with the legions, and Hiric and I had no money to pay for her burial, so Master Fraso paid. And with Mother gone, he needed someone to cook and clean for him, so he let Hiric and I move in. That was nine years ago."

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[OOC] @ Breila: I didn't bother with the details of who relieved who on watch - last night's watch was uneventful.
As to why the two rangers are together rather than at the front and back of the group, I assumed Elias was at the back and wanted a word with Maughus, so he rode to the front.[/OOC]

"I am sorry, I did not mean to bring up such bad memories. You owe him a great deal then, I understand, a loss of that kind is terrible, I too know the loss of a Mother." Angel says simply, she was growing into human contact once more, there was a reason she spent time herding cattle. Cattle didnt expect conversation.

Looking at the girl closely she rubs her head, unsure what to say or how to say it. "This will sound very strange, but... Do you ever find yourself.... distracted?" She glances at Fraso, "I am finding it hard to concentrate on him, things keep pulling my eye, I wondered if it was something you ever felt before?"

She kicks herself mentally, hating herself for asking, especially after what she had revealed. color=#8000FF]"Forgive the bluntness, it might be important."[/color]

Liri moves Casta close to Gertrude when this can be done easily. She turns to Bastian.

"Everybody seems so ill-at-ease today. Has something happened last night when I was on watch?" she asks him.

"It's alright. It was a long time ago, and I have a good life now. I have Hiric, and he's family enough. He's a big tough man, but he still needs to be taken care of."

In answer to Angel's question, Salia thinks for a moment, then says: "Yesterday, once in a while I looked for him and don't see him, but of course he was there when I looked again. And so I tried to keep an eye on him, and...and...do you think your horse will get tired, carrying two of us?"

Angel reaches out and nearly squeezes the girls shoulder, her hand in an awkward position she runs it through her hair. She blushes realizing Bastian noticed. "That is good, I suspect things get easier with time."

"As for Fraso, its rather strange, I thought it was just me, and perhaps I was going a little mad from the strangeness of the journey." She shrugs, "Please don't be alarmed but something is amiss, it might be nothing, but..." Shaking off that thought she pats Praesul hard on the neck.

"He's a strong one, he kicked off the last three owners he had, they all returned him in a day, yet me and him... we have an understanding. Besides if he gets tired, I will walk with him."

Bastian shrugs at Liri's question. "Damned if I can figure out what's go everyone so jumpy. Sure, we've got some gawkers watching us from the treeline on occasion, but that's not out of the ordinary considering we're strangers in this area." Bastian glances at Angel as she starts to get more friendly with her charge than he is comfortable with. Quickly he looks away making sure that Salia's guardians (Both Fraso and her brother) are not casting an evil eye her way.

"I didn't notice anything strange other than Angel being jumpy, causing our scouts to become agitated. Of course there was that man on horseback....." Bastian's words trail off as he attempts to recall the figure's features. "No. There wasn't anyone there after all, so no sense in dwelling on it, right?" He ends with a big smile that is quite evidently forced. At this moment, even HE is unsure of himself!


[OOC] Stik here. Where did "on horseback" come from? The figure that nobody is actually sure they saw was on foot. [/OOC]

"A man on horseback? the one I saw was on foot, with a walking staff." Liri looks at Bastian. "So there is something strange going on."
She rides on quietly for a moment, thinking. Looking at Bastian again, she says: "I'm going to ask Angel what has made her so jumpy."

Liri guides Casta to the side, looking around for Angel and Salia on Praesul, then guiding Casta towards the stallion. "Angel, could I have a word with you, please?" she asks. "You don't need to leave, Salia, it's not private" she adds.

Riding Praesul close to the Elf she leans over, her face remaining impassive.

"I know what you want to ask, and Its difficult to explain." She starts to say, looking to Bastian, "I would like his involvement too, if thats ok?"

(assume Liri goes to get Bastian, the silly Mule riding on her opposite side).

"I have given this some thought. Firstly I am NOT jumping at shadows, there is something out there, what it is... I don't know."

"This all started when we found the body, forgive me for saying Salia but Master Fraso started acting rather strange at that point, he always seemed distracted, then I spent time talking to him, I had the same problem..." Angel shrugs, "I am no scholar, no person of higher learning, yet.. There is something here, someone is following us."

"Fraso is.. Distracted, I have problems, so does Daos, Elias and Maghus..." She frowns. "Maghus is out there, way out there.."

Liri frowns a bit. "I see Maughus riding over there, so what you say must be meant symbolically" she replies to Angel. "Could you please be more specific?"

"Meh. Muggy is OK. He's not all there which makes me think he saw some things in battle that he hasn't been able to cope with, but he's pretty solid. Of course if push comes to shove, I have no doubt that he's going to save his own skin if necessary. He's seems very apt to avoid a 'Mr. Dirtnap'. "