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v. Clarissa had recovered from the effects of the sleep drug to rediscover her uncanny ability to become bored at will (perhaps not even at will.) She was currently riding ahead of the main group with Dennis and Cylene. She was startled by their ability to ride, they would have to have been the fastest riders in the group. "Well, we both grew up on farms, so this should not be a surprise. Try to keep up there, Melina!!" teased Dennis as Clarissa tried to maintain the pace. More than once she was surprised as Dennis disappeared only to turn up behind her, having doubled back. Clarissa had taken out her short-sword as they rode. She had discovered that the weight was dependant on how you held it. It wasn't that hard to use it at all. By now, she was able to spin it in a circle with both her hands. As they went on, Clarissa learned that they were patrolling the explored edges of the Suss Forest, and they were following wide trails. "The group will be staying on the trail, so getting lost will not be a problem," explained Cylene. The trails frequently intersected in large groves. 'Some are natural but most were created by hand," said Dennis. "But by what hand?" thought Clarissa, looking at the size of the clearings, and giving thought to all the orcs and trolls and whatever else the group had been talking about. "A directional sense sure goes with the task though," added Dennis who was smiling broadly. He had unwittingly answered a question that Clarissa had been meaning to ask. Clarissa was jealous of both of them. They were young and beautiful, in the prime of their lives. They even made a beautiful couple, she thought. She stared at Dennis long and hard and yearned for more attention from him and wished that she was as pretty as Cylene. "Maybe it is all in the attitude," she wondered, trying to sit tall and upright in the saddle. Certainly, there was something else special about Cylene. She had managed to skewer several game birds along the trail, and was very handy with an axe. No tomboy in looks though, this one. Clarissa felt comfortable enough to ask a question. "Who is Nev Ironbar? How did you get to meet him?" "Nev? We met him in Verbobonc. He was looking for scouts for expeditions to the Wild Coast and he was offering a sizeable pay," replied Dennis, looking back to meet her eye and did not break stride as he did so. Cylene was upset that he didn't even try to wink or blow a kiss. "... And we need money for our wedding and to set up our farmstead. It was only for a short time anyway and our skill master Otis wasn't able to complete our apprenticeship anyway. He had to leave to help settle the fallout over the passing of Fenward," said Cylene. Clarissa had no idea what they were talking about, but nodded anyway. "Yeah, but who does he work for?" "Who cares? The work is fun and we have never had a problem with the pay." Clarissa was very annoyed with this. Didn't anyone other than Gleeson give a fig about what was really going on? "Hey! Just stop right there!" She called. She was surprised to see that they had both stopped and were half turned before she had even finished. Flustered, she continued, "some of the group have said that he is a Slaver, and that you are doing his dirty work. I don't know exactly what that means, but had you ever even considered that they may be right? I mean, what am I doing here?" Dennis looked ready to say something but paused with that last bit. It was Cylene that answered. "I could never believe that Nev is a Slaver. He has been there for us, has provided steady employment and helped us get out of many scrapes that we got into through our own stupidity. He has gone out of his way to do it. He is not a bad man, if that is what you were worried about." "Cylene is right. Is it not just possible that you are here for your own protection? I mean, you hardly look like a Coast native." "I still don't understand... what about the poison?" Clarissa fought back. "The poison that Gleeson removed from your system?" asked Cylene, "is it not possible that you were poisoned by whoever attacked you, and that it isn't the fault of Nev at all? There could be any of a number of possible explanations. Maybe you had eaten something that was poisoned, or maybe you are not used to the climate. I am sure that the clerical magic Gleeson used would work just as good." With this, Dennis nodded in agreement. Clarissa considered this. In a moment of inspiration, it occurred to her that they could indeed be right. It was possible... But she considered something else. On the one hand, she had serious minded dogma bashing from Gleeson who felt that she had been deliberately poisoned. On the other, she had two people who were the salt of the earth (maybe a little too salty) who disagreed. Clarissa faced the dilemma of two groups of people that she knew to be good people telling her different things, and she didn't fully trust either of them. She didn't know what to do. Something was still troubling her... "Maybe... you are right." Dennis saw the conflict in her eyes, and responded, "... and maybe we are wrong too. Stay close to us where possible, and we will look out for you. When this expedition is over, we will help you get back on track." "But believe us when we say, you can trust Nev Ironbar," Cylene continued. Clarissa was starting to get annoyed with this back and forth conversation from the two of them. Then Dennis said something that very much caught Clarissa's attention. "Anyway, all the other groups that we have travelled with have had no complaints either. He is really on the lookout for their safety." "Other groups?" asked Clarissa. 'Sure! He has glowing testimonials from adventurers who said they will cheerfully work with him again, on the Coast or elsewhere." Clarissa decided to let that one hang there. She had something she wanted to ask of Mahaern. Dennis was still talking to her. "You should see what some of them thought at first, that he was some great Noble warrior! The Green Dragon, they called him..." "... and remember that group that thought he was a Bandit Lord from Rookroost!" Cylene continued for him. "Wasn't it Stoink?" Dennis said. "... Could have been. Anyway, the Militia refused to investigate the matter further." Cylene continued. Curiouser and curiouser, though Clarissa. How naive were these hicks? Just as well they were following the trails, because they wouldn't be able to see the trees that they would otherwise ride straight into. She just wanted to go right up to Nev Ironbar and pull off that eye patch to see if he really was missing an eye... "Who does he work for?" sighed Dennis, shrugging his shoulders lazily, "Maybe he works for the mayor of Greyhawk!' "Or just maybe he works against him!" "Maybe he is the mayor!" "Or the mayors best friend..." "Or a bored tavern owner from Greyhawk?" "Maybe he is Mordenkainen the mage in disguise! Wouldn't that be a turnup?" "Or maybe he is a secret spy for The Old One!" This earned Dennis a clip about the ear from his betrothed. An impressive sight, thought Clarissa, given that she was more than a head shorter than him. Again, she was jealous of her. "What does it matter," they both said together as they rode on. Clarissa was humbled. This wasn't a trail but a garden path. She almost turned and rode away to leave them both to the indulgent ramblings of the Lovers' Cant, when they both stopped ahead. "What is wrong?" Clarissa asked, trying to not sound too bored with it all. "Come up here," she heard one of them say. She wasn't sure which, and rode forward. "What can you see?" It was Cylene asking. Clarissa looked ahead. The trail had intersected with another. Along this new path were signs of other travellers. Clarissa looked hard. "Fresh tracks, no spoors. Travellers on foot, and lots of them." Cylene observed. "No fresh smells, perhaps not too recent. No fires around." Dennis said. Alert in the saddle, he was looking around. He drew his bow as he spoke. Cylene had already dismounted, axe at the ready. She strode over to the intersection. She was sifting through the silt and humus with a small blade. "See anything?" Dennis asked. "Tracks are pretty shallow. Looks consistent with orc and goblinoid. Some larger tracks here that I can't make out. Maybe bugbear?" Dennis didn't look at all concerned, thought Clarissa, and what was a bugbear? Whatever it was, it sounded ridiculous and like a plaything, maybe that was was Dennis was so relaxed. Cylene and Dennis turned toward Clarissa. "What do you think we should do, Melina?" Dennis was asking. Clarissa was totally flustered by this, "Fight it out?" Dennis and Cylene broke up with laughter. To be continued... A Great Battle (Clarissa draws that short-sword, and hardened adventurers duck for cover! Never a bard when you want one...)