night watch i [o]

[urien]

The terms were simple: Seven shifts on the Night Watch for the small and out-of-the-way town of Sulla. For whatever reason, Sulla appears to have trouble keeping consistent numbers on hand to make sure nothing goes down in the night. As such, jobs on the not-so-illustrious Night Watch are frequently offered to travelers passing through, boasting fairly generous pay for seemingly-easy work. There was, however, one stipulation-- the temporarily-employed among the Night Watch would not be paid until completing at least seven days of work.

Luckily for one Urien, to whom this work is completely ordinary and routine, he is making this night his sixteenth consecutive one. While he has long since passed the point where he can abscond with his well-earned coin, he intends to remain at least until his twenty-first shift so as to better prepare the soon-to-arrive crop of new hires making tonight their first.

Sulla's fortifications consist of no more than crude waist-high wooden fencing to bridge the gaps in what were likely the (now crumbling and sporting fairly frequent blotches of mossy growth) stone walls of an ancient and much greater iteration of Sulla than the one standing to this day. A lone watchtower no taller than the single story buildings it's meant to tower over stands at the southern gate, conspicuously facing the least useful direction-- no settlements are known to exist to the south of Sulla. It's not quite clear where Sulla, whose primary export to the distant bustling boroughs is barley, manages to afford to hire on freelance town watchmen on the regular. A more pressing question is perhaps why the citizenry feel the need to have the protection in the first place...

text

[Josh]

Nobody would recognize him wearing the helmet and a different set of armor, he thought. Josh was still rather uncomfortable walking around Sulla in public in case something or someone recognized him... The noble turned Adventurer was still a bit paranoid about being found, dragged back to that sad sack of a caretaker, and then sold off to some bloody arranged marriage like a slave, for the sake of a bit of money, power and favor on the "Caretaker's" end. Needless to say, the blonde wouldn't have that.

He had a bit of off time for now from his work, so he'd decided to take what was known as the "Night Watch" for a good seven shifts to earn some money for himself. He had a feeling he would need it, after all.Of course, Josh hadn't found out until AFTER he was given the job that it would take 7 days of work to get the money...

Regardless, wearing a set of armor very unlike his own, and a helmet that obscured most of his face and head, the Adventurer would stare out at the night sky. It'd been a quiet night, he thought. He almost wished for a bit of action... But those wishes were what got people killed. He felt it good to appreciate the peace they had...

Regardless, he noticed another poor sod who had been put on this job. He'd been there longer then he, the blonde could tell. Was probably lonely doing these sodded watches. He couldn't help but lean against the wall nearby and make conversation.

"Quiet night out, aye?" he asked casually to Urien. "Makes you wish someone would just rob a stall... At least, until it gets dangerous and you regret it immediately" he cracked, a small smirk crossing his lips. A bit of humor was always good for the spirits of men.

[urien]

Urien turns from his current pre-occupation with a nearby standing torch to his new arrival, his feelings of curiosity with regards to the newcomer quickly turning into annoyance over their rather flippant remark. With a small hand torch beginning to catch alight Urien softly responds, "If you took the job expecting a scuffle, you'll not find your fight with any petty larceny offenders." He takes a few steps away from the man, lighting another torch stand likely out of view of the first's illumination range. "Besides," he says again, "the townsfolk of Sulla are a bit. How shall I say this..." Urien lowers his voice a bit before continuing. "Odd. I don't even know if they'd notice the floor being pulled out from under them, much less any of their lousy flour being taken."

text

[Josh]

He couldn't help but frown a bit under the disguise, but nodded. Of course, his intentions had been good. On a long and tedious job like this one, to him someone attempting to lighten spirits, even with bad jokes, were a godsend. At least, that's what he had learned in his short time with the Knights Of Cydonia. Having someone trying to lighten things up was always welcome in his camp while he was on patrol. But he supposed it wasn't for everyone, especially considering the nature of his light jab.

Alas, he sighed and leaned against the wall, watching as his "Co-Worker" worked with the torches for illumination. "I hadn't expected any real fight, it's been pretty quiet so far" he admitted. "It was meant as a lighthearted joke, but you're right. The townsfolk here are relaxed to the point where I wonder if they ignore these sort of things on purpose" he said, scratching his head-Er, helmet. "I can't help but worry for their safety. The odd demeanor of them makes me stress that something could happen to them with absolute ease" he added softly, closing his eyes. It was a shame indeed. Many of them were incredibly nice... But also, from the obvious point, incredibly vulnerable.

[shamees]

"Captain, there's the town."

They hadn't been certain from a few miles away but it looked like the map they purchased was right. Seeming to read his thoughts, Butch said from the reins, "Map must have been right. It better be, or else - no matter what you try to say - I'm turning around and beating that ugly hag our three thousand gold back. Fucking three thousand. Can't believe she'll charge us like that. Can't believe we actually bought it too."

"I'd rather get it over with with three thousand gold," Shamees said. "We're part of the market too. We'll double our prices on the weapons. Only the herbs and vulnerary stay the same."

"You sure? We're already down to half of our stock."

"Then we'll get more." His claim was as sure and confident as ever, but there had been a flash of grimness that came along with it. It wasn't going to be easy but it was the only path he was willing to take.

As they neared the entrance, Shamees spied the walls from the spots of meagre lightning, rather green with moss and patched up with fences. It looked like a wall that a group of crazed bandits could topple over with a single, united push. If it hadn't been for the lit up torches and the dark figures he caught guarding the wall, he would have thought no one lived inside.

Butch stopped the horses and dropped the reigns. The three other caravan behind them followed suit and waited. There was no gates blocking their path but a convoy this size might need inspection before coming in. Shamees stepped into the driver's seat besides Butch, a staff at hand poking out of his cloak, and waited for someone to question them. He hoped this town would allow them to stay. Since night fell, they hadn't lit a single fire to avoid the attention of bandits. The town had no reason to refuse them, yet it had happened not once, but twice to Shamees' convoy before. Not in Ylisse. But it could happen here too.

urien Josh (I hope I'm picturing the town right. Tell me if I have to fix anything.)

[urien]

As the convoy rolls in, Urien raises his torch to shed some light on Sulla's newest band of visitors and motions for the driver to stop. "Everyone's going to need to step out," he shouts, "You must know we can't simply allow your four carts to just roll into town at this hour." Urien quickly pinpoints his Lance standing in a weathered barrel near the wall, before calling out once more, "Don't go coming out with your weapons raised and we won't have to raise ours." Mind you, with such a small showing for the night's watch, he's pretty sure if these carts were carrying any manner of rogues (or even worse, soldiers), they'd not have a ton of luck fighting them off physically.

text

[Josh]

Josh's eyes moved to the driver instantly, and he allowed Urien to do the talking. It seemed a group of caravans had tried to roll into town late at night... Quite suspicious indeed. A bandit attack in disguise, perhaps? The proverbial Trojan Horse? They couldn't take any chances. Not now, not in this town.

His eyes scanned the carts as he prepared his own sword. If there was a fight coming, he would be prepared, even if they would be horribly outnumbered. But Josh wasn't about to let some rogues take out a town in Ylisse... Nah uh. No way. Not on his watch. Luck was not on their side, but he didn't care.

He waited... Would they come with weapons or no weapons?

[shamees]

The guard's voice carried over to the last caravan but the drivers behind the reigns didn't budge from their seats. It was impossible to see them from the front but seeing as Butch remained comfortably seated right before the guards like he was waiting in traffic, it was safe to assume that they were playing follow-the-leader. They'd been through hundreds of towns to know the standard procedure but they must have missed one memo. They didn't know they were going to be treated like on-the-run suspects.

Shamees frowned but he didn't say anything. He stepped off the wagon bed, and almost immediately, Butch did the same. Butch turned around and waved at the darkness behind, presumably to signal the others. The soft brushing of shoes on wood confirmed movement and if one stared at its direction long enough, there were indeed figures on the move. There was the sound of drapery rings rolling, perhaps of people exiting down the caravan but none had stepped up front to be visibly seen.

"We're merchants," Shamees told the guard who'd given out the instructions. "Did something happen?"

Shamees deciphered the guard's tone and choice of words that they were on high alert for something. Most people didn't assume convoys to be a trap ready to be sprung no matter what the hour was. There were some who would set up camp and make vigilant rounds throughout the night and some who would tirelessly push on to the nearest town. Merchants, after all, had schedules to catch.

----
(There are four caravans, not three, but just a minor detail)

[urien]

"I was told they were merchants last time, too."

Urien comes forward, still bearing the torch so as to cast light on the now halted convoy. "Before I took this job, the townsfolk were speaking about just such an incident." Urien clears his throat before continuing firmly "You will not be allowed to pass through the gate until morning. The council of Sulla would have no trouble compensating you for the inconvenience, but if you don't wish to wait with us out here I would advise you and your cadre make a detour around the westernmost walls." He holds his torch out to his right, directing their attention to it.

Urien's volume quickly falters, himself not quite confident in the shoddy advice he's about to offer, stating "If you take the rougher patches relatively quickly you should be able to make it through with minimal stress on your wagon wheels. I think. But it'll be safer for everyone that way." Urien turns to his partner for the evening, noting his cautious silence, and asks, "Have you anything you want to add to that...what did you say your name was... Geoffery?"


text Josh shamees (my apologies for not tagging you in my posts prior, I didn't know that was a thing I could do.)

[Josh]

The redhead WAS, apparently, sincere. But how could they be sure? While he didn't speak, Josh played lookout and his eyes gazed upon every single man in this little group of caravans. Could they be trusted? Well, if you asked the townsfolk, or at least the ones that had brains in their heads, they would probably disagree.

But despite that, Urien remained as he was, unrelenting. He didn't change his mind, but remained polite the best he could, to which Josh was happy for. As much as he joked, a conflict wasn't something he was going to enjoy dealing with if the situation presented itself. Finally, he would turn to Josh, asking if he had anything to add.

"It's Josh" he corrected, eying his "partner" for the evening. Okay, he hadn't paid attention before, figures. Josh's impression of the man reflected that, at least for now. It was all he had to go on, along with their introduction after all. But he would turn to the group afterword, ignoring the forgetting of names. "We apologize for the inconvenience, good sirs. But you have to understand the obvious safety concerns after the recent incident" he reassured politely and softly. "We hope we haven't caused you too much trouble"

[shamees]

Bandits pretending to be merchants? It wasn't the most original modus operandi. Over the years, Shamees hadn't heard one successful attempt of that plan. It was risky and when put into another perspective, it was the bandits getting themselves cornered and overwhelmed once their element of surprise was gone. Sneaking in a huge number of people was no easy task.

"I understand. We didn't want to risk a run-in with outlaws either. If could set up camp outside of town, then - "

A noise of something hitting the ground erupted from the back caravans, quickly followed by a boyish scream, "ARIV, LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"

" - it would be enough to put our minds on ease. The horses - "

The ruckus continued to escalate. From the occasional thuds on wood, it sounded like there was a wrestling match going on. Two cloaked figures joined Shamees and Butch; Er and Lios, yawning and trying to keep himself awake, showed up, appearing indifferent to the loud noise, much like Shamees who continued talking.

" - need their water. Perhaps two of my men could fetch some water in the town? We'll follow your advice after we have a few hours of rest."

urien Josh (With or without tags is fine by me. I bookmark my threads.)