[The Bronze Wood] First Time for Everything (Sturlin)

[Eris]

Eris’s eyes flicked to the subtle motion of his hands and she quickly gave a quick shake of her head. She had grown so accustomed to paying attention to her horse’s movements, that it had not occurred to her that others may not be so attuned to the animal.

“Did you hear something just now?” she whispered.

“Rhine apparently did, so I thought it better to prepared,” she added, nodding at her horse.

Meanwhile, Rhine had fully straightened from her previously relaxed posture. A short whinny escaped the horse’s throat. The mare took a few uncertain steps in one direction, stopped, and walked back. Eris’s scanned the area carefully, her ears straining to hear anything that sounded out of the ordinary. And yet, she could discern nothing significant.

[Sturlin]

Sturlin shook his head. He had not heard anything. Of course, he was more than a little distracted. The hunter was used to spending the majority of his time alone, and the company of two strangers managed to occupy most of his attention. He kept his hands at the ready, just in case. "Would you like to search the area? Rhine appears agitated."

[Eris]

“I’d rather, if you don’t mind,” she said, getting up carefully, so as not to make any unnecessary sound. She hated to interrupt a conversation because of her paranoia. But she knew that it was better to be a little paranoid than dead.

Her dagger loosely held in her right hand, Eris began to circle the clearing. She glanced behind every bush and between every couple of trees. And yet, she could find nothing that would merit Rhine’s sudden agitation. Coming back almost full-circle, she laid a hand on Rhine’s head, concern flickering across her face.

“What is it, girl? What’s wrong?” she whispered, her lips close to the horse’s ear.

[Sturlin]

Sturlin watched her movements carefully. He could understand the need for a little healthy paranoia out here, and he was not bothered by her concerns. Once she had checked all along the ground, he remembered his encounter with the Kriital. Out of reflex more than anything else he said. "Check the treetops." Realizing how he must sound he added, "Just in case."

The magician had not yet lowered his guard. Though Cherry did not yet know, one of his more recent accidents had limited the amount of movement he could achieve with his legs. Since running was not an option, whenever trouble seemed to loom on the horizon he always prepared for the first option between fight or flight. And Reimancers are pretty good scrappers.

[Eris]

Eris shot him an odd look, but cast her gaze upward nonetheless. She walked around in a circle once more, her neck craned toward the tree tops. She found it a little strange that the man remained sitting, when most people would already have been up on their feet, weary of danger. But he was a magician after all, and Eris could not claim to understand their kind.

Just as she was about to lower her gaze, she noticed a flash of something blue among the otherwise green canopy. Squinting, she thought she could make out some blue fabric dangling from a particularly high branch.

“There’s something there,” she said, pointing to the tree. “Looks like fabric, though I can’t imagine what cloth would be doing this high up among the trees."

“I’ll be up and down in a moment,” she added as she grabbed for one of the low branches, pulling herself up.

She’d had a lot of practice climbing trees as a child… Eris balanced her left foot on a thick branch while her hand reached for one a little higher up. After a few more pull-ups and side-steps she found herself surrounded by greenery. It was then that she cast her gaze at the mass of blue fabric on the far-end of a sturdy looking branch.

It turned out not to be just a bundle of cloth, but a garment – a long cloak, to be exact. And out of the cloak, stuck out a pair of legs, arms and a head. The skin of the visible body parts held a bluish hue, clashing with the deep blue of the robe. The only contrast to the coloring was an ugly red patch at the top of the human’s skull.

Eris sucked in a deep breath and began to make her way down from the tree. She leapt down from one of the lower branches, landing in a crouch. Straightening up, she observed Sturlin, wondering how to better break the news to him. Finally, she spoke matter-of-factly, “There’s a dead body up there. Rhine must have smelled it.”

[Sturlin]

Sturlin prided himself, in most cases, on his manners. Unfortunately for those manners he was still a man, and he still spent entirely too much time alone in the woods. As Eris climbed the tree he watched her with a whimsical smile on his face, daydreaming. Though his hands remained up, they sagged slightly as she moved herself up the trunk and into the branches.

"Oh, well, that is excellent news." He said as he lowered his hands back down to his knees completely. The magician's expression changed from one of concern to curiousity. "Considering all the alternatives that is. It could have been a live human. A hostile human. Or a monster. Monsters are most unpleasant. If you do not plan to search it we should leave. Blood attracts things here."

As he looked up at her he tilted his head to the side, realizing something. "Not the fellow you are looking for. Is it?"

[Eris]

“No, most definitely not. My fellow looks quite different and I don’t believe he’s the type of man to be caught dead in that kind of tacky cloak. No pun intended,” she added, realizing what she’d just said.

She gave Rhine a friendly scratch behind the ear, praising the horse on her keen sense of smell. The wind must have changed and led the scent of decay straight to the mare’s nose. No wonder she was irritated.

“But if there is one dead body, there might very well be another. And if the next one turns out to be the man I’m looking for, my job would have been made a whole lot easier.”

“You’re right, though, we should move away from the rotting body,” she said, grabbing her satchel. It felt noticeably heavier and for a second, she couldn’t understand why. Then, it dawned on her that the marble sculpture lay inside. Slinging the bag over her shoulder, she waited for Sturlin.

[Sturlin]

"Well. We will walk slowly then. Perhaps your eyes will pick up the fluttering of another cloak nearby." Reaching around him he gathered his things, slinging his bag over his shoulder and collecting his weapons in his hands. Using the axe to brace his hand on he helped himself too his feet. Once he was on his feet he seemed fine.

"This way is safe. For the most part." Pointing with the handle of the axe he began to lead. His steps were slow and stiff, as if he were recovering from recent leg injuries. It did not concern him, and it looked like he knew what he was doing as he forged ahead out of the clearing.

[Eris]

She watched the man rise, slight concern furrowing her brow. This certainly explained why he hadn’t stood up earlier. Unless, of course, the limp is simply a cover for something else or perhaps a way to make me weaken my guard… Eris bit the inside of her lip angrily. There she went again – it seemed like she could never turn off the annoying self-preserving voice in her head.

She considered asking whether he needed help, but decided that it would be tactless of her. She tugged on Rhine’s bridle gently, setting the horse into motion. Once she was sure that the horse wouldn’t stop in the middle of the forest to chew on some grass, she let go of the bridle, confident that Rhine would follow behind. They followed Sturlin deeper into the forest.

[Sturlin]

Sturlin kept his eyes alert, and she could see that he was holding his possessions loosely in case he needed to drop them. Clearing one's hands of useless clutter was always a good idea in combat. It just so happened that to a magician, weapons could often be considered useless clutter. Sweat had already broken out on his bald head. Walking was quite an effort.

No complaints would be heard from him as he skillfully located a deer trail leading back toward the direction of his camp. This was an area of the Wood he knew well, even if he did not know it all. As he spoke his voice did not betray the strain his face showed. "After you finish this job. The one with the man. What do you plan to do?"