[Mercenary Thread] Tourists! (closed)

[Jaquise Emittere]

4th day of Summer 510 AV Jaq yawned, expressing both boredom and weariness. He could understand that setting out so early in the morning meant traveling farther, he could even appreciate it. He doubted he'd ever grow to like it though. Zagarek didn't seem to notice nor care, but having the familiar scold him for wishing to impractical simply for the want of a few more hours of sleep did not help his mood. This morning Jaq wore his simple loose fitting white shirt and underneath that his slender chainmail. On his feet and hands were his greaves and gauntlets, and on his belt was Memoria, his launcher, and a 25 ft length of hemp rope wound in a circle. The sound of footsteps nearby alerted him to the arrival of the the last of the three mercenaries that had been hired. A small entourage to be sure, but combined with the tracker, who Jaq had learned was skilled with a short sword, and one of the employers, who calmed some skill with a crossbow, it turned out to be more like five armed individuals. A twinge of pain in his side where a Yukeman had stabbed him made him bring the number don to four and a half. The final mercenary to alive was, surprise surprise, another human. This one stood at just under Jaq's height and had a longsword under his belt, matching the second mercenaries longsword. Jaq passed his eyes over the man and came up with little. He seemed competent, but only time would tell. Like the first mercenary that had shown up, this one wore a mix of leather and iron armor. Jaq himself wore his usual work ensemble, minus the coat which lay in his bag. The tracker, like all trackers, wore the stereotypical fur and leather getup that seemed to mark those of his profession. Since they were traveling to rather well known area's in the bronze wood, the man might as well be getting paid what Jaq was. Instead though he was going to get paid two gold mizas more per day on the off chance the group got lost. Jaq wasn't going to complain though, his own pay was pretty good and it was a rather safe job to begin with. Said job was to bring two families from the gates of Syliras to every tourist attraction in the bronze woods, then back again. The group planned on stopping at each place for a day or two before moving on to the next attraction. The job was an easy one, moving along well traveled paths to well known locations. Easy mizas as it were. Some talking came from the gates, signaling the arrival of both families. One consisted of a male, the father and one of those who had talked to Jaq who went by the name of Alex, two kids who looked like younger thinner versions of their father, and a wife who was talking animatley and pulling him along. Beside the couple was a rather stout man, perhaps a only 5'6 or so in height. who was both muscular and scarred. Marcus was had a rather square face and blue eyes. Hanging from his belt he wore a crossbow. Behind him was a wagon being pulled by a horse, steered by a young woman who held very little resemblance to her father, thankfully Jaq thought, except for her eyes which matched her father's perfectly yet somehow seemed so much better look with her. Jaq stood aside from the group, waiting for them to finish talking. When Marcus and Alexander finally separated themselves from the rest of the group Jaq, along with the other mercenaries, moved closer to speak to their two employers. The mercenary who had shown up last wore a smile on his face as he offered the two his hand. Beside him Jaq, the tracker, and the other mercenary with a longsword stood waiting. Alexander looked over his shoulder to his family before turning back around. "We're paying you four to protect our family's. If the situation ever arises where you need to choose between us and them, know that its no choice at all." Marcus solemnly nodded his agreement at this. The tracker frowned at this, probably thinking about how he would get paid if the two that hired them were killed, Jaq and the second mercenary both gave a nod of acknowledgment to the other, but before either of them could say anything the blond mercenary, the one who had arrived last, spoke up. "You'll all get home safely, I promise you that." A bit naive, but a hopeful sentiment Jaq could get behind. The tracker and the other mercenary seemed to come to the same conclusion, probably for different reasons, as both voiced their agreements. The two men looked both happy and a bit distressed by this proclamation, an odd combination to be sure. Jaq offered reassuringly, "If worse comes to worse we know your wishes and will follow through. Pray to the gods it does not come to that." That someone agreed to follow this rather pessimistic order seemed to relax them. Jaq looked to them for a moment and wondered what it would be like to have a family of his own. Jaq guessed that the town men before him were probably not that much older then he was now when they started theirs. A cold voice interrupted this train of thought, You must keep your emotions in check during this job. I still do not understand why you chose to accept this job before you have fully recovered.' Jaq had to bite his tongue to keep from responding aloud. 'I have some idea's I want to try with animation, but I'll probably need a lot more mizas.' Perhaps not the best of reasons to start working again so early, but then again his injury was almost fully healed. 'Besides the fact that I'm one of five people in a group of ten that can fight, we're not heading into the wildlands. We're traveling through the bronze woods along well established and patrolled paths. There are still dangers there, but its probably one of the safest job's I've ever signed on for.' 'Just be wary wizard. I will be, how you human's say, watching your back, but I'd avise you stay aware of your surroundings anyway. My warnings are not always-' The familiar sent an image of the yukmen who had stabbed Jaq, '-Quick enough.' Jaq gave a silent agreement to that and moved to join the others, who had gone to ready themselves to set out as he seemed to be lost in thought. Jaq passed Marcus on the way, and the man offered to put his tent in with the others in the wagon. Not being one to argue about not being able to carry his bag the entire trip, Jaq gave the bag to him gratefully. The next few hours were uneventful. The first time they stopped jaq was ble to learn the names of the other mercenaries. The one who was late was named Devin. Apparently he was a bit newer to Syliras and was hoping to make some mizas. The other with the longsword was Arin, a man who had been a mercenary for perhaps as long as Jaq. He saw this as an easy job. The tracker was Jared. He claimed to also be a hunter, and took up tracking when he needed a little extra cash for replacements or repairs for his traps. Jaq did not argue the claim, thinking the Myriad of furs the man wore was proof enough for him. As a whole the mercenaries kept away from the families, preferring to give the people paying them some privacy. Despite this Jaq couldn't help but here tidbits of what was being said. The two boys, nearly men, talked about what kind of lure's they were going to use when they were fishing at Pavi Lake. The ladies were trading gossip about people in Syliras. Marcus and Alexander were trading jokes about the same people in a very similar fashion, though it seemed to be all in good fun.