Damn the waiting

~~Gil stood tall, his six-and-a-half foot frame rippling as he drew back the string on the bow in his hand. Sighting carefully down the arrow, he let fly, smiling at the satisfying thud of the arrow striking the wooden target.

Reaching down he pulled another arrow from the ground in front of him and with a practiced ease, had it knocked and pulled in a single motion. Taking a breath, he waited, then as he slowly exhaled, released, sending the second arrow into the target.

He had been a blur of movement since the heightened alertness Ral had wanred him of, the waiting for a potential conflict bringing back every instinct with ease. He'd been finding time to slip away from the keep, taking to the wooded mountains around them, testing his old knowledge. Sure, the mountains were more hospitable than Nexus, and the bests weren't half as dangerous. Still, he was learning the passes and paths, and reveling in the environment.

He could read a map, and knew enough of warfare to know they would be a target, if it came to that. He didn't put much faith in diplomats or the nobility. He gave a grim smile. Funny, how if it came to war, it wouldn't be those men dying, but men like himself. Still, he wouldn't let it be said he wasn't prepared.

Lifting another arrow to his bow and drawing, he put the arrow dead center of the target's 'heart', between the other arrow shafts, and grinned. Still, the waiting tested his patience...~~

He, together with Tiberious, walked through the city of Grorr. They headed for the keep, and on the way they had agreed Artimus should do most of the talking, however they had agreed that perhaps it would be best in this siytuation for Tiberious to speak to Ralean.
Artimus wasn't sure if there was still any bad blood between himself and Ralean, or if Ral would answer the door if he knew Artimus wanted to see him.

That's the keep, over there. That big, Keep shaped object. Go get him boy! He said as words of encouragment to Tiberious.

I'll be over here once you deliver the message.

Yes, they had agreed Artimus should be the one to excercise his vocal chords. he did enough of it usually for both of them. But Tiberious really didn't want the little man getting hurt by Ralean, so had suggested perhaps he should go speak to him.

He adjusted the bag on his shoulders as Artimus continued to pick at him. Ohhh, once this was over, he would be sorry.

He walked over to the Keep, asking a guard stations nearby if they could send word to Duke Swiftblade that Lieutenant Tiberious Farstrider wished to see him.

His keen ears picked up the sound of people training not that far away, so he walked over to have a look, spotting Gil with a bow and arrow.

"Nice shooting." he said.

He knew that walk that Tiberious gave as he walked away. Yes, things were slowly getting back to normal.

He walked over to a tavern, buying a drink - nothing too strong - and taking a seat where he could see outside. As he drank and waited, he thought back to his past times in Grorr. The city he had once called home after his fight with the Queen. Well, not really a fight on his part. He hadn't raised a hand to defend himself. Hell, all these years later and he knew she was right.

It got him thinking. What would happen if they ever met again? he'd been doing his best to keep out of the way of the Queen. And Vlad, who was now king. Well, he could already guess Vlad would kill before he had a chance to say anything. The pair had never seen eye-to-eye as it was, even back when he was Bathory's pitbull-on-a-string. But now he was her equal...
Artimus gave a small shudder. Nope, keep away from that sort of thing.

Well, that brought his thoughts back to his last visit here, and his chance meeting with the daughter he neve rknew he had.
She was happy now. Tiberious - despite wanting to rip his head off - was good for her. He should leave them both in peace. It was clear to him now that Tiberious did care for her, and that's all he could ask for right now.

What he should do, he thought to himself, when this was all over, is to return to the cave. Jade knows where he is, he can still get to the Cape easily enough, and it's close enough to head down to Draco to the library. He would have found somewhere to live in Draco, but the memories of that city were still too bad in his mind. Plus there was the smell.

He smiled as he thought about the fun and games he'd had in the past, with a certain duchess and their arguments about her smelly city.
He sighed. Even now he couldn't eat a strawberry without imagining her there, the way she was...

~~Gil turns, grinning. "Thanks, my friend, and well met!" he offers a hand in greeting. "I don't recall your face around these parts before. My name is Giligian, current steward of Grorr, in the Duke's absence on business."~~

He took the offered hand.

"Tiberious Farstrider. You say the Duke isn't here at the moment? Where can i find him? It's rather urgent."

~~Gil sighs, and offers an apologetic shrug. "If only he saw fit to tell me. I know that he's off on the queen's business, but it was all very shifty business. Cloak and dagger and all that."

he chuckles, a low rumble in his chest "Either that, or he just bloody made excuses and up and left. He gave me no word as to his time or arrival, though he's been gone a fair time." laughing amiably, he begins to pull the remaining arrows from the ground and replace them in his quiver. "I'm going to hazard a guess that this urgent business is for his ears only, and so I won't pry. Granted, if the urgent business is a dagger in his back, I must admit you have a queer way of going about it." he winks good naturedly and takes a step to the target, working the round-tips from the wood slowly, careful not to snap the shaft or displace the fletching. He talks while he works.

"If you're in such a great hurry, I hear he can often be found in the company of the crown prince, but i can't guarantee that. Or maybe he's at council with the rest of the dukes and duchesses, such as they are." placing the last of the arrows into his quiver and unstringing his bow, he turns back with a slight shrug. "If the business is truly urgent, you're best to seek him through the queen. if he told me truthfully, then she would be the one to know where he was. Elsewise, if you'd be kind enough to leave word of where you're staying, I would gladly send word to you there when he arrives in the city."~~

If the council was all meeting in one place it wouldmake this trip a whole lot easier.

"Thank you, but we're not staying in the city long. Just delivering our messages and leaving."
The corners of his lips moved up very slightly.
"As for wishing to kill him, I assure you, I'm not the kind for that. I work for the military. I prefer to hack and slash my victims. I leave the finese of back stabbing to those more qualified. Besides, I'm not in the trade of killing those I've sworn to protect."

He watched him picking the arrows.

"Thank you for the information, we'll try this Crown Prince you mention."

~~Gil grins and nods. "Aye, a man after my onw heart then. Leave the backstabbing to the cowards, aye? We can settle our scores face to face." he chuckles again. "it was well met then, friend, and I hope you swift speed and the best of luck on your journey. oh, and if you do find him, tell him to get his arse back here. I can't do all his damn work."~~

"I will" He said as he turned to leave, wondering just where the damn tavern called the "Crown Prince" could be. He'd certainly never heard of it.

~~Gil gathers his things and slings them over his shoulder, nodding to the man, mentally wishing him luck as he makes his way back to the keep.

Slipping in, he is meant by the servant looking for the Duke. He explains that he asks for a description of the man, and nods after, explaining that he had handled the matter already.

Making his way to his chambers, he carefully replaces his bow and quiver in their place, and opens a large wooden chest. Inside are a myriad of weapons, all carefully wrapped and obviously well cared for. Removing them all one at a time, he sets them out along his desk, and gets the whetstone and oil from the bottom of the chest.

Setting about to oiling and sharpening his weapons, he grins. Aye, he missed this feeling. A pang of sadness ripples through him, for the loss of his comrades, the men he had come to consider his family. Nodding, he runs the stone smoothly along the curved blade of an axe.

He decided to wax his bowstrings and check the fletchings of his arrows afterward, and make sure both of his crossbows were in good working order. You never knew when something like that would be needed.

Aye, not a bad day for this at all. Whistling a merry tune, he brought the stone in a slow stroke against the blade again, ahnds moving with precision and practiced ease. Bring the war. He'd be ready.~~

~Ral steps into Gil's room, looking fresh and clean, knocking on the frame as he steps in. He closes the door and clicks the lock, moving to a chair opposite Gil's desk. Taking a seat, he picks up one of the weapons and a stone, beginning to sharpen as well. He talks without looking up.

"Gather a travel pack, bare minimums. I wasn't seen entering, and we shouldn't be seen leaving. A letter has already been left for the steward, so affairs will be in order, the keep is being locked down on high alert. We make our way to find Jared in the forest. It will be a hunt, but they're not running from us, just hiding. And they aren't from Nexus. The advantage is ours." losing himself in the sound of sharpening, he pauses a moment before speaking again. "It's looking more and more like war, and it's always much worse than we anticipated. Prepare for the worst, and arm appropriately."

Looking up, he grins. "Who was that man who was looking for me earlier? Did he say what he wanted?"~

~~Gil looks up, not exactly phased by his visitor, even considering who it was. Listening quietly, he nods where appropriate, but continues to work. When Ral mentions arming, Gil raises a brow and looks at the arrayed weaponry before him, but doesn't say anything.

As Ral asks aboutt he men, Gil chuckles. "Just a man wishing to see you. He didn't seem like he wanted you dead, and he didn't push terribly hard to find your whereabouts. I told him you were probably at council or with Jared, as it were." he shrugs. "In these trying times, I didn't see it as a wise move to tell him where you were. It was none of his business."~~

~Ral nods. "Many thanks for that, old friend." Setting the weapon and stone, he stands, heading for the door. "Have the horses saddled and ready in the garden exit before dawn." unlocking it, he slips out silently, leaving the door slightly ajar as it had been before.~

He finished his drink just as he saw Tiberious walk out of the Keep. He walked out of the tavern and over to him.

First message delivered then? Who next?

He shook his head.

"He wasn't in. They think he's in some pub called 'The Crown prince'. I've never heard of it."

He thought for a moment.

What did they say to you? Exactly what they said, word for word.

He didn't believe there was a tavern in this entire realm that Tiberious didn't know about.

"You can find him int he company of the Crown Prince...."

He looked at Artimus.

"He meant Bloody Jared, didn't he!"

He nodded.

I think so. You really think someone build a tavern and didn't tell you? So, what's our next step? We need to find Jared anyway, so two birds and all that.

Of course that did mean going back to Meridia. Well, maybe he could hang out in Mrs. Rensains shop while he waited. Maybe she could help them find her husband to deliver his message.

Back to the horses then. It's 106 furlongs to Meriddia. We got rested horses, half a flaggon of mead, it's going to be dark soon... and we've got our swords. Let's go.