A Raven's Feather, Part Two

It was only another hour or so before the group turned in for the night. Rosa was insistent that they all get a good night's sleep, so even if Kai had intended on staying up to drink for a while longer, he was sure he would have gotten quite a tongue-lashing from her, if not a full-on punch to the stomach. But he knew better than to even try; they wouldn't reach their destination by the next day, but it was always better to get a clear-headed start on a new mission. Who knew what might happen between then and time for real work to be done, after all?

As per his usual habit, he checked his possessions upon returning to his room. He hadn't been able to shake that particular mannerism after leaving the military, but as it was one that still served a useful function, he didn't mind so much. He remarked mentally with a chuckle at the fact that it was so normal for him to reach for a set of “clothing” only to have cold metallic smoothness greet his fingertips as opposed to finely-tailored wool and linen. I suppose a person really can get used to just about anything.

Once his check was complete, he shucked his boots and shirt, and did a few of his routine muscle exercises, combining them with some of the mental tricks he had learned from both his sister and Gerhart to calm the mind. It had never seemed to work as well for him as it had for either of them, but it still helped out a little; by the time he finally snuffed out his lamp in the room, he was ready for a good night's sleep, confident that he would be able to keep the nightmares away for one more night.





Kai had been the first one up and at breakfast the next morning, and the looks of surprise from Rosa and Nicolai had been worth it. Giving a chipper greeting over his eggs and potatoes, he returned to them as the others took their seats, glancing back and forth between them. “I assume Rodric's praying?”

Giving a slight yawn, Rosa nodded. “He always does so right around dawn, so he'll be joining us in a while. I'm a little surprised to see you already here.”

“I hope it won't be the last surprise I give you, m'lady.” Blinking a bit, Kai tilted his head as those words came out, and he looked up at the ceiling in thought. “Wait...that didn't sound right. Make that 'Seeing you bright and early is a good first step to winning your undying admiration.'”

Rolling her eyes a bit, Rosa nevertheless chuckled quietly. “I'll say this much for you, Kai. You're much better comic relief than Nicolai here.”

“Forgive me,” snarked the shorter man, “but all of my training is in actually useful areas. I had little time for learning buffoonery.”

“That's a shame. I had three years of buffoonery lessons; changed my life.” Nicolai shot Kai another glare for his troubles, and Kai just laughed. “I swear, I'm going to make you crack a smile before this trip's over.”

“Fat chance of that, Musclehead.”

A few minutes passed by, and finally Rodric emerged, coming to sit at the table with a quiet “Good morning” and setting to work right on the food Rosa had just had brought out for him. Though Kai knew he didn't have their trust yet, it was still refreshing to share a meal with them. The team seemed to have a good rapport; though she was the de facto leader, it was clear that she valued their thoughts, and really listened when they had something to say, even if it was minor on the surface. It made him wonder a little about her background; it was clear that she was used to being recognized as a competent individual, and treating others in kind. If she was indeed Richemuloise, as he suspected, then it was doubtful she was ex-military. Probably from a family of minor nobles, or the like. Whatever it was, he didn't question her on it. One of the most important rules a mercenary adhered to was that one did not pry into the pasts of others while on a job. If someone offered to tell, that was more acceptable, but even with the sort of benevolent work Kai got from Borus, there were still people with plenty to hide, and for their own perfectly legitimate reasons. A courtesy Kai was glad to extend to others, especially if it meant he might escape them learning the truth.

And then, before he realized it, he was carrying his equipment back out to Merc, and loading up his saddlebags. The ox of a horse was contentedly munching away on oats, and looked to have been just recently brushed down by the stableboy, who sat diligently on a stool by the entrance, despite the fact that he was clearly still battling off sleep. Flipping the youth a gold coin for his trouble, Kai went back to his horse and brushed him down again, more out of habit rather than necessity. Rosa and Rodric came to tend to their own animals shortly after, and then finally Nicolai showed up as well, the usual sullen half-grimace still creasing the shorter man's features. At first, Kai had thought it was because of Nicolai's disapproval at his own presence, but after watching the man interact with his teammates, he got the feeling that it was just the default expression he wore on his face. Eh, well, it takes all kinds.

They set out along the eastern road out of the village once final preparations were complete, for what would be three days of travel until they reached the town they were investigating, stopping at villages along the way every night. Nicolai rode ahead of them all, while Rodric maintained at least three or four horse's lengths ahead of the remaining two, leaving Kai and Rosa riding mostly side-by-side. He decided to stow the usual banter for a time, instead going over the information about the job with her once more, discussing their usual battle tactics and what he might do to fit into them should it come to a fight, and so on. He would much rather have engaged in idle chatter, especially considering what a beautiful spring day it was, but there was important work coming up, and he needed to be as prepared as possible.

It still didn't keep him from enjoying the day, though. Wildflowers were in bloom, and the weather was comfortably warm but breezy, so when he wasn't talking with Rosa, he was just quietly enjoying the scenery. Occasionally, they would pass another small group of travelers going the opposite way, but the vast majority of the day saw them alone on the road, which gave them plenty of time to go over everything.

The town, Verde Terasa, was nestled, like most of the region's settlements, almost entirely into one of the great forests. Possessing a sizable Gundarakite presence, it had seen its fair share of ethnic violence back and forth over the years, but the burgomeister, a man by the name of Dmitry Macek, was more aloof and disinterested than malevolent, so the populace was at least not encouraged to start trouble. Kai had indeed passed through the town before, and had broken up one such altercation involving a gang of Barovians attempting to assault a handful of Gundarakite youths, so he knew first-hand just what sort of trouble sometimes reared its head there. He had also discovered, to his surprise, a minor noble working behind the scenes to try and make peace between the two sides, though he had never actually met the man himself.

This Cosmin Marinescu fellow had been part of the reason Kai's attention had been drawn to this job. From what little he had learned of him before, he had gotten the feeling that this guy was an upstanding individual, though he had his hands tied to at least some degree by the prevailing attitudes of his nation. The fact that he saw fit to use his network to locate people to investigate the disappearances of young Gundarakite men, when most in his station would have barely given a second thought to such a situation, attested even more to his character, or at least competence. As such, Kai was more than glad to lend a hand; perhaps he and the others could help the man turn the tide to at least some small degree.

When he had learned everything he felt he needed to know, Kai finally left Rosa alone, shifting in his saddle and letting out a deep breath. It would still be a few hours to the next village, so he decided to just relax for a bit, slipping back into his own thoughts. This was the part of his missions that he enjoyed the most, just traveling along the road as if everything were peaceful and serene. Too bad it never lasted for very long.





Rosa was keeping a close eye on Kai, but nothing she was learning was really of any help. It was a nice surprise when he wanted to hear more about the mission, and though she had been convinced he was just going to spend the whole time hitting on her, he actually had intelligent questions to ask, and his insight was helpful. When he peeled off to ride a bit ahead of her, she went back to studying him, but a few minutes later she just gave an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes. Either he was the single best spy she had ever run across, or he really was legitimate.

It only continued once they reached the next village early that evening. They only had a few hours before sundown, and yet still he took off to busy himself with pitching in with the residents. She had Nicolai follow him, but the report was almost exactly the same; the big oaf spent some time poking his head into the shops, milling about and talking to the locals, getting largely shunned, and finally wound up helping the hired hand at the inn carry in supplies before dark. Just more of his curiously helpful attitude, which was actually more of a clue than she had originally figured.

They all made an early night of it, as the next settlement was going to be almost a full day’s ride away. The next day was more of the same, but Kai and Rodric spent a few hours talking along the road. She had no idea what in the world the quiet priest could have found in common to talk about with the great bear of a Falkovnian, but more than once the two of them burst out in raucous laughter, causing her to look their way in disbelief.

“What was that about?” she asked as Kai rode ahead once to check on Nicolai.

Rodric gave a chuckle, and just shook his head. “He doesn’t take much seriously, that one. Or at least, that’s what he wants everyone to think.”

“So you’ve gotten that feeling off of him too?” When the man nodded, she glanced up towards the road ahead of them, pausing for a moment or two. “Do you think we can trust him?”

“Hard to say, really. I don’t have any clue what he could gain from tagging along on this mission just to turn on us in the end, though that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible.” Rodric took on a thoughtful look as her eyes went back to him. “Why are you asking me this, Rosa? If there was any question as to whether we could trust him, you wouldn’t have given Borus the go-ahead to send him, right?”

“True enough. There’s just something I’m curious about, and I admit that I probably seem a little paranoid.”

Rodric nodded, and tugged his hat down over his eyes a bit. “I agree that I feel he’s hiding something serious, but I also don’t think it means he’s untrustworthy. I’ll let you know if I see anything amiss with him, though.”

“Thanks.”

They didn’t reach their next stop until right before sundown, so the team didn’t have time to split up, but the next morning Kai was up and out again before anyone else. They had reason to stick around in town for another night - one of the missing youths from Verde Terasa was actually from this town, and Nicolai went to poke around for any information he could find - so Rosa left him to his own devices, and had planned to do just that, but she wound up running into him again in a rather...unexpected place.

She had stopped by the inn to drop off some supplies she had bought in town, when she noticed one of the girls who washed laundry for the owner scurrying out to the back. She was fairly sure that it wasn’t time for them to be about that work yet, and her curiosity got the better of her, so she followed her a moment later. What she saw was normal enough; there was a large pile of recently-felled lumber at one edge of the yard, while Kai stood in the center, stripped to the waist and chopping the lumber into firewood. What wasn’t normal was the fact that five or six of the local girls, who probably should’ve been about their own work, were instead leaning against the fence and watching him work. Quite possibly the worst part was that Kai was acting far too innocent, humming and whistling and pretending as if he wasn’t enjoying the attention. Rosa just stared flatly at the whole scene for a few minutes, before shaking her head and turning to leave.





“So what did you want to be when you were a kid?” The question came from Kai as he and Rosa sat eating freshly-baked bread in one of the village's squares, watching the local children horsing around. His woodcutting episode had ended about an hour earlier; Nicolai was still out probing for info, while Rodric was doing some catching up on his reading, so it was just the two of them again. She spared a glance over at him, raising an eyebrow.

“That's a random question.”

“Humor me.”

Looking back towards the children, she closed her eyes, and drew in a deep breath. “I suppose I really always wanted to be a fencer. Traveling the world, sword in hand, living by no one's rules but my own.”

“Liar.”

Kai’s response was so quick that she nearly choked on the bread she was eating, and she turned to punch him in the arm. “What do you mean, ‘liar?’”

“I dunno, I just have a feeling about you.” He grinned that wide grin, and chuckled slightly. “Seriously, you can tell me. I promise I won’t laugh.”

Rosa narrowed her eyes at him for a long moment, only partially seriously, and finally she relented. “Well...” She looked back to the kids again, and realized she was stalling. “I sorta...wanted to be a seamstress.”

Kai laughed, and Rosa punched him in the arm again. “Ow! At least not in the same spot!”

“You said you wouldn’t laugh!”

“I’m sorry, it slipped, really it did!” He stifled another laugh, and she glowered at him peevishly. “I’m not kidding this time. A seamstress, huh?”

“I knew I shouldn’t have told you.”

“Why not? It’s a fine occupation.”

Giving him a sideways glance, she regarded him thoughtfully. “You mean it?”

“Of course I do. It’s honest work, and I do like the sight of silk dresses against...well, I think you get where I’m going with this.”

“I do, all too well.” She took another bite of her bread, and watched the kids for a moment. They were playing some sort of game with a small ball, and she found their laughter soothing. “But, yes. My aunt is a seamstress, and I always looked up to her as a child. I used to spend hours watching her at work in her shop; the way her hands worked...she was always the most skilled person I knew. It was my dream to take up the trade, and be just like her.”

Kai didn’t say anything for a while, though she could tell his eyes were on her. She was expecting him to ask her to go on, but he munched on his own food for a bit before speaking back up. “Yeah...that is a good trade. A good dream.”

A moment or two later, she looked back to him. “What about you? Did you always want to be a sell-sword?”

“I prefer the term ‘mercenary.’” He took another bite of his bread. “But, no. My childhood dreams were pretty simple. I just wanted to be rich.”

She expected to hear more, and when she didn’t, she gave him a questioning look. “‘To be rich?’ Doing what?”

“Dunno. I guess I never really thought it through that much.”

Yet again, Rosa just shook her head. “Why does that not surprise me?”

“Heh. Yeah, I suppose you have a point. But money was always the most important thing I could think of when I was a kid.”

Rosa got the feeling there was something more to that thought, but she didn’t press it. There was a certain...feeling that she recognized there. Something she respected, and yet at the same time disappointed her a bit on the inside. After all of his joking around, this was something he wasn't kidding about.

Finishing his bread as they both sat there, Kai got up a few moments later, dusting off his hands. “Any objection to me goofing around for a bit longer today?”

“Not particularly. That’s kind of been your thing so far, hasn’t it?”

“Looks like you’re starting to get to know me pretty well, Commander.”




“Roooar! I’m the abominable Lamordian bear-man!”

She had intended to go about her own business in the town, now that it was early evening, but Rosa found herself sticking around to watch this spectacle. Kai lumbered like a hulking bipedal beast of some sort, arms held out straight in front of him. Directly in his path, maybe forty or so feet away, stood a stack of wooden boxes four or so feet high, atop which sat one of the girls who had been playing in the square. Probably no more than eight or nine, she feigned a look of terror, and gave a very theatrical cry. “Eeeeek! Someone save me!”

“Get back in your cave, you monster!” The boys who had been playing before, all standing in Kai's way, had banded together around the tallest, who took a confident stance and pointed at him. “Leave Fair Nicoletta alone!”

“Never! My job is to kidnap well-behaved little girls, and eat anyone who stands in my path!” Making more exaggerated monster sounds, Kai took another giant step forward, teetering back and forth. “And that includes you, puny hu-mans!”

“Anti-Monster Brigade, attack!” Wielding imaginary weapons, the group of six boys charged at Kai en masse, and the dramatic enactment of a brutal melee followed. The Lamordian bear-man would send two, three of his assailants flying at one time with swings from his massive paws, but it was never enough to stop them from recovering just before suffering a grievous injury and diving back into the fray. The whole time, Nicoletta sat atop her wooden tower and played the damsel in distress, while the three other girls who had been in the group cheered on her valiant rescuers from the sideline.

It was all nothing short of ludicrous, and yet Rosa couldn't help cracking a smile. At one point, a defender, desperate in the heat of battle, latched onto one of the bear-man's arms, and found himself being lifted into the air, unable to maintain his seriousness for the sudden laughing fit that struck him. The bear-man, sensing his opportunity was nigh, slogged on, picking up several more of the would-be rescuers along the way - on his other arm, across his back, and so on – until he was an absolutely ridiculous sight. Any attempt at holding back her amusement failed, and Rosa laughed out aloud for a moment.

“Noooo!” The bear-man started to slow down just as he was almost within arm's reach of Nicoletta, and collapsed onto his knees. “Defenders...too powerful...energy...mysteriously fading...can't...hold on...!” With a strangled sound, the bear-man tumbled over into the dirt – miraculously waiting long enough for his attackers to disengage - and flopped out onto his back.

“You should've known you couldn't defeat us,” the leader of the boys said, standing over their fallen foe and drawing his fifth or sixth imaginary sword. “Now, it's time we ended this!”

“Very well then. You have been a worthy adversary, and I admit defeat.” The bear-man's voice was thick with bitter defeat. “Make it quick, Invincible Warrior Lucian.”

Holding his invisible sword aloft for all to witness, Invincible Warrior Lucian plunged it into the heart of the fallen bear-man, and he made a long series of pained noises, before finally flopping back again, giving one final twitch before he was still. The spectators cheered, and the Invincible Warrior turned back to his allies, several of whom were still catching their breath. “I have slain the beast! Fair Nicoletta is saved!”

“My hero!” Fair Nicoletta hopped off of her box tower, and moved to run towards Invincible Warrior Lucian.

Before she could take three steps, though, a dagger – a real dagger – sailed in from somewhere nearby, and her eyes went wide as she fell onto her bottom with a squeak. The path of the weapon would have carried it right into Kai's skull, had he not suddenly rolled sideways and gotten up onto his feet, freezing as his eyes instantly shot towards its source.

Rosa sat stunned for a split-second, but then swore under her breath and looked that direction as well. A cloaked man, dressed all in dark browns and grays and with stringy hair, stood some ways to the side of the small square, his hand outstretched and the glint of steel showing at his belt. He wore a sinister smirk, and seemed wholly unconcerned with her. Which was probably a good thing; she had actually gotten caught up in watching Kai's silliness, and she didn't know for sure if she would have noticed him sneaking up behind her.

“Well, isn't this interesting,” the man said in a grating, raspy voice. “With all of Barovia in front of me, it's here where I run into the only raven the people will allow me to kill. Must be my lucky day.”

For all of the levity he had just been involved in, Kai's expression had suddenly become deadly serious. It was such a contrast that it sent a chill down Rosa's spine; but that didn't slow her reaction any further, as she quickly leaped up from her seat and put her hand on her own sword...