(Neash: What’s his snap chat?
Me: for gods sake! You can’t ask for the social media of every guy!)
Tanrial stood and grabbed a bag that was hanging by the door. She quietly opened the cupboard door and carefully placed some potions in the bag, along with some herbs and plants, keeping an eye on the fire as well. She placed the bag on the table and went down to the basement and grabbed some throwing knives, daggers and a sword before coming up and placing them on the table.
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(pfft haha)
The first part of the night passed uneventfully. Exactly two hours after Tanrial's shift started, Mike opened his eyes and sat up.
"Bernon's not down yet," he said quietly. "Let him sleep, he needs the rest. I'll take second watch."
(Gotta go to bed, seeya laterrr)
“I’m fine to continue, really.”
(See ya laterrr)
Mike shrugged. "None of us should overextend ourselves. Besides, I'm not going to be able to get back to sleep. If you really feel alert, you could help me plan our route." He pulled out a map and spread it over the table. "If not, you might as well get some sleep."
Tanrial sat own at the table and peered at the map, “How far away is our destination from….” She pointed to a little spot on the map, “Here?”
Mike leaned forward. "We're headed for the northern-western corner of New York State. The guy who hired me, Ryker, built his headquarters there. I'd say the spot you're pointing to is about…..three days of hard walking from our destination, which is an optimistic estimate considering all the things that could happen to slow us down. Why do you ask?"
She shrugged, “I was just wondering where we were going was all,” She leant forward on the table, “Is that a problem?”
"Nope. Just wondering if you had a follow-up to that question." He frowned at the map, then picked up a pencil that Bernon had left on the table and started making marks and notes. "This map's a bit outdated. I just went through that area, and it's kind of rough. West Virginia doesn't exist anymore, the Pennsylvanians swallowed it. Maryland's underwater, so we'll have to go around. Oh, and there's crazy clans of hillbillies and bandits crawling all over that area. But it's not impossible to make it across, if you know what you're doing. I've done it three times now, guiding travelers out to the prairies."
“At least one of us knows where we’re going. I’ve barley left this area and I’m over 400…” she shrugged, “Although I was never allowed to leave so that’s probably why. Will going around Maryland make the trip longer, or not? You said you’ve made the trip three times, do you have a rough idea of how many bandits are out there?”
"I usually go around and it only adds a quarter-day at most. The swamps around that area are the real problem. If we can find a boat, that would be really useful. As for the bandits, there's too many to count, and they're all constantly having turf wars when they're not robbing travelers. It's actually one of the most dangerous parts of the country. But like I said, it's not too bad if you do it right and know how to defend yourself. I hate to say it, but Bernon's negotiating skills will come in handy if it turns out we can't fight our way through."
Tanrial leant back and furrowed her bows, “Alright…” She sighed, “It shouldn’t be to hard… right? This whole plan seems impossible.”
Mike nodded. "It would be a lot easier if there was just one of us. Faster, less conspicuous, doesn't need as many resources. But three isn't much worse. At least we're not a caravan of German pioneers who dress like tourists and think that colonizing is as easy as signing a few papers. That was a nightmare." He offered a small, dry smile, the first since they'd met. "We'll manage. It won't be fun, but nothing's fun anymore."
Tanrial laughed a little, “That happened? Oh god…”
"Oh yeah. And plenty more. The stuff I go through just to get some cash…." he shook his head. "Someday I'll figure out something better. Start a business, maybe. I heard there's a group up near Canada that hunts monsters. That sounds profitable." He glanced at Tanrial. "What about you? Any plans for your future life? Doesn't seem like you'll want to come back here….?"
(brb, having supper)
(nvm, gotta head to bed. See you tomorrow ^^)
“I don’t know… probably travel around, see the world, find others like me…” She turned her head and loooked out the window, “I’ve never really thought about it.”
(See you tomorrow)
"There's a lot to explore out there. Bernon seems like a people person, he could probably tell you more about the communities you might like. I'm not so much an expert on that, but I know basically which places are safe and which places are hostile. Mostly they're hostile."
“Great… I’ll find somewhere, hopefully. But we shouldn’t be thinking about this know, we need to focus on the plan. How tight is there security? I kno we’re going to try and walk right up to the front door but in case we need to fight our way out.”
"It's pretty tight. Like I said, Ryker has a small army all to himself to keep him safe and isolated. The base itself is a state-of-the-art underground facility, one of the last of its kind. It's got running water, electric light, climate control, and a high-tech security system. The place is like a maze, and it's got several levels. I've only seen a little bit of it. If push came to shove, the first thing I'd do is try to disable the surveillance, then sneak out with as little combat as possible. By the way, how much do you know about guns and firearms?"
“I’ve seen a few in the village but not many.”
"They're not as big a deal as some people make 'em. Sure they're dangerous, and useful in some situations, but you can easily do without them, and if someone threatens you with a gun it's no reason to surrender. Just get in close, take full advantage of human error and disable the gun as quickly as possible." Mike pulled out his small hunting knife and let it catch the light. "This is the only weapon I've had to use in almost ten years of wandering, and even that I almost never resort to. Weapons are tools, not toys or status symbols. Hardly anybody gets that these days."
Tanrial eyed the knife, “I’ve never had to bother with physical weapons before. Of course I’ve used them before but… some people I’ve met think just because you possess magic means you can do what ever you want with it. Sometimes, yes, that is true but it always comes with a cost.”
Mike grunted. "Makes sense. Everything takes energy, even the stuff that breaks the laws of physics. You might want to get a little more experienced with a bow or knife or something while we're traveling. A lot of folks aren't so fond of magic where we're going, and I'd just as soon keep a low profile. Sound good?"
(brb, having supper)
Tanrial nodded, “Yeah, sounds good.”
"Okay. Now you should probably go to sleep before it's your turn to stand watch again. I'll give Bernon a turn soon."
“Alright, if you’re sure…” She stood up and walked to the stairs, “Night, Mike.” Tanrial yawned and went up to bed.
Much later, when the sky was just beginning to lighten, there was a soft knock at Tanrial's door. "Tanrial? It's Bernon. Mike thinks we should get ready to leave now."
Tanrial groaned, “Yeah… I’ll be down in five.” She sat up and quickly dressed, washed and placed a spare set of clothes in a bag before heading down to Mike and Bernon.