Ruenr bid the two travel, firstly, to the East to reach the higher elevation regions of the area before transitioning to a Southern march. Ari understood the reasons for such a direction, the rolling hills transition to a range of small mountains, the mountain’s themselves are very sparsely populated. At one point mining and logging operations were more commonplace back when this region was an independent state. Eventually, higher quality timber to the Northwest and South along with more bountiful mines along the Northern Pass or the border of the Dwarf-owned territories pulled those operations from the Northeast of Henosyria. That left the mountain range, and a majority of the rocky and steep coastline, one of the less inhabited regions of this region of Henos lands.
Tekking along the rolling hills all these years was not enough to prepare Ari for the difficulties of climbing up mountains, even one’s as small as the Old Henos Moutain Range. The first few days were spent in silence, Ari simply observing as the geography slowly changed and making sure he paid attention any time Ruenr would stop to smell the air before starting their march back up again. Ruenr would stop them a few hours before sunset, they would eat a cold dinner of travel rations and light no fires before Ari took first watch. Ruenr told the young man that only four hours every night were necessary for himself, but the champion always ensured Ari got around six or seven before waking him up for the next day’s journey.
It was on the fifth day of travel, they stopped early since Ari was adjusting to the increased elevation, when Ruenr spoke something other than a command for the first time.
“You are quieter now.”
“I am, but so are you.”
“Yes.”
Silence.
“Is there a reason you are pointing this out Ruenr?”
“It is curious. Humans usually need to talk more than this, most of the ‘civilized’ folk are uncomfortable with extended silence. Are you only being quiet because I have not spoken much?”
“Not really. That is a small part of it, it is just nice to keep to myself for a while. Before I started getting trained by Cyrus and then Sir Vandron I would have months at a time where I wouldn’t speak unless it was necessary. It's a comfortable loneliness, but I know it probably isn’t healthy.”
“You will need to act more sociable, like you do around the two that left, if you run across strangers out here. I won’t be able to steer you away from every encounter, it would not be good for your growth.”
“I understand.”
No more was necessary, and Ari started arranging the camp and provided the Ruenr with some rations before the large warrior bedded down for the night. Ari remained vigilant, mostly out of habit as he didn’t expect anything to happen. At one point he noticed a small light in the distance, and when he turned to wake Ruenr up the warrior and his belongings were gone. It looked like a one person camp. At first Ari was baffled by how Ruenr was able to sneak away silently, but with the man’s affinity for shadows and darkness it wasn’t that much of a surprise. He realized that Ruenr’s earlier warning was meant to tip him off, or perhaps to encourage Ari to ask questions about the types of people he would find here, but the young man was too eager to return to the comfortable silence they had enjoyed the past several days.
Ari watched as the light got a bit closer, before slowly making its way to the right of his camp. He planned to ignore it at first, but if that's what Ruenr intended he would have just moved them away when he realized there were others here instead of hiding himself. With a slight sigh, Ari cupped his hands over his mouth and gave three short whistles. It was what Cyrus taught him for making contact with people in circumstances like this, they might not know what it means but it would at least warn them that they weren’t alone out here. If they weren’t looking for trouble they would either continue their path or swing by to investigate without removing their torch, but upon realizing that theirs was snuffed he started to get the tingling of anxiety.
He shifted to a more defensible position, his back to a divet in the stone outcropping, and whistled three more times before waiting. He heard the traveler’s approach before he saw them, but heard a woman’s voice shortly after they stopped several yards from his location.
“Oi. How many are with you?”
She spoke in the low tongue, with a gruff and raspy voice for a woman. It reminded him a bit of the women who worked as sailors or dockhands back when he lived in Door’s Bay. He tried to count the footsteps that approached before responding, but it was too difficult with the wind and the sounds of bugs.
“Just me. I’m traveling south while investigating any abandoned mines or villages I come across. I’m an explorer-surveyor contracted by a merchant company.”
“Ahhh. Well this region is probably nothing but old hat for your ilk, using this place to get the hang of it? You sound a bit young to be alone.”
As she spoke, Ari noticed she raised her voice a bit more. He considered whether she was using it to mask the approach of others, but another question broke his concentration.
“Why don’t you have a fire, we would be less on guard if you had one before calling out to us.”
“I will regularly be in regions where fire could attract dangerous attention, so I need to get used to traveling without one. I only whistled because it's polite to let you know others are camping here. Your group is welcome to stop here to compare maps or trade if you’d like.”
Ari used this opportunity to summon his scroll with the deed, and a few extra supplies to allay any suspicions. He lit up a torch and held it in front of him, revealing that there were six people, two of which had bows trained on his position. The woman that spoke was standing closest, she must have approached when she heard him going through his things.
“Dammit all boy, you spooked us when you started digging through your stuff. Thought you were reaching for a weapon.”
Ari let out a chuckle that he hoped sounded nervous and not judgemental.
“No I was just letting you know where I was, I didn’t think about how it would be strange for a man in the dark to be calling out to you. You are welcome to rest here with me if you’d like.”
The leader, or speaker for the group, appeared to be a woman around Colette’s age. Where Colette was small and mousy, slim but with her round face and curly blonde hair, this woman stood over Ari. He knew he was short for an adult man, he was barely taller than most of the women that worked with him as servants. Being taller than Colette was a given with her size, but all the men who spent time in the manor stood at least a head taller than him.
She had short cut reddish brown hair and was covered in freckled tan skin, she wore primarily furs and leathers with dark linen pants. A younger woman, one that was holding a bow to his left, looked similar but with a more effeminate touch. The bow-wielding woman had longer hair and deeper green eyes, she also appeared slimmer and less muscular and tall than the woman who had been speaking to him. As Ari paid closer attention to the group, he realized it was all women. He tried not to show any confusion at that, women were not exactly rare in the army or as guards and sailors, but he had never heard of an all woman group before.
“I am Ari, from Aurele. It's a pleasure. I work for Cyrus’ Surveyors.”
The woman snorted and performed a subtle motion with her left hand, signaling for the rest of their group to relax. No one once moved any closer, but it didn’t seem like there was as much tension between him and the odd group. He noticed they had almost no bags or supplies, and on closer inspections some of the women wore rags on their feet instead of boots. A few in the back looked dirty and malnourished. Ari suppressed a frown as he tried to carefully word his next question.
“I hate to shoot myself in the foot, but if you are slavers or the like I am going to have to respectfully rescind my offer of you to join. The practice may not be heavily persecuted in the Empire but it is still a crime and not one I want to associate with.”
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The sister or cousin of the main woman smiled a bit before schooling her expression. At mention of slaves the women that appeared in rougher shape flinched and seemed ready to bolt, but they calmed down as he continued his explanation. The main woman kept a neutral expression.
“What if I say these are women we captured, you just going to let me go?”
“Well I am outnumbered and the only thing to defend myself with is this large walking stick so-”
“I recognize a combat staff when I see one, nice try. Are you going to make us leave?”
“Okay, let's pretend you are slavers. From the reactions when I asked the question I’m pretty sure you aren’t but I’ll humor you. If that’s the case I will simply say I would prefer you leave, but I won’t force you to. I ask you to remain on your side of camp and I will do so on mine, and I will be gone bright and early to not interfere with your business. I could wait for you to sleep and slit your throats in some attempt to free the women, but I don’t know how to hunt and doubt I could take care of three additional people when I’m only packed up for a few weeks and in unfamiliar territory.”
“So you would be able to kill sleeping women if you think it meant maybe freeing some slaves?”
“Why does your gender matter? In this scenario you are slavers, in my eyes that means you have forfeited the right to be treated as people by me. More like the wolves that would take my sheep, I need not show mercy to animals acting in accords with their nature- they wouldn’t show any to my sheep.”
“Killed a lot of wolves?”
“No, but I have killed enough predators to spot them regardless of the skin. You might be dangerous but your group isn’t hunting, its escaping something thats on the hunt.”
“Hmm. How do I know you won’t give up my location to the first group you come across, now that you have figured all this out.”
Her words reignited the tension, and the bows were drawn once more.
“Look at my skin and eyes. I’m from the desert. A slaver would see me as as much of an opportunity as he would your escapees.”
“But you might bargain for better treatment.”
“I’m more likely to bite off my tongue before I submit to a life of servitude.”
“You speak like a noble. It makes it hard to trust you in these circumstances, despite your ancestry.”
“You fleeing nobles then?”
“Why would I tell?”
The two stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, before the woman started chuckling and once again motioned for the bows to be lowered. She started pulling her pack down and motioned for the others to set up camp.
“You only get one name, mine. I’m Charlie.”
“Isn’t that a man's name?”
“Yes. When I present paperwork with a man’s name on the signature block the powers that be are more willing to accept bribes in the form of coins instead of demanding a roll in the hay.”
Ari blushed hot for a moment, which caused the two bow wielding women to start laughing as well.
“Ah! You almost managed to convince me you were dangerous. You better visit a few brothels in the next city you end up in. This act of yours won’t work if you turn into a tomato the first time a man starts talking about his experiences whoring. That will mark you to be as young as you look. How old are you, sixteen?”
“Twenty one.”
“Twenty one and no honey of your own? Tough break. No wonder you were so eager to get my girls to camp here.”
Ari started to splutter, and went to explain himself when the younger looking Charlie spoke up.
“Don’t respond to her. You’ll just keep her interested and she'll pick on you all night. She’s like a cat, if you ignore her she’ll lose interest.”
“I don’t know sis, some cats act out when they don’t get enough attention.”
This elicited laughter from the rest of the group aside from the, now confirmed, younger sister of their eccentric leader. Ari tried to talk with them a bit, but as he was beginning to get comfortable Charlie paused and drew a dagger from her side.
“You said you were alone.”
“I am.”
“Who is that?”
She pointed to Ruenr, who was somehow right next to Ari without him noticing. Ari went to speak, but Ruenr talked over him ignoring the women who were now gearing up for a fight.
“You did… decent. You managed to convey you aren’t a danger to them, but didn’t notice their preparations or readiness to ambush you. They also managed to spike your water skin, if it wasn’t all the poison I’ve been sneaking into your food since my tutelage began it would have rendered you unconscious soon. It isn’t a passing demonstration but I wouldn’t quite call it a failure.”
The women just stared at the massive man, his words rumbling through the group like crashing waves and thunder. He was currently in heavy robes and wore a massive hood with a wrap covering his snout. You couldn’t tell he wasn’t human unless you already knew what to look for, but the way he moved on his doglike legs revealed there was something amiss.
“The men tracking you have fallen by my hand.”
Ruenr threw two heads at the feet of the leader, and Ari took the opportunity to study the reaction of the women. Charlie’s angry expression softened into a crooked grin, but the rest of her group seemed tense. She kept her dager held relaxed in her right hands as she inspected the two heads. They appeared to be of older men, one of which looked a lot like one of the women that the group was rescuing. She teared up when she seemed to recognize it, but a lot of her tension seemed to alleviate as well.
“My student isn’t a threat to you, no need to wait for him to fall asleep and capture or kill him. Leave or stay, but now that he is aware I won’t step in to maintain his safety. If he falls by your group’s hands, just know that he has people I would have to report to that would seek vengeance.”
Ari looked at Ruenr in confusion for a moment, before considering his actions until now. Every time Ruenr or Vandron brought a monster or dangerous beast for him to fight they made it clear it was life or death. They would heal him, but if he was killed they made it clear that it would be on Ari’s shoulders for not being able to meet their expectations. Ari realized that Ruenr only revealed himself in this way because he must be confident that these people can be trusted, but he isn’t sure why he is behaving so differently. His speech pattern was more refined than normal, Ari thought it must be because of the assumptions about his heritage that Charlie made earlier. He nodded to himself accidentally, before schooling his expression and trying to fake tension once more.
“Well big fella, if I knew a man like you was here I wouldn’t have flirted with the kid so readily.”
Ruenr snorted, then spoke once more.
“No thank you.”
He turned and wandered back into the woods, slowly disappearing from sight. As soon as he was gone, the group faltered for a moment between readiness for battle and seeming like they wanted to hide. Only Charlie kept a confident appearance, and she held up two hands in a half shrug before she spoke.
“Can’t blame me for being too careful right? I knew something was off right away, and none of us wanted to get killed or worse.”
Ari simply blew air through his nose and nodded them away. As the group was getting ready to leave, their tension slowly bleeding away once more, Charlie’s sister approached Ari and kneeled beside him.
“Hey, you can ask for me at the Burthold’s Inne in Frenis to get to know me. Just ask about the redhead with the scar, and he will know what you mean. Hopefully we can meet again under less hostile circumstances.”
She blushed a little before she kissed Ari on the cheek and turned fleeing to the rest of her group, Charlie tisking mockingly at her sister as she returned. The group spoke briefly in soft whispers with a few giggles as they departed, and lit a torch once more. Ari was stunned by her actions. He couldn't tell what he did that gave the impression that he was interested in courting her. ‘Maybe I stared at her too much. I did smile when our eyes met to be polite, perhaps that's some commoner version of courting in this region? Was she just looking for a fling then? Why would she tell me where to find her? Unless this was just a trick to keep me off balance as they left, since they observed how uncomfortable I was around mention of sex and romance. That has to be it.’ Soon they were too far to be heard. When they were far enough away that the torch was barely visible, Ruenr made himself known again.
“Why would you let me die exactly?”
Ari had been wondering this the whole time, and only now sought the confidence to inquire about it.
“You’re more confused about that girl’s actions earlier, aren’t you going to ask about that?”
“I know you are good at changing your actions to reflect other’s expectations but I can tell there are some things about human interaction beyond even you. Also, a potential romance isn’t equal to me being killed in the mountains.”
“Some poets might disagree.”
“I don’t read poetry, and I don’t care much about what bards think either.”
“Fair enough. Your death would be acceptable losses.”
“Not a loss but losses?”
Ruenr didn’t respond, and Ari figured he wouldn’t get anything else out of the man. He watched at first in horror and then in fascination, as the beastly man began to eat the very flesh off the decapitated heads. Once only the scalp and skull remained, he tied them togather with some reeds he’d gathered at some point, and sweng them overhead before launching them towards the ocean-side of the mountain. Ari didn’t have the energy to question the man's actions, and knew Ruenr had provided Ari with all he would hear from him until it next struck him as important enough to speak. They bedded down, and Ruenr advised Ari to sleep so he could take first watch this time.