[centre][h3]Lady Buxton and Orwen Sudernlan[/h3][/centre]

It appeared that Lady Buxtons jab at Orwen had backfired spectacularly, and she flashed red as he used her own lingeage back against her. She had indeed been born with a silver spoon in her mouth (and a rather large one too), but she never considered herself to be above others because of things like wealth or status. Him stating otherwise caused her to feel a deep resentment and her fist clenched tightly against the cold bronze of her polearm. His snake like smile only added to her anger. She didn't retort though - she couldn't. She bit her tongue and listened with a bitter scowl as he continued his barb.

[b]"Remind me what you did in Cliffton when the Temple of the most holy Sol was desecrated? Last I heard, the culprits were still not caught, right? Not to offend, good lady, with all due respect! Surely a blue blooded woman not unlike yourself be able to capture these people. Just a thought.” [/b]

And there it was. Although he probably did not know it, Orwen had crossed the line, and in quite a spectacular fashion. It wasn't so much that he had highlighted a sore topic, but in that moment he undermined her leadership in front of the entire Consano. That was not something that he could get away with, regardless of wealth or influence. A storm begun to rage inside of her mind and her vision turned a hint of red. [b]"Katrina, don't. The King won't be happy if you two kill eachother."[/b] hissed Chester beneath his breath, not wanting to draw anymore attention to the spectacle. Buxton held back long enough to give out the instructions to the 'team' but, upon his depature, she followed Master Orwen to his chambers. 

She would find Orwen standing on the wooden flooring right before the window, leaning on the windowsill. [b]"Ah, miss Buxton, I could hear it was you from the manlike sounds you made when you tiraded up the stairs!” [/b] he spoke with a happy, but annoying undertone in his voice. He turned around and rested his buttocks on the windowsill instead, crossing his arms in front of him as he looked her in the eyes. Orwen smiled, like a snake, or a rat. He had so much fun pestering this lady, although he knew that he was pushing her and was probably doing so way too far. 

He continued, never the less, as he was a man without fear. That, and a man with coin, and coin was important for the Consano, whether she wanted it to be or not. [b]"Are you not done argueing with me? I had imagined by now, after your extensive research into my lineage and origins..” [/b] he spoke, whilst getting up and walking around the room. He made sure to take off the flail that hung from a leather strap and place it on the dresser, next to the bed, with a very large and open gesture to ensure she noticed. [b]".. that I care little who I am, or where I come from, and that all I care for is where I am going. So I suggest you stop trying to belittle me like you did just now, and simply accept that I am the sponsor. Lest you wish the king to hear of your little insults, and that as a result I'll be raising the interest on my loans to him by a few percents?”[/b] He smiled once more, padding on his chest to ensure his dagger was still there, and then leaned onto the dresser with one hand. 

[b][i]THUMMMPPP[/i][/b]

Without warning Lady Buxton flew forward, hooking the slaver in the jaw with her right hand. It certainly was not a graceful move, nor was it even slightly ladylike, but Lady Buxton did not care. Orwen seemed to reel back a few steps but was given no chance to respond, as Buxton charged forward and barged him against the wall. There was a loud thud as the two collided with the wooden wall and cloud of dust was blown into the air. She grabbed his right forarm with her left hand, and with her right clenched his throat. [b]"You insignificant sack of shit."[/b] she hissed, [b]"You can shove your interest where Lady Sol can't find it. How [i]dare[/i] you undermine me in front of my troops! How dare you undermine this entire operation! I don't care how powerful you are, or how pissed of my [i]uncle[/i] will be - if you do anything that I believe hinders my mission, I will slit your throat and leave you to the rot in the dirt."[/b]

Gawain was pushed against the wooden wall with some force, and by no means was he a tough man, tough enough to not feel pain from the force of his body meeting the wooden panels. Never the less, he merely clenched his teeth together and grinned at the most [i]noble[/i] lady Buxton. He kept his grin all the way throughout her little tirade, realizing all too well that the walls in this inn weren't too thick, and that others would probably hear the entire thing, especially when she was yelling this loud.

Whilst grinning, it became apparent that her hook had caused a tooth of his to open up a small wound in his mouth, causing the man to bleed from the corner of his lip. As soon as she was done he would retort. [b]"Ah, walks up stairs like a man, [i]talks[/i] like a man and now even [i]fights[/i] like a man. If I were to guess, I'd say the only feminine thing about you is that marvelous set of tits! But in all seriousness, my dear lady, if you want me to shove my interest where the good Lady can't see it, please be so kind to bend over and lower your undergarments, I'll assure you, you'll enjoy every second of it!” [/b] He wanted to continue but at this point he was laughing so hard he had trouble breathing, so he had to take a minute to calm down. Her anger, whilst painful physically, was a true joy to behold. It had been some time since he'd made someone this angry! Who was the last one again.. Margret, yes, that's the one. His personal cook had been slaving over a pot of special soup all day when Orwen decided that it'd be fun to throw the pot on the floor. Oh, how she screamed bloody murder. But it was nothing like lady Buxton.

[b]"Besides, lady Buxton, you do not seem to realize how much money it costs to raise a troop of warriors and travel. Now, I expected you to atleast accomodate for food and bed, as you have done here. After all, you were the captain of the guard. But have you forgotten that we need supplies to travel, and transportation? I can assure you none of these poor folks here in this tavern own a bloody horse, and they sure as hell haven't brought provisions! Hear me out here.” [/b] Regardless of his attitude, Orwen was done making fun of her and was now talking true facts. He had calculated the costs of the trip to the North carefully before he even thought about investing in the Consano. He wouldn't be the man he was today if he invested recklessly into everything that sounded nice. 

[b]"First off, we need to afford horses for everyone to travel, if we want to travel fast. I suppose we do, the plague is getting closer every day after all. Then, we need food, which will be harder and harder to come by the further we go north. It'd be best if we bought as much as we can here, in the Crossroads, where it's still available and cheaper than it is in the North. Then we need armor and weapons. They cost a fortune, trust me, I stocked my own armory once and it was almost painful how much coins I saw flying by my eyes. Next, once we get to the North, it might be worthwhile to hire a local to guide us. Unless you've got any experience with travelling in those tribal regions, my dearest lady Buxton? I thought not. Locals costs money and supplies.” [/b] he said with a smile, as his left hand slowly crept up on his chest. He was headed for the insides of his jerkin to fetch his dagger, with an attempt to stall lady Buxton with his boring story about costs. He had been in these situations before, since no man gets this influential without making enemies. As a result he had a hunch as to what to do, although he'd much prefer if Brando, his bodyguard, had been here to smack Buxton around the head.

Lady Buxton snarled in annoyance as the man droned on about the expenses. She wanted him to fight back, to make a move, to do anything that would give her cause to smash his head through the wall. What was even more annoying for her was that his ramblings rang true; he knew what the Consano needed and he was the only person willing to give it. It was not enough for her to let go of him, but she allowed him to continue, albeit begrudgingly. [b] "Go on."[/b] she grumbled.

[b]"Now I don't know where else you got your money, but according to my sources I am pretty much the only investor who has any worthwhile amount of money available for the Consano. That, and I know where to buy supplies for cheap, and make sure they are the proper quality we need, too. Unless you want to fight cannibals with butter knifes, my lady. Not everyone can get such a lovely weapon as you have, since not everyone was born lucky enough to be the kings niece. Simply put: you need me, to afford your petty little band of people who want to save the world. Because, you said I undermine your troops, but these are hardly troops, hell, the militia of the shittiest village in Vahili has more balls than these people do!”[/b]

Without making too much of a move, he pulled the dagger from his jerkin slowly while trying to keep Buxton focussed on his face while talking to her. If she'd notice there'd be hell. As soon as it was fully out, he would quickly poke it into Buxton's neck, not hard enough to penetrate the skin, but hard enough to make sure she'd notice. [b]"Now I suggest you let go of my throat before you kill me, or I kill you. Well, I'm pretty sure you'd kill me, but that'd be no fun.”[/b]

Contrary to what he probably expected, Lady Buxton simply gave a smile of her own - one filled with malice and spite. She moved closer to him, causing him to have to bring back the knife slightly (lest he let her impale herself). "Try it." she dared as her hand tightened around his throat. With the adrenaline pumping through her system, her already dark eyes turned almost to black as her irises dilated. Her demon-like eyes locked onto his as she waited for him to make a move. If he was brazen enough to push the blade into her neck he would certainly kill her, but not before she would repay the favour. Even if he did manage to kill her and escape the room unharmed, there would be no way he could get past the others downstairs.

Orwen didn't expect her to walk into the blade, but he certainly expected her to not give a damn. He pulled back the blade slightly, but kept it there on her throat regardless. It wasn't there so much to kill her than it was there to ensure she would not kill him. Atleast this way she'd have to go through the movements to get rid of the dagger, which might give Orwen the time to headbutt her and run away if he had to. [b]"Now now, this proves exactly what I thought, you have no clue about listening to others, and only about raising your voice so loud that you sound like a man. Killing you would be useless, because while I have money and economical insight, I have no leadership skills. Surely Chester does, but would he be happy with me if I killed you? I imagine not, since he's obviously in love with you. I sometimes wonder if he likes you because of your tits, or because he likes your manliness, but that's aside the point..”[/b]

He smiled back at Buxton, who was now awkwardly close to his face, so close that he could smell her. The two seemed to be trying very hard to out-grin eachother, although Orwen was decisively more natural at grinning. [b]"Now, either kiss me, fall on my bed and let me take you like a slave, or back off. There is no need to kill eachother. [i]Yet.[/i] Even someone as dumbfounded as you must realize that you need me for now.”[/b]

[b]"That's enough."[/b] came a cold commanding voice from the doorway. It was Sir Chester, and he clearly wasn't happy at what he was seeing. Lady Buxton took a deep breath before releasing her grip on Orwen, pushing him back slightly as she did so. [b]"Now I suggest you drop the knife Master Orwen, because if not I'll be forced to use mine."[/b] he tapped the pummel of his sword.

[b]"Sure thing, [i]sir.[/i]”[/b] he replied with a snarky tone, unhappy that Chester was telling him to back off when it was Buxton that had attacked him. Another unfair show of 'justice' according to knights - a knight can never be in the wrong after all. He softly poked Buxton with the knife, not enough to harm her but probably enough to irritate her once more, before releasing it. It clanked on the floor and Orwen ticked it away with his feet. [b]"Now, Chester, I suggest you keep this pitbull lined before all your funds evaporate. I have my ways, as you know, and I am sure you'd like to sleep under furs once we reach the North.”[/b] He said to Chester, seemingly ignoring Buxton completely as he looked right through her. [b]"Unless you can get Buxton to keep you warm by laying on top of you. Although I-.”[/b]

[b]"That's enough!"[/b] he repeated, growing tired of the little exchange. The words themselves did not affect him, as his emotions were as tough as the steel that he wielded. [b]"Lady Buxton, go check on the others. I believe the priest is in the next room."[/b] he ordered, seemingly fine with telling his superior what to do. He waited in silence as she stomped out of the room, and it wasn't until the door shut that he looked back at Orwen and opened his mouth once more. [b]"You realise that you're digging yourself an early grave? You've only been here five minutes and half the Consano wants to rip out your throat. How do you expect to survive once we leave civilisation behind?"[/b] Chester spoke calmy, almost in a friendly way. There was a concern in his voice but it wasn't personal. He walked over to the dagger and picked it up off the floor with a snort and a shake of his head.

Orwen couldn't help but look at Buxton's ass as she left. Before she managed to shut the door, he whistled quickly. He'd risk it all to make her this angry again. Then he refocussed on Chester in front of him. [b]"Perhaps 'tis better to ask her why she is bothering the man that feeds her. Do they not tell her to not bite the hand that feeds her in the knightly table thing, whatever the crazy king has come up with as a title for that disastrous group of would-be knights? Is it not so that she decided to, obviously, insult me in the inn? No? [i]You[/i] wouldn't say so, knight, because she is like you. Is it not her that attacked me to begin with? Ofcourse, if you ask her, no. I came onto her. But let it be clear, I care little for these people, or for her. The reason I'm here is because Vahili is ultimately my country, and I'd hate to see it covered in the undead bodies of my kinsmen. I could not care less who hates me, since most people hate me the moment they see me. But I tell you, [i]I[/i] invested in this company, [i]I[/i] see it's worth and [i]I[/i] see how we can get to the North. Not Buxton. She is here to lead, and as far as I know, leading doesn't mean yelling at others and attacking them, good sir Chester. Besides, is it not your task, as leader of this company, to protect those in it, and not kill those in it? Just food for thought.”[/b]

Chester let out a thoughtful huff before replying. "[i]She[/i] came up with the idea to form the Consano. [i]She[/i] leads the Consano. Whether you like it or not, she is just as vital a part of this venture as [i]you[/i]. That said, she was certainly foolish to attack you like that. Not that she couldn't have killed you of course," he let out an empty chuckle, "You need to consider that she is here to lead, as you just said, which requires her showing authority. You try to take or undermine that authority, and you force her to react. But if you stay quiet and you do your job, then I can make sure that incidents like this never occur again." Once again Sir Chester tapped the pommel of his sword. Without waiting for a reply he spun on his heel and headed out of the room. He didn't need a response; he would see soon enough whether or not Orwen could keep himself out of trouble. 

[hr]
[centre][h3]Lady Buxton and Gawain[/h3][/centre]

Lady Buxton left Orwens room and slammed the door behind her. As the adrenaline quickly started to wear off she felt her legs tremble slightly, which pissed her off. She lent against a wall and took deep breaths to help herself calm down, but she could still hear the arrogant son-of-a-bitch through the door and thought that she could still smell the foul stench of his breath. She felt her stomach twist and knot as she remembered the words he spoke, how he spoke of having his way with her. She would rather bathe in the slug-pits of Corisi than sleep with him. Better yet, she would rather go back in there and castrate him so that no other woman would have to sleep with him again. She had heard that he liked to rape and torture slaves, and although the sources were somewhat unreliable, she readily believed it. A tear formed in her eye and she quickly wiped it away. It was unusual for her to lose her temper, but this man seem well versed in the art of getting under peoples skin. [i]"I should have just killed him"[/i] she regretfully told herself. There was no use thinking about it more though, and so she pushed herself off the wall and proceeded to the next room.

[b][i]KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK[/i][/b]

Gawain had fallen asleep, but the the barking of his dog woke him up again. [b]"Damnit Bravery, go back to- wait..”[/b] The words he spoke were drowsy and slowly spoken, but then he realised that someon was knocking on the door. Slowly he got up, rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and walked to the door. It had been open all along, like he had said. [b]"Yes? What is- oh, it's you, lady Buxton. Please, enter. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone to bed, you told us you'd come by. I'm rambling again, am I not? S-sorry.”[/b] Gawain's calm demeanor that he had obtained when speaking with Karen vanished again, and he was back to his nervous self. These men and women were imposing, with their strength and martial prowess. And here he was, a priece with a blunt greatsword on his back. Nothing that could be done he supposed. He slowly walked backwards and into the room, letting Buxton follow him at will. Gawain sat down on the edge of the bed, placing a hand on Bravery's head and ruffling his hand through it, before he itched the dog behind it's ear. It perched it head up and moved it's head to follow Gawain's hand, forcing the man to rub where it was best.

[b]"I heard yelling in the room next door, but I was afraid that it was simply Orwen and you argueing again. You two.. are.. something else.”[/b] Gawain would've used different words had he been speaking to Karen or Sarah, but since it was the lady herself in front of him, he could hardly call her a hard ass. 

[b]"My apologies Father." she said sincerely, "I'm afraid our [i]sponsor[/i] has a way of getting under people's skins."[/b] She took a seat on his bed, her posture remaining tense.

Her words caused Gawain to laugh, hard. A father, he? [b]"I don't fashion myself a Father. I don't think I am even older than you, and if I am, then it wouldn't be by much.”[/b] he said, rather abruptly and rashly. He quickly realised his error and quickly added, [b]"N-not that you look old, the contrary, you look young and beautiful! I mean-”[/b] He was only making it worse, and he ended up laying his head into his two palms and resting his elbows on his knees. [b]"Yes, you.. must know what I mean, surely. [/b]

Lady Buxton let out a soft chuckle and looked down away from his eyes, more to save him from embarrassment than herself. She was not unused to the advances of men, and in her younger days had been forced to put up with hordes of bachellors from the court trying to take her hand; she was sixth in line to the throne after all. Gawain didn't seem to be coming onto her though, he just struck her as being nice (if not a little bit goofy). [b]"Thank you, [i]I think[/i]"[/b] she said light-heartedly. 

[b]''Regardless, I think you are right. But you must realize that you were born above him, and he was born with nothing. You can hardly expect him to respect you when you treat him like the dirt he was born to be. He now has power, and those who never had anything wield power badly. It would be like..”[/b] 

Gawain took a moment and started speaking very softly to himself, causing Buxton to only see his lips moving. Meanwhile, Bravery the dog would only stare at Buxton, his head laying on his paws as he was seemingly bored by the entire situation. Then Gawain looked up again and continued. [b]"It would be like Emil and the Apple! Emil was born poor, like Orwen, and was then given an apple by God who had come to pity him. Emil never had anything, so he promptly ate all of the apple without thinking. Then he had nothing again. That is Orwen - he doesn't think about what he had, or what he is, or perhaps even what he can be. He only thinks about how he can get more apples, or in his case, power and money.”[/b]

It would all appear a bit meaningless and vague to Buxton and Gawain realised this - it was his way of speaking after all. So he attempted to clarify. [b]"Shamelessly pointing out his origins was not necessarily bad, he was behaving rather rudely after all, but with a man like him, it is better to tempt him with apples than to beat him with a stick. Do you see what I mean, milady?”[/b] His wording seemed rather formal and polite, especially given the fact that he was so nervous earlier, but when talking about religious topics he seemed to liven up a bit.

Buxton smiled in response and felt herself relax a bit. She knew little of the Word of Light, but the parable was not completely lost on her. [b]"I know what you mean. But-"[/b] she stopped herself from complaining and instead let out a weary sigh. [b]"I'm sure I won't be the only person that he will clash with. I hoped that I could put some fear into him and stop him from running his mouth, but that would seem an impossible task."[/b] she let herself flop back and her head bounced slightly as it hit Gewain's pillow. However no sooner that she let herself get comfortable did she quickly pull herself back up so she could speak to her recruit eye to eye. [b]"Enough about that. I am here to talk about you. Why, Gawain Rochilde, do you wish to join the Consano? What are your goals and motivations?" [/b]

Gawain was surprised by the nature of the question, rather personal and sudden. He felt like laying back, down on his bed to think about the question, but it seemed that lady Buxton had gotten in the way and he didn't want to come on to her as strange and flirty, so he decided [i]not[/i] to lay on top of her to assert his dominance. So all he could do was come up with an answer quickly, and inadvertently more than likely tell her the truth. [b]"Well, my parents fell to the plague. My sister.. probably did too, although I could not confirm that. I suppose she might be alive, but I've not received word. Either way, once I heard of the Consano, it was simply a choice I made. I didn't think about it, but I don't have anywhere else to go. I believe in both the religions in Vahili, so the Church won't take me back, and I have no way of surviving now that the plague has caused panic amongst the populace. Nobody wants religion now, they want safety. All I can do is join the Consano and help save Vahili.”[/b]

His reasons seemed good, [i]if they were true[/i]. Lady Buxton wanted to comfort him and went to put a hand on his shoulder, but stopped short and pulled it back. She had to keep relationships professional, and keep herself distanced from these recruits. This was not like the Cliffton Guard, these were not friends that were likely to be around for years, they were people that would likely die in the comming weeks. Moreover, she knew that she couldn't afford to really trust anyone. "Fair enough. Many people have found themselves in the same position, although few have tried to join us. What skills and knowledge do you have to offer?"

Gawain was not sure what these questions were really for. Wasn't it enough that he signed up to begin with? Reluctantly, he still answered her questions. [b]"Many people are not me, milady Buxton. I can offer.. well, I can swing my sword. And I have religious knowledge. Maybe it can help, we don't know what the cause of this plague is, it might be religious, although I suspect magic. Regardless religion can comfort people, I suppose I could help calm things down if Orwen gets on your nerves.”[/b] He would offer lady Buxton a quick smile and then add on to the comment. [b]"Or console people if you hit them, like you did Orwen.”[/b]

[b]"Hahaha!"[/b] she chuckled, [b]"Hopefully it won't come to that, but if I do bash any heads I'll be sure to send them your way."[/b] As she shared words with him she felt a pang of guilt at the way she and Sir Chester initially treated him when he came in. His theatrics appeared to have just been his way of showing his dedication, and had she listened to him then she probably wouldn't have to be asking these questions now. [b]"What do you know about the North? And do you know anything at all that might help us against the plague?"[/b]

Gawain scratched his head comically. There was nothing he really knew about the plague but he wanted to impress lady Buxton, so she'd let him join the Consano. [b]"I know that you hit them in the head. And what I know of the North is that they follow a different religion than the regulars. Even the old gods have different names, and seem to differ from tribe to tribe.”[/b] By now the dog Bravery had gotten up and laid down again in Gawain's lap, who seemed content to scratch the dog behind it's ear some more. This gave him some time to think about any additional things he would know about the North or the plague. [b]"I suppose burning them works as well, as long as you make sure that they are thoroughly burned, not just a minute. But to do that you'd probably need to incapacitate them. Cut the legs, or the muscles in the legs. Let them burn for a good hour, and I think they'll die. But I have no proof of this.”[/b]

Lady Buxton nodded along as he listed what little he knew. She look at his eyes the entire time that he spoke and, from what she could tell, he didn't appear to be holding anything back. "Thank you Gawain. In that case I'll let you and your companion here get back to sleep. Expect to be woken up at Dawn. We will assemble outside, go over the mission, and then head off." She stood up and walked towards the door, "Good night recruit."