[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/M8nuVBP.png[/img]
[h2][color=9e0b0f]Wilhelm the Black Blade[/color][/h2]
Husband of Onyx ([@Vesuvius00]) and Amalia ([@Belle])
Interacting with Onyx & Amalia[/center]

A half hour came and went as Wilhelm watched the horizon, waiting for the sight of his servant to come galloping up. He was late. Another ten minutes passed before he appeared, riding the horse up the hill at a somewhat leisurely pace. Wilhelm rode down to meet him, his mouth set in an irate line. 

[color=9e0b0f][b]"You are late,"[/b][/color] he stated coldly.

[b]"I am, my lord,"[/b] the driver replied, [b]"I paused along the way to let the horse drink and rest. It would not do if we were slowed because of its fatigue, or so I thought."[/b]

[color=9e0b0f][b]"Did you now. How remarkably considerate of you. What is the status of the pass?"[/b][/color] Wilhelm inquired.

[b]"The reports were accurate my lord,"[/b] came the response, [b]"A multitude of boulders barricade the pass, and it will be at least a day before they can be cleared. Additionally, one of the men told me there were whispers of ambushes on the High Road, as you presumed."[/b]

[color=9e0b0f][b]"I see. Then our course is clear,"[/b][/color] Wilhelm said as he turned his horse to return to the carriage, [color=9e0b0f][b]"Prepare the horse, and as soon as they are ready to move again we make for the marsh."[/b][/color]

[b]"As you say, my lord."[/b]

They returned to the wagon then, and as the driver reequipped the horse with the carriage equipment Wilhelm dismounted and strode to the side of the carriage. He opened the door and stepped up to look down on his brides, carefully passing his gaze over them both to ensure they had weathered the trip thus far and had not attempted anything rash. Then he spoke.

[color=9e0b0f][b]"There has been a change in our travel plans. The most direct route has been blocked, and we will be traversing a marsh to reach our destination instead,"[/b][/color] he said imperiously, [color=9e0b0f][b]"I tell you this so you know, and also so you will be observant. I suspect treachery on the road, and I will not suffer it. Keep your eyes and ears open, and should anything appear out of the ordinary or suspicious, you will notify me immediately. Is that clear?"[/b][/color]

Sometime later the driver called that the horses were ready, and Wilhelm responded that he was as well. They set off down a different road to the west, one that winded and twisted as it neared an area blanketed by a layer of almost sickly green fog and woven of black, gnarled trees. Pools of fetid water began to appear and grow larger as they grew closer, and the already bedeviled tones of Drakka's fauna grew ever more vile. The pace slowed as the horses and their operators carefully looked for the path, gingerly stepping where the ground was hard and evading the pitfalls and murky traps of the marsh road. All the while, Wilhelm kept his eyes sweeping back and forth, his ears raised, and one hand on the scabbard of his sword at all times...

[hider=Summary]
The driver returns. The pass is in fact blocked, and they take a detour through the marsh. It's dark, it's gloomy, it's spooky, and it smells bad.
[/hider]