[i]Clop-clop-clop-clop-clop….[/i]

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The noise of the hooves was the only thing to punctuate the carts movement. Nuln was rather far from Marienburg and more and more Hugo was finding it that he was wishing their trip had started in the Altdorf chapter house, even if Nuln was cozier to the man. Everyone would take turns at the reins, Jehan’s horse tied along to go after the cart when the Knight might feel the need to rest. The group would have had only a few hours to sleep after their short meeting and for them to end up being anything more than groggy would be a miracle. More and more the quietness of the group was starting to get to him, Hugo noticed. Everyone kept to themselves, and it was… unnerving. Not only that but he also saw it as unproductive given a team that spoke and bantered with one another was better able to cooperate in a hardy situation. 

This had to be rectified.

Hugo looked to his side at Sauer. Cultists of Morr would in the mental image of most be thin, bony men, mirroring their obsession. But Erwin looked more sinewy than thin, and wouldn’t bowl over after but a few meaty punches. Well, the road ahead was clear it seemed and thus there was no reason to not strike up a conversation with his charge, the noble reasoned.

“So, Sauer, sounds almost like sour eh? [i]Har-har[/i]. You have been to Tilea, right? Learned the tongue?”

Erwin broke from the mindless reading of the tome in his hairy hands as he was addressed, pulled from what had kept him occupied thus far on the trip they'd undertaken.

He faked a smile and a light chuckle at Hugo’s attempt of a joke. It'd been one he'd heard all throughout his life. He spoke up in the foreign tongue with a thick Middenlander accent.

"Sí, maestro."

“That’s good. Languages are useful in this profession. Learned many in university myself. All the Kislevarin dialects, the Classical Tongue, Riekspiel variants, Norse, Estalian - which they tell me is quite close to Tilean - and Bretton. I even dabbled in the languages of the aliens myself, I can speak Mootish rather well and I can at least make a sentence in the languages of the Dwarfs and Elves to have them understand me, though the arrogant buggers usually squeal in protest at how I say it. ‘Course I’ve not been much outside the Empire. Seen Bordelaux and Karak Kadrin, but that’s about it for foreign parts.” Feeling he had gabbled on too long himself, the noble turned the subject back to Erwin. “Beastmen now, I’ve seen them a lot in this job. Had many encounters with mutants yourself?” 

Erwin took in the information as it came, quickly archiving it, yet critically analyzing said qualifications Hugo claimed to possess. His opinion was that he was in the presence of a braggart, and an unabashed one at that. But perhaps that would be useful in the tasks to come.

"I know little of the language. Enough to ask a name and say a prayer or two. I thankfully don't need to do much talking in my profession." Erwin added to the conversation. "As for mutants, I have not had the distinct pleasure of encountering them beyond the deaths they supposedly caused."

“You’re in for a surprise, then.” Hugo laughed mirthlessly. “I’m sure you’ve fought men before. Well, think of fighting a man that’s too stupid to know when he’s beaten or even in pain; and that’s just the dumb little ungors. Gors are just like that but they got the size and strength of a beast, and bestigors… well you can see where this is going. More luck than skill involved with fighting them. Before you fellows I worked with the Black Badge under an Ulrican Priest. Man swung a hammer with the speed and grace of Witch Hunters and their feather-weight rapiers. It didn’t save him from getting gutted by a mutant, though. He fought them as if they were people, forgetting they had no care for parrying or self preservation much of the time and would swing right at you even as you are centimetres from breaking their skull. Not looking forward to meeting them again I’ll tell you that. I’ll take a good orc or cultist over the beastfolk any day.” 

The man took off his hat, and smoothed down his hair before putting it down. There was still much daylight, but somehow there was gloom. In combination with the untalkative party the mood of the noble soured very fast, and a slight paranoia crept upon him. The trees seemed to rustle more than they should have, bushes moved about. Once again, Hugo tried to distract himself. “Done much boating in your life? Might come in handy here. Got no sea legs, me. Thought I’d take to it naturally what with my father sailing all up and down the Reik, but apparently not. I’ll start hurling only a few hours into a sail, nasty business the water.” 

Erwin flicked his eyes to and from the tome which he read avidly throughout the conversation, settling his eyes on Hugo finally after it was clear the conversation was going further than simple pleasantries.

“They really have no sense of self preservation? Interesting.” Erwin mused, before going about answering the question posed in the latter of Hugo’s ramblings. “Boating? I’ve been on a few. Mainly river barges, but never out in open water. I’ve no proper sea legs to speak of.” He chuckled dryly, an empty gesture it seemed.

"Errr, my apologies, I said that wrong Master Sauer. Its more they're too stupid to properly use them. When they see an Imperial army a band of them will run leaving only droppings and piss behind. But they often just cannot tell their doom is here, if that clears it up my good chap. Regardless, bad sea legs is unfortunate. Maybe at least the elves will have some what with the Ulthuani marine tradition, eh? Perhaps the two of them can hold us as we both let our dinners fly out." 

Hugo scratched his nose. The conversation was fluid but… well, it only touched matters of their work truth be told, and it almost felt awkward. Now it could have been the prior paranoia, but it seemed the bushes and trees were getting more lively. Now that in and of itself wasn’t bad, but he hadn’t seen any squirrels or other creatures of the woods that would normally be to blame for disturbing the silence. The thought that the usual animals of the place had been frightened away started to preoccupy Hugo’s mind the moment it came to him. “So, [i]err[/i], you… like to read do you?” the man said, trying to sound nonchalant so that any ne’erdowells listening would not suspect he was looking out for them. “Say, you know who likes reading? That Elf, Karuhar, I reckon the two of you could get quite a bit from one another.”