[IC] It begins with a map....

[Kelewen]

The old man had lived in a little house on the very top of a hill. Most of the town considered him eccentric or downright odd. He hardly ever ventured out of his home anymore but when he did, he would tell tales to anyone that would listen about strange places and mysterious creatures.

But two days ago in the common room of the pub, in the middle of a grand tale about a huge beast with wings and scales, the man had simply fallen out of his chair and died. As he had no apparent heirs, the townsfolk gave him a small funeral and then promptly walked up the hill to help themselves to the old man's valuables.

Glenn, who had always been considered a bit on the dumb side, came with them. He had to duck in order to fit through the small door, his large shoulders brushing against the frame. Inside was cluttered, but Glenn made his way toward a large bookshelf. He had never learned to read, but liked to look at the pictures in books. He picked up a large volume and opened the cover. A worn piece of parchment fell to the floor.

Carefully, Glenn unfolded it to reveal a map with a large X marked on it. "What's this?" He asked the first person that walked past.

[Pacifista]

“It’s a shame really, a damn shame. Such a long historied life, and I barely even knew the man! Such regret...”

But regret was the last thing the moping youth was feeling right now. He held his hands over his pale blue eyes as he pretended to weep as the small funeral wound down, his worn sandals keeping out of the dirt of the small cemetery. He was lightly dressed, wearing only a ratty pair of brown shirts that went to his knees and a loose, tan vest. As those who had been at the funeral began to head to the old man’s small, lonesome house, the boy casually followed, eyes unsalted by tears, scratching at his short black hair.

He was no fool: even though he’d just blown into town, he happened to hear what was going on: to die heirless and without a will in a town this size meant his possessions were up for grabs. He wasn’t dumb enough to pretend he was related to the old man: the timing would be far too coincidental for any but an idiot to believe him. He just planned to take what he could from the house and be on his way. He lightly rubbed his stomach, trying to remember the last time he’d eaten something he hadn’t found on the ground.

Slipping into the house, he could hear the clatter of some of the random townfolk shuffling through, taking whatever they desired. The boy went to one of the empty rooms: the kitchen. Going through the cabinets and pantry, it wasn’t as well stocked as he’d hoped. He did find a small, stale loaf of bread with a bit of mold on it stuffed away into the corners of one of the cabinets, and a lightly bruised apple as well. Most of the other stuff required preparation, and the boy wasn’t in the mood. Taking out a dull, chipped knife, he cut at the bread, taking off the moldy bits, devouring the rest easily, his hunger making the stale bread easy to swallow. Already feeling a bit of relief at getting something in his stomach, he wiped the red apple on his vest before taking a large bite. As he chewed, he moved into the other room, wanting to look around a bit more.

Before he could go far, he heard a voice ask him, “What’s this?” Looking around, he saw another boy, but to call him a boy was a tad misleading. The street rat was dwarfed by the local. The wanderer noticed the large book in his hand, and the bookshelf nearby, guessing the old man was studious. Swiping the paper from Glenn, he looked over it, swallowing his food in surprise as he saw what it was. He coughed for a moment, trying not to choke, before he looked over it again in wonder.

Clearing his throat, he grinned at Glenn, explaining, “Looks to me like a map! Of the whole kingdom of Boroden by the looks of it, and a little beyond it too.” He tapped his finger on the map, pointing at the word within the borders of the shape displayed. He continued, lowering his tone, “No cities marked though...but that ‘X’? Oh, you know that’s got to be important. You thinking treasure? I’m thinking treasure.” In the back of his mind, he wasn’t sure about telling this stranger all his thoughts, but he didn’t seem to be the sharpest sword in the armory, plus he was the size of a brick house...the street rat could work with that.

Rolling up the map, the boy greeted, “What’s your name pal? You can call me Roan.”

[Kelewen]

Glenn listened intently to Roan's explanation, trying to keep up with his train of thought. The word "treasure" in particular stuck with Glenn and visions of piles and piles of gold coins entered his mind.

He blinked a few times as it seemed to take a moment to finish processing all that Roan had just said. "Hmm..." he pondered, scratching his chin thoughtfully. Finding treasure would sure beat the hard labor of farming. As the boy rolled up the map, Glenn watched him, waiting for the much smaller boy to return it.

"My name is Glenn," the large youth said slowly, eyes still on the rolled up map. "Hey, Roan, you really think there might be treasure there? Old man Calhoun liked to talk bout treasure. And 'bout slayin' monsters. You think there might be monsters too?"

[Pacifista]

After rolling up the parchment, Roan took yet another bite of his apple as Glenn asked a few questions. Noticing the hulk eyeing the map, Roan handed it back (though a tad reluctantly) . The thought of monsters didn’t sit well with him, but the risk could have very well been worth the reward. Roan had his moments of insight, and figured that it would be best not to rush into things. He thought of perhaps snatching the map and leaving Glenn, but his size was too notable an asset to ignore, and he didn’t seem to despise Roan yet, so that was a plus.

“Could be monsters, maybe there, maybe on the way. Bandits are always something to worry about too,” Roan warned. Thinking on it a bit harder, he finally said, “Well, since you seem all for it, I say we go at it. Worth a shot at least.” Turning his head, Roan muttered to himself, “Not that I have much better to do...” Clearing his throat, he said, “But traveling and adventuring isn’t all fun and games. We’re going to need supplies. Unfortunately, I have nothing, so unless you have money saved up you’re willing to invest, we’re going to have to, er, acquire some funds. You’re a local: you wouldn’t happen to have a list of the five wealthiest houses in town lying around, would you?”

Taking another bite of his apple, Roan took a look at the bookshelf, not seeing anything but books. Turning his ears elsewhere, he guessed most of the rest of the notable objects in the house were in the greedy paws of others, but he’d be willing to give it another look if he could get some alone time. Being something of a private person, he didn’t like people watching him work.

[Kelewen]

Glenn looked relieved when Roan handed the map back and decided right away that this must be a trustworthy individual to return something as valuable as a treasure map. He tucked the parchment safely into his shirt to guard it. Then grinned, already convinced there was indeed treasure to be found and that it would be a simple matter of walking to the spot of the 'X' and digging it up. "Worth a shot..." he said, echoing Roan's words.

"I have 9 silver pennies..." he announced proudly to Roan. "Will that get us enough supplies?" he asked, willing to dump his entire life's savings into this endeavor. "And ole Miss Dotta gave me a shovel awhile back. We could use it to dig up the treasure." The widow, Dotta, gave Glenn shelter and food in return for his help tending her livestock and garden. The thought of her made Glenn pause for a moment. "Guess I'd better make sure Miss Dotta won't mind too much if I leave for a couple days," he said, unaware that their quest might take considerably longer than a couple days.

[Pacifista]

Roan scratched his head at Glenn’s proclamation of his life’s savings. He figured a farmer wouldn’t have much more that that though. Doing some math in his head, he said, “That should get us what we need...” He added mentally, And I can just get what I want myself. Throwing his apple into the air and catching it without touching the parts he’d taken bites of, he said, “Alright, sounds like a plan. No sense in leaving without saying bye to your folks.” He paused suddenly for a moment, before heading to the door, quickly stuffing his face with the rest of his apple. Exiting the house, he tossed the core aside. Looking down the hill, he saw the rest of Noarun. Looking to the outskirts, he saw some fields, fit enough for livestock. Taking a guess, Roan took few steps in that direction, before wondering why he was heading that way. Then he realized he didn’t exactly to want Glenn ditch him and take the map and money. Not that he seemed like the type to do it, but still, things happened. Maybe he could bum a less useless knife off them or something...

As they walked, Roan added, “Oh yeah, fair warning, it's a little far. Might take more than a couple days." Mentioning the map again also made him consider trying to find a more detailed one somewhere, to try and get a better bead on where they were headed, and get there easier.

[Kelewen]

Glenn followed after Roan, since he was headed in the right direction to go to Dotta's little farmstead. He looked slightly worried at the mention that it would be more than a couple day trek. "I hope Ms Dotta don't mind too much. How far you think it is, Roan?"

The unlikely pair followed the path that wound it's way down toward a slow-moving river where a small house sat nestled in a wide bend. The widow's little place looked tired, though it was obvious that it had some recent repairs to the thatched roof and to parts of the fence that held a few head of cattle.

"Ms Dotta!" Glenn called as they walked up the narrow pathway and a woman who was probably in her thirties appeared only a few moments later, wiping her hands on her apron. "Just in time for lunch," she said, holding the gate open for them both and giving Roan an appraising look.

"This is Roan," the bulky young man said by way of explanation, ducking his head slightly to enter the door.

[Pacifista]

“Gonna be more than a week to get there, and probably a little longer to get back, heh heh heh,” Roan answered, imagining that pockets full of gold might make travel slower. His fantasies of entertainment ended as they finally reached the farm. Looking around, Roan kind of like the atmosphere. As they approached, Ms. Dotta stepped out, making Roan blink in surprise, thinking she’d be a bit older. Suddenly a bit self-conscious, Roan realized he probably looked like...well, a street rat. After Glenn’s short introduction, Roan turned on his charm, saying with a wink as he followed Glenn, “How do you do?”

Entering the house, he looked around the quaint place, before casually taking a seat, acting natural. As Dotta returned, he insisted, trying to be polite, “I don’t mean to intrude: I just ate, so no need to worry about me.” His eye twitched for a moment as he had a sudden desire for something homemade, knowing the bit of bread and that apple wouldn’t sustain him for that long, but he had a proposal, so modesty and lack of pushiness were crucial here. Unable to resist, he made a request, “Well, a glass of water would be nice...”

Getting to the point, he cleared his throat, asking the woman, “Now, I was wondering if I could borrow your boy for a few weeks, maybe a month? Poor old Calhoun, Erther above rest his soul, seems to have some unfinished business. It’s kind of a walk, but we don’t except to go uncompensated. I think it will be well worth it. Call it an adventure if you will.”

[Kelewen]

Dotta followed them into the little kitchen, listening carefully to Roan's proposal. The widow looked a tad uncertain, but also thoughtful, not ruling out the idea immediately. Glenn sat down on the chair next to Roan, the spindly legs creaking ominously under his weight. Dotta turned her gaze to him as she ladled scoops of pottage into three wooden bowls. "And you wish to go?" she asked him, setting a bowl on the table in front of each of them, then poured each a cup of ale due to the water sometimes causing illness.

Glenn was her deceased husband's second cousin and Dotta had taken him in last year to help her with the farm chores. While he was certainly old enough to make his own choices in life, Dotta still felt a certain amount of responsibility for him. He was polite and hardworking, but she knew he would make an easy mark for someone with a will to manipulate him.

Glenn nodded enthusiastically, "I could bring us back enough coin to... well..." the big man actually looked to be blushing. "Maybe Scarlett will..." he faltered and Dotta smile, knowing he was sweet on the girl that lived in the neighboring farmstead.

"I think I could spare you for a few weeks then." She turned back to Roan. "You kin of Calhoun?"

[Pacifista]

Always glad for free food and drink, Roan accepted his food quietly, taking a sip of his ale before listening to the responses. When Glenn turned red and mentioned ‘Scarlett’, Roan nodded, as if concurring. Whatever ideas Glenn had, Roan could probably back them, at least until they were out of Noarun.

As Dotta allowed Glenn to leave for a few weeks, Roan quickly took another sip of ale, burying his pleased smile, as he nodded. He swallowed hard when Dotta asked him about Calhoun. “Er...” Roan said, pausing. Something popping into his head, he finally responded, “I’m kin of an old friend of his, who had some business with him. Or had, rather, it was all on something from a while ago, I’d be surprised if Calhoun remembered in the first place. My old man probably just sent me to get some hair on my chest, build character, yadda yadda. Then I ran into Glenn, found a mutual interest, and here we are, prepping to leave as soon as possible. I think it’ll be a good experience...and the money wouldn’t hurt either, let’s be honest.” Taking his bowl, he gulped down a bit of the surprisingly tasty stew before continuing, “I’d tell you where we were going, but the directions were pretty vague, I need to check out a couple of things first...”

Finishing, Roan said, “So, if we have you’re blessing regarding our adventure, any advice or help you could give would be much appreciated!” He smiled inwardly, feeling his ability to spew bullcrap almost on command was coming in handy once more. Hopefully.

[Kelewen]

Glenn finished his meal and Dotta looked at him with a smile. "Would you fetch me a few armloads of wood for the fire?" she asked him and the big man obliged quickly, heading back outside and leaving the widow alone with Roan.

Her eyes turned to the youth that was hardly bigger than herself. She didn't sense any maliciousness in Roan, but her concern was still evident. "I don't mind Glenn headed off for a bit. In fact I think it'll do him a world of good to see something other than Noarun. But you make sure he gets back here, okay? My heart's not ready for losing another one yet."

She sat back in her chair and continued, not particularly expecting a response to that last statement. "Only help I really have to offer is to pack you two a bit of food that'll see you through a few days."

[Pacifista]

Roan only had a small bit of his pottage when Dotta sent Glenn out for a moment. He tensed a little, sensing the woman had some words for him. She took a moment to ensure he’d feel guilty later, which left him with some mixed feelings. She didn’t think she was just going to ditch him, did she?

He finished the last of his food as Dotty made her offer to give them a little food. Thinking it over, Roan figured that it would probably last them to the next town over, if he remembered correctly. “Well, I couldn’t ask for more! The support is very welcome,” he said as he stood, draining the last of his ale. Taking to the door, he said, “I’m going to give Glenn a hand or two with that firewood.” With that, he slipped out the door, hoping Dotty would whip up their rations while they worked. Roan was eager to get moving again, the tantalizing treasure awaiting him putting a healthy spring in his step.

Bumping into Glenn a few feet from the door, he tapped him on the shoulder as he passed, requesting, “Hey, don’t forget to grab your money before we leave.” Shuffling off in the direction Glenn had come from, he ran through a list in his head. If they didn’t have to worry about food, it would make it a little easier to get what they needed. Roan made a short list: skins for something to drink, a couple of cloaks so they didn’t get soaked in the rain, a knife that could cut more than fruit and bread, rope was always handy. He walked a little aimlessly as he crunched numbers in his head, before finally stumbling over the firewood pile, tripping a little, catching himself before he face planted. Brushing himself off, he grabbed a couple pieces, turning to head back, mind still buzzing. Returning to the house, he deposited the firewood, before dusting his hands off, satisfied with doing the bare minimum.

[Kelewen]

"I'll get it!" Glenn said with an enthusiastic smile. "Sure is exciting, Roan!" He went inside and dropped his large stack of firewood next to the hearth in the little kitchen, then climbed the ladder that led to the loft, which acted as his sleeping quarters. Sitting down on the straw filled mattress, Glenn fished his large hand around under the bed until he found the little box that contained his 9 silver coins and deposited the money into his shirt pocket, right next to the treasure map.

Meanwhile, Dotta busied herself packing what food she could spare for the duo; a bit of cheese sealed in wax, two loaves of bread, and even some beef jerky.

When Glenn climbed back down the ladder, she handed the package of food to Roan. She then picked up the sturdy and sharp woodman's axe that rested near the door. "Glenn, I want you to take this," she said.

He took the offered axe, but looked confused. "Okay, but I don't expect I'll have to chop much wood, Ms Dotta" he said, experimenting with how to carrying the thing on his belt.

"I'd feel better if you took it along anyways," she said with only half a smile, still appearing slightly worried about letting him go. "You just never know..."

[Pacifista]

Moments after Roan had finished with the firewood, Glenn returned from above just as Ms Dotta handed Roan the parcel of food. After spending a moment trying to find an easy way to carry it, he decided instead to just give it to Glenn later, simply holding it over his shoulder for now.

Dotta took a moment to give Glenn an axe to grind, insisting it was for the best. Roan concurred, “You sure about that? It gets cold at night, my friend.” Speaking of which, Roan added ‘something to help light fires’ to his list of things to pick up. Thinking they were about finished here, Roan said, “Well, see you in a month, Ms Dotta! If this goes well...on second thought, let’s not count our chickens before they hatch.” With one last smile, the boy headed for the door.

Exiting the farmhouse, he made his way back to town, keeping a steady pace to allow Glenn to keep pace with no problem. Once the two were away from the farm, Roan said, “Well, she was nice. I wouldn’t expect everyone we run into to be that nice though: just a fair warning. Now...” Turning to Glenn, he asked, “You know the locals, where’s the best place in town to get some wares?”

[Kelewen]

Glenn gave Dotta a somewhat awkward hug, then hurried after Roan, catching up quickly.

The small town did not have many options, so Glenn answered without having to think too hard. "Winston Crowder sells stuff to travellers that pass through. Sometimes Dotta trades him cow's milk if she needs cloth or a tool or something. You think he'd have all the stuff we'll need to get the treasure?"

Thinking harder, he remembered Winston had been at Calhoun's home earlier, picking through the old man's items along with half the villagers. It probably wouldn't be surprising if quite a few of old Calhoun's items made their way into Winston's little shop.

[Pacifista]

Nodding at Glenn’s suggestion, Roan replied, “It’s as good a start as any! Lead the way.”

The pair reached the town proper, going down a path and taking a turn to reach a two story building, the lower story marked by a glass-less window to display some wares. As Roan approached the door, he could hear some voices from around the corner. “But we just carried it down the hill!” complained what sounded to Roan like a boy a few years younger than him.

An older man hissed back, “You can complain about your arms hurting after having carried it up a hill, now get! You’ll get your pay when you bring me that bookshelf...books included!” Roan heard a few footsteps before a wiry, middle aged man stepped out from behind the shop, spotting Glenn and Roan with his beady eyes through oversized spectacles. “Oh, excuse me, just taking care of a...goods shipment, ahem,” Winston insisted, before reentering his store. Roan went in after him, going over his list in his head.

“What can I do you for?” Winston asked, rearranging some things as he spoke. Turning, he raised his eyebrow when he got a better look at Glenn, but didn’t say anything.

Trying to make it quick, roan but on one of his best smiles, replying, “Just a couple things for a little trip: some flint for starting fires, a good knife, two skins, two cloaks, and a good length of rope. Yeah, that should do it.”

“A trip, hmm?” Winston repeated. Mumbling to himself as he went about, grabbing a few things. He dropped a coil of rope onto a counter, put the empty skins there, then quickly went out back, returning with two cloaks and a stone after a few moments. He did a bit of fidgeting with his fingers, counting, before finally offering, “Six silver and 5 copper should do nicely. Might I also recommend-”

“No,” Roan said quickly.

Winston blinked, as if he’d never heard the word in his life. “W-what do you mean ‘no’?”

“Your recommendation. No thank you,” Roan insisted. He knew what he was probably about to hear, some one time offer just for him, because he liked the look of him. Unfortunately for Winston, Roan was slightly better at coming up with nonsense to spew, and everyone knew trying to cheat a cheat was a fool’s errand. Before Winston could continue, Roan grabbed at the rock, nabbing it before Winston even noticed. Turning it over in his hands, he noticed Winston’s eyes dart between Roan and the rock. Without hesitating, Roan tossed it out of the open window. Winston glared, opening his mouth, but Roan interrupted once more, “You think I can’t recognize flint? It was still half stained in dirt. Don’t tell me you didn’t pull it out of the ground five seconds ago.” Looking over everything again, he finished, “I won’t stand to be insulted: I’ll take everything for five silver flat. And if those skins break I’ll be patching them with some of yours.”

Winston gaped for a moment, before blurting, “Fine!” Roan smiled, before waving for Glenn to pay him as the street rat grabbed for the things. Spotting something else, he lifted a nearby dagger, slipping it into one of the skins nonchalantly as Winston was dealing with Glenn.

Throwing his cloak over his shoulders, rope over his shoulder, and one of the skins tied to his belt (knife hidden within), he flashed one last smile at Winston, saying, “You have a good day Mr. Crowder.” The old merchant, who hadn’t said his name, gave Roan a look of displeasure and befuddlement, waving for him to leave hastily.

Once the two were out, Roan said, “Well, I got what I needed. Wanna make one last stop? Let that friend of yours know you’ll be gone for a bit?” Roan was of course thinking of Scarlett. He didn’t pretend to know the details there, but even thinking about them made Glenn pleased, and Roan’s teenage mind could only think of ‘a girl’.

[Kelewen]

Glenn paid Winston the 5 silver pieces, counting them slowly out loud as he laid each in the shop keepers hand. While he had never learned to read, Dotta had taken the time to teach him basic counting, addition, and subtraction skills so that would not get cheated when dealing with money. Once satisfied he had paid the correct amount, he collected his new things, hanging his water skin next to the axe. The long handled axe did not escape Winston's attention and he eyed it curiously.

He waited for Roan to leave before asking Glenn, seemingly nonchalant, "Where you off to?"

The large man grinned. "To find treasure!" he announced excitedly. "Bye!" he said as he collected his cloak and hurried to catch up with Roan. Once outside, he fell in step beside his new companion.

"What friend?" Glenn asked, not following Roan's indirect comment.

Once it was clarified for him, his face turned visibly redder. "Oh! No ... no. I..." he stammered, looking flustered. "I want to surprise her when we're back." In his imagination, the treasure horde had just grown to include a beautiful jeweled necklace he could bestow upon Scarlett to win her affection.

[Pacifista]

At Glenn’s confusion, Roan kindly reminded him, “Ms Dotta mentioned Scarlett. Ring a bell?” At Glenn’s sheepish response, Roan praised himself on the accurate guess, before realizing he shouldn’t pride himself for reading such an open book. “Well, let’s get going then! That treasure ain’t gonna find itself,” Roan smiled, picking up his pace a little, heading closer and closer to the limits of the small town. The sky was still clear, the weather fair, and the roads clear as far as the eye could see on the slightly uneven terrain: a damn good day for travel.

As they reached the city limits, Roan took one last look back at Glenn and the two, keeping an eye over his shoulder. He subconsciously reached his hand down to his skin, where his shiny new knife was. Stopping for a moment, he readjusted himself, putting his new knife with his old one. He then made to keep moving, before glancing over his shoulder again, seeing some movement. Though Roan couldn’t tell, they were being tailed by a pair of village youths, the very same whom were helping Winston with his new ‘furniture shipment’ earlier. Slowing his pace to walk by Glenn, he asked, “Aside from Ms Dotta, no one knows we’re going anywhere, right?”

[Kelewen]

It sure was exciting, being on the road in search of the treasure that surely awaited them. Kind of made Glenn feel like some kind of hero from a story. He even fancied the axe at his belt some kind of weapon for slaying monsters and evil-doers, even though he didn't quite realize Dotta had more in mind than simply chopping firewood when she'd bestowed it upon him.

"I don't think so, Roan," Glenn said, thoughtfully. "We ain't been no where but home ...and to old Mr. Crowder's store. So just them."

[Pacifista]

“Is that so?” Roan mumbled, looking back over his shoulder. He expected not to see anyone, but their pursuers had stepped out of their cover, steadily approaching. Roan stopped, nudging Glenn and pointing them out, asking, “You recognize these kids?” Admittedly, they weren’t too much younger than Roan and Glenn, but Roan certainly wasn’t going to recognize them.

Once the two youths were in earshot, one of them called, “You there! The shorter one! Yeah, give back what you stole from Winston!” The two looked at each other with uncertainty, as if they weren’t sure what they were told was true or not, while Roan simply looked over to Glenn and shrugged.