"Ambush!"
That was the first thought to flash through her mind. Her hand moved instinctively to her sword's hilt while taking one uneasy step backwards towards her mount. Eyes darted in all directions, ears straining for the sound of movement in the dark. Nobody came. There was no cry of anger, no rushing of bodies from behind nearby trees.
The snow fell just as quietly as always through the nights here. Her body relaxed and she stepped forward again to examine what it was she found exactly. There was not as much blood as she initially expected. Very little, in fact, but what was visible had clearly trailed off to the east. While the drift the cloak was caught in had been large enough to easily conceal a body, she was relieved to find none.
She turned the cloak over in her hands then, examining it from end to end. The bottom corner had been torn away but it was otherwise unmarred. She began to fold it to stow for later when something fell out of the folds into the snow. A charm of a familiar make but tied with a blue ribbon instead of yellow. Holding it up and shaking the snow off of it she muttered quietly to herself. "Tamsin."
The charm was pocketed and the cloak stowed with her things. Coatleque then went to work kicking over more snow and covering the trail as best she could so no others would follow. By her estimation whoever fled away headed east and with long strides and heavy boots. Much too large for Tamsin. Wounded as well. Content for now, she climbed back atop her bird and continued east along the road.
Exhausted, bleary-eyed, and having nodded off more than once along the way, she would not even remember what time it was when they arrived at the fortress. The false glow of morning could already be seen on the horizon - or at least it would have been save for the mountains blocking the view. The promise of a bed just yalms away gave her enough renewed energy that she dropped to her feet and led the mount to the stable. The hand on night watch seemed equally annoyed and surprised to have a customer at this time of night.
"Cold one, ain't it? Heh, course," he muttered amusedly, "it's always a cold one. You'll be want'n a room, I take it?"
The paladin pulled her hood back then to let her hair fall forward with a slight shake. "It's me, Tilda.", she rasped. One of the many aliases she had taken throughout her tenure. For the past two moons she had been leading a small group of paladins undercover at the Observatory to the south. An unofficial outreach to protect the Sultanate's interests within the current diplomatic upheaval. There was a whole new market to be had in Ishgard once the war was concluded, and Ul'dah would be sure to stake the largest claim. "Is there any work tae be had fer a discount?"
"Sure, there's always work. Can't guarantee it's nice work, though."
She staggered as her head shook. "Ye know we're good for it. My brother should be fishing tae the south. I can send him up for payment."
Of course by 'brother' she really meant one of her shield brethren back at their post. They had all done their fair share of wood splitting, pelt collecting, and fishing to get by. Not that they needed funding to survive - it simply would be too suspicious for a group of foreigners to be flashing endless coin around.
"Hmm, what kind o' payment? There's that bounty on snow wolves. Unless yer look'n fer something bigger..." His voice slowed and ended with a sly smirk.
She waved him off while pulling a hunting knife from her belt to hand over as collateral. "Caen we worry the details," she yawned, "in the marning?"
"Heh, sure Tilda. Might be Ninne's got breakfast on already. Eat someth'n, will ya?"
"Mmm" she mumbled something incoherent as she made for the inn.
That was the first thought to flash through her mind. Her hand moved instinctively to her sword's hilt while taking one uneasy step backwards towards her mount. Eyes darted in all directions, ears straining for the sound of movement in the dark. Nobody came. There was no cry of anger, no rushing of bodies from behind nearby trees.
The snow fell just as quietly as always through the nights here. Her body relaxed and she stepped forward again to examine what it was she found exactly. There was not as much blood as she initially expected. Very little, in fact, but what was visible had clearly trailed off to the east. While the drift the cloak was caught in had been large enough to easily conceal a body, she was relieved to find none.
She turned the cloak over in her hands then, examining it from end to end. The bottom corner had been torn away but it was otherwise unmarred. She began to fold it to stow for later when something fell out of the folds into the snow. A charm of a familiar make but tied with a blue ribbon instead of yellow. Holding it up and shaking the snow off of it she muttered quietly to herself. "Tamsin."
The charm was pocketed and the cloak stowed with her things. Coatleque then went to work kicking over more snow and covering the trail as best she could so no others would follow. By her estimation whoever fled away headed east and with long strides and heavy boots. Much too large for Tamsin. Wounded as well. Content for now, she climbed back atop her bird and continued east along the road.
Exhausted, bleary-eyed, and having nodded off more than once along the way, she would not even remember what time it was when they arrived at the fortress. The false glow of morning could already be seen on the horizon - or at least it would have been save for the mountains blocking the view. The promise of a bed just yalms away gave her enough renewed energy that she dropped to her feet and led the mount to the stable. The hand on night watch seemed equally annoyed and surprised to have a customer at this time of night.
"Cold one, ain't it? Heh, course," he muttered amusedly, "it's always a cold one. You'll be want'n a room, I take it?"
The paladin pulled her hood back then to let her hair fall forward with a slight shake. "It's me, Tilda.", she rasped. One of the many aliases she had taken throughout her tenure. For the past two moons she had been leading a small group of paladins undercover at the Observatory to the south. An unofficial outreach to protect the Sultanate's interests within the current diplomatic upheaval. There was a whole new market to be had in Ishgard once the war was concluded, and Ul'dah would be sure to stake the largest claim. "Is there any work tae be had fer a discount?"
"Sure, there's always work. Can't guarantee it's nice work, though."
She staggered as her head shook. "Ye know we're good for it. My brother should be fishing tae the south. I can send him up for payment."
Of course by 'brother' she really meant one of her shield brethren back at their post. They had all done their fair share of wood splitting, pelt collecting, and fishing to get by. Not that they needed funding to survive - it simply would be too suspicious for a group of foreigners to be flashing endless coin around.
"Hmm, what kind o' payment? There's that bounty on snow wolves. Unless yer look'n fer something bigger..." His voice slowed and ended with a sly smirk.
She waved him off while pulling a hunting knife from her belt to hand over as collateral. "Caen we worry the details," she yawned, "in the marning?"
"Heh, sure Tilda. Might be Ninne's got breakfast on already. Eat someth'n, will ya?"
"Mmm" she mumbled something incoherent as she made for the inn.
