Welcome, to the Barkhills

[Jasper]

Trillo noticed the effect on Ginny, but didn't say anything - instead focusing on a half buried vole, who was murmuring ceaselessly:
"burning eyes... those horrible burning eyes..."

He gave him some water from his own ration, but the vole was already passing.

Shaking his head, Trillo got up and looked around for the others. Spotting them with some survivors at the cave, he and Ginny walked over to see them.

"We will return to help after we chase down whoever killed your creatures"

Trillo chimed in: "Aye, we'll hunt em to the end of the earth if we have to! I say we leave now, before the trail goes cold! We could leave some of us behind to care for the Mustalids."

[Dannflower Reguba]

       "Leave some be'ind? Ya must be jokin' me mouse." Phlame had grudgingly accepted that the fire had died away, and came to partake in the conversation, "If anything you are goin' to need any capable survivors if you're ta stand a chance, way too many beasts fer you to 'andle... 'Specially if they're totin' a bear with em! Ooooh yeess!........ So when're we leavin'?" The squirrel was actually getting excited, bears were rare, and if one hit you, you were pretty much dead. The claw marks and sizes of the holes of what rubble there even was had tipped him off immediately...

[The Skarzs]

A bear. . .
Karn had been trying to tell himself that it couldn't have been a bear that had caused all the destruction around him, but it was the only thing that made sense for the amount of damage wrought.
"The rest of the fighting force will be here within the hour," he said in a low voice. "They can help with these beasts when they come. For now, let us get moving."
There hadn't been a bear seen in the Barkhills for so long. . . There was an attempt to drive the beasts out of the land altogether, but one could not stop a force of nature. He did not want to unduly worry the Mossflowerians; some of them might not have ever heard of a bear before, and the squirrel was insane, after all.
"Let's move!"

[Jasper]

As the small group made to follow the tracks, Trillo looked back one last time as the Mustalids. It felt wrong to leave a group is such shattered remains, but surely the rest of the force would take care of them. They were being left in good hands. He turned back to the troops, and continued his march. Then his eyes narrowed, as he spotted Karn marching near the front. He jogged through the line until they were side by side.

"Look here Karn! You were standing right next to Phlame when he mentioned that Bear. I saw that look on your face, so I know you heard him! Yet you didn't say anything to anyone about it! You don't think that concerns us? If I hadn't heard it from Phlame would you just never have told me and sent me straight into its claws? What about the rest of your troops and ours? They deserve to know what they're up against!"

[The Skarzs]

(OOC: Just before they started going:) BIC: Karn had seen the two polecats in the cave; they looked foreign, though it was clear they knew what they were doing. Hired swords, perhaps,  he thought. "If you two can come along, we'd be glad of your assistance."
(OOC: Present time:) BIC: Karn sighed as Trillo asked the question. "If it is a bear, then we won't attack it. That is why only the few of us are going: There is less likelihood of a battle with fewer beasts."

[Jetthebinturong]

"We'd be glad to come along" said Selwyn
"Provided you've got the coin" added his brother
Selwyn through his hands up in exasperation "Duwiau Da Alwyn! Yw bod yr holl ydych yn meddwl am?"
"New job requires new payment, do you want to starve?"
"Don't think of it as a new job, think of it as an extension of this one, we failed here so we're clearing up"
"Do you think the mustelids will have enough money to pay us afterward? You need to think ahead"
Selwyn turned to Karn "Well if you can pay what the mustelids promised, we'll help you. If you require convincing of our skill, I am known as the Champion of Gaer Garreg Du"
"He single-handedly cleared the western watchtower and killed the leader of the occupying army by firing a ballista straight through her chest"
"And my brother has christened himself 'The Bloodbringer'"
"We're the most famous mercenaries in our homeland"
Selwyn nodded "Aye, and two others"
"So, are you willing to pay us?"

[Dannflower Reguba]

       Phlame eyed the two new potential candidates with a frosty glare, appearing as close to sane as he had yet to be, "Fighting for pay? That's rich, and everybeast else looks at me weird for fighting fer fighting's sake... And they call me despicable, huh, two lousy extortionists who are likely as not lying through their teeth...." He turned and started to wander off, his old self returning as he finished his opinion, "Heh heh, askin' for pay when they already failed their job! If you actually stop to think about anythin' you'd make 'em pay you for bein' so gracious as to allow failures into your group... But! 'tis not my decision, heaven's no, and luckily fer many more I'd reckon. Too bad those blighters'll probably 'ave their way about things." The muttering continued while he meandered thither and yon, kicking up dust in search of sparks.

[The Skarzs]

"Mercenaries, hmm? I've never had much use for them. But I can see you at least seem to know what you are doing." The cougar waved his armored paw. "We can worry about your due payment when we are done, and not before. However, you can rest assured that you will be paid."
Karn watched Phlame suspiciously as the squirrel went muttering off. He turned and started walking with deliberate strides after the obvious trail left by the bear and its keepers.

[Jetthebinturong]

Alwyn glared at the squirrel's back "Hoffwn roi fy llafn drwy'r ci amharchus" he growled.
Selwyn held his shoulder "Peace brother, let's not go making enemies of each other"
"What reason could we possibly have to lie?"
Selwyn chuckled "Alwyn, mercenary work is not considered an honourable profession in most places and many will lie to make themselves seem better"
"Well what is the point of that? You take no glory with you when you depart this world"
"Not all people seek glory Cariad, some seek only wealth"
Alwyn shook off his brother's hand "Again with the Cariad?"
Selwyn sighed and turned to Karn "If you require proof of our deeds, take this-" he pulled an amulet made of black stone out from under his tunic "-the seal of Gaer Garreg Du"

OOC: That first line doesn't translate back exactly but you can get the gist of it

[Dannflower Reguba]

OOC: Funny, because that's the first line I was interested in enough to actually translate.  I'ma say this again, be careful when playing with fire, sometimes you get burned.   ... I've noticed you like to have two characters of very opposite personalities, just make sure you don't leave in the middle of the RP again okay? 

[Cornflower MM]

Arya had gone off on her own, following the strange tracks. They had sparked her natural squirrel curiosity. She did not go very far, wanting to get back before the others moved off. Swinging through the trees Arya retraced her steps, puzzling over the strangeness of the tracks. Coming from Mossflower, the squirrel, quite naturally, had no idea what a bear was. When she was almost to the clearing, she saw Karn striding down the path of the tracks, the rest behind him. She spotted a few new additions, as well. Dropping down in front of the Captain, she smiled. "I see you've been busy recruiting."

[The Skarzs]

"I see," grunted Karn, taking the amulet and looking at it. "You shall prove yourselves with battle, Mercenaries." The cougar stopped for a moment as Arya dropped down in front of him.
"Been busy, miss Arya? Yes; these two are mercenaries from a foreign land. They are with us for now." He looked forward. "How far ahead do these tracks go? You seemed to be scouting ahead." The commander started walking again as he said this, intent upon finding the end of the tracks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The four cougars in charge of the bear stumbled along exhaustedly. Finally one of them spoke up. "Enktan, we must stop! We cannot go further unless we want to let this monster loose and kill us all." Enktan and Gunthar looked at each other, then at the fighting bundle that was Titan.
"Fine; let us chain him to a couple of trees so we can rest."

[Cornflower MM]

"I didn't go far, just about ten minutes up the tracks. There were more beyond that point, but I was in a hurry. I wanted to get back before you set off." Arya replied, ignoring Karn's explanation about the mercenaries as she turned to let the cougar pass.

[Jasper]

Trillo was a bit nervous with the idea of fighting a bear becoming a bit too close to reality. With every step he took the tracks seemed to be deeper and clearer. Almost as if they were catching up. What could they even do when they caught up to it? They knew it was bear, and Karn had said they wouldn't fight it, but why follow the horrible creature then? Perhaps, he thought, this Karn isn't as trustworthy as I thought. Maybe he's leading us to be bear food!

"Er... Karn, what do we do when we catch up to the bear? You said we wouldn't fight it - but why follow it then?"

[Cornflower MM]

"Scared, Trillo?" Arya teased. The squirrel herself was slightly nervous, but had decided to think of this whole thing as a lighthearted adventure. It wasn't and Arya knew it, but pretending made it easier for her to think.