Dangerous Roads

Danar had spent his next three days getting prepared, and having the occasional pleasure that he would miss while on the road and working. Once everything was taken care of, he spent the remaining time making sure that he had enough information about the surrounding areas, both immediate and long term. It was always a bad idea to travel without being prepared for something horrible to happen. Thankfully, this wasn't Danar's first escort mission. If they were attacked by any enemies, Danar had a feeling it would just be him against every enemy in sight. The Hobblin didn't exactly scream muscle after all.

Danar was riding forward, on his horse as his eyes scanned the mountain trail. He had his trident out, holding it in one hand while using the other to guide his creature forward. "Eyes and ears sharp back there" Danar called back to Hephaestus. "I heard reports that these roads were occupied by the type of men who enjoy easy scores. With just the two of us, I'd expect something happening on this path"

Hephaestus sat proudly on the back of his large mastiff, a droopy-eyed dog lovingly named "Gruff", seeming quite calm despite the warning. In truth, he felt horribly exposed, mainly due to not having a cavern roof above his head, but in his line of work, he was very skilled at concealing it. "No worries, friend." He called forward, his voice carrying through the mountains. "I highly doubt any bandits would take interest in the two of us. Besides, Gruff here has been able to repel burglars from my shop dozens of times before. He's vicious, he is."
Hephaestus knew full well that if something did go wrong, that Danar would most certainly be the one doing most of the fighting, but he felt as though they were being watched, so feeding those watching bad information would cause them to approach with a lowered guard and looking more at the dog than the fighter. While Hephaestus couldn't fight himself, living in some less than reputable parts of the underground made him quite keen on manipulating fights before they began.

Danar decided to take Hephaestus at his word. It was the goblin's life that was on the line after all, Danar could fight but he couldn't take an entire army by himself. The Hobblin was at least putting on a brave face to make sure that his position as "boss" was respected. Danar was the warrior though, and he just hoped that Hephaestus would listen if Danar gave him instructions mid battle. Only time would reveal that though.

Danar stopped his horse suddenly, raising a hand and motioning for Hephaestus to come forward. Up ahead, the path through the mountain started to become very narrow. The walls raised around them as they passed through the narrow road. It eventually opened up again, but it was a decent stretch through the pass. "If I was looking to ambush someone, this is where I'd do it"

Hephaestus took note of the passage and hopped off his dog, planting his bare feet firmly on the ground. He still seemed calm, but his smile was no longer as prominent; he was focused. He closed his eyes and focused on the seismic tremors of the hard stone. "Hold up." He whispered so only Danar would hear. He opened his eyes and re-adorned his shopkeeper's grin. "Come on out!" He called. "Most toll-keepers don't crouch in hiding."
As he called out, Gruff's ears flattened, and a deep rumble escaped his throat. It was an old dog, but it still looked mighty powerful.

Danar raised an eyebrow as Hephaestus called out to their attackers. Danar turned his head in time, just to see ten move out from nearby rocks. They were good, Danar hadn't seen or heard anything, they were even closer than he suspected. They were elevated a bit by the slope, but it wouldn't take them long running downhill to catch Danar and Hephaestus. Each one was equipped with various weapons, and two of them in the back carried bows that were knocked with arrows.

One of the men stepped forward. "Have to admit, first time we've seen quite a pairing like this. It's amusing to see the two of you in such jolly cooperation" he mused as he looked the two over. "I can see that you two are the smart types though, the kind that would rather be on your way then have your stories end here. So, just pay the toll of half of everything you have and you two can be on your way"

Hephaestus stepped forward, next to Danar's horse, with Gruff growling at his side. He smiled and spread his arms wide. "Come, now. Half of what we have? We wouldn't make it to the next city if you stripped us of so much. We're not but lowly travelers seeking our fortunes in greener pastures!" Hephaestus's tone was not even the vaguest attempt at persuasive, more a cheerful facade. Even if he was attempting to be persuasive, his flashy outfit and jewelry would have betrayed him in an instant. No, he knew that these men weren't able to be haggled away from; this would end with bloodshed or gold loss. "Are two small fish such as us really worth this amount of effort?" His eyes flashed wickedly as he gently patted his dog; the more eyes on his mutt, the less would be on that trident of Danar's. "More importantly, which of you is willing to risk death at the hands of a mutt just to get a measly ten percent of whatever you divy up amongst yourselves? Will it even be ten percent? Or will this man be demanding a bigger cut on the grounds that he had a conversation with us beforehand?" As he began turning the conversation to how they'd divide it up amongst themselves, Hephaestus couldn't help but start using his purple anima to lightly tug at the hearts of one of the archers; creating some infighting would make things go much smoother when things inevitably turned bloody.

Danar turned his head as Hephaestus continued to take the lead here, speaking to the men and working to try and confuse them perhaps? Danar wasn't sure, but what he saw was an opportunity. With a quick motion, Danar lifted his trident and threw it forward at great speed, causing it to slam right against the leading man that was speaking. The trident penetrated his leather armor and he was on the ground within moments. Danar leaped up on his horses saddle before jumping forward, his strength sending him forward as he landed by the corpse and ripped the trident out of the man's chest. With a swing he knocked one of the archers off of the cliff and sent him crashing to the ground. All eyes were on Danar now as his strength and weapon were on the minds of every bandit. No one was paying attention to Gruff or Hephaestus.

Hephaestus stumbled back at the sudden outburst of violence. While he knew this is where it was leading, he wasn't expecting it to come so soon. Even so, it worked in their favor. "SIC!" He shouted, and immediately Gruff bolted forward, his powerful legs sending him careening toward the bandits. With a howl, the dog lunged toward the nearest bandit, an Azaar with a shortsword by the looks of it, sinking his powerful jaws into his prey's neck. The man let out a blood-curdling scream as the dog wrestled the life out of him, then looked up for his next target.

Danar stabbed one man before swinging his trident and causing him to smash into another man. The two went crashing down as Danar sent them in to the pit once again. He turned just in time to see Gruff rip a man's throat most of the way out of his neck. The dog looked tired, but it apparently still had a lot of fight left in it. Danar turned to see a spear user lunge towards him. Danar deflected the tip by catching it between two points of his trident and veering it away from him. He then kicked the man directly in the chest away from him.

With all of this going on, one rather greedy bandit remembered that the Hobblin had the most gold on him. He pulled out an arrow and quickly fired it right towards Hephaestus.

Hephaestus stood back, leaning on the horse with his arms folded lazily on his chest and a smirk perched coyly on his lips, watching the chaos unfold in front of him. His eyes were more focused on Gruff and Danar, so didn't notice the arrow fired at him until it had embedded itself in his shoulder. He let out a cry of pain and stumbled away from the horse. Thankfully it wasn't buried too deep on account of his rocky, Hobblin skin, but it still hurt something fierce. Gruff's ears perked up when he heard his master cry in pain, then looked up to see the archer notching another arrow. He let out an ear-splitting howl, then pounced on the archer, biting clean through the bow and ripping it out of his hands. The mastiff lunged again, biting all the way to the bone of the man's ankle and pulling backwards, dragging the man off his feet and onto his back, pulling the archer to Danar and snarling angrily as he did.
Hephaestus stifled his pained cries to grunts and groans. Were he not in so much pain, he likely would've made a quip about having his favorite shirt torn, but he had more important issues. He wasn't getting the arrow out without help, but he wasn't about to distract the fighters as they did their work.

In battle, you couldn't get distracted. It only took a moment for a knife to enter your throat or back, and Danar had learned at a young age that weakness was never justified in any culture. With the help of Gruff, Danar plunged his trident in to the last bandit's neck. With a mighty yell, Danar pulled up and tore the man's head clean for his body before hitting it away. Danar let out a yell as the adrenaline still coursed through this body. He placed his trident against the ground before turning and seeing Hephaestus with an arrow sticking out of him. Danar quickly ran over.

Danar looked at the arrow and looked it over. "It was a good shot, if you had weaker skin I'd have to push it all the way through. Want me to just yank it?"

Hephaestus gritted his teeth; he said nothing, but nodded. Gruff sat next to him, his droopy eyes seeming concerned, almost fearful. Hephaestus closed his eyes and nodded again. "Just get this shit over with." He muttered in Hobblin.

"Of course, this will just take-" but before Danar finished his sentence he immediately yanked the arrow out cleanly, wanting to do it when Hepheastus wasn't expecting it so that it would be quicker and already over with. Danar threw the arrow away before pulling out some wrappings and medicine. HE quickly worked to treat the wound. "We need to get moving, they could have been part of a bigger group for all we know. The fighting might draw others here"

Hephaestus let out a quick cry of pain as the arrow came out, and let out a sigh of relief. Once the wound was bandaged, he nodded. "Agreed." Hephaestus climbed on Gruff and patted his dog. "Let's move, boy." He said.
After several hours of traveling, they finally reached the edge of the mountains; night was starting to fall. "That's that, then." He said. "Been a long time coming." He climbed off Gruff and patted his dog. "We outta set up camp for the night. Come on." He waddled over to the pack mule and undid a few strings, getting the cloth for his tent off.

Danar agreed. They needed to set up a camp and get some rest, especially after that fight. They might be pursued, but considering how far they had traveled it was unlikely. Danar also set up his pack, getting his sleeping arrangements ready. He then went out and began gathering wood and set up a fire so that they could prepare a meal or two. "You should eat and then sleep, I can take watch tonight. The more time you give that injury to heal the better you'll be"

Hephaestus nodded. "Appreciated." He started boiling water to make himself a small cup of tea. "By the way, wanted to say I appreciate you following up my distraction earlier. It's always good to have some decent followup." Gruff made his way to the fire and lied down near to Danar; Hephaestus couldn't help but let out a light chuckle. "And it seems Gruff here has taken a bit of a liking to you. He's a good judge of character; probably gets it from me."

"Not a problem. Gotta say that I'm impressed" Danar admitted. "Most merchant types just sit behind and hope that I'll do all of the work. It was nice to see someone take a bit of initiative for once" Danar remarked before putting some food over the fire for himself. Azaari always had an appetite after battle. "Gruff here seems quite loyal to you, how long have you had him?"

Gruff raised an ear at the mention of his name, but made no motion to get up. "I've had him since he was a pup." Hephaestus started. "That must've been... What, about ten years ago?" Gruff let out light growl that turned into a tired bark. "No, no, only about eight." Hephaestus corrected himself. The dog let out a satisfied sound akin to a sigh. "Aye... And he's defended my shop from shoplifters, carta thugs, and the like since he had teeth to bite with and lungs to bark with. Never had a more loyal protector than him. Best damn hound you'll ever find, and gods help you if you piss him off." Hephaestus chuckled to himself as he poured himself a small cup of tea, stirring a small amount of sugar in. "I say every man who doesn't have a weapon should at least have a dog for protection, and every man with a weapon should have a dog regardless. You treat them right, and they'll do you better."
Gruff, in response, huffed; he seemed tired, both from the fight and carrying Hephaestus, and from his needless praise.

Danar kept his eyes on the fire during the story, finding it more amusing than anything else. Apparently dogs were beloved no matter where you went. Danar's family had a dog in their household. When Danar received his role as protector, he found it best not to have one for himself as the dog would likely work and travel the same as he. He found it not fair to bind a creature so tightly. "All the same, sounds like a good story to me" Danar said as he pulled some of the cooked meat from the fire. He toosed a little to Gruff, a reward for valor in battle before beginning to chew himself.

"When you hired me you spoke about some of the people we might be up against. Sincerely, is there anyone you're most concerned with in particular?"

As the meat landed in front of Gruff, his ears perked up. He sniffed it for a moment before eating it. Hephaestus smiled; he tried not to spoil the dog, but rewards were needed nonetheless. He looked up to Danar and sipped his tea. "I don't have names or identities yet, but... How much do you know of hollow man's honey?" He asked. While almost everyone knew about hollow man's honey and its mind-altering properties similar to alcohol or potent types of pipeweed, very few were informed on the trade of it, only that it was rare, expensive, and hard to get a hold of.

Danar shrugged honestly. He was more than willing to admit when he didn't know something. "I know very little about the substance to be honest. My duties require that I ignore the temptation of such items" he explained. After all, what good was a protector if his head wasn't entirely there? That was a good way to wind up dead. "Explain it to me, we have time"

Hephaestus pulled the salve out, opened it, and put a drop into his tea. "It's a potent relaxant. People buy it to calm their nerves, numb pain, or just escape the stress of daily life. In small doses, it simply makes a dark day seem brighter. Larger doses can cause more potent effects. First time I got my hands on some, I lost an entire week of my life. But that's just the substance itself." He took a sip of his honeyed tea and let out a sigh of relief; it tasted much sweeter than before, and he could almost immediately feel the pain in his shoulder numb. "As you can guess, it's not normal honey. People have to make it, 'brew' it, if you will. And the recipe is a closely guarded secret, nearly impossible to get a hold of. Those who make it know the fortune they're sitting on, and are VERY wary of those who want to get it. The fact that I know even one of its ingredients would be enough for one of these hermits to hire someone to kill me. Hence why I'm keeping it on the down-low for now."
Gruff had finished his meat at this time, and had scooted a little closer to Danar; he wasn't begging for meat, but was instead simple curling up next to his leg. Hephaestus smiled at the scene. "So my plan is to make some more connections. Get a merchant or two in every major city to get it in stock, make it more widely available. Doing so would cause a great deal of coin to flow into my pockets, but get a lot of hostile eyes on me should my name get tied with it. So, to your question, who's gonna be after us? As far as you're concerned, very powerful, well trained hitmen who don't ask questions and are getting a lot of coin in their pockets."

Politics and greed, sounded like the kind of affairs that Danar didn't usually get involved with. Still, it was an interesting story and he had to admire the Hobblin for stepping up and going through such risk and effort to make a name for himself. He finally just smirked as he gazed at the fire through his helmet. "So it could end up being me against an army? Sounds like a fun time, always did look for challenges" he acknowledged.

"I promised you my first three months at least, how long do you think this entire venture will take you....assuming you got lucky at every turn?"

Hephaestus laughed loudly. "You against an army? Possibly. But more likely solo specialists; too many cooks ruin the soup and all. Harder to keep fifty men quiet. Though I wouldn't be surprised if they could do it, whoever 'they' are. As for how long this whole venture would take, assuming absolute luck..." He took another slow sip. "Hmmm... At least a full year. But, more realistically this is an endeavor that will take me three or more, and that's only for the hollow man's honey. While that's the most dangerous part, I fully intend to create a continent-wide market, which will require a great deal of political weaving and deal-making, so my ideal end goal is anywhere from eight to twenty years away. But imagine it; a market where you can by Rovasi technology, hollow man's honey, Azaari armor, Shurian trinkets, and Hobblin jewelry... The common man could buy the comforts and necessities from across the continent on his own street..." He smiled dreamily, partially from the hollow man's honey, partially from his vision of the world. "I think that's worth a decade or so of hard work on my part. And imagine the profits the man who orchestrated it all would get; imagine the profits of those who helped him..."

"I already told you, money and profits interest me very little. I only have a lot because I'm good at what I do, and it makes it easier to survive. Besides, no one would hire a mercenary who didn't charge a lot of money. They'd think he was a slouch" Danar reminded Hephaestus as he leaned back against a nearby tree and got comfortable. "Sounds like you have quite a road ahead of you. Regardless of where our paths take us, I do hope that you're successful. We shall see what comes of it"