The Adventure Never Ends

[Yoshiken]

Yoshiken kept a firm grip on the hostage and the katana. When the leader finally agreed to allow them to be on their way, Yoshiken breathed a sigh of relief. "I don't know how much of this you will understand, but I am going to say it anyways. Just keep still, and I will not hurt you in any way," He whispered to the koopa in his grasp, "In case you didn't catch it, your leader has decided that your life is more important than the toll he wanted, and is letting us go. I can't let you out just yet, not until we are a good distance past your friends. You will have to endure a bit longer. Sorry, but I just can't trust you guys yet."

Yoshiken walked forward to an opening that the bandits made, having to push the koopa a bit to make him accelerate. After a few seconds of adjustment, they were finally able to match their pace. The walk was slow, but every footstep was progress to Yoshiken.

"Save any complaints you have until after we get through this Syleena. I need everyone to stay close and cover my back," Yoshiken said to the team, without turning his head to face them.

[Lord of the Dance]

The sole hint to Champ's irritation was his stiff float as he trailed behind Yoshiken. He bit his cheek as he glanced back at the bandits, who were becoming restless as the group passed.
"Ya say ya letting him go!" The leader spat, taking a step after Yoshiken. He could go no farther though due to the meaty useless slab his other leg had become. The Koopa thrashed in Yoshiken's grip, mostly refusing to move forward. He could not struggle in any other direction due to the sword at his throat!

[Teal]

Seeing that the sling works well Teal took the spear off and followed Yoshiken in a defensive stance. Looking at the bandits trying to see if anyone of them would make a move. He eyed the burly Koopa what was with the Mouser he blinded and noticed his eyes were flaring with hatred. Teal felt that it's possible they will run into each other again one day. He did not see the Shy Guy who he stole the spear from.

[Strangie]

Karth stopped when he noticed the ceasefire taking place. He backed up toward Yoshiken, shuffling backward along with him as he took his prisoner along.

"Shoulda just done this in the first place if I knew this is what it would take..." Karth muttered. "Brigands only speak violence or money, after all. Not that it says much about us adventurers, but at least we speak proper English. And I don't so much care about any of that right now. Make sure ye let 'em go when we're far enough away, I'll see to it none of 'em tries any funny business."

He watched the leader bandit try to step forward, but fail. He shook his head. "Not far enough. When far enough, we let go," he said.

He left the rest up to Yoshiken's judgement.

[nitrostraggler]

Syleena followed Yoshiken no problem because she wasn't pissy towards him and somehow knew he wouldn't abandon them.

[Yoshiken]

It was becoming increasingly difficult to handle the hostage. Yoshiken wasn't going to slit his throat, and was hoping that the koopa wouldn't figure that out. He was struggling more and more as they began to walk. Yoshiken had to occasionally put all his weight into pushing and shoving to move the koopa forward. He didn't know how much more he could take.

"Thanks Karth," Yoshiken replied, after Karth had tried to communicate with the bandits. "Did you hear that! I am not going to hurt your friend. I will let him go soon," he loudly responded, reiterating Karth's comments. He could only hope that the bandits understood.

[Lord of the Dance]

The leading Rex snarled, but could not take another step on his own anyway, so he stayed put. The Koopa panicked, though, and tried to break free. He kicked at Yoshiken and threw his shoulders around.
"I think we're far enough," Champ showed his teeth in something vaguely resembling a grin. He wiped some sweat away that had slicked the fur on his face.

[Teal]

Teal thought about knocking the koopa out to keep it from squirming but didn't because of Champ's statement. "If you say so..." he quietly said. He would back off if Yoshiken releases the koopa.

[nitrostraggler]

"As long as you can get us out of here and not abandon us again, I'm all for following you."

[Lord of the Dance]

Champ rolled his eyes and turned to continue through the dark of the forest. He had no more traps waiting for the group so he simply returned to the path and kept along the road. He would outsmart this group later, once he could meet up with his band mates in the capital. When he noticed glares or grumblings in his direction he only smiled in return.
Champ decided to make camp at the edge of the forest, where he could see the moon rising in the east. A town's lights lit the horizon, but it was too late to find shelter there. He simply camped out on the rocks in the road, keeping first watch under the full moon and last watch as the sky grayed in preparation for morning, lost in thought.
The next day would yield no major events either, unless the group had other plans in store.

[Strangie]

Karth had no plans. He had brought rations for himself, though - after having come all this way from the north, he would have been insane not to. His rations mostly smelled of fish.

He helped maintain the watch during the nights, but he remained quiet the majority of the time unless addressed directly. He knew where they were headed and why, there was no need to ask questions at this point, and he wasn't very much in a talking mood anyway.

[nitrostraggler]

Throughout the time that they were moving, Syleena had suspicions about Champ, but kept them to herself.

[Teal]

Teal put his spear away once they reached the edge of the forest. He used water from a puddle to wash off the dried blood that was on his face. "Good thinking back there winged one..." he said to Yoshiken. "I wonder if I would've thought of that...if I had my memory then." He turned to look at everyone else, "So is everyone okay? That was a rough situation back there."

Teal took some time on watch when it was his turn throughout the night. He planned to separate from the group and seek medical help for his amnesia problem once they reached town. He needed to know what exactly caused it and had a random thought that it could possibly be the Magikoopa the group has been talking about but he dismissed it.

Teal gazed out at the moonlit area. He saw patches of grass wave and tree leaves flow with the gentle wind. He was actually quite hungry since he hadn't eaten for who knows how long. Even Karth's rations smelled good to him but he decided not to bother him about it. "..." Depending on how much money he sells the golden spear for he would: buy himself some food, get medical attention, buy a cheaper new spear, and buy a new book for Syleena to replace the one he lost. From there he would decide on what to do next.

When his night shift was over he awakened the next person for their turn. He lies down flat on his back with his head resting on the side of the spear so if someone tried to take it he would awaken. He had trouble falling asleep at first but he stared at the moon until he drifted into a deep sleep.

[nitrostraggler]

When it was Syleena's turn to watch out during the nights,, but was more occupied on Champ. For some reason, she had a bad feeling about him.

[Yoshiken]

Yoshiken could not sleep that night. They events of the previous day kept sprinting through his mind, never stopping. The bandit attack, the hostage situation, and even letting go of the hostage affected his level of stress greatly. He had to admit though, releasing the hostage turned out to work better than he expected. However, he was still cautious. True, the night was peaceful, and many took part in a watch, but Yoshiken couldn't shake the restless feeling he had.

Something wasn't right. After Yoshiken had a chance to reflect on the previous day, he found many strange thoughts arise. Why did Champ jump back immediately after the bandits attacked, dragging Teal away from the battle? Why did Champ stray away from the main road in the first place? Why is there so little detail about the mission?

Yoshiken, of course, couldn't put any definite judgment on the situation at the moment. He didn't have any evidence, and so he would continue to follow. It would just be at a more cautious pace.

He continued to lay straight on his back, with his eyes staring upwards.

[nitrostraggler]

The next morning, Syleena got up and looked over to Karth, and when they were out of earshot from Champ, she spoke to him. "Hey. Are you getting a funny feeling about Champ?"

[Strangie]

Karth raised an eyebrow. "Maybe. I think he's tryin' to test us somehow. Or get rid of us. I think we put him off... heh. I KNOW we put him off. Methinks he doesn't like the way we do things, but this is what ye get when ye hire a bunch of bladeslingers who've been mostly outta their best work for years... I dunno. Why are ya askin' me?"

[nitrostraggler]

"Because you seem like the wisest one here. You said you used to do this before. That is why I was asking your opinion."

[Lord of the Dance]

The road the next day lead through a desert. The morning had been cool enough at least and Champ had urged them to hurry, showing his teeth as he grinned. A few hours later it was obvious why- the heat blasted down on the group from above, lighting the dirty brush around the road ablaze. The horizon shimmered. Champ hung his head and let his claws nearly drag on the ground as the heat rose to noon.
The afternoon would be cooler though as they continued moving. The desert gave way to plains, and the shining lights of the Mushroom capital appeared on the eastern horizon, surrounded by grassy hills to the north and east. They would reach the city by nightfall.

[nitrostraggler]

Syleena took out a thermos of water and passed it around, starting with Karth first.