Groudes grumbled as he moved through the mud the heavy rain sliding down his oiled cloak "I hate the mud." he said to him self as he moved to his tent. Slogging through ankle deep mud he made it to the cave that now served as the homebase for him and his highwayman.
"Who er' you." the sentrie asked peering through the rain and darkness.
Groudes walk closer to the man and said "Im your boss." he said and the watched the sentrie jump, as he walked past he gave the man a pat on the back and advanced farther into the cave.
As he moved silently through the cave, his men slept.
At the back of the cave on a small incline a grand tent was pitched. "Agh, finely home." he moved the tent flap and moved into the tent. There was a table, chairs, and small bedstead. The map on the taple was of Alagaesia, the corners were held down by a dagger, two rocks and a stall cup of wine.
Groudes took a seat at the table and leaned back in his chair.
"Sir," a voice called from out side the tent "You have some visiters, sir."
"Come in who are they then?" Groudes asked siting up strait in his chair.
The sentri came in with two people Groudes couldn't see who they were "They are from the varden, sir."

Ghansor stood behind his leader Groudes. He served Galbatorix but Groudes was a powerful leader as well. Ghansor first wanted to know which side Groudes was on before approaching his true master.

Vladmir entered the room in his white cloak, conceiling him. He walked forward to the desk and placed a scroll on it. The black seal with the Varden's crest on it glistened in the candlelight. Vladmir said nothing, trying to reveal as little about himself as possible.

Groudes sat back in his chair and looked at the scroll he dismised Ghansor and the sentri, "Let's talk some buissnes." He proposed waving the two emasaries to sit in the other chairs. While they were siting Groudes opend the scroll and scanned it quickly. "What kind of work are we talking about?" he asked leaning back.

"We need a small elite team of your best men to aid in a rescue and retreaval mission. They have to be simultaneously executed with the greatest precision. Two of our messengers have been captured and the information that the Varden can not have divulged. Also, our spies have told us that in that same complex, there are the plans to the Empire's next attack." he said.

Groudes chuckled and crossed his arms "Im the best and only have the best." He looked into the serious eyes of Vladimr "How is the pay?" now he was getting serious also "And how many men?" Groudes stood and looked over the map "Show me where you need this job done."

Vladmir ruffled through his sack and pulled out a bulging, large, brown purse with a drawstring. he threw it onto the table and it gingled loudly. He unsheated a sword and cut the drawstring. Gold coins slid out of the top. "That is not nearly all of your payment if this is successful. We will need twelve men. As to where it is...." he cut off. He pointed to Bullridge. "It is there in a large army outpost."

Groudes pulled a dagger and plunged it into the table next to Vladmir's finger, he saw the man jump. Groudes sweeped all the coins of the table into a drawer that opened out of the table. "I can do that, do you have any maps of the area, or and troop placements." He moved to the tent flap and looked out "I can only spare five."

" I need twelve." Reb said. She decided to go with Vladimir and find the men she was to lead.
She looked over the men. The stared at her. She rolled her eyes. Oh my gosh. Was she to be
stared at everywhere she went. Just because she was a shade that hapened to be beutiful. " I see the look in your eyes, but trust me I am the only person right for leading the men you are payed for shade or not" Reb said angrily.

"No one leads my men but me." Groudes said and sat down "Eather I lead my men or you get none of them," he was talking to Vladmir. To Reb he said "You have over steped my hospitality, hold you tounge in check or lose it." he pulled another dagger form the sheath at his waist and put it on the table. Turning to Vladmir he said "Only five men, and I lead them and that thing." he said pointing at Reb.

" I would wish you not to call me a thing again. I am a human, if you anger me then I will kill you. And I am not led. I lead." Reb said angrily. If Vladimir didn't hold her back she was liable to tear
this man's eyes out of his eye sockets.

Groudes looked at Reb "I said hold you tounge." he growled grabing his dagger from the table "eather I lead my men. Or you get none of them." he put an emphisize on my. Groudes sat back and put his feet on the table "I wish you would be more copertive, I don't wnat to see any thing happen to you, on your way back to the varden." he laughed.

ooc: is that character controlling?

ic: Vladmir turned to Reb. "I would rather not have to fight my way out of here, so it would be best if you would stop arguing with him." He turned back to Groudes. "I think we may be able to deal with 8 in all, that is including you, her, and myself. We will need to devide into two groups."

OOC: a little bit sorry.

"That would work." Groudes said looking both the man and woman up and down. "I will lead one team, My second will lead the other. Do we have a deal."
With out waiting for a reply he got up and put on his cloak it was still damp but it would serve for now. On the bed a pair of fine swords sat, those went around his waist. Last Groudes put a poisen coating on all of his hidden dagger.
"We will leave now." He said "Do you have horses?"

ooc: a little bit....

ic: By this time Groudes' attitude was getting on Vladmir's nerves. "Horses...tch." he said.

"Well then let's go." Groudes said walking out of the tent and into the cave. As he walked he pointed to Three other men and an elf. With the men following him he made his way to the corner of the cave that held the horses. A boy handed him the reins to a magnifcent black horse.

" I will not be silenced. Who gave him the right to tell me to hold my tounge?" Reb asked angrily, when the human was gone. " I don't ride horses I ride my fire steed, or my dragon." She added then stalked out of the cave.

"You will ride a horse, a normal horse." Groudes said mounting "We don't want to draw attention to us and the dragons will scare the horses." Groudes and his men walked their horse down the muddy trail and into the trees.

She watched the strangers with distaste and walked towards them.
"You seem to have little respect for power, you have no immunity to magic or betrayal."
She nodded at Reb recognising her from the colliseum.
"Whose side are you on?" she asked him.

" My fire steed is a horse. Hello Elaine, at least some one takes me seriously around here." Reb said mounting Cobalt. Star Gazer didn't like being told to stay around the forrest and not to
follow Reb but she had to.

"let's go." Groudes called and kicked his horse into a canter, the rest of his men followed. When the road came to a crossroad, two of Groudes's men took the west, Groudes lead the rest of the ragged band to the east. He cept going until he saw a small rise with some trees tightly packed together. "We'll camp here tonight." he called and turned his horse to the stand of trees.

Elfenla heard some horses and she stopped moving. She thought, she was the only one here. Her dragon, Zar, was hunting and she was sitting alone on the ground, watching the sky. The sound came closer, and she tried to be as quiet as possible, so the strangers wouldn't hear her, before she knew, if they were friends or enemies. She toucked her green sword, so she could be ready to attack, if the stangers was up to no good!

"A dragon will scare the horses?" Vladmir said to himself. I can fly low. I'm not an idiot. I've snuck up on strongholds on dragonback before.

Vladmir kept pace with the horses on foot. When Groudes called the horses to stop at the camp site, Vladmir walked on to a smaller clearing a small ways up the road to avoid more confrontation with Groudes.
Laenir? Vladmir said.
Coming. the dragon replied.

A dark shape swept over the trees, coming from the east. The brilliant-scaled dragon dropped with a thud onto the ground in the clearing. What have I missed? he asked with bright eyes shining.
Not much. I hate having to ask such people for aid. Vlamir said scornfully.

The wind shifted slightly, and smelling it, Laenir shifted his head, his long neck extended, scaning for the source of the smell.

ooc: EragonLove, I'm leaving it up to you whether you want to be found, make the first move, or nto found at all.

ladyofthelost, who are you referring to when you said he, and who were you talking about when your charry said the first thing? there were 2 guys there, so just "he"doesn't work.

Groudes walked his horse into the trees and took the saddle of, putting it on a branch he grabed a hand full of grass and wiped the animal down. "What are we gona do?" he asked resting his forehead the animals flank. "Everybody," Groudes called "Get over here." He walked to the edge of the trees his horse followed him.

Ghansor followed his leader as he should. He wouldn't leave his leader alone with anyone else. Galbatorix sent him on a mission to protect Groudes and that's what he's going to do.

ooc: I was referring to groudes because i didn't trust him but he moved on so now i'm kind of following on behind

Cassiopeia slid back into the forest hiding her frustration. She called her companions and they gathered round her silently.

a wolf, a squirrel, an eagle and a horse.
she walked over to her wolf and said "Luciel you shall stay with me, shadow you shall follow the strangers a squirrel is no threat to them, lightning you shall send this message to Circe afore she comes out of the forest herself and adds to the chaos"
With that she got on dragon dancer and went to catch up with Reb and her companions.

Elfenla had watched the strangers and had concluded, that she did'nt had to hide. With her sword in her hand, she began to walk away from where she was hidding with no sound of her footsteps.
"Hi there. What seems to be the problem?"

" I don't like that man." Reb said and sat down by Vladimir. She was refering to the stuborn leader who disliked her.

" Star Gazer come."
coming." STar Gazer replied and landed beside the other dragon. Star Gazer layed her giagantic head down to rest.

"Keep away from other dragons Ghansor, we cannot trust anybody" thought Ghansor. "As you say, I hate this creature anyway, I was just telling her to keep her claws to her self my rider" thought Sinak and with that he walked off nearer to Ghansor.

Groudes cleard his throat and said in a loud carring voice "We leave tomarow before dawn." With that he turned and left stalking back into the woods. The great black hosre followed him as he weaved his way through the stunted trunks. In the middle of the small wood there was a clearing only big enough for two people and the horse with a fire.
Soon Groudes was eating some jerky with his back resting agenst a tree. "What do you want?" he asked when he heard the brush moving behind him.

Cassiopeia sneaked up on the camp quetly and when she was sure they were alone snuck up to Reb and Vladmir.
"I'd like to talk to you if that's alright?'' she said quietly "My name is Cassiopeia and I saw you fighting at the Colliseum Reb but I have no idea who your companion is"
She looked at them wearily seating herself on the nearest rock.

aOCC: Im; not crazy I have no solution but to make every one ask before they join

ooc: i wasn't talking about that. nevermind.

ic: "Neither do I. I don't trust him. Anyone whose loyalty is won by gold is not trustworthy." he said to Reb. he turned to the two newcomers, and putting his first two fingers to his lips, he repeated autonymously, "Atra esterni ono thelduin." He didn't know either of them, but seeing that both were elves, he thought he could trust them.

ooc: nobody has posted for 19 days whos go is it?