Fantasy Ain't No Rest for the Wicked Pt. 2

[Soviet Panda]

Connor rode Stepper up the craggy sides of the Spine. Soon he and Sisceal would finally be reunited with the others. Through the many trials and tribulations, they had survived. Bruised and bloodied, but he did still have that fancy case of Virtue made bullets with him, even had some rounds left. He'd need them to, he could feel it, especially with that hound of a man Pawpaw and his boys after them. He came to a stop at an innocuous flat spot, a lone tree struggling to grow, all crooked as it was, but refusing to die.

"Well, we finally made it." He said to the air as much as to Sisceal. And a few others, he had no doubt.

 

[Axeykins]

He breathed a sigh of relief seeing that familiar raggedy old tree. Getting off the raging old steed he could barely control as always, stolen directly from his inlaw's stables. Una's final little hurrah to get him instead of one of her own, but it got him there in good stride along Connor none the less.

"Bout damn time." He responded with an air of exhaustion. Excitement and nervousness mixing all around inside his guts, along with some stray bullets, making him sick as he hoped they all made it out alive and well themselves after the incident. Lil bit of a virtue being lead to them after a woopsie on his part was nothing they hadn't face before right? They'd have to get used to it anyways soon as Connor and him broke the news of a reckoning heading their way.

 

[Worthlessplebian]

The black hatted Horseman strolled up gracefully opposite Connor's Stepper. Abel gazed at the suffering, albeit defiant tree. It reminded him of the last days of his father's life, the old coot struggled to the bitter end. He looked to Sisceal and Connor, before dismounting off his dun-coated Andalusian. "Good boy, Stert, good boy." He cooed the horse. It's been two years since Abel acquired him under questionable legality. But it does him good, can't complain about near-excellence after all.

He opened his arms to ask them a question. "Sooo... you two," Abel said before crossing his arms over his chest. The brim of his hat drew a shadow down his face, but yellow-glowing eyes illuminated stern features. "What in the Hell have you been up to? Tried to keep my ears to the ground, but couldn't make out the shit from the crap and I didn't wanna keep asking favors."

 

[zilcher]

Trust was already an exceptional currency in the criminal underworld, and to trade it with any commonplace steed would have been Boone’s doom. They were called the Horsemen, but it was one thing to die from overexertion and much another to get kicked off some anonymous cliff halfway through the journey because a majestic, town-bred stallion couldn’t handle the ardent, ineradicable attraction flies felt towards him. At least, that’s what he insisted to himself as he trudged up the Spine’s last stretch, the broken soles of his shoes breaking new ground on the ever-growing tally of experiences he did not want to repeat but likely would for the rest of his life. Coagulated mud gathered around the leather and cracked in the same step. With a theatrical sigh, he sprinted upwards until he saw the rest of the group, the tree’s crooked trunk his North Star.

“Good day,” Boone greeted the germinating crew through gritted teeth, his optimistic tone and fast-paced rambling sabotaged by the huffs of breath punctuating each and every syllable. His posture, however, remained stiffly upright, and his dark eyes scanned their surroundings with their usual vigilance. “Yes, yes, I’d quite like to know how many new names we have on the hit list, my good, somehow alive friends. I doubt anything I’ve gleaned from my contacts has been entirely accurate, and none of it has been very plausible, even by the standards of our work. Was the talk about the lace garter heist plan true, for instance?”

Boone's contacts on the road were mostly the voices in his head and the products of his delirious dreams, of course. The voice going out of said head did not want to reveal this until gauging their reactions.

 

[Karcen]

The air shimmered as Abigail appeared atop her rather odd horse while the others spoke. She had actually been there the whole time but had simply used her powers to render herself unseen by those around. While it was strictly needed Abigail did like her theatrics and there was no telling who might show up aside from war and famine. Still if the news that Abigail had managed to gather before she had her fun with people was true then well that pair had really screwed up. Abigail did some what pride herself on fucking with those that upheld the law but not even she fucked with the virtues on their turf. Now if she could get one alone in a city she had managed to play with then she had little problem going after them, but that was rare. She could count the times she had done that on one hand and well she had never stuck around to see who won those fights and she didn't want to. in those cases she got what she needed even if the lawman didn't go down.

Abigail got off havoc and didn't tell him anything, the beast wasn't come partner or even a beast, he was her keeper and she knew it. If she tried to pull what war had, well her patrons wouldn't be as kind to tell her to get back to work and Havoc would get to keep her head. So that all being said she didn't need to worry about havoc running off even is she wished the demon would just fuck off.

" I had thought I was the one that loved theatrics, but bravo to you two you have me topped for sure" Abigail said her tone both sarcastic and polite as she clapped softly. " " But really I am impressed if what I have heard is true" she chuckled being more friendly in tone and her words as she smiled.

 

[Soviet Panda]

Connor grunted at the questions and reached into his pocket, pulling out a rather innocuous box. "Me and Sisceal got into a bit of trouble while we were out and stretching our legs." As he spoke, he tossed the box to Abel. A brief inspection of the box showed that it was for ammunition. Opening it showed that there were still some in there, though several had already been taken out. "Got those from a small town. Cold forged iron for the fey, and silver for the rest. Virtue stuff. On top of that, me and Sisceal here killed one and most of her brood, but missed her man, Pawpaw. Supposedly he's retired, but he's still got good ties to the organization, so I've been told."

 

[Worthlessplebian]

The Horsemen of Plagues caught the box with a swipe of his left hand. He turned it over to exam it, usually used to house ammunition. Flicking the lid off with his thumb confirmed that it holds ammo. Connor explained the significance though Abel himself recognized the construction immediately. A whistle came from beneath his bandanna as Connor explained the massive shit-mud they've hitched themselves in. "So you're telling me that you two managed to piss off an old coot with amicable ties? That means we'll be hunted by some angelic son of a guns with aching for a fight." Abel concluded as he tossed back the box.

 

[Axeykins]

"Like he can or is willin to get any lace garters. I'm doin all the work here on that front" Sisceal smirked and pointed back at Connor jokingly. "But yes a good chunk of what y'all have heard on the roads has been accurate. We're in quite the pickle. Worst part is couldn't tell you what this Pawpaw even can do or how good he is. His wife was the one giving us the most trouble. He just kept an eye on us during dinner, not even sure he tried much during our escape did he? Then course we get to the part Connor here is talking of with how we got those bullets." Sisceal again looked to Connor. He couldn't remember seeing the man, then again he was getting strangled a fair bit by that hag with her weird truth memory power deal. Then mr. hot head went nuclear on the whole place soon after.

"Bein the only semblance of chaos round those parts it's safe to say they know who they're hunting for. Now a good question is if they know where we're headed or may be. I know with some personal confidence they've got a fair bit of our usual hiding holes sussed out. Don't know if they've got that info spread this far out yet or public to other's like em. We are a bit far from their main stomping grounds."

 

[Karcen]

So the virtues really were on the move. That had been a bad call by the pair to piss off anyone related to those thugs was always a bad idea. Abigail despite her love of messing with the masses did try to avoid the virtues herself and that should say all threat needed to be said about angering them. Well now the targets were on their backs and there was nothing that could be done about it. The virtues would hunt them all down that was for sure and there wasn't no way to say it wasn't my fault. They would have to fight, well they would need to run and fight when they could. There was the option of trying to blend in but virtues had ways to find even hidden outlaws if proper protections weren't set up. The virtue Pawpaw was an issue as no one here knew just what he could do and that he had been so calm with 2 horsemen in his home fighting was worrying.

" Well running and hiding sadly isn't a long term solution, this isn't a case were we can wait out the heat. We will have to fight back, pick our battles and the like" Abigail said after thinking and deciding that, that was the only solution she had even if it wasn't the greatest. Still at least they would either go down fighting somewhere or actually survive this.

 

[Aridis]

Riding blindly into the mountains had never steered her wrong before. Sure, there was the issue of maintaining enough rations to survive until the next patch of civilization, but she had managed so far. Blair hadn't stopped moving for almost two days. Long story short, a quick grocery run went wrong and she accidentally swiped a horse in her scramble for freedom. With that crime out of the way, she wasn't too keen on getting caught anytime soon. In her defense, she had left behind money for the food, but not so much for the steed. Dolly was an absolute sweetie, though.

Running and hiding was definitely a long term solution for her. Blair yawned as Dolly trotted her way further away from civilization, her hooves rhythmically clopping against the impacted earth. It wasn't until they were nearly to the top that Blair finally noticed the fresh tracks, leading right up in the same direction she was going. By the time she had registered this fact, she was starting to hear the voices too. Ghosts didn't leave tracks.

Blair immediately pulled back on the reins, telling the appaloosa to stop. Dolly obliged, but only after giving a dramatic stomp and a snort. Hopefully, no one up ahead noticed the sound of an additional horse over their own. Holding her breath, Blair turned the mare around as gently and quietly as she could with a thousand pound animal calling the shots.

 

[Soviet Panda]

"We can't just fight them here and hope they'll go away, Abigail. This won't end until either we're all dead, or we take down the Virtues. And there ain't no way we're doing that, not now. Clear on the other side of the Spine with all the protections them 'civilized' parts can give them. Sammael can't even get in without an invite, and I'm thinkin' it's the same for the rest of our 'patrons'." Connor sneered, angry with the seemingly lack of options that ended with them coming out of this alive, swiping the returned case from the air in much the same manner Abel had.

That's when he heard it, the sharp noise of a horse's hoof striking stone. Putting a hand on one of his revolvers, he eases back the hammer and looks at the assembled horsemen. "Were any of you expecting guests?"

 

[zilcher]

Fly on the wall. That’s what Boone so desperately desired to metamorphose into, he decided, upon being enlightened to the state of their hit list. And the fact that, which was truly unfair, because how come others were blessed with such a strong affinity to their animal companions that they could seem invisible for so long while he couldn't last a second on a saddle? Fly on the wall; objective observer. Undisturbed by red-eyed horses and spinning moons reddening his eyes, luring him to a sleep that could remain eternal if not for his duties to the troublesome fellowship he’d fallen into. Did the Spine have walls? In the body, feasibly, though nothing could be verified until the Horsemen and their merry gang of terrifying associates stumbled across another cadaver. Which, in due time, could be his, and he could become The Brood’s punching bag in the afterlife. Where was he, again? Oh, yes, being a hardened criminal formulating some infallible schematics to escape prison, death, or the sinewy-sounding clutches of a character called Pawpaw instead of buzzing around a conversation that wouldn’t involve prison, death, and being on the bad end of vengeance.

It wasn’t that Boone didn’t believe in his friends. He did, of course. He loved his friends. He couldn’t blame them for leaving a few murders in their wake. It was doubtless that they had a plan, locked and loaded into their collective consciousness behind the obfuscation. It was also doubtless that Boone needed to get himself some kind of flight mechanism, if they couldn’t fight the Virtues or their pension beneficiaries yet and were going to continue this talk higher than an inch above the ground.

“Well, all of us dying would be unpleasant,” Boone said. Though he knew starting off his rousing speech with such a startling statement would be divisive at a minimum level, he also knew that staying silent would end in either him being abducted by Pawpaw to the ignorance of their group or War offering him the contents of the ammunition box in a very grisly manner. “As the others have said–thank you, others, I value you all immensely–it seems that Pawpaw had some personal experience with the Horsemen. You know, before all the killing that was done while you stretched your legs. So, I gather that we stay away from our old bases and the paths the Virtues trace around them, possibly get some fey on our side using the iron bits left in that box and some kind words, and somehow see if Pawpaw’s got or had ties to our organization. Other than all the killing that was–”

Boone flinched at the sound of hooves beating to the tune of potential annihilation. By the powers that be, he’d so many more sentences to stall with! He shifted his weight around until he was in a defensive stance, grabbing the handle of his farrier’s knife. Who knew? It wasn’t out of the question that the steed would abandon its rider for a manicure, given that the roads up to the Spine weren’t exactly easy travelling.

“I was not,” he offered helpfully, dark eyes darting around their surroundings. “Do we run? Sounds like it’s alone. For now.”

 

[Worthlessplebian]

"No, they wouldn't know." Abel replied succinctly to Sisceal's theorizing. The black hatted Horseman had been fairly certain of that. Omniscience, he recalls, is not an ability in the Virtues' expansive, exhaustive repertoire. Truthfully, Abel wouldn't want to be dragged into this mess, he'd been preoccupied with his own brand of justice; that list wouldn't be getting shorter now. By the simple fact of association, Abel found himself, lumped into the gallows by the acts of his fellow Horsemen, Sisceal and Conner. The leather on his hands squeaked as his knuckles tightened terribly. And his sibling-Horseman, Pestilence, otherwise known as Lazarus Boone began to speak his piece.

Abel drew the silvery implement from his shoulder-holster. A Revolver engraved with snaking vines from chamber to muzzle, a wooden grip as black as charcoal. He took the tool into his hands and examined it whilst lending an ear to Boone's simple, yet helpful run-down of their options. Pawpaw and his posse certainly had their numbers, their nooses would probably be named after them too. Evasion remained their best option.

But before Abel could voice his opinion, the footfalls of a hoofed animal alarmed Abel. The yellow flare in his eyes squinted. He twitched his revolver towards the source of the sound. Finger pulling back the hammer into a cocked position. Sert, ever the faithful, lifted its head up from investigating the patches of dirt around them and stared at them. Abel calmed the beast by slowly moving his hand down at the wrist.

"No, they wouldn't, couldn't have found us this fast. We'll move after we deal with this." Abel voiced in a conspiratorial tone before lowering the revolver. "You, whoever you be, come out. I promise you, on my father's name, that no harm will come to you from us." He rarely swore upon his father's name, but he found that it lends an unconscious sincerity to his vocals. He knows why it happens, but still finds it the oddest thing. The shaded Horseman stood ready for an attack anyways though.

Aridis

 

[Karcen]

Abigail shot conner s glare when he summarized her idea of fighting as just that. She was not one for stand up brawls after all she was not going to over power even most simple drunkards let alone the trained virtues. " You know me better than that war. I would never suggest we just charge them, after all I do my best work just out of sight " Abigail said a slight annoyance in her voice as she spoke.

" I wouldn't bring any friends that need to walk " Abigail confirmed that whatever ir whoever was coming had not been brought by her. Abigail would not have brought people she would have brought patrons more of the dark beings they all made deals with. Her patron would know how to contact others like him, though any that they knew would demand more than comic fodder as payment. Abigail had dug deep into the dark and found souls were the currency that most accepted.

With able sweating Abigail wasn't exactly bound to keep his word but there was a respect between all the riders that she wasn't about to break. Besides at worst it was sone lost prospector and at best an ally or sacrafice. Though the others might not like the latter idea of her using random people as a way to contact more demons. For now Abigail waited not drawing her pistols though already she was drawing power starting to layer reality with her own false reality just in case.

 

[Axeykins]

Sisceal scratched his chin in thought. No matter how they spun it most the roads only lead to death or worse for the lot of them. They could discuss it and argue till they were blue in the face but that only ate away at their time. "Naw the fey won't get involved if it means facing the Virtues, no matter what you persuade em with trust me. Connor and I just talked to my own master on that one. She's a might powerful one and still doesn't wanna cross em. Might provide us with lil bits of shelter or a distraction but they don't want to be dragged into it. They ain't that kind of folk and are more likely to disappear if a fight broke out. They're fickle as hell" He sighed heavily. He also didn't feel like further punishment from Una either knowing how she'd react to more of his friends threatening her.


Shit. Like some of his other comrades he heard the sound of another horse nearby. Definitely none of their own as they'd been stood still for a bit now. Hand on his gun he spurred his horse forward to investigate. He was sturdy, could take a few shots to the chest and nap it off if push came to shove. Had his healing to thank for that. "No, they'd have to pretty determined to follow me that far though." Sisceal joked nervously. There was no way they'd be found out already. "I know one of em knows of this spot when they got it out of me... but ain't no way Pawpaw would get news to em that fast or get here that fast. Nobody has that sort of power out here not even God himself. Just in case though y'all best get ready to run." He kept a steady eye on the direction of the noise. Mustering up the proper volume to call out to them. "HEY! We know you're out there! Show yourself or we start shootin."

 

[Aridis]

Dammit. She should’ve stolen a stealthier horse.

Blair flinched at the voices commanding her to show herself. She weighed her options for a moment and glanced back down the path she had taken. While the group ahead was hidden from sight, she’d be in plain view if she tried to book it down the mountain. The nearest cover was too far away to risk it, and she didn’t even know where she’d hide after that. Shooting her way out wasn’t an option, either. Even if she were more confident with her own weapon, she was horribly outnumbered. The promise of “no harm” did nothing to sway her worry.

Reluctantly, the amnesiac complied. She turned Dolly back around, encouraging the mare to walk toward what might just be their grave. Once in sight of the Horsemen, she brought the appaloosa to a halt and raised her hands in the air, far from any weapons.

“Shooting won’t be necessary.” Even though her heart was lodged in her throat, Blair’s tone was neutral and devoid of any emotion. This wasn’t intentional. The more freaked she got, the more dead she sounded. “I just took a wrong turn, honest.”

 

[Worthlessplebian]

Abel lowered his revolver to his hip, but shot a look towards Sisceal instead. The orbs of lemon-yellow flared before rolling dismissively, now he sees how they've gotten themselves into this Pawpaw-Virtue business in the first place, the Horseman pulled down the worn-bandanna and spat on the ground—away from his other Horsemen—a glob of corrosive, putrid saliva. He raised the bandanna to his nose again when the approaching rider and her appaloosa came into view.

The tattered shawl on his shoulders danced with the wind as Abel stood there with his chin-up, shoulders back, and the silver revolver just out of sight behind his left hip. Abel narrowed the glimmering orbs when the woman spoke. He's had experiences with scoundrels before, as a deputy and an outlaw, so sniffing out the actualities from someone isn't hard. Actually, her dead-almost serious tone appealed to Abel. Better this than stammering like a pants-pissed coward.

"She's telling the truth." Wolff attested her claim while unflinchingly staring at her. It was intentional. He makes it a point not to trust someone even when there's nothing to hide. He slowly, purposefully lifted his silver revolver, mindful not to point the business end at the girl, into the shoulder-mounted holster.

With hands on hips. "Well, she stumbled onto us by blind luck. I'm not keen on waiting around for that information to reach him about this place, ya ken?" He turned his head to Sisceal and Connor. "Let's vanish. The longer we stay, the longer this place'll become, just a tad, hazardous."

There's one particular place he has in mind, in case Sisceal and Connor didn't have a back up. A lengthy ride from here, but it's safely secluded. Although it'll be cramped, it's not a place for multiple people to camp out at once so comfort is out the window.

"And, uh, miss?" He adjusted the shading of his hat with his thumb. "It's best you disremember ever seeing us here and to make yourself scarce as well. A fellow, and his cats' paws, that'll come around here soon might just shoot you for breathing the air so close to us." He advised the amnesiac. He won't involve bystanders in their hairy situation, not unless they choose to get themselves caught up.

Actually, having an extra gun in their holsters wouldn't do harm although guns won't turn on you at least so he'll have to watch this one if she does decide to get involved. Nice horse, an Appaloosa. They don't come cheap, so this mare was likely stolen. Abel has seen this loads of times when he was a silver-badged deputy, so that confirms her to be an outlaw OR rich enough to afford one. Abel leaned towards the former on account of her horse giving her away. Thank God, Sert is well-trained by him.

 

[Soviet Panda]

Connor was not so trusting of the stranger that had all but materialized in front of them. While Abel put his revolver away, Connor kept a firm grip on his. "What if she's with them? A shitty watcher is still a watcher." he said to no one in particular, more thinking aloud than anything else. "I say we save ourselves the trouble and get rid of it right here and now." Looking around, however, he was aware enough to recognize that shooting this woman was not something Abel would stand for, at least not right now. He was always the gentleman, what with his swearing on his father's name and what not.

Growling his annoyance, he rams his revolver back into it's holster, Stepper anxiously prancing as he felt his rider's annoyance. "Fine, we aren't gonna shoot her now. But I'm gonna say 'I told you so' when she kills you in your sleep." He moved Stepper forward, towards Abel. "I hope this hidey hole of yours is a comfortable spot to die in."

 

[Karcen]

Abigail watched the others as they spoke seeming to weigh where they landed on this girl's fate. She personally didn't really feel like killing her, but if someone had to do it she wanted to do it. her patrons were the old fire and brimstone kind and each soul sent bought her time. With them going more on the run and likely needing to lay low her stream of souls might nearly dry up. Abigail really didn't want any of them to send a messenger to tell her to get with the program like the last time she had needed to stay quiet. In the end it seemed that the girl would live. Well that was nice Abigail was tried of being the only girl around here, outlaw and lady did rarely converge after all. The question was what to do with her when they kept her, no normal person would survive with them, and Abigail could use a sign on bonus.

" Scared of a girl war?" Abigail teased " If you really are worried I know some people that are always looking for help that can make sure she doesn't go slitting your throat at night " She chuckled though it was true demons could make such deals. " Having another woman about will be nice i do get so lonely being the only one and those papers you show up in war are just filled with slander about me" She half joked as a woman with multiple men even if in a gang was bound to cerate rumors.

 

[Worthlessplebian]

Abel tilted his head when he heard Connor thinking aloud. He doesn't remember if that was a common quirk of his, then again, it wouldn't surprise the former deputy if it was. Abel whistled under his bandanna, calling his steed, Sert, to him in anticipation that they will be haulin' their arses soon. Except as soon as Abel grabbed the reins with his right hand, Connor strung together an absolutely idiotic sentence out of the blue.

Both Abel and his horse pulled their heads back confusedly. He looked to the others to see if he had heard War correctly. The man rubbed his forehead with his forearm then spoke. "Connor, what the fuck are you talking about?" He gestured with his hands. "I never spat a damn thing about taking her with us." Abel scratched side his temples with the nail on his thumb. Between Sisceal and Connor, things were getting way too clear about how they ended up in Pawpaw's iron sights. The cold, hard stare in his lemon-coloured fire orbs was gone, instead now he just looked perplexed. He waved the amnesiac lass over. "Well, if you so insist." War resolved to take her, much to the incredulous Abel. "War, I think it's been too long since you've rode with me. The last star will burn out before I let someone get THAT close." He rummaged an inside pocket, retrieving a feathered dart, fingers carefully pinching the point. "If she does try a double-cross, then she will die. Simple as that."

He slipped his foot in the stirrup iron of Sert's saddle and hoisted himself over the saddle. "Comfortable? No." Abel corrected. "Better to be safe than comfortable. But I do have coffee, hooch, and supplies. If nothing, we can rest for a day or two to plan."


"Abigail, the wanteds slander all of us. But hey, an angelica is an angelica. My eyes could use a new scene." He joined her half-joking.

Spoiler: Western Slang

Angelica - Unmarried, young woman.

 

[zilcher]

The entire ordeal was not shaping up to be a mere sojourn into whatever trouble this visitor had trailing close behind, and it most certainly was not to be instantaneously solved by the fearsome Horseman of Pestilence and his specialized hoof-trimming techniques. A practiced flagellant, Boone found himself intoxicated by the thought, staring intently at Abel. His bounteous, borderline blind admiration of the other outlaws was something of an open secret, given how often he talked and talked and thought and thought until his brain and mouth fell off at equal velocities, but he felt it especially important now to prove his fealty to them and their extremely good, extremely confusing ideas. Perhaps for the last time.

“No harm?” He repeated inquisitively, dubiously, a frown settling into his flaxen features with ease. Boone wasn’t very familiar with the terms of swearing upon a parent’s name, considering both of his parents had reputations akin to cigar ash stamped in the ground, but it sounded serious. More concerningly, sincere. And Boone was a loyal person, if enough of the mire continuing to clench his footwear was to be smudged upon his personal pursuits in the last few weeks. Months. Years. It was hardly of consequence. What mattered was ensuring their safety, and a promise to do no harm to a potential threat would either label them as untrustworthy or murderous, which were the same noose in his contacts’ eyes. Then again, he always was good at lying. “No harm.”

Boone strode forth to get a closer look at the souce of contamination in their, but hesitated to draw his own handgun. He appreciated Sisceal’s train of thought, but appreciation was not congruent to agreement. They had created more than enough of a cacophony as it stood, in his mind. A shoot-out could frighten the steed at a minimum, the potential rider at most. Also, he felt as though smiting any hoofed animal, however thundering in its travels, would be a waste of valuable resources. Food. Ritualistic fodder. Conveyance. He was a horseman without a horse, for crying inward silently; their number already caused confusion among victims and upcoming traitors, he didn’t want to distract the general populace in any other respects. “Sisceal, I think shooting would cause harm. You have incredible aim and very loud bullets.”

So there was a rider who Boone did not recognize, which scared and excited him all over again. And there was more of Abel being good with words and bad with threats. And then there was Connor, being good with threats and bad with decorous words. And then there was Abigail making reference to… events Boone did not recognize, per se. He was vaguely interested, which was going to haunt him to this world and beyond, but forced himself to focus on the situation at knife-holding hand.

“We are clearly made afeared by girls, wars, and slander, so please, let us keep her close. Worst comes to worst, we kindly request that Abigail’s people help us in exchange for our amazing services,” he said, splaying the free, grimy fingers of his right hand in mimicry of an explosion. “She may have truly taken a wrong turn, but we still don’t know where she’s heading. We could hold her hostage. There’s likely a cleric per town looking to hide a daughter of her description.”

The suggestion, hypothetical to the hilt and having absolutely no relation to the intense familial worries coursing through Boone’s cold veins, was said in a rush. He could contain his enthusiasm no longer. He’d been awaiting a reunion for far too long, and whatever disorder came with the unfortunate visitor would only serve to be a bonding activity. Right? Right. No harm? No harm.

“Where would you suggest we rest? Surely not the site of your next nuptials.” The rare conscious attempt at humor was accompanied by an unnatural sort of smile, crinkling the corners of his eyes but involving far too many teeth. It was his last resort. Acerbic dissension was something they were meant to sow among the Virtues and their affiliations, not amongst themselves. “If I may, it seems we must either use our reputations or hide them completely to have a hope of anyone helping us.”

Boone turned to the dark-haired woman, the same unholy teeth-gritting grin plastered on his face. “Please tell, where were you going?”

He was just so charming.

 

[Axeykins]

"Don't you look at me in that tone of voice Abel." Sisceal got snippy seeing the look those damned yellow eyes of his gave him. "All of you quit with the judging, we can do that later. Y'all got no clue what had to deal with or do to get back to the meetin spot in the first place. You try prying it free later, but right now let's just pick a direction and get moving. We can either go further into the badlands and escape the news or closer to our Virtue friend's doorsteps. Throw em off by doing the last thing expect and start rumors to send them on a wild goose chase. Should be some places like that over the ridge right?" He gave the stranger a harsh judging stare of his own while he holstered his gun again. As he was listening to them debate about what to do with her he did agree on one thing. They were going to have to take her along. It was an unsteady time in their lives and would be stupid to take the risk of leaving her. They could use her as a shield or bargaining too. surely they wouldn't up and attack a hostage or attack them immediately with one in tow. Maybe if someone was looking for her they could collect a reward even get paid while keeping their hunters at bay? Heavier coin pouches always did feel nice on their belts.

Taking in a deep breath he followed suit with Boone. It was like a switch was flipped in the man. His face stretched to a wide overly welcoming smile and his voice got far more buttery. A tried and true snake in the grass, perfect at his profession of being the 'kindly priest' type. Acting like nothing in the world was wrong. "Don't worry my dear as my friends said we won't shoot pr use anything else on you, I promise. We can't let you go but we certainly won't bring you any harm. Long as you don't give us any trouble." He motioned for her to come closer to follow them. Trying to motion to his compatriots at the same time to just start moving. They genuinely couldn't sit long he knew Paw Paw couldn't be far behind, he could feel the burning hatred headed their way. Him and Connor left a path about as subtle as tornadoes on their way to the meetup. "Maybe as my friend here asked you can tell us where you were going? Maybe we could take you there ourselves? We do need a place to stay. Maybe you can show us? We have no place to go, we're just poor unfortunate souls lost and homeless out here."

 

[Aridis]

Even Dolly was starting to get fidgety at this point. Blair slowly lowered her hands, still being careful to not reach for a weapon even instinctively. One hand went to the reins, to keep the horse in line. The other went to Dolly’s neck to give her a few comforting pets. It was a damn good thing that Blair wasn’t hoping for anything more than survival, because things got complicated quickly.

The band of strangers went from letting her go with a promise of secrecy, to keeping her along for their own safety, to debating whether or not she’d make a good corpse, shield or payday. None of those options were particularly pleasant, though the amnesiac was still far from true, blind panic. Begging and crying wouldn't change the outcome. 90% of the conversation went over her head completely. The best she could gather was that these people were actively on the run, from Virtues no less. The names of the Horsemen were thrown around, but she wasn’t sure if they were nicknames or actually the real deal. Either way, it didn’t exactly bode well for her. All she really knew at that moment was that she was going to be dragged into danger. Danger was a foe that she was desperate to flee from.

“Watcher…?” Blair echoed in a murmur. Despite being lucid for a few weeks now, she hadn’t had much time to sit down and discuss the world with anyone patient enough to teach her. On the bright side, the lack of memory probably absolved her of being a threat on that front. Probably. She was ready to bolt the second that freedom was once again on the table. Maybe if she ran fast enough, they wouldn’t have time to change their minds.

Despite multiple people gesturing for her to get closer, Blair kept Dolly still. She would follow, if she really had to, but she didn't fancy the idea of closing the distance between them. A bullet could easily still reach her. Hell, some of their horses could probably run laps around her mare. The distance was less about finding a chance to escape, and more about not being touched.

“I don’t have a destination.” She droned honestly. No use lying about it, she wouldn’t be able to bullshit her way to a solution if anyone pressed for details. She couldn't even come up with a name of a town off the top of her head. Sisceal's sudden switch to sweetness had the opposite effect on her. Had Blair not seen or heard his agitation just moments before, it might've been comforting. But now, she trusted the guy with too many teeth and a personal infestation way more than the holy figure. "And you'll be hard pressed to find a patron desperate or rich enough to pray for my return. I was headed in this direction, but as we can all see, that was a mistake. I'm afraid I won't be as useful as you might've hoped. I can keep my mouth shut, though. I don't have the time to stick my nose where it don't belong."

 

[Soviet Panda]

Connor glowered at Abel and Abigail, wanting very much to shoot one of them in his frustrations, but knowing full well that he'd only be able to get one of them at best. "I ain't scared of nothin'." He grumbled to himself, pausing and turning back to look at the lack of movement from everyone else. He had a suspicion that the lack of movement was from their horseless rider, Boone, and as far as he could tell he was right.

He never could figure Boone out. There was something off about the man, that he could tell, but he was smart about it. Using big words and saying things in a long, fancy way instead of getting straight to the point, not unlike Sisceal. Unlike Sisceal, Boone didn't ever seem to have a reason to not talk all fancy and couldn't find one to talk straight. So perhaps it would come to none of the other Rider's surprise when he spoke up. "Boone, I didn't understand a damn thing you just said."

And though he didn't understand a darn thing Boone said, he did pick up on what he was doing with that sickening smile of his. That and the rotten honey words that came oozing out of Sisceal's lips. Connor, always one for not mincing words, took a more direct approach. Kicking Stepper into a gallop, the large draft horse quickly got behind the stranger and her horse. "Get going, I'm not as nice as the others." He growled as he cut off her escape.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The spent the next few days traveling across The Spine, picking their way through game trails and skirting deadly drops, until eventually they reached a decrepit old church. It might not have been what Abel's bolt hole, but it was certainly something. And it was familiar to Connor.

"Oi, ain't this Ol' Gnawbones' haunt?" He called out from the rear, keeping their 'guest' firmly in front of him.

 

[Karcen]

Abigail looked to the old church and mused on what Connor asked. The place likely was the old ghouls' haunt. Really Abigail did not care for the ghouls carrion feeders that loved to live below graveyards and churches where they could get at rotting corpses easily. Abigail had seen many things in her time wandering after the fire and few things compared to a ghoul feast. Well there should just be one ghoul here so there would not likely be a feast and besides ghouls were not naturally aggressive so he was likely running on empty when it came to rotting flesh to eat. There was the small chance he had dug into some forgotten pit of bodies and a chance he had taken a family and now they had a colony of the hunched canine headed figures.

" I think it is, but one corpse eater isn't that much of a danger unless they think you are a rotting corpse " Abigail said not worried by the presence of the ghoul " Ghouls even in numbers aren't much to worry about, i met a rather friendly colony of them once, just try to avoid their cooking " Abigail chuckled. Coming upon an old ghoul was better than most things they could have come upon. Abigail would hate to find a random Gug, moon beast, or stumble upon a Mi-Go mine. Those all were very dangerous but kept away from humans so few met them.