Welcome to Gaia! ::

The road life had not been kind to Caspar this day, so far he had been walking all day and there had been not a single drop of water or scrap of food for him to sate himself with and not single traveler to barter with. For he while he traveled light of supplies, he kept enough gold for what he would need and certainly enough small trinkets worthy of a loaf of break and a skin filled with warm water. He needed nothing more then that yet no chance arrived for him to get such supplies, but he was not so desperate as to use the last minute preparations....those had their purpose and he could not use them in anything less the the perfect situation. The man wandered into the forest, knowing that the town of his destination would be quick ounce out of the forestry. The man might blame his thirst on the giant's blade of a sword that he carried on his back. Almost as tall as the man himself and looked enough to slice a horse through and through. But Caspar wouldn't blame that. He carried that sword everyday for the last seven years, it was nearly forgettable on his back as it always was. No, what he blamed was himself for packing so little, planning on this being the easy trip that it was meant to be. It was his fault and he acknowledged that and so forth kept walking further into the forest.

Upon heading in near the center of said forest the man caught sight of a young man. He kept to the bushes and acknowledge that the boy had the face of the local royals, which no matter the role of this boy would do him well in what he meant to do. Leaning down the man pulled out a knife and gave his right leg a slice. The wound was superficial, bleeding profusely but not creating any permanent damage nor would it incapacitate him in anyway. The man then placed a rock in his shoe so that he would appear to limp and walked toward the boy. "Fellow wanderer, I make myself known, for I am of no harm!" He called out as he limped to the tree across from the male and his fox. He then leaned back against it and sat down at the base, feigning worse exhaustion then he had and more injury then he had received. Looking back up to the male, his eyes shown bright. "Tell me, where is the nearest town and what is the name of the healer there? I must get my leg healed if I am to deliver my message to the lords. I have gotten lost and now the message is delayed. I must get my leg healed or the worst might fall upon this land. Tell me man so that I might make it worth your while." The man said, his voice serious but with a hint of softness to it that made it not menacing to hear.

Caspar kept himself from smiling at the sight of the boy releasing the fox. The animal itself was one to note that the boy had found it's favor when clearly other humans were not given the same courtesy. The male in front of him was certainly an interesting one, to have the royal face and the commoners clothes and to play with the forests animals. The whole idea was convoluted enough without the fox, but it having been there with the boy meant something. What that was the man was unsure of but there would be other tells of course. No person was without their tells. The man simply let those come out on their own and listened to the boy stutter along trying to give him information. Caspar finding the boy was just burying himself his own grave as he spoke. Caspar huffed once the boy had finished. "How do you not know the local healer? You are clearly a local, unless you wish for me to believe that you are either so foolish enough to travel without any supplies to your name and no weapon to protect yourself?" The man said, pointing out the obvious flaw. "I highly doubt that you have never been sick either, not only is that an impossibility for all who are not healers themselves but you must have family members that would need care." the man then gave a grin. "However, I suspect you must have been the kind that went to a private healer when you did? Only thought that comes to mind for one like you, so vain as to walk into the forest without a weapon and with no supplies." The man said gruffly.

Wondering how carefully this boy had been raised, wondering if he was the naive boy he played that he was. The man went into his bag and pulled out salted meat and a fresh wine skin. "You will need something to eat eventually...or to at least share with your little friend." He said with a grin, handing the male a slice of the and handed over the wine after taking a drink himself. "Take that as a reward for giving me some information, I'll give you a better reward for anything you can tell...the stuttering I'll ignore." The man said before standing up, being sure to make it look like standing upon his bleeding leg was truly painful, he moved closer. "I look for the Lord Draven and his son Syn of this land. News from the Lord Taishe about the state of affairs between their houses." Caspar said earnestly, knowing full well who it was beside him and knew that Lord Taishe was a trusted friend of the lord's home. The other male would know it right off. "Tell me the direction of that lords house and I'll be so kind as to tell you the message, so that you can be prepared for what is to come." The man said, seriousness still clearly in his voice. "Then if you could point me in the direction of the nearest healer then I'll gift you with that wine. It was meant to be a gift for the lord but I think he would understand the consequences of this....I need to relay my message."

Caspar grinned as he watched the male react to his words, the boy having made it more then easily known who he was, openly admitting that he had revealed himself, and then just got to the point. But of course the boy had been both lying and demanding things of Caspar without any ounce of respect in his voice since the boy had quit the cat, the man didn't feel like being to the point. The boy hadn't deserved it at all. "Oh so you really don't need to get any food for yourself do you young lord? And you really can''t be out here too long. Have to get back to that progression of gold and women to choose from of course. Though I'm surprised to say the least, most women aren't willing to try and court a man that can't say a full sentence without s-s-s-stuttering." The man said going into insults. He didn't care this male was of royalty, there was no need to hold back, the boy deserved this all. "But of course you don't get sick often, no need for a healer when the best of all is at your fingertips, food that is fresh from the kitchens and water that was probably boiled pure so that the young fair royal boy need not fear the commoner's disease. Too good for the commoner's food and wine too." The man said as he chuckled, packing away the food and drink. He had heard things of the royals and their extravagances. This boy wore clothes of lower quality then a lord, but it would be a long shot to call it commoner's wear. The man himself had been wearing the same clothes for a month now, only taking it off to wash it when need be. This boy was rich enough to have a separate set of clothes for when he needed to get away. and yet he was still demanding, it was adorable that the boy could switch from lying to truth and expect a strait answer.

Caspar then looked to the male and knelt down to look into the boy's eyes. "Don't worry about my leg boy, I'll get it cared for once I finish my mission." The mans said before taking the male's chin in his hand and forcing him to look up to him, he then leaned in and whispered into the boy's ear, the message being secret of course. "The message from Lord Taishe, speaking of the matters between the young heir Syn and his daughter Lady Sasha...." The man said before punching Syn heavily in the gut pulling back and doing it again so that the male would be out of breath, and then backing up so the boy fell against the ground out of breath. "...the negotiations have gone to long. He shall wait no longer. Sasha shall be returned to the castle untouched with all her belongings and progression...so that she might be ready for when she arrives home safely and you alive." The man said, his voice emotionless as he said this. It wasn't his message after all. The man then took advantage of Syn's lack of breath to take his hands and tie them behind his back, stringing them tight so that there would be no wiggle room involved. The man then took the male's hair and chopped off a strip of hair, folded it into a paper that had this message written down and then tied it to an arrow that he stuck into a tree, the dogs would follow the boy's scent to this place and find the note....when they realized that he was missing. He then lifted the boy up and threw him over his shoulder, the boy really not being that heavy of a weight for the man. "You an have some peace and quiet during the trip, just be sure not to yell thrash around and this should be easy enough for the both of us." The man said before beginning to walk the way he came. He hadn't been glad that there had been no travelers on the way to the young man, he now prayed that the same thing would happen on the return trip.

Caspar felt as the last of breath left the young royal's lungs and the boy blacked out. If there was ever a time to leave, it would be at this moment. Should the boy awaken at anytime he could being to yell and the farther from the boy's castle they were when that happened the better. Caspar grabbed his zanza and grabbed up anything that might identify him and hid his tracks there before heading off the forest road and into the thickest. It would be easier to walk through the road but in all honesty the forest path would have less people and more game. It might take longer but hell, what was time when one didn't want to get caught? A day spent hiding your tracks was better then doing nothing and being caught at the end of that day. The man ran for over an hour, using up any lasting strength to get as far as possible from the castle and from the road, being sure to run through every small creek along the way in hopes of losing his scent. Caspar ran through the forest and through the thinner areas in trees until they were now surrounded by over growth and animal refuse. Caspar could easily believe that no human had ever been brought to this area of the forest before. Caspar spied a cave and looked to the sky, twilight approached and the day was over. The male needed to be woken up or he might end up with nasty side effects the longer he slept. So Caspar walked the boy to the cave and set him down among the rocks carefully. As much of a brat the male was, he did not deserve to be thrown around without reason, no, let him give perfectly legitimate reasons to be hated, that was what royals tended to do for the larger part.

Having noticed the small creek not out of eye sight the man left the boy, filled his helmet with water and then poured it upon the boys face until he awoke. "Boy! Get up!" He said waiting until the male eventually opened his eyes, and just when the boy took in recognition for where he was or rather where he wasn't Caspar put his hand over the man's mouth. "Should you scream I warn you that I was only ordered to bring you back alive. Your state of being was not brought up and should I find reason to...I will make it be so that you will not be able to talk much less scream." The man said harshly. He then released the male's mouth and turned to the supplies. The man poured the boy a drink and placed out the salted meat once more before turning to the boy and presented them to him. "These will be your provisions during the trip. I was assured that they were well enough to be served at the king's own table so don't be complaining. I'll gather my own meals later...once I'm sure you aren't up to anything." The man said as he at back against the wall opposite the royal heir. His giant sword loudly scraping against the rock of the cave as he sat back. The man then crossed his arms and watched the boy, the food sitting in front of him and the boy without hands to eat it. There were many choices on how the man might go about eating, one of which simply asking for help politely, but Caspar didn't expect so much from such a poor mouthed man. He expected some kind of show of foolery rather then humility and in either case he was going to watch.

Caspar watched as the young male sputtered awake and became clearly frightened once threatened. That was a good thing for Caspar. The first thing one needed to be when dealing with people is that friendliness rarely secures anything, intimidation, when it's real, works better then anything else. Plus it would mean that the male would at least be compliant. Sitting back he looked to the male and waited to see what he would do. The male would eventually eat or drink something then would go back to sleep to sleep off the pain. Of course that would be if the boy stuck to the usual form, which so far he was but Caspar was willing to be surprised. And soon enough he was, seeing the royal actually try to tell him that he was a good guy that cared about his subjects, which was only surprising that the boy hadn't brought this up earlier. "Frankly sir, that isn't impressive." The man said simply. "Even the poorest has food that it will not eat and feed to the dogs, you are doing nothing special bringing your food to the few poor you know about. I also doubt that the ones that desperately need the food are the ones you find. For they are the ones not even the poor will feed, the sick, the dying, and the elderly of the poor are often left to starve for a quicker death and a relieve on the family. This is the life many lead and how many of the common folk spend the end of their days." The man then gave a soft sigh. "The poor do not need your pity, what they need is for there to be balance...they need a ruler that makes it so that while he might not be able to wear the finest jewels or have the softest meats possible, makes it so that even the poor have a way to get food. Make it so that you wont have leftovers to give to the poor but make it so that they don't need it.....then I will be impressed. Your hand outs to them are nothing worth mentioning." The man said simply.

Caspar then grew wide eyed as the young royal asked for help with his drink and offered the food for him. Caspar, however, quickly recovered and sat up, taking the cup in his hands and leading it up to the male's lips. "Blink twice when you're done." he said, waiting until the boy gave the signal to pull away the wine. The man refilled the cup and waited until the boy asked for more, bringing it up should he ask. "I appreciate the politeness....It makes for caring for you an easier task. But the meat is for you one way or another." The man said simply. "That meat and this wine are all the food I intend to carry between camps and all I intend to feed you until we reach my destination. It is going to be for you to stay alive on. I will live off where ever we are. It won't be any trouble really, and I'll get the fresh food. Don't pass any charity me for I can care for myself boy." The man said, sitting back once done giving the male his wine. "We sleep here tonight, this is an abandoned wolf cave, no animal will near it and the wolves are at a summer den preparing for their next batch. You should sleep well, but I will make a fire at the entrance once it goes dark, just don't roll into the fire in your sleep." The man said simply, leaning against the rocks and looking out the mouth of the cave.

Caspar raised a brow as he listened to the boy's pointed words. The male clearly not liking what Caspar assumed about him. Giving a shrug to him the man could only respond ponderously. "I know not why you try to convince me of anything, I am the person that abducted you for your father's enemy. I doubt we'll know each other any longer then a few weeks, and that's only if all goes wrong and we take all the long ways. You convincing me is to literally try to convince a wandering passerby to trust that you are a good person...but only have your words. If you live to somehow take a place of power, then show me just how charitable you are by fixing up things so that you don't have to think about it as much. That's a good thing for any leader to try...learn that lesson or god knows things like this..." The man gestured to the male across from him. "...is what ends up happening." The man then knelt down and looked the male in the eyes. "Also, if it was not pity you felt then what was it and why did you go so far as to go off on your own to give the poor the food? I'm doubting that you went about asking the other nobles to give the poor their food. I would have heard of such a thing. That tells me that you're either a coward that won't ask of the other rich to do what you think is right, despite being a royal AND a grown man, or you're being insincere with me." Caspar said as he picked up the salted meats and once again packed them up, uneaten and still lasting. He wondered how long the man would last out not eating, he would get hungry eventually.

Caspar then had to bite back a chuckle as he began to put away the wine and heard the Prince's request. The man stood up and went over to the boy. and pulled him up so that he was standing, he then turned him to face the wall. "Alright then, but you do anything regrettable then...well...I'm sure you can figure the outcome." the man said as he began to loosen the ropes around the male's wrists. He reworked the ropes so that the man could reach out in front of him roughly six inches, enough to do what he would need to do, however, if he tried to reach any further the rope was looped around his back in such a way that it would cause friction against both his wrists and his back and cause pain. He also reworked rope around the male's feet, enough to let him walk, but try to run and he would fall flat on his face. The man then backed off and pulled out his crossbow, aiming it at the male's head. "Now..don't do anything regrettable. At this distance you'd be easy pickings for an idiot with no hands and the aim of a blind man." The marksman warned. He prodded the male's back, carefully. "Go on, this is a limited time thing." he said, leading the man out down wind from their camp and to a tree. "Alright, drop whatever you can here, because this is the last time you get tonight." The man said, taking a few steps back to give the other room but making it clear that he wasn't going to turn his back for modesty's sake. He also made it clear that his crossbow was still aimed. "Go on...the sun's going down and you don't want to be caught with your breeches down in the dark with a man now would you? I'm sure that the people back home would be more then a little astonished wouldn't they?"

Caspar chuckled a little at the boy's plea. "I don't shoot things that aren't moving. However, you should be warned that unless you show otherwise that I'll assume you just can't walk and I'll carry you to our destination again." The man said simply. Once they reached their destination Caspar took a step back and allowed the other to do his business, Caspar guarded him and made sure that there was no funny business but didn't ridicule the man while he was in probably the most regrettable positions that one could be in with any of their dignity intact. He did however take the time to observe the boy, human nature as it were. And he would admit that he caught glimpses of the man that he was sure others would kill for and yet kept his silence. The boy was handsome in many respects but nothing that would warrant Caspar to comment in the current context. There was taking things too far, even for him. Once the boy finished the man felt his ears pick up at the comment the boy made. "Oh really?" The man said, not in a mocking tone but rather a genuinely interested one. "Well there is sense in that....but then again you should probably have informed your parents that was the case. Whether or not they agree to allow you to have such a preference, at least they'd know what to look for, some butch woman or strict young heiress perhaps...and besides, it'll only get worse the longer they don't know while everyone else does. This is how rumors start circulating after all and how most tragedies with royals start. And honestly the normal people would be entertained by the knowledge but not for long. Trouble between royalty always trickles down to problems for the rest of us after all." The man pointed out. he then gave a halfhearted smile as he pressed the boy on further. "Besides, once the news is out and about, there will be a parade of men at your door...trust me when I say that for just as many women your parents show you there are men willing to do the same."

The man lead the boy back by the tip of his crossbow and noticed when the other failed to be able to lay down properly. Setting down the weapon Caspar once again changed the ropes around so that the boy's hand were clasped together in front of him, allowing something to lay on. He even removed the ankle ropes but instead used that to tie the ropes that held the boy's hands to Caspar's heavy armor. "Rest boy, we'll be once again travelling tomorrow." The man said as he started a fire at the cave's mouth and then sat against the cave walls. After a moment of silence from him the man looked to the young royal. "Boy, if you ever do reach a position of power...I will hold you to your words." He said sternly. "No I won't hunt you down and slice you for dinner if I find that what you fed me today were lies or desperate pleas to be released. But I'll hold you to them by reminding the people that once again a royal failed to take us into account...even if they were kind as children...that deep down you're untrue. That will give you more problems then you could ever dream young royal...remember that."The man said before sitting back. "However, if you turn out to be a respectable ruler and can do some good for the people...well then I'd eat my own boots and become your messenger to the other kingdoms that I visit...telling them that there is hope for the spoiled monarchy yet." The man said before shrugging. "However, with how you are now there is a chance you will do neither and will be just a puppet the rest of your life...in that case I'll take my payment and leave.....though I would be grossly disappointed." The man said as he sat back and prepared for sleep.