[PRP Jauhar] as dirty a move [Ouen & Kalliope] [FIN]

[Stereochrome]

This was a particularly large caravan, and some of the bandit’s eyes shone with greed. Ouen, too, was bristling with anticipation… but it was not the loot that got his heart pumping as much as that which he had heard about the reputation of this particular trader. He was a nasty piece of work, this one, and the lancer yearned to put him in his place.

His name was Okalin. He was a noble, albeit a somewhat disenfranchised one – much of his wealth had come from the slave trade, and after his precious ‘assets’ were freed he was left to scramble to hold on to his luxuries. Word was that it didn’t take him long to turn to his old habits, capturing back slaves and selling them on the black market to those who did not very much care about proclamations of emancipation.

It seemed that the illegality of his actions had not harmed his profits too much. He had to pay bribes to keep things quiet, but… some of the additional costs were offset by the fact that he could not deal equally in all manner of slaves – not just water earthlings, but other races as well. Even Obans! The thought of that made Ouen’s fingers tighten hard around his lance. It was not, of course, that he had any special affection for Obans… but to enslave your own kind, that was as dirty a move as he could think of.

* * *

When they had gotten the caravan stopped, however, they discovered that Okalin was not in it. He had perhaps heard rumours about the bandits’ presence near the Oban border, and set out by himself on the sly – the coward!

For the rest of the bandits, unburdened by Ouen’s desire to stick his lance in a slaveholder, this was good news. Okalin had no doubt taken some of the guards with him, leaving the caravan lightly-defended… but still heavily-laden with loot. He left the others to the plundering, and kept his eyes on the guards they had tied to the wagon-wheels.

Heras Box

really set in Jauhar/Oba border area. hope that works!

 

[Heras Box]

Her journey had taken her some distance from the last place she recalled being. Kalliope had been taken, tied, and sold off. Of course all of that had happened over the span of a week or more. The dancer wasn't exactly sure on the actual number of days since she'd lost track of how long she was knocked unconscious. Now she sat in a wagon of a caravan by herself. For some reason Kalli was separated from the others that were going to be sold.

Hands tied together as well as her legs, the young Oban sat scowling. That was until the caravan was suddenly stopped and there was some commotion going on outside that she couldn't see. Kalliope tried to sit up and peek outside but the way she was practically chained to the wagon didn't allow for much movement. She had to wonder if the people that had stopped the small parade were better or worse than those that already had her. In fact she was still trying to figure that out when someone opened up the canopy to the wagon she was in.

Suddenly shifting she eyed the person. When they drew nearer she did her best to shrink back. Before too long there would be a piercing scream from her and a loud ruckus as she kicked and flailed and generally fought with the bandit. Kalli didn't hear their words she only saw their weapon. The commotion she was causing made one or two people go to Ouen to tell him about the unruly slave.  

[Stereochrome]

Heras Box

Ouen was not supposed to be in charge, not really. He was still relatively new to the band, and Talin treated him just like he would any other of his bandits, sending him off under the watch of one of his close allies. But it seemed like the situation was coming apart at the seams a little, and… all of a sudden the bandits turned to the one among them who always seemed to be in control.

“There’s a girl there.” One of them panted at Ouen, pointing at the caravan from which all the ruckus was coming from (as if it wasn’t obvious enough). “She’s Oban, but she’s tied up all by herself.”

There had been other slaves in the caravan, and these had already been freed (and sent scattering). Those were usually Talin’s orders – as long as the raid happened far away from their camp (which it always did, they made sure of that) there was no chance of anyone ratting out their whereabouts. But for whatever reason, it seemed like they were hesitating about this one. Nodding curtly, Ouen ordered (with his inexplicable authority) the other bandit to watch the guards and made his way back to the wagon in question.

The girl inside was… well, unmistakably Oban, as Oban as any Oban Ouen had ever seen – all flowing red garb and brilliant hair. Some of her clothes were in disarray now, as she had apparently been defending herself, tied as she was.

“Well,” Ouen turned to the bandits, eyeing the greedy looks on their faces. “What’s the dang trouble? ‘s just one girl. Cut ‘er loose an’ let ‘er go. She ain’t gonna kick you if you tell ‘er she’s goin’ free now, is she?”

There was some murmur from the others. “But she looks rich, doesn’t she? We can sell her. We can hold her for ransom.”
 

[Heras Box]

Stereochrome

By now most of the men had left her alone, not willing to get in the wagon with her. So when Ouen came to look she glared at him and rattled her chains a little. However, she seemed to fall silent when she heard him speak. She was going to be set free? Kalli sat up a little straighter and looked the man over. Well at least he was honorable.

Then she heard what the others murmured. "And they wondered why I fought back." The comment was made to herself. Then she decided to get the man's attention. Tapping her heels on the floor of the wagon she cleared her throat. "Excuse me.. Would someone UNARMED release me. If you try to sell me I can only promise to make your lives a living hell." Well that was spoken like someone who could so something. Kalliope was quite tiny and delicate looking so her threat likely fell on deaf ears.  

[Stereochrome]

Heras Box

The girl tapped her feet, interrupting their nascent argument and… well, practically threatening them, in her melodic little voice. Her words were such a contrast to her ladylike demeanour that Ouen couldn’t help but crack a smile.

Most of the other bandits, however, just guffawed and rolled their eyes. But the shifter waved them quiet.

“Well, seein’ as you’re chained up an’ we ain’t the sort to stick ‘round to look fer keys, ‘s gonna be mighty hard to release you without arms, missy. But if ya hold nice an’ still, I’ll work it out.”

The chains around her were quite solid – but they were wrapped around the wooden bench of the wagon. That was a much easier target, and after judging the construction for a moment Ouen glanced back at the bandits and gestured for one of them to hand over his axe. Then, gesturing for the Oban girl to shuffle as far to the side as she could, he raised the axe and swung it down hard, splintering the wood in two.

“Not much I can do ‘bout ‘em shackles.” He shrugged after they had pulled the chain free of the wood. “’m afraid they’re mighty heavy for you, but’f you follow this 'ere road you’ll hit a town soon ‘nough, and with your pretty face ‘m sure you’ll find a blacksmith ta’ help you.”

“Hey now!” One of the bandits interrupted, a big leaf woman with a rough voice. She grabbed ahold of the Oban’s chains and pulled the girl towards her. “She isn’t going down any road, Ouen. She’s loot, and we can make good money off of her.”
 

[Heras Box]

Stereochrome

The guffaw from the other bandits was expected, but the smile from Ouen was a bit unnerving. It was as if he found her to be amusing. That was a dangerous concept. What's more is he claimed to not be able to get her free of her chains without a weapon and no key. Kalli rolled her eyes at him, about to give a retort when he reached for an axe. The small framed girl went wide eyed but moved as he instructed. As the wood splintered she brought her hands up to shield her face then peeked at the damage. Well she was semi free.

Once out of the wagon she seemed to stand a bit closer to Ouen than to any other bandit. Despite any warning bells she figured she was safer near him than another. That was until her chains were grabbed by someone else and she was pulled. Seeing as she didn't appear to have any muscle on her tiny body she stumbled. "Excuse me, I am not loot. Loot is money or a precious item. I am a person." Kalliope took hold of her own chains and pulled at them to get them away from the woman that wanted to make money off her.

Her efforts wouldn't get far, as she was weak from little food consumption, but she still tried. Looking back at the shifter that had gotten her out of the wagon she gave a pleading look. "Ouen.. a bit of assistance if you please?"  

[Stereochrome]

Heras Box

They laughed at her when she defended herself as ‘not loot’, even though Ouen thought her words rang as true and self-evident as any truth he’d ever heard.

“You hear that?! Coming from an Oban? That’s rich.” The leaf woman guffawed, unconcerned by the fact that her rough movements were sending the young oban stumbling around, off-balance and indignant. “If you’re not a possession, why are you chained and sitting pretty in a merchant’s cart?”

“‘s not her choice to be chained, is it?” Ouen broke in, egged on by the girl’s pleading look as much as he was by his own convictions. “Just ‘cause some stinkin’ merchant done this to ‘er don’t mean it’s justified, an’ it sure don’t mean we gonna start sellin’ slaves now.”

“Well then we won’t sell her.” The leaf woman rolled her eyes. “If you’re so damn opposed to it. We’ll just hide her out in the jungle somewhere and send her family a ransom note. They’ll cough up, and then we’ll come by and set her free. Easy money! That’s Talin’s way, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Ouen bristled. He knew that the chances of him getting the girl freed were low now -- the other bandits seemed convinced by this ransom plan. But he had to do something, didn’t he?

“That’s the stupidest dang thing I ever heard.” He spat back. “you foreign folk ain’t got no goddamn sense. You wanna leave a girl like her out in the jungle? She’ll be eaten alive. An’ who’s gonna pay ransom money for some leftover rags, after the bugs is done with ‘er?”
 

[Heras Box]

Heras Box

She huffed. "I was kidnapped! You think I let them chain me!?" Kalli was feeling a bit irritated now. Still at least one of these bandits seemed to have some compassion in him. The mention of a ransom worried her. What if her parents were out on a caravan again? Her siblings would either go with or be doing their own thing. So the message might not reach anyone for a while. That could put her in more danger. "Ahem.." The tiny dancer cleared her throat to get everyone's attention.

"If it would be agreeable.. I'd be willing to work for Ouen and only Ouen to pay off my debt." That was the best idea she could come up with. At least at the moment. Kalliope just hoped he didn't come up with some outrageous number for payment. Since he seemed against slavery then she also hoped he would be against sensual payment. The Oban tuned her eyes on the man and hoped he'd understand what she was trying to do. His friends obviously wanted profit and he seemed to be against selling her. "I'm not a fighter but I can dance.."  

[Stereochrome]

Heras Box

The situation was getting rather heated, and by this point all of the bandits had gathered around him, the Oban girl and the brutish leaf woman. Ouen was too distracted to notice this, because if he had, he would have certainly yelled at the bandits to return to their stations.

Instead, he was just coming to absorb the Oban girl’s words, as she offered a potential ‘solution’ to her predicament. Work for him? At first he half-imagined her lifting and carrying things around the camp, which was just silly because… well, she was about the size of most of the things that were there to be carried. But then she explained that she was a dancer, and the whole crowd exploded into hoots of teasing laugher.

“Ouen has a private dancer!” One of the bandits guffawed, and before he was done laughing Ouen whacked him over the head with the stick end of his lance.

“She don’t mean that, you dummy. Why don’tcha -- “

At that point there was some angry shouting from around them -- and that was when Ouen realised that the bandits had left the caravan guards unattended. They had been tied up, of course, but now it looked like one of them had broken out and freed some of the others. Now the three guards took advantage of the bandits’ distraction to encircle their huddle.

Ouen clapped a hand over his forehead, groaning in frustration. “Idiots…”

He wasn’t even sure whom he was referring to -- the careless bandits or the still desperately outnumbered guards.  

[Heras Box]

Stereochrome

At any other time Kalli might have blushed at the thought of being someone's private dancer, but at this moment she found it preferable to the alternative. Which was being sold. Then of course she didn't have to worry about that since Ouen didn't seem the type. Still, she gave a bit of a grin when the shifter smacked one of his own upside the head. Now that was her kind of man. However, her smile faded when she noticed that the guards had broken free and were circling them all. Well that can't be good.

Since she was still in chains she would be of little to no use to anyone. Running would be a short lived choice since the added weight would make her stride awkward. Kalliope did, however, take advantage of the distraction and moved closer to Ouen before she gently nudged him with her hip. "Might wanna teach your men how to tie better knots." The tiny dancer then gave a pointed nod toward the problem as if expecting him to do something.  

[Stereochrome]

Heras Box

“They ain’t my men.” Ouen gritted his teeth, letting the young dancer step close to him. “If they was my men, there wouldn’t be any of this sellin’ you nonsense. But this is Talin’s crew, and Talin’s… well, we don’t see eye to eye on errythin’, that’s fer sure.”

There were just three of them, but they looked like three of the meanest -- broad-shouldered and firey, as seemed to be the usual design for Oban thugs. Their escape had made them bold, and now they stared down a dozen armed bandits like they thought they had some chance. One of them, the leader by the looks of it, spoke up after a tense moment.

“We’ll split the loot.” He gestured at the caravan. “Half and half. No fighting, no fuss.”

Ouen scoffed now, speaking up for the band once again even though he had just said they weren’t his men. “So much for loyalty! And didja throw away yer common sense too? Half the loot to three desperate men ain’t much of a bargain.”

“Alright.” The man growled sullenly. Then he pointed at the dancer. “We’ll just take her, then.”  

[Heras Box]

Stereochrome

Kalli has decided she will follow Ouen and be his dancer to earn coin for the group. XD

She gave a bit of a nod. Kalli hadn't really expected much from bandits, so learning that the actual leader of this band was just as bad as she thought.. well it didn't surprise her. "I am happy to have you here then." Some god or another must have been looking out for her. Now if only she could survive this little encounter. When the guards said they wanted half of the loot she nodded her head, that was reasonable! Then Ouen said it wasn't so she shook her head but caught herself looking at him with a confused look. About to say something she was cut off by the guard in charge saying they would take her and that was all.

Unwilling to go back into the hands of her prior captors and face being sold for certain, Kalliope gently reached out to take hold of Ouen. "I will do anything you wish if you don't let them take me. I will even become a bandit." Her words were spoken in a harsh whisper, since she didn't want others to hear and make fun as they had before. She was quite serious about what she'd said.  

[Stereochrome]

Heras Box

oooh. B) that works for me! at least for the time-being, while Talin's still in charge. when Ouen takes over, she'll be free to decide what she wants to do.

Ouen understood what the girl meant when she said she was lucky to have him -- and shuddered to think of any other times when the band had stumbled onto this sort of circumstance without him around. Surely this wasn’t a one-off thing; the Obans were used to slave-trading, and there were no doubt other pretty girls (and guys) chained up in caravans elsewhere.

But enough of those hypotheticals -- he felt a hand on his arm, coupled with the soft rattle of chains. The Oban girl was speaking to him again.

“Arright.” He nodded, although her offer to ‘become a bandit’ did rather surprise him, coming as it was from a well-dressed Oban girl. “I kin see them boys ain’t exactly got pleasant things in mind for ya, so… lessee what we kin do. Shen!”

The last word summoned up a gray-white radaku that had been crouching under the caravan’s belly, toying with some scrap of fabric or the like. But now the animal was baring it’s teeth and leaping at one of the guards, breaking the momentary stalemate and launching the group into a flurry of activity. Bandits surged forward against the four guards. Ouen went for the leader, keeping his lance close in such tight quarters.  

[Heras Box]

Stereochrome

She let out a sigh of relief when Ouen seemed to agree. That was enough for her to relax. Of course she would uphold her end. Kalliope would have to learn to be a bandit. Or at the very least she would need to wield some blade or another. She wold keep dancing as her primary path. When things erupted around her she brought her hands up to cover her mouth as she stifled a shriek.

Backing away from any danger she made sure to keep her eyes on Ouen. So long as he stood she should be safe. At least, that was what she hoped for. Still unused to seeing fighting or how well others could move she grew worried as the leader of the guards and her guardian faced off. "Look out!" Kalli called whenever the guard would try to attack Ouen.  

[Stereochrome]

Heras Box

The fight was little but a skirmish -- there simply weren’t enough of the guards to put up a decent fight. Ouen wasn’t even sure why they bothered. Perhaps they thought that a band of mixed-up earthlings wouldn’t be able to face up to such ‘impressive’ Oban opposition, but… regardless, after a few minutes of scuffle the guards had been knocked flat to the ground, their weapons taken from them.

Several of the bandits approached them with bare blades, clearly intent on making a kill. But Ouen, by now clearly in control of the situation, whacked their weapons away with the stick end of his lance.

“Aw, don’tcha be gettin’ bloodthirsty now. If all y’all was payin’ attention, these guys would still be tied up an’ not botherin’ anyone. So why don’cha do what you was s’pposed to, an’ tie ‘em tight. We’ll take their weapons with us an’ they won’t make no more fuss ‘en. ‘s about time we headed back to camp, anyway. There’s someone Talin ought’a meet.”

He nodded his chin towards the little Oban dancer, then stepped back to her side as the bandits followed his orders.

“You’ll come back t’a camp with us,” he explained. “Looks like thass the only way to keep this rabble from tryin’ to hawk you off. Talin won’t be too happy to see ya -- but I gotcha back. An’ when Talin says you can stay, then at least you’s can be safe ‘till we figure somethin’ else out.”