Uphill Battle

[Brian]

"But I don't know where to begin!" Quincy protests.  "I....  You see things more clearly than I do.  I don't want to teach anything wrong."  He flinches into himself a bit.  "Anything more wrong," he mumbles.

[Dracos]

"Let every man be a priest in knowledge, but this is too soon..." Dracos considered,  "come, you and I will talk as we make our way towards the roads."

~Too much too soon, I'm going to try and calm him down and then hopefully you can ask later about the basics, or rather...what's outside the basic bible.  you have an amnesic state to work from~

Dracos talked slowly with Quincy as they walked, inviting him to ask the questions on his mind and explaining that it wasn't about teaching right or wrong, but about sharing the knowledge that allowed people to make decisions and understand more truly the Creator's plan.  It was about going further than simply saying things were taboo but being able to share the wisdom on why that is the case in a way that the laypeople could understand.   It was questioning the taboos that we did not solidly understand and gaining either the wisdom that was lost or overcoming the fear that paralyzes.

Dracos
OOC:
Tom, your choice on what we do with our prisoners.  Intending to move us from forest to road here.
Brian, if you want to play out this conversation, irc would probably be good there or I can delete this ender and we can just talk it over.

[Carthrat]

~We should probably keep off the roads, man. We're all still here... and we can find our way across the wilderness well enough. But where there are roads, there are.. others.

And I still think we should try and head over to Bjorn. We've got horses; let's freaking use them! If Quincy tells us everything I think he can, I'd take him with me, too. That healing stuff is too good to go without.~

"And for the prisoners... ugh. God help me, I'm going to let you go. One of you idiots is already loose... hmph. Let's see if you can find your way out a fucking forest before dying. A sporting chance, eh?"

Tom blindfolds each of the prisoners, spins them around a heck of a lot, and then sets them all to start running with one thrall alongside in seperate directions (each of them away from where his group is going), who has instructions to knock them out again before returning (and covering their tracks.)

[Dracos]

~In time, Tom, let's calm him down and give us a chance to orient ourselves better.  We'll decide when we get  there...but it's probably better to go to Anabara since it gives us, more specifically YOU, a chance to also learn how to use the gates and frankly that might come up if we split later.  And we need to stop being as sudden as we both are being... it's going to confuse any converts we get.~

Dracos

[Brian]

Not long after the thralls return to the base camp, a problem arises.  There's a plume of bright red smoke wending upwards through the air in the direction that the original escapee disappeared in.

[Dracos]

~signal fire?  Crud.  Tom, want to go on horse find, and off him quick so at least they don't know what they're hunting?  Or should we just get running so we're far away?~

Dracos

[Brian]

"We....  We're going to be in trouble," Quincy says, gazing up at the smoke.

[Dracos]

"Quite a bit of it," Dracos agreed.  "Let's get  moving, we need to be as far away from here as possible."

Dracos

[Carthrat]

"Yes, let's go. They're probably just using that to meet up again anyway," remarks Tom, sighing, and hopping on a horse to start leading the thralls onwards towards the Anabara gate.

[Dracos]

Dracos grabbed a horse as well, the crew moving with all speed.

~Actually,  I suspect that's more a call for the big guns rather than regrouping.  Like the garrison.~

Dracos

[Brian]

Just as Phil is about to ride off, Bjorn's mental voice comes through the void, feeling as though it were from somewhere far away: You probably want to stay in place for a few minutes.

The men quickly ready themselves to move -- even Quincy, who's staring at the plume of smoke and trembling -- but await Tom and Phil's orders to do it.

From above, a thin, keening noise can be heard.

[Bjorn]

Following on the heels of the last message, Bjorn adds, Big damn starship headed your way.  Ought to be pretty dramatic.  Heads towards it when you can.

[Dracos]

Dracos thinks back at him, Good to hear from you Bjorn...  And I take it said starship will be yours?

Dracos turned, looking over the others.  "Stay calm a moment...  Something is strange here, that I did not notice before."  He attempted in a lame even to his own ears fashion to explain the lack of rushing off.

Dracos

[Carthrat]

"I don't see anything..." mumbles Tom. "Well, apart from the smoke."

[Bjorn]

Bjorn's voice through the Dream remains faint.  On loan.  We'll pick you up, then go off to meet Nathan.  Can't keep this conversation up long, sorry.  I'll get back in touch with you if something comes uip.

And then he's gone.