Adventures of Jessa

31

"Mel, I need you to go to Dhiren and have him meet me tomorrow at the border of Silva or even earlier if he can make it. I don't like the threat of so many bandits that close. It might not be directly near Silva, but it's within one day's ride."

"Jessa, you know the Prince will likely ride out tonight to meet with you. Are you sure that's all you want me to tell him?"

"Tell him that I also want to talk to him about the financial arrangements he made without telling me."

"Some things shouldn't need to be explained, Jessa."

"And some things do. Go, Mel and hurry. I have a feeling that times are about to get very exciting around here."

"I don't understand." Mel complains as he unwraps himself from around Jessa's neck. He prefers riding there when she's not busy killing things.

"Just tell the prince what I said. He should know what I'm referring to and if he doesn't then he can ask me himself."

Mel sighs before taking off and disappearing in the setting light.

Jessa finds a stream and does her best to wash off some of the drying blood from her face at least. She doesn't notice the mail shirt takes on a faint glow and then outline of what looks like dragon scales could be discernible. If it is looked at closely there is a faint blue glow to the look as well.

But Jessa is too distracted to notice any thing odd or strange with her mail shirt and so returns back to camp. She is a bit distracted but doesn't allow her thoughts to keep her from paying attention to her surroundings. 

That is why when someone comes at her with an attack, Jessa is able to jump back and roll out of the line of attack. With the space she obtains she pulls out her own sword and in short order is able to take down the would be thief.

"Why the hell did you attack me?" Jessa holds her knife to the bandit's throat.

"There is a price on the head of a female guard. One Jessa Brightblade. I took the chance that you are said guard and, well, you see what that brought me to."

"Who set the price on Jessa's head?" Jessa demands. She wants to know just who she is going up against.

"Don't know. Just have a way to contact them once we think we have her."

"What is the contact?"

"We are to send a message to Frosnak's counting house and leave it with some one there."

This just pisses the hell out of Jessa. She bets she knows just who they are to contact, but she doesn't say anything just looks at the man angrily.

The man swallows uneasily before telling her the rest of what he knows. He figures he's dead either way, might as well make it as easy on himself as he can. "We are to go to a room and leave a message for Selnik. Once that is done someone will meet us to make sure that we have the right person and if we do he will pay us."

"Yeah, right. He would make sure that you have the right person and then kill you, more like." Jessa says thinking out loud.

"You know this Selnik?" The man says nervously.

"Yeah, he doesn't like me and I think he's a piece of slime that you scrape off your foot because it's so nasty." Jessa says and once she is assured that she has all the information she can get out of him about Selnik she asks about the other information she gathered that day. He confirms that information as well, but states that call came from someone up north. No one local. He was rather bitter about it as well, since it means other bandits coming to take the spoils and less for him and those that work the area.

Jessa has little to no patience with that and ends the man's life rather quickly.

Well, that makes life ever so much more interesting. Frosnak is just going to love this new information. If there wasn't ample proof against him from before there will be now. Jessa hopes to be there when he is killed.

Perhaps he wouldn't be killed if he just set out a hit against a normal guard, but setting out to have his princess assassinated is a different story. Alaric at the very least will demand his death once he finds out.

Just knowing that she will NEVER have to worry about flying that slimy piece of shit helps her digestion just a little bit. She'll kill the bastard her self if she has to before then.

Jessa amuses herself in thinking of ways she'll go about finding and hurting Selnik when she gets back to Castlerock next week.

For the first time since she broke up with Dhiren she feels like she will be able to eat with out losing it a short time later. She sighs with relief. She was getting tired of eating and having to find some place at least semi private so that she can regurgitate the food with out making others sick in the process.

Jessa starts whistling as she returns to the camp. She pulls Nathan and Josnick to the side and reports to them what she just found out. Neither one are happy about the thought of her having a bounty placed on her head.

Jessa merely shrugs and says that once Selnik is dealt with there will be no more bounty since he won't be there to pay out.

The smile that goes along with those words make both of the humans with her uneasy. Jessa seeing that tones it down a bit and they return to the fire and the food. 

Nathan is pleased to see that Jessa is actually eating and shows no sign of being ill.

Smiling himself he sits down with his own food and starts digging in. All to soon they finish their meals and clean up. Nathan goes on first watch and will wake Jessa when it's her turn to take watch. Nathan has no doubt that Jessa will finish the watch on her own and won't wake any one else up.

He wonders just what has her so happy at this time? He hasn't seen her this happy since she introduced Dhiren to him at the hiring grounds.

Whatever it is, he hopes that she will continue smiling. He's missed seeing her happy and smiling.

He wishes whatever the duty that forced Jessa to give up her prince can be resolved. He just doesn't see how her being a human guard would keep her and the prince apart. The prince is the one that got her, her first job as a guard. He's sure that there is more going on than Jessa's told him, but it's none of his business.

He just hopes that they can figure things out. Neither one has realized that they are in love with the other. But to Nathan, it was as plain as day that they are. For what it's worth, he thinks the prince couldn't do better than Jessa. He knows that Jessa could do far worse than the prince.

He comes out of his thoughts when Jessa nudges him and tells him to go to sleep, that she'll be taking over.

"It's not your turn yet, Jessa." Nathan tries hard to dissuade her.

"I can't sleep, might as well let someone else get some. Go on, Nathan. You've earned it." Jessa tells him and won't be dissuaded. Reluctantly Nathan heads off to bed and is rapidly fast asleep.

Just as he's falling asleep he thinks he hears a rather high pitched and very fast talking voice and Jessa. He dismisses it as fatigue as his eyes close and he's fast asleep.

"Sleep spell Mel?" Jessa says in exasperation.

"Yeah, it'll wear off in an hour or so. Dhiren says that he'll meet you outside of Silva tomorrow. He'll be bringing someone to take over the guiding duties. The caravan is to camp near your old village, but you are called to a meeting. Alaric, Frosnak, the king and queen, your parents and the prince. They said that there might be others as well, but aren't sure at this time.

"It's important that you come, it's not a request." Mel says that last especially fast. He knows how well Alaric would take something like that and has no doubt that Jessa wouldn't be any more pleased with the summoning.

"Oh, it isn't is it?" Jessa's voice is deadly calm.

"It wasn't the prince that said that part, Jessa. That came from Alaric himself." Mel makes sure that her ire isn't against the prince. He feels rather bad for Dhiren and doesn't want her angry at him for no reason.

"I see." That's all Jessa says as she turns back to her job of guarding the caravan and loses herself in thoughts as she thinks about the meeting she's summoned to.