Wandering into Germania (Eadfearth)

[Queen Alessia]

Alessia rode with a group of twenty guards. She wanted to get away from the construction of Scythia and visit some of the neighboring countries. She had already made an alliance with the Slavic people and she had passed threw their territory. But, now she had no clue who's territory she was in. She had hoped that they were somewhat diplomatic and would listen, but she didn't know if they were civilized or not. She had already had a run in with some people, who attacked her and her guards on site, killing six of her guards. She didn't know where they hailed from, but she hoped the same thing wouldn't happen again.

The Queen was wearing a thick, dark purple cloak with fur around the edges. Her guards were also wearing thick clothes under their armor, to keep them warm. It was surprising colder then that of Scythia, but she had come prepared for this. She had the hood on her cloak pulled up and over her head, hiding her appearance and keeping her head warm. As her and her guards road across the countryside, a light snow was beginning to fall. She felt a sting of cold as a snowflake hit her cheek, and she wiped her cheek with her gloved hand. She glanced around for a moment before she looked back forward.

After another mile or so, Alessia slowed down to a trot, then into a walk and eventually stopping. She slid of her horse, like the rest of her guards did and she lead her horse to the small stream, letting it drink from the water before it froze up during the night. Her guards did the same, letting their horses rest and drink. The Queen let out a sigh, seeing the steam of her breath in the air. Suddenly, the horse Alessia was holding onto lifted it's head and let out a neigh. "Hey, relax. Everything is alright." Alessia whispered as she pet her horse on the mane, trying to relax it. Something had spooked some of the horses and she wondered what it could have been.

[Eadfearth]

On the other side of the stream, a group of men we're hidden. They were out of eyesight, during the dark night. It was a wonder, as Eadfearth had left the Slavic Land he had noticed Alessia's group of men. He did not know if he should of approached the group or just follow. It was not common for a large group of armed men to enter his land. He would take the conservative path and watch from afar. Not an hour after he had begun to watch, the group was attacked. He did not recognize the attackers from afar, they seemed to be simple bandits for the most part. This had left Eadfearth restless, if bandits attacked him and his crew they would be done for. Despite the fact Eadfearth and his companions were skilled fighters, the three of them could not fight a large group.

Eadfearth watched, as they stopped to camp. At that moment he would not discover their intention. He needed men, luckily their was a town nearby. He quickly avoided the Scythian camp and made his way to the town. The king took fourty men out of the local Garrison. They had quickly left taking a route that ended up on the opposite side of the stream.

The group had spent a couple of hours till night. Which was now. Eadfearth wore a thick fur coat. One he had made from a kill of his. It provided shelter against the harsh weather, and at the same time allowed him to blend into nature. Eadfearth crouched not thirty feet away from the camp. His men had begun to circle it, they stood in pairs of two. One armed with a bow, another with a sword. They watched their king, waiting for the signal. He lifted his non sword arm in the air, and held up two fingers. He then gave a gesture, aimed at the camp. At that moment, they moved in quickly. The men with swords would rip down the tents, while those with bows made sure nobody would move. They were given the order not to kill, unless attacked. Eadfearth himself moved like a shadow, approaching the female by the horses. She had appeared to be the leader of the group. Their was at that moment a sudden gust of wind, causing the nearby foilage to rustle. At that exact moment, Eadfearth ran foward to the queen. He was incredibly quick, and agile for his size. In a matter of seconds, he was by Alessia's side his sword pressed against her back.

[Queen Alessia]

While Alessia was tending to her horse, trying to calm it down. She felt a cold gust of wind and she pulled her hood down more to protect her face. But, she caught motion out of the corner of her eye, but it was to late. Her guards must have noticed the other people, because they began to draw their swords. She could feel the blade against her back as she took her hand away from her horse slowly. "Well, it would seem that we were being watched." The Queen said, in the Scythian language, so that the people, who she assumed were bandits, wouldn't understand what she was saying. "Don't attack, yet." The Queen added.

Alessia looked at the ground for a moment as she contemplated what to do. She could confront the bandit and flat out tell him her identity, thus making her an easy target for ransom. So, she decided that it was probably best not to reveal that part of herself to them. "Do not tell them who I am. If they ask, I am a trader from a distant land." The Queen said in the Scythian language before she switched dialect. "What do you want, bandits?" Alessia asked, in their own language. It wasn't the best, but it would have to do. "We are not any threat to you, so why do you attack us?" Alessia asked, keeping her back to the man that held the sword to her.

For once, the Queen was happy that they did not have the Scythia banner flying and that they had not been wearing the armor they would have normally. It would add to her and her guards acting like a trader and her guards. Was she worried at all by these people that surrounded them? Of course she was. She had no clue whether or not they were civilized or if they were just blood crazed barbarians, thinking that she and her guards were easy prey. Either way, she would try not to offend them, so she would not anger them. From what she has encountered, it is best not to insult or offend a Celt.

[Eadfearth]

Eadfearth moved his sword from her spine to the back of her neck. He understood for the most part what Alessia said in Scythian. It was a language he did not learn well, but for the most part he understood she was somewhat who was some what important to their people. Perhaps a diplomat or General. Though they rarely tend to be female. He would not reveal the fact he understood them ."We are not for the bandits. We work for the King. Your group does not seem to be made of traders. You have more weapons than common goods." A man not to far from Eadfearth spoke. He would not reveal Eadfearth's identity as well. He was one of Eadfearth's companions, and knew the king well. He was not dumb. " If you are really traders.... What land is this, and who rules it?" Now Eadfearth spoke. He interrogated the woman.

The Scythians were out numbered two to one. Slowly the swordsmen approached the Queen's Guards as the bowmen kept an eye of them. Eadfearth pulled out a long knife as he sheathed his sword. He pressed the knife against her gut as he leaned closer. The sword had given to much room between them. " Tell us who you are, where you hail from and why you are in our lands. Our Lord is reasonable, and no harm will come to you if you tell us what we want to know." He whispered quietly into her ear. "I do not wish to harm you, or your companions."

[Queen Alessia]

Alessia heard what the man said as one of her eyes went to the captain of the guards. Now she had to think fast at what to say. She still had to keep her identity a secret, but she could tell them what country she was from. Maybe she could say she was a messenger... no that wouldn't work. They usually didn't travel with a heavily armed caravan of soldiers. But, a diplomat did have guards. Perhaps she would say she was a diplomat, but she still wasn't entirely sure she wanted to tell them anything at all.

Alessia could hear the man near her sheathing his sword and she thought it was over, but when she felt a knife go to her stomach, she froze. The guards made a move, as if they were going to lunge at Eadfearth, but they remembered what Alessia said to them and they stood still. "Fine, you wish to know the truth?" Alessia said as she looked ahead of her. "We are from Scythia and I am the daughter of a warlord there." Alessia lied. "These are my guards, assigned to protect me. After our leader made an alliance with the Slavs, we decided to travel into their country, just to see what it was like. I guess we went past their borders and into your's, whatever country this may be." Alessia said, her eyes staying in front of her.

[Eadfearth]

Eadfearth smiled as he felt Alessia tensed. He looked up at the guard who almost made a move on him. She would of been dead in mere seconds. "If you were heading into Slavic lands, whom you claim are your allies you would not need so many body guards." He said in a tone that accused her of lying. If she was the daughter of a war lord. He did not want to hurt or kill her. His land was about to march into war. Not to mention he had just made an alliance with the Slavs. That as well would not be wise. An allies' ally is usually a friend. Eadfearth gritted his teeth. "You are rather deep into our land." He said suspiciously, this was a time to be cautious. It was not a time to make friends, he had recently been betrayed. He quickly glanced at all of his men and watched as they took a step back. "If you are lost, maybe you need an escort back to Slavic land." He still did not reveal his true identity or the current land she was in. The Germanian's were not to friendly, and she would eventually learned she had stumbled into Germania. Alessia was lucky she would leave the land untouched. He pulled the dagger slightly away from her gut. But it was close enough to threaten her. Eadfearth quickly glanced left and right. There was a storm coming, a snow storm maybe a blizzard. It would be a tragedy if they were caught in it.

[Queen Alessia]

Alessia let out a laugh as he said that she wouldn't need so many guards. "I'm the only daughter of a warlord. He wouldn't want me to be hurt while I was in another land. It would seem that I did need this many guards, since we were attacked before." Alessia said in a dangerous tone in her voice. Alessia listened carefully to what he said. Now she knew that she was in a different land, a land where they clearly didn't like outsiders. How was she supposed to know where the Slavic land ended and where these people's started? Well, there were alot of white-outs and storms, so it was easy for them to loose track of how far they reall traveled.

"Well I am sorry for the intrustion, we didn't mean to wander into your land. What with the recent storms, we must have lost our way." Alessia said gently, her tone a little better then before. When he sid that they could get her escorted back to the Slavic land and she nodded. "That sounds good, but the winds seemed to die down and we, unfortuntly, know what that means. A storm and a pretty large one at that." Alessia said softly as she looked down as he moved the dagger away from her gut. Her guards began to relax, as they saw she was not in an imediate danger. "Perhaps we should find a place to get out of the looming storm. It would be a shame if any of us died." Alessia said.

Alessia wanted to know something though. Where were they and who would dare to hold her hostage. "I told you who I was and now I want to know who you are. What is this land and who are you?" Alessia asked as her eyes went to the dagger and she sighed. She hoped he would move it soon, since she was getting tired of standing frozen in the same spot.

[Eadfearth]

"Of course." He mumbled under his breath. It was a commonly used story. Perhaps an excuse made ahead of time, perhaps they had waited for an unpredictable day. Then again, maybe Eadfearth was being too suspicious. A storm was coming, Alessia was correct there. He did not want to take responsibility of her death. Her father would be upleased, he thought to himself.

"Who am I?" He said with a laughter. "You are in no position to ask me questions." Eadfearth reminded her, glancing at the guards. He mocked them, he showed he would kill her with no hesitaion if necessarily."But you at least deserve to know your captor." The king replied, his dagger dissapered. The large man smirked. "I am Eadfearth of Germania, and you managed to stumble into my land." He hoped that her men did not need to be reminded that they were outnumbered and surrounded. "There is a town nearby. A rather large one at that, there will be more then enough room for you and your men." Eadfearth would not flatter her. Some may say he was not very King like. For the Celts he had nearly all ingredients of a perfect ruler. "We will leave now." Eadfearth commanded. The captain ahead of time had sent about five men to bring their horses. They had some how managed to bring all fourty three of them, including Eadfearth's. Which was rather difficult. Eadfearth kept a man watching Alessia, as he mounter his horse. She snared and titled her head upwards at the sight of the Queen. He could not help but grin.

[Queen Alessia]

Alessia glared straight ahead of her as he laughed. If only he knew who she really was, he probably would not be insulting her. She could crush his land, if she really wanted too. But, she decided to wait to reveal her identity to Eadfearth. When she saw his dagger disappear and she stepped away from him and turned around, looking at him. He defiantly had the looks of a barbarian, though she personally thought he didn't look like a king to her. "Germania?" Alessia asked as she crossed her arms. "Never heard of it, but as I said, we didn't mean to come to your land." Alessia said, venom dripping from her words.

Alessia turned her back to him as she walked back to her horse. She listened to him say there was a town nearby and she nodded. She listened to his horse and she rolled her eyes, pulling herself up on her own. No one commands me, Eadfearth, you will see. Alessia said, after notice the way he almost commanded that they were going to leave. She glanced at her guards, almost like she was giving them silent orders. They moved and got back onto their own horses as Alessia turned her horse around to face Eadfearth.

"Lead the way, then." Alessia said as she gave another glance to her guard captain and he looked back at her. She didn't trust this man or any of his soldiers. She would reveal her identity, but only reach the town. She was annoyed by how he was treating her and her men, but it may have been their custom and she wasn't about to question that.

[Eadfearth]

Eadfearth nodded his head. "Yes Germania." He said with a grin. He actually liked the fact she did not recognize the name of his land. It meant that, or at least for Eadfearth he was more educated than the war lord's daughter. But many of his teachers were both Roman and Greek. They had taught him much, and his knowledge was surprising. Secondly, if the Scythians did not recognize Germania then other nations would not expect an invasion from them. That was a good sign; they by definition basically marched into war at this moment. Eadfearth watched as Alessia mounted her horse. He could not help but smirk, the command was for his men. "Ahh... But if you were a war lord's daughter then you would at least know how to take an order or two. Does your father not command you?" It really didn't come to him that maybe she wasn't simply a War Lord's daughter. “I will see." He spoke to a man on his left. “Remember that." The man could not help but chuckle. "Yes sir." The dialect he spoke was rarely used. Only a small part of Germania spoke it. If Alessia did not recognize the country, she could not know the language.

Eadfearth nodded his head, as he shouted an order to his men in his tongue. His soldiers head South West not bothering to ride in a formation. They did not worry about surrounding the Scythians. They were marching deeper into Germanium land. A snow storm was coming, and if they ran they would most likely get lost and possibly die. Another possible out come was getting captured, by real bandits. He did not ride to far away from Alessia. He did trust the woman, but she could not be blamed. Germania was mustering its army, preparing for war. That alone could sum up how the Scythians were mistreated. But there were also other factors. They were actually treated quite nicely in the countries current situation.

[Queen Alessia]

Alessia could hear Eadfearth talking to some of his soldiers and she ignored them. When they got to the city and got to know each other and she trusted him, she would tell him who she was. She could tell by the way he was looking at her that he didn't buy that she was the daughter of a warlord, but she would stick to that story for now. Eadfearth seemed reasonable to her, since he was the leader of a country called Germania. A country she never even heard of or knew about. The Celtic lands were a mystery to her and their land was the only land she didn't have on her map back at Apollonia, the Scythian capital.

Alessia's eyes went to Eadfearth as he rode close to her. He actually didn't seem as bad as she first thought, when he held her hostage. They may have been acting more aggressive to outsiders for a reason, perhaps she would ask him about that later. "Thank you, for this." Alessia said softly. She wanted to thank him for helping them get out of the storm, so none of them would die. It was very quite around them, but the wind had begun to pickup and some snow blew around. The hood on her cloak kept her face hidden from Eadfearth and everyone else and it kept her face warm. "How much further is this town?" Alessia asked, turning her head to look at Eadfearth, a smile on her face.

[Eadfearth]

Eadfearth constantly turned to talk with his men, as their horses trotted forward. Every now and then they would laugh and wipe a tear from their eyes. They did not make any gesture or motion that might indicate their laughter had to do with the Scythians. As Alessia turned to speak to him, he nodded his head. "How much farther?" He asked himself. His men looked at each other shrugging. The king let out a sigh, these were simple soldiers who did not need to know the land that well. His personal guard would do better, but they were not there at the moment. The king observed their current location. He looked at the snow capped mountains in the distance, he studied their shape. He knew his country like the back of his hand. Most of time as King-in-Waiting he had spent the time hunting. "Not an half hour away, at this rate" He replied. Eadfearth had a desire to ride faster but they could not. The ground was growing cold and slippery. It would be fatal if a horse slipped" I believe its beyond this hill." The hill he refered to, was the one they were about to pass over.

Eadfearth let out a sigh grinning. "What we approach is not much of a town. It is rather small." Eventually they had reached the top of the hill, the town was just at its foot. It was a decent sized, at the most three hundred civilians lived in it. They usually did not have many visitors. But still, there was more than enough room for Alessia's guards. This had an actually been the town where he had taken the men. The king actually had a home there. It was fairly large, with enough room actually for the whole group and more. "Well here we are." He said as they approached the town's gate. A Palaside wall surrounded the town, it was not much. But an attacker had no need for a village this side.

[Queen Alessia]

Alessia nodded as she looked up at the top of the hill they were about to go over. She looked off into the distance, to see snowcapped mountains. It was truly a magnificent site, but she was not about to stay outside in the storm that was about it hit. She could tell that he wanted to go faster, but the ground was to dangerous and their horses could get wounded or possible die. She let out a sigh as they climbed the hill, her head looking to the ground to keep the wind out of her face. It was a blistering cold wind, but she seemed to be the only one effected by it. The Germanians around them didn't seem to be bothered by it and her guards were almost ignoring it, their eyes staying on everyone around them.

Alessia looked down at the village and she smiled. It looked cozy, but looks can be deceiving. "I am sure it will be fine. We have some towns like this in Scythia." Alessia said, a smile on her face as they began to approach the town. She looked at the wooden palisade that protected the settlement. She glanced at Eadfearth out of the corner of her eye, a smile on her face. "It is good that we have made it." Alessia said as she looked over the horizon, where the storm was coming from. "It looks like the storm will be here soon, we should get inside and find shelter." Alessia said as she looked at Eadfearth.

[Eadfearth]

"Just in time." He quietly said to himself. She was right, the winds were beginning to get stronger, and there only seemed to be more snow. "Open the gates." Eadfearth shouted in the local dialects. The gate keeper, despite it being night and there being a storm still recognized the group, or at least the majority. The wooden gates were opened quickly, and the group of men quickly made their way into the city. Eadfearth quickly spoke to his men, as the group traveled throughout the small town. Each and everyone one of them spoke quietly among themselves and nodded their heads. They approached a large building, in the other half of the village. It was much larger than all the other buildings. It was one Eadfearth's homes away from home. In his father reign, and more specifically while he united Germania it served as a tribal meeting hall. The separate tribes of Germania would send their leaders or representatives to talk diplomacy. Along the buildings side was a stable, that was constantly used by the village. This to was larger than all other stables in the village, and there were enough stalls for every horse. The stable was warm and cozy, it was suitable for the current weather.

The King's men dismounted their horses and handed them over to the stable boys. Eadfearth himself handled his horse, he did not believe the young men had the experience to handle his black. Better to not find out he told him. Eadfearth walked over to Alessia. " The stable boy's can handle your horses, I suggest you let them do so. Unless you plan to leave them out in the snow." He pointed out. Eadfearth waited for Alessia and her personal guards, before he entered his 'house'. He expected them to follow. Once inside the house, the size of the building could be seen. There was a long room, that at once had been a meeting hall. It was now refurnished, to make it look like a large living room. To the side of the meeting halls there were rooms. Ten on each side. On each end of the room there was a stair case, leading to a second floor. There was another ten rooms on each side, above the others. Every room had two beds maybe three. There were enough for the whole group in total.
Eadfearth walked to Alessia's side. " My men shall take the rooms on the left, you can divide the rooms on the right among your men." He explained.

[Queen Alessia]

Alessia watched as the gates were opened for them and she followed Eadfearth into the city. She watched carefully as his guards talked amongst each other quietly. She couldn't tell what they were saying, since they were speaking softly. She looked at her own guards and she could see them looking at her. If they were to be killed by these people, this was the spot to do it. But, she could tell that they were not going to be hostile towards them, so she would not be hostile as well. She looked at the large building as they approached it. This must have been where Eadfearth lived.

Alessia watched as Eadfearth got off his horse and gave them to the stable boy. When he spoke to her, she nodded and got off her horse in one, graceful movement. She handed the reigns over to a small boy as she smiled under her hood as she looked back Eadfearth. Her guads did the same, giving their horses to the stable boys. Alessia followed Eadhfearth into the building and she let out a sigh of relief as a wave of warmth hit her, spreading threw her body. "Alright." Alessia said as she turned around to look at her guards. "Split up into twos and threes and pick a room on the right." Alessia said to her guards, in their own language. The guard captain approached her. "Your highness, what of you?" He asked as Alessia shot him a look. "Do not call me that, not yet. They should not know who I am. And, I will be staying in a room by myself. You can assign two guards to guard the door, if you wish." Alessia whispered to the captain in the Scythian language as he nodded and her guards moved out to pick their rooms.

Alessia turned around to face Eadfearth again, her hood still on. "Could we have dinner together, alone? There is much I have to tell you." Alessia said softly, a smile on her lips. "Say... maybe in a hour or so?" She asked, looking up at him. He was much taller then him and she would be intimidated by him in battle, which was a good thing. Most of Eadfearth's guards, she noticed, were a little bit taller then her.