Rinto looked to the last man sitting at the bar and walked over to him. "And what of you sir? I assume you have heard everything I have offered to the others, any questions I have yet to answer from you?" Boundary looks over at the half-ling, expecting him to speak. His young face was still glazed over with a sort of solemnity, though his hair did a good job of somewhat hiding the sadness in his eyes.<br/><br/>"Seems a bit unorganized. Do you always ask random strangers for help when you need something done?"<br/><br/>"Only those whom look the part, and mercenary hire is not to uncommon. Unorganized it may be but I am in a bit of a rush to get this caravan off." Rinto smiled politely. Inside however he was cringing. Questions he liked, but these were digging into the wrong areas.<br/><br/>"I see, sorry where I came from mercenary work was not really something that was required." he paused, remembering things he would rather not and then continued, "You speak of a friend whom this is being delivered to? Who is your friend if I may ask?" A slight amount of steel in his voice, the half-ling stared back at boundary.<br/><br/>"You may not sir. Know you wont be delivering it to him directly, only to the border. He'll have guards of his own take it from there." Boundary became a bit wary after hearing his response and the way he looked at him.<br/><br/>"Sounds shady if you cannot tell the people you are hiring what kind of person we are delivering 'goods' to. For all we know we may be completely screwed over because you left something out."<br/><br/>"Well that is your choice to make. I am offering a hefty amount of coin for this job and I'll say again. You are not delivering it to the friend, only the border. Now are you interested or shall I move on for the night?" Rinto asked, now annoyed with the man. Boundary smiled, remembering a certain old man who used to be annoyed with his incessant questions. He would have gone on to assume what he would have imagined the contact to be to him and gauge reactions to see how correct he was, but he decided pushing the little man's buttons was not the best decision.<br/><br/>"Interested, but wary. You have my sword, but not my trust."<br/><br/>"Your sword was all I asked for boy." Rinto placed the contract in front of him with the quill, and counted the necessary coin. "As you know the caravan leaves at dawn tomorrow. Eat and rest well." And with that, Rinto finally started off towards the stairwell. Boundary watched Rinto leave without even waiting to see him sign the contract. He quickly inscribed his "name" Ronin onto the paper and then gripped the paper in his hands. He lightly pushed his will against it, imagining a light breeze and he watched as the paper slowly drifted through the air, over Rinto's head and right in front of him. Rinto grabbed the paper as it flew in front of him with a quick thrust of his arm, and slowly turned a sideways glance towards the man in question. Glaring for a moment, he continued on without a word.<br/><br/>On his way towards his quarters, he saw hulking mass of flesh walked into his bar unannounced. In contrast to his size however, the man appeared to be calm, and ordered as any other patron would. All that gave away his wild appearance where the furs he used as clothing. "Well then sir, it appears you've traveled far." The half-ling said on his way towards the table the hulking man sat. The man who would come to be known as Ruil glanced up from his food, looking the small man up and down. He smiled, lifting a chair next to him as an offer to sit.<br/><br/>"Yes. Far travels I have made, more to come I am sure. I am Ruil."<br/><br/>"And I am Rinto, a pleasure." Rinto took the offered seat and began the conversation in proper. "Where do you hail from? My guess would be Tyrinia, or perhaps Minst. I have traded well with Minst in the past."<br/><br/>"You have keen eye and are correct in your sayings Rinto, I come from the mountains of Tyrinia." Almost forgetting his manners, Ruil offered some of his salted venison then took another sip of his mead.<br/><br/>'This man interests me, but I am also wary of his motives.' Ruil nodded a silent agreement, he had learned not to trust many people in his travels after his first year away from home.<br/><br/>"Well from so far you must be here for a reason. What could send you to such a distant land?" Rinto asked, genuinely interested. Knowledge of his background of course, could be used to help his future employment to go smoothly.<br/><br/>The man's eyes now downcast, Ruil sat back in his small chair, the wood groaning and creaking in protest. "Bad times in my tribe... Drove me away. I have yet to see everything this world has to offer. Some I can do without, the evil seen in my journey was astounding, but there is also good in many. I think you could say I look for purpose." Ruil slowly nodded as he spoke, realizing the truth of his own words. His eyes locked back to Rinto's, now ablaze with the intensity of his admission.<br/><br/>'Hmm.. problematic, but maybe I can work this in my favor...' Rinto thought to himself as he listened politely to the mans tale. "Well that is unfortunate, it must be a hard life. If only there was a way to see the sights you wish and acquire what you seek more easily eh?" Rinto said, with a slight wink in his eye.<br/><br/>Ruil's eyes squinted as he looked at Rinto, he usually did not trust people who winked, but his words did intrigue him. Freya whispered nagging doubts in his mind, but he ignored her. "Please explain what you had in mind, Rinto. I am interested in hearing."<br/><br/>'Hooked.'<br/><br/>"Well I have a caravan that is in need of protection on it's way north. I have a few signed up already but one of your caliber would be a nice addition. In return you'll receive 150 gold coin in advance, and another 150 upon your return." He paused there, waiting to see the mans reaction at the amounts.<br/><br/>Eyes never leaving Rinto, his face did not change once as the offer was explained. "Money holds little value to me, I have found little use for it. What and who is the caravan?"<br/><br/>"I see you are a man of specific tastes. Know that I can offer much more than simply gold however." 'What it is you would want remains to be seen however.' "As for your questions it is a shipment of goods, lumber and ore, to the country of Shoven. You need not know who it goes to as I only require you to get it to the border."<br/><br/>Lumber... ore... Ruil doubted that was all that was to be protected but the adventure was too appealing to pass up. Freya sighed, but held no more appeals realizing his mind was made up. "Very well, I will protect your caravan." Before Rinto could even smile Ruil leaned forward, a few nose lengths away from the little man's face, towering over him. "But know this, I will be no part of any nefarious actions. Be warned that I will do everything in my power to stop any misdeeds."<br/><br/>Without so much as a flinch, perhaps even the hint of a smile, the half-ling reached into his cloak and removed the familiar contract, three names already on it. Setting it on the table he said naught a word and began counting the necessary coin.<br/><br/>The contract offered, Ruil retrieved the quill and glanced over the paper, finding the most logical place to sign. He drew an odd figure, then slid the paper back to Rinto. His reading had improved greatly as he traveled, he enjoyed books of the various country's lore and great battles fought, but his writing was still of a lower level. "Your paper is signed, what now?"<br/><br/>Setting the bag of coin on the table, the half-ling stood and bowed after retrieving the contract. "Now you feast and drink to your hearts content. The caravan will set off tomorrow morning now that I have the guard for it. Thank you again." he bowed once more and started off towards the stairwell of the inn. 'A days work done. We'll see if these travelers can live up to my expectations.'<br/><br/>The contract signed and fresh coin in their pockets, The 5 adventurer's did so feast and rest that night. Filling their bellies with what food was available and taking their appropriate rooms.<br/><br/>The morning sun rose quickly from the shore of the great sea. The fishing boats already sent out to find their catch, the rest of the populace were just now arising for their daily rituals. It was a crisp morning, a slight fog rolling through the streets, but it hindered none walking it's stone hewed trail. The guards made their rounds as always and the merchants set up shop and started hawking their wares to various passerby. Outside the makeshift gate of the town was a different tale however. A beginning of a journey for 5 young adventurers. Each greeted the driver of the caravan they were to guard, and would begin their journey to the north. Unbeknownst to them however, came many trials and new faces.<br/><br/>One in particular was heading down the very same road they would be traveling. However, no ordinary face. Half-dragon, half-human, it was unknown who's side he was on in the on-going war, let alone his motives for being on the road in the first place. One thing was certain however, and that it was going to affect the 5 adventurers in one way or another. For their paths were about to cross.