He grinned one of those charming little grins. "Ohh, not yet you aren't but why not plant the seed? Besides, I don't see why I should have to choose." There was a way he could purr that silvery tone of his that blurred the line between harmless teasing and being taken seriously until it became indiscriminate. Regardless of intent, he just turned away to attend to his own business. He didn't want to keep them any more than they'd already been delayed.<br/><br/>A grunt loosed its way from his lips the moment the arm was around him. He looked down with one of those dull amber eyes and gave a frown. He waited there silently until whatever mood had possessed Ace to do so had passed and then rolled his shoulders and returned to fixing his pack and saddle. Dane couldn't quite place what was wrong with that one. At least Caine only seemed to be amused with him while Ace seemed to feel the need to do...things. He really didn't like either of their antics, but what else could he expect from people of their profession and moral inclination?<br/><br/>The man softly sighed before mounting up. He was quiet for most of the ride, and rode other side of Caine this morning. Up until they were ready to split up, of course.<br/><br/><br/>Once he found Ace had no qualms, he gave a nod of his head and turned the sluggish bay back towards the trail. He road in a few more paces at a walk before he was finally giving it a little kick into a canter. It took a moment, but the beast made a huff and complied. Caine did nothing but watch him disappear up the path with a lazy stare. It slowly made its way to Ace as he spoke.<br/><br/>"Oh, it's been a bit," came the yawn-strained tone. It was an absolute truth which, where concerning anything that came from Caine's lips was involved, was surprising. He normally had people to do this for him, the ones doing the long hauls and the open nights. This time, of course, he had to do it himself. Still, other than becoming to the fluctuating amount of sleep, he wasn't too concerned.<br/><br/>"Mmm, he wanted to go first why bother following so close? Something comes from him we'll be better able to prepare the longer we hang back." It was sound strategy, sure, but it didn't speak much to Caine's concern for someone who was going to be such a long term traveling companion. Really, if Dane was going to be a long term traveling companion, Caine was in the state of mind he better damn well be able to hold his own with just scouting ahead. He gave a sigh and sat up. "Fine, fine."<br/><br/>He thought Ace was being vastly too interested in doing more work at the moment. Which he supposed was a good thing in the long run. For the moment, it was just mildly inconveniencing.<br/><br/><br/>Around the bend of the trail, the path narrowed and continued straight nearly as far as the eye could see. And, as far as the eye could see strewn across the tree covered path, there were bodies.<br/><br/>From where Dane sat atop his horse until they tapered into small blobs of green fabric and red splatters, the massacre of a military squad assaulted their sight. Matching uniforms wearing a kingdom's insignia made it easy to make the assumption, the fact that there were nearly enough dead horses to match the number of dead men made the rest. Here and there, a blade was spiked up or a pike wavered softly in the strong breeze. It was the only movement other than the opportunistic flies that had come early to the feast.<br/><br/>Caine recoiled back a little, instantly looking about. Judging from the still pooled blood, most of which hadn't had a chance to dry, the culprits weren't too far off. Caine was quite sure that, to take down this many armed men in armor, there had to be more than one. He looked to Dane, reading the way he was raised in his saddle, head turned to the side. He was listening. Perhaps more. The dark haired man didn't ease his own pricked attention until he saw Dane settle back down into his saddle before he was slowly dismounting. Caine seemed less apt and only walked his skittish horse forward. It didn't like to see its own dead, and there were plenty of them.<br/><br/>Some horses and men had made it off the path a little further, though it wasn't hard to find them among the strewn marks. Impact streaks of crimson splashing on trees, shrubs, and across the dirt.<br/><br/>"This has to be, what, twenty men? Freshly killed but not eaten. And just look at those marks." He tilted his head to the side. "Awfully big gashes on those horses. Men, too." The marks on them were gigantic gashes. The leather of their armor hadn't stood a chance and, where there was sparse metal, it had been either dented to do more damage than good, or it was pried off all together.<br/><br/>"It was indiscriminate. Quick" Dane was currently crouched by one of the green-clad men. Rummaging past the armor.<br/><br/>Caine looked over him and smiled. "Oh, good call! Might as well see if they've got any coin or nice weapons. Won't be using it where they've gone." Looting was hardly something to pass up when on a trail this far away from any semblance of civilization<br/><br/>The man actually had to stop for a moment and close his eyes. He muttered something under his breath before he finally found what he was looking for. He plucked it off and held it up. It was some sort of chained necklace. On it was a crude form of a pointed shield with the same tree-like mark that was all over their armor.<br/><br/>"They'll each have one. Each of the advance guard of Loc'Morht is given them at the time of their inscription. It'll have their family names. Should be returned to their country. From the looks of it, they've lost everyone. Even the scouts. Wouldn't do right to have the families wondering. Hope can eat at a heart as much as hate."<br/><br/>He stood and moved over to the next one to begin plucking the crests out.<br/><br/>Groaning, Caine just leaned forward and crossed his arms over his saddle. "You're really going to waste that time with that? What about carrying them around? Bunch of chains clanking together is probably what got them done in in the first place. Ser-"<br/><br/>"Wrap it with a bit of fabric between. Pack them with sand or dirt. Not that hard to figure out." Dane was defensive, the tension clear in his tone. It was the first bit of time he'd shown any bit of motion. He'd been offended by the idea of Caine considering them a burden.<br/><br/>He huffed and rolled his eyes. "Ohhh, gods. Really? Very well. What's next? We going to hunt down whatever did this to avenge a bunch of dead men?"<br/><br/>Dane had begun walking towards another body, but paused to look over his shoulder. Caine's expression flat lined before his brows knit together.<br/><br/>"Oh, come on! You're not actually suggesting that, are you? What's the point? We've got our path ahead. We should just be lucky that it wasn't us nor did we have to deal with a group of soldiers who would have only been all too excited to see a sell swords." He turned to look to Ace. "I think we have ourselves a bleeding heart here."<br/><br/>He didn't think Ace would seep into the same (quite frankly pathetic) vein of concern. Or at least he hoped. He'd wanted to see them in a fight, yes, but something that had quickly dispatched at least twenty men and their horses? The damn beasts were still lodged up against trees! If they couldn't make it out, what could two uncoordinated men who had no idea of each other's tactics hope to accomplish?<br/><br/>No, it was a fool's errand. One that he didn't think Ace would play into.