Snippet #2398133

As soon as the tall man grabbed the hilt of that massive sword, Michael thanked his lucky stars that he was wearing his special gloves. Hopefully, should the large man be driven enough to do something, he'd think Michael to be unarmed. One dodge and a good strike to the knee and most people go down. Considering he was close to the coach mean that large hunk of metal might damage it and what was inside, but moving could have just provoked a reaction. Despite the fear, turned mild after so many encounters like this, he kept a straight face. Even cocked an eyebrow as if saying, 'really?'

"Careful what you ask about stranger, I am referring to the candles yes. Though I warn you now, if you're looking to walk away with the recipe for it this town'll send you out to the wilderness on your arse within seconds. We all work together here." The large man yelled back, standing and putting on a face meant to be fierce but Michael had to suppress a laugh. He'd seen this before on bandits half the man's size, and not a single one who did such a thing was in the right line of work. The larger man was in a street full of pedestrians and the 'we all work together here' comment betrayed that he wasn't going to do anything that would harm bystanders. Grabbing a sword he couldn't safely use around the townsfolk betrayed that his intentions were intimidation and nothing more, and that just ruined the whole effect. As the man walked closer, however, Michael grew ready for hand to hand and suppressed a smile with a frown and furrowed brow. Hand to hand with Michael was not a good idea unless you wanted a couple bruised, maybe even broken, ribs. Or, considering the tall man's height, lifelong sterility.

"If that's the case..." He stopped only a step away, causing Michael to nearly betray his faux fear with a laugh. The large man still clung to his sword, even slightly pulling it from the scabbard, but at this range it would have simply caught on the coach and then Michael could easily break something, possibly the jaw if the man had lowered his head in the swing. But since that could simply be a ruse to distract from the large man's free hand, Michael was prepared to simply aim for the manhood with a good kick should he be pinned against the coach. Not exactly honourable tactics, but neither was such conduct from the large man.

That was when the man let go of his sword and grinned like a drunken fool. At this point Michael did truly feel fear as he did not know what was going to happen next. The humour was not lost on him, that a friendly face was more frightening, but that was the nature of trading. If someone came out of a deal smiling, then it was usually a bad deal for the other person. This may be no exception. This feeling was doubled when the large man's great paw was laid on Michael's shoulder, the doubt about the situation piling up.

"Then you're welcome to come along! I was just messing with you, It's for the candles," said the tall man, Michael still unsure of his true intentions, "I'm mounting a little field-trip into the mountains, Aisha worries about me when I hike up there so if you come along to 'make sure I'm safe' she'll probably be grateful enough to give you a few as a thanks. Without the herb the candles aren't going to be made anyway from what I know." Michael stayed still and processed the situation. Blinking slowly, he thought, well... I can't possibly see this backfire in any way, and nodded, letting out a sound of reserved agreement, a simple hum of 'mmm.'

"Alright, whoever's coming head to the gate. Quicker we get this done the quicker I actually get to sit down and relax." So spoke the tall man, walking towards the town gate that Michael had just found his way from. As soon as the tall man no longer took up half Michael's view he breathed a sigh of relief. The sigh stopped as he saw the smaller girl putting what looked to be a bow away. Was she in on it, or fooled? Either a close friend or a perfect stranger, I wouldn't wonder.

Shaking himself from his stupefaction Michael moved into the inn and got directions to a barn where he could store his vehicle and the donkeys. Out of curiosity Michael asked about the candles he had come for and the tall man's information was confirmed when the inn keeper said 'she hasn't been making as many of those as she used to, lately.' 'Damn it all.' he thought to himself, then tipped the innkeeper for his assistance. Two choices were apparent. He could wait at the inn, hoping he wouldn't have to wait long in order to get word about the candles. Maybe take in the local sights. Or he could accompany the large man and his companion, plus whoever else was assisting, and help get what they needed to get the candles that much faster. Michael was leaning towards simply staying put until he thought of something. 'If they're friends of who ever makes the candles, this Aisha person if I heard correctly, then maybe they'll put in a good word for me and I can buy these candles for less and make a bit more of a profit. Hell, maybe this Aisha will be coming along and we could talk business on the way there. Worth a try.' And with that it was decided.

After putting up his donkeys and coach, buying some new food as what he had was getting stale, and, since supplies were low, buying some extra yarn, thread, and fabric in the event of necessary patchwork, Michael went to the town gate and yawned slightly. He wasn't tired enough to require sleep; it was the middle of the day and he was prone to keep odd hours. He was more mentally strained than anything. Nothing the last of the slowly drying bread wouldn't fix.

Leaning against the gate he eyed up the tall man and then shook his head. 'Yeah, that's not going to happen.' He then looked at the woman near him and thought, 'maybe in a few years. Could be the big guy's kid to boot. I like keeping my head on top of my shoulders.' As he thought about this, something occurred to him. He never got there names.

"You know," he said half jokingly, "that wasn't exactly what I expected when I heard of the 'Willowspeak hospitality' that people from nearby towns kept telling me about. I'm Michael. Would the person who makes these candles be joining us on the trip?"