Disclaimer:The Forgotten Realms are not mine but most of the characters in this fic are mine. If any canon characters show up I'll tell you so, not that anyone is really reading this far into this particular fic (sigh).

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Later the next day, Ricardt and a bleary eyed Teilla rode out from Suzail on the road for Eagle Peak in the Stormhorns. When they had gotten out of the city, Ricardt turned to the groggy half elf and asked, "So anything I should know now or should I let you try to sleep in the saddle?"

"Last time I tried that, I fell off the horse," the bard grumped.

"You forgot to tie yourself in," he pointed out. "And you did fall into a nice soft pile of leaves."

"Anyway, before I doze off," Teilla yawned, "Carad Yseph is known as very, very dedicated to Tyr and is generally regarded as on his way up through the ranks of the church. I don't know if whoever you spoke to mentioned it, but Carad is missing his right hand..."

"A zealot," Ricardt groaned, "I've never met one and gotten along."

"Well, look on the bright side. You get to save his bacon, show him how a paragon of justice should act and as an added bonus, you outrank him so you get to boss him around."

"Oh goody," the paladin did not sound thrilled.

"I also found out that Eagle Peak has hired two more parties to deal with this thing since Carad disappeared," Teilla went on. "One came back with nothing and told the village that it had to be a really mean badger. The other group never came back. Whatever it is, it hasn't affected the merchant trains that come through periodically yet, but Supposedly the town is understandably getting nervous about the possibility."

"I can wait until we get there to get better details of what we're looking at," he reasoned. "No sense in going off half cocked over rumors."

Having determined that neither of them knew where or what trail markers that Mirandaline had used to shortcut them to the Cormyrean capital, Ricardt and Teilla traveled along the main road through the Forest Kingdom. The autumn air grew more chilly as they started to lead their horses into the mountains, bypassing the mule track to Whizban and taking the more traveled trail to Eagle Peak.

AS they started looking for a campsite for their first night in the Stormhorns, Ricardt spotted smoke rising from a fire. Teilla spotted two people moving about it. "Ricardt..."

"I see them," the paladin peered through the tree trunks. "It looks like..."

"Hello there!" the bard called to the campfire.

"... Two rangers," Ricardt finished.

The two people seated at the campsite turned and looked in their direction. The bard, dressed as she was in bright blue and red, stood out against the trees like a peacock among pigeons. Ricardt was not hard to spot either in his chainmail and blue and white tabard. They started walking over to the fire.

The older of the two rangers looked at the pair skeptically and said gruffly, "Hello. If you've got your own grub, we can share the fire. I'm afraid we've only got the one coney tonight." He had greying brown hair and a permanent stubble over the lower half of his face. A crossbow and pair of axes rested near to his hands and his worn leather armor had more scuffs on it than Teilla's travel worn boots.

The younger of the two had not yet started to grow a beard yet and wore his leathers uneasily. The young man fiddled with one of the laces on his sleeve. Ricardt guessed that he was some sort of younger relative of the elder ranger, for he bore a resemblance to the older woodsman. "So," the elder started, "Where are you two headed?"

"Eagle Peak," Teilla said engagingly, "And you are...?"

"Joss Ironswit," the older ranger said, warming up. "And this is my nephew, Cris Arogla. He's learning woodslore."

"Hi," Cris gave a shy wave.

"We're also on the way to Eagle Peak," Joss continued. "Something about an unknown critter doing mischief."

"That's what we heard as well," Ricardt noted. "My order sent someone, but he is a bit overdue to come back."

"So they sent you in?" Joss snorted. "Sounds like they're throwing hawks into a stream where they they really need to throw fish instead."

"That may be so," Ricardt conceded, " But people should not have to live in fear for their lives from some strange creature. I would be open to extra eyes and your woodscraft, sir."

"It would certainly be nice to know if we were dealing with a really mean bear as opposed to say, a wyvern," Teilla observed. "I'm Teilla Hawksman and this is Ricardt Arniss."

"Pleased to meet you," the elder ranger looked the bard over. "Where do you fit into this dog and pony show?"

"Me?" the red haired half elf grinned. "I'm a fount of useless knowledge, random trivia and obscure songs and lore."

Joss broke out laughing. Ricardt tried to hide a smile and ended up snickering instead. Cris chuckled and smiled broadly. "Well," Joss said between guffaws, "As long as the information is totally useless, I could see working with you two."

"How did you find out about Eagle Peak's problems?" Cris asked curiously.

"Well, a messenger from Valor Hall in Suzail caught up to us while we were enjoying Whizban's Spell and Herb Festival," Ricardt explained. "I reported in, Hammerlord Trannas handed me the assignment and we left the next day."

The novice ranger frowned, "That's not possible unless someone magicked you to Suzail."

Teilla rolled her eyes, "We may as well have been magicked there."

"Younglings," Joss chuckled, "So sure they know everything."

Ricardt started pulling some of the trail supplies out of his pack and set them to simmer next to the rangers' roasting rabbit. Teilla co-opted Cris into helping her groom the horses while Joss made sure the coney did not burn.

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Author's Note:

If you've managed to read this this far, please leave a review. I'm not feeling the author love. (sigh)