Warm Reception in the Cold [open]

[Oz]

Travelling West, Georgio and his 'accomplice' soon found themselves trudging through snow and slush, and Georgio was wrapping himself in his cloak to stave off the cold.
Rounding a hill, they finally set eyes upon the towering citadel of Venzet. Even from a few hundred metres away, they could see people moving about the place, even upon its walls and towers.
"Tell me. Have you ever been up here before boy?" Georgio mused to Colten, procuring himself a fur hood to go with his cape.

[Treijim]

[The castle of Venzet is north of the city of Venzet, which is to their left, in case you didn't already know]

"Never been in the East or the West," Colten said, his spirits somewhat dimmed by the biting cold.

He glanced up the winding road towards Venzet Castle, the road littered with homes and barren vineyards of varying nature. Obviously nothing grows in the winter. The wall surrounded the hilltop fortress, and mountains reared its mighty structure. Over the top of it all, Colten saw the keep peering over the lands.

"Are you sure we're welcome here? It's not very inviting -- in the winter, at least."

[Oz]

Nearing the gatehouse, in which the gaurds seem to have woken up from their boredom, noticing Georgio and Colten coming, Georgio chuckled mock hesitantly.
"I'm sure there'll be no problems. After all, I'm here on official business 'in the interest of the Empire'."

[Treijim]

"I'm not..." Colten paused and eyed the guards again -- both weary and obviously wanting to be elsewhere, but also maintaining their positions at their posts with admirable dedication.

"Nevermind."

Once they reached the guards, they both approached the youth and man with the cart. "What's your business?" asked one, peering out from beneath his helmet. "What's in the cart?"

Colten went and greeted the man by grasping the man's hand with both his own and shook it. "My good man," Colten said. "We come with an aid for all of this land! In this carriage is material that will give you soldiers a boost against fighting -- .... well, you know who... Surely you won't turn us aside after all the travelling we have been doing?"

Both soldiers turned to Georgio, as if seeking some sort of clarification.

[Oz]

A hand found its way to being clamped upon Coltens skull, as Georgio politely pulled him aside.
"Gaurds, I bring weapons forged in silver, and materials to create more such. I am here to supply the Fort known as Carsons Wall."

For the next ten to twenty minutes however, Georgio was subjected to a clerification lecture on how he knew what was happening, how he knew the enemys weakness, and how he knew where the fighting was happening.
Eventually passing with the excuse 'A traveller let it slip', Georgio and Colten slunk into the city. Headed for the barracks.

[Treijim]

The barracks were, to say the least, epic. A large gate opened up into a multi-levelled yard with longhouses, archery ranges, stables, smiths, and other buildings Colten didn't recognise. They descended a ramp and were questioned by numerous soldiers what they were doing there. Most of them bought the fact that the guards had let them in, but when one did not, they were soon being escorted to the 'hero'.

"You shouldn't talk about... that guy... so much," Colten whispered to Georgio as they were directed towards a tall stone building with battlements and a tower that was grey against the grey clouds. "People will get suspicious. It's custom not to talk about that sort of thing around here." He glanced down at his feet for a moment. "I need new boots. The snow is ruining these ones and my toes are frozen!"

"Maxim the Great will see you shortly," the soldier said after having gone into the building to check. "I sure as dum hope you know what you're going to say to him, because he doesn't like outsiders roaming around and stirring up trouble!"

[Oz]

[Assuming they're inside said building]

"Very well." Georgio said carelessly, sitting down on a nearby stool, his tail curling beneath his cape. "We shall remain here. See to it that my packages reach the armoury as per demands?" Naturally, Georgio knew that either everything would be taken to a secure location, or nothing would. So he mentally reminded himself:
'Deal with the local big shot. Then go make sure they get their gear. And find Colten new boots.' Why he made the last note in his head, he would find time to question later.

[Treijim]

"Mm, yes yes," the soldier said, and he left abruptly.

The room they were in was a sort of waiting room designed to intimidate. It was longer than it was wide, with the wall before them bearing a single decorative sconce which seemed very out of place. The doors on the left and right walls were so far apart that one had to turn one's head right to the other side to look from door to door. Colten gave up and fixed his eyes on the door on the right, his fingers twitching nervously. The door to the left rattled gently in the cold wind.

Finally, the door Colten was staring at swung open, and a man even more epic-seeming than the barracks walked in. He took two powerful strides into the room and then stopped, his long cape brushing up to his feet. Goldish armour gleamed furiously in the light of the flame, and his eagle-like eyes looked from Georgio to Colten and back again.

"We're not recruiting," he said. "Oh, hold a minute, are you the ones who bought that silver?" He cocked a brow and pierced Georgio's soul with his gaze, assuming the elder was the leader.

[Oz]

While Georgio was too old, grizzled, and genetically miserable to be intimidated, he felt uneasy at least at how much the ego-emanating man before him reminded him of certain other authority figures in his life.

"Yes sir, I'm here to supply your forces." Georgio mentally prepared himself for the various forms of 'why' that were about to follow. "Incidentally, could my squire take a pair of sturdy mountain walkers from your armoury?" Georgio said, waving Coltens head around with his palm. "The weather worsens, as does the road ahead."

[Treijim]

The man strode to Georgio and crossed his arms, more in a serious matter than a disheartening one.

"New boots? That is no problem. Your resources more than enough cover those. It matters not the details," he said, stroking his short beard. "Silver is silver, and we can use all of it that we can get." He looked at Colten for a moment and then turned back to the old man. "The road ahead, you say? And praytell, where are you two venturing next?"

Colten did not answer.

[Oz]

Not releasing his aggrivating grip on Coltens scalp, Georgio continued his 'holiday plan'.

"I am intending to take the supplies directly to Carson's Wall. Once the necessary forty percent or so has been removed for your uses here." Finally releasing his speechless Protégé and addressing the soldier before him directly. "I trust I have your permission and support in doing this."

[Treijim]

"You? Oh! I'm sorry, do you mean to say you want to take the silver there yourself? And why on earth would you want to do that, hm? The silver isn't really going anywhere if it's under my watch. The Enemy can't take it, because The Enemy can't even grasp it." He looked at Colten and then back to Georgio. "You can leave the silver with me. I'll send it where it's needed. Thank you for your time." And he headed for the exit door.

[Oz]

Indeed, the soldier would have made it out of the door with his final words intact, had a steel-like insectoid tail not tapped him on the shoulder to hold his attention, before scurrying back beneath Georgio's awkward cloak.

"I'll rephrase that. I am going to Carsons wall. I might as well take the silver with me. As for my reasons good sir..." Georgio couldn't help but struggle to make said reason sound reasonable "I would have words with 'The Enemy'. I believe it not impossible, and wish to discuss certain things. Fear not treason however, I'd sooner skin myself for the amusement of peasants."

[Treijim]

Maxim did not turn around to listen to Georgio. He lowered his gaze and grasped his chin with his glove and frowned, concentrating his thought towards something. There was a strange stillness in the room. Outside, the wind began to howl, but the stone walls rendered the air motionless and warm. The sconce beside Maxim spluttered and fizzled on something unseen. His shoulders began to tremble slightly as though laughing, and with a smile evident in his tone, he said: "So be it. March to your deaths. You two are not citizens of this country, so your loss is not our loss. I will prepare a letter that grants you permission to pass through Carson's Gate." He turned around halfway to face them. "I normally reserve such a privilege for the worst criminals, but I'll make an exception for you both."

They were made to wait another two hours or so in the barracks hall. The soldiers were quite loud and probably a little drunk, as they seemed incapable of walking from one table to the next without walking into one of the support pillars. For the most part, they left Georgio and Colten alone. Colten had been quite silent since entering the barracks. He seemed mentally preoccupied. A soldier finally handed Georgio a letter with a wax seal. Inside, it simply said that the bearer of the letter shall be let through the gate, and it was signed by Maxim the Great.

Now the only matter was when they were to leave. The sky was quickly darkening, but whether it was a storm or simply approaching night time, it was near impossible to tell.

[Oz]

Georgio smiled contentedly at his minor political success. But his mind wandered to his strangely silent and seemingly detached travelling partner.
It dawned on him eventually, that he had more or less said they would BOTH be traipsing off to visit a bloodthirsty army of monsters. Reaching out slyly with his tail, Georgio tapped young Colten on the shoulder with its prick, and voiced to him over the antics of the soldiers about the place:
"Thank you, good Colten. Without you I wouldn't have made it here. You can go home now."