Closer Than Expected

Elin was helping with the patrons who had stayed the night with what was being served for breakfast, when she noticed someone enter the inn and give something to Jonas before leaving. Jonas looked surprised at it, but Elin was too busy with the patrons to actually go over and see what it was about. She was intrigued by it, since it wasn't something that had happened before.

Yet, by the time she'd finished with her morning tasks, Jonas had already left. Kim was still sitting at the table with Heather and Sonya, so Elin went over and sat down. Even if Jonas had left, the others would likely at least know something.

"What did Jonas get?" Elin asked as she sat down.

"What do you mean?" Kim asked, sounding bored, and maybe a little tired from their activities that went on into the night.

"Well, when I was doing my job here, I noticed a guy came in and gave something to Jonas and left. Then before I finished my job here, Jonas was gone. So, I can't ask him what he got," Elin explained.

"To me it looked like just a note," Sonya commented, her disinterest clear in her voice. Elin looked at her and could see even her eyes looked rather tired. "Though, I didn't see what it said. He barely glanced at it before folding it up. A little after he left without saying anything."

"So you don't know where he went?" Elin asked, feeling a little depressed.

Maybe it was because they'd been there so long and this was something unexpected, but she couldn't help but feel like things were suddenly starting to move again. She felt the itch to get up and start searching for Jonas, just to see what the note was about. However, she kept herself still because she didn't know where to start looking for him.

"I have an idea where he went," Kim remarked.

"You do?" Elin asked, her hopes starting to rise. "Where is it?"

Elin waited for Kim to respond, but after a couple minutes of silence, it was clear that Kim wasn't planning on saying anything further. So, she angrily got up and as she was walking past Heather, grabbed her arm, pulling her out of her chair as she moved to leave the inn. If Kim wasn't going to tell them, then she'd first just have to finish her task with the preparations before going to search for Jonas herself. She was confident she'd have enough time.

+++

Jonas felt a little weird just showing up at the warehouse and being let in without having to talk with the guard. While the note told him to come over right away, he still expected that he'd need to contend with the guard.

As he walked in, the inside of the warehouse was a mess. He noticed that they'd sent out a shipment of whatever they suggled through here, but usually the place was a lot more orderly. Then briefly through the group of workers, he noticed what looked like a kid around Elmo's age laying on the ground, his eyes still and vacant. He was covered in blood and had several arrows protruding out of his back.

It didn't look like the guy in charge of this warehouse and killed him, but if it wasn't, Jonas had a bad feeling about how the kid had died. Then as he was about to reach the office, the boss of the warehouse came out of it.

"Ah good, you're here," the man said, as he spotted Jonas as he closed the door to the office behind him. "I sent out fifty of my best men last night, looking for those goblins in the way you said they'd come from, okay?"

Jonas nodded. He understood that. Though, he suspected that the kid in the middle of the building must have found them.

"Well, I told them that they were to be back by dawn. Only this kid got back just before dawn and told me how many goblins he saw before he died," the man continued solemnly. "I take it that the goblins must have killed all the others I sent out. Either those I sent out were really unlucky last night, or the goblins were really good. In either situation, I'm not happy with that. I'm not sure what to expect, but we're heading out and plan on being as close to the next town before nightfall as we can be."

"What about what we'd agreed to before this?" Jonas asked calmly. If this man wanted to save his own skin, that was his business. If he couldn't get him the information he'd promised, then Jonas would have to accept his losses.

At the moment, surviving the approaching goblins was more important. Those at least represented an impending doom that needed to be dealt with before Jonas and his group dealt with the main challenge of stopping the assassination attempt on the King.

The man merely shook his head. "Sorry, At the earliest, I would have expected that to get here next week. With the goblin force I'm estimating is on its way here, I'm not taking any chances. If there's anything I can do for you to make up for that, just tell me," the man said, fear becoming more and more evident in his voice, the more he talked.

"Do you have a suit of full plate armor?" he asked, not really expecting him to.

The man shook his head again. "No, I don't, but you realize for an effective suit of full plate armor, it needs to be made to the wearer's exact measurements?" the man asked. "Otherwise it won't be as comfortable to the wearer. Because, I mean, armor is like clothes. Especially the metal armor. If I make it for a man who's as tall as you, then it's not going to be as comfortable for someone who's short."

Jonas shrugged. He couldn't say whether that was true or not. He just thought he'd see if he could secure a suit of it for Kim. "Would you have enough leather to make a suit of leather armor?" Jonas asked, not sure if that would be possible either, but it would be easier to get and better than nothing.

The man thought about it for a minute. "Yeah, I think I can whip something up," he said. "Though, so I don't waste leather, send over who you want wearing the armor, unless its for you, so I can get their measurements. I mean, like I said, armor is like clothing."

Jonas nodded. "I'll bring her over as soon as I can," he answered, calmly. "If I don't bring her before you're ready to leave, assume that she declined the offer to get the armor. I won't treat it as you going back on your word."

The man looked a little relieved. "Well, if the person says no, and you actually survive what's coming this way, feel free to look me up. I owe you big time for save my hide from this," the man said patting Jonas on the arm. "My name's Ander."

Jonas nodded and left to see if Kim was still at the inn. It was early, so there was a good chance she'd still be there.

+++

Kim shook her head as she followed Jonas. She wasn't sure how he'd convinced her to accept this. True, leather armor would be better than no armor, but she didn't like getting it from such a shady source. For all she knew, it could be stolen. The leather used itself could have been stolen. If that was the case, she wouldn't be surprised if it bit them later on.

However, with the knowledge the goblins were as close as they appeared to be already, she didn't have time to worry about that sort of thing. If it came to giving her a better chance at surviving, she wasn't going to complain about the source. She would just have to face the consequences related to it afterward if she survived.

She matched Jonas' pace and didn't even hesitate as they walked straight towards the guard outside the warehouse. The guard clearly saw them coming and likely had sent the signal to open the door even before they got there, because the door was already opening when they reached the building.

Jonas didn't pause to say anything to the guard, so Kim did the same. She wasn't sure what was acceptable here or not, but figured that if she did what Jonas did, she probably would lessen the headache this whole thing was.

As they entered, it was clear there was a lot of packing going on. Or, as Kim looked closer, they were pack some things, but putting the rest in various hiding places. She couldn't say that she was surprised, but she also wondered if they'd be willing to spare the time to make her a suit of armor or if they'd just provide the leather.

The man who seemed to be in charge was easy enough to find. He was busy making clear what they were to pack and where to hide what they weren't taking from the center of the work area. Which Kim assumed made it easier to see everything going on around him.

"Ander," Jonas called out to him, as he approached.

The man stopped berating some of his workers for not moving fast enough when he heard Jonas speak. He then turned to see Jonas, then looked at Kim and sighed. Kim couldn't help but be amused. Was he not expecting a woman to be able to wear leather armor?

"I was hoping whoever you wanted the armor for would say no," Ander sighed.

Kim could accept that as a reason too. She wasn't going to complain, even though she wanted to at least say something to show her dislike for what Ander and his men did here. However, she doubted it would help them out any, and time was of the essence.

"Do you have any already made that we could see would fit me?" Kim asked. That would be the fastest option. If she had to sew the leather together to make the suit of armor herself, she doubted it would be ready before the night came, which is when Jonas was worried the goblins would come. Kim couldn't think why she should disagree with that assessment either.

"I have a couple suits," Ander said after regarding Kim for a minute. "I'll check to see if they're still available."

Kim waited patiently, noting Jonas looked rather edgy. Almost like he was expecting something bad to happen while they were there. Kim could feel the tension in the air, but that was more likely from fear. She could see the blood spots on the ground, where the young man that had brought the report of the goblins to the man had been on the ground, which told her they'd already taken care of his body.

If the tension in the room broke, she'd expect everyone in it to just run in whatever direction was closest to whichever way led them away from the perceived danger rather than attacking it. While these men weren't doing honest work, they at least weren't killers. Or at least fighters. She had no idea if killing people who'd been subdued was something they'd do or not. However, they certainly wouldn't try to kill if they could run away from an opponent who they didn't have a clear advantage over.

It didn't take long before Ander returned. "Okay, I have two that you can try on," he said, gesturing to a woman behind him. She had both suits of leather armor over her shoulder.

Kim nodded and took the first suit, which was merely a thick leather shirt and thick leather pants and made from a dark red leather. Looking at it, she'd assume she was too short for this to fit properly, while the other looked like she'd be too tall for. Yet, she had a feeling it'd work out well enough, as she recalled trying on the armor when she was first brought into this stupid competition.

She considered the first suit, but handed it back in favor of the second. If she was doing this, she felt she should work with the smaller one, just because it fit her preferences more. For one thing, if she wasn't wearing it, then she wouldn't need as much space to store it. Another point was that it was a blue leather.

She pulled the leather shirt, noting how hard the leather was, yet flexible enough that it would allow her full range of motion. Even though she expected it to stop, leaving her belly exposed if she hadn't been still wearing other clothing, like with the plate armor she had worn, it pulled down as if it had been tailor made for her. Then as she pulled on the leather pants, the same thing occurred, even though it was clear it had been made for someone with shorter legs.

When she had it on, she looked it over. It looked like it fit skin tight, it wasn't uncomfortable for her, and it especially hadn't turned into bikini armor again. It looked like it was a leather cat suit, even though she knew it was two pieces.

"I've never seen anything like it," Ander whispered.

Kim turned to look at him. "I have a question for you," Kim told him.

"What is it?" Ander asked, sounding a little hesitant.

"The people you sent out to look for the goblins," Kim said. "Were they all young men?"

Ander shook his head. "No, there were a few young women among them," he answered. "Why?"

"Then there's a chance those are still alive," Kim replied.

Ander's face paled. "You mean…" he trailed off, clearly not wanting to finish that sentence.

"Yeah, that's what I suspect happened to them too," Kim said, starting to like this Ander despite herself. He might be a smuggler, but he at last seemed to have concern about those who he sent into a dangerous situation. Although, she had no doubt he'd turn on them if he saw an advantage to it.