Cautious Hospitality

- Dalen Woodland, Night of 1 DSTR -

Kalena stood in front of the tent and took in the man warily as he stepped out of the Stygian gloom of the night-shrouded forest, a lantern depending from his belt. She saw he was of average height and build, and his movements were well-balanced, giving him the look of a trained fighter. She carefully watched him sheathe his longsword and hold his hands out in a peaceful gesture. He had an open, friendly countenance and a set of rather striking amber eyes to go with his red hair.

"Hello, friends. Having trouble with your fire?" he asked, his accent thick. "I could help in exchange for a safe place to rest."

Kalena vaguely recognized the accent. It sounded like from one of the Merovingian kingdoms across the sea in the general region of her own native homeland. Unless he was faking it, the man was obviously not a native of the Two kingdoms who spoke a common ancestral tongue, and likely not one of the surviving bandit party. But one could not be too sure about that; Dalen had an influx of immigrants the past few years, mostly of the magical variety.

“No trouble, just need to get it rekindled,” Kline answered the man. “I am Kline, and this is Kalena. You are welcome to spend the night, if we could have your name. How did you come on this camp, and why are you out in this forest so late?”

Kalena caught the worried look Kline cast back at her. This could easily be an agent of those who planned the bandit attack. Perhaps even the mastermind behind it. For the man to show up so late, and here at this moment was highly suspicious.

The red-haired man responded: "Answers in order. I am Lafayette. If you spend enough time wondering you learn to spot camps even if you don't see them. Heading to the next town, I see no reason to stop walking just because it got dark. I have dealt with far worse conditions."

“It's always a pleasure to make the acquaintance of another fellow traveller,” Kalena said, mustering a friendly tone.

“I will get us some wood. Kalena can show you in the tent,” Kline said.

The former assassin casually rested a hand on the hilt of her scabbarded sabre and hid a smile at the pretense of collecting wood. Kline obviously intended to make sure the man was really alone. That he would leave her by herself spoke of his confidence in her that she could handle the stranger should the man prove dangerous.

"I assure you, you have nothing to fear," Lafayette said. "There are more you then me, I am not..how you say suicidal. I wouldn't fight a group."

“Well for the moment it's only the three of us, but there are more of our party yonder by the road,” Kalena told him, gesturing back through the woods to somewhere the wagons were parked and Van and the others were camped. She approached within a few feet of Lafayette and her suspicions of him faded more as he took off the cover of his pack revealing it to be a small travelling trunk one did not ordinarily see in this part of the world. It was filled with supplies that had been packed with care.

"Wine or Mead?" he asked with a smile.

“Thank you. Either would be fine,” Kalena said, returning a genuine smile at the offer as she saw him already working a cork free on a wine bottle with his teeth. She knelt gracefully on one knee, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. “I haven't had good mead for quite some time, and if I recognize your accent correctly, I know your people are famous for their superb wine. Kline actually owns a local vineyard and was bringing a shipment to market in the city. Was that where you were headed... to the capital? How long have you been in Dalen?”

She watched Lafayette's face closely for signs of deception or threat. She knew more than anyone that the best killers and criminals knew how to put their victims at ease, and often employed feigned joviality and charm to do so. A friendly accented foreigner was just the type of persona that might cause some to lower their guard.

OOC: My wi fi has been on and off all day or else I would have replied to this earlier.