Erratus listened to Pitt's claims with a blank face. He didn't trust a word that came out of the mercenary's mouth, nor did he fully doubt him. Everything he said was most likely engineered to suit his purposes, though his words also probably contained seeds of truth. However, there was only one point on which the nomad wanted to question him.
"Nadya and I were never tested. I don't know about the gypsy, but I got particularly close to that monster. What makes you so sure I haven't been infected differently?"

"Your questions holds quite firm ground." Pitt redirected his attention back towards the group. "I myself have no way of proving you two in particular have been infected though we could have you examined. A man with similar abilities to the cleric who examined you back at the fort will be accompanying you and your group through the east. He has quite the knowledge of the infection and will be able to detect after some thorough contact whether you've been infected or not."

There was no way around it now, they were going to east if they intended to be 'cured' and Nero saw no other alternative. Obviously this whole this whole situation was being manipulated by Pitt and Gonye somehow but there really was no choice. If he ran he would more than likely be captured by the searching and patrolling army who viewed them as important specimen, and chances are Gonye wouldn't take no as an answer either. Grabbing his bags from inside the tent Nero angrily marched passed Pitt towards the signal fire.


____

Upon hearing that Pitt was willing to have some examine herself and Erratus Nadya immediately headed for the smoke, she needed to be absolutely sure that she was infected.

Lucia frowned slightly knowing that theft was involved, though she was intrigued by the fact that Ostarius was involved. She had thought the man, whom she would've believed to have been myth had her own family lineage not have personally interacted with Leto himself, to still be alive. Perhaps it was a descendent, or someone crazy enough to believe he was Ostarius incarnate. Whoever he was, perhaps he too had the powers that the original Ostarius had? Then surely they could be cured.

Looking towards the smoke signal and ensuring that she had all her personal belongings, Lucia without another word headed towards it so that they could begin their journey. Really, it wasn't as if they had much else choice. She looked back at the others, mostly Nero with a reassuring smile, as if to state that if the quietest and weakest of them could find the strength to go on, then surely they all could as well.

As the group walked through the camp Pitt followed close behind keeping a close eye on the group as they headed for the source of the smoke. Weaving through tents and mercenaries was quite the chore, but once they had cleared the quite massive camp and climb a series of small banks they were face to face once more with Gonye and a group of soldiers.

"Well then, I see yer' all here safe and sound!" Gonye laughed as he pushed through the group and met up with Pitt who was lagging behind the group. In the sun it was much easier to make out Gonye's features. His face wasn't quite as old as it let on to be in the prison and the night air, and he seemed to be a fairly large set individual. He was still wearing the clothes he was wearing in the prison, a set of cavalry riding trousers, a long grey coat with golden fasteners and a pair of knee high boots. But his face seemed much cleaner and when Nero's eyes darted to inspect the bandit's hands he was distraught to see he was wearing a pair of brown gloves.

"I see.. Ya... mhm" Gonye had begun to speak in private with Pitt, he seemed to be far engrossed in the discussion before Pitt motioned at Erratus and Nadya.

"Oh! They want an inspection?!" turning to a near by soldier he let out a shout. "Go fetch the cleric boy!" the soldier answered with a firm 'yessir' and vanished into the tent city beneath the banks.

"So, you two are sure you want to be inspected before ya' head out?" Gonye approached the two unconfirmed cases, leaning in close as he looked over each of them.

Nadya, taken back by Gonye's approach eventually nodded.

Pitt meanwhile had approached Nero, Lucia, and Talaitha. tapping each of them on the shoulder he let out a quiet "We'll go on ahead to the river side. Come now." Taking off through the nearby woods he intended to get a head start on those who were asking to be inspected. Nero shrugged it off and immediately followed the man through the woods and along a path that after about 15 minutes of running lead to a shallow creek bank where a group of two, large, wooden boats awaited the group.
"Nothing very fancy, but they'll carry you through this creek easily and dump you out into the river after no time at all."

Sitting down Nero decided he would rest while the others were catching up.

"I don't see the purpose in it." Erratus interjected. "If these three are infected, then I sure as hell must be. I have little choice but to accompany them to find a cure regardless. Of course, if it'd make you feel any better, I'd be glad to oblige."

Lucia nodded in response to Pitt's suggestion and followed Nero as they walked and eventually they came upon two wooden boats.

"Nothing very fancy, but they'll carry you through this creek easily and dump you out into the river after no time at all." stated Pitt casually. Lucia looked down where the creek ran, and inhaled deeply. Their journey would be dangerous, and was no simple task, though truly, wasn't this what she had wished for oh so long ago. Perhaps not with these conditions, and being contaminated wasn't her ideal either, but essentially she was leaving the hustle and bustle of the towns behind to seek adventure of sorts.

"Well, it's not me who needs to feel better." Gonye apporached Erratus and placed his hand on his shoulder firmly. "According to Pitt you were the one who asked."

Before long the raider returned with an old man who seemed to be having a large amount of trouble walking, so much so that the raider had to support him up the banks. Upon coming closer the old man seemed extremely battered, his face was covered in dirt and bruises and his white gown was torn and stained by crimson-brown blood.

"Heya' doc" Gonye turned as the old man passed. "Quite inerestin' now that the boots on the other foot eh?" the old man seemed to ignore Gonye has he hobbled to Erratus.

"T-t-take off your shirts, both of you." he spoke in a quiet whisper as he closed his eyes tight. Nadya removed her blouse but kept it pinned tight to her chest as she waited to be inspected. Before long the old man's eyes opened and he began to inspect Nadya's torso.

"The mark rarely manifests itself anywhere but the upper body... Have you noticed any marks on your legs, any burning pain." Nadya shook her head as the old man hobbled to Erratus to begin his physical inspection. "Do you have any physical conditions that might throw off my inspection?" he asked as he wheezed heavily.

____

After briefing Talaitha, Nero, and Lucia about their oncoming journey Pitt turned to head back towards the camp.

"You're not coming?" Nero inquired before the bandit could stray too far.

"No." Pitt paused and after some time of standing returned back to the boats and rested against their frame. "I'm not quite popular in the east, It's better that Gonye goes"

"Not quite popular? Does this have to do with the one you claim is Ostarius?" Nero seemed dead set on prying information from Pitt who seemed to be deeply lost in thought.

"A little, yeah. I would say that has a little to do with it."

"Who is Ostarius? He is really the same Ostarius from centuries ago?" Nothing Pitt was saying was giving much information at this point, Nero felt he would have to abandon subtlety. "And just why would he dislike you?"


Pitt continued to stare deep into clear, blue, morning sky. He possibly was so lost in the sky that he ignored Nero's questioning.

"Hey! Pitt?!" Nero shouted as he leaned froward from his resting place.

"I heard you the first time." he responded sharply still staring deep into the sky, his trademark smile had seemingly vanished from his face. "He's the same person alright, He's been alive for quite some time now. He doesn't look very human anymore though-" before he could continue on Nero interjected.

"How could he be alive this long? Kane was supposedly the only one granted a prolonged life! Even he left this world some fifty years ago when the council claimed he had transcended or some garbage."

"He used his soldiers to prolong his own miserable life... Bitterness does that kind of thing to you." Pitt seemed to be quite stoic when speaking of Ostarius, this change in emotion took Nero by surprise. So much so that he began to rethink the man's character.

"Not a one, save for the bruise on my ribs where they took the brunt of a saber hilt." Without hesitation, Erratus removed his cloak and tunic so that the cleric could do his work.

Talaitha remained quiet as Nero prodded Pitt for information. Pitt was an interesting fellow and she did want to ask more questions, but was not sure how to approach him. Giving up, she stepped forward and, standing straight, bluntly asked,
"Pitt, who are you? And why are you here right now instead of anywhere else?"

Before long the cleric had finished his examination of Erratus and had returned to Gonye to report his findings. After a brief bit of whispering Gonye handed the old cleric over to a raider who marched him down the same path Pitt and the others had taken.

"Welp, he claims yer' clean but he still feel that you are infected " marching past the now fully inspected pair Gonye motioned his arm to signal his men to follow. "So now we're sure, right? Welp, let's not dilly dally we've got places, people to see." Once more the bandit let out a laugh as his men quickly congregated about him.


"I still feel off about this," Nadya moved closel to Erratus to avoid being heard. "It still feels like they're manipulating information, this all seems far too convenient. Don't you think?"

____

"That's quite a curious thing to ask someone." Pitt angled his head down and shifted his eyes quickly towards Talaitha. "I'm a raider commander serving under Gonye. I believe that answers both questions quite well doesn't it?" the foxish smile had returned to Pitt's face by now.

"Clearly." The nomad responded. "As long as we believe that we're infected, we have little choice but to go east. I get the feeling that the items these mercenaries want us to retrieve for them are far more significant than they're leading us to believe. The catch is that we can't be sure they're lying to us. Moreover, since we're now fugitives, running away is hardly an option. At least, not for you and the others. Our 'captors' have played their cards well."
With that, Erratus fell in line behind Gonye and his men.

"Is...Osterius infected in the same manner we are?" spoke Lucia tentatively, thus far it was the only way she could see someone being able to have lived for so long.

In response to Lucia's inquiry Pitt simply shook his head back and forth for a moment before taking a long pause.

"No, nothing of the sort. The Lord of Forsaken, master of the darker arts is nothing but a avaricious old man filled with spite and vice." Allowing his brilliant blue eyes to shut gently a look of deep reminiscence appeared on the young man's face.

"Spite? Avarice? Over what?" Nero was absolutely confused. "Ostarius should have had no reason to be upset, he achieved victory no?" Nero wanted to ask Pitt how he knew all this, but he was sure the answer he would give would be indirect and generally false, so he abstained.

"Only one Lord was granted immortality, only one lord was provided a recognized kingdom to rule from. One Lord was given everything while the rest were simply left to watch as a man who was once their peer soared far above, free of fate." Pitt raised his hands high into the air and out stretched his long fingers, as if to mimic a man reaching for an object just out of his grasp. "Yes, that's it. They all wanted more. They wanted to see the seeds they had sown across the earth grow into great plants with mighty stocks and magnificent petals. He must have felt cheated, Ostarius must have felt so terribly cheated."

It was at this time that Gonye had approached from the high grounds with his men, Nadya, and Erratus all about him. "I trust ya' had a wonderful story time." Gonye puffed as Pitt's arms dropped to his sides. "Well then, time to mount up we have to cross the river before dark or we'll have to wait till 'morrow." Gonye approached the pair of boats and quickly took stock of the items that were in them, his men followed him and after he had taken stock four of them loaded into the first boat and two loaded into the second. Pitt eventually removed himself from the side of the second large sailing canoe and after exchanging a few brief words with Gonye he backed away from the shore. Stepping into the first boat with four of his men Gonye motioned for the others to get in the second boat. "Grab paddles each of yins. Ya won't have to paddle much, just through this creek. Once we catch a breeze on the open waters we'll sail." Nero did as instructed and headed for the front of the canoe, noticing only after sitting down that Gonye's men had occupied both the very back and very front position on the vessel, probably to have free access to the riders between them. Before setting off Gonye shot Pitt, whom was watching from just off shore, a quick salute. "If you see Kariya over there, give him a hello for me!" Pitt shouted as Gonye pushed off with his paddle and began down the narrow pathed creek. Nero waited for his each of his companions to mount up before attempting to do the same.

______

Nadya crossed her arms as she quickly followed after Erratus to avoid being left behind. After hearing his input she felt completely terrified, Gonye wanted something out of them she just wasn't sure what. After finally meeting up with the rest of the group and being given orders to sit in the second canoe Nadya hastily made for the seat in the back, though she would have to be dangerously close to the mercenary she figured it would be within her best interest to be within arms length of one of her unwitting 'captors' if she felt she needed to run.

Lucia stepped into the boat, taking care that all her belongings that she had brought with her were with her. The prospect of boat travel was a bit nerve wracking, though exciting for she had never rode on a boat herself. Her means of travel had always been by foot, though considering their destination, boat travel would be a much faster and safer route.

She took up a paddle awkwardly and prepared to paddle with the others.

Talaitha followed Lucia into the boat, looking around for Nadya. Not able to find her, she gave up and picked up a paddle.