Early Camping., Open.

[Merco]

It was noon. The sun was high above the golden field.
Merco had been riding all night and stayed off the roads. After all, there was an entire world off the beaten path. The large black horse wore no banding to protect it, Merco was not expecting danger. He'd practically be able to see it comming a mile away.
After coming to a hill top Merco dismounted and began to set up camp. A quick meal and he would rest afterwards. He made a small clearing and dug a pit to set up a fire, and sat while he roasted a slab of meat over the fire.
As time passed Merco took moments to enjoy the emptyness, the rolling hills, and the long grass of the plains. It was much different from his home, yet he enjoyed it so much.

[Jack]

Jack had just left the King's Path. The town full of anything you could want, and even has the king's castle in the center. Jack was impressed by the size of this city, It was the largest in the entire world. But then he hasn't been everywhere has he?

As Jack was walking, he then noticed a fire off the path. Since the most interesting things were off the path, Jack became interested. "Now who could that be?" he asked himself aloud. He started to walk to the man, when he saw the man's horse. and that's when a twinkling of recognition set in. "I've seen that horse before." He said as he walked closer and started to move past the horse to see the man sitting down on the ground, as he looked at the great land around him. "Merco!" He shouted upin seeing him. He didn't think he would have ever seen that man again. But there he was. "It's good to see ya again." He said, stepping over to the man, holding his gauntleted hand out to him. The gauntlets he almost never took off. The gauntlets which Merco enchanted long ago to never break.

That's when a red creature came down from the skies and floated softly down to Merco's right. It had the looks of a dragon, but was way to small to be one. It may have been a child dragon, but just didn't look right to be one. Who the 'ell is he? She mindspoke to Jack.

Jack smiled at Cydonia, the psuedodragon. "He is Merco, an old freind." He said to the dragon. "Merco, I'd like for you to meet Cydonia, my current traveling companion and good freind. She may look like a dragon, but she is actually a psuedodragon." He said shrugging, knowing this pissed off Cydonia, who liked the idea of looking like a dragon. She shot him an acidic glare and gave a bite in his direction. "She likes to be refered to as a dragon." he said rolling his eyes at Merco. She glares even harder at him. But it soon subsided, and she looked at the new man.

[Merco]

Merco was surprised by the vocie. He'd hadn't heard it in quite a few years. He looked up to see his old friend.
He took Jack's hand and shook it.
"Come, sit with me my friend. I see you still wear those silly gauntlets. I'd figured you'd have found a more suitable weapon by now."
Merco smiled. He knew it irritated Jack to have his gauntlets mocked, but Jack also knew Merco just liked to push buttons sometimes.
"How has life been treating you. And what's with the lizard? I figured by now you'd come to appreciate horses."

[Jack]

He grinned as Merco chided him on his gauntlets. He took a seat next to his old freind and pulled them off, since he really didn't need them right now. His forarms were pale white, a great contrast from the rest of his lightly tanned skin. He flexed his hands. They so rarely left his gauntlets, that he rarely felt anything with his hands anymore. It brought back so many memories.

He snapped out of his reverie when Merco asked him a question. He looked where Cydonia flew off to. Knowing she would hate to be called a "lizard" He grinned at Merco. "Horses move to fast for me old freind. I still don't see what you see in those big beasts." He said, not even looking back at Merco's Horse.

"As for what I have been up to. Well generally the same thing. Helping out towns that I come across. Trying to fill the time." He said jokingly. Jack wandered becuase he wanted to feel wanted, to have a purpose in violent life. To have said he made a difference when he dies. But he never really divulged this with his freinds. He was just a pro bono mercenary.

"What about you? What have you been up to since I left you?" he asked the paladin.

[Merco]

"I like horses because they're reliable. They're strong, and in battle they can actually do something. Get kicked in the head by one and you'll know what I mean. Tiny reptiles? That thing is probably as useful as a kobold."
Merco sighed and returned his attention to the fields.
"Getting better at my magic mostly. There hasn't been much work around that wasn't clearing out kobolds. I got one job to 'escort' some barbarians from one town to another.
And by that I mean I had to make sure they didn't kill anyone. Mostly glorified babeysitting jobs are all the churches are offering now."
Merco looked at Jack's pale hands.
"They're useles you know. You only wear them because you're insecure. A strong punch does not come from how you arm yourself, but how you throw your fist."
Merco chuckled realising the pun.

[Jack]

He grinned at the mention of a kobold. "I've never seen a kobold who could fly and scout out and area for you. Also, I've never seen a kobold's tail go right through a man's chest." He said, remembering the one time that happened. She dove at him and stuck her poisoned barbed tail into the man, and it just popped out the back. It was an amazing event.

He sighed. "Come a day, there won't be a place for wanderers like us to go about and help people. Nobody needs it anymore. Lately all I've seen is trolls and such. We used to have some grand fights.." He said remembering into their past. "But I guess peace is better than fighting."

"And what are you talking about. I have rarely punched people with these gauntlets. I've stabbed them. I gave up punching a long time ago." He said looking off into the feilds around them. Noticng a small creature flying around in the distance. Cydonia Hunting through the planes for rabbits or rats or whatever else.

[Merco]

"Kobolds aslo make up for their short-commings with spears and magic.
And no my friend, I don't see that day comming any time soon. There isn't less work, creatures are just getting bigger. Someday we'll have to have a grand battle, and I can assure you neither of us will want to be there for it."
Merco grinned.
"You see, that would be my point exactly. You wear gauntlets but you use blades. Thus, they are entirely pointless. Unless you continue to use deception as your greatest tool."

[Jack]

He sighed, becuase Merco was right. Right now it's not the lack of jobs, just the lack of interesting ones. Killing off trolls, babysitting ogres and barbarians. These were small stuff. But this was more perferable to the more "interesting" stuff. Fighting a dragon or some lich were interesting to fight, but it's only becuase death is more likely to happen.

"Deception is the best tool when dealing with humans." He said. "Dealing with other monsters, not exactly the brightest, but they still swing at unarmed men and don't care if you act as if you don't have weapons. We all get crushed the same."

He paused, sitting there in silence for a moment, then looked over at Merco. "Kobolds huh?" He asked, not even the least bit suprised. The man has hated kobolds for who knows how long. They found a den once, He killed twenty more than Jack did because he was so quick.

[Merco]

"Deception my friend, is the tool of sin and cowardice. I keep weapons and my intentions in the open. Honesty may not alway get you where you want to go, but it's a tool that gains respect.
One may not always win by having all he has to gain in the open. But the true key to any victory, is strength, and technique. And only a metaphysical balance of the two, can see through any deception.
That, my friend, is why we paladin are prohibited from the use of deception, and poison.
After all, fighting fire with fire, only makes a bigger fire."

[Jack]

"I use whatever I can to my advantage. Plus, they sometimes check for weapons when you enter castles. I like to be armed at all times." He said to his old freind. They never agreed on this. But that's why Merco was a paladin and Jack wasn't. "But lets not fight over this. Lets just enjoy each other's company." He said. "No fighting today, just relax and eat some food." He said, watching Cydonia hunting in the distance. She wasn't more than a small black figure in the distance,

[Merco]

"Right, don't spoil it with words. I didn't know you loved me so much Jack. Just so you know, as a paladin this can't only be a one-night-stand."
Merco laughed, put his hands behind his head and lay back.
"You always were paranoid. Perhaps some day you'll overcome that."

[Jack]

Jack laughed with Merco. He knew he was going to get something along those lines after the words left his mouth. He should really learn to think before he spoke. But then that would make these conversations so much more bland.

"I'm only paranoid of people." He said to Merco, knowing that's what he was talking about. "It's hard not to be, what with all the liars, theives, and bandits out there. Especially the sneaky ones. I may be sneaky, but I don't steal stuff. That's just mean."

[Merco]

"I'll tell you this my friend. Paranoia isn't about other people, it's about yourself. it's when emotion and self preservation mix together too strongly, it clouds your judgement, upsetting the balance, of mind and body.
If you could overcome your fears and walk unarmed, head held high through even Haven, you'd be able to train yourself to strike like your fomer mentors."
Merco placed a small piece of wood on his fire and returned to laying on his back.

[Jack]

He did have a point. Jack couldn't strike as well as his former mentors. Jack had never been able to master that technique. He looked out into the distance, then dropped his head to look at the ground. "Maybe your right old freind. Maybe your right." He sighed as he leaned back and put his arms behind him, holding his body up.

"So, Eaten yet?" He asked Merco. "I'm pretty sure Cydonia will bring back something big enough with enough red meat that we could enjoy." He said smiling to his freind.

[Merco]

"I actually have some venison I plan on cooking here before the sun falls. I had some of that protein rations earlier. I swear that stuff will cause you to pass a brick."
Merco sat up, just realising that everytime Jack and himself came across one another, it was never coincidence.
"So, tell me, where are you off to?"