'Such a small procession for a noble? Most nobles would metaphorically rather die than be disgraced to see such a humbling procession after their death.' Trusting his intuition and the irksome feeling, the knight steps before the first carriage. He knocks on the door and awaits a response.
"Pardon me, I am Sir Tybost and I would like to conduct an inspection."
Khio and Rhetta found being stuck at the checkpoint for so long highly unusual, when they thought of all the previous times when it was a matter of stopping and going. Rhetta cautiously lifted the curtain enough to see what was happening outside without alerting to her own presence. Through the sliver of visibility she saw a knight at the door of the first carriage.
Rhetta gulped with the sharp inhale that stifled her gasp. The sudden inspection caught them off guard and brought the reality back to the forefront. It had been easy until now, too easy and they were paying the price.
The two moved carefully so as to not rock the hearse or make any suspicious movements. The coffins creak open as they slip inside. Shuffling around for the shroud to cover their faces. Even if they were not actually deceased, they could not afford the chance of being discovered.
"May I inquire about what you are transporting?" Sir Tybost stated.
"It is a funeral procession my dear knight, so what else aside from the mourning and the dead?" Kramoris spoke through the door.
The words themselves sounded sarcastic, Kramoris spoke politely and softly. More than sarcasm he meant to point out the obvious.
The door opens and the knight is greeted by a hooded man and a young looking priest. Sir Tybost offered a hand that may have appeared polite but it was him telling them to step out while he inspected their carriage. Florian hesitated for a moment and took hold of the knight's hand. She stepped down from the carriage and stumbled slightly on her robes. The knight catches Florian and steadies her, Kramoris steps down and settles from the surprise of seeing Florian nearly tumbling out of the carriage.
"I apologise, we've been travelling a long time and my legs are a bit numb."
"It's alright." Sir Tybost looks over at Kramoris who keeps his face hidden. The sight of him aroused further suspicion and caused him to be a bit cautious towards the stranger. "I need you to remove your hood please."
Florian anxiously looks towards Kramoris, curious as to what he was planning. His face is not well known and right now his ambiguous identity was a blessing. "Forgive me for not showing my face, I've been quite devastated about the recent passing and did not want to show this haggard appearance of mine." Kramoris pulls down his hood to reveal his face, putting his acting skills to the test as tears well in his eyes. The knight is surprised by his appearance, dazed and seeing his tears he felt compelled to comfort Kramoris.
Sir Tybost shakes his head to get back to the matter at hand "You said this was for a funeral procession?"
"Yes..." Florian murmurs and nods her head.
His eyes wander to the carriage, looking for any sign of something odd. Specifically looking for the thing that unsettles him. Nothing was out of place, it was the very definition of ordinary. He ambles towards the second carriage, if the answer did not lie with the first then surely it would be revealed within the second carriage. He sneaks a glance over at Kramoris and Florian, trying to gauge their reactions, Kramoris was fine, however Florian looked nervous. He made a mental note, thinking that this cemented his suspicion. 'Something is surely wrong, I will find out no matter what.' He sets off with the determination of a starved bloodhound. He looks at the hearse before him, and opens the door. An overwhelming herbal scent wafts in his direction, the thick medicinal smell covers any other scents and could be said it was concealing the stench of death. He notices the two closed coffins and bundles of herbs in the hearse. He reaches out to touch the coffin lid, Florian hurries to stop him, trying not trip over her long garment. She stalls his hand, "Please, you must not touch that."
Sir Tybost finds the reaction strange, and his intuition starts to put pieces together...This may very well be the source of his unrest. 'They're hiding something in the coffins.'
She grabs his hand and aggressively scrubs a bunch of herbs into the flesh of his palm. "Honestly! They give you all this armour and not even a pair of gloves. What nonsense..." Florian speaks sounding almost concerned for the well being of the knight. The knight wanted to pull his hand away until he heard her words, they sounded so sincere and worried. His suspicion wavers and his mind is clouded by indecision. The kindness is replaced with adamant panic, he considered an alternative motive. If she held no true concern and was instead poisoning him. Tybost ripped his hand away from Florian.
"What are you doing!? Are you hiding something!?"
Kramoris stands between the two, Tybost is infuriated and Florian is frightened. None of them considered the possibility of having to open the coffins, as not many people possessed the morbid curiosity to gaze upon the dead. They struggle to keep their composure, knowing that refusing would cause an issue, and if they had seen the bodies, worse if they recognised them...It would cause an awful uproar and alert all the knights that manned the checkpoint.
"Please forgive her, she meant no harm. My relatives died of an infectious disease...The herbs sister Rian scrubbed into your hands was a precaution against it spreading."
"Please you must wash your hands this instant! Lest you catch it as well." Florian insisted, their quick act seemed to pay off with how fluently they worked together to form this narrative. A sense of dread rooted in the knight, "W-Why are transporting them!? Diseased bodies should be burned!" the fear rose to the surface of his voice.
"It was the family's last will for the bodies to be blessed at the temple before being burned in their village."
Kramoris nodded in agreement to Florian's reasoning and sported a look of genuine sorrow, and wiped away a convincing tear. The mere mention of disease is frightening to the knight, a simple inspection could have been his death sentence. Tybost is visibly rattled, and his original stark suspicion is replaced with an idle gratitude.
"I apologise for being so rude. People have been smuggling as of late and I needed to be certain there was nothing...unsavoury in those coffins."
"I understand, you were just doing your part." Kramoris nods in understanding and a woeful sigh falls from his lips in compassion for the knight's plight. "However, I must insist for your safety. Please stand back and we will open the coffin for you."
Florian pulls out something from her pocket, and passes it to the knight. "Please take this handkerchief to cover your nose and mouth."
Rhetta and Khio can make out the muffled words, and pick up the cue from the overhead conversation. They held their breath, relaxed their bodies and were doing the utmost to lay deathly still.
Kramoris stands in front of the coffins, he wraps his hand with his cloak and lifts the lids to reveal two lifeless bodies. Hidden from sight due to the burial shrouds that cover their faces and bodies.
"Understand that out of respect we have covered them to hide their unsightly appearances."
The knight leaned over Florian, peering over her as he himself was too afraid to get any closer to the sick bodies. He saw the shrouds and the silhouettes that lay underneath, Kramoris lifted the shroud to reveal an arm and that was all the convincing he needed to believe there were real bodies and not well packed items that looked like the shape of a body. Kramoris closes the first coffin. Rhetta lets out a slow, controlled breath the moment the lid closes.
He moves to open the second coffin and it holds a strange, alien shape. It couldn't possibly be a body. The odd shape that protruded from the cloth of the shroud made it obvious it was not human.
"What is that?" Sir Tybost questioned without ever attempting to inch closer himself.
Kramoris gawks at the coffin; he hadn't anticipated that Khio would shuffle with Hammy into the coffin. He clears his throat "My cousin was quite the avid creature collector. She insisted that on her deathbed, she was to be burned with her favourite one."
With the days of extended travel and nothing to do, Khio made good use of her boredom to train Hammy with some tricks. Who knew that playing dead would come in so handy. Kramoris lifted the shroud, keeping Khio's face concealed as the knight laid eyes on the most unusual creature he had seen. He nods with certainty, the facts aligned with everything they had said thus far.
"Everything is...well...Sorry for stopping you."
Kramoris smiles giving a hearty pat on his shoulder "It's quite alright, we need more knights like you."
Tybost grew bashful with the kind words of praise and scratched his head. "Ah, thank you. I try my best."
Florian passes a handful of herbs to the knight, "Burn these before you go to bed as an incense, Also wash your hands and make sure you don't show any symptoms. "
"What are the symptoms?" Tybost asked, uncertain if he really wanted the answer or not.
She wracked her brain for a moment, she had not thought that the knight would ask for the details. "Intense headaches, coughing blood, swelling in your stomach, purple boils on your face and yellowed fingernails." She spouted the crock of nonsense, listing off a bunch of things that sounded horrendous when they were all grouped together. She can see Sir Tybost turning pale.
"What awful symptoms..."
They say goodbye to the stressed knight and climb back into their carriage. The moment the door closed, they both melted into their seats from the anxiety and the release of tension. With the situation behind them, they went through the checkpoint, hoping the next one would not be the same.
The carriages began moving, dragging past the checkpoint gate. Rhetta felt them moving again, she waited until she was sure they were far enough from the checkpoint. She cracks open the coffin lid and peeks out. Rhetta carefully slips out of the coffin and fixes herself feeling like she can breathe again. She moves her head side to side trying to relieve the ache in her neck.
Rhetta knocks on Khio's coffin, "Khio you can get out now. We are safe for now." She rapped against the wood again, with no response. Rhetta shows a puzzled expression and lifts the lid, she removes the shroud to check on Khio. "It's over now, you don't have to keep pretending." Rhetta reaches out to grip Khio's shoulder and gives her a light nudge, she can hear the rhythmic and calm sound of breathing.
Khio rolls over and snuggles into Hammy, Rhetta's worry had been for nothing, her companion simply fell asleep. The strategist shook her head. "Honestly..." Though, truth be told, the coffin was actually very comfortable compared to the cramped space the hearse allowed, Rhetta leaves the lid open and sits back in her coffin, opting to have some rest while she can.