|
Post by Deaths on Nov 28, 2016 2:34:02 GMT
In a flash Artorias was lifted and placed onto the back of horse. Sigeberht with his men had come to save him. A smile on his face and witty remark on his lips Artorias was about to speak when he saw Sigeberht draw his bow. The arrow was sent, a direct hit would kill P33. If there was a chance for peace it would only be if the wolf lives. Artorias to weak to create his own flame stole the fire from a nearby torch. The flame dances and pulls itself towards the arrow. It stretches out and forms a glowing snake, the serpent extends it's fangs and catches the arrow in it's mouth breaking it in two. In a moment the snake fades away.
Artorias while clinging to Ekenbrand kicks his horse as hard as he can to spur the beast onward the horse charges forward. Ekenbrand was a skilled rider and would soon regain control Artorias had to think fast.
"I'll explain when we make it to the camp, but leave him. We have to go now!" He pleaded with Sigeberht as their steed runs past. "Ekenbrand please convince him we must spare the wolf for now." The man and the wolf were even at least for now, though what he had just done will not win him any friends, especially from a certain general. Artorias' tired mind wander to his friend and companion Sera she was a good girl you tried her best. She was much better at tracking the Bunny the he was, maybe it was an elf thing, maybe she cared more than he did. Usually the Lone knight would steer the horse while she tracked, once the rabbit was cornered he would go in making a big fuss about royal responisbilites, duty, honor, and tradition. Which would bore Snoe and she would run away right into whatever trap Sera had placed. Just like actual rbbit hunting except he was the dog and her the hunter.
|
|
|
Post by projectekertest33 on Nov 28, 2016 3:00:11 GMT
The should have taken arrow took P33 direct in his chest but at the last second a strange magic emanating from his former prisoner who was now escaping on the back of an enemy horse. The militia were running around panicking unable to cope with this sudden attack from an unexpected direction but his WolfGuard were too disciplined to let that stop them. One of them cut at the legs of an approaching enemy's horse and the other beheaded the rider as the horse stumbled. They made to pursue the fleeing cavalry but he stopped them. "Enough we won't catch them without horses reform the troops and make sure they don't do anything stupid like accidentally stab each other." It wouldn't have been the first time. As he watched his opponent flee he couldn't help but feel a strange sense of regret that if he met that mouthy young man the battlefield he would probably have to kill him. "Set fresh picket lines and send the rest of the men to bed I doubt we'll see anymore action tonight."
|
|
|
Post by Snoe on Nov 28, 2016 7:06:32 GMT
Snoe looked to the carriage rider and hopped up accepting the offer "Don't mind if I do." Being kindly to people was the best way to find anything out and here was no exception "What brings you so close to a warzone?" She'd discover as much as she could before sedning word to her armies, Snoe was rarely the Queen to sit back and command... Her Generals were autonomous for the most part the fatal blow to most armies comes from unlikely angles...
Snoe would spend sometime in the town discover what she could and then raid the main camp. All fun and games.
|
|
|
Post by Envy on Nov 28, 2016 7:24:52 GMT
"Just out trying to survive out in this war. Like the rest of the smallfolk in the kingdom. Heck I wonder why this war is being fought for what bodies lining fields that children once played in." Says Senbō as he looks up at the blue sky I wonder how the heavens can just sit and watch there people fight to death for a pitiful war.
"Sorry bout that just letting my thoughts slip out of my mouth. In times like this I just wonder what side I sure support the loyals or the rebels. Then there the King of Spades and others that are helping the smallfolk from the shadows. I wonder how they operate even with a war going on like this. So what are you're views on the loyals, rebels, and the king of spades traveler?" Asks Senbō as the carriage is being pulled off towards Ashford a mid-sized town with a market square and farmlands on the outside of the town.
|
|
|
Post by silent15 on Nov 28, 2016 8:28:03 GMT
Upon their return to camp, Sigeberht spent a few minutes silently fuming in his tent before walking over to the tent that had temporarily been turned over to Sir Artorias. Entering, he spoke, "So I'm going to assume you had a good reason for stopping my shot." Sigeberht focused on keeping his voice carefully neutral. "Because from where I'm standing we could have ended this war right there."
|
|
|
Post by Serph on Nov 29, 2016 3:27:09 GMT
Struggling between keeping riding faster than she can walk and not unseating herself or the horse jostling her in the ride, Sera has decisively figured that she is never riding a horse alone again. They’re terribly willful animals who don’t turn when they’re supposed to, don’t stop when you need them to, stop when you don’t want them to and just whine occasionally about having to go somewhere. “It’s just a twig! You can step over it!” Sera hissed as she managed to force the horse to walk around the harmless twig. What kind of pampered horse was this that a stick was too much for it?! With a huff she finally continued on her Queen’s trail. A town slowly looming closer as she rode.
Eyes flicking to the signs as she approached she tried to gauge just about how far she’d managed to travel and how far her Queen had probably managed to travel. If her Queen was on foot she could probably catch up within half a day of following the trail. She just knew her Queen would never run away completely on foot, the fact she’d made it so far on paws alone was proof that her Royal Bunnyness knew she had some breathing room or was otherwise just playing fast and loose this time around. So what kind of ride would the Queen choose this time?
Finally feeling the town’s gates upon her she tried to stop her horse. He turned left. “What was the commands that fellow gave me? Lean back slightly…,” she tilted back a bit, “and press your feet in?” she wondered to herself trying to discern horse commands. She pressed her heels into the flank only for the horse to jolt forwards and nearly unseat her. “Nope, no pressing.” She commented in a panic as she tried to stay balanced and ease the pressure. The horse stopped as she nearly slammed into its neck at the sudden change of speed. “Alright you, it was a terrible ride and thankfully it’s over,” Sera commented, sliding clumsily off the horse. She nearly cried in delight at feeling the ground beneath her feet again. It’d been a really mentally taxing ride. “Let’s go,” She chimed pleasantly, tugging lightly on the reins to guide the horse after her. A far easier task in her opinion. She’d find the horse a nice stable to camp out in and start questioning the townsfolk. No one will have seen the Queen, but a mischievous bunny in a clock, being a bit too chummy when it comes to war and modern affairs? Far easier to hear stories about.
|
|
|
Post by Deaths on Nov 29, 2016 4:14:41 GMT
Sigeberht enters the tent rage fuels his body. Understandably so he could have won the war, he could have been a hero. That glory was taken from him, by someone he went on to save someone he trusted. Sorrow was in Artorias eyes, deep down he knew he was right.
"I'm sorry for any men you lost because of me." Artorias could barely look him in the eye. "I know my actions are treasonous, but we need the wolf. If he were to die right there it would validate everything he says about us." He sighed sitting cross legged at his fire. "He falls and a thousand usurpers take his place. They will have in fighting and the standing army will be broken, but then the wolf becomes a martyr. Killed in cold blood in his own camp while hosting a prisoner nicely." A cough comes from Artorias' lips he sips from the flask given to him by his enemies.
"Have you ever fought in an unwinnable war? Where the nobles and rich are safe in their castles and walls, while the poor and downtrodden will be subject to attacks around every corner. With the wolf there is an order, they have ranks battle lines, and battles are outside of the cities and towns." He stares at the flame watching it dance and flicker. "The fanatics of his army will rally more troops, they will fight in the streets of our towns. Raid villages kill, rape, and burn the innocent to get back at us."
Artorias stands and walks towards a chest with all his belongings. Inside was a long sword made of obsidian his fathers favorite weapon and the only thing he has of his past. "I looked into the eyes of the beast. What was behind them was a man tired and drunk. He wants this over just as us. That is the only way to peace a true peace is with his surrender not death."
"I must ask you for a boon Sigeberht, I need to leave this camp tonight. I must find our Queen and return her here. After that I will willingly submit to whatever punishment the lady general deems fit." He takes a knee and offers the blade. "This is my most prized possession. I offer it as collateral." He speaks these words with his head lowered. "I also owe you a debt personally. When this is over, and if I live through this I pledge myself to your service until such a time as you relieve me of this oath."
|
|
|
Post by Snoe on Nov 29, 2016 6:39:42 GMT
Snoe looked to the man and his thoughts on the war, thinking on them. Sure she was a little chaotic but generous... much to the treasurer’s dismay. It was hard to understand why people rebelled but P33 was persuasive. Thinking over the prospects with a thoughtful hand upon her chin “WELL I’d say that I disagree with the whole farce.” She put bluntly.
“Killing isn’t right but it can be necessary to protect the whole, I am in favour of the path of least blood... but that would put me into the place of an assassin wouldn’t it.” Snoe smiled with a mischievous grin, “In the mean time lets be off!”
|
|
|
Post by Lady-Lee on Nov 29, 2016 7:48:19 GMT
Lee was once again alone in her "cell", it felt odd to call it a cell since it was so nicely furnished but the fact she couldn't leave was always at the front of her thoughts. Walking around the room Lee was impressed with the effort Jacky went to find wood elf things, most it was from Underwood so not quite what she was used to but it was still nice. Feeling bored Lee went to the book shelf, "Propaganda..." "Propaganda..." "Propaganda..." "Drow marriage rituals... Fuck that." "and more propaganda..." With a sigh Lee figures at this point the best hing she can do is take a nap so she changes into a nightie that Jackie left for her and lays in the heavily overfluffed bed and tries to sleep.
|
|
|
Post by silent15 on Nov 29, 2016 11:56:15 GMT
Sigeberht could feel his anger ebbing, it was difficult to maintain when Artorias was so obviously not taking any pleasure in his actions. It didn't help that Sigeberht couldn't argue with his reasoning. Instead he just sighed. "Maybe I've spent too much time with mercenary companies. With them you only need to worry about winning the next battle or the next campaign. You never need to worry about the aftermath. And from that perspective killing the wolf made sense. It would have devastated the rebels' morale and made mopping them up child's play. But I'm part of a national army now, not a mercenary company. Perhaps I should endeavor to remember that."
"And you need not fear any consequences for your actions" he continued, gently pushing the blade back towards Artorias, "You acted honorably, and the only witnesses are myself and the Gesith, whom I trust not to talk."
"Now on to more immediate matters. We can provide you with your pick of horse for going searching for our lightfooted queen. Although I do hope you ride better than your comrade Sir Sera. I once tried to teach her basics of riding." Sigeberht chuckled faintly at the memory. "No one came out of that with their dignity intact."
|
|
|
Post by Envy on Nov 29, 2016 12:01:00 GMT
Well then it seems I was wrong about this traveler then. Michael uses the reins to make the horses gallop towards the to town.
Galloping towards the town Senbō starts to think about who he should support in these bloodly times. The queen fights for the rule of her own kingdom, while the rebels claim to fight for the people Senbō thinks that the rebels maybe are just using the smallfolk to try and cover there own infantry problems. The sun beating down upon his black cloak he pulls odd the hood of his cloak and let's his face cool. Since his face was dripping with sweat, his spade tattoo among the only thing on his face aside from his scar that make him recognizable.
|
|
|
Post by projectekertest33 on Nov 29, 2016 13:35:39 GMT
Sir P33 was sitting down on a tree stump at the edge of camp reading the latest reports. He really wished he had time to teach his sergeants proper grammar but it had been hard enough just teaching them to write. "Felix!" "Yes sir?" "This report from sergeant... Mark? Max? Matt? This guy's handwriting is terrible." "It's Marie sir, she's from Bornguem." "Oh yes what did the local constables call her again?" "They called her the Crimson Wind sir, she murdered twenty nobles after her husband was executed for poaching." "Oh yes as I recall she commands the 5th Reaver squad now?" "The best raiders we've got sir." "Good send her to me." "At once sir."
Ten minutes later Sergeant Marie was saluting him and standing to attention. She was at first glance an unremarkable woman, average height, a plain face with maybe just a hint of wood elf in her ancestry but then he looked into her eyes and he could swear he could see burning cities in depths of her pupils. She was a woman with nothing left but vengeance and very good at it she was to as anyone who'd witnessed what she could do with her falchion could attest to. "Sergeant Marie reporting for duty sir!" "At ease Sergeant. In your report you say you spotted multiple supply caravans moving up the road on the other side of the valley?" "Yes sir. They were carrying food, weapons and what looked like soldiers pay." "Perfect I'm promoting you to lieutenant take two additional squads and start raiding those supply routes. Appropriate what you can and burn the rest." "Does appropriate mean steal sir?" "Yes Lieutenant." "What about prisoners sir?" "I leave that entirely your discretion." "Thank you sir I'll set off in the morning."
The Good Wolf watched her leave. He almost felt sorry for what he'd just unleashed on the poor loyalists but Marie was as effective as she was merciless and he needed her completely off the leash for what he was planning. He closed his eyes and just for a second he swore he could smell blood and smoke just like that night twelve years ago...
|
|
|
Post by Alexodia on Nov 29, 2016 14:58:52 GMT
A shrill, piercing whistle cut through the air like a knife, rendering Saira's previously sleeping form a flurry of terrified motion, jumping massively and exclaiming loudly in alarm as her sudden movements sent her flying right out of bed, her face gracelessly slamming into the floor with a thud. Instantly groaning in pain through a drowsy voice, she rolled over as quickly as her sleep-deprived state could muster, rolling onto her back and holding her throbbing nose with her hands, groaning in pain as she turned her head to stare in sleepy rage and apoplexy towards her very loud intruder, expecting at the very least a terrified guard whom had a very, very good reason for waking her up in such a manner.
"Good morning, my Lady." Clea spoke innocently, the picture of calm across her face as she watched her lady struggle to move with a small smile on her face. "I trust you slept well?"
"You'd better have a damn good reason for waking me up, or I swear to all the nonexistent Gods in the sky, I'm going to bind you and drop you off in Shadehaven." She threatened her knight, her voice coming out muffled due to her hands covering her face in pain.
"I'm sure you'll try, my Lady," Clea responded calmly, diplomatically sidestepping the empty threat. "but it seems there's been a change of plans." She announced. Taking the narrowed eyes of confusion of her Lady as assent to carry on, she continued. "You said yourself, you wouldn't know the situation until we arrived. So I sent one of the guards to our destination about ten minutes or so after you fell asleep last night; he just returned fifteen or so minutes ago with word on General Sigeberht's activities. Apparently he's already engaged the Good Wolf, and he has requested your immediate presence as soon as you can arrive. We've made the arrangements and done the packing up now; time to go, my Lady." Clea finished, her calm expression pointedly ignoring her Lady's confused expression and extending an arm towards the tent's entrance, patiently waiting for her Lady to exit the tent.
"I thought Sigeberht was just doing operations." Saira said after several seconds of silence, her voice still muffled.
"Apparently not. Let's go, my Lady." Clea responded again, watching calmly as her Lady pulled herself to her feet and looked around, only just noticing that her essentials had vanished from her bedside. "I'm rather light-footed, my Lady." She clarified with a small smile as her Lady looked to her and raised her eyebrow in her patented blend of of being bemused and unimpressed. Hearing her Lady groan childishly with her hands still covering her nose, she watched as her Lady sullenly trudged to the entrance of the tent, before stopping just short of Clea's outstretched arm.
"Where are we diverting to, again?" Saira asked in confusion, looking out of the tent and noticing that it was still dark out.
"Other side of the Queensforest, my Lady; should take us several hours to get there if we head out before sunrise and really test the horses." Clea explained patiently once more, the picture of calm to her Lady's exasperation. "You should probably get that looked at by the medic." She added, nodding to Saira's throbbing nose almost as an afterthought, fighting with all of her might to suppress a giggle as her Lady turned to fix her with a look of absolute hatred before childishly dragging her feet out of the tent, her knight following suit afterwards ready to join the battlefield once more.
|
|
|
Post by Envy on Nov 29, 2016 21:00:25 GMT
Arriving at Ashford Senbō arrives in the market square. Before stepping out of the carriage he puts his hood up so his isn't recognized by anybody. "So traveler want to grab a bite to eat on me a course. I know the cook there and they are the best cook you'll find any here in my opinion." Says Senbō as he jumps down onto the earth below himself.
Ah Ashford a thief's safe haven this place even in a place like this the thief's guild. Still reaches it's hold across the kingdom, Senbō realized he needs to report his presence in Ashford so that the old guild master knows that he far away from the his usual grounds. Then he'll send a message to the Black-Hand that he out here to whilst he here.
|
|
|
Post by Raz on Nov 29, 2016 22:14:03 GMT
Kleinburg, a county in the eastern reaches of the Empire. Originally home of the Freiherr Kingdom until approximately forty six years ago. Manfred von Richthofen, Jaeger's grandfather was the ruler then, their nation was prosperous, the people were content. It was a time of economic growth as well, the hills were found to be ripe with precious metals as well as a substance Jaeger's father,Joseph Richthofen, coined scheißpulver. Not long after this discovery did the empire decide that this neighbour of theirs should join them. Against the combined might of the empire, they stood no chance, so instead of wasting a generation of Kelinburging men in needless slaughter they surrendered. Because they submitted before the will of the empire they were allowed to keep their land. They would pay taxes and aid the empire in its conquests and so they have. For two generations they've been submissive to the empire. However, their remains a secret that's been kept from those that rule them, that is the scheißpulver. Jaeger's father began researching what this can be used for. A year into his research he discovered something incredible, he passed on this discovery to his son after he died in combat against the barbarians that enjoy raiding the lowlands.
It's been three years since that fateful day.
The sun was shining, clouds nowhere in sight. It was harvest time in the lands of Kleinburg. The peasants were out picking that which they've been tending to for so long. The leaves on the trees were beginning to turn a light shade of tan, some were already on their way to an earthy brown. Here in the village of Kaldalon the harvest was in full swing. Villagers carved in homespun cloth shirts and britches tended the fields, their scythes coming down on the wheat they'd been growing. The forests begin at the very edge of the settlement. Villagers rarely stray into the forests unless they go out to hunt. Rumours had it that if you went into the forest, that the Nortalia would take you away to become a statue in their gardens. Such was the superstitious nature of townspeople who have too much time on their hands. This was the talk of children and old women, creatures much more dangerous often lurked in those woods, raiders. None dared speak of them lest they be the ones thought to have summoned them just by uttering their name.
But today there likely to be no such attacks, there haven't been for nearly three years. Which has allowed for people like Helga Belfast to breathe easy as she let her children play while she washed her husband's clothes. "Nori! Jessica! Be sure you come back before it gets dark. We'll be having the roast soon with the rest of the village." A young blond boy turned back to his mother and nodded, he'd just lost his two front teeth so when he replied it was with a lisp. "We will ma ma!" He said with a smile as his hair was whisked around by the wind. It was a time of celebration so a feast would be prepared and ate in the town's centre, it would be a time for merry making, good cheer, and for tales of old. It would be also be a time to thank the gods above for their kindness this year. She loved Ertedankfest, it was this days ten years ago that she met her Stross. That kind bear of a man had been a hunter for a long time so even when times were tough he was able to provide for the village. The village doesn't have an official leader as they haven't had much need of one. Though whenever a problem springs up he's the one they look to. They say it was because he was a soldier in late Lord Joseph's army but she doesn't believe that for a minute. She knows it's because he's simply good under pressure.
She continued with her task of cleaning her families clothes as the children played.
Nori picked up his wooden sword that he'd been making for the last three months whenever he had a sharp enough rock to use. Occasionally his father would help him work on it, like when he helped fasten the cross guard and when he helped put a black rock in the pummel. It was Nori's most prized possession, he'd even wrapped some old cow hide around the handle. He stood in the field in front of his friend and his sister. "Alwight you swow pokes. Today we'll play wolves and hares. I'm the wolf, Lord Jaeger. Emile you can be the hare, the royal General of the empire." Emile, a brown haired boy just a year younger than Nori, pouted, "But I don't wanna be the hare." Nori made a tsk noise and shook his head. "But Emile if you won't be the General who will protect the evil Queen Snoe?" Emile glanced at Rebecca and found his courage renewed. He picked up a large stick and wielded it like a club. In a voice trying to imitate a grown-up Emile says, "I will." He glanced at Rebecca and his voice lost its conviction as colour rose to his cheeks. "If you'll have me."
Rebecca laughed lightly like she was a dainty princess. "Of course my brave knight. Defend me from this wild dog!" She says in mock desperation. With a battle cry from two children the battle was joined. The smacking of sticks and the shouts of battle was enough for these two lads to believe they were really in battle. In the end Emile knocked Nori's sword away causing the older boy to frown and hold his wrist. "Hey! No fair." He complained. Behind him a deep guttural voice said, "I don't know, I think he won fair and square." Emile and Rebecca were staring at whatever it was that spoke behind Nori. "Huh?" The boy said as he turned around to spot a man with black marking that formed odd shapes on his chest. He wore a wolf kilt it's fur grey and dirty. In his hands he held two wicked looking hatchets, their edge covered in something red. The man was bald with a big bushy beard. The man spoke, a sickening grin forming on his lips. "Your pa go out into the woods today?" Emile and Rebecca were backing up, terror stricken. Nori was frozen in place, he simply stared up at the big man his mouth agape. "N-no sir." The big man turned and shouted something in a language Nori didn't understand. That's when he noticed that there were other men beginning to file out of the woods. The man put one of his hatchets in his belt before catching something that came flying by. "Then...who's this?" The man said, holding up a blood smeared head of old Jacob. Jacob lived in town and went out to get mushrooms for the forest, he was a kindly old man so seeing him like this finally broke the boy.
The trio turned around and ran screaming towards their huts. Thunderous laughter followed them. The sound of footsteps were quickly heard as the raiders howled in delight of battle and sprinted after the children. Just as the beast of a man was about to grab hold of Nori an arrow sprouted from the big man's chest. In front of Nori's home stood their father, bow in hand. He knocked another arrow and shouted,"Run! To the village square!" He let fly another arrow and a raider fell with a grunt. Regardless of how many he felled they kept coming. He heard screaming from the women of the village, from his Helga. He heard her cries for them to run faster. His eyes widened as they were narrowing the distance between the children. "God's above..." he muttered. Fear gripping him like a vice, despite this he knocked and let fly another arrow. This time it went past the giants and flew soundlessly away into the woods. Just as the kids were within fifteen yards of the village a man grabbed hold of Nori. His cries for help were silenced as the boy was thrown down. Stross' cried for him to stop as the man raised his sword high, ready to deliver the killing blow.
Everything seemed to slow down as the blade descended. Stross' and Helga's screams, the roar of the oncoming raiders as well as their thunderous footsteps. And then....and then the raider was skewered by a spear by a rider on horseback. It wasn't a lone rider however, it was perhaps fifty men atop their stress! Stross watched in awe as the men clad in grey charged through the swarm. Their leader, a man wearing no armour or ornamentation aside from a yellow medal, led the charge. His battle cry was heard above all else,"For Kleinburg!" The ferocity of the attack through the invaders off balance, they tried striking at the men wreaking havoc amongst their ranks to no avail. One rider was dismounted but dispatched the one who struck at him with a hand and a half thick longsword. One by one the raiders were either felled or fled.
The battle lasted what felt like hours but must've only been a few seconds. The field was filled with the dead or dying raiders their comrades left behind. The leader of this band gestured to his comrades towards the road. Stross walked out to see the man as he dismounted. Nori ran into Stross and hugged him tight. Tears were shed by both before the elder man looked up at the man in grey, his hand cradling his boy against him. "Who are you, sir?"
The man looked down at the kneeling father and smiled just a bit. "Jaeger Von Richthofen, your lord."
(Okay so I lied when I said I'd introduce him as a rebel in my first post. In the next one he will become a rebel. Just wanted to do a bit of world building.)
|
|
|
Post by Raz on Nov 30, 2016 2:16:14 GMT
Three days, that's how long it has been since Jaeger last had been home. The eastern outpost was supposed to send in a report every two days, at the latest it would arrive at the castle by the end of the third day. If their happens to be rider delays then they give an extra three hours on the reports due date. After this time is up the kingdom is to be considered under attack. Once this happens the gates are barred shut and signal fires throughout the country are lit. Unfortunately, the signal fires on the eastern fringes of the county hadn't been constructed yet. This was something Jaeger intended to have fixed, especially if things go as according to plan.
On the fourth day without a report Jaeger and a company of the fastest light cavalry he had at his disposal, set off to find the cause of the problem. Initially they had received scattered sightings of raiders throughout the eastern territory. It wasn't until the second day that they tracked the raiders down. However, the cavalry would fare poorly in the forest so they had to wait until an opportunity presented itself. That was the third day. With luck the raiders will keep running hell to leather all the way out of the territory. Chances were they would, after all Jaeger was the devil to them. If there was one thing he taught his men, it was that you don't take barbarian prisoners. With their leader dead and the majority of them now being thrown into pyre it's likely that it'll be some time before they come back. The possessions of the raiders were given to the villagers as reparations for the trouble caused as well as the loss of their neighbour. The villagers were grateful and offered the young Lord a place with them for Ertedankfest but alas he had to refuse. There was something much more important to be done in the capital.
With a brief resupply at that village the company was off again, their mission having been accomplished. Before he had left he spoke with the boy that had been attacked. "I saw you playing earlier, next time you play, make sure the wolf wins." He said with a wink. A few hours behind the seventh light cavalry was the second regiment of foot Commanded by one Siegfried Norton. A grizzled old soldier from as far back as Manfred Von Richthofen. He wouldn't do much good in a fight, but he was excellent in having his men fight the raiders. He had learned how they thought years ago during the campaigns against them. He'll be instrumental in keeping the village safe as well as restaffing the eastern outpost. After the signal fires are finished a messenger will be sent to order him back to the city. A smaller group will take over the outpost at that point.
It was nearly sunset when the company arrived at the gate of Talheim. A massive walled city surrounded by a filled in moat. The moat had to be filled in a few decades ago as the empire thought that it threatened the stability of the region. Jaeger had designs for it to be returned to its former glory soon enough. To the right of the city sat fort Daxio. An old imperial fort constructed after Kleinburg submitted to the rule of the hares. It was armed with dozens of balistae and nearly ten thousand men garrisoned it. Or at least, they did. Five thousand of those soldiers have begun marching to take care of the insurrection that's going on. The forts commander is leaving his assistant, Rollie Sotmayor, in charge of the installation. A move about as poor as a beggar. The fat little despot will get what's coming to him in time. The thought brings a smile to his face.
On another positive note, it'll take a long time for the column to arrive at the frontlines perhaps as long as two months, which gives Jaeger plenty of time to find away to do away with them. As he brought his steed to a halt at the front gate he heard people speaking,"Open the gate! Our lords returned!" Slowly the big iron gate was lifted, allowing Jaeger and his company to pass. Once he was through, he marvelled at the city. The outer and inner walls were made of a mix of granite and reinforced steel beams which were imported from the mantel mountain range to the west. It was because of these mountains that Kleinsburg was ignored so long by the empire. It would take a serious siege to make a dent in the outer walls. Since Talheim was built on a hill it allowed for the defenders to see for miles in all directions, it also allowed for one to see the imperial flag hoisted high above Talheim castle. It was an abomination to Jaeger but he had to remind himself that things were quickly about to change. The castle itself has been the home of Von Richthofens for nearly four hundred years.
Talheim was created in the late first century. By his ancestors Yorgen and Valkyia, and since that time it has only grown. Apparently Yorgen loved for things to be in order, so when the plans for the city were laid out he decreed that there should be sections in the city that hold different purposes. This is why the outer wall is the garrison district, the centre wall is the crafts and merchants district, the third wall is for residents and lastly is for the ruling family. As the Lord and his entourage made their way through the city he looked at the building which were made primarily out of stone so that even if a fire were to take place in this city it would do little damage. The common folk watched in awe as Jaeger rode past them. "My people." He thought with a smile.
At long last they arrived at the keep. There he dismissed his company and proceeded into his keep alone. Their he was stopped by one of his soldiers stepping over to him and snapping a crisp salute. "Sir, the men are in place with what you requested." Jaeger nodded, "Good, call for the commander of fort Daxio. I want him to see this." His soldier took on a feral grin. "Aye, sir." Twenty minutes later found the pudgy, and puffed up commander Rollie pushing through the doors to Jaeger's sitting room. There the young Lord sat looking over some documents. The commander was flanked by four guards in decorative armour with their swords in their sheathed. "What is the meaning of this Jaeger?" Without looking up Jaeger states,"I called for your presence twenty minutes ago." Rollie scoffed, "You dare to presume to order me around? You're lucky her highness-" A sharp look from Jaeger cut him off mid sentence. "Erhm, well, you can't simply call on me whenever you want." He explained. He began twisting his curly grey moustache. He's nervous Jaeger thought with delight.
Calmly Jaeger stood, "Come with me Rollie, I want you to see something." As he moved to the balcony, he cut his eyes to the man's guards."They can wait in here." Rollie is about to speak when two dozen armed Kleinburgian soldiers close in around them. The guards in their ornamental armour cut their eyes from their commander to those around them. Rollie grows pale, "What are you doing?" Without answering he simply walked onto the balcony with Rookie following him. "Well, what do you want to show me?" He asks looking over the railing. Jaeger pointed to fort Daxio, "I want you to take a look at it one last time. There's the sound of something fluttering, looking up Rollie watches in horror as the imperial banner falls. Starting to panic Rollie looks back to fort Daxio only to see it be devastated by projectiles from Talheims walls. A second later a roaring boom reaches Rollies ears. The next sound he hears before another volley is fired is a click beside him. He looks to Jaeger only to see the barrel of something pointing at the spot between his eyes. "You asked what am I doing? I thought it was obvious." The sounds of gunfire come from inside the keep but Jaeger keeps his eyes locked on Rookie, a grin creeping onto his face. Fire burns in Jaegers eyes as he says, "I'm taking back what's mine." Jaeger pulls the trigger on his flintlock pistol and watches as a smattering of Gore flies from the back of his head. A swift kick sends the corpse following from the balcony.
He repeats again a bit quieter, "I'm taking back what's mine."
|
|
|
Post by Alexodia on Nov 30, 2016 2:20:57 GMT
It wasn't exactly in Saira's nature to miss patterns or remain unaware of her surroundings and what she needed to do, but the trek that they still were on seemed to be dragging on forever, her entourage and protection detail having slowed to a graceful trot through the Queensforest, having reached the far end a few hours ago, but still some way away from Sigeberht's camp. To be perfectly honest, she didn't know how far she was; she'd never come this way through the forest, much less in this direction. The entire forest as a whole spread out for literally hundreds of miles, the canopy reaching over one hundred metres in height with the redwoods packed densely enough together to make sure that any journey through it always possessed at least some degree of difficulty, and the canopy of the trees letting in just enough sunlight to let one know whether the sun was shining or not. The incessant chirping of countless different species also helped to really contribute to the sense of nature in the Queensforest; mainly because they wouldn't shut up for the life of them. People sometimes associated the chirping of birds as being at one with nature, but those people are either insane or haven't spent a great deal of time in the Queensforest. The Forest Elves would all have an absolute field day here should they be forced to live in Alantus for whatever reason, she mused silently as she faintly registered the brisk trotting of the horses maneuvering around some high tree roots, the path still somewhat visible in the bright orange glow of the sunlight. The incessant noise of countless species of birds still resonated in her ear as she cast her mind back to meeting the Forest Elves.
She'd spent time in more than just her home city of Eyse Dorei; her father had insisted, often bringing her along to his meetings and trips along to the different stretches of land where the other sub-races of Elves lived barring the underground caverns of the Drow. Her father didn't intentionally mean to frighten her with ghost stories about what the Drow did to those whom they came across and branded trespassers, but either way he succeeded. He initially went on his own, leaving her with her mother back in Eyse Dorei as she was left alone to wait for him to come back, most often sulking in her bed for the first few days or even weeks at her childish indignation at his leaving. He would always do his best to placate her every time he left, holding her close and promising her that he would be back soon, but she rarely ever wanted to hear it; her father was leaving her like he always did, never choosing to stay home with her and mother. And he would never get upset with her or angry with her; he would always just hug her extra tight and promise her that he was always going to come back. And to his credit, come back he always did. She was only 87 but she still considered her fondest memories to be the times when she would catch him coming through the entrance of the estate, or hearing his hopeful voice carry through the rooms of the house as she happily bounded down the stairs or through the door and jumped right into his arms, holding him tighter than she had ever held anything before as his strong, yet gentle arms always cradled her effortlessly in mid-air, calming her with soothing words and an expression brighter than the sun. He was always strict and proper when they were with others, prioritising appearing strong and unmovable to the world; yet when it was just them, her father came out. The kind, strong, loving giant whom would always protect her from anything. And she would be in bliss until he had to leave again, breaking her tiny heart once more. Her mother never failed in attempting to sooth her, but she as well as Saira knew that platitudes wouldn't bring her father back home from his excursions. He would always leave, and she would always wish that he never had to go, or that she could go with him wherever she went. But her wish never came true despite wishing it every day that her father was gone. Until one day, it did.
She remembered waking up in the middle of the night, her sheets drawn around her as she faintly registered the sounds of arguments from downstairs, the heated voices audible from her bed. The childlike fear one would expect coursed through her body, but she wasn't the type of child to hide until things went away; her father always taught her to face the problem. Getting out of bed and straightening her small pyjamas, she grabbed her stuffed animal and tentatively headed downstairs, her fear growing at the sounds of the voices getting louder as she sneaked down the stairs, down the hallway and into the kitchen to see her parents embroiled in an argument. Neither of them were shouting or screaming, but her mother looked worried, and so did her father in a sense. She couldn't really decipher why either of them looked worried until mother caught sight of her and stopped in her tracks. Following her mother's eyes, her father's eyes followed suit and adopted the same expression of looking like they had just thoroughly kicked a wounded pet. She must have looked really scared when her mother ran over and enveloped her in a hug, her father standing there with a pensive expression. She remembered asking him why they were talking, and she remembered lighting up in joy when her father revealed that he was considering asking her to come along with him sometime; to see Laethyr, to see the rest of the land and her brethren. She remembered pleading with her mother, and she remembered the worried, yet loving expression on her mother's face when she realised that she would not be dissuaded from travelling with her father. Had such a scenario happened now, she likely would have been much more considerate of her mother's feelings about being left behind, but that was the entire reason she let her go in a sense, she realised. Her daughter wanted to be with her father and know more about the world that rested within her mother's loving arms. She was worried beyond belief for her daughter, she was only twenty-one; but she had the bravery and the wisdom of somebody five times her age. She knew that her time would come, but right now, her place was with her father.
Her father would take her to all kinds of different places; both in Laethyr and the neighbouring Alantus, particularly loving the ship journeys between Laethyr and Alantus over the Arda Sea. She would always remember the first time he took her to the lands of the Forest Elves most of all; she remembered marvelling at the dense forests and rainforests encompassing the lands, more types of trees than she had ever seen with more wildlife and alternate culture than she had ever witnessed in her life. She remembered almost getting lost in the giant forest before her father had found her, and she remembered spending a night in one of the treetop villages of the Forest Elves; oh, what a night that was. Wooden bridges swinging in the air sixty metres above the ground, homes carved from tree trunks, yet the entire village was far more advanced than she had initially suspected; scientific equipment been seen openly with potions and spells, and the Forest Elves being just as likely to turn to science as they were to magic. She remembered her father leaving her with the Forest Elf children to talk with the leaders of the village in the more advanced parts of the village, and she remembered sitting awkwardly with the Forest Elf children before they were playing happily not ten minutes later. This was why he had brought her here, she thought as she chased a Forest Elf girl using a stick as a makeshift sword. She remembered approaching the village with a noticeable amount of apprehension coupled with her awe, her nerves bubbling until she realised that none of these Elves were calling her names for being a half-elf, none of them were insulting her or her mother and saying that her blood was filthy; there were Elves that were happy to accept her for who she was. And also with her; these Elves weren't nearly as backwards and as uncivilised as her peers had led her to believe. They were bright and accepting people, each of their shortcomings lost in their own companionship. By the time that her father had finished his business, she didn't ever want to leave. And for that, she would always be grateful to her father for opening her eyes; allowing her to see that the world didn't accommodate petty prejudice. When she arrived home, the names didn't bother her anymore, and the ignorant jibes of the supposed superiority of High Elves didn't fill her with a sense of smug satisfaction anymore; rather, pity and disgust settled in her stomach in their place. She had always wondered why her father didn't join in the jeering of other races like the rest of the High Elves did, or even why her father fell in love with her mother and sired her in the first place, knowing full well that nobody would accept her. After seeing so much of the world and seeing so many different people and places, it didn't matter to him anymore. He loved her anyway. And after seeing the look in her eyes as they left, both of them knew that she would strive and endeavour to do the same throughout her own life, regardless of where she ended up.
"My Lady!" came Clea's hushed call in her mind, cutting through the silence and snapping her out of her reverie as she came back to the present. Looking around, she saw that the bright orange of the sunset had dimmed to a dark red glow, the nocturnal animals growing louder in their screeching and the off-road path between the giant redwoods all but gone, the only path in their way barely marked by the passing of animals. Turning her head to fix her knight with an inquisitive stare, she felt her jaw set in caution as Clea had stopped dead on her horse, throwing up her left arm as a signal for all in the entourage to halt in their tracks, concerned with what Clea had noticed, casting her eyes forward to see the faint glow of torches and the outline of tents and guards in the distance. All of them waiting with bated breath, Clea remained still; only her eyes expertly surveying the dark woods for any sign of movement, softly but harshly shushing Saira when she attempted to ask what was wrong, effectively concerning her lady into silence. Swiftly and silently dismounting from her horse, Clea started stalking forwards in the tree bark and forest floor, not making a sound as she silently lifted her elven longbow over her head and into position and expertly nocked an arrow into place in complete silence, stopping dead ten metres away from the entourage in a clearing. The entire forest silent except for the hooting of animals and the faint noises of the camp a few hundred metres away, every single person involved waited silently, barely daring to make a sound. Fearing far more deeply for Clea than she allowed her men to see, Saira fixed her eyes desperately on her knight, who stayed rooted in the exact same place, seemingly waiting for something until after several seconds of silence, stepping forwards deliberately. Immediately, an arrow came whooshing out of the trees faster than most could see straight towards Clea's position, who expertly dodged the arrow in a graceful maneuver more suited to dance than combat, before expertly aiming her bow to where the arrow had came, pulling back the bowstring as she did and letting an arrow fly all in less than a second with practised, prodigious skill, everyone hearing a cry of pain come from the trees a split second later before a man came tumbling out of the branches fifteen feet in the air, hitting the ground with a sickening thud and rolling around in pain. Pointedly ignoring the exclamations of shock and surprise from the entourage behind her, Clea calmly scanned all the trees around her for any more intruders, before sheathing her elven longbow and striding with purpose over to the man still rolling around in pain, grabbing him by the lapels of his armour with unnatural strength and slamming him into the trunk of the tree he had fallen from, his face slightly below hers in height as his upright form allowed everybody to see the arrow cleanly embedded in his upper thigh.
"Who are-" The man tried to speak, before being roughly cut off by a fist slamming into his stomach with measured force and being slammed back into the tree, forcing him to look up at Clea's murderous, yet strangely calm expression of practised interrogation.
"Who are you?" Clea demanded, her voice low and intimidating as the man quailed beneath her intense gaze. "Whom do you serve and why were you waiting to ambush us?!"
"I-I'm no-I'm not, we-we're waiting for somebody!" He revealed instantly, his voice high in terror as he shrank under her gaze. "I serve General Sigeberht, we're waiting for Lady Apollinaire to arrive!" He let slip with a squeak, hope clearly registering on his face as Clea loosened her grip ever so slightly in surprise. Strengthening it back in a split second, Clea's eyes quickly roamed over his armour, recognition flowing through her eyes as she noticed Sigeberht's coat of arms on his cloak, confirming his story. After a few seconds, her eyes narrowed in suspicion, before instantly letting go of his lapels and letting him crash to the ground once again, pointedly ignoring the screams of pain from the soldier as he landed on his wounded leg.
"And so you decide to shoot the first people coming through this way? The way that nobody ever comes unless they have a strict purpose?" Clea asked him aloud, her voice betraying no concern or compassion as she spoke loud enough to make sure her Lady could hear, fixing the young soldier with a withering stare.
"I-we-we weren't expecting you for another day or so; we didn't expect it to be you!" He revealed, his voice shrill in pain. Rolling her eyes, Clea registered the sounds of the entourage heading towards them, having heard the conversation and understood the lack of threat. Reaching down once more, she grabbed his lapel roughly with her left hand, hoisting him up onto his feet effortlessly and pinning him against the tree once more.
"So you decide not to inform your superiors, but to be a hero and try to take down a whole detail of guards on your own, in the dead of night, with nobody to back you up?" Clea asked rhetorically, her forceful tone evident in her voice as she turned her body towards the camp and threw the body of the young soldier towards the faint din of voices and glow of torches, ignoring the way he yelped as he hit the floor. "Get up." She ordered forcefully, watching him with disdain as he did and motioning her hand towards the entourage for two of her soldiers to dismount their horses and walk towards him. "Two of my men will accompany you, since you're not very able to walk and may need help explaining just what happened here to your superiors. You don't have to tell them much, just this; Lady Apollinaire has arrived." She finished harshly, watching as her men roughly grabbed the young soldier by the biceps and hoisted him up onto his feet and started pulling him forwards towards the camp, his feet dragging along the floor as they went.
"That was rather harsh." Saira commented wryly, having dismounted her horse and walked alongside her knight to watch the spectacle, gently holding her horse by the reins as she walked.
"He's an idiot, my Lady." Clea reiterated, her tone less harsh than before but still enough to showcase her irritation. "The kid must be, what? Sixteen? Barely trained and alone in his relatively comfortable post when he sees a group of hooded figures and, despite the fact that he is meant to be looking out for hooded figures, instantly jumps to conclusions and throws himself into a suicidal confrontation which he cannot hope to win?" She continued, somewhat out of breath due to the forcefulness of her rant, only to look sideways and see her Lady watching her with amusement.
"Any confrontation with you is bound to have some element of suicidal tendencies, whether they know it's you or not. Plus, I remember you being as jittery and as...gung ho when you were that age, one of the youngest knights the land has seen." She remarked casually, watching in amusement as Clea's eyes widened and her eyebrows shot up in affront.
"I was never that bad." She responded defensively, pointing to the treetop where the young guard had fallen. Merely shrugging in indifference with a smile on her face, Saira wordlessly pressed past her knight, heading towards the camp in a calm manner. Shaking her head in irritation, Clea followed suit. Soon falling into stride with her Lady and looking to her right as her horse trotted up alongside her, she gently grabbed the reins of her horse as her Lady did, closing in on Sigeberht's camp step by casual step with their horses softly whinnying in contentment. The rest of the guard detail heading out in front of them with their horses to find the stables, Clea felt her mouth form into a bashful grin and her cheeks blushing red as she felt her Lady's hand softly intertwining itself with her own hand as her Lady looked up at her with eyes bright and the most genuine smile she had seen her smile in a long time, both of them wordlessly walking towards the camp, allowing each other largest gesture either of them could muster in the short time they were alone. They may be in a strange part of the land, with strange people fighting a strange battle that neither of them wanted to fight...
...but they were doing it together.
|
|
|
Post by Deaths on Nov 30, 2016 4:48:00 GMT
A laugh broke from Artorias one he hasn't had in a life time it felt. Falling backwards from his kneeling position he drops his sword continuing to laugh. This moment of joy meant the world, to him and he didn't want it to laugh. Composing himself after a moment he stands a smile frozen on his face.
"Come on General I'm here literally pledging my life to you and your cause then you remind me of that." He continues to laugh trying his best to fight it. "Talk about killing a mood." Artorias picks up his belongs and heads to towards the the entrance of the tent. "I'll take your most rested horse." His tone still infectiously happy. "I will be riding to a secret rendezvous point, Sera and I created in case we lose track of each other." He can picture the cabin in his head, lost in the woods on lands owned by no lords. The small building has supplies and is well maintained by some commoners who were told it was some lords hunting lodge. "I'll head straight there. If she didn't get thrown from her horse to badly she will have picked up the scent."
With a nod he looks at Sigeberht a sad smile crosses his face, the feeling of loss came over him. A battle was soon and Sigeberht would be there at the vanguard where he belonged. How many times will he return? Artorias wondered, war takes all hero and scoundrel alike. "I'd wish you luck in the up coming days, but you won't need it." He pauses trying to come up with the words in the old tongue of the swamps. "My people have a saying when it comes to warriors like you." It's been years since he spoke his mother tongue the words seemed foreign in his mind. "Hun neh oblaan." The guttural words finally break from his lips, with much difficulty. "Heroes never die." He translates before riding off on the first stallion brought to him.
The ride to the camp would take hours, hours of darkness and solitude that Artorias didn't want. These nights remind him of home, the smell of mothers stew filled his mind. His older sister practicing a new fire trick she came up with just days before. She was a prodigy no one mastered the flames as fast as her. She would make a great priestess and serve the flame greatly. Father would be home soon, with a boar or maybe even a crocodile to eat. With envy in his eyes he watched his sister Karla produce flame from her on mind, an advanced skill indeed, while only he could move fire from other sources.
"Mom? Will I ever be as good as Karla?" He looked up to his mother still cooking in the kitchen. Her golden hair was always long often times past her knees. Her soft pale face looked back at him ever smiling always there for her children, and always putting them at ease.
"That depends on you." She said bluntly "You will NEVER BRING THIS CLAN HONOR!" Her smile melts she grabbs a dagger from her boot and rushed Artorias. His horse bucks after jumping a hole in the road jarring him back to consciousness. Looking around he had a general idea where he was. He held on to reigns with one hand and drank from his new flask with the other. The Ursine whiskey hit hard, but it made him feel better. These vision plauged his mind on some nights and he told no one, but Sera one night they were rabbit hunting when the visions over took him. They had made camp she had first watch, while he slept he saw his family burn and enemies all around him. He drew his sword and began swinging at trees, his sleeping bag, and anything that got close. He tried burning the forest down in an attempt to save his family. She was able to talk him down long enough for his sanity to return, he spent the rest of the night weeping in his sleep.
"Careful uncle Redgar died drunkenly falling off his horse. Remember dad was so shamed by that, for months he would attack anyone who even joked about it." A familiar voice comes from behind him, he feels a pressure around his waist a warm embrace against his back. Horror fills him, he turns his head and his older sister sat behind him frozen at the age of thirteen she smiles. "You've gotten much better with your fire, you still can't keep up with me though." She says teasingly while sticking her tongue out at him. "Wow you've grown so much, it's not fair I'm the older one I should be bigger." She pouts looking into the moon light. "Where are we this isn't home?"
"Please." Artorias begs, tears rolling down his face. "You are dead, all of you are dead. Leave me alone go kindle with the flame where you belong." He commands his sister, she sits quiet for a long time tightening her grip on him and placing her head against the small of his back
"There is no flame, only cold and darkness." Her eyes widen putting every puppy to shame in it's cuteness. "You are warm though, you light up the night." She slowly fades away. After a few minutes Artorias body felt lighter relived that she was gone, no man should suffer seeing his loved ones dead again. He finished the flask hoping being in a drunken stupor will help him avoid these memories.
Hours later he made it to the cabin. Unlocking the door just as dawn breaks, the lone star knight wonders in drunk. Raising a hand over the fire pit he commands the flames to appear, bringing light and comfort to his home away from home. He poured more liquor the stronger the better. The room was spinning, but the chants and drinking songs of his clan played loudly in his ears. When he was a child he always joined in trying his best to keep the beat, he would fumble all over the words and always be off key.
"How dare you!" The voice of his father echoed through the cabin. "You are warm and safe in a dry lander's home. Drinking and singing like a warrior. Warriors win they aren't captured they die on the field!" His father berates him. "That you would swear an oath of loyalty to anyone other than me is an insult alone. You were going to give up MY SWORD. That sword killed more men than you can count you worthless nothing. Thank the flame your mother is gone so she may never see the disgrace you have become."
Artorias draws his father's sword and runs him through in actuality he just stabs a stuffed grizzly bear. His father draws the same sword and retaliates. Their swords clash his father swinging recklessly with rage of a thousand men at his back.
"Can't even kill a dead man, you are pathetic." He taunts Artorias "What is this fighting stance you are in. Did a northern bar maid teach you to dance with that sword? Hit me you worthless dog." The battle last for an hour the cabin's floors, walls, and doors covered in cuts and scratches. His father looks aprovingly. "Burn them all." He says as visions of his friends, comrades, and enemies danced through Artorias' mind.
"Burn them all." His sister repeats.
"Burn them all." His mother joins the chant. They all repeat this chant over and over for what feels like an eternity.
Defeated Artorias falls to his knees. "Burn them all." He whispers repeating them back "Burn them all." The more he says it the more it makes sense. "Burn them all." He continues repeating for several minutes until passing out in a pile of empty wine bottles.
|
|
|
Post by Raz on Nov 30, 2016 17:05:18 GMT
"Take steady aim, the battle for our freedom is about to start." Said Jaeger to his army. The column that had set out a few days previously had since turned around after seeing smoke rise from fort Daxio. The column was moving into position on the open field in front of Talheim. Jaeger had marched out to meet him. The five thousand strong elite of Fort Daxio stood stoically as they watched the two thousand odd Kleinburgians bunch together. Both sides banners flapped in the wind as a light breeze took them. Jaeger had his troops bunch together like they were cowering. Their equipment looked shoddy, they only had wooden sticks in hand and some strange looking carts among them. The one in charge of the enemy force trotted forward to the centre of the battlefield as did Jaeger.
"What is the meaning of this Jaeger?" Asked Govenor Hitchens. Jaeger simply shrugged. "I thought we could retake the country before you returned. You had to of known how incompetent Rollie was."The governor sighed and nodded. "Yes, I did. But I didn't expect you to do such a thing." He looked at Jaeger with a pained expression. "Jaeger..I have to kill you...you know that don't you? I can't just let this slide else the Queen will have my head." Hitchens had always been kind to Jaeger, he'd been around since his grandfather ruled these lands though he looked only thirty. Hitchens was a high elf. For the first time in quite a while Jaeger let his true emotions show, there was sorrow there. "I know. But this is the path I chose and I'm willing to see it through." Hitchens shook his head and turned his warhorse around. Jaeger did the same, both men went back their lines.
He watched as Hitchens rallied his forces and sent them into a charge against Jaegers position. Once they were within two hundred meters Jaeger jumped into action, "Form up!" His voice resounding through the midmorning air. The men who had been cowering just a few moments ago formed tight ranked lines. "Present Arms!" They level their rifles at the approaching force. They were within one hundred meters now. "Cannons ready sir!" Came from the gun crews commander. "Hold!" Fifty meters, "Hold!" He could feel the ground shaking as they got closer, he could make out the faces of the men coming at him. "Hold!" Once they were at twenty meters away he said the word that would change the face of the Earth. "Fire!" He watched as Hitchens face contorted from anger, to fear, to a quickly disappearing mist. The sound of the guns deafened Jaeger. He could only see the carnage for a moment, the first six ranks of men in front of the cannons simply evaporated into a cloud of red. Men fell writhing and screaming as their armour was punctured by musket balls. The charges momentum was broken, a few continued forward into the line only to be butchered by the bayonets. Others began to fall back, still others were stuck simply staring at the line of death in front of them. "Second rank! Fire!" Another cacophony of gunshots was heard as more Imperial soldiers dropped. Jaeger drew his sword and shouted,"Charge!" From a hill not too far away came three hundred horsemen, their blades drawn.
Needless to say, Hitchen's column was decimated. Very few lived through the battle on the imperial side. Those that did were placed in the dungeons. The next day Jaeger sent a letter intended for the queen. "Your highness, I've received word things are going less than hoped for on the front. Would you wish for your loyal vassal to support you in your war?"
|
|
|
Post by Snoe on Nov 30, 2016 20:39:42 GMT
Snoe nods to the mans offer of food and drink, taverns were the best places to gather information, those that are within “That sounds fun my good sir.” Snoe was getting a good idea that this gentleman was hiding something though pulling the hood up during in this heat seemed outt of place now that the rain had stopped it seemed... funny how the weather was so hard to predict in this area.
Snoe sidled up aong side the man “Would a gentleman such as you mind offering a lady her drink?” It was a good way to judge character, sharing drinks together, the royal guard were basically required to drink with the queen upon joining, being one of the boning moments. It made many a loyal knight when she became friends with them.
This place wasn’t all that far, the bustling location causing her ears to perk up and scope for various conversations listening for particular words. Not all convversations were worth listening too.
|
|
|
Post by Envy on Nov 30, 2016 22:05:22 GMT
Senbō laughs "Gentleman where do you see one or do you mean me madame? If you do I'm just your average day traveler no way shape or form a gentleman just a guy with a heart is how I see myself." Opening the door to O'McLaughlin's Inn & Pub "Hey Kell you have anything left for us?" The large Man turns around "You aren't welcome here you now that?" He says with a forceful tone then soon after saying this he breaks out into a smile.
"Oh come on I'm just joking with you! Here come and sit down Michael and his companion. Here look what I got from Innistrad I had my own menu's made for me. I swear that the biggest place I've ever been and they've even manage to stay out of this war." Placing the menus on the table he walks back to the bar and fills up two glasses of water. "Call for me when your ready you two!" Says Kell as he walks over to another table.
Taking a drink from the glass Senbō says "Ah best place in Ashford go grab a bite to eat or a cold drink! Oh wait a second where were my manners?" Before sitting down he walks to Snoe seat and pulls it out for her. "The first step towards being a gentleman is being polite and courteous as my grandfather used to say to me." Walking back to his seat Senbō sits down in the chair "So how do you fair my friend. If you're curious about me then ask me anything that rattles your mind."
|
|
|
Post by silent15 on Dec 1, 2016 0:11:27 GMT
Sigeberht sat in his tent, pouring over a map of the area, the locations of his ambushed caravans marked on it in red. He was less worried about the supply situation than some of his advisors. His army was relatively small so it was possible to mostly sustain it by foraging or by returning the favour and raiding the supply lines of the larger rebel force. He had already dispatched scouts to assess the enemy supply lines to prepare for that possible outcome.
Still, while he was not as troubled by the situation as some of his subordinates, there were still aspects of the situation that did not sit well with him. On a personal level there was the fact that some of the caravan guards had been found with wounds suggesting executions. That infuriated him. Sigeberht held no illusions as to the unpleasant nature of warfare, but even he drew the line at the execution of captives. On a broader strategic level, he was worried by how these raids had forced his army onto the defensive, something that a cavalry heavy army such as his was poorly suited for. He needed to find a way to deal with these raiders and reclaim the initiative in this particular campaign theatre.
He was half-seriously toying with the idea of using himself as bait to lure the raiders into a trap, when Maheriel, a wood elf and one of his Gesith, who had been standing guard outside stepped inside. "Boss, one of the pickets assigned to the Queensforest just reported back with news. Seems General Apollinarie's boys and girls will be joining us in the next few hours."
Sigeberht couldn't help but smile at that news. While Sairahiniel could be blunt to the point of making Ekenbrand look tactful, he couldn't ask for anyone better when it came to tactics and strategy. To say nothing of the benefit of the reinforcements she was bringing. Although their arrival would put more stress on his supply lines, meaning it was even more important to resolve this raider issue.
"Thank you Maheriel." Sigeberht nodded to her, "Can I trust you to see them here once they arrive? Knowing the General, she'll want to be brought up to speed as soon as possible. In the meantime I'd better go find Ekenbrand. The old man still sometimes has good ideas regarding tactics."
Maheriel's lips quirked in amusement, "I believe I saw him on the practice field terrorising the new recruits."
Chuckling, Sigeberht left his tent heading towards the makeshift practice where, sure enough, he found Ekenbrand hollering something about not "riding a warhorse as you would a Troskein whore" at a bunch of fresh-faced recruits. Pausing before stepping out onto the field, Sigeberht cast his mind back to his own training under Ekenbrand. He had used a similar selection of profanity back then. At least until a young Sigeberht had accidentally repeated some of it within earshot of his mother. That a woman who could ride forty leagues from dawn till dusk, hunt, skin and dress any animal found on the steppe and cow even the most loud-mouthed nomad with a glare, could so shocked at her son swearing never ceased to amuse Sigeberht. Ekenbrand ceased using such words shortly after Sigeberht's mother had a conversation with him during which, an eavesdropping Sigeberht had been amused to note, his mother used invective more colourful than anything Ekenbrand had ever uttered. Shaking off the memory, and the bittersweet feeling that memories of his family always produced, Sigeberht moved to rescue his recruits from Ekenbrand.
Returning with Ekenbrand to his tent, the two of them quickly fell into a discussion of options now open to them thanks to their reinforcements until Maheriel stuck her head into the tent and announced, "General Apollinarie and her knight Clea Strange here to see you boss."
|
|
|
Post by silent15 on Dec 1, 2016 0:19:06 GMT
(OOC note - feel free to use the Gesith as NPC in your posts if you want to. The only real characterisation thing I'd suggest is that they tend to be much more informal around Sigeberht than other military figures as they know him quite well on a personal level. (Gesith in old English roughly means honoured companion, which rather neatly sums up the relationship between the Gesith and Sigeberht.))
|
|
|
Post by Serph on Dec 1, 2016 3:16:44 GMT
Sera had finally managed to find a place to leave her horse and grab a bite to eat while she snooped. Far less devious and skillful as it sounds when she’s essentially just chatting up some of the bartenders, the waitresses and occasionally the very drunk. The latter never seemed to remember where they were, and what they weren’t supposed to share, but it always elicited a fun story about who actually had been at the bar and what they’d done. Well, less fun so much as an exasperate on-goer just making a face that begs someone to ask them what actually happened. It was a pretty memorable face. It was one she was sitting next to as she and her new friend watched a man boast about his adventures. “And I says to the guy,” the drunk started, swaying a bit on his feet before pausing to take another sip of his beer, screwing his face up in a focus as he tries to gather his words.
“He’s says nothin’ to him,” the man next to Sera mutters with an eye roll, before downing his own drink. He’d clearly had to spend too many an hour listening to this buffoon. Poor guy was only here to meet with his business client for a late dinner and they were horrendously late before having to just cancel. He’s been here for far too many hours. If Sera hadn’t bought him a meal he probably would have stormed out and forsaken this bar. “And I says to the guy, get outta my bar!” the man finally bellows, swinging his drink around dangerously in emphasis to the applause and hollers of those around him.
“Right, right your bar,” her new acquaintance muttered sarcastically. “Did he actually leave?” Sera asked curiously. The man snorted. “Course he did, but not because of this buffoon. Had a nice carriage and tossed out carrots like candy. Why would he stick around here with,” the man gestured to the man who now guffawed before continuing his heroic tale, “Ran right out to his tiny friend,” the drunk gestured, pointing forcefully and dramatically towards the door. Sera glanced at her friend who just shrugged and downed his glass. “Hells if I know what he’s muttering about now.” He commented. “There’ve been a few carriages coming a going. They stopped a couple hours ago. Coachmen only ride until 2am or so before it gets too dangerous.” Sera nodded. She’d had to check with the town guards then if she wanted to know if the Queen left.
One filling, if not loud meal later and the elf was making her way to the watch tower. “Who goes there!?” a guard bellowed out, sneering at the small elf approaching him. Sera saluted. “I was sent by Sir Sera,” the guard paused as if trying to decide what to do. “What did he send you for?” the guard asked eyeing her suspiciously. “He’s doing his safety inspections and requires a report on travelers going in and out of town,” she rattled off in a crisp manner to the man. He squinted at her. “And how do I know he sent you?” he asked again. “I have a written form from the man himself expressing a need to see your travel records.” Sera replied taking out the parchment from her bag to show the man. He read it carefully, eyeing her all the while before glancing at the seal. She found out very quickly she always needed to check travel records whenever the Queen went missing. It was far easier to just make a few copies and stamp her seal in than attempt to explain that she was indeed Sir Sera and no she was not a man and why are these people questioning the Queen’s title for her? The man was still browsing the note.
“I haven’t got all day, if you won’t be helpful then I will report you to Sir Sera and he will deal with your insolent behavior towards his subordinates,” Sera commented with a huff as if there was simply nothing to do about it. “Hold on now! I’m reading it!” the man protested before scowling and shoving the paper into a random drawer. “Fine, here’s the book of travel records,” the man snarled slamming it on the table for her. “I want you out of here as soon as you’re done,” he snapped before stalking away. He was a truly charming gentleman. Eyeing the book curiously she started to flip through descriptions and documents of those who’d travelled in and out of the city. Old man, no. Fish seller with a permit, no. nobleman and his wife, no. Sera continued to search through the list of names and descriptions. One man was going to Ashford, how bizarre. Unfortunately that wasn’t the bizarre she was looking for, though she wouldn’t doubt the Queen to head that way for fun. She couldn’t imagine anyone else choosing to head down there now, they’d be walking close to the warzone at that rate, but fools will be fools. Narrowing her eyes she flipped to the next page. There were only two more entries and neither seemed like disguises her Queen could pull off. One was also a Fox couple and the other was a burly trader apparently taller than the guards.
Sera tapped her fingers on the table in irritation, she must be missing something. The queen had definitely come here. “Are you done looking yet?” the man asked, glaring at her now that he’d returned. “Are these all the documents? Every person who was on the carriages and horses?” Sera asked eyeing the book as if it must be hiding something from her. “Those are all the entries from here,” the man snapped. Sera’s eyebrow perked. “Do you have the north outpost’s records then?” she asked. He looked like he might snarl when he told her to wait there. If she was south of the warzone now and her Queen really was headed towards the battlegrounds, then she would most likely be seen by the town’s north outpost. “Here’s your damn book,” the man slammed the poor thing on the table breaking her train of thought. She forced a tight lipped smile before thanking him and reading the news from the north outpost. Flipping quickly she started scouring for descriptions, the man eyeing her in distaste as she worked. After the fifth entry of spotting random travelers she finally landed on the entry she wanted. A cloaked rabbit woman heading off with a carriage towards Ashford. Short to medium height. Appeared to be armed. Carriage had a tall man with black hair already riding. Sera flipped back to the first book. Found him. Ashford it was.
Closing both books dramatically she smiled sweetly at the man glowering at her presence. “That will be all then, thank you for your assistance,” she smiled before head out to find her companion. She’d already had to ride a horse, she wasn’t going to Ashford alone too if she could help it. It was too far a ride for her and she didn’t need to be pickpocketed or killed while she tried to stop the darn thing. Exiting the watchtower she headed back towards where the horse was kept. She was barely able to ride in the daylight, but she needed to reach the rendezvous point before she missed Lone or lost the Queen’s trail. Taking a potion out of her bag, she downed the nasty potion in one, shuddering as she felt alertness take her again. Stamina potions were always foul, but at least they did the trick. Slipping towards the stables, she was quick to retake her horse and after tugging the creature out towards the gate, she finally mounted. She hated this already and she hadn’t even started riding again. Digging into the horse’s flanks she felt herself jolted back for a moment as it started riding. Gritting her teeth in frustration, she held on and pushed her body forwards so she wouldn’t fall. Stupid horse. Stupid riding. Stupid Lone for leaving her to fend for herself. The cabin wouldn’t be far, she tried to reason. Far enough that she needed to stay away for a few more hours. Close enough that her horse wouldn’t rebel….she hoped.
Six hours of mentally cursing the beast that kept attempting to turn left or right instead of just walking straight and she could see the cabin in the distance. It was almost mid-morning when she finally laid eyes on it and a light from within. Either Lone was there or a very unsubtle thief had broken into their hide-out. Feeling her eye twitch from the lack of sleep and stress of riding, she clumsily dismounted her horse; nearly face-planting in the process before grabbing the reins and trudging towards the house. Lone better be there. So help him if he got a nice sleep while she had to go riding and deal with a horse. Tying the beast to the post outside, in no mood to try and figure out how to get it in a stable proper at this point she left it to focus on the door and whomever was inside.
Naturally she flung the door open so hard it banged loudly against the wall and rattled a nearby vase. “LONE,” she shouted, in what was her finest case of stealth yet. “Where are you-,” she let out a yelp as she felt her foot slide out from under her, palms slapping the ground as she fell. Immediately she surveyed her surroundings to search for the offensive thing that tripped her. It was a wine bottle. Narrowing her eyes suspiciously at the object, she crawled forward to peek into the next room. Her fellow guard lay in the middle of the floor. She wasted no time in scrambling over to her friend, prodding his side and head in an attempt to rouse him.
|
|
|
Post by Deaths on Dec 1, 2016 7:11:37 GMT
Flames fill the sky, screams echo from all around. Mothers running with babes clung to there chest. Men draw their weapons in a futile defense of their homes. Humanoids made of black flame crash down upon them. Killing all that are to stupid to run, these monsters have white smiles across their grotesque faces. Artorias finds his sword lost in the muck of the battlefield, he picks it up and tries to rally the men into a cohesive unit. They are drawn to his words, and march together in a last ditch effort to survive.
Raising his sword and letting out a mighty war cry he leads the charge against the monsters. The flame born men stop and offer no resistance his sword slashes them, but doesn't harm them. Then a pain fills his back an arrow stuck in his back, turning around the men all have their weapons pointed them at him. Looking up he hears the thunderous charge of horses come to him. Sigeberht leads the charge another arrow pierces the heart of the Lone knight, as a howl comes from beyond the horizon. A pack of wolfs dive on him biting and ripping his flesh while he is struck by arrows again and again.
The monsters approached spewing corrupted flame at the wolves scaring them off. A few of them jump in front of the wall of arrows taking the blows for the young warrior. He stands his wounds healing themselves as his skin turns black. His eyes open, and the hunt is on. The monsters charge with him killing and burning everything that dare harm their new leader. The rush of the kill is all that matters, as the fire in his blood screams with delight. He becomes a savage engulfing his targets young and old, warrior or defenseless. For the first time in a long time the world may sense.
"Come home." A woman in red says as she walks the battlefield. The flames bend to her will, the monsters bow to her. She has long red hair as if kissed by the sacred flame itself. A scar starts on her right temple and goes across her eyes, they are hollow with a blackness sitting in them. She is dressed in the traditional clothes of a priestess, her posture is perfect as she calmly watches the field. She places her hand on the knights cheek, leans in and whispers "Burn them all."
Vision came back to him looking down on him was a worried face of a good friend. Feeling the rush of his new hangover and the pain of the small cuts and bruises some from the battle the day before and some self inflicted during last night. His head throbs he blinks several times trying to focus, the rest of the world forms around Sera.
"You are the most beautiful thing in the world right now Sir Sera." A genuine smile crosses his face trying to forget the nightmares. "You truly are an angel." He pauses unsure of where these words came from. Outside a horse begins to stomp around neighing obviously angry. "You rode a horse all the way here by yourself?" The same smile still on his face. "You must be so mad at me. I am proud of you though." Struggling to sit up he searches for a wine bottle with something still in it, finding only empty bottles. Only just realizing he was mostly still in his armor. "Did you find the rabbit or what?" He yawns and begins to stretch his arms.
|
|
|
Post by Alexodia on Dec 1, 2016 14:44:10 GMT
Upon entering the openings of the camp that housed Sigeberht and his men, otherwise known as the centre of an apparent confrontation between them and the Good Wolf of all people, Saira couldn't help but raise her eyebrows in concern; she didn't exactly expect a huge garrison of soldiers since the battleground was rather small and apparently makeshift since it was initially a rescue operation, but the entire place seemed to be barely kept together. The stables on the left were relatively well-kept, as was the rest of the tents and provision areas, but supplies seemed to be somewhat bare both in men and traditional supplies. Hearing the din of conversation to her right, she looked over to see one of the garrisons for the men occupied by less men than she had expected, most of them able to roam about freely with some of her own men conversing with them already. Raising an eyebrow, she turned her head slightly to assess Clea's reaction, whom to her credit was remaining dutifully impassive. Anybody else, and they wouldn't have caught the signs of concern on her inscrutable expression. Hearing her voice be called further ahead, she tore her attention away from the provisions of the camp to see the Wood Elf that had accompanied them earlier for several minutes before heading off back to the main camp, her eyes locking onto the two figures heading steadily towards her before the Elf briskly turned away without a word and headed back into the main tent. Reaching the main tent themselves, Clea instinctively slowed her pace to remain a few steps behind her Lady, allowing Saira to decisively take the lead almost without thinking. Sending her Lady one last glance in a plea to be as diplomatic as possible, Clea followed her Lady about a second behind into the tent, watching as her Lady entered the main tent with somewhat of a flair, ignoring some of the soldiers having come out of their garrison to witness their arrival.
"So, gentlemen," Clea heard Saira start almost the second she entered the tent, entering the makeshift base of operations herself to see General Sigeberht and Ekenbrand seated on the opposite side of the large table in the centre of the room with Sigeberht's mouth half open, obviously meaning to greet Saira before she swiftly cut him off. "You're supposed to be the Generals of the entire Loyalist Forces, hmm? So how, exactly, are you so awful at this?" Saira asked tactlessly, pointedly ignoring Clea closing her eyes in frustration at her blatant lack of compliance as she leaned forward, placing both of her hands palm down on the table and fixing both men with a patronising glare. "I've been brought somewhat up to speed by your lackey here," She continued bluntly, only briefly acknowledging the Wood Elf standing in the tent with a single glance of her gaze before pushing off the table with her hands and looking around the tent with an apathetic expression. "And in the space of a day, you've failed to eliminate the leader of the Revolution when you had the chance, you only barely succeeded in your original rescue attempt by the skin of your teeth, and your provisions are basically non-existent, am I correct in all of this?" She asked patronisingly, her eyes somewhat satirical before she carried on, not giving them the chance to respond. "I'm assuming that you're at least somewhat competent and have sent some soldiers, or at the very least scouts to the provisional line, since over a day of non-response from the enemy almost always indicates an alternate plan of attack? I know the supplies would be the first place I would look to if I wanted to cripple them." She continued airily, her tone sounding utterly bored and deliberately condescending. "Now, I was diverted here, you understand. I received a message that you were doing such an awful job that you needed my presence immediately and couldn't hold out for...a day or so more." She pressed on, her patronising tone resounding across the otherwise deadly silent tent, nobody daring to interrupt her as she silently wondered if three years was enough for Sigeberht to realise that she enjoyed provoking him on purpose. "So as you can understand, I have several men for now and that's it, I'm afraid. I can send for more if it soothes your conscience, but I'm afraid I simply didn't have time to rally the troops upon being summoned here. But luckily for you, I did manage to bring at least one competent asset to the table," She continued, airily displaying a hand towards Clea, who was doing her best to look impassive despite the fact that she really didn't want to be brought into this. "So you can rejoice at that, at least. Or if that still isn't enough, you can tell your men about the time she knocked three of your mighty Gesith on their arse without a sword." She finished, somewhat out of breath. Her condescending tone still reverberating throughout the tent, the entire tent was deadly silent with the fact that the conversation outside of the tent in the main camp had silenced a great deal to listen. Swiftly pulling up a chair, Saira pointedly ignored the gazes of everybody in the tent locked on her and lazily sat herself down in the chair, propping her feet up onto the table and crossing her arms with blatant disrespect.
"I don't pretend to act like everything is brilliant when it so clearly isn't," Saira began once more, her tone losing all of it's condescension and sounding altogether more serious, fixing both of the men across from her with a cutting glare. "But when I arrive to this, the situation doesn't exactly fill me with hope. But...what the situation makes me feel is irrelevant. You are the General of this camp, the leader of the battle against our enemy in this moment in time. I'm here for a reason, but you know the situation, you know the enemy's positions and the positions of your own men better than I do, and you have been dealing with this for longer than the six minutes I have. So I ask you-" She concluded, her voice low and gaze intense, challenging him to salvage her faith in the situation and in him and calmly waiting for his response.
"-What do we do?"
|
|
|
Post by Raz on Dec 1, 2016 15:38:20 GMT
The wind was tearing past a young man in his saddle as his nag was galloping for all she's worth. In his satchel he carried a sealed letter from his Lord, Jaeger Von Richthofen. His eyes watered as the wind fought to have him constantly wiping water from his eyes. He'd been riding hard for nearly two days without rest. His poor Sadie was about to collapse if he pushed her much further. He'd had to constantly remind her of the bounty they'd both share when they returned home. "Come on just a little further and you'll have all the apples you can eat!" The boy was no older than thirteen, this was to be his first real mission. Before he'd only had to deliver messages from village to village. But now! Now was his time to make something of himself!
He spotted the encampment only moments before he came crashing through the front gates, nearly running down two guards who only had a second to dive out of the way. The boys heart was pounding and he was breathing hard as he hopped off of Daisy. He glanced around frantically, looking for someone who seems in charge. "Help! I need to find the Queen!" When this elicited no response he called, "Govenor Hitchens Ulan is dead! The Vreihart division has been destroyed!"
|
|
|
Post by silent15 on Dec 1, 2016 18:01:56 GMT
"Skin of our teeth? If rescuing the hostage and taking virtually no casualties constitutes skin of our teeth in your book, then I dread to think what-" Sigeberht began heatedly before cutting himself off. One day he'd get through a conversation with Sairahiniel without letting her provoke him. "Nevermind." He sighed, "Rehashing past operations is pointless. Instead we need to focus on the current situation."
Gesturing to the map in from of him he continued. "The way I see it, prolonging this stalemate here only serves to weaken our position. It allows our enemy to entrench and starve us out. And on top of that a cavalry centric army such as this is poorly suited for entrenched fighting. So instead I propose that we abandon this position and instead use our army's superior speed to bypass the enemy forces and strike deeper into rebel held territory. This will at a stroke resolve our supply issue, as we can support ourselves through supplies taken from rebel farms and settlements. But there's more to this plan than simply resolving our supply problem." He stood up and began to pace, "Rebellions hinge on their leaders. Or more accurately, the people's faith that these leaders will be different to their oppressors. If we rampage through their lands and their beloved leader does nothing to stop us, he reveals himself to be just another noble than cares nothing for the peasantry. And that will destroy the people's faith in his little rebellion. So he must respond to our actions. And given that his is the only sizeable rebel army in the vicinity, he will have to abandon his nice defensible position here and attempt to hunt us down."
Sigeberht paused in his pacing, fixing his attention on Sairahiniel, "I learned something while hunting out on the Mercian steppe. If the quarry ever decides to turn and fight, then they have the luxury of deciding the moment of the fight. The same idea applies here. If he is chasing us then we will be able to choose when and where we offer battle, ideally at a moment or location that works to his disadvantage." Taking his seat Sigeberht kept his focus on Sairahiniel, "I have no doubt that you have at least some opinion on this plan. So let's hear it."
|
|
|
Post by Serph on Dec 1, 2016 19:26:58 GMT
“I’ve been frequently been told so by many a drunkard before,” she commented, eyeing her friend and the destruction in the cabin. “The angel bit is new though. Are you mistaking my ears for wings now?” Sera teased, rubbing her eyes now that the stamina potion had worn off. At least the damage in the house seemed be inflicted by Lone and not some stranger entering the place. Though what he could have been doing that made him fall asleep in his armor in the middle of the floor was another matter. Alcohol obviously, but why he’d drunk enough that there were now more bottles on the floor than she had fingers on one hand rolling around was another matter. Her tired mind finally registered the horse comment. If only she could stomp and neigh in indignation like the horse outside from how tired she was. It should just be thankful she hadn’t tried to put it in the stables. It would only have ended up worse.
“What should have been a 3 hours journey ended up taking almost double the time because that horse refused to walk straight and kept insisting on avoiding every twig and pebble on the road!” she complained. “Honestly what kind of horses is Sigs raising these days that they’re so particular about where they walk?” she pushed herself somewhat unsteadily to her feet again as she spoke, heading towards the couch that Lone had somehow missed in his drunken stupor. “And proud?” she questioned in mock-offense. “I know how to stay seated and get off a horse, that’s all I really need to know no matter what you and General Horsie think,” she stated in a somewhat childish indignation over the whole affair. “Everything else can be negotiated post-sit,” She asserted while digging around in her bag to the faint sound of clinking bottles. She wasn’t even the one who’d taken the elbow to the face at those riding lessons and she was still holding a grudge. Probably because it was the first time she’d even been truly thrown by a horse. Most of the time they just snorted rebellious or ignored her.
“Here,” she said finally securing a small salve from her bag and tossing it to Lone’s lap. “For cuts and bruises,” she clarified before plopping down properly on the couch. “The Queen seems to have headed towards Ashford with a new friend. Probably wants to go to the warzone herself again now that there’s a skirmish going on,” she recalled from her snooping, with a roll of her eyes. “You’re steering the horse when we leave,” she added, pulling her legs towards her on the couch so she could tuck her knees under her chin. “Do you think they refilled the pantry while we were gone?” she asked, tired eyes turning towards the doorway towards the kitchen. Eating now and trying to catch a few winks during the ride sounded like a nice plan.
|
|
|
Post by Deaths on Dec 1, 2016 20:41:04 GMT
"Some God must hate me." He states while removing his chest piece. "I was just at the damned battlefield. We were ambushed and a few kind wolves brought me to their camp. Got to talk to the rebel leader himself." He winces as he applies the medicines Sera gave him. " Then 'General Horsie' came in saving his distraught princess." He looks back Sera now on the couch batting his eyelashes at her. "You look tired get some rest, your horse will need the rest too." He stands walking towards the front door. "I'll clean the place up a bit, feed the horse, and maybe if your nice I'll cook something for you to eat." Realizing now he has no idea what she likes he pauses. "So you Elves like nature, and stuff so are you allowed to..." He interrupts himself as he looks out the still opened door at the mare Sera was riding.
A howling laugh erupts from him. No wonder she had such a difficult time riding this beast. This horse was called Nan she had the spirit of a proud being, even Sigeberht was having a hard time breaking this horse in. Of all the horses in the kingdom she picked the most rebellious one. Grabbing her reigns Artorias leads her to the stables where even in his drunken state he was able to put her away perfectly. Make sure the water was fresh and they both had enough to eat he left the stable and returned to the house.
Leaning over the couch he surveys the cabin. He really turned this place inside and out. The doors to their private rooms seemed to have been spared his wrath. He walks to the kitchen and surveys the pantry. There were dried meats and some fresh fruits were laid out all over. How much were we paying for this place he wondered, Artorias was always stingy with his money. Though he couldn't argue this place was worth it. Grabbing some of the jerky, and a couple of apples he drops them on the couch next to Sera.
Grabbing a pitcher of water he sits next to her. "I can't believe you rode the most stubborn horse in our entire army, hell the entire world from what Sigeberht says. That horse is Nan she doesn't let anyone ride her ever. You did really good." He pauses as he takes a sip from the pitcher "Especially for someone like you." A teasing smile crosses his face. "I don't think I destroyed your room take a nap I'm going to need you at your best." His voice fills with sincerity, the ride will be hard especially with a barely awake companion. "I could use a few minutes myself, I've been in my armor for almost two days now." He takes a bite from an apple while he speaks. Looking deeply in to the once roaring fire, now it was mostly embers. "Enough about me, lets talk about you how was your day?" Playfully joking with her again.
|
|