And so it Begins
V'ramr flew over the mountains, it had been nearly a week since leaving the Dragon Swept Lands which he called home. He still hadn't found the "Brothers" that the Gods were telling him about, but most certainly they must be close. In the distance he had seen the "Mountain of the Gods," nearly two days ago and now he was very close, so close in fact he spotted men like him, only with feathers on their wings and skin and faces of man. They were obviously not draka but what else could they be... V'ramr descended through the clouds simply to not cause problems with this... -other- winged race.
As he passed the clouds he noticed smoke and quickly found cover behind a rocky formation. He sat perched eyeing the encampment. Wooden houses, stone walls, and a wall of weapons led V'ramr to believe it must be some sort of military post, not so different from the posts of his world. What was different, however, was that only a leim away acrossed a flat plainsland he could see another of these posts with wooden walls facing this one. Two seperate flags, at the closest he could see what looked like a pick axe... "Odd," he thought, "must be a mining camp," and the other he saw what appeared to be a falchion with a serated edge.
"What in Tasune's name!" V'ramr turned to see men from the mining camp looking strangly at him and drawing their steel, "we've found a beast of the north!" they screamed.
Te'ren walked nervously this morning, he hadn't had the greatest dream and his bedding was quite uncomfortable to boot. But as ussual he woke with the sun and headed to the kitchen before his brothers could wake.
"Morning Margarit, what is it you're making for breakfast?" He asked the house cook.
"Good morning Master Te'ren, just the ussual, goosits eggs and grazzts steaks. They won't be ready for an ohur."
"Hm... well I'll be back in an ohur then."
"Oh don't worry, I've made your tarkette and plucked a fresh bunch of Citrid and squeezed you some juice."
"You're far too good to me Margarit." She handed him his plate and glass and he sat down for a moment, "Margarit, did you happen to have a... weird dream last night?"
"no, why for do you ask M'lord?"
"Well I figured they might come in pairs." He smiled as she cocked her head in confusion, "nevermind, it was probably nothing." He stood and walked, with his food in hand, back to the hill he always ate at. As he reached the door it swung open and nearly caused him to drop his food. It was Marius, his older brother and second born of the first wife.
"Wretched half brother! What drives you to stand in the way of the door?!" He was dressed in the standard gothic style armor of a top ranking Takishnan soldier, black studded leather and a standard issue rapier along with the main gouche. His eyes were puffy and bloodshot as if he'd spent the night awake, indeed he must have to be up already.
"My feet drive me and my desire to go through the door places me here."
"Where were you when the town was attacked last night... again?"
"I was sleeping, why were the bells not rang?"
"Obviously if the town was attacked the bells didn't ring, so myself and Claudius were left defending this town all last night while you slept." Sick of argueing Te'ren slipped passed his brother handing him his empty glass and chiming in.
"I don't want to know -what- you and Claudius do together alone at night brother." As he went out the door he heard his glass shatter against the ground and Marius yelling for a servant to clean it, but as one moved to do so Te'ren raised his hand to stop the elderly servant. "Don't worry about it, he's angry at me, I don't want him venting at you for it."
The wooden wall was a mess, charred and smokey from an obvious battle. The clerics and greenbonds had set up a green tent next to the damaged section to tend to the wounded. After some questioning he found that 25 were wounded, a large number indeed. "There were women and children outside the gate when we were attacked." He had heard from another guard as he made his way towards the tent. About 15 feet away from the entrance another of his brothers stepped in front of him.
"Ah, Te'ren finnally decides to join the battle, you're late as always." Claudius, his eldest brother looked across at him, though ten years older Claudius was still slightly smaller than Te'ren.
"Claudius, as I asked Marius, why wasn't the bell rang."
"There could be any number of reasons, but the fact remains that I was awakened, Marius was awakened, for Tasha's sake even Clarice was awakened, all of whom I saw on this battlefield, but that of course leaves out you."
Disregarding the obvious attempt to pick a fight Te'ren inquired, "there were women and children to my knowledge... why?"
"Finally some form of caring for this city. They were traitorous conspirisists, digging to weaken the walls so that the hobgoblin tribes could bypass the walls and kill us all in our sleep."
"That seems unlikely... The bugbear servants of the hobgoblins would run through these walls like an arrow through tissue paper... Any surviors?"
"Five are left alive and in the healing tent, but as soon as they are well and we have interrogated them they will probably be hung." Claudius smiled in his 'unyeilding protection of the law.'
"All the same I'd like to talk with them first." Te'ren broke passed Claudius before he could even answer and walked into the tent waiting for someone who wasn't busy. After a few numites of waiting he was directed to an elderly lady laying in her bed. As he approached he realised it wasn't an old lady, her skin was simply burnt so badly that the scars made her seem 40 years older. As she opened her eyes and made contact with Te'rens she smiled and winced from the pain. "M'lord, to what do I owe the pleasure?" she said weakly.
"Shh, be still and rest M'lady, I come to ask questions, do not waste your strength untill you have enough to give my unworthy ears. Now, I have heard you were out by the walls when we were attacked."
"Yes M'lord."
"Why?"
"We were... troubled M'lord."
"Troubled?"
"Yes sir... we were... summoned by Claudius for punishment. As we wait by the walls, the earth shot forth bursts of fire, I was lucky and only scathed by the walls of brimstone, but some of the others fell in sir... The guards seemed only to care when the walls caught."
Te'ren looked at the woman as she told her tale of how she survived and nearly drowned in the river and he watched as she finished her story and a tear ran down her cheek.
"I will get to the bottom of this, I swear."
She smiled at him for a moment, but her smile turned quickly to convulsions.
"Cleric!" The clerics and greenbonds gathered around the woman and Te'ren moved to the side of her head, as he kneeled next to her her head turned and water began gushing from her mouth and nostrils.
Aware of such magics Te'ren stood up and looked to the tent entrance where a man who looked unmistakenly like a magister held his staff forward and slowly stopped mumbling incoherent words. "STOP THAT MAGISTER!" He yelled and the mage snapped out of his conjuring and turned to run. Quickly Te'ren pulled his bow and fired an arrow landing it directly into the mans arm dropping his staff but not slowing him, Te'ren knocked and loosed another arrow only grazzing the mans leg as he jumped on his horse another arrow hit his left arm but the man rode of leaving naught but his blood and staff behind.
Te'ren grabbed the staff and headed to the one person in the town that would know about magisters having graduated from their school. His favorite brother and roommate Varosath.
