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Realms of Enlightenment: The Grey Companions (final update posted 02.14.10)
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<blockquote data-quote="Jon Potter" data-source="post: 4604548" data-attributes="member: 2323"><p><strong>[PLAIN][Interlude #2] Meeting Cerrakean[/PLAIN]</strong></p><p></p><p>"We're very close," Maleko said, his voice an excited whisper at Del's shoulder. He held a silencing finger to his lips, but spared a glance over at the glowing bracelet on the elf's wrist. It was shedding as much light as a torch now and the janissary was concerned that the device was becoming a liability rather than an asset at the moment.</p><p></p><p>Still, after so many weeks on the trail, it was hard not to be a little excited. Remembering that an illegal army was massing in the area helped a little in that regard, of course. They'd managed to avoid detection so far, thanks in no small part to the information that they'd been able to secure about Miller's Pond when they stopped to resupply at the Wayward Fool in Bereford. Or what was left of the Wayward Fool; the inn had sustained obvious heavy damage recently and the owner, Lodar Manford, asserted that the only reason there was anything at all left of the outpost was because of the Wyverneye Militia.</p><p></p><p>Del knew there was no Wyverneye Militia sanctioned by the Realms Council, which made them an unknown quantity. And an illegal one to boot. Del felt certain that an eyre court would agree with his assessment and bring the full weight of Pellham's legions down on this-</p><p></p><p>He stopped suddenly, extending an arm to halt Maleko's progress as well. He could hear the sounds of steel on steel. There was battle up ahead and-</p><p></p><p>Maleko jerked backward, letting out a startled shriek that Del felt certain would alert anyone nearby to their presence. The half-elf turned, sword raised defensively and nearly let out a cry of alarm himself. Maleko was held fast, suspended amidst a tangle of elongated limbs that either gripped the elf or held blades to his body. His copper-colored eyes stared fearfully from above a long-fingered hand that was clamped across his mouth. A misshapen face stared at Del from over the mage's shoulder, its eyes big and black, its teeth sharp and pointed.</p><p></p><p>Del had never seen such a horror before, but he'd heard them described enough times by Ledare that he didn't have any trouble identifying it. "Chagmat!" he hissed, setting his feet into a combat stance.</p><p></p><p>"Half-chagmat, actually," a gravely voice said behind him. He turned and saw two figures amidst the trees there. One was a large hobgoblin with brick-red skin carrying a pair of black scimitars at the ready. Her mouth was spread in a toothsome grin. The other was an unkempt human with black hair and beard. He carried a longsword in one hand and a handaxe in the other; the latter was drawn back and ready to fly. Blood oozed from a diagonal cut on his right cheek.</p><p></p><p>"And he's a friend of ours," the man said, grinning sardonically. "So why don't you drop the sword and maybe Grimbor'll think about lettin' the tree-hugger loose."</p><p></p><p>"We are not your enemy," Del said levelly, lowering but keeping a firm grip on his sword. His eyes flicked to the chagmat and he saw that it was watching him with too-human eyes. In everything that Ledare had ever told him, the chagmat had been the enemy and he imagined again the horror she must have felt as a child spirited away by monsters such as this. He could sense Maleko's panic at being held by the creature, but the elf's demeanor was outwardly calm.</p><p></p><p>"I ain't gonna ask again," the black-haired human growled, adjusting his grip on the handaxe. Instinctively, Del gauged the distance for his crossbow. But in the next instant he was forced to violently launch himself out of the path of the whirling handaxe. Having come remarkably close to his left ear, it stuck threateningly in a tree trunk not far from his head.</p><p></p><p>"Grisham, stand down," the hobgoblin barked.</p><p></p><p>"Don't get your knickers in a twist!" the man laughed. "I put it right where I aimed to."</p><p></p><p>Del straightened, eyeing Grisham. He stared back at Del defiantly, the shadow of a beard he wore doing little to hide the muscles that bunched anxiously along his jaw. There was, somehow, another axe already in his hand. Del allowed his sword to drop.</p><p></p><p>"See, now," Grisham said stepping close enough to kick Del's sword aside before darting lightly back once more out of reach. "That wasn't so hard now was it?"</p><p></p><p>"I truly hope that you are Cerreakan. If not we may be in greater trouble than I fear," Maleko told the hobgobblin with blunt honesty. His voice was even, but Del could sense the underlying strain to maintain that facade of calm. His tension ratcheted up even more when the hobgoblin glided forward, scimitar-first as if she were a kite and the curved blade were pulling her.</p><p></p><p>"How do you know my name, elf." the hobgoblin replied angrily guiding the sword ever closer to Maleko. With a sudden subtle motion of her wrist, she punctured a hole in his fine tunic.</p><p></p><p>"You fit the description Abernathy gave you to the exact detail," Maleko expressed as calmly as possible. He did a good job given the circumstances. In his best immitation of the caretaker Maleko added, "She is an impatient gal for any shenanigans and takes no guff." Grisham guffawed.</p><p></p><p>"That's one way to describe her, alright!" the man said his eyes twinkling with mischief. "But I can think of a couple others that get to the point a whole lot quicker!" Cerrakean sighed at the man but kept her eyes and swords trained on Maleko.</p><p></p><p>"Of course, elf, you could just be playing me for a fool," she hissed, baring pointed teeth. "You could have picked that description based on what you've just seen here." Maleko swallowed and forced a smile.</p><p></p><p>"If you move your sword about six inches to the left you might find something of interest," he said and the hobgoblin narrowed her yellow eyes suspiciously. Then, in one fluid motion she sheathed the scimitar in her left hand and then turned to reach that same hand inside his shirt. Her fingers curved around a familiar object and she let out a bemused snort.</p><p></p><p>"Let him down, Grimbor," she said her posture easing into calm at once. "He is not a threat."</p><p></p><p>"Are you sure, lady?" Grimbor asked, hesitantly. His voice was human and youthful, and full of adolescent uncertainty. Cerrakean removed the coin from Maleko's shirt and displayed it to her comrades.</p><p></p><p>"He's Grey Company," she said simply and let the coin drop. "Let's get them back to the manor house. I want to hear how they came to be in possession of that coin." Grimbor let Maleko drop immediately and then scuttled back up into the trees above. He disappeared almost at once among the branches.</p><p></p><p>Grisham leaned in to Cerrakean. "Demetrius is gonna want to meet these two," he whispered loudly and the hobgoblin nodded.</p><p></p><p>"He'll get his chance," she said and Grisham shrugged and stowed his throwing axe. After a brief pause she asked Maleko, "So how is our beloved Abernathy? Any news from Barnacus?"</p><p></p><p>The elf dusted and smoothed and tucked his finery back into some semblance of the style he preferred. As Grisham pulled his axe from the tree behind him, Del stooped and retrieved his sword. Sheathing it he answered, "The capital is in disarray but the crown is consolidating power to maintain the peace we have. Some ranking members of the Legion have resigned their commissions as a result."</p><p></p><p>Cerrekean paused and said. "Pah! You can tell me later. We need to get back to the manor. Follow me."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jon Potter, post: 4604548, member: 2323"] [b][PLAIN][Interlude #2] Meeting Cerrakean[/PLAIN][/b] "We're very close," Maleko said, his voice an excited whisper at Del's shoulder. He held a silencing finger to his lips, but spared a glance over at the glowing bracelet on the elf's wrist. It was shedding as much light as a torch now and the janissary was concerned that the device was becoming a liability rather than an asset at the moment. Still, after so many weeks on the trail, it was hard not to be a little excited. Remembering that an illegal army was massing in the area helped a little in that regard, of course. They'd managed to avoid detection so far, thanks in no small part to the information that they'd been able to secure about Miller's Pond when they stopped to resupply at the Wayward Fool in Bereford. Or what was left of the Wayward Fool; the inn had sustained obvious heavy damage recently and the owner, Lodar Manford, asserted that the only reason there was anything at all left of the outpost was because of the Wyverneye Militia. Del knew there was no Wyverneye Militia sanctioned by the Realms Council, which made them an unknown quantity. And an illegal one to boot. Del felt certain that an eyre court would agree with his assessment and bring the full weight of Pellham's legions down on this- He stopped suddenly, extending an arm to halt Maleko's progress as well. He could hear the sounds of steel on steel. There was battle up ahead and- Maleko jerked backward, letting out a startled shriek that Del felt certain would alert anyone nearby to their presence. The half-elf turned, sword raised defensively and nearly let out a cry of alarm himself. Maleko was held fast, suspended amidst a tangle of elongated limbs that either gripped the elf or held blades to his body. His copper-colored eyes stared fearfully from above a long-fingered hand that was clamped across his mouth. A misshapen face stared at Del from over the mage's shoulder, its eyes big and black, its teeth sharp and pointed. Del had never seen such a horror before, but he'd heard them described enough times by Ledare that he didn't have any trouble identifying it. "Chagmat!" he hissed, setting his feet into a combat stance. "Half-chagmat, actually," a gravely voice said behind him. He turned and saw two figures amidst the trees there. One was a large hobgoblin with brick-red skin carrying a pair of black scimitars at the ready. Her mouth was spread in a toothsome grin. The other was an unkempt human with black hair and beard. He carried a longsword in one hand and a handaxe in the other; the latter was drawn back and ready to fly. Blood oozed from a diagonal cut on his right cheek. "And he's a friend of ours," the man said, grinning sardonically. "So why don't you drop the sword and maybe Grimbor'll think about lettin' the tree-hugger loose." "We are not your enemy," Del said levelly, lowering but keeping a firm grip on his sword. His eyes flicked to the chagmat and he saw that it was watching him with too-human eyes. In everything that Ledare had ever told him, the chagmat had been the enemy and he imagined again the horror she must have felt as a child spirited away by monsters such as this. He could sense Maleko's panic at being held by the creature, but the elf's demeanor was outwardly calm. "I ain't gonna ask again," the black-haired human growled, adjusting his grip on the handaxe. Instinctively, Del gauged the distance for his crossbow. But in the next instant he was forced to violently launch himself out of the path of the whirling handaxe. Having come remarkably close to his left ear, it stuck threateningly in a tree trunk not far from his head. "Grisham, stand down," the hobgoblin barked. "Don't get your knickers in a twist!" the man laughed. "I put it right where I aimed to." Del straightened, eyeing Grisham. He stared back at Del defiantly, the shadow of a beard he wore doing little to hide the muscles that bunched anxiously along his jaw. There was, somehow, another axe already in his hand. Del allowed his sword to drop. "See, now," Grisham said stepping close enough to kick Del's sword aside before darting lightly back once more out of reach. "That wasn't so hard now was it?" "I truly hope that you are Cerreakan. If not we may be in greater trouble than I fear," Maleko told the hobgobblin with blunt honesty. His voice was even, but Del could sense the underlying strain to maintain that facade of calm. His tension ratcheted up even more when the hobgoblin glided forward, scimitar-first as if she were a kite and the curved blade were pulling her. "How do you know my name, elf." the hobgoblin replied angrily guiding the sword ever closer to Maleko. With a sudden subtle motion of her wrist, she punctured a hole in his fine tunic. "You fit the description Abernathy gave you to the exact detail," Maleko expressed as calmly as possible. He did a good job given the circumstances. In his best immitation of the caretaker Maleko added, "She is an impatient gal for any shenanigans and takes no guff." Grisham guffawed. "That's one way to describe her, alright!" the man said his eyes twinkling with mischief. "But I can think of a couple others that get to the point a whole lot quicker!" Cerrakean sighed at the man but kept her eyes and swords trained on Maleko. "Of course, elf, you could just be playing me for a fool," she hissed, baring pointed teeth. "You could have picked that description based on what you've just seen here." Maleko swallowed and forced a smile. "If you move your sword about six inches to the left you might find something of interest," he said and the hobgoblin narrowed her yellow eyes suspiciously. Then, in one fluid motion she sheathed the scimitar in her left hand and then turned to reach that same hand inside his shirt. Her fingers curved around a familiar object and she let out a bemused snort. "Let him down, Grimbor," she said her posture easing into calm at once. "He is not a threat." "Are you sure, lady?" Grimbor asked, hesitantly. His voice was human and youthful, and full of adolescent uncertainty. Cerrakean removed the coin from Maleko's shirt and displayed it to her comrades. "He's Grey Company," she said simply and let the coin drop. "Let's get them back to the manor house. I want to hear how they came to be in possession of that coin." Grimbor let Maleko drop immediately and then scuttled back up into the trees above. He disappeared almost at once among the branches. Grisham leaned in to Cerrakean. "Demetrius is gonna want to meet these two," he whispered loudly and the hobgoblin nodded. "He'll get his chance," she said and Grisham shrugged and stowed his throwing axe. After a brief pause she asked Maleko, "So how is our beloved Abernathy? Any news from Barnacus?" The elf dusted and smoothed and tucked his finery back into some semblance of the style he preferred. As Grisham pulled his axe from the tree behind him, Del stooped and retrieved his sword. Sheathing it he answered, "The capital is in disarray but the crown is consolidating power to maintain the peace we have. Some ranking members of the Legion have resigned their commissions as a result." Cerrekean paused and said. "Pah! You can tell me later. We need to get back to the manor. Follow me." [/QUOTE]
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