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The Rise of Felskein [Completed]
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<blockquote data-quote="Iron Sky" data-source="post: 4151603" data-attributes="member: 60965"><p>Session 1, Part 2</p><p></p><p>Harold lowered his bow as the silver-haired monster of a woman's sword cut off the hobgoblin's screams. After a moment of that strange after-battle stillness, he placed the arrow he had drawn to his quiver and slung his bow across his back.</p><p></p><p>He bent down, wincing, and grabbed the arrow that pierced his thigh. Gritting his teeth, he jerked it out with a gasp and downed one of the last of his potions, wondering idly if he could find more in this backwater as checked the wound's progress. Once he was sure it was completely healed, he carefully made his way down one of the support beams under the thatch and lowered himself to the ground.</p><p></p><p>He walked about slowly, working the stiffness out of his leg. When he was satisfied, he walked around to the front of the inn. The woman was gone when he got there, the trio of hobgoblins she had slain sprawled in the dirt where they had died. The elf knelt over one of them, murmuring something. As Harold glanced out towards the raft, he thought he caught a glint of arcane markings covering the elf's skin, but when he glanced back, there was nothing.</p><p></p><p>Mages made him uneasy, no matter which side they seemed to be on.</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Suniel stood with a sigh. <em>Everywhere I go, such pointless waste of life</em>, he thought.<em> No matter how far I go, I cannot outrun it.</em></p><p></p><p>His eyes met those of the Crystal Towers archer and he started to nod, but the soldier looked quickly away and strode off towards the raft. Suniel watched him go impassively and turned towards the clank of armor and swing of lanterns that came from the direction of the town barracks. With one hand raised, he walked in their direction.</p><p></p><p>"Peace, Northmand soldiers," he said, "there are no more foes here."</p><p></p><p>A blond-haired young man in chain and the gray-and-white of Northmand jogged up, backed by a dozen or so men with spears. The young man raised his hand to Suniel and nodded.</p><p></p><p>"You three, police these bodies," he said, turning to the men with him. "The rest of you, go help that man pull in the raft."</p><p></p><p>As they set about his orders, he turned back to Suniel. "My name is Lieutenant Laris," he said, extending his hand. "Don't see many elves in these parts."</p><p></p><p>Suniel took his hand and shook it. "Suniel Au." He turned to watch the Lieutenant's men strip and pile the bodies. "You have problems with the hobgoblins often?"</p><p></p><p>Laris shook his head. "There's a history of it, but it's been pretty calm the last couple years. The mining operations out in the Ragged Hills have reported sightings lately, but this is the first attack I've heard of in some time."</p><p></p><p>Suniel pulled his robe tighter about him as a cool breeze blew in off the lake. </p><p></p><p>"Might we step inside?" he said, gesturing to the inn.</p><p></p><p>"Of course," Laris said, hesitating only for a moment as he watched his men finish pulling the raft a shore. "Things seem in hand here."</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Ming let out a contented sigh, dropped the tankard, and was reaching for a second before the first had even hit the floor. She hooked a chair with her feet and slid it in front of her, leaning back into the stout oak table and propping her feet up before the fire.</p><p></p><p>Low voices drew her attention to the doorway and she glanced over to see a handsome young soldier and the plain-looking elf come in. Neither seemed to be any sort of threat. They stared over at her for a moment, then, after a brief discussion and another moment's hesitation made their way through the upturned mess of the common room to her.</p><p></p><p>"Have a seat handsome," she said. "Plenty of free drinks and food about. Their previous owners seem to have lost their appetites."</p><p></p><p>The young man flushed. <em>How cute</em>, she thought, <em>I could show</em> him <em>things...</em></p><p></p><p>The elf sat near the fire and extended his hands towards it as the young man stood, blinking and staring at Ming. She un-propped her legs and patted her lap invitingly. He flushed again and quickly moved to sit near the elf, at the opposite end of the long bench from her. She laughed and took a deep drought of ale.</p><p></p><p>"So, I... uh... understand you are one of the ones responsible for defending Laketide?" the young man said, speaking to the elf with only the quickest of glances at Ming.</p><p></p><p>She shifted closer to him on the bench and shrugged. "That what this place is called?"</p><p></p><p>"I was only directly responsible for one," the elf said. "The Crystal Towers soldier dispatched four and this woman three, that I saw anyway."</p><p></p><p>"Ah. That's, um, impressive," he said, glancing over at her again.</p><p></p><p>"Ming," she said, glancing down and noticing the blood spattered on the dust and rust of her armor for the first time.</p><p></p><p>"Ah, Lieutenant Laris," he said, extending his hand.</p><p></p><p>She took in and squeezed just enough to make him wince. "Mmm, my pleasure."</p><p></p><p>His hand jerked away like a fox from a trap when she released it. </p><p></p><p>"So you and Suniel know each other then?" he said, turning back to the elf and shifting to the farthest end of the bench.</p><p></p><p>"Companions of the moment," Suniel said, turning and nodding to her. "Nice to meet you Ming."</p><p></p><p>She grunted back and glanced back towards the door and the <em>squish</em> of water-filled boots. The archer strode over, trailing water and casting only a brief, flat glance in her direction. Her original estimate of him when she'd run into him earlier wasn't off the mark. That man was no stranger to killing.</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Harold's mood brightened considerably when he glanced away from the unpleasant woman and he saw another man in uniform. He looked the man over, scanning for signs of rank. "Lieutenant," he said, bringing his fist to his chest in a Northmand-style military salute.</p><p></p><p>The young officer saluted back and smiled. "Thank you... sir?"</p><p></p><p>"Guardsman. Honor Guard Trisden to be specific, you can call me Harold," he said.</p><p></p><p>"Ah, well Honor Guard, er, Harold, join Ming and Suniel and me by the fire." The young man motioned to where he had been sitting near the woman and hastily found himself a chair, eliciting a guffaw from the woman for some reason. Harold took the seat and leaned towards the fire.</p><p></p><p>"Well, uh, Northmand thanks you for your services. I must admit my men and I would have been hard pressed to deal with a hobgoblin raiding party of that size," Laris said.</p><p></p><p>"They were undisciplined," Harold said, waving his hand, "I saw eight shields on that raft and not one used."</p><p></p><p>"Well, regardless, we thank you and offer whatever spoils you wish to take from them. I also believe the bounty from the last conflict was never revoked - one gold sovereign per pair of ears I believe it was."</p><p></p><p>"I took what I wanted already," Harold said, touching the iron ring on its leather thong that now hung from his belt. "I found it on their leader. Do you know what it means?"</p><p></p><p>Laris shook his head. </p><p></p><p>"I've never seen anything like it," he said, standing. "Anyway, I should see to my men. Come by the barracks tomorrow and I can get you your reward."</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Ming watched him leave and was suddenly drowsy from the ale, heat, travel, and battle. With a yawn she stood and walked out, stretching as she stared at the moon over the lake.</p><p></p><p>For a moment she saw a glint on the water, rubbed her eyes, and looked again. A second later it was gone and she shook her head. <em></em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>I must be tired</em>, she thought. <em>Or drunk. A silver turtle the size of a ship?</em></p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Suniel stood and nodded to Harold. "I'm sure Oakstout wouldn't mind if you took a room. You can reach them by the ladder in the stables. They're small, but warm and comfortable."</p><p></p><p>Harold nodded, staring into the fire and rubbing one of his medals, probably unconsciously. Suniel walked out, checked on his carriage, stopped in the stables to say good night to his horses, and climbed up to his room.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Iron Sky, post: 4151603, member: 60965"] Session 1, Part 2 Harold lowered his bow as the silver-haired monster of a woman's sword cut off the hobgoblin's screams. After a moment of that strange after-battle stillness, he placed the arrow he had drawn to his quiver and slung his bow across his back. He bent down, wincing, and grabbed the arrow that pierced his thigh. Gritting his teeth, he jerked it out with a gasp and downed one of the last of his potions, wondering idly if he could find more in this backwater as checked the wound's progress. Once he was sure it was completely healed, he carefully made his way down one of the support beams under the thatch and lowered himself to the ground. He walked about slowly, working the stiffness out of his leg. When he was satisfied, he walked around to the front of the inn. The woman was gone when he got there, the trio of hobgoblins she had slain sprawled in the dirt where they had died. The elf knelt over one of them, murmuring something. As Harold glanced out towards the raft, he thought he caught a glint of arcane markings covering the elf's skin, but when he glanced back, there was nothing. Mages made him uneasy, no matter which side they seemed to be on. *** Suniel stood with a sigh. [I]Everywhere I go, such pointless waste of life[/I], he thought.[I] No matter how far I go, I cannot outrun it.[/I] His eyes met those of the Crystal Towers archer and he started to nod, but the soldier looked quickly away and strode off towards the raft. Suniel watched him go impassively and turned towards the clank of armor and swing of lanterns that came from the direction of the town barracks. With one hand raised, he walked in their direction. "Peace, Northmand soldiers," he said, "there are no more foes here." A blond-haired young man in chain and the gray-and-white of Northmand jogged up, backed by a dozen or so men with spears. The young man raised his hand to Suniel and nodded. "You three, police these bodies," he said, turning to the men with him. "The rest of you, go help that man pull in the raft." As they set about his orders, he turned back to Suniel. "My name is Lieutenant Laris," he said, extending his hand. "Don't see many elves in these parts." Suniel took his hand and shook it. "Suniel Au." He turned to watch the Lieutenant's men strip and pile the bodies. "You have problems with the hobgoblins often?" Laris shook his head. "There's a history of it, but it's been pretty calm the last couple years. The mining operations out in the Ragged Hills have reported sightings lately, but this is the first attack I've heard of in some time." Suniel pulled his robe tighter about him as a cool breeze blew in off the lake. "Might we step inside?" he said, gesturing to the inn. "Of course," Laris said, hesitating only for a moment as he watched his men finish pulling the raft a shore. "Things seem in hand here." *** Ming let out a contented sigh, dropped the tankard, and was reaching for a second before the first had even hit the floor. She hooked a chair with her feet and slid it in front of her, leaning back into the stout oak table and propping her feet up before the fire. Low voices drew her attention to the doorway and she glanced over to see a handsome young soldier and the plain-looking elf come in. Neither seemed to be any sort of threat. They stared over at her for a moment, then, after a brief discussion and another moment's hesitation made their way through the upturned mess of the common room to her. "Have a seat handsome," she said. "Plenty of free drinks and food about. Their previous owners seem to have lost their appetites." The young man flushed. [I]How cute[/I], she thought, [I]I could show[/I] him [I]things...[/I] The elf sat near the fire and extended his hands towards it as the young man stood, blinking and staring at Ming. She un-propped her legs and patted her lap invitingly. He flushed again and quickly moved to sit near the elf, at the opposite end of the long bench from her. She laughed and took a deep drought of ale. "So, I... uh... understand you are one of the ones responsible for defending Laketide?" the young man said, speaking to the elf with only the quickest of glances at Ming. She shifted closer to him on the bench and shrugged. "That what this place is called?" "I was only directly responsible for one," the elf said. "The Crystal Towers soldier dispatched four and this woman three, that I saw anyway." "Ah. That's, um, impressive," he said, glancing over at her again. "Ming," she said, glancing down and noticing the blood spattered on the dust and rust of her armor for the first time. "Ah, Lieutenant Laris," he said, extending his hand. She took in and squeezed just enough to make him wince. "Mmm, my pleasure." His hand jerked away like a fox from a trap when she released it. "So you and Suniel know each other then?" he said, turning back to the elf and shifting to the farthest end of the bench. "Companions of the moment," Suniel said, turning and nodding to her. "Nice to meet you Ming." She grunted back and glanced back towards the door and the [I]squish[/I] of water-filled boots. The archer strode over, trailing water and casting only a brief, flat glance in her direction. Her original estimate of him when she'd run into him earlier wasn't off the mark. That man was no stranger to killing. *** Harold's mood brightened considerably when he glanced away from the unpleasant woman and he saw another man in uniform. He looked the man over, scanning for signs of rank. "Lieutenant," he said, bringing his fist to his chest in a Northmand-style military salute. The young officer saluted back and smiled. "Thank you... sir?" "Guardsman. Honor Guard Trisden to be specific, you can call me Harold," he said. "Ah, well Honor Guard, er, Harold, join Ming and Suniel and me by the fire." The young man motioned to where he had been sitting near the woman and hastily found himself a chair, eliciting a guffaw from the woman for some reason. Harold took the seat and leaned towards the fire. "Well, uh, Northmand thanks you for your services. I must admit my men and I would have been hard pressed to deal with a hobgoblin raiding party of that size," Laris said. "They were undisciplined," Harold said, waving his hand, "I saw eight shields on that raft and not one used." "Well, regardless, we thank you and offer whatever spoils you wish to take from them. I also believe the bounty from the last conflict was never revoked - one gold sovereign per pair of ears I believe it was." "I took what I wanted already," Harold said, touching the iron ring on its leather thong that now hung from his belt. "I found it on their leader. Do you know what it means?" Laris shook his head. "I've never seen anything like it," he said, standing. "Anyway, I should see to my men. Come by the barracks tomorrow and I can get you your reward." *** Ming watched him leave and was suddenly drowsy from the ale, heat, travel, and battle. With a yawn she stood and walked out, stretching as she stared at the moon over the lake. For a moment she saw a glint on the water, rubbed her eyes, and looked again. A second later it was gone and she shook her head. [I] I must be tired[/I], she thought. [I]Or drunk. A silver turtle the size of a ship?[/I] *** Suniel stood and nodded to Harold. "I'm sure Oakstout wouldn't mind if you took a room. You can reach them by the ladder in the stables. They're small, but warm and comfortable." Harold nodded, staring into the fire and rubbing one of his medals, probably unconsciously. Suniel walked out, checked on his carriage, stopped in the stables to say good night to his horses, and climbed up to his room. [/QUOTE]
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