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Story Hour
The Rise of Felskein [Completed]
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<blockquote data-quote="Iron Sky" data-source="post: 4154510" data-attributes="member: 60965"><p>Session 2, Part 1</p><p></p><p>Ming awoke with a killer hangover and the incomparable discomfort of falling asleep in someone else's armor. She stood up stiffly, cracking her neck and back before searching the straw for her sword. There was a moment of panic before she remembered leaning it against a wall somewhere.</p><p></p><p>Sure enough, it was sitting right next to the door, still coated with blood and grime from the day before. <em>I should clean it</em>, she thought, then caught a whiff of herself. <em>Whew, and me.</em></p><p></p><p>Sword slung over her back, she made her way down to the shore.</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Suniel climbed out of his carriage and squinted at the bright July sunlight. One hand shielding his eyes, he made his way to the inn.</p><p></p><p>He found Harold already inside, chatting with Lieutenant Laris.</p><p></p><p>"...apparently attacked the mine about the same time they hit us here," Laris said, nodding to Suniel as he entered.</p><p></p><p>Suniel nodded back and sat down at the table with the two soldiers, motioning to Oakstout and the stew pot bubbling in the fireplace as he did. Oakstout nodded back and disappeared into the back room.</p><p></p><p>"How many losses?" Harold said. "That sounds like a pretty major raid."</p><p></p><p>Laris nodded, his expression grim. "The count is unsure. The whole mining establishment out in the Hills is in an uproar. I just wish we had more men out here, especially scouts. The Iron Tribes have been so quiet for so long, we'd almost dismissed them as a threat."</p><p></p><p>Harold's eyes met Suniel's and Suniel saw some plan churning behind his eyes. When Harold suddenly smiled widely at him, he had a pretty good idea of what was coming next.</p><p></p><p>"Wizard, you seem to be a traveling man... or elf, rather. What would you say to doing some good for the Northmand cause?"</p><p></p><p>Suniel replied instead to Laris, his voice soft. "The attack was unprovoked?"</p><p></p><p>Laris nodded. "Our guards were there as a token force against thieves and brigands. Some of the miners even moved their families out there into the shanty-towns." </p><p></p><p>Laris stared down at the barely-touched oatmeal in his bowl. "The shanty-town at the mine they attacked caught fire, I've heard it was... well... the smell... all the people were asleep when the flames swept through. And everything was so close together, there wouldn't have been anywhere to go. Like a trap."</p><p></p><p>Suniel got the impression the young officer was trying not to cry so he politely stood, intercepted Oakstout on the way to the fireplace, and served himself some oatmeal from the pot the dwarven innkeeper was carrying to rewarm by the fire.</p><p></p><p>When he returned, Laris was eating, not crying, but Harold still had a calculating look.</p><p></p><p>"What's in it for you, archer?" a rough female voice said from the doorway.</p><p></p><p>Suniel glanced up from sprinkling cinnamon into his oatmeal as Ming walked in. Out of armor, still damp from bathing, she looked almost womanly, her silver hair especially striking when back-lit by the bright morning sunlight.</p><p></p><p>Harold assumed an offended look. "Why, our noble Northmand allies deserve our support." </p><p></p><p>Harold watched Ming closely as she casually tossed her armor and sword onto a table. </p><p></p><p>"Besides, they pay a gold per pair of ears. Laris already gave me the bounties. Here's your share from last night," Harold said, tossing a small pouch to Ming. She caught it with a deftness that belied her size and emptied it into her hand.</p><p></p><p>With an exaggerated shrug, she dropped the money into her own coin-pouch as she walked towards the fireplace. "Never liked hobgoblins much anyway."</p><p></p><p>Harold clapped his hands together and glanced back at Suniel. "Elf?"</p><p></p><p>Suniel thought for a long moment, then nodded.</p><p></p><p>Harold stood and walked briskly towards the door. "Excellent, let's leave immediately, no time to waste."</p><p></p><p>"Agreed, as long as right away starts in about an hour," Ming said, ladling out a heaping bowl of oatmeal. "Time spent at breakfast is never wasted."</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>The guide stopped and Harold reined in his mare, squinting in the heat of the noon-day sun. He wiped the sweat from his brow, his sleeve coming away the brown-red of the Ragged Hills. Behind him, the black carriage rattled to a halt and Ming jumped down.</p><p></p><p>"This is as far as the road goes west," the guide said, pulling off his leather cap and wiping his own brow. "From here you can go north or south along the road, or on west into the hills."</p><p></p><p><em>I can see that</em>, Harold thought, staring at the <strong>T</strong> in the road that they had come to. <em>And Laris said</em> this <em>was his best scout?</em></p><p></p><p>He glanced about at the dry, dusty hills, their crowns jagged outcroppings of rusty rock. Like the majority of the ones they had passed during the morning, most of the hills here were littered with the remains of year-, decade-, maybe century-old mining encampments that sat bleaching and baking away in the sun.</p><p></p><p>"We'll keep going west," Harold said, dismounting. "Take the carriage and my horse back to Laketide."</p><p></p><p>The guide stared down at him. "But, the road goes north and south!"</p><p></p><p>"I can see that," Harold said. "The hobgoblins aren't likely to be staying at the mining camps and towns, are they? I don't see any reason for us to go there either."</p><p></p><p>"Whatever," Ming said, rubbing the back of her neck as she strode past. "As long as I don't have to bounce my bones apart on that carriage anymore."</p><p></p><p>Suniel walked up and handed the reins of his carriage horses to the guide. "Take them back to the inn, leave the carriage where it was by the stables, and take care of the horses." </p><p></p><p>The guide nodded and set about securing the reins to Harold's horse to the back of the carriage.</p><p></p><p>"Oh, and one more thing," Suniel said as the man returned. "Make sure no one goes inside, or I'll hold you accountable. You don't want to be accountable."</p><p></p><p>Something in Suniel's demeanor changed and Harold took an involuntary step back. It was as if it there was a brief shadow over the sun and something even darker reflecting in Suniel's eyes. Then it passed and Suniel turned and walked past, humming softly.</p><p></p><p>Harold met the suddenly pale guide's eyes and shrugged. He watched the wizard from a few paces back as they trudged into the hills. </p><p></p><p><em>Just confirms it</em>, he thought. <em>Never trust a wizard.</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Iron Sky, post: 4154510, member: 60965"] Session 2, Part 1 Ming awoke with a killer hangover and the incomparable discomfort of falling asleep in someone else's armor. She stood up stiffly, cracking her neck and back before searching the straw for her sword. There was a moment of panic before she remembered leaning it against a wall somewhere. Sure enough, it was sitting right next to the door, still coated with blood and grime from the day before. [I]I should clean it[/I], she thought, then caught a whiff of herself. [I]Whew, and me.[/I] Sword slung over her back, she made her way down to the shore. *** Suniel climbed out of his carriage and squinted at the bright July sunlight. One hand shielding his eyes, he made his way to the inn. He found Harold already inside, chatting with Lieutenant Laris. "...apparently attacked the mine about the same time they hit us here," Laris said, nodding to Suniel as he entered. Suniel nodded back and sat down at the table with the two soldiers, motioning to Oakstout and the stew pot bubbling in the fireplace as he did. Oakstout nodded back and disappeared into the back room. "How many losses?" Harold said. "That sounds like a pretty major raid." Laris nodded, his expression grim. "The count is unsure. The whole mining establishment out in the Hills is in an uproar. I just wish we had more men out here, especially scouts. The Iron Tribes have been so quiet for so long, we'd almost dismissed them as a threat." Harold's eyes met Suniel's and Suniel saw some plan churning behind his eyes. When Harold suddenly smiled widely at him, he had a pretty good idea of what was coming next. "Wizard, you seem to be a traveling man... or elf, rather. What would you say to doing some good for the Northmand cause?" Suniel replied instead to Laris, his voice soft. "The attack was unprovoked?" Laris nodded. "Our guards were there as a token force against thieves and brigands. Some of the miners even moved their families out there into the shanty-towns." Laris stared down at the barely-touched oatmeal in his bowl. "The shanty-town at the mine they attacked caught fire, I've heard it was... well... the smell... all the people were asleep when the flames swept through. And everything was so close together, there wouldn't have been anywhere to go. Like a trap." Suniel got the impression the young officer was trying not to cry so he politely stood, intercepted Oakstout on the way to the fireplace, and served himself some oatmeal from the pot the dwarven innkeeper was carrying to rewarm by the fire. When he returned, Laris was eating, not crying, but Harold still had a calculating look. "What's in it for you, archer?" a rough female voice said from the doorway. Suniel glanced up from sprinkling cinnamon into his oatmeal as Ming walked in. Out of armor, still damp from bathing, she looked almost womanly, her silver hair especially striking when back-lit by the bright morning sunlight. Harold assumed an offended look. "Why, our noble Northmand allies deserve our support." Harold watched Ming closely as she casually tossed her armor and sword onto a table. "Besides, they pay a gold per pair of ears. Laris already gave me the bounties. Here's your share from last night," Harold said, tossing a small pouch to Ming. She caught it with a deftness that belied her size and emptied it into her hand. With an exaggerated shrug, she dropped the money into her own coin-pouch as she walked towards the fireplace. "Never liked hobgoblins much anyway." Harold clapped his hands together and glanced back at Suniel. "Elf?" Suniel thought for a long moment, then nodded. Harold stood and walked briskly towards the door. "Excellent, let's leave immediately, no time to waste." "Agreed, as long as right away starts in about an hour," Ming said, ladling out a heaping bowl of oatmeal. "Time spent at breakfast is never wasted." *** The guide stopped and Harold reined in his mare, squinting in the heat of the noon-day sun. He wiped the sweat from his brow, his sleeve coming away the brown-red of the Ragged Hills. Behind him, the black carriage rattled to a halt and Ming jumped down. "This is as far as the road goes west," the guide said, pulling off his leather cap and wiping his own brow. "From here you can go north or south along the road, or on west into the hills." [I]I can see that[/I], Harold thought, staring at the [B]T[/B] in the road that they had come to. [I]And Laris said[/I] this [I]was his best scout?[/I] He glanced about at the dry, dusty hills, their crowns jagged outcroppings of rusty rock. Like the majority of the ones they had passed during the morning, most of the hills here were littered with the remains of year-, decade-, maybe century-old mining encampments that sat bleaching and baking away in the sun. "We'll keep going west," Harold said, dismounting. "Take the carriage and my horse back to Laketide." The guide stared down at him. "But, the road goes north and south!" "I can see that," Harold said. "The hobgoblins aren't likely to be staying at the mining camps and towns, are they? I don't see any reason for us to go there either." "Whatever," Ming said, rubbing the back of her neck as she strode past. "As long as I don't have to bounce my bones apart on that carriage anymore." Suniel walked up and handed the reins of his carriage horses to the guide. "Take them back to the inn, leave the carriage where it was by the stables, and take care of the horses." The guide nodded and set about securing the reins to Harold's horse to the back of the carriage. "Oh, and one more thing," Suniel said as the man returned. "Make sure no one goes inside, or I'll hold you accountable. You don't want to be accountable." Something in Suniel's demeanor changed and Harold took an involuntary step back. It was as if it there was a brief shadow over the sun and something even darker reflecting in Suniel's eyes. Then it passed and Suniel turned and walked past, humming softly. Harold met the suddenly pale guide's eyes and shrugged. He watched the wizard from a few paces back as they trudged into the hills. [I]Just confirms it[/I], he thought. [I]Never trust a wizard.[/I] [/QUOTE]
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