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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Knightfall" data-source="post: 1779344" data-attributes="member: 2012">A Hole in the Wall:Bren hated his job.Being a Guardsman in Onaway was never a picnic, but somehow he always ended up with the worst assignments. And nothing was worse that hole guarding duty. The walls of Onaway had been this way since he was a boy. The populace would try to fix them up by mundane or magical means, and the next warlord or humanoid warband that came along would simply knock holes in it again.Of course, the worst part was the lackeys his superiors gave him. Handel and Travar were the stupidest louts he’d ever known, yet time and again Bren found himself guarding one of the gaping holes in the city wall with the dumb duo.If anyone had wanted to attack here, the dumb duo wouldn’t be a lick of help.“Har, har, ‘ou a funny man, Handel.” Travar slapped his knee while swigging old, warm whisky. “Tell me ‘nother one.”The two were busy swapping stupid limericks and getting drunk out of their head. Bren would split their skulls himself if he didn’t think he end up in the reformatory. He did his best to ignore them as he scanned the darkness for danger, a torch in one hand and his short sword in the other. “Alrighty then,” Handel threw several logs on the fire and almost fell in himself. “What do ‘ou git when ‘ou stuff a piggy with ‘our missus?”“I d-dunno ‘now.” Travar was so drunk he’d laugh at a inchworm falling off a leaf. “Tells me, my good man.”“A meal ‘orth its ‘eight in girl.”“Har, har!” Travar spit up his swig on his tunic and on the fire.The flames roared up increasing the local illumination out by several feet. Bren saw, in that instance, several men walking slowly towards their position. Then as quickly as the light flared up, it died away.“I saw something,” Bren was sure he hadn’t imagined it.“Ah, ‘ous always seeing something,” Handel tipped back his tankard, letting all the whisky pour down his throat and down his tunic.“Shut up! And get up you filthy dogs! I’m dead serious!” Bren took a step out into the darkness his torch in front of him.“Hey, ‘ous best be giving me the r-respect mes deserve. I am a noble’s son, remember that ‘ou old bastard.” Travar stumbled to his feet without somehow falling forward.Bren ignored Travar’s insult, as he took another step into the darkest. The light shone far enough that he could see their shadowed forms. None held a blade openly in his direction, although one did carry a staff. A wizard perhaps?“State your intentions, or I will have you run through!” It was a weak challenge considering he didn’t have anyone to back him up. He could here his men stumbling around, retching their meals and whisky on the ground, and then silence.Bren didn’t have to see. He just knew – his men had passed out.“Not with those men you won’t, soldier.” A man’s voice commanded though the darkness, strong, confident, very sure of himself. “And you haven’t anything to fear from me or my companions.”“Prove it,” Bren took another step towards the figures in front of him. “Lay down your weapons and prepare to be searched and questioned.”“Fine.”Bren watched, as the semi-lit forms of five humanoids began removing and dropping weapons of all sorts. He could see them clearly enough to note they weren’t all human. One was definitely an elf and two other were most likely hairfoots or some other kind of small folk. Bren could make out the shadowed forms of five mounts as well.“Well, we’re not going to wait all night. You’re going to have to search and question each of us yourself, now that your fellow guards have passed out.” The voice was the elf’s, Bren was sure of it. It was high, lilting, yet strong.“Damn it,” Bren knew they could have taken him without breaking a sweat. “Never mind that now. Just tell me where you’re from and what you’re doing sneaking into Onaway this time of night?”“We’re envoys from the Eastern Shores. We’ve come here to offer the citizens a equal and mutually beneficial alliance from the King of Thallin,” Garth replied in earnest.Bren was speechless. He had guessed they were adventurers, but he hadn’t considered the possibility they weren’t local to the Wild Plains.“If you don’t mind, we’d like to gather up our things and then have you take us to your commander as soon as possible. Thessa here,” Garth motioned to the gnomish priestess. “Can help your men regain their wits. They’re going to need them. A vast army of ogres and the like are massing in the darkness, in preparation for an attack on your city. We fought some of them ourselves. The city must be warned.”“Damn it,” Bren ran back into the hole without another thought. “Not again!”He grabbed his bow and quiver heading for a stone staircase leading up onto the ruined wall. Once at the top he quickly lit several arrows wrapped in cloth and doused with oil. He rose his bow straight up and fired. The burning arrow streaked through the night air coming down several hundred feet away from the hole.Garth stood behind the Guardsman of Onaway as he took another arrow and shot it up into the air as well, arching it in the other direction. Dabuk and Mesik found their way up onto the cracking battlements just in time to see dozens of fiery arrows arching through the air for as far they could see the red light of the fire streaking through the night.“That’s some warning system you’ve got soldier.” Garth watched the precision of each arrows flight with admiration. Obviously, not all the city’s soldiers were as incompetent as the two drunkards being tended by Thessa.“Yes, too bad we don’t get much of a chance to use it. Attacks usually come in total darkness and we’re completely unprepared.”“Look, out in the distance!” Bactra pointed to where dozens of fiery points of light started blinking into existence. “The ogres are preparing to attack!”“They won’t get through, damage to the wall or not. Our men are good at defending these walls under all conditions.” Bren fired two other flaming arrows, both down along the outside of the wall.Brush and oil lit in the beat of heart. The fire quickly spread along the wall igniting several trenches of peat and kindling.“Wait, where’s Hougwarth?” Garth worried the vonakyndra would be trapped on the other side of the fire.“Who?” Bren asked quizzically.“Another travelling companion,” Garth looked over the wall for any signs of the wood giant. “He is a little intimidating, so we thought it best he hold back until we could prove our good intentions.”“A barbarian, is he?” Bren had heard legends about such men.“Not exactly, he’s a vonakyndra.” Dabuk easily scrambled down the stone staircase.“He’s kidding, right?” Bren was in awe of these adventurers. If they truly had a folk legend as a travelling companion, they must be quite experienced.“No, he’s not.” Bactra watched as the outer fire ran down the entire length of the ruined city wall. The bright light of the fire was turning night into a crimson dusk. He couldn’t see any sign of the wood giant. “Dabuk, anything?”A moment’s pause, with only the sounds of the blaze of kindling, echoed silence in response.*                                        *                                        *</blockquote>

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