The Defenders of Tronus – They’re Off Again:
At dawn the majority of the townsfolk gathered under the great white arch of Tronus to mourn the passing of Storm. The ceremony was short and simple, as Storm would have preferred. This worked out well for the remaining Defenders since there wasn’t much time to waste, and they had already dwelled on the loss of their friend for far too long.
After the Duke’s speech, Kevrick lead the party away from the ceremony. He gathered the group around Evrynn’s magical carriage and waited. After a few minutes the dark and mysterious Erasmus strolled forward. Covered in bandoleers of stakes, with no visible weapons, the rest of the group was taken slightly aback by the imposing figure. Azerot, not wanting to give this gothic hero any leeway, motioned to Erasmus that he would be charged with the duty of driving the cart.
Yet the Duke continued to wait while the party stood there and shifted uncomfortably. Rayna was the first to speak up, “Lord Kevrick. If I may be so bold? We are terribly short on time, but we continue to delay. Does not every second count?”
The Duke smiled in response and pointed to the top of Steeple Hill where a short, but wide form was making his way towards the carriage with great speed. As he came closer, it was apparent that this was a dwarf. This particular dwarf was not of a common variety for this area either. Usually the dwarves from Goldborough have golden hair and bronzed skin. Although his hair was light, it did not contain a single streak of gold, and his skin was rather pale.
Once the dwarf had reached the group, he clapped his hands together and bowed. “I am Boulder of the Griffholme Mountains. I have my Dojo in Tronus for the past 10 years, and I would be honored to join your team!”
Kevrick beamed with newfound hope. “Here I thought that you were declining by never replying to my message. Apparently Daz had intercepted that note and used it to pass as a chosen Defender. I guess I should have indicated in the letter that the addressee was a dwarf.”
Boulder, who has less equipment than Erasmus, was working to climb up and into the carriage. He turned to respond, “I would never think to decline such an honor! That just shows you that there are many evils out there, and I say we get started.”
Moments later Azerot, Rayna and Cinder all joined Boulder in the magical carriage and waved to Erasmus to start the journey. The carriage moved with unnatural speed towards the rising sun as they left the waving Kevrick behind. The group watched out the windows as they sped away from their homes once again, yet suddenly the cart came to a halting stop.
Before the group could react, the bounty hunter that they had met the prior day came climbing into the carriage accompanied by a female halfling. Kaelin explained himself, “I have considered the Duke’s offer and decided that I would try it for now. But by no means does this mean that I’m a Defender. I have also brought an ally, Baylynn. She is a skilled rogue and a master of disguise. Since you’re party seems to be severely lacking in this area, I felt it best to bring my own support.”
“Well, then I guess a ‘Welcome to the Team’ is in order then,” chimed in Rayna.
“Your names rhyme, Kaelin, Baylynn. Hehehe,” added the attentive Cinder, which hastily silenced the entire party for the majority of the journey.