Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Plane Sailing" data-source="post: 432391" data-attributes="member: 114">Trajan, Anne-Marie and Arilyn decide that the time has come to set off towards Bridlerest, and attempt to find the craftsman who has contact with the dwarves. Dala is upset to learn that the farm girl he spent a night with has disappeared and her father is dead. He plans to spend a little more time in the village setting things to rights and will follow on later.During their first days travel southwards they come across a merchant with a single caravan, and fall in alongside him, glad of his company and smiling at his homespun wisdom. Early in the morning of the next day, just as they are finishing their breakfast, they become aware of a group of horsemen galloping down the road in their direction, pennants and cloaks flying. Each of them wears a grey and yellow cloak, with their hood thrown back. Drawing up about thirty feet away, their shaven heads are clearly visible, with white headbands similar to Trajan’s across their brow.“Hold, strangers!” one calls out imperiously. “We seek the renegade Lysander! You match descriptions of some of his travelling companions. Tell us what you know!”Arilyn recognises their Singharese accents, and moves behind her two friends. There is old enmity between her people and those who now stand before them. “Keep hidden, Zeph” she whispers to her familiar, who ducks behind the wagon.Trajan stands forward. “We know of no renegade. Peace be with you on your journeys”.There is some whispering amongst them.“Southlander scum” the spokesman calls out. “How dare you sully the garb of our holy order with your pagan flesh and ways?”“I do not offend my god. Nor should you” Trajan replies in measured tones.“Don’t bandy words with your betters” one of the mounted Jazumai calls out. Another one breaks in - “look at his headband! He bears the mark of the heretics!”Trajan thinks up to the lightning slash which divides the circle on the front of his headband, the new headband presented to him by his master when the hermit had initiated him into the training of the sword saints. What had the old man said about a pogrom to eradicate his kind?</blockquote>

Verification