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The Talismans of Aerdrim
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<blockquote data-quote="havenstone" data-source="post: 4330843" data-attributes="member: 61094"><p><strong>The Steel Torc</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>IT'S A MORNING </strong>like many other mornings. Before heading out for some training with Kemeras, Ash, Atrix, and Nina are stopping off at the Brass Hog’s Head -- mainly so Atrix can continue his mutual flirtation with Carwyn, who’s just finished serving breakfast to the inn’s guests. Ontaya, who’s rather attracted to Carwyn herself, is vainly trying to ignore Atrix and engage a taciturn Meeshak in theological discussion. Kyla and Darren, both in town on errands, have dropped in to the Hogshead to see if their friends and acquaintances are there.</p><p> </p><p>Their chatter is interrupted by a boy running in with an incoherent story about a dying man. Following the boy, they find a mortally wounded headhunter at the mill bridge. The barbarian-hunter wheezes almost inaudibly, “Haraks. Biggest horde ever seen -- thousands. Coming...” and expires before Meeshak arrives to heal him.</p><p> </p><p>The eight young friends hurry to the manor and report this to Avarin, the reeve of Rim Square -- but as usual Lynar’s representative in the village is drunk and suspicious to the point of insanity, and refuses to hear their warning. Increasingly alarmed, they hurry back to the inn and tell Hamber, Carwyn’s always reliable foster father. He tells them he’ll spread the word around the village, and sends them out as a group to bring the outlying inhabitants of the valley to the inn, just in case there really is a Harak horde on the way.</p><p> </p><p>The small group heads south first, to alert the people who are closest to the potential barbarian incursion. They inform a couple of farmers about the coming threat, then head up the small road through the woods toward the home of Kemeras the hunter. </p><p> </p><p><strong>AS THEY APPROACH </strong>the old ranger's cottage, Ash notices movement in the foliage and calls a warning to his friends, seconds before a rain of arrows descends on the road. The eight of them dive for cover: Kyla returns fire, while the other fighters begin stalking closer to the archers. Glimpsing their foes through the trees, Ash notes with surprise that these would-be killers aren’t Harak barbarians, but cloaked Northerners from the distant countries of Velnar and Caragon.</p><p> </p><p>As Nina closes in stealthily on the first archer and Ontaya charges, shrugging off the arrows of another, they all hear a cold voice echo through the forest. “Kemeras Lepray!”</p><p> </p><p>The party hears a door open and close. “I'm here.” Kemeras sounds somehow sad.</p><p> </p><p>“You know who I am.” </p><p> </p><p>“I do, Enforcer.”</p><p> </p><p>Dodging from tree to tree toward Kemeras’ cottage, Atrix manages to get to a point where he can see both his old teacher and the man facing him -- a pale, scar-faced swordsman wearing a notched steel torc around his neck. Both men hold sabers, and begin to circle each other with similar fluid grace.</p><p> </p><p>“My name is Shect,” says the pale man bleakly. “To whom have you sold the secrets of Scarth since you fled, traitor?” Moving with startling speed, he attacks Kemeras, who fends off the blows. Atrix immediately notes that both men are using the distinctive dueling style that Kemeras has been teaching him, Ash, and Nina.</p><p> </p><p>“No one,” Kemeras growls, returning the attack, barely flinching as Shect’s blade grazes his arm. Nina, Ontaya, and Ash have each killed an archer, but there are at least five more between them and their mentor.</p><p> </p><p>“It does not matter. Laying aside the torc is crime enough.” Shect glances into the trees, where Atrix is fighting one of his cloaked men. “A Swordsmark can not be allowed to choose his own path. In life and death, you belong...” His saber slips past Kemeras’ defenses and into his heart. “...to us.”</p><p> </p><p>Atrix cuts down the archer and charges toward Shect, who beheads Kemeras and meets Atrix’s attack with an almost contemptuous riposte. Initially elated at holding his own in the duel, Atrix slowly gets the sense that the master swordsman is holding back, testing him. </p><p> </p><p>Then Kyla’s arrows start to whistle past them; Shect notes that all of his men are dead and that he is about to be surrounded. He bats Atrix’s sword aside and vanishes into the woods.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="havenstone, post: 4330843, member: 61094"] [b]The Steel Torc[/b] [B]IT'S A MORNING [/B]like many other mornings. Before heading out for some training with Kemeras, Ash, Atrix, and Nina are stopping off at the Brass Hog’s Head -- mainly so Atrix can continue his mutual flirtation with Carwyn, who’s just finished serving breakfast to the inn’s guests. Ontaya, who’s rather attracted to Carwyn herself, is vainly trying to ignore Atrix and engage a taciturn Meeshak in theological discussion. Kyla and Darren, both in town on errands, have dropped in to the Hogshead to see if their friends and acquaintances are there. Their chatter is interrupted by a boy running in with an incoherent story about a dying man. Following the boy, they find a mortally wounded headhunter at the mill bridge. The barbarian-hunter wheezes almost inaudibly, “Haraks. Biggest horde ever seen -- thousands. Coming...” and expires before Meeshak arrives to heal him. The eight young friends hurry to the manor and report this to Avarin, the reeve of Rim Square -- but as usual Lynar’s representative in the village is drunk and suspicious to the point of insanity, and refuses to hear their warning. Increasingly alarmed, they hurry back to the inn and tell Hamber, Carwyn’s always reliable foster father. He tells them he’ll spread the word around the village, and sends them out as a group to bring the outlying inhabitants of the valley to the inn, just in case there really is a Harak horde on the way. The small group heads south first, to alert the people who are closest to the potential barbarian incursion. They inform a couple of farmers about the coming threat, then head up the small road through the woods toward the home of Kemeras the hunter. [B]AS THEY APPROACH [/B]the old ranger's cottage, Ash notices movement in the foliage and calls a warning to his friends, seconds before a rain of arrows descends on the road. The eight of them dive for cover: Kyla returns fire, while the other fighters begin stalking closer to the archers. Glimpsing their foes through the trees, Ash notes with surprise that these would-be killers aren’t Harak barbarians, but cloaked Northerners from the distant countries of Velnar and Caragon. As Nina closes in stealthily on the first archer and Ontaya charges, shrugging off the arrows of another, they all hear a cold voice echo through the forest. “Kemeras Lepray!” The party hears a door open and close. “I'm here.” Kemeras sounds somehow sad. “You know who I am.” “I do, Enforcer.” Dodging from tree to tree toward Kemeras’ cottage, Atrix manages to get to a point where he can see both his old teacher and the man facing him -- a pale, scar-faced swordsman wearing a notched steel torc around his neck. Both men hold sabers, and begin to circle each other with similar fluid grace. “My name is Shect,” says the pale man bleakly. “To whom have you sold the secrets of Scarth since you fled, traitor?” Moving with startling speed, he attacks Kemeras, who fends off the blows. Atrix immediately notes that both men are using the distinctive dueling style that Kemeras has been teaching him, Ash, and Nina. “No one,” Kemeras growls, returning the attack, barely flinching as Shect’s blade grazes his arm. Nina, Ontaya, and Ash have each killed an archer, but there are at least five more between them and their mentor. “It does not matter. Laying aside the torc is crime enough.” Shect glances into the trees, where Atrix is fighting one of his cloaked men. “A Swordsmark can not be allowed to choose his own path. In life and death, you belong...” His saber slips past Kemeras’ defenses and into his heart. “...to us.” Atrix cuts down the archer and charges toward Shect, who beheads Kemeras and meets Atrix’s attack with an almost contemptuous riposte. Initially elated at holding his own in the duel, Atrix slowly gets the sense that the master swordsman is holding back, testing him. Then Kyla’s arrows start to whistle past them; Shect notes that all of his men are dead and that he is about to be surrounded. He bats Atrix’s sword aside and vanishes into the woods. [/QUOTE]
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