Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Funeris" data-source="post: 2543669" data-attributes="member: 22792">RY 158: Reddel's Retreat (Formerly named the the Abbey of Sin)[1]Lord Tobias strummed his worn fingers on the oak table.  The meeting with Illyx had gone as well as expected.  Aside from the forced-revulsion toward the druids, everything had gone decently well.  Damn Qwynna Pru’s faithful, he silently cursed.  They had returned him from the dead once, only to restrict his open-mindedness.  As a paragon of tolerance, it pained the paladin deeply the wrongs he had been forced to commit upon the Saficea worshippers.  He could never forget that first visit to Rhelm all those years ago with Magnus.  They had entered the massive capital’s gates and came upon a druid-burning.Compelled against his will, Tobias had been drawn to within inches of the pyre.  He had felt the flames licking and heating his maille.  There, by the fire, by the druids writhing in agony, and above their own pained wails, he had condemned them openly.  Heathens and beasts, he had called them.  Deserving of the fires of the most torturous hell, he had claimed.  On and on and on his sermon rambled through minutes shifting to hours shifting to what seemed days. The paladin could not stop himself.  Not until the bodies of the druids were but ash, could he be silenced.  Once they scattered upon the winds, Tobias regained mastery of his vocal chords.  Not that that had mattered much, his voice was so hoarse he had to remain virtually silent for days.  Days of silence spent in meditation not only upon his forced actions, there was nothing he could do to fix that, but upon the response of the crowd.  While he had proselytized, the masses had cheered.  They had shouted and chanted gleefully, fire burning maliciously in their eyes.  In all of his experience, Tobias could not recall such a horrific scene.  Even the eyes of the demons and devils could not reflect that much hatred.  Perhaps that is because they were born hateful.  It is a natural condition, not something created through experience, he philosophized.  Demons and devils were to be pitied and then sent screaming back to the hells from whence they came.  Those truly deserving of justice, that crowd, would only be sent to feed the appetites of the Gods and Goddesses, the true monsters of the Valus.  What justice could be served with their deaths?  Only torture could exact a proper payment but such methods were beyond the holy warrior.  He pushed the thought aside.Tobias hated that city with unending passion.  Just the thought of it brought anger, rage, and shame to the forefront of his mind.  He reached greedily for the decanter, filling a large glass with his favorite whiskey.  Fire to fight fire, he thought ironically as he drained the mug.  Quickly, he downed two more glasses and refilled it once more.  The liquid fire smoldered in his stomach, battling his fiery emotional torrents.That had been Tobias’ first trip and the mage’s second to the capital of Rhelm, although the mage would never speak of the first journey.  Too much history, he conceded.  So much had occurred while Tobias was in Minetown.  So much the paladin could have prevented if only he had been there.  Another glass emptied.Tobias rubbed the tingling scar where his left eye had once been.  Too fast, old man, he decided setting his fourth or fifth glass down.  The paladin had lost count again. Tobias really hated that city.  He hated the empire.  He hated their religious bigotry.  Yet, they had made him a war hero.  They had given him a retreat, granted it had needed cleansed once again.  But they had finally acceded to Lord Allister’s requests.  All of the old Heroes, those not lost to time, madness or death, had been knighted.  And Tobias was given the Abbey of Sin.  And despite his paladinhood, Tobias was a hero.  He had permission to train others in the Path of Righteousness.  He had a safe haven for those not tolerated by others.With the exception of the druids.  There is always a catch.  Illyx of the Tree of ‘yx, brother to Callyx, had been denied his knighthood.  Not that the druid would have accepted the title at any rate.  Too much history; too much bad blood.  His twin had been burned alive in Rhelm.  And that first visit to Rhelm was not just to see King Gavanor Tyne for an impromptu strategy session.  That was Tobias’ first meeting with Illyx.  The druid had created the expected revulsion, but the warrior had fought the urges, the pains spreading through his gut.  Illyx was strange, even for a druid.  He had Callyx’s face, framed with the same long wavy red hair.  Unlike his twin, the man had one green eye and one blue.  But strangest of all, carved into the flesh of his back was a tattoo of a tree.  The tree rose straight up his spine, branches twisting outward and around his body.  Druidic symbols were carved throughout the “bark” of the tree.  Illyx had been at the burning.  He had watched the paladin sermonize the crowd.  When they met, the druid forgave the paladin.  Tobias wanted to thank him, wanted to say anything but his mouth was welded shut.  He could only grunt rudely.  More embarrassment for the holy warrior.But Illyx had even forgiven him that.  Damn Qwynna Pru’s faithful, he cursed for the billionth time in his life.  Illyx had helped Magnus and Lord Allister during their previous visit.  Illyx was true and always held to his word.  Illyx had been a fearsome sight in the battles that had claimed Tobias’ eye.  Illyx should have been a paladin, the warrior thought, smiling.The sudden slamming of his door stirred the warrior from his reverie.  An unrecognized guard burst in, carrying two sealed missives.  “I…er…” the guard stammered.“I don’t have all bloody night, spit it out,” the paladin commanded.“I…uh…was looking for Tobias,” the youth whispered.“New here?”  The words were as much a statement as a question.“Um…yes….sir?”“What training are you here for?” “Training for the King’s retinue.”“Good.  Let’s get a few things through that thick helmet and equally thick skull of yours.”“I was just looking for Tobias to give him…”Tobias cut the young man off with an angry wave of his hand.  Completing the motion, the paladin filled another glass to the brim with whiskey.  He pounded the drink and stood just as quickly.“I said, soldier, that we’re going to get a few things straight.  I am Tobias, however you will address me as Lord Abel or Sir, whichever case is most appropriate for the occasion that you actually manage to arrange words into a sentence.”  An expression, a third fear, a third confusion and a third humiliation, stretched across the soldier’s face.  Tobias’ face flushed, “What’s wrong soldier?  What were you expecting?!The holy warrior circled the young guard like a vulture stalking its prey.  “Am I not pretty enough for you?”  His hands shifted through the half-head of short, unkempt white hair.  Then, his palm slid to the scarred and hairless half of his scalp; the half destroyed because of a badly targeted fireball.  Finally, the warrior's hand rubbed the empty, scarred socket where a dwem's axe had ripped his eyeball from its socket.  “Were you expecting some damn shining beacon of light?!”  Here, the warrior's hands motioned at the simple, unobtrusive leather bracers that adorned his arms.“Trust me soldier, in battle, my armor would protect me better than yours would you.  I am a beacon of light in this country.  I am the last bastion and I am the first they summon when there are…unmanageable problems.  You will show me the respect I am due.  Not just because I am a war hero or veteran or a Lord.  But because I earned your freedom with my blood.  And now, child, I am your mentor.”  The paladin returned to his seat, pouring yet another glass.“Give me the missives.”  The soldier snapped alive and darted toward the desk, dropping the sealed letters near the paladin.  Just as quickly he snapped back to his prior position, erect and silent.  Tobias reached for the royally sealed missive first, tearing it open and skimming through the words.  Once complete, he tossed it onto the desk and tore the other open, hands trembling.  The paladin had not seen that particular seal in quite a few years.Tobias shifted heavily in the old wooden chair.  He set the paper down, his hands still trembled.  He grasped for his glass and noticed the young guard still standing at attention.“Your papers are in order.  Consider yourself dismissed.  Report to Bartholomew at the gates for your first orders.”  A minute later, the guard still stood silently, unmoving.  Tobias groaned, looking up at his charge.  “Is there something else?”“Yes, sir.  I was instructed to tell you that a thief has been found scrounging about.”“Has he been apprehended?”“He has.  Bartholomew has the child in custody now.”“Good, have him send the thief in.”“As you wish, sir.”  The guard pivoted sharply to exit the inner sanctum.“What’s the child’s name?”  Tobias questioned before the recruit fled.“He claims his name is Brious, sir.”  Without another word, the guard slid out the door and toward the outer walls.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[1]  Well, Yeti hasn’t been very forthcoming with his updates now, has he?  I agreed to a collaboration to get this written…and as such, am now posting in the hopes of spurring him back to writing.  This entire thread is really just a bunch of speculation by yours truly and the Yeti.  And its really really fun to write.  I love Tobias.  My first DnD character.  Hehe.So now, damn Yeti…get an update posted already!!<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" /></blockquote>

Verification