A Shadow of the Past: The Redux

Barann Tairenel:

The music was loud, pratically blocking out the thunder and rain outside. I was glad for that. The Barrel and the Sword was full to the brim with joy and merriment. The barkeep always looked forward to us coming by, because we always bought a lot of drink from him.

"Bloody orcs didn't see what hit them!" I cried, before taking another swig of beer. It had only been a few hours ago that we routed a band of barbarian orcs, who had even had a warlord with them. The warlord now lay dead, along with much of his kin, and the other orcs had fled. They would cause trouble for this village no longer. I wasn't yet drunk, but I was on my way there.

"Oi, Barann, I'm not gonna let you make an arse of yourself alone!" Called one of my fellow soliders of the royal army, Daklen Vonn. He wasn't only a comrade, he was a friend.

"Now you listen here." I said, in a good natured tone. "I've got the right to make an arse of myself, 'cause I killed the bleedin warlord."

"Right, right. You can be an arse alone then!" Laughed Daklen, accidentally spilling some of his mug. The other patorens of the bar seemed to be enjoying watching a group of Royal Army soliders in full armor laughing and dancing.

Two of my fellow soliders were singing, horribly off-key.

"By Elrinel, if you were doing that when we were fighting the orcs, they would've killed themselves!" I chuckled, before taking another swig.

---------

Outside the gates of the town, something started to move. The town guard was wary, the orcs had put them on edge. Even if they were dead now, unusual movement outside the gate was cause for suspiscion. The lead guard, a man named Tarth Valenti, waved his fellow guards over to track the movement. A few of them thought he was seeing things. It was very early morning, at most four, and it was raining so hard that it was hard to tell what was going on in the forest. One guard held up a torch to see what was going on.

They all saw it.

A tall, cloaked and hooded figure was striding out of the forest towards them. In its right hand, it held a large sword. It did not say anything, and its face was hidden by the hood.

"Hault!" Tarth ordered it. "Drop your weapon and state your business!"

The figure did not heed the order.

"Hault!" Tarth called again. Perhaps it had not heard over the rain. A few guards trained their bows on the figure.

The hooded figure strode ever closer.

"In the name of the king, I order you to hault!" Called Tarth, one last time.

Suddenly, the figure put on a great deal of speed. It was upon Tarth in seconds. It grabbed him by the head with its left hand a picked him up, before throwing him sideways. Tarth hit a nearby tree back-first, with a nasty crack. His unmoving body flopped to the ground. An archer attempted to fire, but was cut in half by the figure's blade.

The third guard ran before it could strike him. He made for the bar, The Barrel and the Sword. There were royal army soliders there.

---------

I laughed as my fellow soliders attempted to sing louder. I was tempted to join in, wether it was my own will or the alchohol getting to me. I took a step towards them.

"Ooo-" The door was suddenly flung open. One of the town guards, drenched to the bone, stood there. He shut the door behind him, and called to us. The music went silent, and the dancing stopped.

"Something's attacking!" He shouted. "I don't know what it is, bu-" The blade of a sword punched through the door, and impaled him. It pulled backwards, ripped the door off its hinges and taking the corpse with it. There was nothing out there, in the rain. I unsheathed my longsword, and my fellow soliders did the same.

It took a step in. It was tall, far too tall to be human. It held a sword in its right hand. It was drenched from the rain. It looked at us, and let out a snarl. Then it ran for us. A townsperson who had been too close was decapitated as soon as it started running. I raised my blade as it swung its down, and blocked. There was an immense amount of strength it its swing, and I was almost knocked off my feet. I struggled to keep it from breaking my block. Daklen took the chance and attacked its left flank, stabbing it and driving his sword deep. The creature grunted, and force me to the ground before rounding on him. It punched him and sent him flying into the nearby wall. I struggled to me feet, before it turned to me once more. My fellow soliders took this chance to charge. The creature swung its blade and sliced the legs out from one of them, before impaling another. I charged and drove my blade through its back, before pulling it out, expecting it to fall dead.

It growled, and slapped me away. I crashed into the bar, and lay there for a moment, unable to move. The creature was butchering my comrades. I turned slightly to the right, and noticed the oil lamp that sat on the counted. I got to my feet, unsteadily, and grasped the lamp in my left hand, before hurling it at the creature.

The monster ignited at once. With a snarl, it turned to me, seeming to stare straight through me. Then it ran, screeching into the night.

I panted, looking at the dead soliders on the ground, then to Daklen, who was emerging from the wreckedge of a table.

"What was that?" I asked, shocked. "What was that?!"

We had just left Heavenstone three hours ago, our last stop on a long journey to find new recruits for the Royal Legion. It was raining heavily, lightning pierced the darkness of the night sky... but there was something else at work.

Just outside of Dyrlton where we were to spend the night before returning to Arcadia, bandits abushed us.
"Hey boys! Look what got here... you lost miss?"
Six of them and only three of us... we had the advantage.
"You have no idea who your talking to do you, not that it matters. Lay down your weapons... this is your only warning." My voice was stern.
"Haha! How cute, the lady is giving us a warning."
"That is correct, and the Royal Legion only gives one... I suggest you take it."
He walked towards me, bringing his dagger up to my chin.
"Is that a threat?"
"Only if you want it to be."
In one quick and graceful motion, I drew one of my own daggers and took the four fingers on his right hand off at the knuckle with one swift movement.
The dagger fell from his hand and pierced the earth beside his foot.
He fell to the ground, holding his right hand and screaming in agony as he stared at his fingers as they lay on the on the ground.
The others came at us, swords drawn.
"An ambush... how thoughtful."

I smacked the nearest bandit in the face with my shield before driving my sword into his gut, the blade piercing his body and appearing out the other side.
I pulled it out as quickly as it had gone in, spinning around to slash another bandit across the chest.
Crimson splashed across the ground as the tip pierced armor and skin.
An arrow flew passed my face, blowing my hair out of the way with its momentum.
The bandit archer was quickly dispatched by an arrow of our own as it pierced his heart.

With two dead, one wounded and there leader missing four fingers, the others quickly surrendered.

Guards from Dyrlton who had witnessed the fight approached us and apprehended the remaining bandits without a word to us. Not that I expected much from them, most guards outside of the royal line fear the Royal Legion... mostly out of respect.

Any blood from the battle was long washed off by the hard rain when we entered Dyrlton.
The town was unusually quiet... something had been here.

We heard the screams, but by the time we had reached the source we were too late.
One body lay outside the Barrel and Sword, nearly torn in half... with more dead inside.
"Looks like we missed a good party." said Toran, nothing but sarcasm in his voice.
"Respect... Toran, this was not bandits or thugs... there was something here."
He went silent as we entered.

The scene that greeted us was not the merry sort we expected to see in a bar like this.
Blood splattered the walls, pooled on the floor.
I looked at the bodies... most of them were Royal Guards.
Two Raoyal guards remained, one of which was kneeling amongst the bodies of his fallen comrades, the other leaning against a wall, clearly in pain.
"Who did this...?" Toran said quietly.
"Not who Toran... what." There was a lingering smell of something that had been burnt, mixed with the smell of death. "Something did this... something not human."

I turned my attention to one of the two remaining Royal Guards.
"Barann, tell me what happened here."

"To the pit if I know," I replied. "All I know, is that some... thing came in here, and butchered my fellow guard."

I kept my voice somber, but I was shaking with barely controlled fury.

"Relax, Barann, there's nothing you can do now but tend to the wounded and pray for the dead," Daklen commented, patting me on the shoulder.

"Right, you're right..." I muttered, taking a deep breath. I began to go from body to body, reciting a short prayer, as Daklen helped those who were lightly wounded tend to the severely wounded.

"May the light of Elrinel guide you in your rest, and bring you peace in the afterlife," I said, kneeling over one of my dead comrades. "Dama'ren."

The rain seemed to have no limits, actually seeming to increase in size as I neared the town. It was time to find a place for me and Grongor, my cave bear. Patting the base of his neck, I directed him towards the streets to see if we could find anything.

"Wait!" Grongor stopped and let out a disgruntled gurgle, "right there, the Barrel and Sword....funneh' name for a bar haha!"

As we neared the entrance, the faint smell of blood caught my attention. Getting off Grongor I entered the Barrel and Sword, my staff in hand before entering in. Bodies lay inside the inn, few people inside, none of them happy.

"All I know, is that some... thing came in here, and butchered my fellow guard," the Royal guard spouted out. I fully entered myself in, Grongor shortly behind me before I stood by the side of the wall watching as the pieces fell into place.

I nodded at the dwarf that entered, introduction would have to wait.
"Barann, the king will want to know everything. What did it look like? Weaponry, clothing. Anything you can remember."

I motioned Toran to ask the other guard that survived the same question.

I was busy ensuring the dead could get their rest. Daklen answered in my stead.

"Big, cloaked blighter," he said. "Huge sword, really strong. Barann had to light it on fire. Stabbing the bastard didn't even kill it."

My eyes and ears were more attentive as the description of the creature triggered the stories passed from my ancestors. I stepped forward, clearing my throat before I spoke of legend, "this....this thing," my mind raced through stories and memories, "it sounds like an abomination."

My hand slid over the table wiping the blood off of it, "grotesque or mysterious, cruel and monstrous, these things nearly wiped my people," my hand opened up presenting my gloved palm to them. Ice started to form as a ball above my palm until it started to shape itself into a creature. It was octopus like, but it looked as if it had been pummeled into an unrecognizable pulp. It's tongue flared out revealing rows of teeth, it's 'arms' twisted and morphed as it grew and shrunk. The features of the creature changed to multiple things before the ice paradigm shattered before my hand.

"Abominations are never ever the same as another, all having different, but indeed superhuman qualities. The sign of this thing surely is an omen."

"An abomination... stories from the great war... creatures beyond both sanity and humanity..." I looked to Toran.
"The king must be told at once, we will stay here the night and ride to Arcadia in the morning."
Toran nodded, he and Zera went upstairs.

"Barann... you and Daklen we need to report to the king, you two witnessed this."
I then turned to the dwarf. "You know much of the Abominations, will you come with us to Arcadia?"

My head shook before I flicked the blood off my fingers, "if we are to leave, we must leave now. I too must warn my King...my father of this treacherous discovery."

My staff clanked as I walked over to one of the tables, my cloak draping down, heavy from water. My hand grabbed the cup of beer, while I chugged it down before turning to the others.

"Not only that, but my fears and warnings have strengthened now that there might be an abomination. The Barbarous Orcs have contested the land between here and my city, and as I rode over here, they started to make encampments along the main road." I took out an old crusted map placing it on the table, my finger landing on the areas I mentioned.

I looked at all of them, "what say you people?"

Having finished tending to the dead, I straightened.

"That explains the orcs my comrades faced today," I said, approaching the others. "They were far into human lands, even the fiercest of barbarian orcs dare not tread that far into their enemies' midst. I knew something was wrong..."

I looked at the map the dwarf had brought out. "I will go, this needs to be reported at once if the situation is as grave as you say."

"Then on we move, gather your supplies and materials."

My mind concentrated on the soldiers, one was of Royal Guard and the other Legionnaire. "Not everyday you see your kind around. Whom are you and your names?"

"Ariana Oltaris, Second in command of the King's Legion. This is Toran and Zera." Toran, being the "gentlemen", shook the dwarfs hand. Zera simply nodded. Despite being a Legionaire, events in her past have made her quite shy.
"I suggest we wait until morning, no doubt the barkeep would like some help cleaning up."

"I am Barann Tairenel, son of Aranzer Tairenel," I said. "Lance-Corporal of the Royal Guard."

I shook the dwarf's hand firmly. "And, judging by what you've said, you're the son of the dwarven king, and heir to his throne?"

"I am," I replied, my voice shaking a little "Grawf Badizon, son of Zildron Badizon and my ancestor being Rgzird Badizon. I should be heir, yes."

If only I had not failed my mission, now I must only climb to regain that honor.

"Well, then let's wait until tomorrow morning, then we must be quick."

Bodies of the fallen Royal Guards would be picked up and taken to Arcadia tomorrow, the town guards would take care of there own dead.
The barkeep gave us some rooms and we settled in for the night.

"Aye," I said simply.

Shortly afterwords, I recieved a room, and my remaining comrades did the same. We settled in to rest for the night, though it took me a while to get to sleep, thinking about that damned abomination.

Morning came quickly... a thick fog hung over the town, grass slick with morning dew.

We all gathered out front of the Barrell and Sword.
Toran, being the cocky one that he is, instructed the others.
"Arcadia is a five hours hard ride, stick with us... we're talking the forested route. Bandits, wild animals. All kinds of fun things."

"What he means to say is keep your guard up."

"I'm familar with the path," I said simply. "Bloody bandits would be fools to attack us. Then again, they're a might foolish to begin with."

I was confident for a good reason. I was a good combatant, and a royal guard is always better then an untrained bandit.

-

Alayra:

Storm on the horizon. Off to the west, over Dyrlton. To east, the sun was rising. My target would be here any minute. The streets of Arcadia were open beneath me, and were nearly empty. The early morning was no time to be running about, unless you were a criminal. Or someone like me. I looked across the rooftops, and unslung my bow. I started to run.

The group I was targeting would be ahead. It had been talked about for weeks, a famous noble moving through this part of Arcadia was unheard of. I had spent plenty of time ensuring this was the correct noble, that this was the best time. I continued on my way, my hair whipping behind me, carried by the wind. My boots clacked onto the rooftops, but I was too high up for any possible alerts. Still moving, I pulled an arrow from my quiver, and knocked it. I continued to run. The square they were in was just up ahead. He'd be guarded, but I could recongnize him. I trusted my abilities. I wouldn't miss my target, and I wouldn't hit one of the guards. The cold air nipped at my ears, but I shrugged it off.

The square came into view, along with a procession of guards. In the center of the guards, there walked the noble. He was easy to spot, a middle-aged man wearing elaborate, flashy clothing. The guards were heavily armored, but they weren't of concern to me. I was targetting the murderer in the center. I raised my bow, and took careful aim. The arrow glinted in the early morning sun, and then glowed ever so slightly more. I aimed just ahead of the noble's head. I pulled back the arrow.

And then I let it loose.

The arrow whistled through the air and struck the noble in the back of the head, easily punching through. There was a splash of blood from his forehead, which splattered onto the cobbles. The corpse fell forward. The guards shouted, and scanned the rooftops. I made no move to run. A few aimed bows. I called to them.

"Check the corpse. He's not the man you serve."

They looked to the corpse, and saw the truth. In death, the illusion had faded. What had appeared to be a noble was replaced with a Dark Elf clad in the garb of a warlock, with a full iron helmet. I had enchanted the arrow to punch through the metal.

"You can thank me later. Your noble is in his estate. The Dark Elf didn't want to alert you, so he should be fine," I called. Then, I was off over the rooftops.

"Hopefully you and all your troops are ready, because bandits is the last thing we want to worry about."

I took my weapons off the table holstering them back up before I harnessed Grongor back up.

"We should be heading out now, we should be making this a 5-hour ride, and doubting there won't be trouble is just foolish."

~Two hours later~

We were deep in the forest now. The atmosphere was an erie one. Thick fog blanketing the entire area, almost as if it was moving with us. The sun blocked out by the trees.
My men had point. Making the slow uneasy journey.

"Something doesn't feel right Toran."
He nodded. "I know, I can feel it too... something is watching us."




OOC: Do what you want with that. You people want action? I just set some up for y'all.

"It could be bandits," I remarked, scanning the treeline from the back of my horse. "Or, it could be something worse..."

A sudden cold atmosphere washed through the forest, the trees themselves seemed to shiver.
Silence. Dead Silence.

"Hold... nobody move..."


OOC Setting the table so to speak, go with it for now. I'm trying to get this going.

A figure cloaked in black could be seen off in the distance, leaving chilled air in its wake. It was difficult to make out exactly what it was from here but none of us dared to move.
Whatever it was, it was powerful. Dark whisps swirled from its body, faint but visible.

"Nobody move."
The creature didn't seem to have any interest in us at all, it simply continued its slow walk.
It took a few minutes, but eventually the warm air returned and the sounds of wildlife with it.
"The council will need to hear of this. If the darkness has returned, we'll need to be ready." I then turned to face everyone. "We must move quickly."

"What in the name of Elrinel was that?" I asked, hand on the hilt of my sword. Whatever that... thing had been, it was strange, and it was foul. Foul like the creature that had attacked back in town.

"I... I don't know. Whatever it was, its not good. The high council must be informed of this."
The group waited a few minutes, making sure that whatever it was had passed before they continued the journey to Arcadia. Moving as fast as they could.

Just as dusk began to set on Athlental, they arrived just outside the great human city of Arcadia.




OOC: Do more later, all I could think of at the moment