November 15th, afternoon and evening in the year 670 by Kingdom reckoning
Those who choose to ride on to recover the wagon leave town quickly. It's a decent afternoon for riding and you make good time. You see rabbits and squirrels out and about, fattening up before winter and you have quite a start when a fox darts across the trail in front of you. You arrive at the manor near sunset and you find that the workers have indeed been very industrious. The hovels and grain bin all show signs of recent repair and the new graves on the hill are a reminder of the tragedy that came to the place.
You find that your wagon is all in order. Hamish is sitting on the tongue, sharpening his blade and making a show of guarding your supplies. Judging by the worn grass and nearby camp, he's done nothing but since you left. "Been a coupla days," he drawls, "hope you found the bastards what did this."
"Hamish," Thor greets him warmly, "it is good to see you, friend. We have spent some time tracking down the bandits and have had some luck." Thor paused a moment before continuing. "We've also had some setbacks," he went on, a somber tone filling his voice. "This is Rayla, sister to Rayna. Where are the others?"Thor asked, "We have battle plans to discuss."
ReplyDeleteHe nods at Rayla and frowns at the implications.
ReplyDeleteHe hesitates before answering your question. "Young Alis is hereabouts somewhere, flirting with that farm girl of his. I told him adventuring's the life but he seems dead set on staying. I think it would take a firm nudge from you to get him back on the right path." He grins wickedly at that.
"That foul smelling wizard, on the other hand, grew tired of waiting and set off on his own early this morning." He shakes his head with disgust, "he told me that you wasn't coming back and that I was a fool to wait. Well, you showed him!"
He raises an eyebrow, "he said he was going back to Ashmont. You could probably catch him on horseback if you wanted..."
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ReplyDeleteThe introductions done, Rayla climbs into the wagon, pulls out the suit of finely wrought armor and puts it on then returns to the conversation.
DeleteRayla begins pulling out the potatoes and sausages for a hot supper and puts on a pot of water for some tea saying, "I'm ready for a hot meal. Hard biscuits and dried meat only go so far. See if you can find Alis. We'll have to get an early start tomorrow." With that she turns to mixing some flour and other ingredients for bread.
ReplyDeleteThor nods at Rayla and goes off in search of Alis.
ReplyDeleteYou have to search for quite a while but you eventually find Alis and his lady friend walking along the banks of a small lake. They are walking hand in hand and it takes until you are nearly in his face for him to even recognize or acknowledge your presence.
ReplyDeleteHe starts back as if he hasn't seen you in months, not just three days. "Oh, uh, hullo Thor. This is Nancy." The young lady smiles nervously and curtsies. She eyes your weapons and traveling gear with apprehension.
Thor gently outstreaches his hand, taking the young ladies in his own. "It is a great pleasure to meet you miss, my name is Thorvald, although many of my friends simply call me Thor. I hail from a small village called Thune, beyond the great sea. I see you have taken an interest in my dear friend, Alis, the slayer of Goblins!" Thor exclaimed as he put one of his burly arms around his companions shoulder giving him a friendly squeeze.
ReplyDeletePausing a moment to gauge their reactions, Thor continued, "Has Alis told you of his heroism and bravery on the night that Hamish was captured by Goblins? It is a tale worthy of the telling! Perhaps," Thor said, thoughtfully, "the both of you would care to join us for something to eat. A new companion of mine is preparing some food by the wagon, and we would welcome the company."
Her eyes widen and she clutches Alis' arm tightly. Alis nods to your invitation to eat and he stands a little taller when you compliment him. They follow you back to the wagon.
Delete"Alis, Nancy," Thor says as the return to the others, "This is Rayla, she is the sister of Rayna. Rayla, I brought some guests, I trust we have plenty of food? I also promised to tell the tale of the heroic Alis, whose bravery is as great as anyone I've ever known."
ReplyDelete"Of course there is enough. It is a pleasure to meet you, Nancy. Sup with us and we will hear the tale of Alis, the Slayer of Goblins."
ReplyDelete"The tale begins on a night like any other," Thor said, forgoing any food to focus entirely on the tale. "We had made camp in the woods and our ranger, a dear friend named Tom, he'd gone out to scout. But something wasn't right and soon we heard a panther scream in the distance, and we could smell smoke. The panther, we knew," Thor said, pausing to allow the others a few more moments of suspense while he took a sip of ale. "It was Tom's call to us, letting us know he was in trouble.
ReplyDelete"The woods were not safe, especially at night, but several of us charged off into the darkness, hoping to save our friend from a final fate. We succeeded too, arriving just in time. But when we returned to our camp, we found it had been..." Thor's voiced lowered to a whisper as he uttered the final words, "an ambush."
"The Goblins had snuck into our camp and attacked. We had left our stout & loyal friend here," Thor said, pointing at Hamish, "along with our surly wizard, and your brave beau to guard our wagon. But the goblins were fierce and were far too many. Hamish valiantly fought to save the other two, and Alis reacted quickly enough to urge the horses to get himself and Rethas to safety.
"When we returned, there was no question in anyone's mind, we had to go after our friend. Tom tracked the goblins back to their camp, and we quickly realized they were about to make a meal out of our young friend. But despite the danger, we were going to save our friend, and Alis, despite not having the training that the rest of us did, he volunteered to help save our friend. He knew what the goblins were capabale of, he'd seen it first hand, but despite the danger, he wanted to help anyways. That kind of bravery is the rarest kind," Thor said, smiling at Alis. "For the truest courage is to face that which we fear.
"The battle that followed was frenzied, but Alis stood tall and proud, launching firebombs upon our foes that frightened our enemy and allowed us to save our friend. In my eyes he is a true hero."
With that, Thor remained quiet for a few moments sipping on his ale, before taking some food and eating in silence.
When he'd finished his meal, Thor decided to speak again.
ReplyDelete"The reason we've returned is that Minx has proven a more determined foe than we had first thought. We've suffered some losses, and very nearly some others. We need our friends to stand with us in the coming days. We need the bravery of heroes. We plan to ride into Bremel in the morning and then return to the lair of Minx. We have seen her defenses and her tactics, and we've survived. The next time, she will not escape." Looking at both of his companions, Thor asked outright, "Can I count on you to stand with us?"
Alis beams with pride during your story and nods enthusiastically. Nancy says "is it true Aly?" Alis nods and she squeals with delight.
ReplyDeleteHe blanches when you being speaking again and seems to choke on the bit of bread he has taken. He looks up and stares into your eyes eventually and quietly, obviously with great regret, says, "yes, I'll come."
He asks to spend one more night with the farmers, packing his things and saying his goodbyes but promises that he'll be back at camp by sunrise.
"Take the night," Thor said nodding his approval. "We'll begin loading the wagon at sunrise and depart as soon as everything is packed."
ReplyDeleteHamish smiles widely and helps himself to more food before bedding down for the night.
ReplyDeleteRayla is worn out from the fighting and travel and hopes she can get a good nights sleep before the expected assault of the minx. She's nervous but excited too. She finishes frying the bread she had prepared and saves back the leftover sausages for a quick breakfast in the morning before they pull out. Grabbing her bedroll she crawls under the wagon and is soon snoring softly.
ReplyDeleteClimbing onto the back of the wagon, Thor sees the small leopard cub he'd purchased in Ashmont and was thankful that his friends had looked after it for him. Unlatching the cage, Thor removed the young cat and set down a small pile of meat for it to eat.
ReplyDeleteWhen the cat had its fill, Thor returned it to the cage, and began to think that it was time he gave his young companion a name. As he lay there thinking of the various possibilities, he soon found that he drifted quietly to sleep.
Rayla rises early and prepares her spells with care, focusing carefully on each one. She stirs up the fire and puts on some hot water for tea. Seeing no sign of Alis yet she walks over to a home where she sees activity and spends some copper on eggs to add to the breakfast menu. She drops them into the skillet and speaks quietly to Thor, "Best wake up, Thor, we've got a fight ahead of us and I've cooked us a breakfast. Alis will be here soon."
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