Examine this wacky feller. He seems like a good sort, but real strange.
Maybe ask him if us being dead is a figure of speech, just in case.
You stop your little exercises, and turn to look at the man who helped you. You realise that he has, whilst you were distracted, brought out your equipment and one of your extra sets of underclothes. He seems to have gotten everything into a chest you didnt notice he had.
You examine him further. Despite the warm mid-day sun, he is still wearing his long black cloak, with the hood still up. You can only see the very bottom of his chin. You think he is smiling as you look at him. Spotting a nice large, concealing bush, you walk past the man and the chest, grabbing one of the sets of replacement clothes on the way.
The man's head turns as you walk past, watching you. He continues to watch you as you cast healing and cleaning spells. You hear his deep voice as he chuckles when you change clothes. You cant help but blush. Despite the coverage of the bush, you are still rather exposed, your sleek, lithe body on display for all who care to look as you change.
Once you're changed, you approach the man again. Not really knowing how to start a conversation with him, you decide to ask the man one pretty important question.
"Calling me 'Dead One' was just a figure of speech, words to a spell, right?" You ask, both curious and a bit nervous.
The man says nothing for several moments. He tilts his head to the side slightly, which you assume means he is thinking about your question. You are not sure if this is a good sign or not, as the question seemed like one he could answer easily.
Eventually, he answers you in your mother tongue. "No, you are not dead. Those words were but the activation chants of a high elvish spell, one which I am surprised you do not know. A war-maiden of the High Elves not knowing such a simple spell? Times really are changing......."
Times changing? What does he mean?
"I know of no such spell." You say, also in elvish. "It was never taught to me during my time at the Academy of Kvala'tar."
He shakes his head, sighing. He mutters under his breath, your sharp elven hearing picking it up.
"The great powers are weakening, their greatness diminishing, just as the Seeker said.....When will it be our time?" He shakes his head again, his shoulders slumping.
"Who are you?" You ask, intrigued by his mutterings. Cocking an eyebrow, you study the man from head to toe. You find it suspicious that he still remains almost completely covered. The only thing you have seen apart from his chin and his cloak is a bit of dark gray steel scale armour framing his neck.
He turns to you again, raising himself up from his slump. "Who I am is not important. What is important is your well being. How are you feeling?"
"Better since I've cleaned myself up. But stop trying to change the subject. Who are you? How did you know where to find me? You have the size of an Atlovan, yet you are soft spoken and intelligent. Gentle even. I find it hard to believe you were ever a follower of the Dark Ones. If I didn't know better, that the Atrians have being focusing on some mysterious internal matters for the last year, pulling as many of their people back as they can, I would have said you were an Atrian Ranger. But they were some of the first to be pulled back to the heartlands."
He sighs, obviously knowing that he cannot avoid your questions any longer. Sitting once again on the thick, oaken tailgate of the cart, he reaches up and shifts his hood. You still cannot see his entire face, but you can see the thick muscles of his neck and the solid structure of his lower face, as well as the rich golden hair tied back under the hood.
"You are young and small for a high elf, Ala'tirn. But you are well traveled, and your observations are correct. The High Empire of Atria has been pulling its people and troops back to the homelands, and the Rangers were the first to be withdrawn, however not all went...." He pauses as he pulls his hood almost all the way up, exposing the iconic eyes of an Atrian, where the outer circumference of the iris and the inner border between the iris and pupil are ringed with bright lava-like red-orange borders. You quietly gasp. The spectacle always putting you in a brief moment of awe.
"I am Balaroh, Atrian Ranger and chief scout for the Helcorh garrison, stationed not all to far from here. Please excuse the use of this cloak. It is all I had that would allow me access to the Generals headquarters where they were holding you. It is enchanted with the best deception spells the garrisons spell-weavers could create on short notice. There was a respectable amount of luck involved in getting you out of there." He says, smiling at you. You cannot help but think he has a rather enchanting smile......
Realizing where your thoughts are going, you quickly chastise yourself and don your equipment. You do catch the Ranger giving you appreciative glances as you fit your snug, form-fitting equipment. You smile at his attempts to hide them, but your woman's intuition helps you catch him in the act.
Looking around at the mass graves more questions start coming to you.
Hm... months of torture, but the corpses are only just being driven out. How much time really passed in that torture chamber? Does the General have some sort of time-manipulation spell that allows him to just keep torturing someone over the same day, over and over again? o_o
"Just how long was I tortured for? It felt like months in there. Months of experiences I will not soon forget...." You shudder as the memories of the Generals depravity wash over you.
"You were held for roughly 4 and a half weeks. However, I would not be surprised if the General used one of the Atlovans signature time bending spells to compress time in your holding cells during your torture to make it months, or even a year. He is a wicked man. If only the rest of my men were here, I would personally lead the assault on his headquarters." He growls in anger, his gaze resting on the city in the distance.
"You would attack him? Wouldnt that risk war between the Southern Clans and the High Empire?" You asked, surprised at the anger emanating off of the Atrian.
"The Warlords of the nation we are in at the moment know of the General, and the fact he is an Atlovan, however they fear his power, his allies and his forces. You saw first hand the ruthless efficiency of his troops. I am sad to say, unlike the innocent guards in that city, who are just following the orders of their superiors, the military and nobility of this Clanland have been thoroughly corrupted and I highly doubt they are in fact fully human still. The troops used in the plaza massacre displayed the early signs of void-exposure." The Atrian pause as he withdraws his pipe from under his cloak, and lights it using one of the Atrian's fire-making contraptions, a 'Handfire'.
"The influence of the General in this region is why I am out here, instead of inside the fortress of Helcorh. The cooperation we were enjoying with the locals has.....
soured during the past few months. We no longer have their support. It has gotten to the point in recent weeks that the Fortress is virtually under siege, with any troops leaving the fortress soon coming under fire from thrown rocks, and having their way blocked by the local peasants and militias.
Worse yet, we havent been able to get a messenger through to the other garrisons. The first one we sent got through, as we scried him there, but we never heard back from them." He shakes his head, taking a long pull from his pipe. "The Seekers words come true......" He says, sighing, with a far away look in his eyes.
Ask him if he knows what we've been through and if we can find a way to the Generals "Heart"?
I think those are just the influx of people who died after the battle and continued struggles. People defiantly didn't like the General whether they knew he was demonic or not. I theorize this because he was concentrated on us for days so he may not have had time for anything else. I do wonder if he'll be looking for us though.
Wanting to change the subject, you motion to the bodies. "There seems to be far more bodies than I would have thought, an it is taking longer than i would have thought it would as well. Where did they all come from?".
"The General is ruthless. He is on the worse side, even for an Atlovan. He hunted down every civilian who rebelled, and killed them all, plus their families. Then he rooted out the warriors who helped them, and had them killed as well. All in all, thousands have been killed in the last few weeks. The cities population has dropped noticeably. It is not helped by the fact that those who have been able to resist the Generals evil influence have fled their homes for other Clanlands, however they are plagued on their journey by bandits hired by the General, meaning even more death and destruction." Balaroh stands and walks towards a pile of bodies, muttering what seems to be final rites to them. "This has to be stopped."
You frown. Balaroh is right, this does need stopping, but what can one Atrian Ranger, a high elf and scared Clansmen do against an Atlovan general and his ruthless army?
You are startled out of your thinking by Balarohs low rumbling voice. "Look in the chest one last time. I have a present for you."
Curious, you open the chest again. You smile as you see whats inside. A High Elven bow and an enchanted self-replenishing quiver. You remember you lost your others, but these are virtually identical to your old ones. You quickly equip them, smiling at the familiar weight on your back again.
"Pleasing?" Balaroh asks.
"Very" Now it is Balarohs time to smile.
You think about broaching the subject of assassinating the General, however by the troubled look on Balaroh's face, you think this would not be a good time. You instead spend a few minutes tending to your equipment, making sure you have everything. After several minutes, Balaroh walks towards you.
"Will you accompany me back tot he Garrison at Helcorh? We need every fighter and scout we can get. And then we can see about dealing with the General?"
~~~
What do you do?
Author
Topic: (SG) The World of Ricovero - Ghost in the Rain (Read 16131 times)