Kane considered the mercenaries in his study and said, "Very well I will grant you passage into Vaasa. Go and reclaim Reaver Hall and bring security to the village of Reavers Rest and if you are successful and your deeds are honorable you will be considered for land grants and royal titles by his Majesty King Dragonsbane."
The mercenaries left Kane's study without a word. When Kane was alone he pulled a small silver statuette in the shape of a raven from his robes. He held the statuette up to his lips and whispered something, then tossed it out the window. The statuette quickly transformed into an actual raven and flew at incredible speeds towards its destination.
**********************************************************************
Rikkard the Fair walked through the tent city, the afternoon sun glinting off his magnificent armor. As he looked around the tent city in the wide, flat plain inside the Vaasan Gate he saw the faces of hardened adventurers and mercenaries and wondered if welcoming such people was in the best interest of Damara. As he approached he gate itself he noticed the "bounty board," a list of the bounty earnings leaders. The first three names on that list were testament to his concerns. "The Tuigan" topped that list. The barbarian was a ferocious warrior and utterly without compunction. Coming in a close second was Aioka, an enigmatic, and beautiful she-warrior from Kara Tur. Third on that list was Chalcedon, a duergar who seemed to take far too much pleasure in collecting his bounties. The names that rounded out the top 100 were a mix of mercenaries, criminals "paying their debt" to the crown, and a precious few true heroes.
Rikkard was shaken from his thoughts by a familiar raven as it flew down, perched on his shoulder, and spoke a message from the King's Seneschal. Apparently there was a band of mercenaries on their way to the gate who were going to make an attempt to reclaim the fabled Reaver Hall. Among this band was Callista Armageddon, a hedge knight who he had faced at several tournaments and whom he shared a... history. That history had been short-lived. Callista did not share his zeal for the faith of Illmater, she saw no use for mercy, nor protecting the weak.
Rikkard looked back to the bounty board and asked himself, "We pay savages to protect Damara from the monsters of Vaasa, but when Vaasa is finally tamed who will protect us from these savages?"
No comments:
Post a Comment