Private Tales There are things that hunt you in the night

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Lumen

Lumen

Paladin
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Can't Stop! You dabbed :| Orcsorcsorcs
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There was a small town just north of Vel Cirak called Umanji. While not notable enough to warrant a Vel title, it was a favorite jaunt for one of the prominent nobles in Vel Anir. A cousin to the Urahils. Bernard Urahil. Lumen had to wonder if he had the signature Urahil pale-blonde hair.

Probably.

Hopefully he wasn't exactly like Leander.

She'd just graduated and was unsure of where she wanted to serve next. Those at the Academy didn't usually wait for new graduates to make those kind of decisions, so they assigned her to a mission, here, in this small town that was notable for a blacksmith and for having a higher elf population with its proximity to the Fal Wood. Lumen was assigned to track down what happened to Bernard Urahil. And they'd told her a senior dreadlord would be sent to work with her. Lumen was supposed to meet who it was at the Laughing Pony Inn.

She wondered if it would be Henk. And then tried not to let her mind wander as she dismounted from her horse and went to tie up the reins. A few children of the town were already pointing and whispering at her, noting her armor and rank. A tradesman with a cart full of furs and a dark moustache glared at her and began packing up his things.


Sable Pembroke
 
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Life had changed a lot for Sable since graduation. From service as a fully fledged Dreadlord, to incarceration in the wake of his madness, and now to provisional knighthood under the watchful command of Samantha Black. By all rights, Sable was supposed to be in Vel Castere for the foreseeable future. His probationary period was not yet complete, his training with the knights not finished. Lord Tobias Pirian was both clever and thorough, however, and fine print was ever important.

With permission and on Lord Pirian's request, Sable was to sally out for what would likely be his last mission without Sam's supervision in a good long time. "An apology by way of duty," Lord Pirian had called it, to someone it was very much owed to. Coy as he was, the noble had not mentioned who, but Sable had a feeling he already knew. There was only a few options.

Arriving at the meeting point and dismounting, it didn't take Sable much longer to figure it out. Distinctive armor and long, flaxen hair made it clear. Sable paid no mind to the glaring and gawking of townsfolk as he approached; the sting of their eyes upon his back was something he'd long since gotten used to.

"Lumen?"
 
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She looked up at that voice. It was like part of the air had been stolen from her lungs. Sable Pembroke. They hadn't seen each other, well, since he'd lost his mind with Kristin and Zael.

What had Edric told her when she'd visited him in prison?

Take your friends and run as far away from Vel Anir as possible. Lumen obviously hadn't listened but she had to wonder if Sable thought that. If he regretted that he couldn't do more for Zael. For Kristin. Like Lumen sometimes thought about Ysobel. Maybe it was the friends she knew would never leave that so easily dismissed Edric's advice. Or the sense of duty she felt to serve and protect those of Vel Anir who couldn't.

She finally remembered to breath and strode forward, offering her hand to the Dreadlord who was a year ahead of her.

"Hi Sable. Don't worry, no anti-magical cuff this time," she meant it as a joke as she showed one of her wrists but it fell flat. "You want to debrief inside?" Chin tilted to the dilapidated sign of the Laughing Pony Inn. "You...doing okay?"

Tawny-eyes briefly swept over his form.
 
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Sable hadn't known her long, but it was hard to forget her even while he had been under the sway of that dark curse that had wracked his mind. That sunny disposition of hers held up well despite everything, fitting well with that golden crown of hair she flaunted.

He took her hand in a firm grip and shook it professionally.
"Heh...good day to you, Lumen," he greeted her in turn with a wry smile, the best he could muster for her attempt at levity. "Sure, let's head in. Might give the locals some peace of mind if we put ourselves out of sight."

Lumen's concern was, of course, understandable. Sable hadn't exactly left the best impression when first and last they'd met.
"Don't worry," he joked back in the same fashion she had. "No meltdowns this time."

The titan of a man rubbed the back of his head sheepishly after a moment.
"I'm...terribly sorry for what happened at Zettal. I'm told someone or something was influencing my mind magically at that point, but...I don't feel right about using that as an excuse. I should have had the wherewithal to have figured out I wasn't well."
 
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Had Sable always been this...built?

Any apprehension she might've felt in seeing Sable Pembroke began to melt away. Even with his knight armor on and the way those villagers were eyeing them both. Maybe it was his voice or that small, sheepish smile he offered. Humility was not a trait a lot of dreadlords possessed and Lu could appreciate it when she saw it.

"Yeah, let's go," she stepped back and lead the way into the Laughing Pony Inn. The tavern was mostly empty this time of day. The barkeep was washing glasses. A pair of hunters sat in one corner.

"You don't have to apologize...but thanks for letting me know what happened. Could've happened to any of us." She frowned, thinking about that day. An older female with greying hair entered behind them and spread her hands in welcome, though her eyes crinkled on the edges with clear nerves.

"Welcome to Umanji. I'm Mayor Fairview."

Lumen smiled warmly and stepped forward, shaking the woman's hand. "I'm Lumen and this is Sable. Anything you can tell us about Bernard Urahil. When he was last seen and what he was doing?"

The Mayor shifted nervously and motioned to a table near the bar for them all to sit down.
 
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"Could've happened to any of us."

Could it have? Lumen might've been right, but Sable wasn't so sure. The uncertainty of that thought put him ill at ease. Whatever had been out there and laid its curse on Sable was still at large. He supposed the only thing he had to be thankful for was that men and women like Proctor Hawthorne were no longer a threat to the initiates of the Academy...and that no one had gotten permanently injured during his own rampage.

All the same, he was thankful that Lumen was quick to brush off the trouble he'd caused at Zettal. The mission was likely to go more smoothly if the two of them were on good terms.

Their catching up would have to wait it seemed, as the mayor of the town introduced herself to the Dreadlord duo. Lumen gave an introduction for both of them in turn, and Sable nodded politely in greeting. He took his seat as instructed. Never a good sign...being asked to sit before receiving news usually meant it was bad.

"Ma'am...whatever troubles you, you can rely on us. It's why we're here," he tried to reassure the woman.
 
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Lumen eased down next to Sable. The mayor took a seat across from them. She frowned, looking them over. "You have to understand. We're a small town on the edge of a dangerous territory. We," she took a breath," we do what we must to survive."

Lumen frowned even as she guessed at what the woman wasn't saying.

Something illegal she imagined. Perhaps illegal trading? Hiring of outside mercenaries for protection?

"We are not judging," Lumen spoke gently. A small sideways look to Sable. "We were sent to figure out what happened to a missing Urahil. Not to investigate the town."

"Bernard had eclectic tastes. He came here with a hunting group. We saw him two weeks ago disappear into those woods. I can show you the general area he went in but no one from that group has returned. And you have to realize," she looked between Lumen and Sable. "This is not a rare occurrence. Many who go in there don't come back."
 
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A suspicious brow slowly quirked its way upwards as Sable listened to the weathered woman speak. The looks from the townsfolk, the mayor's squeamish behavior, and now this unfinished thought: "We do what we must to survive."

Sable briefly met Lumen's glance; she'd likely realized it as well. These people had something to hide.

He folded his arms across his chest.
"Of course we'll do our best to find the missing, but..." a hand came up to rub his chin thoughtfully, his expression dour. "If these disappearances are so common, why not alert the Guard sooner? Why let it continue?"
 
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The question Sable asked got a strained, sharp laugh coming from the Mayor's lips. She quickly stopped though and dipped her head in respect. "Vel Anir is a mighty country but every country has limited resources. Vel Cirak takes much of the help I imagine would be reserved for us. We are not even a Vel name."

She pointed out to Lumen and Sable.

Lu's jaw clenched. Everything the Mayor was saying made sense. But she didn't have to like it. Nor necessarily trust it.

"Please do not make me phrase something more that could be considered...treasonous."

Lumen loosed the breath she was holding and leaned forward.

"Is there a guide or someone else you can offer to help us navigate the path the hunters took?"

The Mayor drummed her fingers along the table before they stilled. "You are more than welcome to ask Oscar. He used to be a tracker. Long retired. But he is probably your best option."

Lumen looked to Sable to see if he had anymore questions before thanking the mayor for her time.
 
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Right...the world was hardly a fair place. Every day served to remind Sable that the romantics of the novels he'd so loved would only ever be fiction. Reality could never be so bright.

"Any other details you can share with us would be appreciated, ma'am. The more prepared we are, the better the chance we can bring your people home," he didn't dare add "alive" to the end of the statement. Sparking that kind of hope when the odds were so low was cruel, at best. Closure was likely the kindest thing they would be able to offer the people of Umanji.

"Otherwise...it's best we get started."
 
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The mayor didn't have much else to share. It was clear this kind of thing happened a lot here. This time it just so happened to garner the attention of the Anirian authority because it was a nobleman who'd disappeared. Lumen just hoped it wasn't the werewolves that were fabled to plague the woods around Vel Cirak.

"Do you think there will be fallout if we can't even find Urahil's body?" Lumen leaned in to ask Sable as the Mayor left them. She paused, tawny eyes searching Sable's face before adding the last part. Even as she stood. They still had an old tracker to find before they want galivanting into the woods.

"I know maybe it isn't the right time to say this. But Sable? I'm glad the sent you. And that...you're you again."
 
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That was that. Not much to go off of, but not the least Sable had ever had to work with, either. It looked like the two Dreadlords would just have to lean on each other this time around...somehow he doubted this tracker would be terribly reliable.

Sable held his stare at the mayor as she departed, scanning for any last signs of uncertainty from the woman. Was everyone in this town so on edge?
"I'm not sure...depends on how important of a Urahil he was, I think," Sable answered half-jokingly, finally breaking away to glance down at Lumen.

He smiled and rubbed the back of his head at her follow up.
"Heh...I appreciate that, Lumen. It's good to have the chance to make amends," he said with a shrug. He hadn't gotten the chance to know her properly the last time they'd worked together, but first impressions implied that she was one of the good ones.
 
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Her gaze snagged on his smile and what it did to his face. It was...nice. Tawny eyes flitted away as she squared her shoulders. "Do you think this has anything to do with Gilram?" She couldn't help but wonder how many things circled back to the master-minded ex-dreadlord. The one that had disrupted Sable's class and shaken the very foundation of the Academy since.

The biggest thing since the Revolution itself.

Lu led the way back out of that small Inn. Hand resting on the hilt of her scabbered word as she paused at their horses. "I ran into Edric, once. He warned me that I should take all my friends and leave Vel Anir. I don't know where he is now but...I wish there had been more I could've done to help him. To help the rest."

A long, slow exhale as she looked back up at Sable.

She was a protector and there was always a certain weight that went along with that. That same weight when she felt like she couldn't do that very thing. She imagined he felt it like her. Perhaps different. Probably more so since he had shared a class with so many of those who had left to join Gilram or disappeared. But then again look at Caeso. Every class had their own burdens to carry.
 
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Sable cocked a brow at Lumen's little glances, but made nothing of it. Her words gave him pause, though. He hadn't really considered the possibility of the man who brought an impromptu end to the Bloody Graduation causing disappearances in an Anirian backwater.
"I...suppose it could. I haven't heard hide nor hair of Gilram and his lot since they fled Vel Anir, but anything is possible. Especially for a dastard like him."

He followed Lumen pensively, wondering what might motivate such a scheme.

Then came the mention of Edric. There was a time where just that name would set Sable's heart boiling and his jaw tight, but now it merely left a feeling of pity and disgust swimming though him. A sigh escaped him.

"Edric knows nothing, and he doesn't deserve your help. He had his moment to choose between light and darkness, and he willingly took a devil's bargain," he told her calmly. It was a hard truth he'd had to come to accept himself. How many people had Sable tried to save? How many had he failed? "A stubborn, pigheaded fool isn't worth your energy, Lumen. Spend it on those who deserve it, on those who want it. You can't save everyone."

He let a breathy scoff of a laugh loose, remembering all the times he'd lost to Edric in sparring matches back at the Academy.

"Besides, we both know how tough that idiot is. I'm sure he's just fine, wherever he is."
 
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She remembered facing him in the tunnels of Vel Draza. How he'd taken Henk with him over the side of the chasm and into the icy rapids, below. And how both he and Henk had made it out okay.

"Yeah." A shared, knowing look with Sable. "He really doesn't have anything to worry about." And she couldn't help the involuntary shiver that ran down her spine even in the relatively warm air of a slow autumn. He always spoke about caring about his friends. But really, what did he accomplish? In the end, he just left most of them. He abandoned them.

They were approaching a small, dilapidated looking cabin on the edge of the thick woods. Pelts and other animal parts hung in the sun outside.

"What about you, Sable?" A tilt of her head up at him as she walked along his side. "Do you like where you're stationed now? I'm still trying to figure out where best to go." Her gaze flitted away as she ran her fingers through tangles of wheat-blonde hair.
 
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The towering young man walked on, eyeing the old dwelling as the duo drew near to it. Nothing out of the ordinary for these parts, at least at first glance. Hunting was a common profession in these parts, as was tanning and the like.

Sable glanced down at Lumen as she kept the conversation going. She had a very natural, outgoing ease about her that made her quite pleasant to talk to. It was a shame Sable hadn't been able to see that sooner, he realized. The way the light was hitting her also made her look rather picturesque, though he couldn't help but feel momentarily guilty for letting his thoughts wander that direction.

"Vel Castere is a fine city, and the Anirian Knights are a good lot. Sam, Davi, and the others have helped with getting me on the right track. I can't complain, honestly," he answered Lumen, casting another glance and a smile down at her. "What is it you're looking for?"
 
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There was something that all dreadlords had. Not matter if they'd just graduated, were archons, or had decades of service beneath their boots. It was that thing that aged them beyond their years. A sense of maturity brought on by forced experiences. Often called children or young for their age but something in their eyes made folk think twice about how youthful they ever really were.

Lumen saw that maturity in Sable. That cut of his jaw and the thing that probably haunted her own golden, eyes. The shadow that never truly went away.

"I've heard good things about Sam. Don't really know Davi. I'm glad you found good people to be around, Sable." Her steps slowed as they approached the door of the Hunter's cabin. "Honestly?" Golden-eyes flickered back up to his. "I don't know. I'm being stations with the 10th Homeguard after this for a bit. Gonna see how the Eastern Army compares to everything else. I thought about the knights...just trying to figure out where I can help the most people and not sure where that is, yet. If you have any advice or stories, I'd love to hear it."

She raised her hand and hesitated before knocking, giving Sable the space he needed to respond.
 
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Sable followed on dutifully, nodding as Lumen commented on his fellow Knights, agreeing with her assessment. He then watched curiously as his flaxen companion weighed her options.

"I've heard good things about the Eastern Army. Never got a chance to serve with them, but I know some who have. Who knows? It might suit you. Then again," he smiled as he entertained the suggestion he was about to propose. The Anirian Knights really had been what Sable needed. Working with Lumen more often didn't sound too bad, either. "The Knights are very close knit. I haven't felt the level of camaraderie they have to offer anywhere else. I don't know anywhere else in the Anirian army that has that dynamic. Not for Dreadlords."

His eyes had wandered off into nowhere as he'd explained, a hand once again rubbing the back of his head, only to fall back on Lumen once he'd reached his logical conclusion:
"Couldn't hurt to give us a shot too."
 
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“Yeah,” a warm smile at the Knight. “Wouldn’t hurt to put that in as my next request.” She knew she could learn a lot from them. From Sable. It took a lot for a man to apologize for their actions, even under a curse. For anyone to admit they’d been wrong.

She finally managed to take her gaze away from his face and those eyes of his. A knock on the door. From the other side there was a series of curses and banging around. Then a man with more salt in his salt and pepper hair. He had a long, tangled beard with dark eyes.

“What the hell do you want?”

“I’m Lumen and this is Sable. The Mayor said you might be able to help us and show us what path Bernard Urahil took before he and his group disappeared. And we’d appreciate any thing you can tell us that you remember that day.”
 
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The towering young man had only a moment to go from the big grin he wore with Lumen to a professional, neutral look, facing forward. The shack's denizen was as disheveled as the dwelling itself, with an attitude to match. Folks out here certainly weren't the most amicable bunch.

Lumen led the conversation for now; that was good. She was clearly capable and charismatic, and dealing with citizens was to forever be part of a Dreadlord's job in the days of the Republic. Still, Sable felt he knew the man's type based solely on that "greeting." He stood politely, hands clasped behind his back...for the moment.
 
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The man sneered and spit at their feet.

"Fuk off," he said clearly not scared of Dreadlords or what it would mean.

Lu's golden brows nearly disappeared into her hairline. Lips parted as she was about to say something else before he slammed the door in her and Sable's faces. She rubbed at the back of her neck, looking at Sable as the superior in this situation.

"Should we just...try to find the path ourselves or?"

Or what?

She wasn't sure. But she trusted Sable to make the right call.
 
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Well...that went about as well as could have been expected.

Sable cast a sidelong glance towards Lumen.

"That depends...do you fancy the idea of me breaking this poor bastard's door down?"

He doubted acting the part of bully would be particularly productive to their goals, but neither did wandering around in the forest without a guide. In fact, it seemed like a one way ticket to joining every other missing search party. Flexing the authority of the Dreadlords might've been the only way to get someone this reclusive to help.
 
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"I don't know," she said quietly. Sometimes Lumen took for granted that she was easily liked by most folk. Her charisma was natural. Not so far with her short interaction with this man.

Her shoulders squared.

They had a mission to do and this was the right thing to do. They didn't have many other options.

"Good knight bad knight?" The corner of her mouth twitched as she stepped back and motioned to the door. "Let's see what happens." Worst case scenario, they could still venture into the woods on their own if this old hunter wasn't intimidated.
 
"I can play the part, certainly," Sable replied. He was not keen to do so, but he was no stranger to his own imposing appearance. His build was hardly just for show, either. His ideals in the past as a protector had encouraged him to bulk up, and bulk he did.

Sable steeled his expression and stood up straight, then pounded hard on the shack's door with his fist. He waited for several seconds, but when no response came he glanced towards Lumen. Time to be a bit more forceful.

The young Dreadlord reeled back and kicked hard against the door, driving his heel hard near the lock. A cracking could be heard as the bolt shorn through the doorframe, the door itself partially caved in from the weight of Sable's kick.

The old man was sat in a chair a couple of yards into the interior, shock written all over his face and a jug of what was almost certainly hooch in his hand.

"Now then," Sable growled. "Why don't we try this again, Old Timer?"
 
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"I'm Lumen. This is Sable," Lumen stepped quickly around Sable's knightly form. A hulking weapon successfully making an intimidation check on this half-drunken old hunter.

"We can't leave until you help us. Show us where you last saw those others before they disappeared into the woods. And," a glance up at Sable and back to the man. "we'd rather not do it the hard way."

A small, internal wince even as her jaw set in determination at completing this mission.

"Okayokay," the old man stammered and stood. A look of fear in his eyes at Sable. "Follow me. I'll show you where their path left off just please sir, don't go banging down the rest of my house."

Lumen wanted to point out that had he cooperated to begin with, this wouldn't have happened. Instead, she whispered a thanks up to Sable. Her arm brushing across his back in a light squeeze meant to be encouraging. Taking his hooch with him, the man stood and shuffled past them and back outside. Motioning over his shoulder for the pair to follow him.
 
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