Private Tales The Legend's Heir

[Solgrin]

"Friends of a friend." Solgrin said with a grimace, closing his eyes and wrenching out the rest of the arrow.

His own healing would close the wound first, but he had to break off the first part before it could. Lips thinned, and blood spilled onto the cushions below him. He drew Nyx's face into his memories, marking it, searing it into his mind.

The Bandit Chief would not forget her.

"There are wolves in this world, Sera." He said quietly, nearly inaudible over the sound of galloping hooves. "Wolves who have not yet learned that they are the prey."

He dropped the bloody arrowhead onto the ground, shifting his sword as a call went up.

"Riders! Riders behind!"​

Solgrin shifted, grabbing the edge of the door as he began to pull himself onto the edge of the Carriage once more.

 

[Serafina]

Her hands tightened on the bow as she watched the agony on his face.

His words made her heart gallop almost in time to the horses hooves outside; they could easily apply to the Bandits as much as the soldiers approaching them. Which would be the prey today? Solgrin would never give in that much she knew and from what he had said of this curse he wouldn't die until her magic ended his life. But that didn't mean life would go smoothly for the either of them until he got what he wanted.

"Wait," surprisingly it was Violet who spoke. She reached and grabbed a hold of his arm, her fingers sliding in the blood spattered on the metal of his plate. "You can do more from here than hanging off the side," she pointed to the roof of the carriage. To Sera it looked as plush and decadent as the rest of the carriage but Violet's fingers pointed out the very subtle hinges. "They have them in most carriages now, for a get away if there's an attack."

Sera had to go on her tip toes to unfasten the lock but the hidden door flew open without much resistance leaving a hole in the roof. She glanced to Sol and begun to let the magic build within her.

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin hesitated for a moment, glancing up towards the top of the carriage.

The girl was undeniable correct. Magic would be far more effective than a sword. Still, the impulse didn't always come quickly for him, and it took the Bandit Chief a second to process just how it could be done.

He glanced briefly towards Serafina.

Lips thinned, and then he grabbed the hatch on top of the ceiling. His sword slipped into it's scabbard, sheathed in one quick motion as he looked down at the girls one more time. "Keep your heads down."

He reminded them.

This would not be an easy fight.

Undeniably the Knights were after Serafina, but the two girls were close enough in the carriage that a target didn't really matter. Both of them had to stay down if they were to avoid any stray arrows. Particularly while the carriage was on the move.

With a grimace and a shot of pain through his side Solgrin latched onto the ceiling and pulled himself up and onto the top of the carriage.

 

[Serafina]

Serafina watched him go whilst wringing her hands and feeding him the steady stream of magic he would need to fight. She wanted to do more. Help more. Her eyes flickered to Nyx's lifeless eyes staring mutely at her and she reluctantly allowed Violet to tug her down to the floor of the carriage. People kept dying for her. It was a feeling she was never going to be comfortable with, especially when she knew all they wanted to do was use her. It felt as senseless as fighting over a strip of land or a castle. It made her feel so tired.

"Giving yourself up isn't going to stop this," Violet said, reading the demons in her friends eyes. "It'll just be someone else hounding those men for you, and then more hounding them," she sighed and gathered her close into her arms. "I should have protected you better, Sera. I'm sorry."

Sera was about to ask her friend what exactly she meant by that when the horses pulling the carriage gave a shriek as the ground opened up in front of them.

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin reacted in an instant.

Quietly he thanked the extra practice that he and Serafina had gone through, the hours they had spent trying to perfect the use of her magic. Before that he had been able to conjure destruction. He had been able to smite those on the ground and quell flames with rain.

Now though? Now he could do so much more.

It didn't come as naturally, not as easily. He was a soldier, a killer, a murderer. The Impulse to create and help did not come easily, but here it would protect them.

As a cavernous opening suddenly dipped into the road, some sort of magic or work of man pulling away Solgrin pulled along that string of magic. It tugged towards him, and then suddenly the earth itself shifted. With a loud quaking rumble the ground moved, forming a bridge just as the Carriage rolled over it.

"FIRE!"​

The shout went up, a swarm of arrows lancing out from the trees.

 

[Serafina]

Solgrin might have learnt how not to drain her of her magic in one go but it was still disorientating when he did use her. It was only Violet's arms around her that stopped her from hitting the side of the carriage as the horses dove over the bridge. Not that that was any good to either of them as the arrows came hurtling through the sky. They thudded into the side of the carriage turning it into the perfect imitation of a porcupine. Two more hurtled through the window. One punctured Nyx's corpse further but the other drove through Violet's upper arm.

"Violet!" blood gushed down her arm staining her dress. Sera tore at her own dress, attempting to stem the flow of blood by wrapping it around the wound. Her friends face was devoid of colour and her eyes wide with shock.

Outside soldiers were beginning to form up on the other side of the earth bridge to meet the Bandits head on.

 

[Solgrin]

The soldiers did not last long as the ground beneathed them suddenly slipped away.

It was a maw born of the earth itself, teeth of stone and rock reaching out and ripping at flesh. The sound of crunching armor echoed out into the air as Solgrin drew upon more of the magic, his gaze flickering over those around them.

He watched as another of his men was shot from his warg, the armor he had just received yesterday clanking loudly as he fell.

"ENOUGH!" His voice boomed, and time seemed to stall.

His fingers flickered for a brief moment, sparks of lightning lancing between his palm. Then the electricity bounded forward. It jumped towards the nearest soldier, then jumped to the next, then to the next. A dozen men fell in the beat of a heart.

Screamed echoed out, and the hoof-boots of the carriage were the only thing that echoed out as the party finally escaped into the forest.

 

[Serafina]

The world wavered.

Serafina put a hand on the wall of the carriage and slipped due to the slick blood that coated her palm. The magic she had had built up for Solgrin's use was beyond spent and her head pounded with the exertion. She couldn't focus on that now though, not with Violet looking as white as a sheet and struggling to keep her eyes open. It had to be shock.

"Stay awake," she cupped her friends cheek with her other hand, smearing blood over her skin. "C'mon Violet, we'll stop and then Solgrin can heal you but you have to stay awake."

The carriage seemed to lurch on for another mile or so before eventually coming to a stop - no doubt to put distance between them and any soldiers who might have attempted to follow them. It was Einar who eventually opened the carriage door looking worse for wear. Alarm widened his eyes when he saw the blood, trying to discern who it was bleeding before uttering a curse.

"Medic!"

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin remained on top of the carriage for quite a while.

He watched the road around them like a hawk, peering through the woods and searching for anyone or anything that might approach them. His fingers were tight, his muscled taught as he watched the woods with untold paranoid.

After a mile they came to a stop, Einar pulling open the door to the carriage. His voice echoed out quite loudly, and Solgrin slipped down from the top of the carriage with a quiet thud.

"Move." Solgrin said as he pulled Einar away.

He glanced towards Serafina, then towards Violet. The girls blood was spilling forth, the arrowhead barbed and buried deep within her flesh. "Move her here."

Solgrin said as he motioned to the bench.

 

[Serafina]

Serafina forced herself to stand and dragged her friend with her, mindful of the wound in her arm. They probably resembled drunkards as they stumbled their way out of the carriage. Violet's head lolled against her friends shoulder and every now and then her legs buckled beneath her. She'd lost too much blood. The thought kept running around in her head like a frantic bird which she tried to ignore.

When they finally got to the bench Sera collapsed to her knees next to her friend breathing heavily. She was exhausted.

"Sol will fix it," she whispered as much to herself as to Violet who whimpered with the pain. She stroked her fingers over her friends hair and bit back the tears.

 

[Solgrin]

Healing was not exactly something that he did well.

Whether it was the lack of practice or the fact that...well he simply did not generally mesh with the 'vibes' of healing they hadn't been able to tell.

Yet Violet was hurt, and for Serafina that mattered. It was a pain, an urgency that he could understand. Had he been able to save Nyx he would have done the same, had Einar been injured he would have done the same. There was a panic, a certainty, a need to save those around you.

"Hang on." Solgrin said as he concentrated.

Serafina would feel that pull of magic once more, that tugging of power as Solgrin reached out and drew upon the power he had.

There was a pulse, and then the wound began to heal. It was slow, far more so than it would have been with any experienced healer. Yet Solgrin did his best, pulled the wound together inch by inch.

 

[Serafina]

Serafina’s vision swam as he drew on the empty well inside of her but she gripped the wood of the bench and held herself upright. She would weather it all to heal those who needed it. People had died for her, again, the least she could do was give them every last drop of magic she had in her.

Violet groaned with the pain as the arrow shaft was removed and whimpered at the sensation of her skin knitting together. When it was done she was panting but there was at least colour in her cheeks again. Sera gave a small sob of relief and rested her forehead against hers.

"Thank you," she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment to stop any tears leaking out, then glanced to Sol and beyond to the other Bandits. More than half looked worse for wear but Maria was patching up the less serious wounds. Forcing herself to her feet she swayed and then wiped the blood off her hands. "They need our help too," she barely waited for Sol to agree as she marched towards those with the angry arrows buried deep within them.

 

[Solgrin]

The healing took time.

It was an hour before Serafina and Solgrin were able to rest, and hour before the Bandit Chief found himself sitting atop a small boulder. His head was in his hands, fingers tight against his own features as he took small shallow breaths.

Nyx's body lay before him, along with three others.

More were dead, the honor guard now reduced to only a dozen after the attack. Solgrin muttered a small phrase under his breath, something that could be mistaken for a prayer. His eyes shut, and he drew in a breath as his head shook.

"Just another step." Solgrin said quietly as he drew his bloodied hands away from his face.

There was always another step. He just had to make himself take it.

 

[Serafina]

"Here," Sera hadn't stopped at just helping Solgrin by summoning as much energy as she could. She'd bandaged wounds, fetched water and helped with building a fire to bring it to boil. She'd also managed to carrel some Bandits not badly hurt into helping her unload some of their supplies where she knew their food had been stored. It was the hastily made stew she held out towards Sol now.

"You need to eat," she made as if to cup his cheek and then seemed to hesitate. Whatever was between them was still as murky as swamp water to her. Instead she settled for taking his hand and pressing the warm bowl into it. "Maria said the injured would be reading to move out in the morning," he probably already knew but she couldn't bring herself to look at the corpses; her guilt was already overwhelming.

 

[Solgrin]

"Mm." Solgrin said with a nod, glancing down at the food for a brief moment and studying it as though it would reveal some sort of secret.

He frowned for a moment.

An impulse ran through him. A impulse to turn back and wander to the village that had been left behind. He knew who was behind this. Knew who was at fault for Nyx's death. Avenging it seemed only right, seemed like the thing to do.

His fingers clutched the bowl tighter. It seemed to shake, as if threatening to crack. Not yet.

He thought to himself.

Gem first. Solgrin looked up. Then we burn him.

And everyone else in that town. "Tell them not to rush, we need time to polish up and fix..."

Solgrin gestured at the carriage which looked much like a porcupine in that moment.

 

[Serafina]

Serafina perched on the rock beside him with her own bowl of stew. She looked as though she had been a part of the fight; blood still stained her dress which was torn and her cheeks were hollowed out making the dark smudges under her eyes more stark. Yet despite that the smile she gave him was warm, even if it didn't quite reach her eyes like usual. She put a hand on his knee and gave it a slight squeeze.

"We'll sort it. Besides, the ball is tomorrow night..." which was their shot at getting the other part of the gem. She had hoped their arrival today would mean she could have had a night to gather information and plan with Violet and Nyx... her throat constricted. "Eat," she nudged him. It was better not to dwell on those thoughts. Listening to her own advice she began to spoon the stew into her mouth.

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin did, albeit slowly. "I'm sure we'll have time."

He mused quietly, though it was obvious his mind wasn't quite there.

The Bandit Chief had lost people before of course, dozens, perhaps even hundreds over the years. Despite that though some hit harder than others. He'd always liked Nyx. She'd been quiet, sullen at times, but one of the good ones.

Lips thinned for a moment, and he took a breath.

"Will have to do some recruiting soon." Solgrin said grimly. Their numbers were dwindling now, and although they would have more of the gem soon, magic could only do so much. They needed more protection.

 

[Serafina]

Serafina's spoon slowed and she hesitated before putting it in her mouth. Chewing gave her time to think through the idea of recruitment. From what he and other Bandits had told her they had all joined in different ways, but the majority of them had joined after some great conflict where Sol had proved himself a leader worth following. She wasn't sure she wanted for there to be such an occurrence.

"I'm sure Einar and Maria could find some people where we're going," big towns attracted all sorts after all. Perhaps there would be a handful who were disgruntled with their current lives enough to leave it all behind. Her eyes flickered to the bodies on the ground and she took a deep breath before forcing herself to take another bite. It tasted sour.

"Should I have let him try... the power? Do you think that would have stopped this?"

 

[Solgrin]

He nodded his head in agreement.

Finding recruits was never a problem. Not with the promise of gold and silver. The trouble was always with getting quality recruits. For his band that was sometimes hit and miss. In the past it had not been so important.

He had needed raiders, killers. Now? Now things were different. He needed people that he could trust, those that would serve loyally and not betray them at the top of a hat.

It wasn't impossible, but the task would be difficult. "I will set them to it."

The Bandit Chief said quietly as he considered, glancing down at the stew for a moment. He took another bite when Serafina spoke, the spoon resting on his tongue for a moment before he glanced at her.

"No." He told her simply. "Men fall to pride, to greed, to lust all the time."

Solgrin turned to Serafina. "Tellim wasn't any different. He just...needed that nudge."

He frowned. "You can't blame yourself for that."

 

[Serafina]

She nodded as if she agreed but her hands betrayed her. She'd finished the stew and her hands wrung over the top of the empty bowl nestled in her skirts. Serafina might have grown used to the way the Bandits worked - their savagery - but she had settled it in her mind as a necessity of war. Her own part in it though? That she hadn't quite come to terms with. No matter how she turned it or looked upon it the fact remained that for the rest of the life this danger would follow her.

"I'm sorry about Nyx," Sera said quietly, her eyes lowering to the woman's corpse. "I know she was your friend," and that he didn't have many of those already. She felt hopeless having this wealth of power inside of her and being unable to use it. If she had had control would she have been able to save Nyx? Probably not, it had happened all so quickly.

 

[Solgrin]

Friend? Was that was what Nyx had been? It was hard to tell really. Many of those who served under him were close in one way or another. He thought of some of them as sons, as daughters. Others as allies.

The idea of 'friends' never really came to him.

A frown touched Solgrins lips for a brief moment as he looked over at Serafina. He was not quite sure how to respond to her. To accept her sincerity or somehow rebuke the notion. His lips thinned as he considered, and then finally he answered. "She was better than this."

He ultimately decided.

"She had talent. Skill." Solgrin looked over the crowd of bandits that surrounded them. His eyes were judging, in a way, as if weighing the worth of each one of them in turn. "She could have been something more."

Solgrin said quietly. "Had she chosen to be."

Like everyone else, save for Sera and Violet of course, Nyx could have left long ago. The Band was not a prison, and Sol had presented the girl more than once with an opportunity to go. Had offered her gold and silver, yet each time she had refused. This had been her family she'd claimed.

A claim she had died for.

 

[Serafina]

Sera hesitated for a second then placed her hand on his arm and gave it a reassuring squeeze. There wasn't much she could say to make him feel better. It was still too painful to think of the fear she had felt when an arrow had gone through Violet. The threat of losing her... She squeezed again and then slid from the rock. It was always hard to know when Sol wanted to be alone but he would be able to find her if he wanted company. He would always find her.

"There's a stream, I'm going to try get rid of some of the blood," she might not have been able to use her own magic but whilst Solgrin had she had helped bandage and stitch the wounds that didn't require magic. Blood had dried on her face and in her hair. She scratched at a bit on her neck.

"Try and get some rest?" the lilt at the end turned it into a question; ordering him had never worked well. She brushed her fingers over the stubble on his jaw once more and then moved to head towards the stream.

 

[Solgrin]

"Aye." It was not something he would actually do.

Rest could be found when he was dead, when he was done with all of this. As soon as Serafina stood Solgrin looked down at his palms, glancing at where wounds should have been before he drew himself up and stepped forward.

Quickly he moved towards the cart.

The others were already working there, diligently pulling arrows free and patching what holes they could with new boards that had been there as spare. It was work that he knew how to do thanks to his father.

The old man had been a Carpenter. That life had never been for Solgrin, but he knew it well enough. Taking up one of the hammers the Bandit Chief began to set to work with the others, and by the time Serafina returned they were once again ready to travel.

Even if some did not want to.

 

[Serafina]

Sera found another dress in the chests Einar had taken down from the coach before the repairs started. It was just as ridiculous as the one before it but it didn't feel as funny anymore. The mood was sombre when she returned to camp. Maria didn't so much as glance at her and Einar and Kip only gave her a casual nod without their usual smiles. Guilt tore at her and she kept her head down as she made her way over to Violet. She was relieved to see her on her feet and colour had returned to her cheeks. She too had changed gowns and cleared up the blood though she winced every now and then.

"Bruises, nothing more," she soothed before Sera could fret. The blonde haired woman smiled sheepishly at her friend.

"It looks like we're ready to get going again, do you need a hand--?"

"I'm fine Sera," to prove it, Violet looped her arm through her friends and led her back to the carriage.

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin turned his head back as the two girls approached, his brow covered in sweat, his features a mask of exhaustion and an odd sort of pleasure. "Ready to go?"

There was something pleasing about working with your hands, about getting things done and ensuring that everything was where it was supposed to be. The Carriage hardly looked as though it were brand new, but it was better than it had been.

All they had to say was that they had come under attack.

It was an excuse that wouldn't go unnoticed, and in fact might help them. If they could convince their hosts that the land around their city was unsafe it would provide them with a certain amount of shame, something that would benefit them a great deal.

"We have a long way to go." Solgrin said as he drew himself up. "And we're not stopping again."

Not until they were far away from here.