Private Tales The Legend's Heir

[Solgrin]

It did not take them long to reach the town that Solgrin had been talking about. At the pace they had set it pushed the beasts, but it at least meant that they made good time. Better than Solgrin would have thought they were capable of.

Within just three days they had traveled hundreds of miles. His hand came up to call a stop at the top of a ridge, a signal that was quickly followed by the others.

The sound of wargs heavily panting entered the air, their boundless energy finally exhausted after the pace of their journey. Solgrin patted his great beast upon the neck, his fingers threading through the creatures hair as he spoke. "That's the town."

He pointed to a small village encircled by an ancient stone wall.

"The Temple is just in that valley." His finger shifted, pointing towards a narrow craggy split of rock a few leagues beyond the town.

 

[Serafina]

Sera pulled up beside Einar who was stood up in his stirrups with an eyepiece raised to try and get a better look. He hadn't been eating well the last few days and a feverish look seemed to now live permanently in his eyes. She was worried and she knew she wasn't the only one. Maria was looking at him like she half expected him to fall out of his saddle. Sera glanced briefly to Sol and gave a meaningful nod.

"Let's take it then," Einar said before anyone could offer their own suggestions.

"Let's just... think things through. It had to be done right so they think we're not coming for them - right?" Sera glanced from Einar to Sol.

 

[Solgrin]

"Right." Solgrin said with a glance towards Einar.

He'd known that the man would become more...erratic the closer they got, but now more than ever such things needed to be reigned in. Emotions like that were liable to get folk killed, not that Solgrin had any real right to talk about such things.

A frown touched his lips for a moment. "Why don't we head into the town first?"

He said calmly.

"Scout." It would go better that way. "Then see how we can best do this quietly."

That was what they needed after all, quiet. They couldn't just run in and burn the place to the ground.

 

[Serafina]

Einar looked on the edge of arguing but eventually he nodded and yanked his warg around to bark orders to the usual scouts. Maria stared after him.

"He'll be okay," Sera said softly and leant over to pat the other woman's arm. Over the past three days the two had grown closer and started a road towards what one day might be called a good friendship. Maria nodded absentmindedly before spurning her warg after the northerner and dogging his heels like a faithful puppy. Sera sighed. "I wish she would just tell him how she felt," it was clear to her - at least - that Maria held far more than friendship for Einar in her heart.

"I think we should go in on foot - maybe take a look at the town whilst the others probe around the edges?" she suggested to the chief.

 

[Solgrin]

"It's not always easy." Solgrin said quietly. "Especially in a group like this."

It was hard with broken people.

So many of them had been damaged before ever going here, had been tossed aside or thrown somewhere. It was hard to admit that sort of thing to yourself, much less someone else. Solgrin knew that as much as any of the others did.

He frowned for a brief moment, then glanced down at his warg. "Yes."

The Bandit Chief said with a nod, swinging himself out of the saddle.

"Think you're right." He chuckled. "Best not scout with the giant monsters in tow."

He patted the beast on the side of the neck. "Let's go for a little walk."

 

[Serafina]

Sera slid down from her saddle and gave Nibbler an affectionate pat on his thick neck before joining Solgrin and setting off down the hillside towards the town itself.

This was more in-keeping with the trade towns she had known. Quite small in reality but compact enough to make it feel bigger than it was, it was full of the usual hustle and bustle. Merchants cried their wares from behind their stalls, the smell of freshly baked bread was soured by the scent of horse shit and stale ale. There was nothing of particular note or anything that stood out to her but she enjoyed it nevertheless because it was new.

"You wouldn't think there were necromancers only a short ride away from how these people are," she said in a low voice to her companion as she paused to look over some jewellery.

 

[Solgrin]

"Yeah." Solgrin said quietly.

There were many magics in this world. Over his years he had seen many of them. Some were holy, others the direct opposite. What he had learned after some time was that the definition of such things often changed with where you were.

In the West there was an entire city of black magic, a place where ritual and sacrifice were a part of life.

That was simply how it was there. Here? The locals preferred to ignore it. They had made their bargain, and that was good enough for them. They lived a peaceful life, undisturbed. Many could not ask for more. "Until you notice the town doesn't have a graveyard."

 

[Serafina]

Sera paused in her inspection of a bracelet and glanced over to the chief who was staring at everything but the jewellery. The noise and buzz of the market hid their conversation well but she still half turned to lean in closer to him to keep it private.

"Ours was always below the city, I suppose I just assumed it was the same..." she held the bracelet up so it caught the sun and gave off the impression she was trying to convince her sweetheart to buy it for her. She turned it this way and that. "It looks the same kind of size as my home, it shouldn't be much of a problem for the group..."

It would be what came after, she assumed, that would be the hard part.

 

[Solgrin]

"Not sure." Solgrin said quietly, glancing around for a few moments with a frown on his lips.

There had been a difference between that and this. Sera's village was not a particularly large one, but it was never really about the size. If was the defenses, how many people, if there was a city watch or not. Plus there was the small problem of what they were there for.

They had come to this place not to kidnap two girls and cause havoc, but for an occupation. They had to hold this place until the necromancers started to get suspicious. Solgrin wasn't entirely sure they could do that.

"Let's go find the mayor." He mused. "See what he's like."

Perhaps there was a way of doing this without all the violence

 

[Serafina]

Sera sighed and set down the bracelet, giving Solgrin her best sullen look for the stall keeper who gave her a pitying smile, before following him back into the crowds. Now he had pointed out that there was something off about the town she was beginning to see it for herself.

For a start, there wasn't a healer. No medicines or the like were being shouted from the stalls and she couldn't see an apothecary either which would usually be right in the centre of the town. She asked someone on her way through and they brushed her off with a comment the Wise Woman was at the town over. They did, at least, point them in the direction of the Mayor.

A tall lanky man who kept mopping his brow of sweat despite the crisp winter chill that was beginning to grip the land once more. He was taking tea and talking to another fellow with grey skin and dark robes.

 

[Solgrin]

The moment Solgrin saw the black robed figure he reached out and grabbed Serafina.

There wasn't a moment of hesitation, not a breath wasted in warning. He simply plucked her off the ground and pulled her into an alleyway that they had been walking besides. His hand immediately covered her mouth, and his voice whispered in her ear. "Don't move."

He hissed.

"One of them is here." Solgrin did not know everything about these men, these creatures. Yet he knew enough not to want to alert them when he didn't have to. Knew enough that they had to be quiet about this. "He'll be able to feel us."

If they weren't careful. If they drew his attention.

 

[Serafina]

Sera gave a muffled cry as he suddenly grabbed her and without thinking she reached for the magic. His whisper barely came in time to stop her from doing something drastic with it and with some effort she released her hold on the source of it. What he whispered kept her mind from lingering on the disappointment of letting it go and instead she motioned for him to let her go, promising to stay quiet. Once he did she subtly peaked round the bend to get a better look. The robed man had his back to them and the mayor was beginning to gesture wildly. Sera quickly ducked back round.

"It looks like they're arguing about something. We should get closer to hear," perhaps it would give them an advantage. "How can he feel we're any different to other travellers?"

 

[Solgrin]

He nodded slowly.

She had a point. They needed to hear what was being said, especially if there was an argument going on. Slowly he shifted, glancing out into the market. "Life."

Solgrin explained.

"Every life has a...signature. A flame." It was a way to explain it. "Most are small flickers, little more than embers. But some lives..."

He trailed off as he searched, then gently pointed Serafina towards a small crowd that had formed near one of the stalls besides the arguing mayor and his companion. "Some burn far brighter than others."

There was no need to say that they were included in said category.

 

[Serafina]

How did you dampen your own life spark? It was a question that occupied the majority of her mind as Solgrin set a hand to the small of her back and guided them over to the crowd gathering by a market stall.

It was a natural thing for people to flock to where a crowd was already gathering and Sera and Sol were not the only ones attracted like a moth to a flame to see what all the fuss was about. As it turned out, the market stall holder was claiming to be selling an elixer to help protect the soul in the afterlife. If she wasn't mistaken many of the people gathered around him looked almost hungry for it.

"What... do they do to the big flames?"

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin didn't listen to the man at the stall.

It was a gift he had learned a long time ago. Tuning some out while listening to others. It was helped that Serafina and him had managed to cloak themselves within the cowl of the crowd. His attention was entirely on the mayor and his 'friend', the animated way that the esteemed ruler of this town seemed to argue with the necromancer.

"They snuff them out." Solgrin answered quietly.

"So that they might add them to their own." He frowned. "Or simply ensure that they cannot spread."

The bandit chief frowned slightly, remembering what Einar had told him about his daughter. She had been a talented girl, a witch of the north. According to the northmen she had wanted to be a healer, someone that could look after the community. A leader, but one that could actually help.

A desire that had been twisted, and then taken.

 

[Serafina]

Sera swallowed the terror rising in her throat and absentmindedly fiddled with the locket around her neck. It was always kill or be killed. Was the whole world like that or just the path she found herself on now? Would she be able to find a corner of the world where she could finally breathe and be herself? Her eyes flickered anxiously between the mayor and the growing crowd. People were clamouring for the elixir now and even the merchant looked taken aback by its popularity. Clearly he didn't know the darker secret about the town.

"Can you hear anything?" she asked, unable to whisper like she wanted to because of the noise of the crowd. Sera quickly stepped out of the way before she was completely mowed down by one voluptuous woman wanting three bottles of the stuff.

"I might be able to use magic but they might sense it..."

 

[Solgrin]

"Don't." Solgrin warned quietly, his gaze flickering down to Serafina for a moment as she spoke of using magic.

His tone was soft, but there was an urgency to it.

She was completely right. The Necromancer would undoubtedly sense any sort of magic she used, especially when they were this close. It was best not to risk that sort of thing, particularly when they were standing in the middle of a crowd. "I can't hear."

He told her softly.

"But I can read the mayors lips." At least from this angle. "It's only one side of the conversation but it'll be enough..."

Solgrin trailed off as he watched the man speak, urgency on his lips.

 

[Serafina]

Sera bit her lip but nodded and left him to focus on the mayor whilst she watched their back with the growing crowd.

"No need to push folks, plenty to go around! Save your soul without ever havin' to step into a church!" The merchant had mounted some sort of box to be seen and heard over the sea of people. "Discount price for today only, 10 pieces of silver and that's cuttin' me own throat!"

"I want three!"

"Two!"

"GIVE ME TEN!"

Sera watched in bewilderment as his stall helper frantically took coins and gave back to hungry hands the small vials. What were they really? Out of the corner of her eye she caught the approach of two guards and gently tugged on Sol's sleeve.

"I think we should get going..."

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin nodded his head, but not because of the guards. "They're not here for us."

He said quietly, quelling the concern that he heard in Serafina's voice.

"But you're right." The Bandit Chief had heard, or rather read all that he needed to know. With a gentle hand he reached out and guided Serafina away from the crowd. There was no problem in their leaving, most people were trying to get to the front, and thus happily let them pass.

As they stepped passed the two Guardsmen they utterly ignored Solgrin and Serafina, drawn almost magnetically towards the crowd.

A frown touched the Bandit Chief's face as they moved away. "We might be doing this village a favor."

He mused quietly.

"Let's get back to the others." Solgrin said, just as the shouting behind them grew even louder.

 

[Serafina]

Sera went placidly where Solgrin's hand on the small of her back guided her, though she glanced over her shoulder every now and then when there was a louder shout from one of the people.

"What do you mean?" she asked curiously when he mentioned they might be doing the people a favour. She hadn't wanted to say anything when this was Einar's mission - their goal was to help him and his daughter - but she had quietly wondered if there was a way to rid the town of their necromancy neighbours too. Surely it would stop something similar ever happening again if they removed the rot entirely, like they had done in the city before.

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin looked around surreptitiously before answering. He wanted to make sure that no one was watching them, no one was peeking out a window or looking around the corner. It might have been paranoid, but necessary in his head.

"This place isn't too happy with our...friends." He said quietly. "At least the Mayor isn't."

One might have thought that was easy to guess at, but the last time he had been here most of the village seemed rather pleased with the arrangement. Something must have changed in that time, though what it was Solgrin couldn't say. "There's something we're missing."

He said quietly.

"But...it won't matter." Solgrin spared a glance. "We'll do our best, for Einar."

That was why they were here after all.

 

[Serafina]

Sera's head listed to the side as she considered that. She supposed if they managed to take the town the mayor might even come forward willingly to speak to them if he saw a benefit to a change of power ownership presented to him. They walked in companionable silence back to the Bandits who had taken it into their own hands to set up a camp back from the ridge in the thicket of the shedding trees. There was still enough greenery to keep their presence from any passer-by unless they were explicitly looking for something out of the ordinary.

Einar stopped his pacing at they appeared from the trees.

"Well?!" he demanded rather gruffly, his fingers stroking the shaft of his axe.

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin looked at his old friend, a small flash of pity crossing over his features as the man impatiently berated the two scouts. ”We may have more luck than I thought.”

The words were likely not what Einar wanted to hear. The northmen was on the edge, clearly wanting nothing less than to storm the Temple below and get back his daughters body. It was an impulse Solgrin could understand, but not one he’d encourage. Not now. ”There is trouble between the Necromancers and the Village.”

He explained.

”We might be best served creating a divide naturally instead of attacking.” Sol frowned. ”But it might take more ti-”

“NO! No more waiting! I ca-I can’t wait anymore.”

It was as if a floodgate had been broken for the man. Now that he was so close there was no turning back, no other choice.

Solgrin frowned, nodding slowly. ”I understand, my friend, but…please, listen. We can do this, but we have to do it carefully. Otherwise we’ll all end up dead.”

What would be the sense in that?

 

[Serafina]

Sera flinched when Einar shouted and took a step back. Her relationship with them all might have grown to something more over the last few months but she still remembered who it was who had manhandled her onto the wargs like she weighed nothing, or who had bound her tightly at night to keep her from escaping. Einar could hold his own even against Solgrin and she had no desire to get caught up between them. The Northerner certainly looked like he wanted to hit something - someone - but as he stepped forward he glanced Sera's way and paused.

Perhaps it was the look on her face, or that she was his daughters age, but he suddenly stopped.

"Fine," he sighed and ran a hand down his face. "What is your plan?"

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin looked at his old friend wearily.

There was no fear, nothing of the sort. He had known long ago that his men would not, could not kill him if they tried. It was a lesson that had been tried more than once. Einar was strong, but he did not bare the curse that Solgrin did.

Still, he did not want to see the northman try. Mostly because of what he would have to do. "We walk in."

Solgrin said simply.

"After the sun sets." He explained. "Then we speak to the Mayor and make him an offer."

Slowly the Chief stepped forward, putting a hand on Einar's shoulder. "Then we get your daughter."