Private Tales The Legend's Heir

[Solgrin]

No one cheered.

No one shouted.

Instead the news was met with an almost grim determination. Some people looked haggard, tired, and others seemed to almost shake with a strange sort of excitement. Yet all of them had accepted the results, knew where this would end.

It was an embrace that reminded Solgrin of soldiers on the field of battle. Many of the villagers had that look in their eye, that cast of...nothingness.

This pact was new to some of them, old to others, and yet it all seemed to be the same. One way or another it would come to an end. The Bandit Chief watched them for a brief moment, then slowly stepped over towards Serafina.

"Okay." He said quietly. "What do we do next?"

He had his own suspicion, his own methods, but they were bloody. Final.

Solgrin hoped Serafina had something else in mind.

 

[Serafina]

Sera let out a quiet sigh of relief when the results were called and shut her eyes to thank the Gods who watched over them.

What do we do next?

She wanted to just bask in the fact this hadn't ended in a bloody battle but Solgrin was right to ask. The sooner this was done the quicker they could weaken the necromancers and get Einar his daughter back, maybe even the others who had been given so cruelly from this town too. People deserved to bury their dead.

"Undoing the bond is actually quite simple," she said and drew out her notes. "On the stone it says if the blood of those who keep the promise alive is renounced then the bond will be ended. We just need them each to give a few drops of blood and renounce the oath."

That, or they had to die.

 

[Solgrin]

There was another clamor through the room. A rush of people talking over each other.

Some sounded scared, others almost accusing. Solgrin could hear them from the stage, lips thinning once more as some of them began to object. His fingers tightened once again, resting on the hilt of his sword as his weariness grew once more.

"We..."​

The voice came from one of those who had stood.

"We'll give the blood."​

That's something. Solgrin thought to himself with some small measure of relief, though the feeling was almost immediately dashed as the man continued.

"But...there's a problem..."​

A frown pulled at the Bandit Chief's lips.

"Two...two of the families are gone. Others who signed the pact I mean. They died out, ages ago. Their bodies taken by those of the Temple and..."​

The implication was more than clear.

 

[Serafina]

Everyone slowly turned back to Sera as though she might have the answer.

"I..." she swallowed and glanced to Solgrin. She wasn't sure what that would mean for the pact. If they were dead then the blood should have run out but if they had been reanimated... did that count? It didn't say on the stone of the families had to be alive. She took a breath and spoke to the crowd.

"Let's start with everyone here, with all of you renouncing it it will weaken them. As for those inside the Temple..." her eyes flickered back to Solgrin. "They deserve to be put to a proper rest. That should break the final part."

 

[Solgrin]

There were a few more grumbles, but no one disagreed. No one lashed out.

To the Bandit chief's surprise most of the people here simply seemed to...to stop arguing. It was as though the will of the community around them was enough to bend them to what they desired. A few milled about uneasily, but most followed Serafina's direction.

Solgrin for his part simply stood still.

The Ritual could not be completed in the moment of course, but every single family gave their blood willingly. Serafina took a small needle, took a sample in a vial, and that was that. By the time dusk struck, every single family that had partaken in the pact offered their blood.

Now it was only those who had ventured into the temple.

"Well." He said quietly, sitting on the small stage. "That went well."

Now it was the next step that worried him.

 

[Serafina]

Sera sat down beside him with a solid thump. Most of the villagers had begun to make their way out with Marion offering to host a small celebration at the inn. The young girl felt too tired to be excited and joyful for them in this moment like the most were. She just wanted to sleep. With a soft sigh she lay her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"Far better than I thought but... I'm glad. I'm so tired of death," she murmured softly so their conversation would stay between them.

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin hesitated.

The Bandit Chief wasn't sure how to tell her the truth. Wasn't sure how to break the news that blood was...blood was coming whether she wanted it or not.

There was always death on a path that included him. Always crimson to be spilled. That was the fate of Solgrin Argos. The Once general. The once chief of bandits. The butcher. For that was which was tied to his soul. Blood and death.

He had no doubts about it. "Yes."

Finally the lie slipped from his tongue.

"Me too." The truth came easier.

He was tired. So very tired of blood. Of death. Yet he knew it was a fate he could not escape. One that would follow him until the curse finally unwound the last of his life.

It was his truth.

 

[Serafina]

Sera let herself enjoy the quiet moment alone with him as the final few bandits eased out of the old town hall and back to the pub to join in the festivities.

"I think... I might skip the drinking tonight," she said eventually and raised her head to look up at him. Those impossibly blue eyes drifted between his. "I think... tomorrow might be a hard day," she didn't want to say that there might be fighting. But she saw it there in his eyes, that prowling wolf waiting for blood. Einar would no doubt be the same.

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin nodded his head, still trying to hide the slight flicker of trepidation that lingered within him.

He knew blood was coming.

There was a sense to it, always had been. Something that settled in the gut and lingered there. Lips thinned, but he broke them into a smile as he gently grabbed Serafina's shoulder. "Bed then, or a little light reading."

The Bandit Chief urged softly.

"You still have a book or two." She had taken many from the fortress after all. "I'm sure they're more interesting than ancient pacts."

 

[Serafina]

Sera laughed and then leaned over to kiss his stubbled cheek.

"A bath and a book sounds great," she agreed and slid off the stage edge where they had been sitting and enjoying the moment. Then she would be able to just collapse into bed without much thought for worrying. Sleep would claim her quickly and that, really, was what she needed.

"Are you coming..?" she asked softly, holding her hand out towards him.

 

[Solgrin]

For a brief moment Solgrin seemed to hesitate. A greater part of him still felt the weight of duty, obligation. There had been killings, murder of his men. Such a burden was not easily forgotten, not even in moments like these.

His gaze flickered to one of the other doors.

A part of him wanted ot see to his men, assure them that it would all be okay...but most of them already knew that. Even now they trusted him, and many knew that when they were done here their own greater desires would be seen to.

Solgrin had promised.

He didn't break promises. "I am."

The Bandit Chief said finally, forgetting for once the mountain of responsibility that sat upon his shoulder. A feat that Sera was helping him accomplishment more and more.

 

[Serafina]

Sera's smile deepened until it creased her eyes when he stood and took her hand. She knew she was only a tiny part of his life and that his men probably had a far greater section in his heart, but these moments when he chose her.... Well they meant something to her. Her fingers twined with his and quietly she led him back to the inn and round the back where the quiet steps were. They could avoid most people entering this way.

Once in their room she quietly shut the door behind them and bid him sit down. Once she was sure he wouldn't spring off on a murderous spree she ran them both a bath.

Soon she was shrugging off her robes and sliding one leg into the warm water.

"Coming?" she quirked a brow.

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin walked along with Serafina.

As he watched her quietly undress, slip off her robe, he couldn't help but feel that pang of guilt once more. That press in the back of his mind as he wondered what he had done to deserve this.

Should he not have been paying for his sins?

Should he not have been bound in some dungeon? Tortured, strung up and pressed with hot knife and tongs? It would have been a more fitting fate for him. Rendering him as little more than an invalid. He deserved no better fate.

He knew that.

Yet here he was.

Despite it all, despite the truth that sat at his heart, he was only human. No fool sought out their own punishment, no one of any right mind. "Of course."

The Bandit Chief as he stepped forward, stripping off his own clothes. Pushing away the guilt once more.

 

[Serafina]

Sera's smile blossomed into a radiant beautiful thing and she slid the rest of the way into the tub, taking up one end so that Solgrin could have the other. Once they were both settled and the water stopped being quite so choppy she picked up one of the thick sponges and began to rub herself clean.

"Who is next, after Einar?" she asked curiously. She wasn't sure if the chief had a plan of action, an order that made sense to him and him alone, or if it was a matter of random factors like where they were on the map and the season.

 

[Solgrin]

The question made him flinch slightly.

Not because it was wrong to ask, not because it was in anyway even…strange, but because he'd been wondering that very same thing. There were three dozen of them, a little more in total. All of them had their grievances, things they wanted to redo, change. He knew that.

Yet where did the priority fall?

Einar…Einar had been with him almost since the beginning. A long time now, the two of them had fought and killed together for almost as long as Solgrin could remember. Few of the others could claim that place at his side.

"I'm not sure." He answered truthfully. "I didn't really…I haven't considered how I'd…"

His head shook. "Maybe those whose need is most pressing."

Solgrin said softly.

"Kit still wants to find his father's sword. Galdric wants his vengeance. Maria…" Solgrin shrugged slightly. There was no end of scores to settle, grudges to uphold.

Lives to take.

 

[Serafina]

Sera frowned at the flinch but schooled her face so her concern wasn't quite to evident.

"Maybe you could draw names from a hat," she offered and gently stretched across the small gap that separated them to offer up the sponge once she was done with it. She wanted the whole thing to be as easy as could be for Solgrin. The weight on his shoulders was something even the strongest of men would bow under one day and whilst she admired that he wanted to do something to repair the wrongs he had committed, she didn't wish for it to be at his expense.

"You know they are all happy to wait their turn, Sol."

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin chuckled.

Even the idea of him standing in front of the lot of his men and pulling out slips of paper was comical. She was right, most of them would be happy to wait, eager, but more than willing to simply have him say that it was finally their turn.

It wasn't like they were going to kill him if they had to take another week. Another year even.

The Band trusted him. Though him almost infallible. "Maybe."

He said quietly.

"Maybe it will come to that." Solgrin said with a shake of his head. "But...I think there's got to be a better system."

There had to be. "I think I...I just need to take a closer look."

 

[Serafina]

Sera's whole face lit up with an inner light when Solgrin laughed, even if her idea had been a serious one. His idea was naturally superior to her own and she nodded in agreement, but deep down she wished he would give over some of the weight he bore on his shoulders. Why not leave some things to chance instead of making another task for himself? She stifled a sigh and - mindful of sloshing water - shifted herself so she could press her back against his chest instead of sitting opposite.

The magic in her pulsed at the skin to skin contact.

"I've been thinking of my day," she murmured. That's all she'd asked for. One day. "I've been reaching of beaches and the ocean," neither of which she'd seen having lived in the mountains her whole life. "I think I'd like to go there for the day."

 

[Solgrin]

He raised an eyebrow. As far as requests went, that was a...very small one. There were a million beaches in this world, Solgrin had even seen more than a few of them. They were...well, they were expanses of sand and water. Not much too them.

"An easy one." Solgrin said with a slight smile.

One that would be fulfilled likely before Serafina ever got her turn. More than a few of the crew would want to travel far, and the best way of doing that was by the sea. An extra day spent at the beach? Well that wasn't too hard was it.

"Any beach in particular?" He asked. "Or just a beach?"

For a moment he mused, then added. "They're usually better where it's warm."

 

[Serafina]

Sera laughed softly and trailed her fingers down the inside of his right leg where it was braced against her.

"I was reading about the islands in the Trident. Apparently water dragons roam the waters and make sure their rivers are always fresh, and that there are plenty of fish in the sea for the people there to catch. But the beaches are meant to be full of sand that is almost white and the sea is meant to be so clear you can see right down to the bottom," as she described it her voice took on a far away and dreamy note like she was able to see it in her minds eye stretched out before her.

"They have these treehuts on stilts, and some are even over the water so you can simply dive straight into the sea when you wake up and go for a swim."

Of course, she would need to learn how to swim first.

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin smiled, ever so slightly.

"I've heard of them." He admitted quietly. There was little of the world that he had not heard of. Small sections, small pieces. Dreams that remained of some who would have hidden away their truths from the Bandit Chief.

Yet the way Sera spoke of it all was almost a dream.

A picture painted far away. Something to be reached for, something calm that swam among the sea of chaos. Solgrin smiled, then nodded his head.

"Not too difficult a request to fulfill." He remarked again. "Just a venture across Liadain, and a few gold coins."

Easier than stealing a corpse from a guild of necromancers.

 

[Serafina]

"It would be nice to have a day where we do... nothing," she said softly then ran the sponge along the back of her neck before tilting her head back to look up at him. Her eyes softened as she smiled at the sight of him.

"Is there anywhere you've ever really wanted to go?" Sera asked curiously. To the small town girl it seemed like Solgrin had seen everything there was to see in the world. "Aside from the mountains you mentioned," she couldn't recall the name but remembered he had mentioned it was where he wanted to be when the curse finally claimed him.

 

[Solgrin]

He smiled gently.

A day of nothing sounded like a myth, a miracle. Something that he might achieve when the Gods finally came down from the heavens. His life had never been nothing. There was always something to be done, always a task or mission to be completed.

Solgrin's entire existence was one event after another, some by choice, some not. "A hard question."

He admitted quietly.

"I've seen much of the world." Solgrin said. "Much of it soaked in..."

Lips thinned, but he bit his tongue. "I would like to see...I would like to see some of what I have left behind in my past. Places that might be better now."

That he hoped were better.

 

[Serafina]

Sera turned and nearly sent water sploshing everywhere.

"Oh!" she had heard stories of Solgrin... before. Before he had been hell bent on revenge. Not from his own lips but from Maria's or Einars or the other bandits who had known him the longest. Of a time when he had helped destitute towns and people suffering hard times. "I would like to see that too," she agreed. "Know more of your past..." she felt like he knew everything there was to know about her and she still so little about him.

"At least when we leave here you'll know you've left it a little better off."

 

[Solgrin]

How much more of his past did she want to know? How much would she want to see after she learned the few remaining truths.

The ruins he had left behind outnumbered the palaces.

Perhaps that was part of why he wanted to do all of this. Why he wanted to help the others and see to their care. He wanted to leave...he wanted to leave behind a good memory. Exactly as Serafina had said. Many would hate him, despise him, but perhaps a few would not.

"One of the few places." He remarked quietly.

Though he would have struggled to name others. "Least these people made a choice."

Something he was glad for.