Private Tales The Legend's Heir

A private roleplay only for those invited by the first writer

Serafina

The Heir of Marcell
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Autumn was just beginning to turn the trees in Yarrin beautiful shades of copper, red and burnt yellow. The leaves as they fell created mottled carpets that lined the cobbled streets of the market town and were crushed underfoot as people went about their business. There was nothing remarkable about this day compared to any other which had come before that season. Farmers trundled in on wooden wagons with their crops freshly reaped from the fields, bakers brought out their goods fresh from the oven, and merchants haggled over the top of one another as they attempted to entice new customers to their stalls. There were poor and there were rich, as was always the way in towns such as this, but for the most part it fared betted than its neighbouring towns Lysfar and Kitrel. Their Lady was kinder than their Lords and when times were hard or scarce she did ease the taxes and ensure the people could at least feed themselves.

Yarrin was also lucky for it had not yet seen the hoards of Bandits which apparently had begun to roam the countryside this side of the River Krish.

The townspeople believed themselves to be too far North to be a target on the Bandits radar but even so, wariness had not made them complacent. The town was usually ringed with a wooden wall and in the past few weeks men had worked to strengthen it. Rotten wood was replaced, new arrows and bows made and dotted along the low wall for men to have plenty of ammo should the need arise, and volunteer guards now stomped about enjoying their new position of power. There was a particularly dedicated young fellow who had also installed a bell to ring should Bandits be sighted.

Not that any of those troubles were at all on the radar of one young Serafina Marcell.

"Come on Sera!" Georgina, the seamstress, had a pinched face and dark long hair. She was also a terrible gossip and liked to throw her weight around as one of the more senior Handmaids. Sera puffed out her cheeks which were red from the exertion of running up several flights of steps already and threw a dark look at the shrews retreating back.

"I'm going as fast as I can, I don't see you carrying anything here," her arms were full of piles and piles of beautiful fabric for Lady Violet to choose from for her new gown. "Besides, you have six weeks to make Lady Violet's dress before the Yuletide Ball," no need to make Sera break her neck hurrying quickly up the stairs, the petite woman thought sourly. Georgina either didn't hear her or chose not to and continued with her hurrying words. Bitterly, Sera wished the day would be over soon.
 
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Yarrin had not seen the bandits, but that did not mean they weren't there.

Sol had trained his men well.

When he had stumbled upon the first he had been less than a scrap of a man. When he had met the second she had been a hollow statue of herself. By the time he'd met the third the other two had been fighters and warriors in their own right.

So it had gone.

Each one that joined his Band had been nothing but a wastrel, a fool wandering and stealing. Someone that society had cast out. Solgren had taken them in, had shown them self worth and forged them into something more than they could ever have hoped to be.

That was why they followed him. That was why he had their loyalty. That was why when he lead them into slaughter they did not question what they had done. A village was a drop in the bucket. Women, children mattered not when it was their leader who had given the command of slaughter. Solgren was their leader, and when he did something, he had a good reason for it.

Thus they had lurked within the brush for hours upon hours, waiting, watching, the night beginning to fall all around them.

The village was just ahead, and as dusk set in, Solgren slowly reached up a hand to signal towards the others. The bandits shifted within the brush, and then slowly they began to creep forward. Sol was at their head, his fingers grasping the hilt of his sword as the bandits snuck towards the village. They moved quietly, quickly, and before too long they reached the village wall.

One of the men pushed himself up against the heavy wooden, his fingers interlacing on his knee, Solgren put his foot on the man and quickly clambered up the wall.

He pulled himself up and over, landing on the other side and creeping into the shadows before a guard patrol walked passed where he had been just seconds ago.
 
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"What a mean little woman she is!" Sera exclaimed as she flopped onto the large feather mattress, arms spread out to either side of her. Even sprawled in such a manner none of her limbs came close to one of the edges of the bed. There was a giggle and then the feel of another body falling onto the mattress beside her as her best friend joined her.

"She just has a way of working, Sera. It is best to just go along with it than fight the tide," Violet turned her face to look at her and for a moment the two girls just stared at one another. "It was funny when you pricked her with that needle, I thought she would explode with anger!" The two girls fell about laughing.

Night had fallen thick and fast over Yarrin and it was long past when both young ladies should have been in bed, but they had decided to stay up and talk as they had when they were little. Sera rolled onto her side, hand tucked under her cheek. Laughter still clung to her blue eyes and the curve of her lips but she lowered her voice into a whisper.

"Well she shouldn't have kept doing it to you whenever you laughed at one of my jokes! I would fight... I would fight those Bandits everyone talks about for you Vi."
 
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A muffled scream tried to force it's way out from between his fingertips, hand clamped right over the young Militiamen's mouth as the cool steel of his dagger dragged across his throat. "Sorry lad."

He whispered into the boy's ear as he let his body drop to the floor with a muted thud.

Sol remembered towns like this. He remembered riding through them and collecting taxes, remembered how they had hated him, how they had cursed him beneath their breath and wished him no less than the greatest curse. The hatred in their heart had been pure, and more than once the King had issued him with a decree to put down one revolt or another.

Even the town which had walked themselves had never put up much of a fight, not against him.

Sol gestured towards the man who crept in the dark behind him, motioning for then to come close. He grimaced slightly as the scent of the unwashed bandit that stood next to him entered his nostrils. "Torch the stables. We'll find the girl."

The man was about to step away when Solgren grabbed his arm.

"Make sure it burns." They would need the distraction when they found the girl, and fire was always a good distraction. Slowly the bandits split up, Solgren and twelve men heading toward the building, his eyes casting down to the small gem in his hand which lead the way.
 
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The warning bell began to chime as the flames licked up the stables. The shrill noise was drowned put by the noises the distressed animals were making, drawing attention from every nearby person. The commotion drifted up through to the small keep and brought Sera from the bed. The flagstones were cold beneath her bare feet and she ended up awkwardly hopping to the window to see what all the fuss was about.

"The stables are on fire!" Her blue eyes went wide in horror as she watched a young man try and wrestle a distraught horse out of the flames. Violet scrambled out of bed to join her and they were both witness to the first clash of steel against steel as the Bandits were discovered.

"They're coming for you, we need to hide," Sera grabbed her friends arm desperately and began to look around the room for a suitable place to hide her friend. Vi trembled under her hand, nodding as Sera drew her from the bed chamber into the ante chamber.
 
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The men he had trained were no fools, not pushovers. They did not try to meet the militia in any circumstances that favored them. Each time the two groups clashed the bandits had either numbers or the angle, never engaging for long and always falling back when they had to.

It was what they had planned, talked about.

The point of their attack was not to burn the settlement, it was not to steal riches. They were here for one thing and one thing alone.

Solgren and three others climbed the walls of the Keep, moving through the shadows as fire and combat began to draw attention away from them. They moved quickly, pulling themselves up and through an open window just as Vi and Sera swept into the ante chamber.

A wide grin passed over his lips.

Two men followed quickly behind him, and the sound of blades leaving their scabbards echoed out.
 
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Sera's heart was in her mouth as the sounds of boots hitting the flagstones behind her reached their ears. Violet gave a sharp, shrill shriek as her friend barrelled her quickly behind the large curved seating area. There was nowhere else to go with the wall behind them but picking a corner was certain death. With something between them she might be able to make a dash back for the entrance way and out down the stairs. The sounds of thumping on the outer door told her the guards had heard their ladies cry.

Upon the wall were ornamental blades that had been Violets grandfathers. Sera wrenched one down and pushed her friend behind her valiantly, sword pointing out toward the men as they entered. There was a betraying tremble in her arm.

"Get back," she probably didn't look much in her nightie, blonde ringlets bouncing round her face in a frazzled manner, but there was a venom in her voice that left no doubt she intended to go down with a fight.
 
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Solgren perked an eyebrow, his ehad shaking.

He glanced at the girl for a moment, then looked to the blade. It was said that the most dangerous thing to a swordsman was the unexperenced amateur. A blademaster to could read another of his ilk, see the moves he was about to make, read the forms, but someone who had no clue?

That was dangerous.

It was a good thing then that Solgren had absolutely no plan of actually fighting this girl with a blade. He didn't really need to. The Bandit chief stepped forward, his two men fanning out behind him and stepping around the room to approach from the flank. "Brave."

His voice was gruff, a bare rasp, and the word came quietly as he suddenly stepped forward and simply reached out and grabbed the end of the sword. He moved fast enough that he simply grasped the edge of the sword and wrenched the girl forward.

The back of his other hand came up, striking her across the face with a sudden blow hard enough to send her sprawling to the floor.

"But stupid." He said as his men lurched forward.
 
"DON'T!" Violet lurched forward to help her friend who lay dazed on the floor but was stopped by one of the men who grabbed her firmly and hoisted her off her feet like she weighed no more than a bag of sugar. "Please, don't hurt her I'll... I'll do anything. Is it money you want? Silks?" She pleaded desperately.

Sera's head was ringing and her vision swam in and out of focus. Blood burst on her tongue where her teeth had cut the inside of her cheek and tongue. A bruise was already forming on her pale skin, an ugly black and blue in contrast with it's natural light hue.

"No.." Sera croaked. "Vi, no..."
 
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Solgren glanced down at the gem in his palm for a brief second, the small jewel embedded within his glove so that it wouldn't go anywhere. It pulsed for a second, but gave no other indication. He frowned briefly, and then shrugged. "Bind and gag them both."

The Bandit Chief motion with his left hand, walking towards the antichamber door and scooping up one of the chairs as he went.

With a quick flick of his wrists he slipped his sword back into it's scabbard, using the heavy chair and shoving it beneath the handle of the door to jam it shut. Behind him his two men grabbed the girls, drawing rope from their satchels and quickly grasping wrists.

If they attempted to fight it would be met with swift retribution, a small strike, a grasp of the throat. These men didn't care for more delicate sensibilities.
 
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Violet stood dutifully still, tears spilling down her rosy cheeks as she was bound and gagged. Her gaze never left Sera and wordlessly asked if she was well. The younger girl was still sore from the battering she had just recieved but she still struggled as the man went to jam the gag in her mouth. It was only when he threatened to crush the air from her lungs she opened her mouth. Wearily she gave her friend a reassuring nod even as she panted and coughed.

With the only exit jammed and guards on the other side the only option was the window the Bandits had entered through. Sera found herself being shoved towards it and the sounds of Violet crying told her the same was happening to her friend.

Something was distracting her from the impending horror of being thrown from the window or carried out of it like cargo. It was like an itch in her head which turned into a ringing the longer she was near the gem.
 
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The Bandit Chief took a step steps back as his mind carried the two girl towards the window.

A grappling hook and a length of rope were set into the stone, tossed down as the two men repelled from the stone facet and down onto the ground below. Solgrin followed after them slowly, then suddenly stopped in the middle of the room.

He slowly looked around, scowling slightly as he took in what was in the room. A sneer pulled across his lips, and he stepped over towards the wall. With a wrench he plucked one of the sconces off the wall, pulling it free and then tossing it onto the bed.

Oil and flame spilled across the silken spread, and within just a second fire began to grow within the room.

No smile touched his lips as he followed his men, feet touching the ground as he drew his sword and motioned towards the walls. "Let's go."

They'd gotten what they'd come for.

No reason to stay.
 
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Both girls watched in dread and dismay as the room went up in flames. They had grown up in that room. First it had been a nursery and then a little girls room where they had acted out stories of prince charming rescuing them from a tower. Eventually it had grown into a woman's room. They had cried and laughed in that room and now it was gone.

The man who had Sera over his shoulder hoisted her into a more comfortable position and set off for the wall his Commander had pointed towards. She glanced across at Violet whose face was lit up against the flames. Tears had turned her face red and snotty and with her tousled hair she looked about 10 years younger.

Up and over the wall they went and that was it. Yarrin was gone from view though the noises of its men still floated to them on the wind. Sera couldn't help but wonder if her father was okay.
 
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Solgrin made it over the wall, landing with a small thud and immediately sheathing his sword as he crouched and began to wander away. From his satchel he pulled out a horn, bringing it to his lips and sounding it before they slowly made their way away from the village and back towards the plains where they had come from.

Slowly throughout the village his men began to pull back and retreat.

Militiamen would celebrate, nobles would think the bandits defeated. They had killed a good few of them, some corpses in irregular armor strewn about, but that hardly mattered in the way of things. Not when Solgrin had gotten what he'd come for.

They found where they had left their mounts, not horses as one might expect, but instead strange twisted cannids that looked like wolves.

Worgs they were called, used most often by Orcs in the Blightlands. The girls were practically tossed over the backs of one of these creatures as more bandits returned to the small clearing within the hilly plains. One of them, a man with a long scar over his throat walked towards the girls. His hand slipped into Sera's hair, yanking her head up.

"Which one is it, Sol?"

There was no impatience in his voice, no disrespect. None of that would be found among his men. "I don't know yet."

The Chief said with a shrug.

"But we have to move." Before they realized why the Bandits had truly come.
 
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The wind rushed out of her as she was thrown across the strange creatures back. It turned back towards them with its nose muzzled and growled inches from her face. Fear was a led weight in her stomach and she gave a muffled squeak, attempting to wriggle as far from the thing as she could. The two girls huddled, trembling, against one another and watched the growing group of Bandits with wide fearful eyes.

When one approached Sera squirmed and gave a muffled cry as her hair was yanked back to bring her head sharply up. Tears pricked the back of her eyes but she blinked them back, fixing the apparent leader with her best defiant glare. The man who held her seemed to linger for a moment, his other hand trailing over her cheek and jaw before roughly letting her go.

Tears did fall then and soaked the cloth tied about her mouth as they rolled down her cheeks. As the men around them mounted onto their own grotesque mounts the beast beneath them gave a lurch and they set off across the plains.
 
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There was no doubt in his mind that the men of the town would give chase eventually, though his best guess would be that they would head out at dawn. That of course meant they had some time, and like everything else Solgrin had planned for this.

A mile after they set out, the group of thirty or so Bandits began to split apart.

Three groups, one of a dozen, two of ten carved into different directions. One headed north, the other continued west, and Solgren and his men went south. The Warg's moved quickly, faster than any horse could have.

They rode all through the night until dawn began to peek on the edges of the horizon.

A forest met them, it's trees old and ancient, leaning slightly as it began to stretch for miles ahead. The smaller group cut towards it, eventually coming to a stop as the Wargs finally tired.

Sol was the first to dismount. "Brin."

He motioned to the man with the scar, casting his hand towards the Warg that held the two girls.

"Get them down, throw them over there." He said with a gesture towards a large fallen tree. The man walked over to Sera, grasping her with not a hint of gentleness and throwing her over his shoulder as the rest of the Bandits began to set up camp.

Vi was left behind, at least momentarily.
 
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Sera had learnt to ride at a young age alongside Violet and was pretty used to cross country hunts, sitting side saddle, ducking under branches and lurching from side to side to avoid being smacked in the face. None of that discomfort had prepared her for riding for hours splayed on her stomach being jostled and thrown around, unable to adjust herself to get the creatures spine out of her ribs.

It was such a relief to come to a stop that she didn't protest when she was picked up like a sack and deposited by the tree. The hours had given her fear time to numb and now she shuddered and shook because of the cold. If it hadn't been for the gag her teeth would have been chattering too. These lands were on the cusp of winter and Sera wore nothing but a nightgown and had been outside going at quite a pace all night. She felt cold to her very core.

The sudden release of pressure as well on her bladder had brought other pressing matters to mind. After she had been dropped she tried to speak around her gag.
 
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The man had half turned away from Sera already when he heard the sound of her trying to speak through her gag. A roll of his eyes followed a quick half turn, and behind him the girl would be able to see her friend still squirming on the Warg.

Likely experiencing the same pain she had been.

Slowly he squatted down in front of her, frowning for a few seconds and looking over his shoulder as if to check something before reaching out. His finger hooked the gag, shifting it for a few seconds and rubbing her face with a calloused knuckle.

After a few seconds the gag wiggled free, the spit covered rag falling slightly down onto her neck.

"What?" The scarred man demanded of her.

Solgrin stood off to the side, just a little out of view.
 
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Sera tried not to wince as the knuckle ran down her bruise but it was clear the touch hurt her. The whole left side of her face felt as though it were on fire and the awkwardness of a gag locking her jaw in place had not helped. She opened her mouth to speak but her tongue felt like sandpaper and she had to swallow a few times to make her throat less sore before she could utter her request.

"Please... I need to..." her cheeks coloured for a moment before she rolled her shoulders and summoned her courage. "I need to pee," she tilted her chin almost defiantly for a brief moment before losing her nerve and lowering her gaze a little. "Can I just..." she scrunched up her nose a little and looked from the scarred face in front of her pointedly to the trees nearby. Sera just wanted a little bit of privacy. She had no intentions of running and leaving her friend behind but her bladder was fit to burst.

She also desperately needed a drink of water but she thought that might be pushing it. The ringing in her head had not lessened but grown steadily worse as though there were an annoying bee buzzing nearby.
 
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The man looked at her for a moment, blinked, and then looked over towards the trees she indicated with her look. There was a slight frown on his face for a brief moment, and then he shook his head with a chuckle. "You're not in a castle anymore, Princess."

His shoulders shrugged, and he grabbed the gag from around her neck and pulled it back over her lips.

It was clear that he didn't care whether or not he hurt her. His hand tightening the strand of cloth around her face even as it bruised and swelled. A smile was offered to her, though it did not reach his eyes as he rose fully and turned on his heel.

The Warg carrying the other girl was no shifting uncomfortably, and as the scarred man walked towards it a voice called out.

"Get her off of there before he throws her off and eats her. Damned things are hungry by now, and these girls are worth more than a few steaks."​

There was a rash of laughter through the camps.
 
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Sera stared at him with a mixture of horror and disbelief - he wouldn't even let her relieve herself out of the way of prying eyes? Dumbly all she could do was sit there as he pulled the gag back over her lips and forced it between her teeth once more like making a horse accept a bit. She didn't try and hold back the tears as he turned away and began to make his way back to Violet. The animal did indeed look restless and he kept whipping his head around to snap at her. The other girl looked just as relieved to be hurled off its back and dumped down next to her friend.

Wordlessly the two shuffled closer together and Violet put her head on Sera's shoulder. The girl felt as cold as Sera did and she squirmed even closer hoping they could warm each other up a little bit. Closing her eyes she tried to block out the sound of mean laughter at their expense and focus instead on what it was that they wanted.

The man with the scar had asked which one of them it was. Did they not know what Violet looked like? Perhaps she could buy her friend time if they both claimed to be the Lady of the manor. Why else would they have come? It had to be for her.

Despite her troubled thoughts Sera was exhausted. She could hear Violet's breathing lengthen and deepen as she slipped into sleep and Sera found herself joining her not long after.
 
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"Up you come." The words broke through the silence of sleep, though whether or not they disturbed Serafina Solgrin did not particularly care.

His hands wrapped around the arms of Violet, fingers digging into her skin as he dragged her up from her place on the ground and pulled her to her feet. The sun was sitting a little towards the east now, setting slowly and showing that nearly a whole day had passed.

Some of the Warg's still slept, but it was clear that most of the bandits were still awake.

Sol grabbed up Violet and dragged her up to her feet, fingers practically buried in her skin as he pulled her to where he wanted her. He briefly glanced at Serafina, but for the moment paid her no more mind than a smith would a piece of rock on his forge.

She was for later.

With a tight grip he pulled off her gag, the cloth scraping across her lip as he did so.
 
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Sera stirred when she felt Violet give a start against her. They had both fallen asleep using one another for support so it was hard to move one without disturbing the other. Blearily her blue eyes opened. In the setting sun they seemed a darker shade of blue like the very depths of a summers pool. They widened promptly as she realised what exactly was happening. Violet gave muffled pleas as she was dragged squirming further into the camp but stiffened when the man finally settled on where he wanted, too scared to move another inch though she did tremble. When the gag was pulled from her mouth a torrent of pleas poured out.

"P-please... Just tell us what you want. I can give you money, land," her eyes flittered nervously around the group of Bandits before back to the man in front of her. "Just please let my maid go, she's innocent, she's done nothing wrong," Sera gave a loud muffled noise of protest and began to strain against her own bonds, wriggling frantically. She would never leave her friend.
 
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"Shut up." The Bandit Chief said as he tried to gauge things for a few seconds, grasping her by the throat to hold her in place.

The bonds around her wrists were still tight, he knew that, and if she fought back he very much doubted she would have been any issue for him. He was nearly twice her size, and neither of them were really...well much of anything at all.

"Do you know..." He opened his palm, showing her the gem. "...What this is?"

The question hung in the air as Sera wriggled and struggled against her bond, her muffled words echoing out.

Solgrin frowned as he looked down at her, then kicked a boot out and placed it directly on the girls throat, looking down at her and scowling. "Make another sound, and I'm going to make sure you regret it."
 
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Violet sucked in a breath as her throat was grasped and let out a strangled little whimper. Sera likewise went still with the toe of his boot pressing down on her windpipe and both girls turned their attention to the gem. Violet's face was completely blank. No spark of recognition just confusion as she looked from the shard back to the man holding her with a shake of her head - as much as that was possible with the mans hand around her neck.

For Sera it was different.

The itch at the back of her mind, that buzzing in her ears she had thought had been from the blow to her head, it all came to a point. Suddenly she didn't care if there was a punishment for making any noise it was like someone had suddenly opened their mouth beside her ear and screamed in the shrillest voice she had ever heard. With a gasp her hands came up over her ears, eyes squeezing shut as she tried to block it all out.

The worst thing was the longer she was near it the more it seemed to come from several different directions. It tugged at something deep inside of her and she kicked and squirmed in agony.
 
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