Heroes of the Realm Chapter 3: Introductions

It was a nice dungeon, Hugo decided, as far as dungeons go. The cell was on the fourth floor of a guard tower overlooking the sea. If one was tall enough they could look out the windows and get a great view of Seagull's Landing, and he assumed judging by the salty air coming from the windows outside the bars if one were to see through those one could get a fantastic view of the sea.

The only view Hugo had though, was of four of the other prisoners resuming their shouting match.

They'd been at it off-and-on for the better part of four hours. From what he'd gathered the orc was angry at the gnome for stealing his coin purse, though it was returned. The elf was angry at the orc for spilling his tea, though he'd magically cleaned the mess off his coat since. And the halfling was screaming at all three of them for spoiling her bounty, even though he was sure she couldn't have taken out the beast on her own.

This was the way of the world, sadly. Everyone holding onto old grudges from the past even if they don't effect them now.

Hugo was hardly one to judge, he thought glumly. Between shouting matches he had approached each of his cell mates in turn and offered his healing skills. The elf with the fiddle politely declined while the one in the floppy hat gave him a cool rejection. The halfling welcomed it as did the orc, though Hugo cringed when he saw the orc blood dripping from several wounds. Orcs and elves aside though, Hugo had to fight an internal battle before approaching the gnome, only doing so after reminding himself that Solaris shines on everyone equally, and if He Who Shines could stand the thieving race, so could he.

Hugo looked at the elf sitting on the opposite side of the bench from him. This one he didn't understand. He'd seemed confused more than anything when they were arrested, and had hardly spoken a word since they entered the cell. Hugo thought he looked younger than the other elf, but it was hard to judge with a race who aged so slowly and lived so long, but if he was a human he would guess he was maybe 16. He wore simple peasants clothes with a leather vest serving as his only form of armor. His skin was a light olive, not as dark as the wild elves he'd seen, but not even close to as light as the one currently screaming about the price of a decent shirt in this city. His dark curly hair was cut short revealing only slightly pointed ears, again not quite like the other elf in the cell.

"Half elf." Hugo said, realizing what the man was.

The half elf jumped as though Hugo had hit him with his mace. The rest of the room went quiet to look at him, which Hugo blatantly ignored.

"You're a half-elf." said Hugo, pointing.

"Yes," the boy said, reaching up to his ear. "My father was a wild elf."

The other elf made an indignant noise. "I would suppose you never met him, yes?"

"No, I haven't." he said looking down.

"Typical." the elf spat, looking down at the young half elf.

Before anything more could be said, the door slammed open followed by a troop of guards with Samantha walking among them. The pink dress was gone and her steel plate shone as bright as any of the guards. Her long blonde hair was put into a simple bun showing off her striking features. She was taller than several of the other guards, a trait that human men seemed to find attractive, as well as her long muscular body. She had the face like a marble statue, perfect and delicate but you knew that if you tried to harm it you'd do far more damage to yourself then you ever would to her.

"Good news folks, you are not being executed" said the man ahead of Samantha. As soon as they were arrested, she'd shown her credentials and had disappeared since, presumably negotiating for their release.

"Why do I feel like there's a but?" the gnome said suspiciously.

"We're being banished." Samantha said, looking straight at Hugo. "We're to collect whatever things we have in whatever inn and are to be escorted out of the city at sundown."

"Which way out of the city?" The orc said. While healing him, Hugo had noticed that the man had smelled like the ocean.

"North side," said the guard. "You will be escorted out of the north gate. We considered sending you off seaside but..." He glanced at Samantha with a frown. Samantha maintained her soldier posture, maintaining eye contact with Hugo.

"But we saved the city!" cried the half-elf. "We're heroes!"

"You're being let out alive," said the guard. "Consider that our thanks."

***

The gates shut with a loud clank behind Bud. The sun was setting somewhere off in the woods and the darkness had already crept to the gates. He looked at the rest of the group, their equipment since returned to them and their bags packed from wherever they were staying. They stood awkwardly, not knowing quite what to do next.

"Well, now what?" asked Bud to nobody in particular.

"I think we should get as far away from the walls as possible," said the gnome. "Before they decide to use us as target practice."

"That's not a bad idea," the human said. "Hugo and I need to get back to our people anyway and file our reports."

They began walking up the road in silence, except for the dwarf Hugo and the human who talked quietly between the two of them. After they crested the second hill and were out of sight from the walls, the halfling asked "So what people do you work for?"

"We work for the temple of War, in Tarn." said the human.

"Oh, are you a paladin?" the halfling asked, her dog walking beside her.

"No," the human said. "Just a person who can lift a sword and who wants to help."

"Lady Blacksmith is a sworn warrior of Gabrius ," the dwarf said. "At least she swore the vows once..."

"That was one drunken night" the human said annoyed. "And you know I hate that name."

"What is your name?" Bud asked.

The pair stopped and turned around. The rest of the group formed a circle in the road, with Bud opposite the armored pair.

"I suppose if we're going to be travel companions for the moment some introductions are in order." the dwarf said. "I am Hugo, formerly of Clan Silverhammer. May I present Lady Samantha Blacksmith of the Silent Hill Blacksmiths." Both bowed in turn as though this was long practiced.

"Cassandra Butterhill," said the halfling. "And that's midnight" she said as she pointed to the brown dog by her side.

"Talesian of the Honorable House Quithlana, 8th House of Katumal." said the elf as he bowed with a swish of his hat.

"Gimini" said the gnome, his arms crossed. Hugo said something under his breath which made Samantha smack him in the back of the head.

"Thayne Allen" said the one Hugo called a half-elf earlier, looking awkward at the group.

"Your father's name?" said Talesian with a smirk on his face. For some reason Bud wanted to punch that smirk right off his face.

"No," Thayne answered confused. "It's my mother's."

"Of course it is." said Talesian.

"I'm Bud." said Bud, trying to move the conversation before he put Talesian into the ground.

"That's an odd name for an orc," said Cassandra.

"I'm half-orc. And it's more of a nickname... it's just what they called me on the ship."

"Oh, are you a sailor?" asked Cassandra.

"Not anymore." said Bud.

"It's getting dark," interrupted Samantha. "We should probably see if we can find a place to set camp for tonight and try to get out of Kind tomorrow."

The group trooped off, chatting occasionally as they went. They still weren't friends, Bud thought, but at least they weren't at each others throats. And they might stay that way depending on if Talesian could keep his damn mouth shut.

***

Talesian had never been more humiliated in his entire life. First his best cravat had been stained (Thank Thoth his magic could fix it!) then he'd have to fight alongside a dwarf, an orc-oh excuse me, a half orc- and a half-human with the other half obviously wild elf!

As he marched on he noticed more scuffs on his boots. He'd cleaned them at least a dozen times since leaving the city with his magic, but by now he was tired of the effort and decided to clean them when they stopped to camp. He hadn't planned on actually walking very far on this trip, maybe spend a night watching griffins on the cliffs of Mandare, but extensive walking was never his style. he wished that the guards had let him return to the Magic Sanctuary where he could use their teleport circle to return home and report his mistreatment to his parents, who would be furious to hear how a member of the 8th house of Katumal was being treated.

The darkness stole the color from the world but to Talesian's elf eyes none of the detail was lost. The human though drew out a torch and lit it with a single strike, its flame becoming a beacon in the gloom. While it ruined Talesian's night vision he did appreciate having something warm and familiar to follow.

As they turned a corner they happened upon a shrine to Calbhac along the side of the road, with a statue of Lord Laurentus, the patron diety of the Kind. The smaller shrine was worn and looked like it was seldom cared for, while the taller statue of the noble knight looked almost brand new. Rumor was that the statues to Laurentus were replaced every few years, while the icons of other dieties were left to deteriorate.

Behind the statue was an acre of land cleared from the forest. The shrine indicated that the land was meant for travelers to rest, as Calbhac, God of the Road would want. While Talesian didn't agree with the theology, he appreciated the sentiment.

"We can camp here," said the human.

A round of agreement was heard in the group as they began to walk into the field. Packs were dropped as talk of supper and a fire began. Talesian had never been to one of the roadside sanctuaries of the Wandering God, but he had heard that while they were supposed to be places of peace for all travelers, many of them were still frequently used by bandits to ambush the weary.

As he looked across the field, he saw a light flicker between the trees at the far end from where the party was setting up. At first he thought it was a trick of the torch, until he saw it several more times and realized it was a lantern.

"I do not believe we are alone here," he said to nobody in particular.

The dwarf, displaying what Talesian thought was customary for dwarf manners, called out to the light.

"Oiy, who goes there?"

The light stopped moving for a moment then appeared to get brighter. The rest of the group stood around Talesian, not sure weather friend or foe would come out of the woods.

What did come out were three men, two of whom were carrying a third between them. The one on the left held a lantern up towards the group while the other merely dragged the middle companion along. The one in the middle seemed unconscious.

"What's all this then?" barked the dwarf.

"This'ere fellow was using dark magic, so we decided to teach him a lesson." said the man with the lantern. As they approached Talesian could see the build of a farmer with a thick scraggly beard and weathered skin.

"I"m sorry, you must be mistaken." Talesian said. The men stopped in their tracks looking confused.
"Magic is neither dark nor light my good sirs. Magic in and of itself is benign. It is the user that can wield it for good or for ill. Pray tell, my good sirs, how did this man use magic against you?"

The men looked dumbfounded. Talesian continued to look at them, seeing parts of them in light with color and parts in shadow in shades of grey. The man between them had yet to move on his own. His hair was long and black and covered his face like a veil. On top of his head was a hat with a pointed tip that looked like a cheap version of Talesian's own wide brimmed pointed hat.

"We seen em do dark magic" said the man on the right, speaking for the first time. "It was right over there. He made green flames appear."

"Well now good sirs, green flames are hardly cause for alarm," he said calmly.

"Why don't you bring the fellow over here and we can help figure out what ought to be done with him," said the dwarf. While Talesian didn't like it he had to agree. While the major cities in the Kind had Sanctuaries of Magic, many of the rural areas were not friendly to the arcane, believing it to all be in league with devils.

"We could do that, but if we wake him up he may do magic again and kill us all!" said the man with the lantern. "Best kill im now while we's have the chance!"

Talesian was stunned. Surely these men did not have the authority to execute a criminal. He was about to speak when their prisoner looked up and locked eyes on Talesian. The elf saw the man's face, a patchwork of scrapes with one eye nearly swollen shut.

Please! Help me! I don't want to die!" 

Talesian heard the voice in his head as if it were next to him. Mental communication was not a foreign concept to the elf, since he'd studied most of his life to become a wizard. Between the voice and the look in the man's eyes something stirred within Talesian's soul. Living his life at the knee of tutors and waited on by servants he'd never truly seen the outside world. This trip was supposed to be a little vacation, the first trip outside his homeland. His plan was to do some studying and explore one of the more esoteric cities on the continent, maybe go griffin watching, but that had all been disrupted today.

In his short time in Seagull's Landing he'd seen many wondrous sights, but he'd also seen poverty for the first time. He'd seen how peasants lived, and he'd seen desperation in people's faces. When facing the ogre he'd seen the terror such a powerful being could invoke in those that did not have the means to defend themselves, and had used his magic for the first time to attack another living being.

Now in that split second looking into the man's eyes he knew what he was seeing: It was desperation, and the fear of someone helpless against something that could destroy them.

The spell came from his fingers almost faster than he thought of it. A streak of red flame bust from his hand hitting the man without the lantern in the chest. He dropped the prisoner as he attempted to put himself out. Before the other man could react a second bolt tore through the air shattering the man's lantern and lighting the dry summer grass on fire. The two men screamed as they ran away in terror from the elf, leaving their prisoner to crawl away from the flames on his own.

"By the gods!" said the dwarf as he reached out his hand and caused water to rise to the surface of the ground, drowning out the flames. The water immediately receded from where it came, thanks to the dwarf's small miracle. Talesian hurried to the man on the ground and helped lift him to his feet. Despite being battered he seemed more or less alright.

"Thank you," he said as he stood trembling in the night.

"What's your name sir?" Talesian asked, as the others circled them.

"Roland," he said. "I am forever in your debt."

The others, who up to this point had let Hugo and Talesian handle the situation, all began talking at once. Some talking to each other about the exchange, others asking Roland questions about why the men had taken him. He explained that he was using magic to hunt for food when the farmers happened upon him and decided that he was evil.

As Hugo began to use more of his holy magic to heal the man's wounds, the human, Samantha, sidled up to Talesian.

"I wouldn't really picture you as the hero type," she said with half a smile.

Talesian looked her in the eyes and for the first time since becoming associated with what he considered to be a group of mismatched common rabble, he smiled.

"Neither did I."