The Sentinels: Sleeping Giants

DeletedUser

Shrugging to himself, Brynjolf followed Galen down to the bridge though he kept a good distance and moved off to one side slightly. As they got closer he would begin to crouch and attempt to go unnoticed. If things did go wrong, he intendended to have surprise on his side.
 

DeletedUser28032

Cesare
Following both Brynjolf and Galen down the hill Cesare decided that the thief was probably right to be confident of their chances at the bridge but still pulled a few inches of his sword from its scabbard making sure it hadn't stuck before allowing it to drop back into place, his master of arms having taught him the same lessons as Brynjolf’s.
Constructed entirely out of timber the bridge despite its apparent age still looked stable, its roadway capable of accommodating a single wagon and a team of horses one of which was currently stood beside the wooden tower with its horses cropping the grass and its handful of goods sat unattended on its back.
As well as the tower there stood a single low roofed cabin built from logs a short distance away, with a single horse and several chickens within its tiny yard.

However other than the horses and the chickens the bridge and its surrounding buildings appeared to be completely deserted, a single brass bell hanging from a crude A-frame no doubt for signalling the guards within the guardhouse of the arrival of people wishing to cross "Do you suppose we should ring it?" Cesare asked a little uncertainly, although it was entirely possible that the tower was being ran by a skeleton crew he thought it to be unlikely.
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Jaime
Taking the short diversion from their originally intended route the group of mercenaries made their way towards the shrine mentioned by the oracle the night before.
Upon arriving they found themselves confronted by a motley collection of armed men stood around the large standing stone, its body decorated with intricate carvings of the gods as they did battle with mythical beasts and each other, etched in stone for all eternity.
Although the group before them easily outnumbered that of Ben's group they showed no hostility towards him as they gathered around a man in a long brown robe who appeared to performing some kind of religious ceremony "Who do you suppose they are?...they look like no warband I’ve ever seen" Jaime asked quietly, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand having gotten no sleep the night before, his mind haunted by the oracles words.
Upon closer inspection of the thirty or so men before them Ben notices that his second in command was right; dressed mainly in peasant garb with only a handful of them possessing any form of armour and many more of them lacking real weapons; homemade spears and sharpened farming tools seeming to be in the majority amongst them they looked more like a peasant uprising than an organised warband. The only thing seeming to tie them all together other than their proximity to one another was the single star painted upon their shields although even in that there was no consistency in the number of points or the colour used.
It was as they stood watching the group that a single man split away from the others in order to approach Ben "Have you come to join us in our righteous battle brothers?"
 

Deleted User - 819397

Drake had kept quiet throughout the exchanges, as he had nothing to add to the conversation and wasn't the type to blather on without reason. This continued through when Cesare asked if they should ring the guardhouse's bell. He saw upsides and downsides to both options, and really didn't care which one they went with. What would come, would come. He would do what was required, so long as he knew what the outcome would be. He had done something on a whim once, and it had wound up with him cursed. He'd learned to be careful, and he'd learned when to keep his thoughts to himself.
 

DeletedUser31931

Ben heard their words and replied "What righteous battle is that? I have fought many over the years, some real, some not. What do you want?" He brought his hand to rest on the pommel of his sword, he doubted it would come to a fight but if it did, he was ready.
 

DeletedUser

Galen moved down the hill, when he arrived at the crossing, it was deserted. Cesare asked if they should ring the bell.
"Cesare, ring the bell, I'll back you up. Brynjolf, Drake, take up covering positions. Move!" He snarled.
Moving up towards the bell, he gestured for Cesare to come over.
His left hand unsheathed one of his daggers, although he kept the armed hand behind his back.
He couldn't afford to be lax in his procedures. You grew lax, you also grew dead.
 

DeletedUser

"Move!" Galen snarled and Brynjolf bit back the urge to lash out. He was not here to be barked orders at like a common soldier but at the same time, fighting would help no one.

Instead he did as he was told, moving along a nearby wall and preparing for anything that might emerge.
 

DeletedUser28032

Cesare
No sooner had Cesare reached for the for the mallet hanging by its chain beside the brass bell that the towers door opened and three men in ill fitting leather jerkins moved over towards them, a friendly smile that Cesare didn’t entirely trust springing onto one of the men’s faces as he spoke "Hail friends what business brings you to our neck of the woods?" watching the men something struck Cesare as being slightly odd about them; the armour they wore didn't seem to fit, the tip of mans scabbard dragged along the ground digging a small furrow in the earth whilst the third seemed to be struggling with the operation of his crossbow not a common weapon admittedly but still...
"Our business is our own and merely wish to cross the bridge" Cesare spoke the lead man who had spoken nodding his head in understanding before beaming yet another of his smiles "That’s fine by us...well if you would just step inside you can pay your toll and then go on your way"
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Jaime
The man stood momentarily perplexed by Bens response before smiling once again, answering in a tone of voice that suggested the answer were obvious "Why, we're off to Lamadon to join the host of Stiorra and fight the righteous battle that will free us all from the tyrannical rule of both Sidhe and Kavori alike" his eyes glittered with the fanaticism of a zealot as he spoke of his goal though who this Stiorra was Jaime did not know though he had heard of Lamadon; a strange exotic land across the sea where rumour had that some of the lands former royalty had managed to flee before the old kingdoms had fallen though which particular royalty was a mystery to him as he had personally seen two princes and a king slain in battle during the war.
"Have you come to join us brothers? Stiorra can use good hardened veterans with which to fight the righteous battle"
 

DeletedUser31931

Ben considered this for a minute and then made up his mind. "I came here to ask the Gods for advice, and that is what I shall do. Depending on their answer, I will ride with you. Do you consider this fair?" he asked. They outnumbered Ben but he was on horseback, if necessary, he and Jaime could stem them whilst the others fled with Jaime and then Ben following.
 

DeletedUser

"That’s fine by us...well if you would just step inside you can pay your toll and then go on your way" said the stranger.

Brynjolf knew what bandits in scavenged gear looked like and these certainly fit the profile so he stayed out of sight. It was his guess that there wouldn't be many of the men but nor would all of them present themselves at once so he looped around the edge of the buildings looking to move into a flanking position and keeping his eyes open for any windows or other ways into the tower where the men had emerged from. His swords were now in his hands.
 

DeletedUser

"That’s fine by us...well if you would just step inside you can pay your toll and then go on your way"
Galen watched as the three men burst out. Something didn’t look right, but he couldn’t quite figure what it was. His hand clenched tighter around the hilt of the dagger behind his back.
They could be Sidhe or Kavori spies, enchanted with some sort of cloaking spell to turn them into humans…no, that was stupid. What was he thinking?
He wouldn’t rule out the possibility though. Couldn’t afford to take chances.
They were probably just bandits, killed the guards then set up an operation here. It would be low income, so there wouldn't be many of them. Ten maximum.
There would be people waiting inside the tower to take them out. Yet they needed to get across the river. That meant going through these people.
Normally Galen would attack them immediately, but Cesare's orders proved a problem. If they weren't bandits, then they would be attacking 'innocents.' Which would doubtless be a problem for the self-righteous Ascenti.
Out of the corner of his eye he could see that Brynjolf had backed away. Good, that would be useful.
“Yes. We’ll come right in.” Galen said impassively, hopefully the rasping tone of his voice and the general appearance of the group would scare the bandits into not trying anything.
He edged towards the tower, keeping the dagger in his left hand out of sight, whilst his right hand clamped itself around the dagger strapped to his right thigh.
With his eyes fixed on the guard leader, he cocked his head, gesturing for the others to follow.
 

Deleted User - 819397

Drake looked at the men skeptically as they asked them to step inside to pay their toll. Do they really think us so stupid? he thought to himself. He saw Brynjolf duck into the shadows, and Galen suddenly went to high alert. For his own part, he simply grasped his staff firmly and readied himself for a fight. He'd have to grab his axe off his back if something happened, but even if for some reason he couldn't get to it in time he'd be able to hold his own...the axe was more for defensive melee than anything...his staff attacks were much more reliable and strong. He followed the others inside, ready for trouble.
 

DeletedUser28032

Jaime
"But of course brother we ourselves are receiving the blessings of the old gods before we depart, for it will be a glorious battle in which even the gods will partake" he said throwing his arms wide as if too embrace the very sky and causing Jaime to suspect that the man was truly mad.
As the zealot left to join his fellow "Warriors" Jaime dismounted in order to accompany Ben down to the great standing stone before them leaving the rest of the men to watch on in bemusement.
"Are you sure this is wise? I mean look at them they're clearly mad" Jaime whispered to Ben following him wherever he went adding in the same low voice "...the men won't like this" none of them had signed up for a crusade only money
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Brynjolf
Built out roughly hewn planks the tower was never intended to hold off anything more than a handful of raiders however despite this there were no other doors inside and the only windows were upon the second and third floors. Should he find a way of reaching them he would be more than capable of squeezing through into the tower.
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Cesare
Cesare smelt a rat and judging by the way his companions acted they had too “There is no need for us to intrude on your hospitality just tell me what we owe you and we shall be on our way” a look of panic momentarily passed over the leaders eyes at Cesare’s refusal of following him inside. Glancing at his companions as if for help the man turned his attention back to Cesare with a smile on his face “Its no trouble we would be more than happy to…to…entertain you, besides all of our ..erm…ledgers are inside got to fill them out haven’t we?” the man laughed no doubt aiming for disarming but only managing to sound even more nervous.
 

DeletedUser

Brynjolf brushed his hand against the rough wood of the tower and looked up at a nearby window. He guessed it wouldn't be hard to get up there with such crude workmanship so sheathing his swords he pulled two arrows from his quiver and quickly bound them to his boots, arrow heads at his toes. He then took two more and holding one in each hand he began to climb. He aimed the placement of each makeshift spike for the cracks in the planks. Not so that they would grip better but so that they didn't make as much noise since he didn't have to physically force them in.

As soon as he was close enough, he swung himself in through the window and re-drew his swords while looking around at his surroundings.
 

DeletedUser31931

"...the men won't like this" Ben thought about this and turned to Jaime and said
"I agree, but there are mysterious forces at work here. I have never really believed in the gods, after some of the horrors I've seen, I don't really think they are real any more. Last night changed that though, shook something in me, reminded me of things I'd forgotten. They'll get paid any way we go." He finished speaking and shook his head softly, he'd never asked to be a leader, it'd just sort of happened. He'd saved Jaime's life in the middle of battle, Jaime had followed him ever since. The others Ben had picked up as they had travelled, with promises of money or food or maybe both if they were lucky. This, he decided, he had to do. He knelt down at the shrine and said quietly. "Oh gods, if you are watching me now, show me a sign of whether I should go with this mercenary band or not. What is the right path to take?" Ben had considered his options and if there was no response he'd head to Cytringham , he'd heard there was a one armed merchant named Cesare there, Ben had to see if it was the Cesare from all those years ago, maybe he had some information on Isolla. Galen was out there somewhere, who knew if he was still alive. As for Mark.... Ben had never heard from him again. Meanwhile he'd heard that Kaella had been at the fall of Rithe Halle and that no-one had survived. There were probably a few more sentinels out there, but Ben doubted that there were that many left. And so Ben knelt there, thinking and awaiting a response from the gods.
 

Deleted User - 819397

Drake laughed as the would-be bandit suggested the reason they come inside was for the ledger book. "Ledger books aren't signed for bridge tolls by the people crossing, moron. That'd just be time-consuming and pointless for all involved. Any group that was actually working bridge tolls would know that." He shook his head, still chuckling. They'd have to do far better than that to get any sort of money from him.
 

DeletedUser

The lead bandit suggested that they move inside, before Drake pointed out that they didn't have to go inside and sign any kind of ledger.
That did it for Galen. They were bandits, very bad ones, but bandits none the less, and they would kill them as soon as they had the chance.
His right hand moved quick as a flash to the hilt of his sword, and in one swift motion he drew it from his back and pointed it at the throat of the bandit leader.
He brought his left hand up, holding the dagger, which he brandished, making his message clear.
From beneath his hood his eyes bored into the bandit. "Don't move!" He snarled at the two other 'guards.'
 

DeletedUser28032

Cesare
No sooner had Galen lunged for his dagger that the already nervous "Guardsman" pulled the trigger on his crossbow having finally figured out how it worked, the bolt soaring cleanly over the heads of everybody to disappear over the horizon.
"They're on to us lads! Get them!" the man with the knife to his throat screamed whilst the third heedless of his colleagues peril drew the large and heavily dented sword from its scabbard.
Drawing his own blade in a single fluid motion in order to face off against the other swordsman Cesare watched as the first man tried to deliver a punch to Galen's gut and the third foolishly attempted to reload his crossbow despite the proximity of his foes.
This is going to be a bloodbath he thought to himself as he lunged, parried and then countered the others mans attack in the short space of time.
Even though they were evenly numbered it was clear that the three bandits had no real skill with their chosen weapons no doubt relying on sheer brute force and intimidation to make their victims pay up well they’ve picked the wrong people to mess with, and now they are going to die Cesare thought grimly to himself as his blade danced before him his opponent already bleeding from two cuts inflicted upon him however it was at this point that the tower door opened.
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Brynjolf
The inside of the tower was dark, dusty and completely empty, the only light coming from the window behind him and the narrow staircase leading to both the ground and second floor. At one end of the room there was a small pile of crates and sacks which most likely contained turnips judging by their shape, and a small table and chair sat by the window, a game of dice set out upon its worn surface.
The sound of whispering voices suddenly drifted up from the floor below to greet him meaning that he wasn’t alone within this tower.
“What the hell are they playing at? They should be in here by now?”
“Shut up you idiot or they’ll hear you”
“So what there are four of us in here and only three of them and that’s not including our two friends here”
There was the sudden sound of footsteps followed by a choking sound and a female voice that was as smooth as poured honey yet despite its soft, seductive tone the edge of malice hiding within could not be mistaken
“Listen here fool you are here to follow our bidding not the other way around… now unless you wish me to pull out your tongue and present it to the queen I suggest you stay quiet”
Silence quickly descends upon the towers occupants as the mysterious figures regained control of the situation though it is short lived as a shouted cry comes from outside. There was a scrabbling of weapons being gathered and then a crash as the door was thrown open.
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Jaime
He watched as his captain knelt before the standing stone and prayed to the gods however like all gods it would appear that whatever they wished for Ben to do they kept to themselves. As a soldier Jaime had always believed that the gods would intervene to save you life or win a battle should the mood strike them but he’d never expected one to provide an answer for him in fact the idea downright terrified him to be honest.
“Looks like we’ll have to decide the old fashioned way then” Jaime said with a shrug as Ben returned to his feet “If you will permit me…the way I see it is we have two options…the safest and most sensible being we return to Cytringham, sell what we’ve gathered and carry on as we have been doing; killing bandits and collecting protection money from the villages however…” Jaime paused to look over his shoulder at the gaggle of Star men as they slowly began to walk away having finished receiving their blessing “…if this…Stiorra is truly raising an army, a real army and not just a rabble of zealots then we have a chance to fight for something truly worthwhile…if not…well I hear there are rich men and beautiful girls in Lamadon”
 

Deleted User - 819397

Galen, again, sparked the conflict by grabbing one of the men and holding a knife to his throat, a crossbow bolt flying over their heads. Cesare engaged the swordsman, leaving Drake to deal with the amateur crossbowman. He had just enough time to ignite his staff and lob a ball of fire at the man when the tower doors started to open. He quickly grabbed his axe and took a couple of hasty steps backward, ready to fight however many men poured out.
 

DeletedUser31931

Ben listened to Jaime and considered this. "Perhaps my friend," Ben said with a sigh "It is time we truly made a difference. I have my answer." He turn towards the leader of the group and walked over to him before saying "I will not join you on your crusade yet, for I must clear things up, but you may leave and I will go to Stiorra once I have finished up one last thing in Cytringham." Then turning to Jaime he said
"Here is the plan, we will go to Cytringham and collect all the stuff we have received in protection payment and we will sell it for supplies, then we will set out for Lamadon, when we are in Cytringham I will make it clear that any man who does not wish to come does not have to come, but the must decide that before we enter Cytringham so I can give them their pay and send them on their way. Will you go tell the men for me as we ride?" With that Ben pulled himself onto his horse and awaited to see if he would get a response from the crusader.
 

DeletedUser

Galen leapt back as the leader delivered a punch towards his gut.
A crossbow bolt flew overhead. Cesare was dealing with the swordsman, Drake was moving towards the crossbowman. Where was Brynjolf?
Putting the thought out of his mind, he leapt forwards, slashing at the bandit's torso. The blade connected and sheared through the man's decrepit leather armour, gouging a wide cut in his belly.
Galen now moved side on, bringing his left hand up to head height, he smashed the blade of his dagger into the bandit's eye socket. The killing blow.
Just then, the tower doors opened. Galen withdrew his blade and moved back into a defensive stance, waiting for whoever was inside to reveal themselves.
 
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