The Sentinels: Sleeping Giants

DeletedUser28032

The heavy oak doors shuddered as the ram pounded into it once again shaking dust from off of the rafters high above the ragged shield wall of men forming before them. Kaella’s heart jumped into her mouth as a huge rent appeared within door, it wouldn’t be long until they were in now and the collection of old men and young boys left to garrison the once mighty fortress would have to face the terrifying might of the Sidhe for what must be the final time “Stand closer men! I want those shields to be touching!” Captain Alayen Northman bellowed from somewhere within the thin line of men, Kaella herself standing a little way behind the shield wall with the collection of barely trained Sentinel recruits and hastily armed servants how she wished that her friends were with her now but they were all gone, scattered to the four winds and separated either through their kings decree or fate.
“We’re not going to be able to hold them back” Alayen whispered into her ear, his sudden and unexpected arrival causing her to involuntarily jump an apologetic smile appearing on his face as he continued his whispered conversation “You need to get out of here…warn the other kingdoms so they don’t suffer the same fate” despite understanding the sense in what he said Kaella somehow suspected that the urgency in his voice was less to do with saving the other kingdoms of man and more to do with the feelings she knew he had for her, feelings that had grown during the course of the war and ones she knew she could never reciprocate towards him.
“No I can’t…what about you? I can’t just leave you and the others to die in this place” she replied as a mighty crack filled the room, the rent in the door suddenly growing in size one more solid blow and they will be inside she told herself, already she could hear their taunting voices as they called through the wood at the terrified defenders gathered within the room with sadistic glee.
Alayen threw a single terrified glance at the door before once again regaining his composure and bellowing over his shoulder in defiance “Stand firm men; tonight we’ll be within the feasting hall of the gods but by Fenrir’s teeth we’ll bring them with us!” the men cheered beating their weapons again elm shields to make a thunderous cacophony of noise drowning out the taunts and cries of the enemy “Now get out of here…GO!” Alayen roared at Kaella seconds before drawing his sword and running to join the line just as the doors finally gave way and the enemy poured in.
She watched in awe stricken horror as the Sidhe poured through the shattered doors resplendent in armour made of bronze, ebony and furs, the glass blades they carried glittering in the torchlight by the god even their weapons are beautiful she thought to herself as they crashed into the line of men, the screams of pain signalling that the killing had begun. Unable to move, her feet feeling as if they were made of lead she watched in stunned fascination until the Sidhe finally cut through the perilously thin line of men like a hot knife through butter before finally finding herself capable of action as she turned for the doors and ran.

Running down the long stone corridor her feet echoing loudly upon the flagstones as she fled with the sound of her men dying behind her, their screams mingling with the clash of weaponry as the enemy over ran their positions.
With only a handful of guardsmen and freshly recruited Sentinels they had never stood a chance, the Sidhe warriors pouring over the walls of Rithe Halla in their hundreds slaying and butchering all that got in their path before finally breaking into the great hall with a sadistic glee unmatched by any other race or nation that Kaella had ever seen on her travels as a bard singing to high and humble alike.
Dashel was dead, slain along with the Talamh king and for all she knew all of her remaining friends before the black gates as they had met the mysterious Kavori Empire or “The Golden Ones” as they more commonly known in open battle. They had fought for three days and night upon that rocky desolate ground before finally being crushed beneath the booted feet of the Golden Legions, the Princess Isolla’s horrifying vision of the future finally coming to fruition despite her best efforts to stop it, her fate to this very day still unknown leaving the Kingdom of Talamh Bui without an heir.

At the height of their power the combined might of the Ascenti and Talamh armies may have stood a chance of holding back the powerful legions however several years of long and bitter warfare meant that they could scarcely field a large enough army and fight one enemy let alone two, the sudden and mysterious arrival of the Sidhe a race of people long forgotten and consigned to the realms of myth and legend now causing many to flee north to the wild lands of the Chasind rather than face them in a fight thought to be lost before it had even begun.

Kicking open the door before her Kaella gives a strangled cry as she finds herself on the battlements over looking the raging river below; she’d gone the wrong way. In her desire to escape she had taken a wrong turn somewhere and instead of coming out at the stairs had instead met a dead end…she would have to double back and quickly if she was to have any hope of escaping the rapidly closing jaws of the trap.
“If it isn’t Kaella the Songstress…at last we are able to meet in person and what a pleasure it is going to be too” the voice purred softly from behind her sending shivers down her spine.
Grasping the hilt of Ragnar’s long heavy sword she whirls around hoping to catch her opponent off guard by the sudden movement.
There is a flash of light followed by a razor sharp pain in her throat and a horrifying wetness as her blood begins to flow from out of the wound that had surely killed her “Such a pity I had so hoped we could have talked first…perhaps I could have kept you as a pet I am sure mother would have approved” the woman spoke, a vision of angelic beauty; her long fiery red hair flowing around her head, high cheek bones and sensuous lips giving Princess Ariel a regal highborn beauty that many strove for but never achieved.
Feeling her blood seeping out from between her fingers Kaella backed away from the Sidhe princess and her wickedly sharp glass blade, clutching desperately at the wound in her throat hoping to cling onto what small amount of life she had left.
“Any last words before I remove your head completely?...my mother will so want to see it after the trouble you caused her” Kaella tried to speak to say her final defiant last words only to produce a choked gurgling sound as her mouth and throat filled with her own blood.
Already feeling faint and unsteady from the blood loss Kaella is unable to stop her from falling as the back of her legs strike the wall pitching her over the side to plunge down into the raging river below. A howl of rage comes from above her as Ariel denied her prize throws a tantrum, her screams of rage following Kaella all the way down to the raging waters below.
Upon hitting them she immediately disappears from sight as she is washed away by the current her final thoughts before finally blacking out from the pain were this At least this way I get to die intact.

It was on that night when Rithe Halla fell; a fortress once thought to be impregnable, that the dominion of man upon the continent came to an end. With its armies crushed between the combined might of the Sidhe and the Kavori empire both the Kingdoms of Talamh Bui and Ascentia fell closely followed by those upon its borders, only the Chasind and the men of the Daggers far to the north were to escape their attentions as the two mighty powers turned upon one another in a war that was to rage on for the better part of five years ending in an uneasy truce and a bloody stalemate.
Dividing continent in two using the Black gate and the range of mountains upon which it sat as a natural border the two empires have maintained its uneasy peace as both side await the time that would be strong enough to fight the other the small kingdom of men or “Free Folk” as they came to call themselves no longer a concern as they cowered within the Chasind wilds, a broken race incapable of causing them any harm, neither side realising that what they had in fact was a sleeping giant in their midst just waiting for the spark that would cause them to once again rise up and reclaim what had been taken from them with a terrible fury likes of which had never been seen before.
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Right here it is the long awaited and much anticipated sequel to “Rise of the Sentinels” like the last game it is set in the same low fantasy dark ages setting as before, though this time you will be starting within the lands of the Free Folk, a kingdom made up of the refugees from the varying kingdoms defeated during the war, the Chasind tribes that inhabited the land from before the war along with the men of the Daggers (a chain of rocky snow covered islands far to the north, think Vikings) relations between these factions are somewhat strained and the only reason they haven’t come to blows (in any major way that is) is due to their common enemy the Sidhe to the south and the Kavori empire far to the east.

It is set five years after the events in the last story so if you wish to use your existing character can you please adjust your age accordingly and let us know what you have been up to during all this time in you background.

Usual campfire rules apply, If I am not happy with something you’ve written or feel its not in keeping with the story I’ll let you know in a Pm (…or take sadistic pleasure in torturing your character J). If you have any questions or need any help feel free to ask and I’ll try and answer them the best I can.
Other than that have fun and enjoy

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The Character:

The character sheets will be broken into two main portions. Those two portions are attributes and abilities. Attributes are further broken down, and are your core make-up. Abilities are also broken into three categories, and are meant to support your attributes to reflect the uniqueness that is your character.

Attributes are broken into Physical, Social, and Mental.

PHYSICAL: The core movement abilities of your character

Strength: Brute physical power
Dexterity: Familiarity with your bodies capabilities in motion
Stamina: The combination of physical and mental fortitude

SOCIAL: How well you character interacts and is perceived by others

Charisma: How well you present yourself to others
Manipulation: How well you can garner response through deceit and trickery
Appearance: How attractive you are to others

MENTAL: Your mental capabilities

Perception: Conscious and intuitive capabilities to notice details
Intelligence: How smart you are (duh)
Wits: Mental reaction to given situations

Abilities are broken down into three categories

TALENTS: A listing of talents, most are self-explanatory

Alertness: Recognizing specific details
Athletics: Running, climbing, jumping, swimming
Brawl: Fighting with your fists
Dodge: Not getting hit by stuff
Empathy: The understanding the emotions of others'

Expression: The ability to convey meaning through written word or oratory
Intimidation: The ability to gain information or action through threat
Intuition: Gut feelings
Leadership: The ability to motivate through force of personality
Streetwise: Understanding the vernacular of the underbelly of society
Subterfuge: Lying
Performance: Ability to entertain audiences


SKILLS: A listing of skills, most are self-explanatory

Animal Ken: Understanding animal behaviour
Crafts: The ability to construct or repair
Tracking: Your ability to track people or animals using only the signs they’ve left
Riding: Your ability to ride a horse (Or similar animal)

Shooting: Your ability to use missile weapons such as Bows, Crossbows and Javelins
Melee (Small Weapons): Your Skill with single handed weapons such as Swords, Axes, Knives, Clubs etc
Melee (Large Weapons): Your Skill with Large two handed Weapons such as Spears, Glaives, Two Handed axes and swords, etc
Thievery: Your ability to pick peoples pockets and crack locks without being caught

Stealth: Sneaking and hiding
Survival: The knowledge required to adapt enough to continue breathing
Discipline: Your ability to stay focused on the task at hand despite the distractions all around you


KNOWLEDGES: List of knowledge’s, most are self-explanatory

Academics: (Can Read 1, Fully Literate 2, Formal Schooling 3, Academic 4, Scholar 5)
Herbalist: Your Knowledge on plants and how to create potions, poisons and poultices from them

Enigmas: Ability to solve puzzles
Trade: How to get the best deal when buying or selling things
Investigation: Combination of formal investigative procedure and common sense
Sorcery: Your ability (Or Perceived ability) to cast spells and/or resist there affects.
Linguistics: How quickly you can pick up and learn a foreign language

Medicine: Healing
Occult: Knowledge of the supernatural, legends, and myth
Research: How to find a sought answer
Science: The application of science (this is medieval science, think Alchemy)

[spoil]Ok all... that's the list of attributes (which can not be altered) and Abilities (which can be within reason. I know I couldn't list it all)

Ok... now... the numbers. We are going to indicate our characters' attributes and abilities with numbers. This part seems hard, but should be easy when put into use. Attributes and abilities are ranked 1 through 5. As a general belief the numbers can be described as such; 1 poor, 2 average, 3 good, 4 exceptional, 5 outstanding.

Attributes: All categories begin with a base of 1. You are given the following breakdown of points to allocate between the three main attributes (Physical, Social, Mental). They are 7/5/3. That means you can put 7 points into one main attribute, and then 5 in the second most important to you, and finally 3 in the least important. As an example;
I have a soldier. I believe physical, mental, and lastly social to be how I rank importance. I spend 7 points in physical. I have 1 in each category already. So I spend 2 in strength, 3 in dexterity, and 2 in stamina so my final categories would be Strength 3, Dexterity 4, and Stamina 3. Then I would spend 5 points in mental, and lastly 3 in social. Hope it makes sense.

Abilities: All three categories start with nothing in any of the ranks. You can spend the following 13/9/5. Just like attributes, take a moment to look at all the available abilities and rank your categories in order of importance. Your most important logically should have 13 points spent in it, then your second 9, and finally 5 in the least important. There are several abilities that do not require any specialized knowledge to use, Athletics being the first I saw. I can run, but have never been formally trained in real nuance, so I'd have just base dexterity to fall back on. There are others that you have to have at least one rank to perform. Medicine seems to be a good one to use as an example. If you have no training in first aid... you can leave my dangling broken arm alone until somebody who does know what to do comes along thank you very much.

Pretty complex no? It's easy once you grasp the process. Ok... two last things. First, you can only have one rank of 5 on your entire sheet. I don't care if it's attribute or ability. You may have two ranks of 4 anywhere on your sheet. All other ranks must be 3 or less. Second... you get 11 free points to spend wherever you want on your sheet. Attributes cost 5 points each rank. Abilities cost 2 points each rank. So, example, you could pick two attribute ranks, or five abilities, or one attribute and three abilities. [/spoil]


Name: Your name
Gender: Male/Female
Age: How old you are
Occupation: Your job (warrior, thief, nun, mage, etc
Equipment: The things you are carrying
Description: what you look like
Background: your characters back story, who are you? Where have you been all these years? etc (feel free to write as much or as little as you like)
 

DeletedUser

I hope this is okay. Let me know if not.


Name: Brynjolf
Gender: Male
Age: 21
Occupation: Exiled Chasind / Beast Master
Equipment: Chasind short bow, quiver of arrows, twin silver shortswords, Chasind leather armour,

Description: Brynjolf is unmistakably Chasind. He is coated in their tattooes, wears Chasind armour and carries a Chasind bow. The only thing he has that differs are Rogest's silver shortswords. He is 5'10" and with an athletic build. His hair is dark and long with various animal teeth woven in and then tied back with cord.

Background: Brynjolf was born into the savage and superstitious lands of the Chasind. He grew up being trained as a hunter but always had an almost unnatural affinity with animals. He left on a hunt one evening but he and his party were attacked by a great bear. Brynjolf managed to calm the creature and send it on it's way but it was too late. Only Brynjolf and one other survived and the other returned with stories of how Brynjolf had controlled the bear and used it to kill the others. Brynjolf was immediately exiled and sent out into the southern lands. Once there he used his ability with animals to survive in the wilds until he was eventually found by an old man who took him in, taught him civilised language and began training him. This man was Rogest, a Sentinel, and when age got the better of him he made Brynjolf promise to continue his mission.
Brynjolf has not been formally accepted into the Sentinals but he is determined to not let Rogest down.


PHYSICAL: 7

Strength: 3
Dexterity: 3
Stamina: 4

SOCIAL: 3

Charisma: 2
Manipulation: 2
Appearance: 2

MENTAL: 5

Perception: 3
Intelligence: 2
Wits: 3

Abilities are broken down into three categories

TALENTS: 9

Alertness: 2
Athletics: 2 +1 (3)
Brawl: 1 +1 (2)
Dodge: 2
Intuition: 2

SKILLS: 13

Animal Ken: 4
Tracking: 2 +1 (3)
Shooting: 1
Melee (Small Weapons): 2 +1 (3)
Stealth: 1 +1 (2)
Survival: 3

KNOWLEDGES: 5

Herbalist: 2
Linguistics: 1
Occult: 2
 

DeletedUser31931

Name: Ben Andrews

Gender: Male

Age: 40

Occupation: Warrior/Ranger/Mage/Mercenary

Equipment: Sword and Shield, Bow and A quiver of arrows, a belt of throwing knifes, Healing Supplies Bag, Fletching Bag.

Description: With a sword scar on his head Ben is a battle hardened looking soldier. He has acquired several more scars, one from the night when Isolla had used the storm spell on the boat, running down the side of his left leg. Looks are no matter to him and he is dirty with messy blonde hair. He wears a plated armour (imagine the type of armour the Romans wore when taking Briton onwards.) with no helmet and lightly armoured legs however he mainly relies on his agility to get him out of trouble.

Background: Born in a quiet village and taken at the age of 2 by bandits. Ben was raised in the art of warfare. Killing presented no problem to him but he disagreed with the bandits stealing what people had worked hard to earn. One night he killed their leader and most of them with the help of two men he had found. These men turned out to be Sentinels tracking the bandits. Upon seeing how good he was they picked him for special training and during it he discovered his magic powers. He though chose to not just work on them but to only use the for an aid when fighting. Although he is gifted with magic he hasn't nurtured it enough to become a strong mage. Now having been a sentinel for twenty years he is experienced in the way of the sentinels. After the events in ROTS, he was somehow separated from Isolla and what occurred during the next three years is known to none but him, He now serves leading a group of about twenty mercenaries as weapons for hire and has done for the past two years. On horses and with a mix of Warriors, Archers however with the Golden Ones killing off most of the Mages there are none in his group. They are a force to be reckoned with if you are a human, however whether these Golden Ones can be killed or not remains to be found. He is currently visiting a town whom he protected from bandits to receive this years repayment. His magic skills have improved dramatically over the last five years, although he is not a full mage he is able to do lots more spells due to a lot of time spent practising with magic, since being a mercenary makes his practise his sword and bow regularly. However over the years due to the cruelties he has seen he has gone back on his promise he made about magic. He has used it in battle but on the promise that he is aiding people, the main two spells he can use in battle are (with your approval Braet): A stream of fire from his hands that lasts for about ten seconds, the second being that he can pulls large rocks/stones from the earth and throw them at his foes. He has built up his resistance and fitness so that he can use these regularly without bad effect however he considers it lazy just to use them so he only relies on them as a last resort, leaving the main magic to the professional magicians riding with him. Whilst being a mercenary he has also spent the last five years looking for signs of the others who he never saw again after that night where Isolla had been lost. He refuses to say what happened the night she vanished, and now bears a crippling scar on his back.

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Attributes

Here are my original character stats with the points I've added on in brackets in bold.

PHYSICAL: 7

Strength: 3
Dexterity: 4
Stamina: 3

SOCIAL: 3

Charisma: 2
Manipulation: 2
Appearance: 2

MENTAL: 5

Perception: 3
Intelligence: 3
Wits: 2

Abilities

TALENTS: 9

Alertness: 2
Athletics: 3
Brawl: 1
Dodge: 1 (+1)
Empathy: 1
Expression: 0
Intimidation: 1
Intuition: 1
Leadership: 0
Streetwise: 0
Subterfuge: 1
Performance:0

SKILLS: 13

Animal Ken:0
Crafts: 1
Tracking: 1
Riding: 2 (+2)
Shooting: 3
Melee (Small Weapons): 3
Melee (Large Weapons): 3
Thievery: 1
Stealth: 2
Survival: 2
Discipline: 0

KNOWLEDGES: 5

Academics: 2
Herbalist: 0
Enigmas: 0
Trade: 0
Investigation: 0
Sorcery: 2 (+1)
Linguistics: 0
Medicine: 1
Occult: 0
Research:0
Science: 0


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Ben rode into the village with the others and dismounted, walking up to the chief of the village, Samuel, he smiled. "You have our payment? I heard this year had been a good harvest for you. Also, any strangers in the area recently?" Ben and his company had saved this village from bandits two years ago and in return they paid him the leftovers of the harvest from that year, well some of the leftovers anyway. Ben refused to take them all as then they would have nothing to trade. He awaited a response from Sam
 
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DeletedUser

Name: Galen
Gender: Male
Age: 34
Occupation: theif/rogue
Equipment: Short sword (+sheath on back) provisions, twin daggers (in separate sheaths on thighs), lock picking kit, flint & tinder, throwing knives in ankle sheaths, grappling hook and twenty feet of rope.
Description: wears a tattered brown leather cloak and dark green cloth hood, he often keeps his hood up, it hides his face perfectly. his face is heavily scarred, he wears a metal mouthguard with airholes in it allowing him to breathe, the mouthguard means that his voice takes on a slightly creepy rasping tone as it comes through the airholes. on his elbows and knees he wears worn-down leather pads, he has metal knuckledusters as well, forming a semi-gauntlet on his hands. he wears light leather boots that make minimal noise, his hair is jet black.
Background: he grew up in an orphanage in the dirty and dark slums of Allansia where he learnt his trade after he escaped the orphanage. after several years of thieving, his exploits became known to the sentinels after he stole from one of their members in a back alley, taking the theft into consideration, they decided that it was a minor incident and would work well for them if he joined them. and so he joined the sentinels.
ever since he has taken on the role of the sentinel's resident thief. helping them get out of (and into) many "interesting" situations.
After the events of ROTS, Galen returned to Allansia, where he upheld work in the Thieves guild. However soon after Allansia was attacked by the Sidhe, and the vast majority of it's population were massacred as it's slums were razed to the ground.
Galen escaped, and fled north to the Land of The Free Folk, where he has resided since, working with the armed forces on raids into enemy territory.


ATTRIBUTES:
I'll add on the 11 extra points, as I didn't add them last time; along with the bonus points;

PHYSICAL: The core movement abilities of your character


Strength: 2
Dexterity: 4
Stamina: 3

SOCIAL: How well you character interacts and is perceived by others

Charisma: 2
Manipulation: 3
Appearance: 2

MENTAL: Your mental capabilities

Perception: 3
Intelligence: 3
Wits: 4

TALENTS: A listing of talents, most are self-explanatory

Alertness:
Athletics: 2
Brawl:
Dodge: 3
Empathy:
Expression:
Intimidation:
Intuition: (3)
Leadership:
Streetwise: 3 (4)
Subterfuge: 3
Performance:

SKILLS: A listing of skills, most are self-explanatory

Animal Ken:
Crafts:
Tracking: 2 (3)
Riding:
Shooting:
Melee 2 (3)
Melee 1
Thievery: 5
Stealth: 3
Survival: 3
Discipline: 1 (2)

KNOWLEDGES: List of knowledge’s, most are self-explanatory


Academics: 2
Herbalist:
Enigmas:
Trade:
Investigation: 3
Sorcery:
Linguistics:
Medicine:
Occult:
Research:
Science:
 
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DeletedUser28032

Using Existing characters
If you decide to use the same character that you used in RotS (Just copy and paste the original sheet) then in order to represent the experience and skills gained during th course of the story and the subsequent five year interval you may have and additional 8pts of skills and attributes using the pricing system of 2pts per skill and 3pts per attribute (to save my brain please mark where you have used these) and you may also ignore the original cap of having only two 4pt skills and one 5pt skill.

The only caveat is that you may not spend any of these points on the "Sorcery" skill unless you already have points in that skill. In short if you couldn't use magic last time you can't use it this time.
 

Deleted User - 819397

Name: Drake Nurms
Gender: Male
Age: 30
Occupation: Battle Alchemist.
Equipment: Large single-handed axe, flaming staff, unusual armor, several different alchemy products.
Description: Drake has green hair and brown eyes. He's of slight build, 5' 11". He's only without his armor when he's working, so no one knows what his face truly looks like, as his helmet hides the majority of his features. His armor is purple with green gems inlaid throughout, and looks as though he made it himself as nothing like it has ever been seen before.
Background: Not much is known of Drake. He appeared in the free city about 4 years after the Sidhe attacked, and appeared a different person. At first his hair was brown and his eyes green, but slowly they reversed, something he never explained. His personality was also kinder at first, but became harder and more distant as his physical appearance changed. He was reserved for six months, then showed himself as a battle alchemist-for-hire. His specialties on the battlefield are glass balls that explode into flames when thrown, shooting electricity from his flaming staff (using properties of the fire) and in dire circumstances shooting a beam of pure alchemic energy from the staff, though this draws on his life force and he can't keep it up for long. Although he's not the best melee fighter, he does carry an axe in his free hand to ward off any who get too close, but as an alternative he can charge his armored hands with his staff and simply punch enemies away with a jolt. Off the battlefield he's somewhat qualified as a healer, with knowledge of plants and their effects on people. His blunt, withdrawn personality is offsetting, but his abilities are indispensable in a fight.

PHYSICAL: The core movement abilities of your character

Strength: 3
Dexterity: 2
Stamina: 3

SOCIAL: How well you character interacts and is perceived by others

Charisma: 1
Manipulation: 3
Appearance: 2

MENTAL: Your mental capabilities

Perception: 3
Intelligence: 3
Wits: 4

Abilities

TALENTS:

Alertness: 1

Expression: 2


SKILLS:

Riding: 2
Stealth: 2
melee (small): 4
Survival: 3
Discipline: 4

KNOWLEDGES: List of knowledge’s, most are self-explanatory

Academics: 3
Herbalist: 3
Medicine: 2
Sorcery: 3
Medicine: 3
Occult: 3
Research: 2
Science: 5
 
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DeletedUser28032

Samuel
The old man regarded Ben with a grudging gratitude as he and his band of mercenaries rode into the tiny village. Although it was true that Ben had saved the village from the band of outlaws that had been plaguing the area nothing had really changed; he still had to give up a portion of his hard earned harvest to someone else the only difference was that Ben wasn't liable to kill him if he refused not that he wanted to put that theory to the test.
"There it is, I suppose you'll be selling it in Cytringham?" the old man asked pointing out the small pile of sacks the villagers had left propped up against a dry stone wall "As for strangers...well as you know not many folk come through these parts" he said with a shrug, his hand going up to scratch the snowy white stubble covering his chin as his pale blue eyes suddenly light up as a memory suddenly surfaces from his mind "oh I will tell you one thing though somebody did for Dradus and his Wolfskins...cut them to pieces within their own hideout and then strung the survivors and dead alike from the trees… whoever did that must of had some guts" decked from head to toe in wolf furs the Wolfskins; as they had been aptly named had been terrorising the entire realm for years, the group of ex-soldiers having wiped out more than a few villages and leaving the disembowelled corpses of those foolish enough to try and resist out in the open for the wolves to feast upon along more than a few soldiers and sell swords that had thought themselves capable of defeating them in battle.
"Don't know too many details me'self and the old mind keeps forgettin' what I do know...but the boy saw what happened didn't ya boy?" the young boy nodded his head in eager response as he passed a sack of vegetables up to one of the mercenaries in Bens company.
Looking up at the mercenary captain the old man couldn't help but smile as he spoke "Looks like you’ll be having some competition doesn't it?"
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Cytringham
It was market day within the sprawling town of Cytringham, its palisade walls encircling the ragged collection of thatched houses and tents that had been thrown up by the ever increasing flow of refugees from the war five years ago, the Chasind grudgingly allowing them to settle upon their land.
With no single lord or army ruling the town life was chaotic at best with buildings being erected and demolished seemingly at random on a near daily basis and fights erupting between the numerous factions living side by side in the cramped and poorly sanitised town. Yet despite these shortcomings people travelled from miles around in order to trade their wares within the bustling township, its walls offering a brief respite from the bandits and raiders roaming the surrounding countryside seemingly unchecked.
As market sellers hawked their wares; haggling loudly with their customers in order to heard over the clash of wooden weapons wielded by farm boys in heavy padding trying to best a giant from the daggers in single combat for the huge cash prize sat within the chest guarded by two more Daggermen as a skinny man persuaded and cajoled yet more victims into losing their silver and accepting the challenge in the hope of glory and gold.
A group of guardsmen dressed in battered leather and mail meanwhile rush to break up a fight between a group of Ascenti merchants and a group of Lysian performers whilst all the while the relentless gossip concerning the mysterious hooded figure that had defeated the Wolfskins continued to circulate like a disease.
 

DeletedUser31931

Ben listened to Sam with interest and replied "Of course. Same as always, thinking about buying some new swords, apparently there is a new metalworker there with good talent so we might get ourselves some new swords. Upon checking over the amount he said "That's not too much is it? Hate to be depriving of all your surplus. Also can I have a conversation with this boy who saw the Wolfskins get killed? I'd like to know who did this. They could be a valuable addition to our group if they were willing. We had been toying with going after them for a while however we weren't sure if we had enough numbers." He ended lightly, he liked Samuel, he was a good and honest leader, he hoped he wasn't ruining the village as that would do nothing to help the image of the mercenaries and in the end they would just become like the Wolfskins which Ben was extremely keen to avoid as an Ex-Sentinel.
 

DeletedUser

Brynjolf had spent so much time in the wilds that he always felt anxious and uncomfortable around so many people. Despite this there were things he simply couldn't get in the wild and with his bundles of furs and meat, he had the hated task of trading for them. All he wanted to do was get finished and get back out into the wilderness.
Eventually he found himself facing a merchant selling varioups pieces of Metalwork. He was attempting to trade furs for arrowheads and was very aware he was being ripped off.
'I will not say this again old man,' he said with a low growl, 'my furs are worth at least five times what you are offering.'
Brynjolf was on edge and his voice was carrying. He knew his swords had already drawn attention and if he had been thinking clearly he would have been more wary of the nearby guards. Unfortunately, he was well out of his comfort zone and wasn't thinking clearly.
 

DeletedUser28032

Samuel
"Its what was agreed, we survived the war we can survive this" the old man said with a shrug as Ben questioned the amount, another time the old man would try and drop the price but not today as the mercenary had pointed out the harvest had been good and he had more than enough to survive the coming winter with.
"you can talk to the boy just don't going filling his head with tales of glory he's needed here and I don't want him running off to get killed with the likes of you...no offence intended" the old apologised realising that his tone had been a little harsh; too many young men had already died beneath a lords banner and he didn't want to the lad suffer the same fate "Boy tell him what you saw"
The boy was probably around twelve years old with his straw coloured hair hacked short so as not to get in the way whilst he was working his muscles already well built despite his age.
Cautiously approaching Ben the boy fidgeted nervously with the bottom of his shirt as spoke "Well...I didn't get a very good look mister as I was hiding like and I only saw after the fighting was done...but there was this short fella in a hood and he would like point to these fella's and they would do what he wanted without saying anything....he must have been like because i heard a noise and looked over my shoulder to see what it was and when i looked back him and his band had disappeared" boy continued to fidget nervously unsure as to what to tell the man before suddenly piping up "I could tells you where they was if you like?"
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Metalsmith
The man bit his bottom lip as he fought to control his temper as the stubborn fool continued to argue with him damn Chasind think they run the place "Listen here Chasind I didn't fight all the way across Talamh Bui to get ripped off by the likes of you...now I will give you thirty arrowheads for the furs and that’s my final offer" he said with confidence of somebody who knew he was the only decent weaponsmith for miles around not to mention the added bonus of the town guards milling around the marketplace many of whom would be more than happy to knock ten bells out of a Chasind.
 

Deleted User - 819397

Drake sighed as he finished inscribing yet another sword with glyphs to give the wielder extra protection. When he didn't have a fighting job, he made ends meet by enchanting other peoples' weapons. He didn't like to use glyphs - a single scratch or unfortunate dent would ruin the entire thing, but some clients insisted, liking the aesthetic effect. He much preferred directly enchanting the tool, as that wouldn't wear off, particularly if done properly, something he'd gotten good at over the years. This order had come from the main metalsmith in this putrid city, so there was no arguing with the man.

The piece complete, he wrapped it in cloth, then put his armored gloves back on. He was known for wearing his complete suit wherever he went, and knew he'd just attract unwanted attention if he didn't wear them. He also grabbed his staff, leaving his axe at home...if you could call the tiny hovel a home. He ignored everyone as he went though the bustle of the dingy place, not wanting to be interrupted with pointless small talk. He approached the smith at his place on the market square, then stopped when he saw the man was with a customer, a Chasind by the looks of him. The man would be irate if he interrupted the deal, so he got off to the side and waited, his eyes glaring around at everything distrully. His helmet covered the rest of his face, making the majority of his expression impossible to read, but his body language showed he wasn't comfortable with being in this crowd.
 

DeletedUser

"I will give you thirty arrowheads for the furs and that’s my final offer" the metalsmith said.
Brynjolf audiably growled as he slammed the furs down in front of the man. 'Fine,' he snapped. '30 it is.'
Brynjolf then turned to storm away muttering about how he hated civilization when he nearly bumped into a man in one of the strangest garbs he had ever seen. He didn't spend time listening to the chatter of the town and had no idea who this man was but something about him sparked Brynjolf's instincts and told him to be careful.
'Apologies,' he said to the man. 'I meant no disrispect.'
 

DeletedUser31931

"You can talk to the boy just don't going filling his head with tales of glory he's needed here and I don't want him running off to get killed with the likes of you...no offence intended"
"None taken." Ben replied "I can perfectly understand that." and he did. He followed Samuel to the boy and listened, interesting, one magician with a pack of warriors, or a whole pack of magicians?
He decided that maybe inspecting the battlefield was a good idea so he replied "Ok then, tell me where they were, however, after that you probably need to get back to your parents. They are probably wondering where you are now."
 

DeletedUser

Galen walked through the streets of Cytringham, he passed through the crowds, nobody paying him much attention.
That was how he liked to be, inconspicuous. Business and life was better that way. He was just someone you would see and forget about. A nobody, a non-entity.
He brushed past another person and as he did so, Galen slipped his hands down and pickpocketed the man's coinpouch.
Continuing his way, he put the coinpouch on his belt, before continuing on his way.
 

Deleted User - 819397

The Chasind finished his dealing with the metalsmith, then proceeded to almost run right into Drake. He apologized for his actions, and Drake nodded in acceptance of the statement. "Wait here," he ordered the man, his voice distorted from the echoing of his helmet. He walked over to the metalsmith and handed him the enchanted sword. "Here's the piece you ordered, though why you still want glyphs is a mystery to me. I've told you before, if the customers don't believe a piece is truly enchanted, come get me. It's easy enough to trigger an enchanted item's power." So saying, his staff flared into life, the top crackling with flames. He let the power flicker for a moment, then shut it off. He then walked away without another word, having demanded payment in advance.

He returned to the Chasind, and held out his armored hand. "Let me see one of those arrowheads," he demanded. "Wait, it doesn't matter...I know what the result is. The man is good at his job, after all. Those will serve you well against any animal you meet out there, but against any invading party, you'll stand no chance. You know how dangerous these times are. Any decent group will have protection from normal arrows. You need extra...insurance." He hesitated, then gestured. "Look, I'm no crook like the metalsmith...my biggest drive is to keep us all alive. This war was hard on all of us, and I don't want anything more to come of it. The Sidhe aren't going to let us live here forever, you know. Come with me to my home...I'll enchant the arrowheads for you, free of charge." Without waiting for a response, he started walking briskly. He wasn't going to look back until he got to his house. If the man was following him, he'd keep his word. If not, his loss.
 

DeletedUser

Galen stopped and stepped into the darkness of an alley, the alley, in fact, where he'd agreed to meet someone that he owed money, he could have assassinated him of course, but them Galen would have had a bounty on his head. And that was the last thing he needed.
"I know you're there, I have the cash, come on, and if you try anything, I'll make sure you die." He spoke, his mouthguard giving his voice an eerie rasping tone.
 

DeletedUser28032

Galen
The hand clamped across the back of Glens neck squeezing painfully as a booted foot connected with the back of his knee causing his legs to give way and his body to crumple up beneath him "Still playing the same old tricks are we Galen?" the heavily accented yet vaguely familiar voice spoke quietly into his ear so as to be heard over the noise of the crowds passing the two men, all of them trying their very best not to see anything.
"Now I am going to let go of you then your going to give me back my money...and then I am going to offer you a job understood?" the hand suddenly released its iron tight grip upon Galen’s neck allowing him to get up off of the dirt.
Turning around he found himself looking at a tall man in his mid to late thirties with the dark hair and olive skin tone of an Ascentian, his clothes although of a very high quality were old and well worn showing that although their owner had once been exceedingly wealthy he wasn't any longer. However the most striking thing about his appearance was the fact that his right arm stopped suddenly at the elbow, the sleeve folded and pinned in order to hide the stump within and the sword moved to his right hip so he could draw with his left "So Galen have I piqued your interest?"
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The Boy
At being told that he would have to return to his parent once he'd finished providing them with directions the boy glumly nodded his head before going on to speak.
The encampment had been made on a rocky outcrop deep within the trees and was only easily accessible by following a dried out stream bed.
If the boy’s directions were accurate then the hideout was on the way to Cytringham meaning that Ben wouldn't have to make too big of a detour to reach it assuming he didn't get lost in the woods that was.
 

DeletedUser

(OOC: That's Cesare isn't it? I'll edit it if I'm wrong)

Galen's eyes widened at the sight of Cesare, an Ascenti general who had helped them all those years ago.
"So Galen have I piqued your interest?"
Galen didn't think before replying; "Yeah." Reaching down he took the coinpouch and held it out to Cesare.
However, unlike Cesare, Galen had the advantage of having two hands, and used this advantage well.
Galen's left hand moved quickly as he drew a dagger out of it's sheath on his left thigh and held it against Cesare's chest.
"Sorry, can't trust anyone." He said. Galen took a deep breath before continuing; "Now that we're on equal ground, what's this job you want me to do?"
 

DeletedUser31931

Thanking the boy for his help and shooing him away Ben walked over to Sam and said "Well thank you for your time. Hopefully the winter won't be too harsh on you. I should be in some of the neighbouring villages over the winter, some of them have a few bandit problems so if you have any of your own just send a message to them and when we arrive they should pass it on to us." Mounting his horse he nodded at Samuel and rode out of the village with his band in tow. Once they were out of the village he called back "Wolfskins are dead apparently. Got killed by a bunch of people who then vanished into thin air. We're going to check it out, see if we can find them and convince them to join us. Jaime get up here. We need to have a talk." Leading on he casually followed down the path towards the river bed, upon reaching it they turned in and the horses began to wind their way up the path as Ben kept his eyes peeled for the site the boy had described.
 
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DeletedUser

Bryjolf was torn. The stranger promised him aid but he had been raised in a tribe that was deeply superstitious and fearful of such things. On the other side of this he had since been trained in the arts of war and knew the advantages such aid could offer.
Eventually the training Rogest had given him won out and he chased after the stranger.
'I will repay you,' he said as he came up alongside him. He was playing his fingers across the hilts of his old mentors swords absently. 'I was taught not to take lightly, even if given freely.'
 
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