Gabriel
🎖️ Game Master
The small Village of Brandson, in the northern reaches of the region Belok, in the nation of Drakeshire, Year 454.
A scream is heard outside the village, and all goes silent. Another scream is heard and the chaos breaks. Woman and children run to their home. A large human barbarian runs towards the center of the town, wielding his mighty greataxe, and swings his head around, looking for the signs of trouble. "Wolves! Wolves!" A scout comes sprinting into the village center. "A pack of wolves has been spotted, not half a league to the east. At least four or five of them. One of the older boys of the village was headed that way roughly an hour ago. It's Talarin, sir." The barbarian looks at the men of the village that had gathered. "Well what are you waiting for? Arm yourselves!" Some of the men were already armed with personal gear, while some ran home to fetch their's, and a few sprinted to the village blacksmith shop where the master blacksmith was already handing out weapons and armor. "Go kill those nasty curs," he would yell as he tossed people the well-needed gear. Within minutes, a large force was armed and began marching to the east. "Scout!" The barbarian yelled, "Run ahead, find the pack's location, make sure the boy is alive! Men, quicken pace!" The group quickened to a hustle. After three or four minutes the scout ran back to the group. "Sir, the boy is alive, the wolves have him surrounded a hundred yards that way, he'll be dead within the minute." The barbarian whipped his head behind him. "MOVE!" Then he took off at a dead sprint. Suddenly, there was a flash of light from up ahead. Three wolves came sprinting out of the forest, which the men quickly cut down. Immediately they sprinted to where the boy was. It shocked them to find the alpha wolf of the pack lying dead on the ground, a smoldering circle of dead flesh in it's side, the red headed boy huddled near a tree. The barbarian stepped back and turned to Talarin. "What did you do, boy!?" The boy looked up at him. 'I..I d..don't k..know sir."
A very small hamlet, name unknown, along the souther border of Belok. Year 455
"Sneaking around, hiding in the shadows, picking locks! You're well to becoming a thief one day, but what good comes of such a profession." In one of the houses in the hamlet a mother was yelling at her daughter. "We don't want you acting like this anymore! Do you understand me?" The door to the house swung open and out walked a pale faced human girl, with brown hair and shiny silver eyes. "I understand you mom, but I think you're the one who doesn't understand me. You don't even trust me!" The mother followed her daughter out of the house. "Don't use that tone with me Denkou Matsumora! You are my daughter and as long as your living under this roof you will do as I say!" "FINE!" Denkou walked into the house and a minute later she runs out of the house. "Where do you think you're going?" "Away from here!" Came the shout from down the road. Wit those final words the girl sprinted away from the town. She traveled north, since she knew there was a city in that direction, for many days and nights. She scavenged what food she could and stole the rest from town markets that she passed. When she finally reached the city of Belloksh she found shelter in abandoned buildings. For many months she hid within the city, stealing what food she could, before she started doing petty missions for the locals. People would pay her to deliver secret messages and when she started receiving jobs to deliver secret military information to the troops in enemy territory, she learned that she could make a much better living selling the information to the enemies, and then delivering it to the troops anyways. However, while selling the secrets to the enemies she started eavesdropping on the higher officers. She would then learn secrets of the enemy army and selling those secrets to the Drakeshire military. She worked as a double agent for months before she was discovered by the enemy Madsonians. When assassins came after her she was forced to flee Belloksh and hide in the forest. It was over a month before she decided it was safe to leave the forest and hid in a small village nearby.
A military outpost, in the enemy nation of Madsonia, fifteen leagues from the Drakeshire border, Year 456
"Keth...Thamior...Enialis...Oskar..." A mail carrier stood in the middle of a large group, handing out mail as she pulled it out of her bag. Off to the side, a young soldier, around 20 years old, sat on the ground, resting against a building. As he sat and sharpened his longsword, he wasn't really paying much attention to the group, since he wasn't really expecting much mail. "Aurelus," the mail carrier called out. The soldier perked his head up a bit. "Aurelus!" The carrier called again. The soldier dropped his stuff and jogged over to the lady, who handed him a single envelope and winked, "Congrats." . Curiously, he looked at the front of the envelope to see that it was from military command. Remembering what today was, he excitedly opened the letter.
To Private Aurelus,
On this day of 456th year after the creation of Drakeshire, you have served a full term of 48 months in the Royal Army of Drakeshire. Since you have opted not to reenlist, you are hereby discharged from the service of the crown. At noon tomorrow an escort will arrive to return you safely within the boundaries of Drakeshire. We thank you for your service.
Sincerely,
General Ivellios Liadon
Royal Army of Drakeshire
The next 24 hours seemed like the longest in the world Aurelus waited for his opportunity to return home and see his parents. Everywhere he went, his fellow soldiers were patting him on the back and yelling out, "Ready to go home soldier? Hehe!" When the escort arrived he packed up his stuff and threw it on a horse that they were providing for the journey. About two leagues from the border, as they approached a large hill, smoke could be seen in the distance. "Halt!" Yelled the lead escort. He motioned to one of his two men to scout ahead. The horseman rode until he was about twenty feet from the top, the dismounted and slowly crept the rest of the way. When he reached the top he lay on his stomach and peered around a bush. He turned around and motioned to his leader. The lead escort watched intently before turning to Aurelus and the other. "He spotted a force of roughly thirty men, marching in this direction from Drakeshire. You're on your own from here soldier, we have to return to the outpost and notify them of an approaching force and then notify command that an enemy force is suspected of having been within the borders. I'm sorry, but we have to take the horse too. Good luck." At that point the other escort had returned and the three of them took off back in the other direction, leaving Aurelus to fend form himself. After a detour of roughly a league to avoid the enemy group, he continued and by nightfall he had reached the forest that marked the border of Drakeshire. There he set up camp. In the morning he continued on his way, knowing that his village was only a league or two away. By noon the village was in sight. However, he noticed something odd. After sprinting to the village he slowly stopped, starred for a moment, and dropped to his knees. Before him was the remains of his village, burnt and charred. From where he knelt he could see dead bodies littering the ground. Then, with a leap, he took off running towards his home. He crashed through what was left of the door. "Wife? Children...anyone?" He didn't have to look far for there in the corner was the remains of his family. After weeping for what seemed like hours Aurelus stood and yelled. "I vow, to all of you, that I will bring you back from beyond! I will find the highest of clerics, the holiest of the holy, and I will return you and this village to what it once was! This I vow!" And he turned, and sprinted out of the city, into the northern wilderness.
The large city of Belloksh, in the region of Belok, Year 456
A young quarterling shuffled through the market, trying to buy supplies. Her adoptive parents had sent her with a supply list while the two of them waited with their wagon. Being merchants, their wagon was always a target of raids. Sorri, the quarterling, had also been abandoned as a child, due to her being half-halfling and half-human, it was never a popular race with the locals. She quickly purchased her stuff, trying to avoid as much direct contact with the locals as she could. Once all the goods that were needed were acquired she made her way out of town. When she reached the city gates she shrieked as she saw smoke coming from the direction of her family's wagon. She sprinted over and saw a mob around the burning wagon, her adoptive parent dead next to the wagon. "There she is, get her!" The mob turned and started chasing after her, at which point she fled. She hid well beyond the city walls, in a forest, trying to stay hidden from any people or voices that she could hear. Later that night she returned to the wagon and scavenged what supplies that she could. At that point, she fled again, trying to retrace her steps to old trade routes and find people that were friendly to her family that could help her. She would travel through forests, away from the sight of roads or trails. In her spare time she would discipline herself through studying her holy book and learning about her deity, The One Who Is. Through prayer and sheer luck she avoided most of the people chasing her and was rarely discovered. That is, until one night she had set up camp in a forest when she was awoken by voices. She peered outside of her bedroll and saw two figures talking, ten feet from where she slept, rummaging through her stuff. Suddenly, one of them yelled out. "She's awake! Don't let her escape!" The two figured lunged at her, from which she barely escaped. Sorri rolled towards her pack and grabbed her quarterstaff which she swung towards her attacker. "One Who Is," she muttered. "Protect me from these evil men. Guide me away from them, and protect me from harm." She picked up her pack and sprinted off. Behind her, she could here the two men trip over each other, but she was well out of hearing range before they could manage to get themselves up. From there she traveled, looking for protection and companions whom she could trust.
A scream is heard outside the village, and all goes silent. Another scream is heard and the chaos breaks. Woman and children run to their home. A large human barbarian runs towards the center of the town, wielding his mighty greataxe, and swings his head around, looking for the signs of trouble. "Wolves! Wolves!" A scout comes sprinting into the village center. "A pack of wolves has been spotted, not half a league to the east. At least four or five of them. One of the older boys of the village was headed that way roughly an hour ago. It's Talarin, sir." The barbarian looks at the men of the village that had gathered. "Well what are you waiting for? Arm yourselves!" Some of the men were already armed with personal gear, while some ran home to fetch their's, and a few sprinted to the village blacksmith shop where the master blacksmith was already handing out weapons and armor. "Go kill those nasty curs," he would yell as he tossed people the well-needed gear. Within minutes, a large force was armed and began marching to the east. "Scout!" The barbarian yelled, "Run ahead, find the pack's location, make sure the boy is alive! Men, quicken pace!" The group quickened to a hustle. After three or four minutes the scout ran back to the group. "Sir, the boy is alive, the wolves have him surrounded a hundred yards that way, he'll be dead within the minute." The barbarian whipped his head behind him. "MOVE!" Then he took off at a dead sprint. Suddenly, there was a flash of light from up ahead. Three wolves came sprinting out of the forest, which the men quickly cut down. Immediately they sprinted to where the boy was. It shocked them to find the alpha wolf of the pack lying dead on the ground, a smoldering circle of dead flesh in it's side, the red headed boy huddled near a tree. The barbarian stepped back and turned to Talarin. "What did you do, boy!?" The boy looked up at him. 'I..I d..don't k..know sir."
A very small hamlet, name unknown, along the souther border of Belok. Year 455
"Sneaking around, hiding in the shadows, picking locks! You're well to becoming a thief one day, but what good comes of such a profession." In one of the houses in the hamlet a mother was yelling at her daughter. "We don't want you acting like this anymore! Do you understand me?" The door to the house swung open and out walked a pale faced human girl, with brown hair and shiny silver eyes. "I understand you mom, but I think you're the one who doesn't understand me. You don't even trust me!" The mother followed her daughter out of the house. "Don't use that tone with me Denkou Matsumora! You are my daughter and as long as your living under this roof you will do as I say!" "FINE!" Denkou walked into the house and a minute later she runs out of the house. "Where do you think you're going?" "Away from here!" Came the shout from down the road. Wit those final words the girl sprinted away from the town. She traveled north, since she knew there was a city in that direction, for many days and nights. She scavenged what food she could and stole the rest from town markets that she passed. When she finally reached the city of Belloksh she found shelter in abandoned buildings. For many months she hid within the city, stealing what food she could, before she started doing petty missions for the locals. People would pay her to deliver secret messages and when she started receiving jobs to deliver secret military information to the troops in enemy territory, she learned that she could make a much better living selling the information to the enemies, and then delivering it to the troops anyways. However, while selling the secrets to the enemies she started eavesdropping on the higher officers. She would then learn secrets of the enemy army and selling those secrets to the Drakeshire military. She worked as a double agent for months before she was discovered by the enemy Madsonians. When assassins came after her she was forced to flee Belloksh and hide in the forest. It was over a month before she decided it was safe to leave the forest and hid in a small village nearby.
A military outpost, in the enemy nation of Madsonia, fifteen leagues from the Drakeshire border, Year 456
"Keth...Thamior...Enialis...Oskar..." A mail carrier stood in the middle of a large group, handing out mail as she pulled it out of her bag. Off to the side, a young soldier, around 20 years old, sat on the ground, resting against a building. As he sat and sharpened his longsword, he wasn't really paying much attention to the group, since he wasn't really expecting much mail. "Aurelus," the mail carrier called out. The soldier perked his head up a bit. "Aurelus!" The carrier called again. The soldier dropped his stuff and jogged over to the lady, who handed him a single envelope and winked, "Congrats." . Curiously, he looked at the front of the envelope to see that it was from military command. Remembering what today was, he excitedly opened the letter.
To Private Aurelus,
On this day of 456th year after the creation of Drakeshire, you have served a full term of 48 months in the Royal Army of Drakeshire. Since you have opted not to reenlist, you are hereby discharged from the service of the crown. At noon tomorrow an escort will arrive to return you safely within the boundaries of Drakeshire. We thank you for your service.
Sincerely,
General Ivellios Liadon
Royal Army of Drakeshire
The next 24 hours seemed like the longest in the world Aurelus waited for his opportunity to return home and see his parents. Everywhere he went, his fellow soldiers were patting him on the back and yelling out, "Ready to go home soldier? Hehe!" When the escort arrived he packed up his stuff and threw it on a horse that they were providing for the journey. About two leagues from the border, as they approached a large hill, smoke could be seen in the distance. "Halt!" Yelled the lead escort. He motioned to one of his two men to scout ahead. The horseman rode until he was about twenty feet from the top, the dismounted and slowly crept the rest of the way. When he reached the top he lay on his stomach and peered around a bush. He turned around and motioned to his leader. The lead escort watched intently before turning to Aurelus and the other. "He spotted a force of roughly thirty men, marching in this direction from Drakeshire. You're on your own from here soldier, we have to return to the outpost and notify them of an approaching force and then notify command that an enemy force is suspected of having been within the borders. I'm sorry, but we have to take the horse too. Good luck." At that point the other escort had returned and the three of them took off back in the other direction, leaving Aurelus to fend form himself. After a detour of roughly a league to avoid the enemy group, he continued and by nightfall he had reached the forest that marked the border of Drakeshire. There he set up camp. In the morning he continued on his way, knowing that his village was only a league or two away. By noon the village was in sight. However, he noticed something odd. After sprinting to the village he slowly stopped, starred for a moment, and dropped to his knees. Before him was the remains of his village, burnt and charred. From where he knelt he could see dead bodies littering the ground. Then, with a leap, he took off running towards his home. He crashed through what was left of the door. "Wife? Children...anyone?" He didn't have to look far for there in the corner was the remains of his family. After weeping for what seemed like hours Aurelus stood and yelled. "I vow, to all of you, that I will bring you back from beyond! I will find the highest of clerics, the holiest of the holy, and I will return you and this village to what it once was! This I vow!" And he turned, and sprinted out of the city, into the northern wilderness.
The large city of Belloksh, in the region of Belok, Year 456
A young quarterling shuffled through the market, trying to buy supplies. Her adoptive parents had sent her with a supply list while the two of them waited with their wagon. Being merchants, their wagon was always a target of raids. Sorri, the quarterling, had also been abandoned as a child, due to her being half-halfling and half-human, it was never a popular race with the locals. She quickly purchased her stuff, trying to avoid as much direct contact with the locals as she could. Once all the goods that were needed were acquired she made her way out of town. When she reached the city gates she shrieked as she saw smoke coming from the direction of her family's wagon. She sprinted over and saw a mob around the burning wagon, her adoptive parent dead next to the wagon. "There she is, get her!" The mob turned and started chasing after her, at which point she fled. She hid well beyond the city walls, in a forest, trying to stay hidden from any people or voices that she could hear. Later that night she returned to the wagon and scavenged what supplies that she could. At that point, she fled again, trying to retrace her steps to old trade routes and find people that were friendly to her family that could help her. She would travel through forests, away from the sight of roads or trails. In her spare time she would discipline herself through studying her holy book and learning about her deity, The One Who Is. Through prayer and sheer luck she avoided most of the people chasing her and was rarely discovered. That is, until one night she had set up camp in a forest when she was awoken by voices. She peered outside of her bedroll and saw two figures talking, ten feet from where she slept, rummaging through her stuff. Suddenly, one of them yelled out. "She's awake! Don't let her escape!" The two figured lunged at her, from which she barely escaped. Sorri rolled towards her pack and grabbed her quarterstaff which she swung towards her attacker. "One Who Is," she muttered. "Protect me from these evil men. Guide me away from them, and protect me from harm." She picked up her pack and sprinted off. Behind her, she could here the two men trip over each other, but she was well out of hearing range before they could manage to get themselves up. From there she traveled, looking for protection and companions whom she could trust.
