the Cold North Soldiers or Guards

Maia & Dennos || Pre-Ruins

I like to think so.

And you soldiers? Do you enjoy each other as a family as well? It is a shame we do not all spend more time together…

Oh you must introduce me to him when we return!

#and they had breakfast #it was awesome #conversation: maia

Not really a family, we’re not a tight group or anything. I know Yelda and Nedith, but not because we live close to each other, just because we hung out once. Besides, there are thousands of soldiers and only few Mancers.

I would love to introduce the two of you. Now, first, let’s have that breakfast before we continue talking!

The End.

The Search for Lost Friends || Bane & Dennos

Bane raised an eyebrow when the man asked him if his company had disappeared ‘into the ground.’ He had suspected the man was part of a group, but the specificity of his admission made it clear that the man had lost them into the catacombs as well. “That’s right.” Bane then decided to take a gamble for the Noard’s sympathy with the truth, “A woman. My friend.” Bane decided to omit that he had two more in his company and that they could be anywhere – though Bane suspected that as the rest of his company was Kelt and Deas, they had probably fallen down a hole as well – but before he could ask the man’s name, though, the beast appeared and the man surprisingly saved his life. Bane may have taken the time to thank him, but this is when they fell through the ground.

After he recovered from the impact of the fall, Bane let out a chuckle at the man on top of him, “Well, for a man who has yet to give me his name, you certainly are friendly.” The man leaped off him at this, seemingly embarrassed and went to find his weapon. It was an admirable move under the circumstances. Bane was still a stranger to this man, and even though they had helped each other, the man refused to drop his guard. It was a move he would have made himself under the circumstances (though he would have taken the opportunity to flirt back). Still, Bane was eager to gain the man’s trust – to increase his odds of survival and to discover whether he had made the acquaintance of another Mancer. Once again, he tried to start a conversation, when he heard a distinct sound coming through the wall. Bane raised his hand to indicate to the other man to be quiet. Could it be? The sound was faint – but it sounded like – “Killah?”

Bane rushed to the wall and pressed his ear to it. The sound was faint, but it sounded like a fight several rooms away. It was hard to estimate the exact distance as the catacombs had deceptive acoustics, but it sound like Hay and Killah. Bane turned to his companion and nodded in the direction of the sound. It was then the temple began to shake much more violently than it had before. It looked like the structural instability of the hole they had formed with their fall was the last straw for the temple. It was coming down, and it was coming down now. “Oh crap!” Bane said to Noard. He ran back to the hole they had formed which was already forming a partial staircase as it filled up with sand and debris. Pushing and pulling each other through the rapidly filling cavity, they climbed up through the dissolving temple like their lives depended on it (probably because it did). After several minutes of exhaustive struggle and many very near misses, the two men managed to crawl up to the surface to the empty desert – but only because they had worked together.

Bane crawled along the ground on all fours till he got to a safe distance then flopped on his back to catch his breath. Once again, he began to laugh. It had been that kind of a day. When his breath steadied, Bane sat up and looked at the Noard, “Well I hope after all that I earned a little more trust from you.” He scratched his chin, “If it helps you any, I’ll tell you what you’ve probably suspected already. I’m a Knight, and I’m guessing you’re a Mancer… but here we are, not at each other’s throats and as a result – alive.” Bane stood up and extended his hand, “So what do you say we shake hands and thank each other for our lives.” He shrugged and gave the Noard a genuine smile, “Thank you. Now if I know my girl Killah, she’s probably still alive around here somewhere. I don’t want you to get in trouble being seen with a punk like me, so perhaps its best we go our separate ways. Goodbye, and good luck.” Bane bowed at the man and headed in the opposite direction.

#para #the search for lost friends #dennos

The Bane guys ears seemed more sensitive to sound than Dennos’ were. He was taken aback by surprise as the man seemed to have noticed how things were falling apart. He growled lowly in aspiration, knowing he would have to deal with this, and he felt very little for actually moving again. He wished for a moment he could stand still, review the situation and come up with a plan that would mean the two of them separating without anything worrisome happening. He had to find Maia after all, this man only formed a distraction for his search.

Then the rumble came down, and Bane was the first to loosen his feet from the ground, heading towards the gaping hole above their heads. Dennos threw his body to move, and ran up the debris and falling sand, grabbing Bane whenever he was loosing his balance. The Knight did the same for him. It took a lot of energy and time before the two of them reached the top of the rumbled staircase. He was breathing heavily, his lungs burning under the pressure of the thick rocky air.

He listened to the Knight’s rambling, still trying to find some clean air to drive his breathing to slow. He wasn’t used to this smokey feeling in his esophagus. Still grabbing his chest, Dennos extended his hand to the Knight. ‘Not a Mancer, I am a Cold North soldier,’ he corrected the man, and shook his hand. ‘And thank you, I will continue to look for my friends among these shaking ruins,’ he said. And then he watched the Knight run off. He caught an other rasping fling of air, and took the road when he felt like he could bare with the little energy he had left.

Speeding onward, he found himself still within the ruins, but closer to the light. A small image formed as he came closer to the light of day. ‘Maia!?’ he called, recognizing the small posture of the Human and her shining black hair. He found his legs running faster, glad to find his friend still alive, watching her hands however, the words of joy were caught short. ‘Is that what I think it is?’ he asked.

maia-fortuin

Artifact Searching || Kelt, Nedith & Yelda

The blade has stuck, he could feel it through the muscles in his arm. This could be to his advantage. He found that the sword was pushed away, caught on something metal. His body turning slightly, he hadn’t expected the soldier to attack so quickly, the man moved, and pushed against his shoulder, making Kelt unstable on his feet as he tried to keep his balance.

Move! His body willed him to react, in any form possible. And he accepted, Kelt ducked, and extended his hand to grab the soldier’s hair, yanking him forward so their backs collided, and then dove further through his knees. His instinct had served him right, he had dodged the arrow that came running straight for him. Now for his next trick.

All his muscles were on fire as he pulled harder on the soldier’s head and eventually managed to get his feet off the ground and threw him over his back, throwing him in the direction of the archer, and then taking a few steps backwards to create a distance between them. Should he run?

Nedith reached the two swordsmen just in time to catch the look of pained frustration and surprise on Yelda’s face as the elf dodged the arrow and took his opponent down to his knees. He had Yelda by the hair within a moment, and Nedith was certain he’d slit her companion’s throat--she would have.

Instead, the man threw Yelda bodily at Nedith, launching him over his back with a move she wouldn’t expect to work from a man his size. She didn’t have time to be amazed, though, as she hit the ground with Yelda on top of her. She pushed his bulk off of her--he’d dropped his swords, so she wasn’t skewered. Small miracles. But his side was blood soaked. They were essentially beaten.

Nedith turned to ready a final defense, but the elf wasn’t attacking. She stayed motionless. Yelda groaned and reached for one of his fallen blades, but Nedith only had the staff of her bow--the string had snapped with Yelda’s impact. She remained crouched, eyes fixed on the man, ready for him to make a move towards them but hoping for Yelda’s sake that he’d let them be and keep searching for the treasure.

The Search for Lost Friends || Bane & Dennos

“Less talk, more running.” Bane said to the man as they ran. Finally, they reached some sort of anti-chamber where Bane could hear no suspicious growling at his back. It seemed the monster had followed them, but they had finally given themselves enough distance to plan. He slowed his pace and took a second to catch his breath. This caused him to emit a short chuckle. It had been a long time since he had been winded from running. Usually his magic seemed to take the burden of the expended energy.

Bane’s breath finally leveled and he saw the fierce suspicion on the man’s eyes – he had to clear the air and quickly. “Sorry. Thought we should get away from the snarling monster before I answered any questions. I commented that I was surprised it was ‘real’ because the last monster I threw my knife at here disappeared. It seems there are many illusions in this temple…a rudimentary security system.” Bane then opened his hands in a peaceable gesture and bowed his head, “As for me, I am Tyren Bane and if I wanted to kill you, I had plenty of opportunity. I’ve lost some of my party and I’d like to find them… provided this temple doesn’t fall on our heads before that happens. I suggest a partnership till then.”

Bane heard the rumble of the monster behind them again. He looked around the room to inventory the room’s assets. At least the room was larger than the corridor the monster had trapped them in earlier. It also had some ledges they could jump up to gain high ground on the beast. There were also some loose, but heavy rocks they could use as crushing weapons if Bane lost his knives (always a potential problem with throwing knives). “Here it comes….” Bane said as he heard the monster tramping through the adjunct hallway. He hopped onto one of the ledges and as soon as the monster showed its ugly face to let lose another gurgling growl, he threw one of his knives into the beast’s right eye. It staggered and howled. Bane moved himself in position to take out the other eye.

#para #they are getting close #the search for lost friends #dennos

Dennos wanted to stopped, demand his answers, but he agreed that they had to move in order to stay ahead of the beast. His heart was racing, but not because of the monster - though sure that one was crazy scary. He couldn’t handle the idea of this man showing up. Strange people around, in a place they didn’t belong: problem.

He was surprised when the man started talking, his mouth moving fast and his words more expensive than those of what he expected common Wareless folk to use. Then again, this man was clearly a WoodElf, not a Wareless. ‘Your company disappeared down into the ground?’ he asked. Which faded all the talk about partnerships, and even his name. He didn’t think this was going to be such a wonderful cooperation between the two of them.

Then the monster came, Dennos held his axe up, and moved a couple of steps forward. He saw the man throw a knife, hitting the beast square in the face, but it seemed as if this thing had more to offer than what it showed. Suddenly the monster opened its beak and a long tongue shot out towards the Bane guy.

Dennos sprinted forward, tackling the man out of the tongue’s grasp, sending them both flying to the floor. Until there was no floor, not for some time, and they tumbled down a dark hole. He fell hard on the other man, pushing himself off, his axe lay several meters away from them, into the darkness. This was where Maia had disappeared to!

Artifact Searching || Kelt, Nedith & Yelda

The woman soldier blocked his well chosen attack through stepping backwards, making his attempt to destroy the weapon a failed one. He prayed to the gods between his lips, asking them for truer aim, for the strength to beat these two enemies down, and come out of it alive, or at least have the strength to pull away if matters got dire. He prayed silently, and in his own tongue, as he watched the bow remaining unprepared for its next strike.

Kelt saw that the gap between the two was now too far to reach for both, he had one arm to use in protection of his body, the other held his sword, and he knew he could not expose his back or his front, not with two enemies. The Commander swept towards the soldier, who still recovered from a miss with both his sword and knife. Changing his sword hand, Kelt struck forward again, a small blow, not wanting to extend his arm too far, he made sure to be close as he threw the sharp end of his weapon at the man’s side. Before he could even see if his blade stuck, he pointed his eyes back at the bowmen, one hand extended in order to sweep himself out of the line of fire if need be. He was fast on his feet as an Elf, but arrows were faster.

Dragon tits. The Elf’s speed was incredible--though still not magic-fast, thank the gods. Yelda tried to catch the blade’s blow after their opponent swapped hands and didn’t seem to slow down at all--it wasn’t fair. He was supposed to be the ambidextrous one in this fight. Yelda hissed and ground his teeth as the tip of the blade sunk into his side. It wasn’t deep, but it’d be a liability they couldn’t afford, not against a fighter of this caliber.

The elf had switched his focus back to Nedith, which also wasn’t the plan. Yelda took the opportunity to cross his blades with the one that had caught him, and ignoring the pain in his side, he thrust all three to the side, forcing the man to turn slightly if he wanted to keep his sword in his hand. The soldier knew he’d be taking a risk by stepping in closer, but he threw his shoulder towards the elf’s back.

Nedith drew another arrow, nocked, aimed, and loosed in one swift motion--and at the same time as the arrow left her bow, heading for the elf, she lunged forward as well. If the arrow or Yelda distracted their attacker, and she was quick enough, she thought she could land a sharp blow to his neck with the bow’s supple wooden limb.

Maia & Dennos || Pre-Ruins

She is wonderful! I am so lucky to be under her command. I would trade her for no other. And she is tough, but she is also very kind.

I know him by reputation. He is an impressive figure I would like to know. What is he like?

I bet she's very protective of you, those are the stories at least, that all you Mancers are like one big happy/not happy family of sorts.

He's the complete father-figure package: kind, strict, a bit of a goof at times, and always busy, so he runs around a lot. Whenever he had the time he would read us bed time stories, or be like this big man at breakfast that you shouldn't offend or make fun off, because he would throw it right back into your face. It was awesome to have him as a father.

Artifact Searching || Kelt, Nedith & Yelda

Kelt knew he would become a target, he knew they would underestimate them if he did something stupid. Because, lets be honest: his stupid face made any stupid move just as believable. Power lay in messing with people’s expectations. He eyes flashed from right to left as he saw three steel weapons head his way, a knife and a sword from the guy, and a close range arrow from his left.

Throwing his sword down to block the incoming sword, he took a step back, wrenching free of being the target for the arrow and the knife, knowing that him blocking the view of the arrow might be at his advantage with the male soldier. As soon as he fell back on his strong leg, Kelt jumped back between them, throwing his sword in the direction of the female soldier’s bow, hoping to break the weapon in two so it wouldn’t be of any help anymore to the bowmen. He kept himself from turning his back to either of them.

Nedith knew she and Yelda had underestimated their opponent by the time that he reached them. He was hardly phased by an attack from two sides, and guarded against both frontal attacks with surprising speed and agility. He reacted to Yelda's knife strike and the arrow Nedith loosed at his head, at the same time as blocking Yelda's longer's blade with his own. Nedith understood that they would be screwed if they both attempted close combat, but she didn't want to leave Yelda as the main target by backing off completely.

The enemy threw his sword out at her bow in a vicious stroke that would have cleaved it in half, but Nedith had anticipated he'd spin from his attack on Yelda, and angled away. She took a couple of steps back, and didn't bother pulling another arrow until she knew where he'd move. If need be, she could use the bow as a staff, possibly disarm him. On the man's other side, Yelda hadn't compensated quite as well as Nedith had--when the man blocked his sword it jarred his arm, and his torso was left exposed as his knife strike went wide as well--so naturally he pulled back, hoping to get clear before the man could strike again.

The Search for Lost Friends || Bane & Dennos

Bane had finished his rubbing and was shoving it into his pack when he heard the growl coming from the entrance to the tunnel. He turned to face it to see an unfamiliar, but attractive Noard raising his axe against what looked to be some kind of rock troll. Bane’s eyes started to dart as his mind went into overdrive with possibilities. It was fully possible that the monster was another illusion, but Bane was far too paranoid to not take a threat seriously. Bane briefly considered leaving the Noard behind so that if it was real, it would give him a chance to escape it and the temple unscathed – or if it was not real, it was a good a chance as any for him to conceal himself till he could assess the Noard as a friend or foe.

Bane decided against abandoning him. If the monster was real, Bane had no way to tell whether it would quickly kill the Noard and come for him faster than he could escape it, while their combined resources may stand a chance – and if the monster was not real, the posture of the Noard suggested he thought it to be. Thus if Bane came to his aid, the chances of acquiring his friendship and a resource to search for Killah were much higher than approaching the Noard in a dark corridor. Finally, there was the simple fact that the Noard was wearing black – and given the hint Marus had written that Mancers were also on the trail of the artifact, that meant there was a high probability that the Noard was a Mancer. The chance of acquiring access to another source of information about the Demonlands and their magic was too high to pass up. There was always a chance that the Noard himself was an illusion of course, but Bane had a limited schema of experience to work with in this temple, so he decided to draw his conclusions on what he had already seen (or rather not seen) – at least till he had time to think more.

Bane leapt into the fray and pulled out his knives, “We’re in a bad position here,” He said sideways to the Noard as he faced the growling monster, “Let’s go further into the tunnel so we can think up a plan.” Suddenly the monster took a swipe of them both and took a very real looking chunk out of the wall of the entrance. Bane had anticipated the swing, though, and threw his hand out to pushed the Noard out of the way saving his life by inches. “Well at least we know the monster is real… probably.” He said to himself under his breath. Bane turned to the stunned Noard and tilted his head down the tunnel and pulled him down the tunnel. He shoved one of his knives and grabbed the torch as they ran, not looking back to see if the monster had given chase yet.

#you are forgiven for your incredible long replies :3 #para #the search for lost friends #dennos

Dennos, having his eyes completely at the growling monster, heard nothing of a man rushing to his side, possibly to aid him in the battle against this rocky creature. But he wasn't much sure of it until the man spoke, his eyes darting between the new player and what he had encountered. Who was this guy? This was a man with his knifes in the air beside him, knifes that must move faster than Dennos' heavy axe.

As the monster finally made a move, it swung its tiny arms towards the two of them. Dennos was making ready to jump out of the way, but before his feet could move an inch, a hand hit him to the shoulder and pushed him out of the swinging zone. He growled, completely confused by the strange way the man aside him had appeared at his rescue. 'Real?' the soldier called confused. He was pulled into the tunnel by the man, struggling to free himself off the grip to allow himself to walk on his own. It happened when the man traded one of his knifes to light a torch.

'Who are you!? What is that thing?! What do you mean with "probably real"?!' Dennos called after the man as he followed him down the tunnel. This wasn't where he was supposed to go. He had to go back, to the garden, to find a way to get to Maia.

Maia & Dennos || Pre-Ruins

They are very great people. I am glad to have met them. I am sure they were glad to meet you too.

Oh! I am so sorry…umm… My mother passed in my birth and my father… my father is not… here… either. I am sorry…

You are too nice, Maia. But I am sure they enjoyed meeting you too, Loriente is your groupleader now, right, you mentioned that earlier. How is that? She's a tough woman, or she is know to be one.

It's life, people die. You don't have to apologize. I know all Mancers, or most of them at least, don't have any family to speak of. It's all good, that's the way war goes, I am glad mine were at least there for when I needed them. And Tarac was a good father as well.

Artifact Searching || Kelt, Nedith & Yelda

The man played with his words, that much seemed clear to Kelt, but he too was on edge. His sword hand placed his knuckle hard around the handle, it didn’t seem like he was going to walk away from this unharmed, one way or another. Whether they would fight now or within the next hour, nothing would really change.

It was all the better to take them on now. He knew the odds were against him, in numbers at least, but Kelt hadn’t survived for so long to be cut down by two common soldiers. ‘Seems indeed like we are looking for the same thing,’ he said, while he tensed his muscles around his core and legs, steadying his stand. He could handle them. ‘And I don’t think the odds of the search will be on my side if we both leave this place unharmed,’ he added. And with that, he sprinted forward.

Kelt didn’t pick a target, he didn’t have to. What he wanted to do was to separate them, make sure they couldn’t rely on each other’s shoulders for a time, so if he could injure one of them, the other would still have to go through him before getting to the wounded. He jumped down to his knees, aware of his sword, a weapon he hardly had to use, was now his only. With the back of his shoulder, he pushed against the man’s shoulder to push him out of his way, so he could stand between the two.

#made it a little shorter #just for the fighting #para #kelt #artifact searching #nedith #yelda

The stranger rushed them, but he didn’t seem to be going straight for Nedith as they’d anticipated. Her first arrow flew shy of his right arm—the man was fast. He had reached them in moments, checking Yelda with his shoulder. Rather than attempting to flank them, he seemed to be trying to get between them. Which Yelda thought was straight up whacked, tactically. It was two against one, was he trying to give them a target?

The soldiers parted, both turning to face their assailant. Yelda struck out with his short dagger in one hand at the man’s neck, while levelling a slash to take him at the knees with his longer sword. Nedith, at his other side, had an arrow back to her bowstring the minute the previous one had been loosed, and shot again, this time straight for his face.

Artifact Searching || Kelt, Nedith & Yelda

His cover was easily blown, he felt like an idiot for not practicing his tongue more, also for having his sword out in the open, he was more of an attacker. Now out in the open, Kelt tried to determine who his opponents were. Not Mancers, they certainly looked more skilled in weaponry than seemingly focussing on a part of their strength that was invisible. Magicians always had a way about them that showed they had little use for weapons, even Green Magicians still showed main attention for invisible objects that could be conjured from their minds. These were soldiers.

Kelt suspected that the people in front of him were probably trying to determine if he was a threat, and he wasn’t. At least, he didn’t want to be. There was no use in fighting when they were searching for the artifact. But then again, he didn’t see how he could walk away from this without a single move being made. It was impossible.

They were not looking for trouble, but they seemed on edge enough to take it on. Kelt noticed, and he wasn’t looking for trouble either, but while he was a kind man, he could not let others get to the artifact first, if that was what these were looking for. ‘I am here on a search, and if the Gods stand me by, you are too, which makes this situation all the more messy,’ he responded, the Warelestian accent completely drained from his words, which were harsh. Kelt was still a Knight, Kelt was still a survivor.

The man's mannerisms shifted when he knew he wasn't going to pass for local. Nedith kept an arrow trained at the stranger's chest as he spoke--one aggressive move with that sword and she'd loose. There was a threat hidden in his words that Nedith didn't fail to notice, and for all his bluster and arrogance, she could tell Yelda had picked up on it too. Whoever he was, this man gave no indication that fighting both soldiers would be a challenge. And they'd already seen he wasn't great at bluffing.

"I'm gonna go ahead and guess we're looking for the same doohickey," drawled Yelda. His words were relaxed but his stance stayed the same, on the edge, ready to spring in an instant. "So the question becomes, then, do we fight it out here and now, or do we wait to see who gets to it first, and then try to kill each other. Me, I like our odds right now." He gestured to Nedith. "Unfair as it may seem, two versus one."

Nedith knew this game, it was a common gamble that she and Yelda had used before. He'd rattle on, bring the bravado and look like a moron. They'd underestimate him and go for her instead, seeing the archer as a more immediate threat, not to mention easier to dispatch if they got close. If he fell for it, the stranger would find out that Yelda's blades were much faster than his tongue or his mind, and that Nedith could fight and fire just as effectively from one foot away as she could from twenty. As regular Cold North soldiers, fighting on a battlefield riddled with Magicians, they had to be exceptional to survive. And these two were; it was why they were here, it was what they were for.

The Search for Lost Friends || Bane & Dennos

Bane snarled under her breath as he saw his comrades disassemble into separate groups. It made little sense to him to do so, but Killah, Kelt and Deas had already rushed into the distance before he could say a word. The temple was throwing too many surprises at him to be confident on singular investigation – but then again he supposed given the collective intelligence of his company, perhaps he was better off alone. Before he could take a single step forward into the garden, though, he heard Killah yelp with surprise and disappear into the floor. Bane looked around for Kelt and Deas to help assist his fallen friend, but neither were to be found. “Gods dammit.” He cursed under his breath, his voice full of righteous annoyance. The temple shook and Bane knew he didn’t have long to find out whatever fate Killah had gotten herself into, but he was not going to get back to base alone if he could help it. Gods knew if he tried, he’d probably be judged and executed for saving his own life.

Walking cautiously, Bane stalked across the garden and headed towards a tunnel that seemed to be leading down into the darkness. Bane pulled a clay shaft out of his pack which he wrapped some cloth around to make a torch. He doused the torch in some rum and lit it aflame. The tunnel lit up with the healthy light, illuminating strange carvings along the walls. There was no time for him to interpret the symbols cut deep into the stone as Bane heard the temple shake again – but could not deny the academic in himself either. Too much knowledge of a time before this dark age had been lost already. So Bane put the torch into a crack in the wall and brought out some parchment to do a rubbing.

#ROCKY MONSTER!#para #the search for lost friends #dennos

Dennos had stopped running, he had stopped moving even, kneeled down with his ear touching the ground floor he hoped to sense something, but all he heard was the violent shaking of the pyramid from time to time, and many footsteps that took over his surroundings, probably the others. They were all searching, and only he and Torque knew that Maia had fallen, they only knew they should look for her. Her life was now more important than some silly artifact. He didn't think the artifact was worth much if they had to leave someone behind.

After some time he jumped to his feet again, looking around searching for motion, for movement that would establish someone near. But even if the gardens were relatively small, there was hardly a chance of meeting some of the other people. He went on, his hearing pierced at finding any sign of noise from below.

Then he found a tunnel, and saw a light coming from inside. While he was more interested in finding Maia, he couldn't ignore the light, how faint it was. Then the world rumbled again, as if the belly of a beast lay beneath the pyramid's floors. He surely hoped not. Suddenly his attention was gripped by a sudden movement behind him. He turned round, took his axe from behind his belt and held it up towards a strange rocky monster, one with slouched on two feet, with two tiny arms, and a big head filled with teeth. It growled at him, a low thunderous sound that shook his bones.

Artifact Searching || Kelt, Nedith & Yelda

Two. Two people he had never seen before came towards him. Soldiers, their movements were steady and their weapons came out afterwards. It was almost organic the way they began to walk in form. These were no normal visitors of the pyramid. Could it be? Could it be that their enemies too knew off the Artifact, and they had picked the same time to go look for it. He bit his lip at the thought. Though, he knew there was a good possibility that if these were Mancers - they looked not like black armored Mancers - they too were powerless.

He stalked them from behind the palm tree, his eyes pulled together. He couldn’t know what to do in these situations, but he had his sword out when they faced the monster, and the blinking steel still rested in his palm.

He knew he could take them on. Even if they were two, and he was only one, there was a reason why he had lived so long. Besides, he needed to feel them out, wanted to know where they were on finding the artifact, if they too had faced a monster, faced other traps this pyramid lay on them.

'Say,' he called from his hiding place. 'Are you lost?' He tried to make his General tongue seem tainted, a Wareless accent didn't come easily, but he managed.

Skinny dude in a weird outfit--looked like desert garb, but he was too pale for most of the locals he'd seen. It put Yelda further on his guard, though it also piqued his curiosity. He figured they would have known if the enemy had sent others down here. It wouldn't surprise him, though. Some of the people at the top were fucking morons when it came to information. They could order an army about no problem, but hear one rumour about a magical thingamabob that they could use, and it'd be in the ears of Goodlands informants within the hour.

Not everyone under Varamadras's rule was automatically loyal when the demonlord took over, and some had no problem ratting out their overlord's activities while the Magicians blustered about at one another. Whichever side let them keep their houses, that was where the population would swing to.

The sword in the stranger's hand was the main focus for Yelda, though, not who he worked for. By the time the man opened his mouth to produce a butchered Warelestian accent, Yelda was convinced he wasn't what he pretended. "We're not, actually," he replied, voice dripping scorn. "Ow! Hey!" Nedith had poked him hard in the back with the tip of her strung arrow. "Fine, fine," he grumbled. She was a good partner to work with, but she hated wasting time. "Look, man. We're not looking for trouble here. But if that's what you're into," he rolled his shoulders, loosening the muscles. "Myself and this lovely lady with the sharp flying twigs would be happy to oblige. State your business."

Maia & Dennos || Pre-Ruins

I was brought to Yartihn first by Teacher Ream. She was very kind to me but I have not seen her since I was a child. I was then brought to Hagfosiel and taught by Miss Loriente. She is a very good teacher. I was so pleased she later became my group leader.

May I ask if you have any other family?

Lady Ream? I worked together with her once, she's a great Lath Magician. I think everyone knows Loriente.

No, my mom died, and my dad too, one doesn't live long during the war. Just long enough to raise me, I guess. I hung out most with the orphans Tarac adopted, a big bunch of troublemakers.

Maia & Dennos || Pre-Ruins

Oh. Umm no. I grew up in Nether.

Did you grow up in Hagafosiel?

Nether, ah, sounds like a small place to be. And then Morto, right? All Mancers go to Morto, I heard. Yes, I did, my parents lived her. My mother was a Mancer, so she lived close to the battle, my father… I think he was a soldier, though I've always found it odd that a Noard would fight at the side of the Cold North without having been born there.

Maia & Dennos || Pre-Ruins

It is the mark of a good soldier to be aware of one’s surroundings even at rest.

Even if it does not help in one’s sleep.

I sleep best back home as well.

Yeah, after a time everyone can get adjusted to few hours of sleep, of course. Did you grow up in Haga?

Maia & Dennos || Pre-Ruins

Show me the way.

So do you have ‘sleeping rituals’? Mine is to read until I can no longer lift my book.

Aside from waiting until my roommates shut up, no, not really. Though I tend to sleep very lightly, any sudden noise and I'm alarmed. I sleep best when in HagaFosiel, because I know there are people on watch that I can trust.