The Time of the Embers

Mythical Mobster · **Posted:** Mon Mar 06, 2017 4:27 pm

Finny gave the two a disapproving look, before reaching his hand out to grasp Dasyra's gently."I wish this meeting weren't so dire, my lady. Unfortunately there are some things I'd-"Merlin kicked him swiftly, making him grunt a bit,"-We'd like to discuss with you. You seem to be the one in charge." Dasyra looked the group over once more and nodded, seeming to read something within their faces, gesturing for them to follow her. "Come, we can talk inside."

The grand Cleric ushered the group into the tent Morris had retrieved her from, and closed the flap behind them. Inside a few men and woman were seated around a table, a large map unfurled in front of them. Finny glanced at each one, recognizing a few as those on the city council, and heads for some form of business or another. "Please take a seat," Dasyra said, doing so herself. Finny raised his hand, forgoing the chair offered to him, and spoke."It was a dragon, the beast who did this, right?" At the mention of a dragon, the woman stiffened in her seat. "We know of it. It was released by....a client. He claimed to be a Lord, and paid for us to escort him and his package to Vodosa. We had a group over a dozen strong...We're all that's left. It wiped out everyone, and destroyed a large part of the dwarven city." Dasyra leaned forward, folding her hand in front of her. A second went by before she spoke.

"This lord....what was his name? Is he still alive? Can he undo this,"she asked, voice cold. Finny sighed and shook his head.

"Even if he did still live, my lady, I doubt he'd want to undo the damage he's done....But... we want to take responsibility for this. We mean to kill it, and we would grateful for your help." The seated members looked at each other, then to Dasyra. The woman stared at him, studying him.

"Do you even have a plan? Dragons are things of legend. Wiped out long ago by armies. I don't believe the five of you can even put a dent in this beast. And even if you could, the men we have left of our army are far to little. I will not lend them out to be cannon fodder."

TheSnowDrift · **Posted:** Mon Mar 06, 2017 6:12 pm

Brynn shrugged at Finny's disapproval. At this point, the northerner didn't really care. She no longer has to worry about her reputation or authority, with a dragon roaming about, we were all equals now. All of us are prey. She got Ragnar to focus on what should be his priority, that's all that matters.

Upon following the group into the tent with the Grand Cleric, Brynn strayed towards the edge of the group, at a point where she could easily see everyone within the tent. She remained standing, refusing a seat as she attentively listened in to the conversation between Finny and the Cleric, her arms crossed with a subtle annoyance. Naturally, she was uncomfortable being inside the tent with so many unfamiliar faces. Gods, why didn't she request a tour of the basic structure of the city when she was new. Now, she couldn't even point out a single face that is remotely familiar.

"Then we get an army," Brynn stated abruptly in her normal monotonous and careless voice. "Surely I'm not the only one with some contacts." She added, her hazel eyes narrowing at Dasyra.

Mythical Mobster · **Posted:** Mon Mar 06, 2017 8:46 pm

Dasyra couldn't help it. She laughed and looked at the girl."I'm sorry, that was rude of me,"she said calming her giggle fit."But surly you understand if I have a hard time believing you'll be able to pull that off, but sure. On the off chance that you lot can go off and get enough help to form an army big enough to take on that beast, and it's worshipers then I will be delighted to hand you my men." Merlin perked up at her words, and walked forward.

"I'm sorry did you say 'worshipers?" The grand cleric looked to him, and chuckled."Yes, halfling. I did indeed say that. That monster would have been an easy thing to dispatch with. Cairah, as you know had a militia that could rival the empires forces. We would have felled the beast easily had it not had help. An army of it's own by all rights. Cut down our numbers considerably. Lucky we were able to user the citizens down here." Merlin frowned and looked to the others. "I need to go look through these books. You all finish with this very rude woman. Find me when you're done."he turned on his heel, ignoring Dasyra's scoff, and walked out the door.

"Forgive him. He's got a temper,"Vesper said, walking closer to the front. "My lady, if we can convince those with the means to join with us, and figure out all we can on this dragon, do we have your word you'll help,"Vesper asked, hands folded behind her back. Dasyra sighed and stood, rolling the map up. "You have my word. But understand this, girl. I have no faith in you. Until you can prove to me you have a chance, you will get very little from me." Vesper nodded, and turned away. That was all she needed. Finny bowed lightly to the cleric, and followed her out. Once outside, he let out a sigh.

"She was rather unpleasant,"he said looking off towards the rest of the camp. "Lets go look around. See if we can find our friends."

TheSnowDrift · **Posted:** Mon Mar 06, 2017 9:22 pm

"Would it be rude of me if I slit yo-" Brynn spat at the cleric before being unexpectedly cut off by Ragnar's hand on her arm, pulling her out of the tent and away from the cleric. She gritted her teeth before she was finally able to escape from the brute's grasp, pushing him away once exiting the tent. "What the hell was that for?" She demanded.

"Let's not make her our enemy." Ragnar replied calmly, rubbing his arm where she had repeatedly struck him in order to break free. "What was that back there? That was not like you to do that." He continued, studying her as she paced a few times.

"You hardly know me so back off." She growled. "Don't you have someone you should be looking for?" She snapped at him. "Farkas was it?" And with that, she turned around and disappeared, walking off in search of Merlin, leaving Ragnar standing there puzzled. He shook his head before rejoining Finny and Vesper.

"Need help?" Brynn asked quietly as she cautiously approached the mage.

Mythical Mobster · **Posted:** Tue Mar 07, 2017 6:33 pm

"The two of them, I swear," Vesper said shaking her head, though she had a soft smile on her face."Lets go see if we can find anyone."She motioned them towards the large encampment, keeping her eyes peeled for any of their friends. The longer they circled the camp, the more it seemed as if they wouldn't find anyone, until a head of greying hair caught her attention. She gasped and pulled Ragnar off. The man she had seen was heading into a stall that looked to be for chucking materials for weapons. Vesper could tell that most of the stuff came from the surface. Broken blades, shields, and armour littered the bins, and right in the middle stood Farkas.He hadn't seen them yet, busy with looking through a rack of long swords that were in dire need of a smiths forge. Vesper looked to Ragnar, and smiled sadly at him, motioning for him to go first.

Off on the outskirts of the encampment Merlin flipped through the first of the tomes, not looking up when Bryn walked over. "Sure, but half of these aren't written in the common tongue, and the other half are fit to fall apart, so be careful, yeah? I didn't help, dropping them down that hole earlier. Might not last another hit."he leaned back and slid a thick book towards her, eyes not straying from the page he was reading. "So, I take it you lot got done with her? Didn't want to find anyone with the others?"

TheSnowDrift · View Likes **Posted:** Tue Mar 07, 2017 7:00 pm

"Dasyra certainly knows how to push people's buttons." Ragnar joked in a halfheartedly manner, following the two as they made their rounds around the camp searchingly. "Wha-" He started as Vesper pulled him to the side. "Gods be good.." He slowly exhaled the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding as his sapphire gaze fell upon his mentor. He ran a hand through his sandy hair, pleased to find Farkas alive and well. Although, the brute could not stand the weight of the somber news of Rikke's passing. He nodded at Vesper before he approached Farkas, slowly detaching the holster that held Rikke's lance from his back. He stopped and called his name, grabbing his attention. Ragnar bowed his head solemnly as he told Farkas the news of his only son before holding the lance out to him. He watched silently as the master-at-arms took the weapon from him and broke down into tears. "I'm sorry.." Ragnar apologized as he wrapped his arms around him in an attempt to comfort him.

"Fortunately. Although it wasn't soon enough." Brynn grabbed the book that was handed to her, cautiously opening it as she tried not to damage the spine of the leather bound book even more than it already was. "It is not my place to do so." She murmured, her hazel eyes scanning through the inscribed text, leaning back against the stone wall as she read.

Mythical Mobster · **Posted:** Tue Mar 07, 2017 10:21 pm

Vesper frowned and walked over, hugging the man as well. When he calmed down, he wiped his face and gave the two a small smile. "Thank you for bringing this to me....Come with me, you all traveled a long way, and there is much to talk about." He lead the two of them towards what Vesper assumed was his tent, and she noted as they walked, that Finny must have slipped away.

Inside, he placed the lance among his things, and took a seat."I knew it was unlikely my boy would survive. When Kerrek turned on us, I knew he didn't expect anyone to live,"he said a grim set to his mouth. Vesper frowned, and said"Wait, Kerrek? What do you mean? He was working with Briarwood this whole time?" Farkas looked at her, and shook his head sighing. "He was working with that dragon. Him, and a bunch of others. When the beast arrived, he slaughtered three of our own," he said, running his hand over his face. "Bastard got away before I could get to him. Now there's only a dozen or so of us left. We've been trying to help around here as much as we can, but it's a pretty grim situation." Vesper glared at her hands as he talked, how could he do this?

Merlin finally looked up at her, and studied her for a bit, before he shut the book, and placed his hand over the page she was reading. "Let me ask you somethin', okay? What is it that you're so scared of? Besides the dragon. You keep everyone an arms length away,and I get it, trusting people is hard, but how do you expect anyone to trust you if you don't trust them?"his eyes peered into hers reading her a bit too easily.

TheSnowDrift · **Posted:** Tue Mar 07, 2017 10:56 pm

Ragnar glanced back to see if anyone had taken an interest with the three of them before ducking inside the master-at-arms' tent, he was unsure how to feel about some of the people here. He crouched down in a relaxed position, his hand on the ground to help keep his balance as he attentively listened. It took the brute a few moments to process the information, stunned by the shock of the news.

"Kerrek?" He echoed as if he make sure he heard Farkas right, his eyebrows pushed together in consternation. "Why would Kerrek do that? Do you truly think he would betray The Seeking Owl like that?"

Brynn glared at the mage as the text she was trying to read was covered by the half-elf's hand. "I'm a mercenary, trust isn't in our nature. I don't trust others nor do I care if others trust me." She replied simply, not breaking away from the eye contact. The recent events with the dragon have pushed the female over the edge, causing her to slip up more than usual which only added to her short temper. "Plus, we have bigger things to worry about."

Mythical Mobster · **Posted:** Wed Mar 08, 2017 6:39 am

"I am sure. Saw it with my own eyes," Farkas said, hands picking at the fabric of his shirt. Vesper stood, her hands balled into fist. "I need to go find Finny. He should hear about this....It's going to crush him...Kerrek was like a brother to him...."She gave the older man a quick kiss to his forehead, and left, a dark cloud hanging over her head. Farkas watched her go with a frown. "She wears her emotions on her sleeve, that one." He looked back to Ragnar and asked"Do you lot have a plan? If so I want in, and I'm sure the others do too."

Merlin laughed. It was a bitter sound of someone who had heard that same tired excuse before."How do you think this team up of ours will work if you refuse to trust us? Or us you? Do you think that'll end well? You're right, we do have bigger things to worry about, but we wont pull this off with out some trust in each other.I'm not asking you to be everyone's friend. I could give less of a care if you have any, to be honest. I don't even care if you like me, and I don't care what your damage is, but I will say this; That sh*t will get someone killed. And I don't fancy that."He gave her one final cold stare, before it melted away and he smiled at her. He pulled his hand back and stood, scooping the books up, leaving the one she had. "Let me know if that book has anything useful in it. I think i'll go find our merry band of idiots,"he said waving at her as he walked off.

TheSnowDrift · **Posted:** Wed Mar 08, 2017 9:26 am

Ragnar rubbed his face with his hands, gritting his teeth, clearly enraged by the news of Kerrek's betrayal. 'Why? Why would you do this, Kerrek?' He mentally demanded the answers of the questions, his blue eyes trailed Vesper's movements as she exited. "Aye, that she does." He spoke softly, turning his focus to the master-at-arms. "We don't necessarily have a plan; however, we do have a goal. To kill that damn dragon and avenge our comrades." He replied before filling Farkas in with the details about Briarwood and what had happened at Vadosa. "We came back here to get any survivors and information on the dragon." A benevolent smile appeared across the brute's lips. "I wouldn't want to fight beside anyone else."

Brynn fell silent. She paid heed to his words, knowing that ultimately, he was right. In order for them to have a mere chance with attacking the dragon, they must trust one another. Although, she was too prideful to willingly admit it to the half elf verbally. "Aye.." She muttered, dropping her eyes back to the book as he departed. She slowly slid down to a crouching stance as she continued to scan through the book, flipping a page or two every few minutes. While reading, she thought back to what the mage had said with a troubled sigh. She knew she should be able to trust their little band of couriers; Vesper, Ragnar, Merlin, and Finny. After all, they were all betrayed by the same person, Briarwood. Why is she so hesitant to trust them?

Mythical Mobster · **Posted:** Fri Mar 10, 2017 3:01 am

Farkas griped Ragnar's shoulder, giving him a stern nod. "The feeling is mutual, I'll let the others know of what happened in Vadosa... You go get Sunshine. Make sure she's doing alright. This is probably hard on her soft heart, my boy." Farkas nodded his head towards where Vesper had left from, the stood, stretching out the kinks in his body, before leaving out the way they had come.

Vesper hadn't gotten very far. She found a more secluded place in camp, a hard feat considering the amount of people. Her whole body shook. It was all too much, and maybe it was her own fault. She had trusted Kerrek. Trusted him with blinding faith, and never thought to question him.Now everything's gone wrong....We did this.. she was thinking too much, she knew. Focusing on the past wouldn't help, but her brain wouldn't stop replaying certain memories. Things that had been said, or done in the past that were making sense now. No matter what she did she couldn't stop shaking, and only after she touched her face did she notice she was crying. Is this what heartbreak is?

TheSnowDrift · **Posted:** Fri Mar 10, 2017 1:12 pm

Ragnar gave his mentor a bright and benevolent smile before returning a nod, the brute's confidence was gradually returning to it's normal state, his confidence prior to the scorching in Vadosa. He followed Farkas out of the tent before wandering off to find the red-haired half-elf.

He found her, isolated from anyone in the camp. How uncharacteristic of her, poor Vesper He thought with a heartfelt sigh as he approached her. "You shouldn't do that. No good will come from dwelling." He told her once he noticed she had been crying. He slouched so he remained eye level with her, studying her face softheartedly. "What happened wasn't your fault, it wasn't anyone's fault other than that bastard Briarwood and that dragon. They did it, they destroyed Vadosa. I don't know why Kerrek would do what he did but.." Ragnar sighed, pausing for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. "I don't understand Kerrek's betrayal, maybe they forced him to, threatened to kill someone. I mean, he has a family, doesn't he? We all trusted Kerrek, it's not your fault." He tried to reason with her.

Mythical Mobster · **Posted:** Sun Mar 12, 2017 5:52 pm

Vesper didn't meet his eyes as he spoke. She could hardly bring herself to even look up when he was done. "I never questioned him. I blindly followed, because, 'surely Kerrek is the most loyal person I know', only that's not true. He's not, and things are staring to all click and connect together. Why he didn't question Briairwoods package, and he vouched for him." She let out a dry chuckle, and shook her head. She didn't speak for several moments, just stared out towards the cluster of tents, and fires. This wasn't fair. Vesper looked back to him. "I don't want to start believing he had a reason...Because if it's not true, I think it'll only hurt more....But thank you, Ragnar. I'll be fine, I just need a while to myself. It's been a long week. Why don't you go tell everyone what Farkas told us, and I'll catch up later."She waved him off, giving him her best 'i'm okay' smile.

TheSnowDrift · **Posted:** Sun Mar 12, 2017 6:31 pm

"We all trusted him. There was no way we could have known." Ragnar replied softly, lightly brushing one of her tears away with his thumb as the tear rolled down her cheek. "We did the best we could. Go clean yourself up, Farkas is gathering a few friendlies to his tent. If you see Merlin or Brynn, lead 'em that way." The brute flashed a benevolent smile before he took his leave with a sigh. He felt bad knowing how crushed Vesper was. She didn't deserve this. Rikke didn't deserve this. None of them deserved this twisted fate.

Mythical Mobster · **Posted:** Tue Mar 14, 2017 3:02 pm

Vesper didn't move right away. She stayed seated where she was for a while longer, before she gathered herself and stood. Finding Merlin, was easy. The mage was given a quick "Head that way, and you'll find the tent," by way of instruction. Merlin had given her a pointed look, but when it didn't seem to get any more information out of her, wondered off in that general direction. Finny was the problem. He had wondered away earlier, unnoticed. Vesper had no idea where to look. She was still looking when she found Brynn, still going through one of the books.

"Hey, Brynn have you seen Finny? Farkas wants to talk to everyone, and well he's part of everyone."she gave the girl a smile, and cupped her hands behind her back.

TheSnowDrift · **Posted:** Tue Mar 14, 2017 5:23 pm

Brynn was frowning at the open book in her palms as Vesper approached her, she was so focused on the text she did not realize the half-elf's presence until Vesper spoke. "Hm?" She glanced up from the book, studying Vesper. "Finny? No, haven't seen him. I only saw Merlin and Ragnar. Ragnar is gathering people up I presume?" She replied as she continued to flip through the pages of the book, her eyebrows pushed together in consternation.

Mythical Mobster · **Posted:** Thu Mar 16, 2017 10:14 pm

Vesper huffed, and took a seat besides her. "Dang, where did he run off to?You think he'd be the one gathering people."She let out a large breath, and stared up at the cave walls, before looking back at Brynn "...Anything interesting?"she leaned closer to look at the page she was reading from."Anything useful,"she asked, still trying to get a better look.

TheSnowDrift · **Posted:** Sat Mar 18, 2017 10:51 am

"He went out looking for you all." Brynn explained, looking over at Vesper, resting the book in her lap before she pointed in the direction where he departed. "That's all I know." She added after a reign of silence, returning her focus back to the leather book with a small frown.

"Interesting? Perhaps. Annoying? Very much so." She answered as she shifted over so Vesper could get a better look at the inscribed text. "Recognize this language? The book switched from common tongue to an older language towards the end." She explained, her hazel eyes scanning through the text heedfully.

Mythical Mobster · **Posted:** Mon Mar 20, 2017 7:11 am

Vesper took the book from her, and studied the page. "This looks Elvish, but I don't recognize the form of writing. See, this here, 'Isenatha'? That means dragon, and 'Venuralas', is Gods. But that's all I can make sense of. This could be a written dialect of some kind. I can't read much of it, I'm afraid, and what I can doesn't make much sense....Though, it does sound promising!"she handed the book back to her, and pulled herself up."But if it's Merlin's, ask him. He can read it, as odd as it is. How he learns such things is beyond me,"she said shaking her head."Anyway,I really should find Finny. If you don't have anything else that is? If not, Ragnar wants everyone to talk with Farkas, and the others from The Seeking Owl who survived."Vesper jabbed a finger towards the camp.

TheSnowDrift · **Posted:** Mon Mar 20, 2017 12:38 pm

"That it does..." Brynn muttered in agreement. She was unfamiliar with the Elvish culture, she didn't even realize it was a form of an Elvish dialect. She nodded a few times as she listened to Vesper explain some of the text. "Alright, I'll head over there then. Undoubtedly Merlin will be directed over there anyways." She closed the book carefully, using her thumb as a bookmark before she stood up.

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