A Candlelit Dinner with Akajia [Garland]

[Alexander Ross]

Alexander Ross 35th of Summer, 516 Even during the warm evening hours just before twilight, there seemed to be no shortage of noise coming from the busy streets of Syliras, which could even be slightly heard from the Bronze Woods if one were to listen close enough and drown out the sound of chittering insects and the scampering of woodland creatures. Alexander gave a silent scoff as he took note of this… but at least he knew which direction the city was in just in case he had to flee in the event which everything goes south. Alex couldn’t guarantee that everything would go according to plan, or even if he would survive this mission. The last time he filled in for injured Squires searching for bandits, it did not bode well for him. However, this time they were not just searching for a few bandits. Oh no, this time, they were searching for a group of bandits and their leader. The first thing that came to Ross’s mind whenever he hears the word “leader”, is “skilled and dangerous”. And whenever “skilled and dangerous” crossed his mind, there also came the thought of “may not survive”. The only thing that gave Ross any comfort was the fact that he was not going alone. His patron had gone through the liberty of asking a skilled Squire whom Alex knew very well to join him. Which was a good thing, considering that Alex was practically a complete and utter novice at everything he knew, and would most likely be more of a nuisance who needs protection rather than a strong fighter. This was something that had been gnawing at the young man for quite some time… every single day, he had been training as much as he could, and working hard to ascend beyond his current knowledge of swordsmanship. However, it seemed that no matter what he did, he could never get any better than what he already has, and it often leads him to wonder just what he is doing wrong. Digby nickered impatiently beneath him, stomping his front left hoof into the dirt below. With a sigh, Ross reached over and gently pet the Gildling on the side of his neck in an attempt to calm him. Digby tossed his head aside in what seemed like a gesture of dismissal, but seemed to calm down. “There there, you big oaf. Just give him a few more minutes. He should be here soon.” Ross said softly, staring into the thick line of trees. The time of the day slowly dwindled into twilight, and the Gildling’s pelt began to shimmer a bit brighter than before. “Why do these damn assignments always have to be at night?” He wondered to himself. On the bright side, Digby would be able to light the way in case it became too dark to see.

[Garland]

Garland quickly climbed up on his horse and spurred him onwards, he had been losing sleep, searching for the traitorous knight.

Yet despite stalking through the woods for the better part of the summer he was no closer to finding him, a few odd bandit he would interrogate would say that they saw him and judging from the traitor himself he wouldn't just leave without getting at least some of his wealth he had hidden in the city.

Garland rode down the street and out of the city itself. Today might be the day, everything he had fought so far were just lowly bandits that barely know which side of the sword you stab people with.

This group of bandits were different though, more organized and had a competent leader. The injured squires returned saying that their leader easily beat them, why they weren't killed outright seemed strange.

This could be the person Garland was looking for and he was willing to follow any lead to get his target. Garland had everything he needed, a shortbow with arrows and his hand-crossbow with bolts, along with his shield and sword, and his plate armor.

His partner for this trek was Alexander Ross and he was rather glad that it was someone he knows that will be with him this time. He doesn't trust anyone he doesn't know to watch his back.

"Alex! Sorry I'm late. I just needed a little rest, but I'm ready now! Are you ready?" He said enthusiastically, much to his horse, Tryn's annoyance. "Sorry, just hoping I get to kill a certain bastard who may or may not be the leader of these bandits. I'm guessing you've heard of him, it's not well-known outside the knighthood, but I would think most people would know about what happened."

[Alexander Ross]

Alexander Ross Alexander’s mind seemed to be in a complete trance as he waited, taking deep breaths and letting them out slowly in a form of meditation. After a few minutes of doing this, his anxiety slowly drained away, leaving his mind to only focus on everything that was happening in that exact moment. The chirping of insects from the forest, the warm summer night air, Digby shifting impatiently beneath him every once in a while… And for the first time that day, his mind seemed to be at more peace than ever. Ross rarely ever meditated, mainly because his mind was always racing so much, and overall he had burdened himself with the mindset that he never had time for such things. However, tonight was different, as this may very well be his last night alive. If he were to die, it would be quite sad that he would never get to accomplish any of his own goals. He was jarred out of his trance when he heard Garland call out to him, and the young man let out a sigh of relief. For a second, he was worried that Garland wouldn’t show up. “Don’t worry about it. At least you didn’t leave me to go off by myself.” He said, looking at the Squire clad in plate armor much similar to his own. If that would have happened, then there would have been a high chance that Ross would not have made it out alive. “And honestly, I’d much rather have you well-rested and ready, rather than tired and sluggish.” With a heavy sigh, Alex tapped his index finger nervously on the saddle that rested in his lap, a small chink resonating from the contact of his gauntlet-clad fingers. “Since when am I ever ready?” He said with a chuckle. “Then again, there’s not much I can do about that. I’ve been a little edgy on these types of missions, given how the last one went.” He couldn’t help but blink in confusion regarding the Squire’s second fiery statement. “Oh? I can’t say that I have. I’ve been too busy focusing on my own problems that I haven’t really taken part of any of the gossip floating around the Order.” He admitted rather bluntly. “Tell me on the way there. Right now, we need to get going.” He said, gently spurring Digby forward. Digby, whose pelt was already beginning to glow brightly and easily light the way, gave another impatient nicker and began walking forward towards the treeline. “So…” Ross said after a moment, staring off carefully into the forest. “Who is this certain bastard you mentioned? If I know anything about you, Garland, it’s that you won’t really kill someone unless they gave you a damn good reason. And by the way you make it sound, the reason why you want to kill this person is pretty damn good.”

[Garland]

Garland sighed a bit, he was still tired but he needed to follow every lead he could get. "Yeah, these missions can get pretty tense, but don't worry, we'll be fine." He gave a reassuring smile and agreed that they needed to get moving.

Tryn followed the oddly glowing horse with a bit of curiosity and Tryn's usual brand of jealously. Garland on the other hand thought that it might hinder them sneaking up on the bandits just in case.

"You haven't heard? Well, late last spring a traitor in the order planned on selling a few squires and a knight into slavery, one of the squires being me. He bit off more than he could chew by mentioning my children. I am not going to rest until I have his head on a pike and his innards decorating the walls of Syliras." He said in an eerily calm tone.

His anger and rage was still there, building deep inside, but he never shows it unless he really needs to. "Well I'm sure you've heard about what happened. Two squires got injured while out on patrol, the brigands sent them back for whatever reason, Syliras wants them either dead or brought back to be executed." Garland followed close behind, Alex's horse glowing in the dark like a beacon.

"We should dismount the closer we get to where the squires got attacked, most likely a trap is set because they let the squires get away." Garland said and hopped off Tryn. "Eyes open and step lightly, come on." Garland tied Tryn to a tree and pulled out a dagger from the boot and started creeping low. The armor was horrible for sneaking, but it would take a few chimes to take the armor off.

"Follow me, keep quiet." He handed his crossbow to Alex. "Point and shoot." He whispered and led the way. The sun had set now, but it wasn't quite dark yet, more like a dim blue covered the land, a twilight if you will.

[Alexander Ross]

Alexander Ross Alexander couldn’t help but cringe noticeably as he thought back to his first real mission, and instinctively moved to rub the crook of his right elbow where a nasty scar had already formed. It was obviously save to say that he had gotten way in over his head at that time, despite being able to take down two bandits… of course, it wasn’t exactly something that the Squire was proud of doing. He wanted to get through his training peacefully without having to kill anyone, but it seemed that it would be unavoidable. Ross’s heart sank when Garland began explaining what had been going on within the Order, a slight tinge of his own anger rising within him when Garland mentioned that he was one of the Squires sold into slavery… even more so when his children got involved. Alex wasn’t a sucker for children or anything, but he had grown quite fond of Phobos and Aneeka in the short time he had known them. Garland was literally one of the only friends Ross had left in the order aside from a few acquaintances he’s met here and there, so naturally he was quite upset to hear all of this. “Well, you have my sword, should you ever need me.” He said lowly, climbing out of Digby’s saddle. “No wannabe slave-trader is gonna petch with my best friend.” Digby nickered and nuzzled Ross’s cheek as the Squire moved to tie the reins to a nearby tree. Of course, being too distracted by the upcoming events, the knot wasn’t very tight. Ross gave a dismissive shrug and followed Garland, crouching low and breathing slowly. He didn’t mind allowing Garland to take the lead, given how much more skilled he was then himself at combat. Ross stopped and blinked in confusion when Garland suddenly handed him his crossbow, and it took him glancing back and forth between Garland and the weapon a few times before it finally registered in his mind. “Um… Garland… I have no idea how to use a crossbow.” He said, keeping his voice low. “I mean… I know the basic functions, but I’ve never shot one in my life. Hai, I’ve never even seen one until a few months after I joined the Order…”

[Garland]

"Just point and shoot, nevermind, just watch my back. Be careful, I don't like the looks of this." Garland said and held out his crossbow in front of him and his dagger in his other hand, ready to strike out at anything that would jump at them.

As Garland and Alex crept slowly through the foliage of the forests, they eventually ended up in where the squires were attacked. The ground was trampled and blood was splattered around.

Something was terribly wrong though, there was blood here and there but there wasn't nearly enough for a battle with real weapons. It was getting too dark to do a proper search without a light.

Garland motioned for Alex to stay in the bushes and foliage to stay hidden. He walked over to a small puddle of blood, more like a splotch on the grass than an actual pool of blood.

As he stepped closer, the darkness and blood had covered what would be an obvious trap. The trap snared Garland and if Garland hadn't had his dagger out and cut the rope, he would be swinging from a tree right now.

There was a rather audible 'snap' and 'twang' from the trap, but as Garland waited with blade and shield out, nothing happened. He turned to where Alex was and shrugged.

"What are they playing at?" Garland said and took out a torch from his pack started lighting a small fire to light the torch. Stealth was an option of course, but if they couldn't find they're way, it wouldn't be much help.

"Alex, if you see any lights in the distance, it could be their camp, I'll snuff out the flame if you see anything. Let's move quick but quiet." Solemnly Garland led the way, checking where there was trampled grass or broken branches.

There was nothing of note for a while they were walking and little was said between them, but long after Syna's light had set and the stars started shining through, a light shone in the distance.

Garland snuffed the torch and motioned for Alex to stay low and follow him. They approached the camp slowly, watching and waiting. Something felt really wrong about this camp, but Garland couldn't place his finger on it.

Gingerly stepping closer Garland peered into the camp proper, it wasn't late enough for everyone to be asleep, but the camp was almost dead, except for one lone figure sitting by the campfire.

Garland pulled back with Alex, away from earshot of the camp. "What do you think? Looks like a trap, what do you suggest?"

[Samuel Longwell]

Grading Complete Please edit your grade request thread so that it's obvious that it's been graded. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions/problems with your grade. Name: Alex XP Award: Horsemanship 1 Observation 1 Meditation 1 Socialisation 2 Riding 1 Lore: Leaders: Usually skilled and dangerous Garland: Unfinished business with a slaver Rewards: +2 Shield points for hunting bandits Name: Garland XP Award: Riding 1 Planning 1 Leadership 2 Storytelling 1 Planning 1 Tactics 2 Stealth 1 Lore: Telling Ross about the treacherous knight. Alex Ross: Loyal and dependable Rewards: +2 Shield points for hunting bandits Notes: I think this good have been an excellent thread, a shame that it got cut short. Enjoy your grades.