20th Zi'da
"Village ahead. Shall we stop there for the night?" the man asked, a Knight Varlum had been travelling with thus far. It had been an interesting journey, one that was surprisingly enjoyable all things considered. Both had been given a cart for their ride, big enough that Varlum didn't have to walk the entire way. It was in no way quick, but it saved what energy he had in case they were attacked on the way. Now they were outside of Rharne they had no influence, nobody would fear them here for their status as Lightning Knights. Then again, Varlum would be feared by many anyway for sheer size alone.
Kane turned to look at Varlum, who had taken the past break as an opportunity to walk. It wasn't fun sitting around all day while riding on a rough road, let alone with nothing to do and only one other soul to talk to. But at the very least the two shared some interests. Glancing to the village, Varlum gave a nod. It was a quaint town from all appearances, basic houses made of thatch with enough overall space for no more than forty people, if that. It looked like there would be another night spent out in a stable for the Ithecal, Varlum thought. Not that he minded all that much. Discomfort wasn't uncommon when you worked in a military for a large portion of your life.
As the cart rode towards town, Varlum at it's side, everything became clearer. In the centre of the town was one big building with a stone statue outside of it, a tall sculpture of a human-looking man standing tall with a sword raised over his head. Around the market were the quaint houses, some of them slightly larger fitted with wooden signs to what each was. What caught Varlum's eye was the word tavern, written neatly over a hanging wooden sign, two rusting chains holding it up. As villages went it wasn't impressive, but the Ithecal had seen much worse. Besides, it reminded him of home when he was younger. Where Varlum grew up before running to Ivorian had been smaller than he had lived in since. Cozy villages always felt nicer than big cities.
"Seems pretty empty" Kane pointed out, not a single person outside to be seen. As they got closer, however, the sound of people became clearer. Many voices could be heard from the tavern in what sounded like a hell of a time. Loud shouting came from a few more prominent voices. Yet as a scream broke through the others, Varlum realised something was wrong. Kane looked to the Ithecal for a moment before Varlum began a sprint towards the tavern. "Get the cart to the town centre, I'll handle this" he shouted out loud. Approaching the tavern, Varlum thanked Ethelynda for the size of it. It would have been awkward if he had to try and save the day on his hands and knees.
When he arrived at the door to the tavern the voices became more clear. Shouting for people to get out coin purses, threats being made, pleas of mercy as people had to hand over what little gold they had. "Every single one of you, coin purses, or I slit your fucking throat!" an unseen man called out. Now was the time to go. As soon as that sentence was finished the tavern door opened, Varlum taking a step in to the building as eyes fell to him. Both the villagers and attackers watched with caution as the towering man stood over them all, axe glimmering on his back and scarred eye looking around the room. Identifying the thugs wasn't hard to do, all of them armed and stood up while everyone else was dressed casually and had no weapons. But what immediately caught Varlum's eye was the trait every bandit shared.
Burning red hair.
"You were saying?" Varlum snarled with teeth bared. Perhaps they had found their Aukari. Every thug in the room had a hand resting on a weapon, each frozen as they looked to the Ithecal who's head stayed lowered. Even with a tall ceiling Varlum barely fit inside the building. After a few trills of silence the Ithecal looked to a man that held a mass of coin purses, hissing with every word that came out of his mouth. "I'll give you ten trills to put every coin purse on the table and get out of this tavern, or I'll bite your fucking head off. Starting now. Ten."
As soon as he said ten a bandit ran forward, dagger in hand. It was clear from how he sprinted that he didn't know much of using the blade, grip sloppy with no confidence in his features. Whatever he had told himself in his head, it had been just enough to persuade himself to run at the Ithecal. But in a small room like this there was no chance that Varlum could use his axe, which meant he had to get the attackers outside if he was going to fight them properly. Varlum lunged towards the man, grabbing for his wrist. As he did the blade sliced along his forearm, cutting up the sides. With the man in his grip Varlum turned and shoved towards the open doorway, watching as he stumbled out the door. With a loud cry of anger, the man burst out the door and to the outside, sinking his teeth into the man as he tried to stand.
Screams of pain left him as the bones in his arm shattered under the Ithecal's bite, a loud crunch filling the area. Immediately Varlum stood up, leaving the man to suffer as the others came outside to the sight. Reaching for his Axe, Varlum let out another loud war cry, screaming out like an animal at the top of his lungs. Three men, weapons drawn, came outside and looked to the beast they were fighting. Yet as Varlum was ready to charge and swing with his axe the Spark inside of him began flaring and burning, the first man stepping on to the ground and the magic inside of Varlum swelling in his chest. With a small snarl, Varlum looked to the man, before activating his magic.
Inside, Varlum felt the earth reaching out to him, as if calling his name and offering the aid. As soon as the man began his approach Varlum reached inside his spark, readying his weapon as he focused on the Earth around him. All it would take is one mistake, one slip up, to kill this man. Which was exactly what Varlum had planned. When the Aukari went to take a step forward, the Earth raised in front of him in a small chunk. Around the tavern patches of earth softened, making them harder to walk across for anyone that tried to run at Varlum. But it wouldn't be enough, his Spark was in no way strong enough to do serious damage with the Earth yet, assuming it even listened.
The first man fell flat to the ground, Varlum feeling his limit nearing already as the earth under him hardened him, causing a loud thud and a groan of pain from his fall. With a heavy swing the axe plummeted down, planting in his back. It was a sloppy hit, not going as deep as Varlum had hoped, but the strength and weight behind it meant the damage was significant enough. The last two men paused for a moment before one built up a fireball in his hand, the other sprinting for the Ithecal. Yet as the fireball was about to burst forward and hit Varlum a loud whistle rang through the village for a trill, before a javelin from the town centre slammed in to the man with immense power. Faster than the men and women could blink the Aukari was launched aside by the thrown weapon, his body nearly split in two as he hit the floor.
The final bandit lost his footing and fell forward, weapon dropped. As he reached for it, Varlum's foot stood on his arm, pressing down enough to make him cry out in pain yet not hard enough to do any damage. Civilians looked out of the bar, eyes trailing over the scene in front of them. It was hard to be grateful after so much blood had been shed, yet without the help of Varlum they would have struggled. Yet Varlum wasn't interested in the bandits right now. His eyes glanced over to the town centre where only Kane stood, multiple javelins at his side and two glowing runes on his arms. He gave a small nod, Varlum nodding back before turning to the bandit under him.
"Pick up your weapons, take your friend and go. We'll bury the other two. If I ever see your faces again, I'll bury you alive" he growled, moving his foot away. Immediately the Aukari turned and ran to the bandit with a shattered arm, helping him to his feet and letting him rest his other arm over his shoulder. He grabbed both their weapons and, without pause, the two head away from the camp. Kane stood by Varlum's side and looked over as the Aukari walked away. "You shouldn't have let them walk away. What if they come back with more?" he asked through grit teeth. Varlum looked down to the man and placed his hand gently on his back, the feeling in his chest making him feel sick as he felt his body go numb.
"I'm counting on it. We stay here. When they come, we'll have our Aukari right here" he said confidently, sighing and looking to the villagers as he put his axe back over his back. "Come on. Let's go find a place to stay."
"Village ahead. Shall we stop there for the night?" the man asked, a Knight Varlum had been travelling with thus far. It had been an interesting journey, one that was surprisingly enjoyable all things considered. Both had been given a cart for their ride, big enough that Varlum didn't have to walk the entire way. It was in no way quick, but it saved what energy he had in case they were attacked on the way. Now they were outside of Rharne they had no influence, nobody would fear them here for their status as Lightning Knights. Then again, Varlum would be feared by many anyway for sheer size alone.
Kane turned to look at Varlum, who had taken the past break as an opportunity to walk. It wasn't fun sitting around all day while riding on a rough road, let alone with nothing to do and only one other soul to talk to. But at the very least the two shared some interests. Glancing to the village, Varlum gave a nod. It was a quaint town from all appearances, basic houses made of thatch with enough overall space for no more than forty people, if that. It looked like there would be another night spent out in a stable for the Ithecal, Varlum thought. Not that he minded all that much. Discomfort wasn't uncommon when you worked in a military for a large portion of your life.
As the cart rode towards town, Varlum at it's side, everything became clearer. In the centre of the town was one big building with a stone statue outside of it, a tall sculpture of a human-looking man standing tall with a sword raised over his head. Around the market were the quaint houses, some of them slightly larger fitted with wooden signs to what each was. What caught Varlum's eye was the word tavern, written neatly over a hanging wooden sign, two rusting chains holding it up. As villages went it wasn't impressive, but the Ithecal had seen much worse. Besides, it reminded him of home when he was younger. Where Varlum grew up before running to Ivorian had been smaller than he had lived in since. Cozy villages always felt nicer than big cities.
"Seems pretty empty" Kane pointed out, not a single person outside to be seen. As they got closer, however, the sound of people became clearer. Many voices could be heard from the tavern in what sounded like a hell of a time. Loud shouting came from a few more prominent voices. Yet as a scream broke through the others, Varlum realised something was wrong. Kane looked to the Ithecal for a moment before Varlum began a sprint towards the tavern. "Get the cart to the town centre, I'll handle this" he shouted out loud. Approaching the tavern, Varlum thanked Ethelynda for the size of it. It would have been awkward if he had to try and save the day on his hands and knees.
When he arrived at the door to the tavern the voices became more clear. Shouting for people to get out coin purses, threats being made, pleas of mercy as people had to hand over what little gold they had. "Every single one of you, coin purses, or I slit your fucking throat!" an unseen man called out. Now was the time to go. As soon as that sentence was finished the tavern door opened, Varlum taking a step in to the building as eyes fell to him. Both the villagers and attackers watched with caution as the towering man stood over them all, axe glimmering on his back and scarred eye looking around the room. Identifying the thugs wasn't hard to do, all of them armed and stood up while everyone else was dressed casually and had no weapons. But what immediately caught Varlum's eye was the trait every bandit shared.
Burning red hair.
"You were saying?" Varlum snarled with teeth bared. Perhaps they had found their Aukari. Every thug in the room had a hand resting on a weapon, each frozen as they looked to the Ithecal who's head stayed lowered. Even with a tall ceiling Varlum barely fit inside the building. After a few trills of silence the Ithecal looked to a man that held a mass of coin purses, hissing with every word that came out of his mouth. "I'll give you ten trills to put every coin purse on the table and get out of this tavern, or I'll bite your fucking head off. Starting now. Ten."
As soon as he said ten a bandit ran forward, dagger in hand. It was clear from how he sprinted that he didn't know much of using the blade, grip sloppy with no confidence in his features. Whatever he had told himself in his head, it had been just enough to persuade himself to run at the Ithecal. But in a small room like this there was no chance that Varlum could use his axe, which meant he had to get the attackers outside if he was going to fight them properly. Varlum lunged towards the man, grabbing for his wrist. As he did the blade sliced along his forearm, cutting up the sides. With the man in his grip Varlum turned and shoved towards the open doorway, watching as he stumbled out the door. With a loud cry of anger, the man burst out the door and to the outside, sinking his teeth into the man as he tried to stand.
Screams of pain left him as the bones in his arm shattered under the Ithecal's bite, a loud crunch filling the area. Immediately Varlum stood up, leaving the man to suffer as the others came outside to the sight. Reaching for his Axe, Varlum let out another loud war cry, screaming out like an animal at the top of his lungs. Three men, weapons drawn, came outside and looked to the beast they were fighting. Yet as Varlum was ready to charge and swing with his axe the Spark inside of him began flaring and burning, the first man stepping on to the ground and the magic inside of Varlum swelling in his chest. With a small snarl, Varlum looked to the man, before activating his magic.
Inside, Varlum felt the earth reaching out to him, as if calling his name and offering the aid. As soon as the man began his approach Varlum reached inside his spark, readying his weapon as he focused on the Earth around him. All it would take is one mistake, one slip up, to kill this man. Which was exactly what Varlum had planned. When the Aukari went to take a step forward, the Earth raised in front of him in a small chunk. Around the tavern patches of earth softened, making them harder to walk across for anyone that tried to run at Varlum. But it wouldn't be enough, his Spark was in no way strong enough to do serious damage with the Earth yet, assuming it even listened.
The first man fell flat to the ground, Varlum feeling his limit nearing already as the earth under him hardened him, causing a loud thud and a groan of pain from his fall. With a heavy swing the axe plummeted down, planting in his back. It was a sloppy hit, not going as deep as Varlum had hoped, but the strength and weight behind it meant the damage was significant enough. The last two men paused for a moment before one built up a fireball in his hand, the other sprinting for the Ithecal. Yet as the fireball was about to burst forward and hit Varlum a loud whistle rang through the village for a trill, before a javelin from the town centre slammed in to the man with immense power. Faster than the men and women could blink the Aukari was launched aside by the thrown weapon, his body nearly split in two as he hit the floor.
The final bandit lost his footing and fell forward, weapon dropped. As he reached for it, Varlum's foot stood on his arm, pressing down enough to make him cry out in pain yet not hard enough to do any damage. Civilians looked out of the bar, eyes trailing over the scene in front of them. It was hard to be grateful after so much blood had been shed, yet without the help of Varlum they would have struggled. Yet Varlum wasn't interested in the bandits right now. His eyes glanced over to the town centre where only Kane stood, multiple javelins at his side and two glowing runes on his arms. He gave a small nod, Varlum nodding back before turning to the bandit under him.
"Pick up your weapons, take your friend and go. We'll bury the other two. If I ever see your faces again, I'll bury you alive" he growled, moving his foot away. Immediately the Aukari turned and ran to the bandit with a shattered arm, helping him to his feet and letting him rest his other arm over his shoulder. He grabbed both their weapons and, without pause, the two head away from the camp. Kane stood by Varlum's side and looked over as the Aukari walked away. "You shouldn't have let them walk away. What if they come back with more?" he asked through grit teeth. Varlum looked down to the man and placed his hand gently on his back, the feeling in his chest making him feel sick as he felt his body go numb.
"I'm counting on it. We stay here. When they come, we'll have our Aukari right here" he said confidently, sighing and looking to the villagers as he put his axe back over his back. "Come on. Let's go find a place to stay."