It was nearly noontime when Dalmar and Sh'lzzt stood from their breakfast table. While in the company of the woman and her two children, Dalmar and Sh'lzzt enjoyed the comfort of a warm meal and local flavor. She was a warm person, and her motherly address was both common and confident. This set the two adventurers at ease, and they knew that her quick wit and direction told the tale of no certain misleading nature. Her stubborn manner caused Sh'lzzt to ease his worries for the time being, but his very nature was to continue the day's proceedings. Soon the man and the elf were exchanging pleasantries and words of determination to return to their journey. Dalmar slipped three silver coins underneath the edge of a wooden bowl on the table, careful not to insult the kindness of the family despite the blacksmith's concerns. At no time during their stay had Kayne returned to the tiny cottage to join the breakfast and the guests, and Dalmar felt that his own offerings were nothing more than a polite gesture and thanks for the warm reception they received from their delightful hostess.
As they stepped back outside the front of the cottage they were stopped by the woman once again, and they turned around to meet her soft gaze and a present of warm bread wrapped in a cloth. "Here ya go. This will give you a couple of smiles when lunch comes callin'" she said as she put her hands on her hips again. The two travelers thanked her once again, and turned towards the horse at the end of the path to the foundry. The ringing of Kayne's livelihood continued to break the calm of the forest's edge, and they each mentally prepared themselves for their goodbyes with Kayne. Slowly, they walked back to the spot where the horse had been tied close to a trough of water. As they approached, Dalmar noticed the buckles and bridle had, indeed, been shined as mentioned before. Dalmar ran his hands over the saddle as Sh'lzzt sat on the keg once more to rest his aching leg. His leg had found some comfort in the long sit and meal, but began to complain as its duty was once called upon again. He rubbed his leg and loosened the bandages, eyeing it underneath the wrappings. He grimaced. Sh'lzzt's thigh was a solid mass of black and blue bruises and he winced as he returned the bandages back to their secure position. Dalmar, sure that the horse and its saddle were in order, nodded to Sh'llzzt. "Be right back..." he said as he walked into the foundry to address Kayne.
Kayne's brow dripped with sweat and his eyebrows were still lowered from the morning's lingering confrontation. The soot of the metalworking fire stained his bare, glistening chest and bits of metal flake trickled down his body having been caught and removed from his chest hair. Kayne, noticing Dalmar, stopped pounding the glowing cart bearing, and rubbed his hands with a dirty rage. "Well, then. Off now, are we?" he said.
"Yeah, we'll be on our way now. Thanks for the fine job on the saddle" Dalmar said as he handed Kayne a gold piece. "Thanks for the hospitality."
"And where ye be headin' from here, ya think?" Kayne said as he shot a look at Sh'lzzt just outside the opening to the stuffy shop.
"Oh, I imagine we'll take a look around...Altendon was it? Then we'll be on our way to Irongard shortly thereafter. Kayne lowered his chin and his face softened. He smiled, and patted Dalmar on the shoulder as he looked at the gold piece and juggled it slightly in his hand before stuffing it in his pocket.
"Well, if'n ya do make it into town, don't forget to go see Ferris! He'll have yer friend patched up in no time." A short, uncomfortable silence struck the two men, each giving the other a momentary smile as an expectant discomfort came over the two of them. Dalmar nodded as he waved and turned back to his horse. Stepping out onto the soft earth outside he grabbed Sh'lzzt underneath the left arms and helped him to his feet. Lifting his friend, he helped Sh'lzzt back onto his mount, and they soon met the worn path through the dense woodland. Dalmar paused signaling Sh'lzzt and the horse to stop, and he turned towards his friend.
"What do yo think? Altendon or back to the stream and head north?" Dalmar said as he leaned slightly on the shoulder of the horse. Sh'lzzt sighed and seemed to daydream for a moment. His face looked tired, and Dalmar took quick notice of his friend's discontent.
"If we must, Dalmar, on to Altendon." Sh'lzzt replied. " Maybe, at least, we might get us another horse. But let's not spend too much time. I don't feel terribly comfortable with these surroundings despite our visit with that kindly woman this morning." Sh'lzzt looked down at Dalmar from the horse as his face took upon a sterner gaze. He waited for Dalmar's reaction before nudging the horses' side to continue in the direction of Altendon.
"Altendon it is!" Dalmar said sharply as he began to walk east along the pathway through the trees. His pace and energy seemed restored, Dalmar walked slightly ahead of his friend on the horse. He smiled to himself, thinking it might not be the best time to gloat and pull at Sh'lzzt's string. His friend's uneasy manner was plainly apparent and he didn't want to instigate anything unpleasant. Dalmar also knew that this was an opportunity that probably shouldn't be avoided. The opportunity to resupply themselves in lieu of the great unknown that lay ahead of them was more than he could bear to pass, and the last day's proceedings were testament to the much needed change of pace in his own mind. Yes, Dalmar was feeling well. His belly was full, he had a new town and new people to look forward. He could finally see some new faces and get out of the gloomy desolation of the open expanse, out from under the weight of the solitude of a different kind of loneliness he had felt once before even though he was partnered with a friend. Yes, indeed, Dalmar was looking forward to some sort of entertainment, even if it was a fleeting moment. Something to lighten the spirit of himself and his friend.
The path through the forest was well trampled by years of horse hooves and the wheels of carts. The soft, brown earth of the forest floor was dry and the falls of the horses steps were softened, echoing only slightly. As the two walked, Dalmar's mind wandered and he listened to the sounds of the forest. Overhead, the birds chirped and the occasional sounds of limbs falling from the highs to crash to the forest floor set his mind at ease. Dalmar even took the time to watch two squirrels race after one another from limb to limb before inverting their bodies down the side of a tree trunk to bark at him and his comrade. As the two squirrels emitted what Dalmar imagined to be obscenities, he answered back. "Go on, now! We'll be out of your way, soon. Then you can get back to tending your trees, you rascals, you!" Dalmar chuckled at the thought and his own personifications of them.
"You do realize they can't understand you, right, Dalmar?" Sh'lzzt's voice pierced through the scene to Dalmar's ears. Sh'lzzt tone seems to have relaxed as they trotted down the path, and Dalmar turned and grinned at his friend.
"Of course, my dear Sh'lzzt! But do they know that of me?" Dalmar said with a slight chuckle. Sh'lzzt said nothing, but grinned back at him. But then, breaking the lighthearted sounds of the forest, the sounds of horse hooves in the distance caused the squirrels to scatter back to their trees. Dalmar and Sh'lzzt both looked ahead along the path, and Sh'lzzt sat straight in his saddle. Sh'lzzt looked uneasy again. Dalmar knew what he was thinking, but he also knew that in their state there wasn't much he could do to escape any sort of danger with him on foot and Sh'lzzt injured. He took hold of the horse's reins and guided it to the edge of the pathway, keeping an even and steady pace. Sh'lzzt loosened his bow and held it in his hands. Dalmar, too, put his hand on his sword's hilt to ready himself for what lay in store. Together, as hawks scan the ground for a suitable perch, they stopped and watched the top of the rise several meters in front of them. Then, as they gazed through the forest, a horseman appeared, followed by another and then another until four armored men galloped their way towards Dalmar and Sh'lzzt. Sh'lzzt reached back to his quiver and pulled an arrow, hiding it in his lap as he sat still on the back of his horse. Dalmar dropped the horse's reins and felt for his second sword, ready to draw each in the event of confrontation. Swiftly, the four horseman, adorned with gleaming, silvery armor moved as one towards them. Raising an arm, the man in the lead, slowed the pace of the others, and the riders slowed to a trot. Their faces were stern as they approached. No warmth, no smile, no manner of common greeting dressed their bearded faces as approached and stopped in front of Dalmar and Sh'lzzt. Dalmar moved his hand from the hilt of his sword seeing his was outnumbered by skilled men. Sh'lzzt, too, grabbed his arrow and his bow in one hand and raised his hand in a peaceful gesture. His eyes glanced over the matching eagle insignias on their breastplates, and instantly he knew they must be Polias' men. "Greetings!" Sh'lzzt said as he turned an awkward smile from a possible face of dread.
"State your business!" barked the captain. "Who are you?" Dalmar hid a smile as he mind seemed to be interrupted by the thoughts of the squirrels dressed in armor saying the same thing as the captain.
"I'm am Lanthis, and this is my companion Zeke. We are explorers from the seaside town of Undhkiel." Sh'lzzt said succinctly. The captain stared at Sh'lzzt and Dalmar as he rounded both of them on his horse. The captain's probing eyes were felt by both the adventurer as a moment of silence fell upon them all.
"How long do you plan to stay in Altendon?" the captain finally replied.
"Not long. Perhaps a day or two at the most" met Sh'lzzt. The three men in front of them scanned the immediate area, looking intently for signs of more people.
"You seem fairly well armed for explorers, Lanthis. What do explorers need with so many weapons?" the captain said smartly from behind Sh'lzzt.
"The world is a dangerous place with so many beasts on the prowl. They are only for defense, I assure you." Sh'lzzt said, careful to no provoke any unnecessary lines of questioning.
"Perhaps, Lanthis, you are here for some other purpose. You seem to be injured. What happened to your leg? Why is it bandaged so?" The captain was beginning to annoy Sh'lzzt, and Dalmar's eyebrows lowered slightly. Still, the two adventurers kept a still, calm stance.
"We met an ogre upstream as we made ourselves this way." Sh'lzzt said, confident that the truth would help to grease the strands of the tale he wove.
"If you met an ogre, then why aren't you dead? You don't appear to be much of a match for an ogre." the captain scoffed as he answered, and his band of not-so-merry men joined in at the laugh. Sh'lzzt and Dalmar both smirked quite noticeably, but held their ground still.
"It was two, actually" Dalmar said smugly, thinking himself clever as he smiled and watched the three men in front of he and his friend. Sh'lzzt's face immediately turned to one of surprise and dread as his pupils shrunk to pinpoints, and he looked at Dalmar. Together, all four armored men with eagle insignias began with a roar of laughter. Sh'lzzt gritted his teeth at Dalmar. Dalmar lowered his stare after meeting Sh'lzzt's own malcontented gaze.
"If you dont' believe me,..." Sh'lzzt began, "You can still see remnants of the beasts on my friend's clothing." Sh'lzzt said quickly. The men stopped and looked at their captain who rode around the front of Sh'lzzt and Dalmar now. The captain made a nodding motion to one of his men. A young man pulled his horse's reins over to Dalmar leaning over his saddle, discriminately gazing upon the remnants of ogre blood on Dalmar's clothes. "Indeed", Sh'lzzt thought to himself, "every good lie has an element of truth...." Sh'lzzt's face changed with a bit of confidence now. Dalmar looked at his eyer out of the corner of his own eye, and the young soldier wrinkled his nose and sat upright addressing his captain.
"Aye, 'tis no human's blood that make him reek like that, captain, sir!" the young man snapped.
"I see." the captain concluded as he thought for a moment. "Then, Lanthis and Zeke, these two men will accompany you to Altendon. Safe journey to you all." The captain snapped his fingers with a quick gesture as two of his men nodded in acknowledgment. Joined by the fourth soldier, and Captain began trotting down the path in the same direction as before, their hoof beats disappearing into the forest that had once swallowed Sh'lzzt and Dalmar as well. The two soldiers of roughly twenty years, presented no conversation, and rarely spoke more than one or two words as the four of them traveled the remainder of the path to Altendon. Each of these two young men had small scars on their hands and faces, barely noticeable except to the trained eye. Believing these to be the signs of some battle, however limited, Sh'lzzt and Dalmar had little worry about their escorts or the area within which they traveled. The armored guards had a refined nature and demeanor about them suggesting they were of high stock, perhaps nobility within Altendon or some area nearby. Dalmar amused himself as he walked on the ground beside the caravan of horses, making small gestures and mocking embellishments of stance occasionally as if he was talking to himself. The two armored men took no notice, but kept their eyes on the forest and the path.
After thirty minutes of riding, the pathway yielded to a high, double hill with a large walled town on the furthest hillside. A worn roadway straddled the rolling hills down to the edge of the forest, and minor outcroppings of dark green and needled trees spotted the grassy countryside. There, they met four other guards marking the entrance to the hillsides before the fortified hamlet where the two soldiers exchanged reports of the captain's decisions. Pointing the way to the city, the two men turned around and entered the forest once again leaving Sh'lzzt and Dalmar to enter Altendon on their own. Without hesitation, the two explorers walked the path, looking upwards at the sky and the spot where the walls of the castle stood, taking only momentary notice at the sparse cottages that stood to either side of the wide, smooth roadway to the city. The whole area looked rather peaceful, Dalmar thought, even if the looming castle was a bit ominous. It was obvious to him that Altendon was a place that took its laws and order seriously. "How completely boring this place must be!" Dalmar finally exclaimed at they trudged up the hillsides towards the city proper.
"What did you hope to find? A veritable hole in the ground with a couple of campfires? Perhaps a brothel? Dalmar, from the very beginning of entering the forest from the stream, the oppressive nature of the aristocracy has loomed over us. Did Kayne not make mention of Polias ridding the area of bandits? That's the sort of thing only men concerned with some sort of order do. Normally leaders only put forth the effort that it requires to quell the problem, not eradicate it. That is something entirely different." Sh'lzzt paused and sighed. He smiled at Dalmar from atop his steed and leaned down slightly in an intimate, friendly manner characteristic of two friends. "But still, I should be glad, however, to avoid a bar fight tonight as seems to be usual cup of ale." Sh'lzzt chuckled. "Let's just try to make the best of this. We'll just get in, resupply, and get out tomorrow morning." Sh'lzzt smiled again, his hips moving side to side with the horse's gait. He produced the small cloth filled with the woman's biscuits that had now lost all their warmth. "Have a biscuit. It will make you feel better" Sh'lzzt said as he tossed Dalmar a piece of bread. Catching it in mid-air, Dalmar stuffed the parcel of food into his mouth. Indeed, it did make him feel a bit better as the soft, sweet taste of the sugary bread hit his tongue. His stomach reminded him that he was starting to get hungry, and his mind soon turned towards chicken and potatoes. Dalmar stood up taller, and together, they entered the open gates of Altendon.
Invino Veritas
10/30/11
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