“News from the Front:
Traxian/Carradorian Clash Near Ostwald Pass: Casualties in High Hundreds
Melisgrad Destroyed? What We Know So Far
Revival of The Trinity? Nautican Diplomat Spotted Exiting Arterian Ministry
Feral Goblins Near Our Borders! Brave Heroes Sally Forth!
See more on Pg 2”
- Arterian Affairs, Special News Edition Vol 2
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She had felt their stares, the curiosity on the new group’s faces, plain for all to see. But none of her comrades had introduced her, none of the others dared to approach either. It was a sickening feeling, the loneliness crowding around her like a snake, its fangs poised and ready to strike. Her only consolation had been that Mila still allowed her to share a tent, though the scowling girl rarely talked as much as the others anyways. A few grunts, ‘good morning’,’thank you’, and ‘good night’, had encompassed what few interactions she had with practically anyone the past two days. Even Karzan had found himself harried by Eram and the other merchant, spending more time arguing with them over the trivialities of an old deal gone wrong that split them up. She despised this feeling, the feeling of being unwanted and left alone. Once again.
Sophie had, at the very least, seemed to check up on her, the half elf occasionally trading a small nod before wandering back off again. Sophie seemed antsy, like she couldn’t sit still any longer and more often than not practiced sparring with the others, pushing herself to the limit. It was inspiring, in a way, Aryana saw her as the one trying her best to overcome whatever darkness still lingered. But, despite it all, there was still something unsettling whenever she looked at the half elf with no heart, a certain etherealness that seemed to linger over her.
Aryana shook off her malaise and let out a tired yawn, the faint sound of running water in the distance sending a tingling sensation running within her loins. They had made good and safe progress the past two days, having swung decisively onto the Foesian Plateau. They aimed to cross into the High Wall on the morrow. A small river running down and past them marked the final natural barrier between the High Wall’s lower ranges and where the caravan currently parked. Before that stood a small clearing where the caravan had set up camp, the dim firelight not as bright in an effort to hide themselves from any goblins drawn to the lure of fresh victims.
“Goblins are generally pretty tribal creatures but if someone's destroyed their home? Well that would explain why they’re trying to ravage the countryside,” Karzan had said, “likely in an act of revenge and desperation in equal measure. Still, it is worth being careful. The buggers generally only confront prey when they hold a clear numerical advantage. So if ye see one, shout, scare it away and alert us. Because if there’s one, there’s ten, if there’s ten there’s a hundred, and we need all the time we can get to prepare. Plus we never know if a hob or an orc is leading their sortie. Now that, would be a dangerous proposition.”
His words frightened her and she took the moment to do another scan of the tree line around them. Finding nothing but the occasional squirrel darting between trees and the cries of the nightingales in the distance. The moon hung low overhead and the pale silver light barely graced the camp, the dim orange fire glow intertwining just at the edge of her vision.
The books at least have been fairly interesting if sometimes dry. She learned that Arteria had a mixture of different races and cultures, their customs and traditions falling heavily on the mercantile and magical. Of the great underground kingdoms that waged a thankless war against the evil that seeped from the depths. Of heroism and kindness as the heroic warrior Gunmar at long last bested his rival the traitor king, routing the demonic hordes with the assistance of his ever loyal ally Aurelia. Though she was still a little confused on the true extent of friendship, she knew that they stood fast against impossible odds and persevered, a heartwarming story despite the frigid setting in the lands far north of even the Frostwinds.
Her mind bubbled with unanswered questions though, her foray into history and fiction inundating her with the desire to know more. How had Gunmar and Aurelia gathered so many allies? What was his origin story? Why did Arteria never expand into an empire? How did they maintain relations with the dwarves? What other wondrous creations might the dwarves have in their underground kingdoms? Perhaps there were more than ironclads and golems that roamed the deep. She yearned to know more but dared not to speak up, to ask or say something silly, lest she invoke everyone’s ire even more than leaking their plans to a dwarven merchant.
Something shuffled in the underbrush and her eyes were immediately drawn to it. At the edge of the camp, something had disturbed nature as she felt the grumble of the spirits. Immediately, bringing herself to a crouch, she tucked her copy of Gunmar and Aurelia into her tunic’s pocket, the book still half hanging out but relatively secured. She moved to shout out a warning but her eyes landed on the two team leaders currently arguing by the campfire.
Annalise and Ryo, leader of The Dragon Wagon, had never really seen eye to eye since they had started. Though willing to cooperate, the way the suave and cool headed boy more or less acted the opposite and allowed his party to casually carry out their duties, something that had rubbed the ranger the wrong way. In turn, Annalise’s attempt to organize some stability after the recent madness in Melton had been received with frowns from the more carefree group. The two butted heads on how to best escort the caravan with Ryo eventually winning out being the original commissioned team. Still, they ragged at each other at every opportunity to the point that even some of the other Dragon members seemed concerned.
But should I bother them? They’re on watch but they also look so busy. With a grumble and a sigh, she carefully looked around Karzan’s wagon and fished out a small crossbow. It had simply been part of his assorted materials, and when she had helped reorganize everything after a particularly nasty bump in the road, she had seen the strange weapon sitting quietly under a pile of junk. It was fitted with a singular bolt. As she tightened the mechanism to hold it in place she hopped off the wagon, her boots landing with a light crunch on the dirt below.
The night was chilly if not necessarily cold, but she could feel the sweat starting to form, her hands shakily on the crossbow as she took nervous steps forward. Karzan’s wagon had technically not been considered part of the merchant’s caravan and thus she was its only guardian. Shifting forward, she edged to the limits of the campfire, the moonlight and darkness claiming every piece of dirt just a few steps beyond. She placed one foot after the other as she hunched lower to the ground, the crossbow raised halfway to her chest as she scanned the tree line.
She counted eight steps when she heard another shuffle, her body spinning towards the direction of the sound only to find more bushes and ferns covering her view. Must’ve been a squirrel or a boar, but it sounded so heavy. Another swapping twig sent her twirling around and she froze mid motion as her eyes landed on two dark red orbs glaring at her from within the shadows of the tree line. Her breath stilled as she considered her options, yell and run, or run then yell. She gulped down her fear and lifted the crossbow, the weapon feeling comically inadequate in this situation. But, without time to even squeak out a warning, she felt her hand squeeze the trigger as a heavy bootstrap sealed her fate. She heard the mechanism click and felt the kick of the bolt being launched, then all went dark.
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Sophie awoke in a cold sweat, her hands furiously plucking at her head. Nightmares…just a nightmare, she reassured herself as she steadied her ragged breathing. Though thoughts of the entity no longer haunted her, she couldn’t get the sight of her own blood soaked hands out of her mind. Her hands balled up into a fist as she tried to forget the mutilated mess that had been Riza, or the fact she had also inadvertently caused the death of hundreds. Breath, remember what Mila said, breath.
Her body shivered in pain, the phantom pain from her time in the void haunting her muscles. The sensation of being torn apart sending her body into a tense motion, her hand instinctually clasping for a sword that wasn’t there. Then her heart groaned, or whatever dark magics permeated throughout her body. It was the worst part, when the phantom pain would leave, the more than real aches and scars flared up to fill the gap, her fingers digging themselves into the palm of her hand in a futile attempt to distract her mind. With one final grunt, she managed to push past the pain.
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Sophie hated the feeling, but taking a few more deep breaths she slowly calmed herself down. Fuck, I’m falling apart. Exhausted but awake, she stumbled out of her tent, wondering how the newest edition to the group was doing. Reminds me a little bit of myself, heh, she really throws herself into books too. Loosening her shoulders she turned towards the end of the caravan and squinted to see where the redhead had hid. To her surprise, for once the strange girl was no longer just perched up on the wagon reading.
Looking over to the right she found Annalise and team leader Ryo engaged in another futile bickering match. The other outlander, a girl called Jun, hovered around the campfire, looking increasingly concerned and just gave a sheepish shrug when she met Sophie’s gaze. Another pointless argument, huh?
“Anna!” Sophie called out, the bickering duo silencing at once. “Did Aryana say anything?” She asked.
The ranger looked to her opponent who also shook his head before she turned to Sophie, “Nah. What’s up?”
A sinking feeling entered Sophie’s heart and she felt her expression drop, something that was quickly reflected on Annalise’s face as she too started to grow more concerned. Wordlessly, Sophie watched as Anna tried to get up. Ryo quickly throwing their argument aside and moved to help the ranger.
Sophie shared a small nod with the crowd and quickly ducked inside her tent, hurriedly slapping on the new leather cuirass and attaching the royal sword to her belt. Hope Prince Alvin can forgive me for dooming the city, she grunted as she scrambled back out.
She wasted no time in sprinting her way down towards Karzan’s wagon, her rapid movement drawing the attention of the caravan guards at the front of the train as well. Ignoring the flurry of movement behind her, she felt an impending sense of trouble as she leapt up onto the wagon, the cart creaking until the sudden weight. No one’s here, oh by the Goddess. Her heart skipped a beat as her eyes darted all around in a panic, as if expecting Aryana could magically fit under the small pile of junk. Her stomach twisted itself uneasily as she turned her attention to the area around the wagon, spotting a dark looking rock just beyond the periphery of her vision. No, no, no, no! Not again, someone can’t die because of me again, they can’t. I’m sorry Riza, I’m sorry. Oh by the Goddess, not again. No, no, it can’t!
She landed with a small thud as she ran over to the object, finding a small crossbow haphazardly dropped in the middle of path.
“Sophie?” Came the shout from behind her, Ryo helping Annalise along as Jun watched their sides.
Sophie’s eyes scrutinized the ground nearby, following the direction the crossbow pointed at to find patches of foliage and shrubbery blocking the way. To her dismay, she stepped closer and reached down to touch the dark viscous matter sprayed onto the leaves. Blood, but thicker than a humans, almost like-
“Sophie! What the fuck?” Annalise panted.
“Blood. Not human, feels thick.”
“Huh? I, what’s going… shit.” Annalise murmured as she caught sight of the fallen weapon.
“This part of your… ah… group cohesion?” Ryo quipped.
“Fuck off.” The ranger scowled, her eyes focused on the blood Sophie found.
“Ryo-kun.” Jun’s quiet voice came from behind them.
“Right, umm, sorry.” Ryo replied, “What uhh… what do you need us to do?”
Sophie tuned them out and looked out into the brush, the tree line was thick but not thick enough to stop travel. Without a body she could only assume the worst, she got taken. The blood however, upon closer examination was fresh, fresh enough to still smell the metallic signature that she had grown familiar with. But, this was a different scent, muskier, darker, if still metallic. She…shot something, a goblin? But could a goblin take her away?
“Sophie, Sophie!” Annalise snapped her out of her stupor.
“Eh?”
“I need you to focus up. The convoy needs to get moving.” Annalise began.
“But-”
“I know, you want to find her. But we don’t know what’s out there so-”
“What?!” Sophie exploded, “Are you saying we leave someone behind?!”
“Focus up!” Annalise snapped, the ranger’s sternness cowing Sophie’s emotion for now, “I never said that. But we need to know what we’re up against. Wait for Taurox and you two will set off to find her.”
“Wait?!" Sophie exclaimed incredulously, "But every second we wait is another where we might lose the trail!”
“I know! And that’s exactly why you need to make your move carefully! If you just scamper out you’ll just end up lost and then what? You fuck around until you magically get out? Just gonna die in the wilderness like how you always throw yourself into danger?!” Annalise shot back.
“I…but-”
“Focus up Sophie, take a moment to calm yourself. We've almost lost you multiple times and you still somehow pull through, so get it together! Ryo, can your team get the caravan up and ready to go?” Annalise turned away from her with a huff.
“Yeah, of course.” Ryo nodded at Jun who hurried back to the camp, “Do you reckon you’ll make it back before we go?” He asked, half looking at Annalise, half turned towards Sophie.
Analise traded a dark look with Sophie before she turned back to Ryo, “No, they’ll meet us at the crossing at best, maybe just Arteria at worst.” She muttered.
“What do you mean they will?” Sophie interjected, “Aren’t we all part of the team? Together?”
“We are.” Annalise scowled, “But I'm no good for a chase, Sophie. Or have you forgotten?”
Sophie winced at the sudden accusation but nodded. Right, her leg.
Their awkward moment was broken by the clattering of heavy hooves as Taurox brought his mount and self to bear. “Something wrong?” The minotaur asked.
“Aryana’s missing, we think…”
“Orcs or goblins took her.” Sophie finished for Anna, raising her blood covered fingers to the disapproving scowl of the minotaur.
With one sniff the minotaur’s expression darkened, his beady eyes narrowing at the blood, “Then what would you have us do?”
Sophie felt the urge to move, the need to pursue in the general direction in order to prevent another pointless death, another death because of me. Her hands tightened around the hilt of her sword, waiting for Anna to let her loose. Even now, a sliver of guilt latched onto her mind, the regret for letting such a vulnerable person tag along their potentially dangerous journey, though she did frown at the thought of the hurt expression on Aryana’s face when she snapped at her coming. It was for her own good, this journey would be the end of her and by the Goddess look what’s happened. Stellesia, please, bless us with your fortune and keep the stray traveler in your comforting embrace.
“...do you think you can track it?” Sophie zoned back in to catch the end of Annalise’s question.
“They don’t make us templars for no reason.” Taurox snorted haughtily.
“Very well then, we’ll set a rendezvous at the third ford just pass the Ascari Plains, if not there then at the foothills just beyond Green Reach Pass. Worst comes to worst, ride directly to Arteria.” Annalise stated solemnly.
The minotaur nodded his acknowledgement turning to Sophie who only seemed even more eager to launch herself into the brush. “Then there’s no time to waste, little maid, take the reins on my mount and guide it through the trees. I will track them down and cut a way through.” He said with certainty.
Sophie seemed poised to argue, ready to say that she would be a much faster individual but held her tongue when the minotaur hefted up his war axe onto his shoulders, his hind legs lowering him so he could better scan the traces left behind. His muscles poised to strike out the moment he identified a trail.
Reluctantly she grabbed hold of the horse’s reins, the massive inquisitorial warhorse braying against the pitiful elf in front of it, but Sophie held her ground and waited with bated breath for the minotaur’s go ahead.
“Good luck Sophie, I hope you find her in one piece. Blessed by the stars.” Annalise grunted as Ryo helped the ranger turn back to the caravan.
With the smallest of nods she steeled her nerves, shoving her emotions into a box in her mind as she tried to focus on the task at hand. Can I not even protect a single person?
A series of whistles echoed up and down the caravan as merchants, guards, and adventurers were quickly roused for the emergency departure, the flurry of activity distracting her focus. But a small murmur snatched back her attention as the minotaur finally rose up from his examinations, his war axe lifted above his shoulders.
“Come now, little elf. Let us find these goblins and bring back the troublesome one.” He scowled, "May the wrath of Astralis strike them down."
Offering her acknowledgement, the minotaur brought down his axe, each swing sending countless twigs and brambles flying away. With every swing, Sophie noticed a dangerous glint glowing in the templar’s eyes. So the hunt begins.