Rove
Tinkersong, The Grasping Isle
[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/554030201789743105/1028654515798409237/Grasping_Isle_Final_V1.0.png]
With him anticipating Ayuen’s blinding shot, Rove didn’t have that much trouble blocking the worst of the flare’s effects. However, the sheer intensity of it took him off-guard for a moment. That wasn’t something he wanted to be on the receiving end of. Thank the Arals that Ayuen was on his side. His two foes were far more distracted than he was. The woman clutched her arm, small flames still licking at her singed clothing as she wailed her pained cries into the darkness. Rove made a quick dash towards his two opponents, Stormgrinder aimed at the head of the burning woman’s companion. The cloaked Yrus didn’t stand a ghost of a chance. Realizing he was in danger, the cloaked man swung wildly at him with a curved bronze blade, eyes red and dazed by the light. The Herhor didn’t even try to block the man’s blow. Instead, he dove under it and buried Stormgrinder into the poor guy’s chest. The steel blade’s tip pierced the body with almost disturbing ease, emerging out the other end and impaling it so far that the hilt of the weapon almost touched the entry wound.
A final breath left the Yrus’ body before the light left his eyes and his body slumped to the ground. Rove pulled the sword free, wrenching it out of the man’s chest with a loud bloody squelch. Stormgrinder had buried itself so deeply that he had to put his boot against the corpse to pull it free. The sharpness of the blade was unlike anything he’d ever seen before. It was in a league of its own. Whirling toward the woman, Rove readied his blade again, expecting some kind of retaliation. But the woman had surprisingly fallen to her knees by this point, whispering and whimpering softly to herself. The Herhor just shook his head. That was easy. After their bravado, he had expected more of a fight. But alas, their pride proved to be their downfall.
“You.” He pointed Stormgrinder at the woman’s throat. “Lay down your weapon and surrender. Your partner’s soul has already gone to the Wailing Gates. If you do not want to follow him, you’ll comply and tell us everything.”
The woman whispered something garbled and inaudible.
“What? Speak up, wench.”
No reaction, just more whispering. He glanced at Ayuen, who was rubbing her eyes. She met his gaze as she heard him speak, shrugging her shoulders at his wordless question. He silently mouthed the word ‘magic’ to her, to which she frowned and looked at the woman intently, shaking her head a few seconds later. No magic then.
Suddenly, the woman looked straight at him, hatred burning in her eyes. Even in the favourable position he was in right now, the sheer intensity of the hatred and anger made him take half a step back before he could reel his instincts in.
“… and by her decree and wisdom, those that help spread the foulness that is the Pyrn Council must be slain.”
“What in the blazes are you talking about, you crazy bitch?”
Suddenly, she quickly lurched to her feet, swatting away Stormgrinder with surprising ease. Not paying any mind to the grievous cuts she incurred or the burn wounds, she jumped on him with the ferocity of a rabid animal. Her nails scratched at his skin, the woman now acting more like a frenzied burned raven as charred feathers were scattered all around them.
The sheer absurdity of the move took him off-guard, but Rove recovered quickly enough when he felt her nails break his skin. He grabbed her by her wrist before she could succeed at clawing his eyes out, twisting hard and pulling up. The woman let out a feral roar when her wrist snapped under the pressure. Her other hand, marked with burns, came sailing towards his neck. A wild but predictable move. She was acting like a wild beast, her anger making her move straight forward and easy to gauge. Stormgrinder moved through the air in a silver arc, connecting with the woman’s flesh...
Before her hand could reach him, it was already flying through the air, a trail of blood following suit. The eyes of the woman opened wide in surprise. Couldn’t blame her. Seeing your hand fly by would shake anyone. A frustrated, high-pitched cry started to erupt from the woman’s throat, cut short immediately after by ways of Stormgrinder severing her head. The Yrus’ head fell to the ground with a soft thump, her limp body following soon after. With their foes dead, the night returned to its prior silence. Only the shadows had been witnesses to the battle. They had made a huge mess though. Rove looked to the houses, seeing some lights flickering to life on Tinkersong’s outskirts. It was inevitable for somebody to come looking at that noise. They had to act fast before they were spotted. They were lucky the Yrus had brought Sneak to a somewhat remote location. He eyed Stormgrinder, its gem glowing a bright red. They were sitting ducks here...
“We need to get rid of the bodies, fast.” He said, wiping the blood and grime off Stormgrinder and onto the clothes of the fallen man. Stowing the blade away in its sheath, he dampened the grinding sound with some of the man’s cloth as well. After the soft whirring sound faded after a few moments, the Herhor started dragging the man’s body deeper into the vegetation. There wasn’t much, but it should conceal things well enough for them to depart in the early morning without too much of an issue. Ayuen, frowning grimly, was quick to drag the headless body of the woman away. He could see her shiver, her lips set in a tense thin line. Rove hummed approvingly, his respect for the woman growing as his eyes flicked towards Sneak. The ragged man had also stumbled to his feet, picking up the hand and head that were still laying on the floor. Without seemingly caring about the blood, the guy casually tossed both body parts into a nearby brush before turning around. Sneak ran towards him, taking the other side of the male Yrus’ corpse to help move him.
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“Let Sneak help you, mast’r.”
“That’d be useful, thank y-…“ He blinked a couple of times at the man lifting the other end of the corpse as he did a double-take. “How did you call me?”
“Mast’r. Mast’r Rove saved Sneak’s life. Sneak owes mast’r Rove great debt. So mast’r.”
‘Oh, come on!’ he thought to himself. He didn’t need the help nor fealty of a bloody insane tramp like Sneak. Swallowing back a sharp remark, he instead decided to take a page out of Ayuen’s book.
“I’m…..flattered, Sneak. But we had good reason to kill those two. And by the sound of it, they were having it out for us.”
“No!” The man shook his head vehemently as they ditched the corpse into the undergrowth. Rove cut the emblem off the man’s clothes, planning to ask Ayuen some questions the next morning. Sneak continued talking in a quick hushed tone, nodding his head.
“Sneak always repays what is due. Sneak will help mast’r Rove on his travels!”
“And why in Legria’s name do you think you’re doing me a favour with that?”
“Sneak knows who Legria is! Nice woman, although she likes to do too much chattin’.”
Sneak’s words began to tear at his sanity. It took everything grain of self control not to bash his face against a wall or tree.
“Legria... is… an… Aral… you twat. You can’t have met her!” Only a furious ‘shh’ from Ayuen stopped him from shouting.
“Sneak knows Legria is an Aral, yes.” The man said proudly, even going so far as to puff up his chest. “Does that mean Legria can’t be nice?”
“That’s not the bloody point here, you insane idiot.” He clutched at the air, venting his frustration by sending a nearby rock careening through the air and into the bushed. Ayuen, turning around annoyed, sent a hushed ‘language…’ his way. Which he begrudgingly acknowledged with a sigh. Didn’t do him any favours getting riled up in the outskirts of town when they should get their asses away from here.
“You know, Sneak. Do whatever you want. Just don’t get in the way. I have time nor energy to deal with your shit.”
“Yes, mast’r Rove! Sneak will not be a disappointment to you!”
A groan later, the three of them were jogging away as quickly as he could without pulling too much attention to themselves. Their group was steadily getting bigger and he didn’t like it one bit.
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When they got back to the inn, they spent the rest of the evening as quietly as possible. Ayuen had gone to her room as soon as they entered, softly mumbling an excuse before she locked herself in her room. Sneak followed her example soon after, the man giddy about the thought of sleeping in a soft bed. The man couldn’t help assuring him that he would be up and about immediately if his ‘mast’r’ demanded it. Damn Sneak. Damn Yrus. Damn contract. Damn everything.
Sighing and shaking his head, he took a big gulp from the tankard of ale in front of him. He needed some alcohol in his system before tucking himself in for the night. And to make sure nobody saw them.
Gulping his drink down too eagerly, he coughed and hacked as he tried to get the bitter fluid out of his lungs. A couple of the patrons shot him amused glances, but nobody had taken to time to approach him. There had been a ruckus outside about half an hour after he’d started drinking, but it had somehow died down quickly. A few guards had barged into the inn, but they had been strangely lax in their search. No alarm ringing through the night as well. It was strange to say the least. Very strange.
Still, he was happy to spend the night in peace. A little fortune in a storm of chaotic messes. Leaning back against the bartop, he looked across the common room. A small band of women sat near the bar, shooting some amused looks his way while giggling amongst themselves. Dampened but not impossible to hear, some of their gossips reached his ears.
What he heard made him smile and a shot of relief shot through his stomach. As he had anticipated, some rumours had indeed started to spread, but nobody knew what the ruckus had been about. Wild theories were doing the rounds, the next even wilder than the ones before. A merchant testing out some newly made fireworks. A mythical Bovnaz enacting revenge upon a hapless victim. A Gaoler’s magical experiment gone wrong.
Looking at the stairs, he chuckled at the amusing thought of Ayuen trying to experiment and getting that elegant hairdo all singed and puffy.
All in all, it was rather relaxing sitting in an establishment like this. Sipping from his ale, Rove took out the symbol he took from one of Sneak’s assailants. A spear, with a white feathered wing on the end of its shaft. Suddenly, something clicked in his mind. He’s seen this symbol before. The bandits he had encountered with old man Bren. Guess they had been merely masquerading as bandits. It did explain quite a bit though. The skill possessed by their attackers, the decline of bandit activity in the region, and the lack of work for local Herhors. If these people had been searching for a woman hidden away, the regions south of the Shieldhead Woods would’ve been a good place to look. Small groups of ill-equipped, ragtag bandits wouldn’t have stood a chance against the newcomers.
He toyed with the symbol in his hand for a bit, thinking about the whole situation. Their group had outrun Prado’s men effectively, but now these winged Yrus had been able to catch up. The big mystery was their communication though. Most likely, the people he now dubbed ‘the Spears’ were not in contact with Prado. Yet they had been able to locate them and begin putting pressure on them.
How did they figure out where they had been? After all, they’d spent almost five days in a dusty bunch of ruins. It wasn’t as if they had announced their presence here in town, although they hadn’t been overly cautious. Still, it was just all too quick. Too suspicious. It felt like the enemy was one step ahead of them the entire time. And even though they had managed to scrape by by the skin of their teeth, he wasn’t sure how long their fortune would last. There was only so much even magical armaments could do against enough manpower. His fist tightened around the piece of cloth. If only the opposition would be as easily crushed as this symbol in his hand. He’d signed up for a regular escort mission, but it had spiralled way out of control. It was personal now.
[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/876104022833127448/1081527272286203994/MV.png]Art by Fantastical, Fantastical Art Licence