Without the adrenaline rush he had been experiencing most of the morning, Rell was able to feel how cool the ground was on his cheek this time. Am I still awake? This is very weird. The feeling off the cold dirt on one cheek and warm blood on the other, as well as the blood loss from the fight, was enough to keep his head clouded while he was down. Unconsciousness was ready to take him, his eyelids drooping closed.
*Thump*
“Where do you think you’re going?” the nameless captain started as his boot sunk into Rell’s stomach. “I told you that it would be wise if you didn’t bring the beasts back to Rodar, you think I’m going to save your ass and then carry you back to camp while you have a little nap? Get off the ground and go get the dust out of that hound, now half-breed!”
The air leaving Rell’s lungs did the job of waking him up, but in his winded and semi-conscious state he didn’t have the ability to answer the one-eyed man. “OII! I’m giving you an order you worthless shit!” Rell was dragged up onto barely stable feet and shoved toward the corpse of the creature he had spent most of the trip home trying to avoid, his head clearing ever slightly with each stumbled step. He’s really not going to like this, haha.
“Uhhhh” The Captain took a menacing step toward him, growling out to him “Make yourself useful before I take you back into the forest and bleed you, Elf.” Well, at least I made it to the wall. “I don’t know how to draw the formations for that.” Rell said to him and was lifted off his feet just as he finished the sentence. “You do magic don’t you, are you telling me you won’t do it?” The captains eyes sharpening with every word spoken “You know I can do whatever I want to you, right now, and no one would even bother looking into what happened. If you don’t do the ritual, I’ll gut you and throw your corpse into the woods, where your kind belongs.”
He slowly lowered Rell back to the ground, not even blinking once as he threatened his life. Rell didn’t know the formation or even what elements used to draw lifeforce out of the beasts blood, And he had had enough of the captains shit. Thanks for the save, but this is why I try to stay out of Rodar. He said his piece and prepared for the storm to come, “Rituals aren’t even the right form of magic, and even if they were I don’t know any.”
The captain was furious. The arm that shot out to behind Rell’s head was too quick for him to even see, and strong enough to hold his body weight when his legs gave out from the punch that was driven into his body. Once his legs gave out, the captain held him with one arm and hit him again and again like he was a hanging bag. He wasn’t counting, but the fist had found his body at least five times before Ed stepped in and caught the offending hand.
“C’mon Sir, he’s just a kid. I say we just go back inside the wall and find the Inn for some breakfast?”
“What do you care, or are you the kind of man that loves an elf of a night, Ed?” the captain sneered, but didn’t try to free his hand. “Alright. But since you seem so fond of the Darkies, you’re gonna take this little shit back into the camp and find that magic bastard. Bring him out here to collect the dust out of this thing and bring it in to me, I’m gonna go find myself some food.”
“What about his payment, Sir?”
“Who gives a shit. Actually, no. Give him half a gram of whatever he drags out of it, bring the rest to me, Ed.”
“As you command, Captain.” Ed replied as he offered his hand to Rell to put a bit of his weight on, “Lets go kid.” The captain laughed as he seen Ed from over his shoulder, helping the half-elf boy back toward the gate. “You know, you’re the kind of guy I could see having one of those tree lovers for a wife, Ed.” That was the last Rell heard out of the captain before he picked up the pace toward the gate, leaving them to hobble along the field. The walk back to the gate seemed so quiet after the events of the morning, and Rell wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep in his little damp cave, but his day wasn’t finished yet.
As Rell walked alongside the soldier into Rodar along the southern path he was reminded again of the nature of his home, a large, round military settlement built around the space that was occupied by the looming harvester in the centre, the harvester was always the first thing anyone seen when they entered the city from any of the four gates. It was a massive, white octahedron in the centre of the camp that Rell was headed to. The camp housed the half-elf population, near all of them tended the harvester and needed a reason to leave the inner wall that surrounded it, and that reason needed to be on a form to be shown to the guards and approved at the checkpoint between it and the city proper.
The ring outside of the inner wall was where the housing for the guards and the higher ups of the city lived and the thick, double-carriage-and-a-bit road that surrounded it was. It was like this so the officials could keep an eye on the slave population and because it was the deepest part of the city where magic still worked. Across the road and another band out was the ring of markets, shops, inns and most places of business, where people could spend the dust and gold they had earnt on the wares of the town and you could find a place to stay for the night if you were passing through. The market band was situated between the officials and the ring of houses and offices that were where the common man lived, the streets here were a little less wide as there were rarely any carriages going through here. The next band out had thicker roads and larger properties as this was the trades district. This ring consisted of dyeworks, paper factories, smiths, tanners and the human services, like brothels and thug groups. This was the rougher part of town, if you didn’t count the slave camp, where you had to keep your currency as close to your fingertips as your weapon was, the runamocks and gangs of the commoner district prowled the alleys between the large properties here, ready for the next opportunity for some gold or fun that came their way.
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The round road between that band and the one that Rell was currently shambling through was the widest of all as it was between the trade district with its shipments, and the wall district, which is where the long barracks and shipping docks and stables for the military and the nobles were. A giant ring with its back against the massive wall, everyone in this district was either just arriving here, or were about to leave, and they were all in a bit of a hurry to do so. There were beasts of all kinds, harnessed up to carriages inside of storehouses, being loaded with goods from the trade district, about to set out to the other cities on the continent of Gorom, and In a few hours they would all be replaced by wagons loaded with foodstuffs, coming in from the regions whose main industry was farming or fishing. The steady flow of workers coming from the commoner band, down the southern path, one of the four great thoroughfares in the city, was constant throughout the day.
Most of these commoners that happened to glance upon the duo on their morning commute showered Ed with looks of disbelief, no doubt questioning why a guard had an injured Half-breed hanging off of his arm. I still don’t get what these people think the difference between a man and an elf is. One of them even went as far as to spit at Rell’s meandering feet as he walked past. “I think I can walk myself now.” Ed looked down to the face of the boy and smiled at him “Finally, I think my arm was about to desert me in protest.” The large man laughed.
Hmm, is he joking with me? “Wow, I’m joking kid don’t look at me like that. I suppose you probably haven’t seen much of a good side to humanity living here but, have you? No matter. Hey, what’s your name kid? I’m sure you heard the captain screaming mine and its only right to have yours as well, I think.” Oh, he was joking. And he seems to be pretty friendly I guess, its weird though, doesn’t he care how it looks being this casual with an elf?
“Not much of a talker aye? Well, I’m Edward anyway. Just Edward, I lost my family name when I came to Rodar to keep back the beasts of the plains from the city, and I haven’t picked another one yet. My dad wanted me to be a farmer and my….” Edward kept on as Rell lost himself to his thoughts, both men making their way through the bands slowly toward their shared destination, the camp. I need to stop at my place to get some more Rotworm, I think the one eyed buffoon smashed the vial I was carrying while he was beating sense in and out of me, the old man should have some but it wouldn’t hurt to be sure. I hope dad is loading when I get there, I don’t really want to..
Ed yanked him out of the path of a six-legged, orange reptile that was a head taller than he was, attached to a carriage drawn by a hulking human man that looked primed for violence. The man was opening his mouth to curse and standing up when he felt Ed put his hand on his shoulder. The mans eyes wandered to the armour-clad human man behind Rell and he sat back into the driving chair of the laden carriage and continued on his way. “Crowns kid, you must really be shooting for wounds today huh? You didn’t even hear I word I said either did you?”
Ed turned to continue his walk and made a few paces before Rell had started to walk again. Rell caught up to his companion of circumstance “Thank you for saving me”. Without even turning his head “What kind of man watches a kid get trampled by a giant lizard?” The response almost made Rell stop in the middle of the street again, is this guy serious? He was nothing like this around one eye, I don’t know if he is covering up being upset about the escort or if he’s really like this, it doesn’t matter though I suppose. “I mean thank you for saving me from the hound,” Rell told him, struggling with words he wasn’t used to, I don’t talk to many people, whatever “and for your captain.”
“Ehh, I kind of get paid to kill stuff that is running at the wall, so don’t worry about that.” Ed distractedly said as they walked into the market band, food stalls absolutely crowded the corners of the four paths, and the sizzling meat they were selling here had both mouths moistening as they marched on. “But Mark, even though I hate how he treats people he’s going to give me crap about that for as long as I know him, so you owe me one for that.” This time, Eds words did stop Rell on the street. He just included me in ‘people’.
“Uhhh,” Rell struggled to bring words forth from his addled brain as he started forward again “So his name is mark? And how do you want me to repay you? I have no dust or shards or anything.” Idiot, he obviously isn’t trying to take your money, shut up brain. “Yeah, that was Captain Mark Brower, he’s not a very nice guy but he knows how to place men and swing a sword. And you can start by telling me your name, then I’ve got to find someone in the camp, you can tell me where to look and I’ll call it almost even.” Beaming at him Ed walked the last stretch of circular road to the checkpoint. “Who are you looking for?” Rell asked him. “Nope, Name first please!”
Really. Well I’ll probably never see him again, and he is the nicest human I’ve ever met. Looking down at the ground to avoid the mans face, “My name is Rell, Rell Corinell.” The sound seemed to bear down on him for some reason, “Hahaha, Your name is Rell Corinell? That’s awesome, I like that. Nothing cool would Rhyme with Edward like that sadly.” They walked into the checkpoint and Edward pulled out a plaque from his hip pouch, he showed it to a woman guarding the entrance to the camp and filled out a relief form to take someone back out with him. Rell could still feel the weight of the moment, it was only his name, an exchange of pleasantries, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something immense was happening.
Ed finished with the lady and gestured for Rell to enter the camp with him, “So, do you know everyone in the camp, Rell?” Of course I do, there are less than fifty of us, “Yes.” He responded meekly, trying to feel out what just happened. “Good, That ‘magic bastard’ Mark asked for is one of your elders, Where can I go to find an elf named Varen?”