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black knight 1234567 -> RE: The Hallows Inn (12/28/2015 13:35:44)
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''Two hundred gold coins?! the agreed fee was fifty! it why we hired you over every other schmuck who came for the notice!''
Sorlan could only sigh. It came with the job, really. You couldn't ask for pay in advance because there is always a good chance you'll end up as dinner for a pack of beasts and everyone suddenly becomes reluctant about payment when you show up alive an well.
''We agreed to fifty coins with a safety fee of one hundred fifty coins for unexpected injuries and occurrences. In case you haven't noticed, my left cheek is currently bleeding, lest we forget you did not mention it was a wyvern nest, and I quote ''looking for a strong, able bodied lad to take down a small monster. Fee negotiable''.
Truth be told, Sorlan knew exactly what he was getting into when the older looking man pointed out the location of the cave for him. After all, as an experienced monster slayer who's traversed the land multiple times over, he's bound to recognize where different types of monsters congregate, but he cared not to mention it. Coin's hard to come by these days.
And yet, the same look of reluctance painted the villager's face. Sorlan extended his hand, palm open.
''Chuck it up as a learning experience and pay up''
It was the villager's turn to sigh, as he pulled out a brown pouch from his back pocket, throwing it into the hunter's grasp. That sound, the satisfying clink made by a shiny gold coin smacking against the black chain mail and leather of his gauntlet. He brought his other hand from behind his back, holding on to a wyvern's head by the yellow tinted horns, throwing it down infront of the contractors feet, blood dripping into the marshy land underneath them.
''Pleasure doing business with you''.
The nomad strove off in the opposite direction, heading for the Inn. He was afterall, in Blackwater for a reason. The Queen of Illusions.
Best head back to the inn now, ought to figure out how i'll hand-
Something was off with Darkwald. Visibility was decreasing, very fast. Usually, Sorlan would just shrug it off as Darkwald trying its hardest to make life a pain, but this time it was different. The mist wasn't normal, it was artificial, magical in nature.
He had to hurry.
The pace of his steps quickened, but the nose they made diluted. A balancing act between weight and speed, a hunter's most important tool.
The mist in all its thickness could not mask what was happening. Each step Sorlan took, the picture became clearer. Huts, manors and houses empty as a haunted plot, almost as if they were evacuated. Villager scrambling in the direction opposite of the inn, cursing and shouting at the top of their lungs about ''hell on earth'', the monster slayer soon saw for himself what they meant.
His companions from his previous mission, interlocked in a violent dance of steel and fangs with hellish creatures, taking the likeness of a fox. Among them were several new faces Sorlan did not recognize, but nonetheless they were in it together.
He was quick to pull out his sword, ready to charge head on against the new threat. But the sounds of battle were overlayed with heavy banging upon the gates of Blackwater.
"Hey! Hey! What's going on? Someone let me in!"
Sorlan skirmished the edges of the battlefield, creeping around the foxes till he found himself facing the familiar southeastern gate.
Trying to reach the lever would only compromise my position...
There was a 50/50 chance that the men behind the gates were simply men or merchants who would scamper off at the first sight of trouble, leaving Sorlan to deal with the fallout once the foxes attention is drawn towards him. On the other hand, they could be capable warriors who will hold off the onslaught of beasts.
Sorlan was always the
He grasped his hilt tightly, his breathing slowing down to controlled bursts as flame consumed his blade, shining brightly amidst the mist.
''Whoever's behind that gate, step off!''
He plunged his silver coated steel sword into the framing of the gate, the magical burst of fire allowing him to cut straight through the frame. He guided his hand to form the shape of a square, enough for any regular man to pass through into Blackwater.
With heavy force he kicked the wood inside the little frame he made, allowing entry to whomever desired.
He looked at the two men, atleast one of them was a warrior, and then back at the threat by the tavern.
''Welcome to Blackwater''.
He ran straight towards the tavern, only to find everyone either held up or strapped down by roots that seemingly popped from the ground beneath them. In closest vicinity was an elven blonde haired women tied down to the ground. He paid no mind to the creatures that surrounded the main square, one of the beasts lunged at him, he slid beneath the beast, its jaws finding naught but the ground to munch on, he rolled back onto his feet. The second fox attempted to claw the man, but as a hunter his reflex time allowed him to side step just in the nick time, maintaining speed and momentum necessary to cut what was holding down the elf. In one smooth motion his blade made impact with the vines.
Grrk
Sorlan was stopped in motion, his blade stuck in the giant stems that held down the other warrior. Those weren't just any supernatural vines, they were drawing from an incredibly strong magical source. His best guess? the man with the cane confronting the information broker.
Sorlan would have interrupted their little talk, but then he remembered he had a bunch of angry foxes to deal with. He removed his sword from the plants, instead pointing it towards the beasts as they circled each other.
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