Post by Horsie on Jan 2, 2015 21:37:04 GMT
A story Harkovast wrote to flesh out the background of my RP character in Book 1.
The Nmeless warrior stopped and peered around, silhouetted against the setting sun.
It was getting darker, but Konrad had always found that darkness didn't hide you as well from the nameless as you thought it would.
From his hiding place amongst the bushes he raised his weapon and took aim.
As he pulled the trigger, the split second delay between the mechanism striking, the powder igniting, and the weapon discharging, felt like an eternity.
The Nameless warrior dropped to the ground, slumping forward like a puppet with its strings cut.
Konrad exhaled heavily in relief and then hurried over to the body, keeping low as he moved.
The warrior was quite dead. There were four holes in its chest, one large and three smaller ones, dark green blood spreading out into the fabric of the creatures tabard from each.
Nameless were slim pickings to loot. Their armour was too much trouble to try to remove and no one would buy their weapons. They were seen as bad luck, tainted with the evil. Konrad didn't believe such superstition, but there was simply no market for them to make them worth the trouble of carrying.
They weren't even particularly well made; functional but nothing more.
Still, there was a satisfaction to killing Nameless that made up for a lack of financial reward.
Konrad hurried back to his suss bird, fitting his carbine into a scabbard on the saddle before mounting his steed. He gave the reigns a shake and set the suss running back to his companions.
After a few hours in the saddle he arrived at Garshom, the Darsai village where they had agreed to meet.
He felt a certain satisfaction at having several things to brag about. He had solid intelligence and a slain enemy to report.
His mood changed sharply as he realised there was a glow coming from the settlement, raising from burning buildings into the night sky.
He stopped his steed for a moment in shock before driving it forward in a sprint to the village.
He didn't give any thought to what he was going to do when he got there, he was too shocked to think clearly.
As he got closer he could see a group of figures stood watching the burning buildings. They were mercenaries from his troop, the men he had come here to meet.
As his steed slowed he leaped from the saddle before the suss had even stopped, almost falling on his face, as he stumbled from his footing.
"What...what happened?" are gasped "Are they attacking?"
The mercenaries were lit in orange by the dancing flames. Shouting and screams could be heard from within the settlement, some sounding pained, others the sounds of the attackers.
"You alright Konrad?" said Vandioso, their leader.
He was a large Eslum, clad in metal plate armour with a long, black, dusty coat pulled over the top.
He was the natural leader of their group, confident, charismatic and highly skilled.
Vandioso's Boys, as they were nicknamed, had been employed as highly effective scouts and skirmishes by the allied armies. They consisted of warriors if various races, each hand picked by Vandioso, who accepted only the best into their ranks.
He smiled calmly, seemingly surprised by Konrad's distress.
"The village..." Konrad struggled to get his words out "Whose....why is the village...?"
"They were supporting the enemy." Said Vandioso. "This is what they get."
"Supporting? Supporting how?"
"They weren't willing to help us. In this war, there are only two sides, mate."
"Wha...how....how were they not...?"
"We're here to gather supplies for the army. Dominius wants us to forage. We cant bet the outcome of the war on the promises of those Zadakine to keep us eating, can we?"
Konrad stared in disbelief at the burning structures.
From amongst the houses came a group of warriors, laden with boxes and bags which they set down beside Vandioso.
"We'll be doing alright out of this one." Vandioso said, patting Konrad on the shoulder.
Konrad pulled away from him, brandishing an accusing finger in the Eslum's face.
"You!" he said, and then hesitated, his thoughts struggling to keep up with his emotions. "This is looting!"
"I don't think these people need this stuff any more!" laughed Vandioso "I like to think its the fine they pay for their lack of patriotism."
The other mercenaries stood nearby laughed, though Konrad was not sure how many of them really thought that was amusing and how many were just going along with the others.
"If Dominius hears about this you'll all hang!" said Konrad, growing frantic.
"No," said Vandioso, his voice becoming more serious. "We'll hang. You're one of us Konrad. You're one of my boys. One of my brave lads."
"I....look, this isn't..." Konrad's voice became shaky.
"Don't worry, Nameless burn villages all the time, what's one more? These bastards were happy to let my brave boys go hungry, they got nothing they didn't deserve."
Vandioso and some of the others had done things before that had frightened Konrad. Konrad was no saint, but the nagging sense that they were slipping towards something awful had hung over him for some weeks. It had all started with that damn necklace Vandioso had made, a piece of string holding ears cut from Priests of the West they'd killed or captured. It was a nasty thing, it made Konrad not want to look at Vandioso directly, and see the blood running down the front of his armour.
It was then that Konrad noticed it again. There were fresh ears on the necklace now, and fresh blood on Vandioso's breast plate.
"What the hell? What the hell are you all doing?" yelled Konrad, suddenly snatching the bloody trophy from the Eslums neck. "These are Darsai ears, you evil bastard! What are you doing? We've got to stop this!"
Konrad, dropped the necklace and moved to rush into the village but Vandioso held up an arm to block him and push him back.
"Konrad, calm down! Get a grip on yourself! You've always been a good soldier, one I could count on. It's not like you to lose your nerve at a little blood."
"It was Nameless blood before!" wailed Konrad "Enemy blood! These people didn't do anything!"
"People who sit back and rely on others to defend them, don't have the right to complain about how they get defended...or what defending them costs."
Vandioso looked irritated, but then his expression and voice softened, he patted Konrad on the upper arm.
"Listen, Konrad, don't worry about this. This here? This is nothing. This is just war. Nothing at all. You, me, all my boys, we're like brothers. We're all we've got out here. Not this war, not this mission, not that bastard Dominios and his army, we're all that matters. That's the only loyalty there is now, the only bond there is. I'll see you get your cut of the treasure. I'll see you do alright."
Konrad took a couple of steps back from Vandioso.
He looked around at the other mercenaries.
Some of them were avoiding his gaze, many seemed unconcerned, or confused by his reaction.
None voiced any support for his protests.
Konrad finally turned and walk to a nearby tree.
He moved to the opposite side of it before slumping against, sliding down to the ground, tears running down his face as he clamped his hands over his ears to try to keep out the sound of the flames and the screaming.
The Nmeless warrior stopped and peered around, silhouetted against the setting sun.
It was getting darker, but Konrad had always found that darkness didn't hide you as well from the nameless as you thought it would.
From his hiding place amongst the bushes he raised his weapon and took aim.
As he pulled the trigger, the split second delay between the mechanism striking, the powder igniting, and the weapon discharging, felt like an eternity.
The Nameless warrior dropped to the ground, slumping forward like a puppet with its strings cut.
Konrad exhaled heavily in relief and then hurried over to the body, keeping low as he moved.
The warrior was quite dead. There were four holes in its chest, one large and three smaller ones, dark green blood spreading out into the fabric of the creatures tabard from each.
Nameless were slim pickings to loot. Their armour was too much trouble to try to remove and no one would buy their weapons. They were seen as bad luck, tainted with the evil. Konrad didn't believe such superstition, but there was simply no market for them to make them worth the trouble of carrying.
They weren't even particularly well made; functional but nothing more.
Still, there was a satisfaction to killing Nameless that made up for a lack of financial reward.
Konrad hurried back to his suss bird, fitting his carbine into a scabbard on the saddle before mounting his steed. He gave the reigns a shake and set the suss running back to his companions.
After a few hours in the saddle he arrived at Garshom, the Darsai village where they had agreed to meet.
He felt a certain satisfaction at having several things to brag about. He had solid intelligence and a slain enemy to report.
His mood changed sharply as he realised there was a glow coming from the settlement, raising from burning buildings into the night sky.
He stopped his steed for a moment in shock before driving it forward in a sprint to the village.
He didn't give any thought to what he was going to do when he got there, he was too shocked to think clearly.
As he got closer he could see a group of figures stood watching the burning buildings. They were mercenaries from his troop, the men he had come here to meet.
As his steed slowed he leaped from the saddle before the suss had even stopped, almost falling on his face, as he stumbled from his footing.
"What...what happened?" are gasped "Are they attacking?"
The mercenaries were lit in orange by the dancing flames. Shouting and screams could be heard from within the settlement, some sounding pained, others the sounds of the attackers.
"You alright Konrad?" said Vandioso, their leader.
He was a large Eslum, clad in metal plate armour with a long, black, dusty coat pulled over the top.
He was the natural leader of their group, confident, charismatic and highly skilled.
Vandioso's Boys, as they were nicknamed, had been employed as highly effective scouts and skirmishes by the allied armies. They consisted of warriors if various races, each hand picked by Vandioso, who accepted only the best into their ranks.
He smiled calmly, seemingly surprised by Konrad's distress.
"The village..." Konrad struggled to get his words out "Whose....why is the village...?"
"They were supporting the enemy." Said Vandioso. "This is what they get."
"Supporting? Supporting how?"
"They weren't willing to help us. In this war, there are only two sides, mate."
"Wha...how....how were they not...?"
"We're here to gather supplies for the army. Dominius wants us to forage. We cant bet the outcome of the war on the promises of those Zadakine to keep us eating, can we?"
Konrad stared in disbelief at the burning structures.
From amongst the houses came a group of warriors, laden with boxes and bags which they set down beside Vandioso.
"We'll be doing alright out of this one." Vandioso said, patting Konrad on the shoulder.
Konrad pulled away from him, brandishing an accusing finger in the Eslum's face.
"You!" he said, and then hesitated, his thoughts struggling to keep up with his emotions. "This is looting!"
"I don't think these people need this stuff any more!" laughed Vandioso "I like to think its the fine they pay for their lack of patriotism."
The other mercenaries stood nearby laughed, though Konrad was not sure how many of them really thought that was amusing and how many were just going along with the others.
"If Dominius hears about this you'll all hang!" said Konrad, growing frantic.
"No," said Vandioso, his voice becoming more serious. "We'll hang. You're one of us Konrad. You're one of my boys. One of my brave lads."
"I....look, this isn't..." Konrad's voice became shaky.
"Don't worry, Nameless burn villages all the time, what's one more? These bastards were happy to let my brave boys go hungry, they got nothing they didn't deserve."
Vandioso and some of the others had done things before that had frightened Konrad. Konrad was no saint, but the nagging sense that they were slipping towards something awful had hung over him for some weeks. It had all started with that damn necklace Vandioso had made, a piece of string holding ears cut from Priests of the West they'd killed or captured. It was a nasty thing, it made Konrad not want to look at Vandioso directly, and see the blood running down the front of his armour.
It was then that Konrad noticed it again. There were fresh ears on the necklace now, and fresh blood on Vandioso's breast plate.
"What the hell? What the hell are you all doing?" yelled Konrad, suddenly snatching the bloody trophy from the Eslums neck. "These are Darsai ears, you evil bastard! What are you doing? We've got to stop this!"
Konrad, dropped the necklace and moved to rush into the village but Vandioso held up an arm to block him and push him back.
"Konrad, calm down! Get a grip on yourself! You've always been a good soldier, one I could count on. It's not like you to lose your nerve at a little blood."
"It was Nameless blood before!" wailed Konrad "Enemy blood! These people didn't do anything!"
"People who sit back and rely on others to defend them, don't have the right to complain about how they get defended...or what defending them costs."
Vandioso looked irritated, but then his expression and voice softened, he patted Konrad on the upper arm.
"Listen, Konrad, don't worry about this. This here? This is nothing. This is just war. Nothing at all. You, me, all my boys, we're like brothers. We're all we've got out here. Not this war, not this mission, not that bastard Dominios and his army, we're all that matters. That's the only loyalty there is now, the only bond there is. I'll see you get your cut of the treasure. I'll see you do alright."
Konrad took a couple of steps back from Vandioso.
He looked around at the other mercenaries.
Some of them were avoiding his gaze, many seemed unconcerned, or confused by his reaction.
None voiced any support for his protests.
Konrad finally turned and walk to a nearby tree.
He moved to the opposite side of it before slumping against, sliding down to the ground, tears running down his face as he clamped his hands over his ears to try to keep out the sound of the flames and the screaming.