Bruner [RP Heavy Intro]

[tigerusthegreat]

Your time with the glorious March is at an end. No more will you go into battle at the head of the army, but instead are relegated to the City Watch, where your eye injury will not put the lives of other soldiers in danger against the wild barbarians. Speaking of your time with the March, you have seen many crazed barbarians, fighting against the march of progress and civilization. You've seen warriors who fight in the nude with bodies painted for war. You've seen men that ride wolves into battle. You've seen men with faces of dogs, and all matter of strange creatures that could only be made by magic. Through all this, you've survived.

Your day to day life very boring now. You walk around the city, looking for trouble. At best, you get to beat up some local thugs, but it is hardly satisfying. On one such day, you were walking through the edge of the Noble's district, when a well dressed elf stops you.

"Soldier, may I have a word with you?"

[Medic!]

I am at your service, Sirrah, Bruner's voice pipes as his hand automatically offers salute to the Elf. The fighter stands at strict attention, waiting to serve his Empire. The warrior's bad mood would have to simmer a while yet, it would seem.

[tigerusthegreat]

The elf, who appears to be of later years, speaks in a fairly hushed tone. "I understand you are one of the soldiers returned from the borders of the Empire. I understand that you have seen many wonders in the borderlands. I am a collector of old things, and artifacts, and I am always looking to speak with those who have experience with strange things, and distant places. Perhaps you can come and dine with me one night and share some of your experiences."

[Medic!]

Your wish is my command, good Sir. I am at your disposal whenever it pleases your convenience, simply name the time and place and I shall avail myself. Finally a chance! Pleasing this elf could mean re-assignment, or even promotion! What level of discretion do you prefer, Pure-born?


OOC: Sorry about the late response, for some reason my subscription didn't show a reply

[tigerusthegreat]

The elf laughs. "Tonight would be best for me. Come and call at my house. It is the large one on the hill: villa d'trastanora. I require no discretion, if an earl cannot reward a hero of the march with a fine meal for his service to the Empire, there is something wrong with this country."

[Medic!]

With a shrill laugh, Bruner replies, As you say, M'Lord, as you say. It shall be my pleasure to call upon you this evening. Understanding himself to be dismissed, he proffers a deep bow to the Earl before continuing his patrol. I must remember to stop in on one of the finer wineries to pick up a fine elven vintage to present the Earl with tonight...this chance opportunity must go well...

[tigerusthegreat]

The rest of your patrol goes very quietly. You're bored to death by the time you get to the end of it. You still have an exciting night ahead, visiting the Earl d'trastanora.

[Medic!]

Near the end of his patrol, Bruner visits one of the better shops in search of a fine vintage of elven wine (assuming this is a do-able thing) and purchases the finest bottle he can get for 300gp or less, haggling aggressively (via threat/intimidation if needed...it would be a shame if someone looked the other way when a group of thieves tried to ransack the place, you know...) After his patrol is over he changes into his finest set of clothes, leaving his weapon and armor in his locker, and sets out to his dinner appointment, shooting for a prompt arrival. (Hope I'm not off-staging too much, if so I don't mind role-in it out!)

[tigerusthegreat]

You find a fairly good vintage of wine, spending 250gp as you haggle the shopkeep down. Your threats do not ingratiate you to him, but eager to keep his shop safe, he caves to your requests for a lower price.

As you approach the House D'Trastanora, you are very impressed with its size and scope. It is built like a small keep, without any outer walls. Its four corners make towers, and arrow slits are the only windows in evidence. You see the glint of armor on the roof in the setting sun, meaning there are armed archers patrolling. Two very large humans guard the front gate. They but hands to swords as you approach.

"Halt! Who approaches the House of the Earl d'Trastanora."

You know from your brief time working here, and warnings from older soldiers, that this is a traditional challenge given out by gate guards of noble houses. Most of the lesser houses have gone away with it, but the greatest ones still offer the challenge. The proper response is to state you title, name, and purpose.

[Medic!]

Bruner approaches the gate, taking a moment to admire the impressive structure. I wouldn't mind living like that one day... he supresses a sneer at the guards' challenge. If you were real soldiers, you'd be off fighting the barbarians with the March, not yapping at pedestrians like some small dog. Then again, here I am too. The last thought, laying his plight bare, reinforces his resolve to get back to the front lines with the whip of shame.

Smoothing his fine clothes, bottle of wine craddled in the crook of his elbow, Bruner's grating voice stabs out, Captain Bruner D'Etallo of the March, City Garrison Division, here on invitation from the Earl D'Trastanora to a dinner engagement. He raps the finger bearing his ring with rank device on it against the glass of the bottle as punctuation to his announcement.

[tigerusthegreat]

"Be warmly welcomed, Captain Bruner D'Etallo of the March. Our master awaits." The gate is opened and you are lead into a long hallway. Defensively, the long hallway, with small arrow slits to the sides, and what you are sure are murder holes in the ceiling above, is a great tool. It seems a little ominous that a noble would need such measures, but the house is very old, so perhaps once long ago they were needed...or maybe this man has enemies.

You are lead into a large dining hall. An entire tree burns in the hearth, illuminating the room. The dying sun shines through stain glass windows depicting battle scenes. Even these windows are reinforced with bars, so there is no entry possible there. The bars add to the militaristic feel of the entire home. The elf that stopped you on the street, the Earl d'Trastanora, stands talking to a very young, and beautiful elf woman. You barely catch the end of the conversation.

"Father, your heart is too hard in your age. Sure he married for love, but you cannot be angry at your grandchildren for my brother's poor judgement. The Emperor wishes to raise them to a prestigious place, and give them an estate. The hovel they live in now is not fit for two of them, let alone the six children they have."[b] She said. Clearly, this is the daughter of the Earl.

[b]"Piria, you know I love those children dearly, but Clerval will not speak to me. I cannot blame him, after how I have acted. It is a lost cause, and he will not accept the Emperor's gifts. Send the Emperor my regards, daughter. I hope his health is better than last time I spoke with him. Now, I must meet with a most important guest." He turns, and sees you standing there. "Captain Bruner D'Etallo, this is my daughter, Piria d'Avign. Piria, the Captain comes from the far edges of the empire, where he was wounded bringing civilization to the barbarians. I have asked him here to hear his tales about the far reaches of our realm."

"Father, you are so strange to want to hear about barbarians...I must be returning to the Emperor. It was good to meet you, Captain." She walks quickly by you, and down the hallway you had just come.

[Medic!]

Long live his Majesty, and his loyal subjects, Bruner offers as he proffers a polite half-bow befitting the lady's station.

The warrior straightens and bows deeper still for the Earl, Your estate is most impressive, Earl! I am, again, truly delighted to accept your gratious invitation. He offers the bottle of wine for the elf's inspection, I'm afraid my pallete isn't quite as refined as would be needed to select a proper grape for an Earl's table, but a close friend assured me this is a fair vintage.

Bruner nervously awaits the Earl's indication of how to proceed, not accustomed to such intimate situations. I knew it! He has close family ties to the Imperium...oh Gods be good let this go well. With a warrior's eye, he remains tense and alert for any hint to the Earl's displeasure or opinion of his presentation thus far.

[tigerusthegreat]

The Earl accepts the bottle, and a human servant woman appears with two glasses. She quickly pours the wine, and the Earl takes a glass while she offers you the other. "To the Emperor's good health." He raises the glass and sips it. "Your friend is wise, it is a fair vintage. Please, sit, my servants will bring out the meal shortly." He waves to the table, and sits at its head.

"So tell me, Captain Bruner, how were things on the fringes of the Empire? The lands i visited in my youth that were once the borderlands have been civilized parts of the empire for a century now."

[Medic!]

Your Grace is too kind, Bruner sips from his glass. To the Emperor's good health. he echoes. Tastes like any other wine I've ever had he thinks with a mental shrug.

He seats himself and rolls the wine inside his glass as he's seen higher ranking officers do at important feasts. The fringes are near and dear to my heart, Earl. My batallion was charged with the taming of the northern Barbarians. I can tell you this, it's bloody damn cold! A moment of horror overtakes Bruner as he realizes that he just addressed an Elven Earl as a common fellow soldier, even cursing!

Hoping the Earl takes the flush creeping into his cheeks for an effect of the wine, Bruner continues, We marched through a lot of lightly forrested areas that eventually gave way to thick trees, thrice the height of any I've seen elsewhere. Game was plentiful, so often times we would be dispatched in smaller groups with a tamed savage scout for weeks at a time on mission. Finding huddlings of the animal-like locals and bringing them the Illianum Glory. You can't speak much of the outlying lands without touching on these creatures.

Bruner takes a healthy draught from his glass, feeling a bit more at ease as his story unfolds. These savages...they all fight, tooth and nail, but without much cunning for the most part. The women fight, the children fight, the old and infirm even can be found with spear at hand. In the earliest campaigns they were about as effective on the field of battle as farmers, but they're becoming more organized.

The warrior runs a thumb over his eye-patch and squeaks out a bitter chuckle. It pains me to say it, but a woman gave me this. I mention it as a testament to their tenacity. It was a foul bit of work, my Earl. Foul indeed! We were smoking out a warren of the animals. We had been suffering night-raids on our supply trains, and Intelligence pinpointed their strike base. I was engaged with a man who, by my experience with the people, was fairly competant compared to his comrades. I took his arm clean off with my blade, and moved to capture the woman and young he was guarding for the re-educators. Bruner quaffs his drink, Stuff's not so bad I suppose!

The female bolted and started scrambling up a hill, so I went after her. Just as I grasped her ankle she wheeled on me with a scavenged arrow and just nicked my eye. The people are like the land, primative in every way, Earl. Completely primative. They dip their arrows in their own stool, so infection takes our soldiers even with a minor wound.

Thanks to the wine, Bruner doesn't seem to notice that he just brought up fecal matter at a noble's dinner table.

An embarrasing story, I'm afraid! What about the fringes interests my good Earl the most? How were your own experiences with the push of the March?

OOC: I'm taking a little liberty with your setting, if anything doesn't fit as far as people, geography, protocol, etc, I'm just pulling stuff out of nowhere so it's very very changeable.

[tigerusthegreat]

"Very interesting. I had heard reports that many of them fight naked, believing their gods will grant them divine power. If there are women among their warriors, then that must be doubly amusing." The Earl doesn't seem bothered by your use of vulgarity. If he had traveled in the younger days of the Empire, it was probably as an officer in the March. While it would be wise to control your tongue, you certainly have not offended him with your rough ways.

The serving woman appears again, accompanied by several more servants, bringing out steaming trays of food. They set a feast that could feed a dozen men, all sorts of meats, stews, soups, and anything else you could imagine. The Earl begins piling his plate with lamb chops and takes a large roll the size of a child's head, rips out the middle of it, and ladels a tomato soup into it, using it as an impromptu bowl.

"My own experiences with the March were in the same line. It was at the time the orc barbarians were conquered and turned into productive members of society. Damned good smiths, once they are taught not to put bones through their noses and drool all the time. Their warriors were quite fierce, but they preferred their women to stay out of the fight. That district is in the top ten for productivity and gold revenues now, and orc are the second largest population behind the human settles that live out there now."

He eats with a vigor, stimulated by the conversation. "I'm actually interested in the beastiary out there. I'm a collector of old bones and things, and I'm thoroughly convinced some of the creatures that have been dug up under tons of rock have cousins that live beyond our borders. Tell me, have you seen any strange beasts on your journeys?"

(I'm perfectly okay with you making up anything at this point. beyond the borders of the Empire, most people believe that "here be dragons")

[Medic!]

Bruner follows the Earl yet again, piling meat onto his plate and hollowing a roll, filling it with bits of vegetable and meat. I wasn't aware you served, Your Grace, but it should stand to reason. He lifts his roll-sandwich in quick salute, To the comrades in the trenchers! The large man titters at his own wit.

It's true, the savages fight naked, smeared with all manner of paints and pastes derived from the forest about them, nuts, berries, what-have-you. I'm not sure how effect all of that is in battle, but their best tactic to-date is their women throwing themselves on Imperial spears to open a wedge for their men to rush.

Bruner savors a few bites and compliments the Earl's chef. The soldiers always have stories of strange beasts when they return from patrol. I've never seen anything too odd myself. I believe much of it is just fanciful boasting to enliven a week of slogging through rain and mud with nothing to do. Once in a while a patrol will be lost without trace, but who's to say it wasn't barbarians or a careless patrol leader, or a treacherous native-scout.

He takes on a thoughtful pose for a moment. I have, myself seen things like giant wolves, they call 'em Dire Wolves, Wargs, what appear to be mutations of natural animals grown to immense size. Ferocious things, some of the savages use them for mounts. I'll also admit that on patrol your imagination can get away from you. Once through the early morning fog I thought I saw a creature akin to some kind of oversized lizard, but I never found track nor spoor nor had sight of it again. Still I recall its eyes, and ever shall; two tiny dots of pure light cutting through the thin veil of mist. I tell you in all candor, Your Grace, those eyes had intelligence behind them.

*Ahem*

I dare-say your interest in these beasts sparks some interest of my own. You speak of revenue from the orc districts, imagine the revenue from sponsoring Dragon Hunts! Bruner's laughter this time starts out in his belly but quickly takes on a bit of a nervy edge, not believing in dragons himself...well not fully believing...that is to say they probably don't exist...most likely. A few bites of tender lamb quickly smooth his nerves, washed down with another drink from his goblet.

[tigerusthegreat]

"The problem there is, the only fools rich enough to afford it don't believe dragons exist. They feel that dragons are a fantasy of the uneducated, which I find suitably ironic." The Earl has finished his food, and his goblet is empty. "Would you like to see my collection? I have spent years finding fossils and remains of creatures beyond your imagining, and have gathered them in my study to examine."

[Medic!]

Bruner's face lights up like a torch, By your leave, Your Grace, it would be a distinct pleasure! A glimmer of hope flares inside the hulk of a man Could it be possible...could he be convinced to send me out on a hunt myself, to prove that these dragons exist? Oh please by all the gods let it be so...

[tigerusthegreat]

The Earl gets up and leads you through a maze of passages, ending in a large room. It is lit by small flaming stones that float in the air, casting interesting light on dozens of large skeletons supporting by metal beams. Cases along the walls hold relics of pottery and old coinage.

"Over here is my pride and joy. it was magically preserved by an ancient civilization." He points out a case holding a pelt roughly the size of a cloak. It is black as night, and covered in heavy scales. It reminds you of something half-glimpsed on patrol in the forests to the north.

[Medic!]

Bruner follows the Earl, two paces behind and to the right. None of this seems all that impressive...the skeletons are a nice touch but pottery, coins...not so much You do have quite an impressive collection Your Grace! When his eyes fall on the scaled hide, Bruner's mind flashes back to that day in the mist for the briefest of instants. This is almost the exact quality of the creature I spoke to you of, Earl. It's magnificently preserved.

Bruner wears the awe on his face openly, with a good deal of jealousy peeking through the cracks.

[tigerusthegreat]

"Don't be a fool, these creatures have been extinct for thousands of years. Something similar might exist out there, but not the Draconis Celestius. This is the hide of the legendary sky dragon, worshiped by civilizations since the dawn of time, until they were wiped out in the Mage Wars that shattered the world into barbarian tribes. This creature, or rather its fall, is as responsible for the birth of the Empire as the first Emperor, who gathered the remnants of the Elven tribes together, and fostered the humans of this land into a productive society. " The Earl is obviously passionate about the history of the relics in his collection.

[Medic!]

The resemblance is uncanny, Your Grace. If I may be so bold, how did you come to possess the hide of such a legendary figure? It seems a glorious capstone in a remarkable collection! Bruner's eyes drift up and down over these relics of the past One would hope that your collection isn't complete yet, as well. After all, it is the getting that stirs the soul, as opposed to the having, is it not?

[tigerusthegreat]

"The understanding of our history is what interests me. Possessing these items isn't nearly as important as what I can learn from them." The Earl gets a far off gleam in his eye. "I found this during my younger years, exploring an old crumbling outpost in the orc lands. It was enshrined, like they were worshiping it. I suspect there are more artifacts like this there. One of these days I will fund an expedition there, and see what else was left behind when we crushed those barbarians."

[Medic!]

If I may be so bold, Your Grace, such a prospect excites me to no end, should I be found worthy to be included on such an enterprise. Bruner's face takes on a ruddy glow at the thought of leaving the city behind to get back into the front lines...even if it's old front lines. Take the bait, Your Grace, get me out of this living hell!

[tigerusthegreat]

"Your duties with the March would prevent you from doing such work, but I appreciate the offer. It would be different if you were assigned to my personal guards, but you'd have to resign from the March to do that, and I wouldn't ask a Captain to do as such."

[Medic!]

Though I've met my civic obligation for time served in the March, your insight is infallible, Sire. I owe His Majesty for all that I am today, and I feel the March is my place. I do confess to no small amount of pride that the thought of enlisting me in your guard occured, however. Would I be willing to resign my commission just to get back to the wildlands? I do indeed owe His Majesty much...but his March has chained and shackled me. Bruner returns his inward gaze to an outward gaze, taking in the relics about him. He feels a moment of supreme guilt for that last thought...but for an equal moment it felt...justified?

[tigerusthegreat]

"As a former soldier myself, I understand, which is why I cannot ask it of you. Still, I cannot help but feel there is something more that I left behind. I was following orders in investigating those ruins, but those same orders pulled me out before I was finished. It is very frustrating, and I have brooded over that fact for years."

[Medic!]

You've been such a magnificent host; I feel I am in your debt for your gracious benevolence in sharing all of this with me this evening, good Earl. While I would not dream of forsaking my duties with the March, my re-assignment here from the front may enable me to attempt to put paid to your curiousities. My extended time at the front has led to quite a build-up of furlough. I could easily put in a request for several fortnights of leave if it would serve your purposes. Hope...hope hope HOPE, don't you **** on me again hope!

[tigerusthegreat]

"Then perhaps you would be willing to do this for me. What can I offer you in compensation? "

[Medic!]

I am not used to being offered compensation in return for a vacation, Your Grace. I would simply be overjoyed to be back where I belong, serving the Empire at the fringes of civilization. The city is grand, but I feel stagnant inside these walls. I would consider serving you in this capacity a favor unto myself!

[tigerusthegreat]

"I will find some companions for you, then. A group would survive better than an individual."

[Medic!]

Bruner proffers a deep and heartfelt bow to the Earl. I must be dreaming! If I am don't wake me it's too good to be true! His voice squeeks with excitement and joy, I cannot find the words to express my gratitude, Your Grace! When your convenience dictates, I shall have the proper arrangements made to place myself at your service! Suddenly none of the artifacts surrounding Bruner exist anymore, only the anticipation of trodding on uncivilized lands once again fills his vision like the surface of a lake above a drowning man.

[tigerusthegreat]

"I shall have to find my maps from the old era....and I will speak with your commander about you doing a favor for me, perhaps he will grant you a little extra leave for that."

[Medic!]

Very well, Your Grace. I truly cannot find the words to express my excitement at the prospect. I shall submit the proper forms to my superior first thing in the morning, and await your call with relish.

[tigerusthegreat]

You are dismissed from the Earl's house with a hearty handshake and smile. He slips you a pouch of gold, 200gp in total, for you to provision yourself for the journey.

[Medic!]

Immensly pleased with the night's events, Bruner performs a deep bow and bids the Earl fare-well and fair health. With a spring in his step, he heads back to the barracks by a meandering route, whistling the entire way. What fantastic fortune! Out of this stifling pig-sty and back into the wilds!

When he arrives at the barracks, he changes into his bedclothes, stowing his finery. He adds the money the Earl gave him to his own money pouch and stows it in his locker with his gear, locking it tight.

Sleep comes slowly due to his excitement, but when it comes, it brings dreams of crushing wild savages while a pair of reptilian eyes watch on from the mist in the woods...

[tigerusthegreat]

(Waiting to update here until i get the others closer to he group thread.)

[Medic!]

No problemo!