Trinity Knights Part II

[theherocc]

OOC

Carrying on from Part I (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=280486&page=5).

IC

Vander and Nora emerged from the twilit trees at a sprint. "Ragnar! We have to move. They're coming after us!"

By the time they arrived at the campfire and the sizzling bacon, everyone was on their feet, and most of them had weapons drawn.

"I just asked if there was anywhere we could get clothes and before I could blink, Drix had copped an arrow through his neck!"

Nora finally found her voice. She screamed, "And now they're coming. They're all coming."

The man they called B yelled in a deep voice that dared anyone to disobey, "Get on your horses and go. Now. Follow Ragnar. We can buy more provisions. Go!" He ran and started working on his horse, the saddle on in a matter of seconds.

Angry, loud voices were floating through the wooded area.

Jasper jumped into action, following the lead of his erstwhile mentor. Hodir looked to his friends for a cue. Drix was dead? Was this real?

[kdbennett90]

Vander runs for his horse, stumbling in panic.

He tries to jump onto his horse.


Agility
[roll0]

[Ragnar Oast]

Ragnar stood abruptly as Vander and Nora burst back into the campsite. Full dark had descended dropping a death shroud over the woods surrounding the small clearing before the rock overhang. Upon the rock face fire light cast dancing shadows that hung menacingly over the small group. Ragnar looked to the woods from which his companions had come but could see nothing. Light from the campfire crept across the small clearing to the edge of the woods but penetrated no further, held at bay by the darkness. He could see no others in the woods. He could hear them though, shouts, yells and crashing in the underbrush. Distant but coming closer with every beat of his pounding heart. Blending together the sounds became one thing. A single mindless beast bent on dragging them all into the void as it had Glordrix.

Vander stumbled as if in slow motion and Nora stood opposite the fire from him, her chest heaving in sobs Ragnar could not hear. Only the sounds of the pursuers penetrated the thick clouds of confusion that filled his mind. He looked down at his hands. They were trembling.

“Drix …,” he started to say.

Pain exploded on his cheek as he was jerked around. ‘B’ had a fist full of his tunic and was raising his other hand to backhand him a second time when Ragnar found ‘B’s eyes. There was no anger there, only urgency. Seeing he had Ragnar’s full attention ‘B’ leaned in close and said “The stag that freezes before the bear,” he paused for effect, “gets eaten.” Then he shoved him in the direction of the horses.

“I can hold the trail at the rear or I can lead everyone one out,” ‘B’ growled at Ragnar. “But I can’t do both, now Fly!” He drew his sword and turned toward the woods in the direction of the village, the direction from which the sounds of pursuit were coming. “Now go!” He said over his shoulder.

Running toward the horses Ragnar pulled his belt knife and cut the picket line. Quickly he and Hodir saddled their horses while Vander tended to Penelope. Ragnar grabbed Nora gently by the arm and drew her toward his horse. She had stopped sobbing but now hugged herself tightly.

“His names Aral,” Ragnar said softly “give him his head and he will see you through this night safely.” The dapple grey gelding tossed his head and snorted as if in agreement.

Not waiting for a response Ragnar turned toward the others, Hodir and Jasper had mounted and Vander was almost done. ‘B’ had his horse saddled and was standing next to it sword drawn waiting for the inevitable. The sounds of pursuit were almost on top of them.

Quickly Ragnar made a decision. He saddled the war horse next. It only took a few moments but it seemed as if many bells had passed. Before mounting he took the horse he’d named Caspian, Drix’s horse, the mule and the remaining animal and tied their lead lines together. Pointing them up the trail that brought them here Ragnar unclipped his whip from his belt.

“Sorry Caspian,” He said and cracked the whipped three times. Terrified the animals took off up the trail at a gallop almost stumbling over one another in their attempt to escape. ‘B’ looked at Ragnar questioningly.

“Maybe they will follow the more obvious trail?” Ragnar said shrugging his shoulders and mounted the war horse.

“Not likely,” ‘B’ said. “But worth the effort. We can get more animals.” He looked askance at Ragnar and said “In Kursi they give horse thieves to the Serpents.” Ragnar stared at him, the man was an enigma. ‘B’ then kicked at the small campfire with his boots and the small clearing was thrown into complete darkness. “Now we are on equal footing” he muttered to himself.
“We are out of time,” ‘B’ said in the darkness to the group. Ragnar heard him mount his horse and then ‘B’ said “We have to go now.”

The overcast night made the darkness complete, no stars and no moon. The going would be treacherous but there was nothing for it. Ragnar turned toward the group saddle creaking as his did so. He could smell wet horses and fear. Glordrix was dead. That knowledge had settled itself deep down in his gut like a hard rock. They we being chased and it had fallen on him to lead them to safety. Ragnar was afraid.

“Me first, then Jasper, Nora, Van and Hodir,” He said with confidence he didn’t feel. “‘B’ will bring up the rear and hold the trail.” He tried to meet their eyes in the dark but night vision had yet not set in. “Stay close, keep quiet and go slow,” he continued. “Darkness and terrain will be our ally.”

With that Ragnar turned southeast and guided the big white war horse at an angle down the dangerous slope of the ravine. It was the only direction for them to run. As they descended darkness swallowed them.

[theherocc]

The warhorse was not fazed by the darkness, nor the terrain. The same could not be said about the other horses. For the unpracticed riders, it led to constant minor scares as their mounts jumped at anything unexpected or white. The godsbreath bushes became enemy number two.

Enemy number one was the unknown number of violent villagers following them. Though, an hour after the initial flight, the threat now seemed minimal.

Nora had managed to get horse in front of Jasper, now keeping its nose right on the tail of the giant horse ridden by Ragnar. She was yet to speak. None of them had said much. The fear of losing the rider in front and being left in the darkness demanded everyone's full attention.

Vander was processing the evening's events in his head. He was sure there were a dozen of the screaming, homicidal maniacs, but he hadn't really counted. He'd just run. If this was the big bad world, he didn't like. He thought he could hear Hodir crying, but deliberately tried not to confirm it.

******

A number of hours passed and Ragnar finally decided it was safe to stop. Everyone needed sleep. They were in a copse of trees, an easy place to hobble the horses.

There would be no fire. Obviously. Each of them slid off their horse and sought a place to sleep. 'B' found a spot near a tree and Nora followed him. Jasper was there too. That left the three remaining members of the Trinity Nights group standing in a huddle.

Hodir said, "I want to go home."

[Ragnar Oast]

Running a ham like hand through his ginger hair Ragnar sank slowly to the ground. Leaning his exhausted frame against the rough bark of a Black Pine he looked at his friends. In ordinary circumstances it would have been very uncomfortable but now if felt as if he was in a fine palace bed. Through the dark he could barely make out the faces of his companions. He didn’t need to, he knew what they were thinking and feeling. It was quiet and the silence was awkward. Ragnar felt the other two were waiting for him to say something but he was at a loss as what to say. He had never asked for this. It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

“It’s not like the stories,” pausing he thought he heard Hodir choke back a sob. Hodir was close to Drix. Was. He couldn’t believe he was gone.
“In the stories the heroes always win don’t they?” Ragnar softly pleaded. In the silence his voice sounded harsh and abrasive. “You know, the ones we always told at the Bough didn’t work out this way.” He stared hard at both Vander and Hodir through the darkness, willing them to agree, to disagree, anything but this gods forsaken silence.

“Sometimes they did,” Hodir spat out both tears and anger in the quiet of his voice. "Remember what happened to Paliphanie?"

As the night had progressed it had started to clear and now in the starlight he could make out tears running down Hodir’s face. Ragnar didn’t like it. Hodir was stoic and dour, he most decidedly did not cry. Embarrassed he looked away toward Vander.

“What happened Van?” He asked.

[kdbennett90]

Vander, trembling, still in disbelief as to what had happened. He knew what happened, but he couldn't find the words easily.


Internal thought:
Really? Drix was gone, a day before we were laughing in the pub. Hodir was right, the heroes were meant to come out on the other side, but this was clearly not the case. It all happened so fast...

Ragnar's stern look prompted some words to stumble out....

"We....we were making our way towards the village. Some men were coming towards us, looked harmless enough. They asked what we were doing. We told them we were looking for clothes and supplies. Drix made some wisecrack about Nora not needing anything, they seemed amused. We started to follow them, when Nora grabbed me by the arm. She pointed at one of the men in front, who was holding on tightly to what could have only been the hilt of a sword. She was scared, Drix was up front trying to make conversation, oblivious to what was going on. Nora and I tried to make excuses, that we had to return to our camp with items to trade, Drix didn't catch on. Finally we stopped maybe 20 paces in front of the village guard cabin. As the men stopped to speak at the cabin, we beckoned Drix over to us, just as we were about to run, an arrow came through his neck, covering us in blood. He slumped to the ground and we ran....."

The remaining words were indiscernible from the heavy sobbing. Vander didn't know what to do.

[theherocc]

The figures of Hodir and his horse faded from view, merging with the road. There were some tears. They all understood his decision, but it didn't stop them longing for him to turn around.

'B' and Jasper were already mounting, ready to hit the road. None of them completely understood what had happened back at the hamlet in the woods, but suddenly the anonymity of the wild was less attractive than the predictability of the road.

Nora split her focus between the empty road and her two long-time acquaintances. She hadn't told anyone, but her desire to flee home had lost to her fear of traveling with only Hodir as a guardian. So, here she stood, at the edge of adventure.

Two members of the Trinity Nights remained. They gave each other a look...

[kdbennett90]

Vander leans over to Nora and gives her shoulder a soft squeeze " come on dear, we have to leave him be."

Vander knew this was not necessarily the best approach, but what choice did they really have? They grew up on the stories of heroes and adventure and this was their turn. Deep down they all knew those stories had a darker side to them, they just chose to ignore it. He respected Hodir's wishes to return home, but Vander was set on moving forward.

"Rothgar, let's move on, this place has nothing more for us".

Vander's confident suggestion, was a facade for his deep upset at what had happened in the last few hours, but he didn't really know of any other way to deal it. All he knew was that losing a best friend was the most traumatizing thing he have ever experienced and he wasn't about to lose another one, by waiting around for their attackers.

Vander geed (spulling?!) his horse and moved on behind B and Jasper.

[Ragnar Oast]

Ragnar watched the spot where Hodir disappeared into the gloom a few minutes more, until impatient noises from their employer compelled him to swing his mount around. Dawn was bright and radiant bathing his companions in an optimism he did not feel. Overhead a flight of horn geese was making its way south toward summer nesting grounds in southern Hurn. Life continued and it seemed the Gods were intent on reminding him of that.

“He should have gone south, not west,” Ragnar said to no one in particular.

“We need to put many leagues between us and this place,” ‘B’ said. Scowling with Impatience he growled, “Let’s move.”

Spurring the big white stallion forward Ragnar took the lead. Vander rode up next to him leaving Nora to follow slightly behind. Jasper and ‘B’ took up the rear. Ahead the woods they had taken shelter in thinned opening into a broad expanse of grasslands dotted here and there with large granite boulders as if some giant had hastily abandoned a game of stones. In the distance to the north several columns of smoke marked farmsteads to be avoided. Ragnar steered the small group south and east away from them, away from the memory of what had happened to his friend.

In the open country he quickened the pace. Alternately walking, trotting, then cantering for a bit before dropping back to a walk, they ate up ground quickly. With several unskilled riders he avoided an open gallop, though that’s what he longed to do. Give this animal his head and ride as quickly as he could from here; ride back home; ride to Fort Dorian. Hell’s ride anywhere so he could escape the memory of last night, but he couldn’t. He was bound too it as surely as he held in place by the high cantle of the military saddle he sat in. The only difference was he could climb down from the saddle, how did one escape experience?

Eventually the glow from the long light of early morning faded to brilliant promise of a bright spring day. Surrounding them was the constant chirping of spotted frogs common to the grasslands of Torus. Omnipresent buzzing bitemes and flea-flies swarmed them as the day warmed. Clusters of tall purple spiked Emperor Flowers filled the air with their sweet scent. All about him lay evidence that Hurn lumbered on oblivious to the death of Glordrix.

They paused at midday for a cold lunch amid a cluster of boulders.

“Do you think we will ever see him again?” Ragnar asked Vander.

“Who, Drix?” Vander mumbled around a mouthful of hardtack confusion on his face. “Drix is dead so I hope not.”

“No, Hodir.” Ragnar said throwing his hardtack on the ground.

“Easy,” Vander said reaching out to clasp his friends shoulder. Ragnar shook it off and stared at the ground.

“You had should pick that up.” ‘B’ said pointing a finger at the hardtack. “It’s all we have till we resupply and we will need every bit.”

“And whose fault is that!” Ragnar shouted standing suddenly and moving toward the boulder on which ‘B’ sat. “You’re the one who drug us out here! You insisted on getting away from the road!” Ragnar screamed hand absently reaching down to clasp the short sword at his side.

‘B’ slowly set his hardtack on the rock next to him. Leaning back he interlocked his fingers behind his head and met Ragnar’s eyes.

“You unloaded the donkey.” 'B' said quietly. “You cut the animals loose. You guided us. Led us.” ‘B’ continued on voice barely above a whisper “There are those who say that a weapon drawn must be blooded before it can be sheathed.” His eyes never left Ragnar’s.

[theherocc]

Ragnar stayed away from B for eight hours. Not a single word. Not a single glance. Vander had stuck to Ragnar's side, each of them trying to process the death of one friend and the departure of another.

Jasper rode most of the day alongside Nora. He was encouraging the occasional giggle from her with sleights of hand. He had calmed her nerves as if it had been his job.

The road finally arrived. Ragnar was relieved. His primary responsibility was now the care for the horses, not the leading of people. Up ahead, he saw the spires and walls of a town. They could be there before nightfall; no more than two hours.

The group stopped to rest and feed their hungers to varying degrees. The town promised a return to real food. However, there was a level of uncertainty in their minds. Would it be safe? Would they ever feel safe?

"I'll get you comfortable beds tonight, lads. And lady," said B.

[kdbennett90]

Vander feeling marginally calmer than the day before leaned over to B and asked:

"Do you know that city? It looks large. Will we be safe there?"

Vander trotted over to Ragnar, who was clearly not in the best of moods.

"Ragnar, nothing we could have done about yesterday, don't beat yourself up about it. I know B isn't your favourite person right now, but might want to cut him some slack, we are here now and we clearly need his help, probably more than he needs ours. We don't want to burn any bridges"

Ragnar clearly didn't want to hear that, but Vander knew he would come round. They had made their choice.

[theherocc]

"No bigger than your Mimona. And no more dangerous. It will do for tonight and I am sure we can get everything we need to get us back on the road."

[kdbennett90]

"Well lets get going, I need a number of ales to calm the nerves."