Chapter One: Chosen

A certain forest, Belandi, the Line

It was autumn, and Belandi was getting very cold. Red and brown leaves fell from trees, and the harsh cold wind buffeted everyone outdoors.

...Not that this stopped the Red Dragons. In a certain forest, there was a small collection of tents and caravans that acted as the mercenary's temporary headquarters. The men huddled around fires, grumbling about food, or else waiting to be assigned a mission. On one side of the camp was an enclosure for the horses who pulled the wagons that transported most, if not all of their worldly possessions.

Today was the first day of the week, and for some reason unknown to them, the boss's younger sister had run off as soon as they had unpacked.

It had surprised them, of course, as that wasn't like the girl at all...

At that moment, the mercenary leader, Kai Alvaine, emerged from the forest, literally dragging his sister Nasako back to camp, a fierce scowl on his face.

"The hell were you thinking? I thought you were smart enough not to touch random shit! How the fuck are we going to remove whatever the fuck that thing is?!"

He glared at the other mercenaries. "Pack up! We're leaving in thirty minutes. I don't give a fuck that we just unpacked, don't grumble! I want to be out of this place as fast as possible!"

"...Goddamnit."

edited 26th Aug '14 10:20:15 PM by GrimHelm

Brand moved to obey Kai as quickly as possible. The branded Imperial rebel had gotten used to Kai's leadership for the last seven years, but orders like these were almost never issued unless something serious had happened.

After several minutes of packing up his issued tent and supplies, Brand sidled over to the Alvaine siblings to get information on what was happening.

"What did she do, Kai?" He asked in a low tone. adjusting his mask and hood to make sure only his mismatching eyes, dirty blond hair, and a single "R" branded on his forehead could be seen.

Katze Dashcurser

Katze Dashcurser, perhaps the only true non-human member of the Red Dragons (barring perhaps the golem whose name she could never remember, but she refused to believe she counted), lay idle by the campfire, barely conscious as her body worked off last night's "dinner". This was nothing out of the ordinary. Being the sole elf in a party of humans, and a dark elf no less, afforded her certain luxuries. Her age, though unremarkable in Eltaria, had made her the subject of much fascination and admiration in human culture, something she always found endlessly amusing. She could get away with pretty much anything she wanted just by claiming seniority and no one could object, and whenever someone wanted sage words of wisdom or advice, they would ask her. Despite it being ass-bleedingly obvious that she was even less mature and responsible than they were, her advanced age led people to simply assume that she was the wisest simply for having lived the longest, and they would listen to whatever half-assed stories or shitty fortune cookie koans she happened to have on hand in her constant semi-sobriety like it was the most profound thing they'd ever heard. She liked it. It was nice being the only grownup in a crowd of awe-struck little kids looking up to the older folks in admiration, like they expected her to shit gold and fart rainbows or something.

Of course, kids never stay like that for very long. A lot of them had grown out of it and wised up to the fact that she really wasn't so great. Like Kai for example. She'd known him since he was a kid. Hell, she'd been with the Red Dragons since before he was born. And she'd known a long time ago that he was gonna grow up to be a shrewd little bastard. He'd finally started questioning her around the time he became a full fledged teenager, about sixteen or seventeen in human years, and ten times that in elven years. He was one of a dwindling crowd from the early days who was wise enough, or perhaps had just known her long enough to know she hardly deserved the respect she got. Most of them had either died or moved on with their lives, which meant he was one of the last Red Dragons she could be truly frank with.

So when his ruckus woke her up in the middle of last night's hangover, she was understandably ready to give him a piece of her mind.

"Jesus Kai, keep it down, will ya? I'm trying to sleep over here! Have some respect for the dearly departed, you cheeky little bastard..." She tried taking a drink from her bottle to help with the headache, only to find it empty. The elf peered into the bottle with one eye, trying to make sure there wasn't any giggle juice left in the bottom of the bottle. "Awwwww..."

edited 26th Aug '14 10:55:54 PM by KSPAM

Sister Sanguine was tending to the other soldiers, bringing them water skins and seeing how many, if any needed her aid, she carried little with her, needing little aside from that which she could easily pack and carry.

"Is something the matter?" She asked, stepping up to the two leaders with a calming expression on her serene face. "Is anyone wounded?"

Kai had followed up his own orders by packing his and his sister's shit onto the wagon pulled by his own horse, Vasil. Vasil was a large black stallion, the meanest bastard in the entire herd. When Brand (that kid needed a real name) approached him, Kai just sighed and ran his hand over his hair. "Hell if I know. You have to ask Nasako. Just got a fucking bad feeling."

He glared at that drunk bitch as she too approached him, for less of a reason. Damn, he didn't have time for her shit right now.

"Katze. You're a Dragon. Do your fucking job and quit questioning me if you don't want your goddamn salary reduced for the fiftieth fucking time!"

Annia sat in her tent, polishing her helmet, lost in thought. Here she was, back in her homeland. Back where she had traveled with her father and his fellow soldiers. 8 long years...

Then came the commotion from outside. Wondering what it was Annia donned her helmet, lifting up the lower cover portion and headed outside to see what was going on. She found herself looking at Kai and his sister, apparently having done something wrong from Kai's tone of voice.

Nasako hadn't been paying much heed to everything around after she and Kai had left that strange cave in the forest. Any other time, she'd be getting venomous over her older brother yanking her around like he was now.

Her gaze, though, was intently locked on that ruby—that warm, flower-shaped gem now seemingly fused into her skin. It had to have been the thing that had tugged her mind and heart towards the cave in the first place, that had made her decide to leave the camp—with only her knives as protection, no less—without any other explanation. She saw no other explanation.

And then that voice.

Prove thine worth, o Chosen.

She was only now beginning to wonder why the fuck she'd let that thing make her choose to do something that, from a normal person's point of view, was so insane—and why she wasn't getting more upset over it.

Familiar voices came to Nasako's attention, and she looked up to find that they were now suddenly back at the camp and—

Oh. It looked like everyone was already either moving about or crowding around her and Kai.

"Shit," she whispered. How was this gonna be explained to the rest of the group?

This was getting out of hand. Not only had they stopped working, they...damn it, they were swarming his sister.

Nas looked even more uncomfortable around people than usual, which was saying something. Kai facepalmed, told Brand that they would talk about this later and screamed at the top of his voice. "Oy! Back to work! I'm not paying you to stand around gossiping like old ladies! I'll tell you the situation as soon as we're moving. Just hold on to your asses until then."

Then, to his sister, in a much softer voice. "You should probably stay inside the wagon. You feeling okay? Dizzy? Does it hurt?"

John appeared right next to Nasako and began lightly running a finger over the gem. "Now that, is a nice piece. Well cut, I could fetch us a pretty penny from the right buyer."

The thief threw his arm over the girl's shoulders. "I see it's not a bracelet of course but don't you worry about that I know a great surgeon further south. We can get that removed and then our dear lady of the cloth can heal you. Easiest fortune, ever!"

edited 26th Aug '14 11:16:28 PM by guyshane

Katze Dashcurser

"Alright, fine. Prick..." she mumbled. "Not like I never did anything for ya..."

She turned to address her packing. Remembering she really didn't have much to her name besides her armor, her weapons, and her booze (elves didn't exactly require sleeping bags the same way humans did), picked up her spear Grasscutter, whispered a spell and blew all the empty bottles she'd finished down the hill with a gust of wind.

She turned to Kai. "There, packed. Can I go back to sleep now, boss?"

That's when the elf noticed the jewel embedded in Nasako's hand. She whistled. "Well I'll be damned. No wonder you're in such a foul mood. Mr. Big brother's got himself a big problem. What'd you go getting yourself into this time, Nas? This a present from your secret sweetheart?" she asked teasingly.

She was obviously still a little out of it.

edited 26th Aug '14 11:29:10 PM by KSPAM

Sister Sanguine narrowed her eyes and glared at John before reaching out and pinching his ear, pulling him away from Nasako. "That's enough out of you, rogue." She said with a frown as she turned to the other two. "I trust you will inform me if any medical assistance is needed." She said before turning away and leaving to get back to work, dragging John behind her. "Come now, you're going to help me with my things."

Kai started on one of his little rants. Best thing to do right now would be to listen. I'll ask about Nasako later on... Time to pack it would seem...

Annia made her way to her tent and started to pack up, not really having much that she needed to pack. Travel light. Just one of many things that she had learned.

Wrapped in a cloak and sitting under a tree, Tiberius sat and practiced playing a song he'd recently written. This session of 'Jamming' as Tiberius called it, was interrupted by the sound of Kai's voice ringing through the air. Loud as Tiberius' lute and voice were, the Bard had learned to always keep an ear out for any noises signalling that he might need to move or defend himself (like guards being called for instance). Thankful that he didn't have a tent to take down, Tiberius slung his lute across his back, hefted his axe onto his shoulder and walked down towards the small crowd gathered around the current leader of the Red Dragons. Once he'd joined the crowd, Tiberius put on a winning smile and addressed Kai by saying "Not trying to try your patience or anything chief, but where are we headed to? I might be able to hook the lot of us up with bed and board if I know any innkeepers in the area."

edited 27th Aug '14 12:15:36 AM by Eachiunn

Alshain stopped mid-packing to check on what the commotion was all about. However, he hesitated for a moment, struggling to decide which duty was most important right now: checking up on the boss's sister, or following his direct order.

He packed a little bit more, making his travelling bag look presentable. Orders are certainly orders. He had enough respect for Kai that he'd do as he was told. He didn't pack too heavy, since he had to carry it all on his back. But everything had to go in its proper place. Diligence was a knight's virtue after all.

Normally, in a situation with an unwanted arm around her shoulder, Nasako would've directed sharp green eyes at the offender and start giving a glare that could rattle the souls of the gods.

Instead, with nerves already a little high-strung, she pulled out one of the knives hidden in her sleeves without warning.

However, Nasako was interrupted by Sister Sanguine pulling John, the offender, away by the ear. Letting out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, she turned back to Kai.

"It's fine. Well," she murmured to him with a glance at the ruby, "as fine as you'd probably expect."

edited 26th Aug '14 11:40:37 PM by BlackRevolver

John was successfully dragged a few feet before bring up his hand and knocking off Sanguine's grip. The thief rubbed his ear in pain. "Gods dammit Sister you know that hurts me more than it does humans you psycho. And will you stop shooting down all my legitimate business proposals? That gem could net us so much money. And for the last time: I am not a rogue, I am a thief. Get it wrong again and you'll be walking around the camp naked wondering where I hid your clothes!" The half-elf finished, still shooting a venomous glare at the blood mage.

Thank the bloody Pantheon that the Sister had gotten John out of there as fast a possible. He had been about to punch a bitch. Nas needed quiet time right now, he guessed. And fuck it if he was going to let anyone mess with her today.

He nodded. "Still, you should probably get in the wagon anyway. Hey, Granny. Keep Nas company would you? I don't care if you sleep."

He turned to the bard. "I'm thinking about going to Wurd, Tib. It's a decent-sized town, and them townsfolk are probably still grateful after we scared off the bandits fucking up with their mines last month. ...It'll take us a while, though, but we'd probably arrive by midnight."

Nasako simply nodded. The nerves weren't that bad, as far as she could tell, but if it would placate Kai for a while if she went to the wagon already, then the wagon it was.

She just made a slight detour to grab her few things—which included her bow and currently normal arrows—before hopping in without a word. Once she was situated, her eye caught the flower ruby again. It still glowed a little on her wrist.

"Jonathan," She started, laying her hands at her side and taking a serious tone with him. "They wished to be left alone, you should respect their wishes, and bring it up another time, when the commander is more willing to listen." She said, looking down the bridge of her nose at him. "Now please, carry out your commander's orders, lest you draw his ire."

Tiberius didn't have any particular issues with Kai's current plan of action. Getting to a place where everyone could get a roof over their heads and a warm meal with little difficulty seemed like it'd be good for morale. Plus he'd get a chance to perform for whatever townsfolk there were and gauge reactions to some of his newer songs. "Sounds like a plan chief, here's hoping we can make it there in a timely manner." With that, Tiberius peeled off from the crowd around Kai to prepare himself for the march to come.

After uttering a brief prayer to The Roaring One and The Ever Marching Battalion (For good spirits and courage, respectively), Tiberius shoved his axe into his belt and yelled to the massed group of mercenaries "Any requests for the road? We've got a long godsdamned march ahead of us, and I'll be damned if I can't make that somewhat more bearable for all of you!"

Annia finished packing the last of her belongings into her single satchel bag before breaking down the tent. Just going through the motions... She thought simply as she headed to the wagons. After depositing her belongings she stepped into the wagon where Nasako was situated. "You okay Nasako?" She asked in a quiet voice as was the usual for her. "From Kai's tone it sounded like something serious happened."

John snorted in derision. "Please, I'm already packed, just because some of us are trusting and leave scrolls full of questionable content out in the open on our bedrolls doesn't mean I do Sister." He explained with a sleazy grin.

The thief turned his back and began sauntering around before continuing. "And Kai should be receptive to my advice now. We haven't had anything but cold beans for the last week and while I don't claim to know a lot about anatomy, I'm willing to wager 'gem in wrist' isn't a good thing."

He turned back to face the nun. "Besides, the surgeon I know is that good. Granted he has this disturbing tendency to go into extreme detail on what he's doing while you're there on the table but he's only killed about five patients in the past couple years. How many surgeons have you met that can boast that?"

edited 27th Aug '14 12:45:42 AM by guyshane

Nasako didn't give an answer for a few moments, glancing back and forth from the ruby and Annia.

"Don't know, really," she said. "I mean, I feel fine now, but…"

Her fingers began to hover over the ruby, but jumped back as if in shock.

"Well, not every day some strange gem decides to burrow itself into your wrist." Nasako forced out a chuckle, the quirk of her mouth looking more like a grimace than a smile. She then went quiet for a beat—before raising her head up again to Annia, eyes widening.

"I can't believe it took me saying that out loud to realize that probably isn't a good thing."

edited 27th Aug '14 1:02:27 AM by BlackRevolver

"Move out!" Kai called, mounting Vasil. "If you want to know the situation, gather around me. But. Keep moving!"

As the Red Dragons marched on southward towards Wurd, Kai explained to the best of his ability what had happened in that damn cave.

"And I want none of you to even think of bugging Nas about this, alright? Now, we're going back to Wurd. Maybe someone there knows what the hell this thing is, but until then, keep quiet!"

Southward, southward. The mercenaries kept marching, their monotonous walking broken up only by the bard's songs and their own hushed conversations.

Kai himself was deep in thought. He wasn't a superstitious man, but what happened in that cave was scary shit.

...And to his own sister too.

He could have hit himself. How could he have let this happen to her?!

Usually whenever Kai or Tiberius' voices weren't enough to calm and direct the group Strongheim would jump right in.

This time however a warrior from Longslund kept quiet as he packed what little he had with himself: clothing, weaponry, father's shield and armor, his steed, a couple of things needed for journeys like these. The gut feeling he felt was telling him that this is no time for empty questions and typical mercenary shenanigans.

There were foul magicks involved into all of this. Magicks foul enough to leave fearless Commander Alvaine quaking in his boots. As the band's been told by Kai about what exactly happened, Strongheim merely nodded in acknowledgement. Keeping an eye on where Commander's sister was situated he rode a little behind the leader, Atlas by his side.