Prologue: The Stone Bearer

The third day of the month of Redmoon, Autumn, the fifth hour (5:00 AM), Belandi, the Line

The forest of Sylphid was a well-traveled route, as it was the easiest way to get to Wurd, Belandi's famous mining town. Wurd was famous for its master blacksmiths and craftsmen and was crowded almost all year around. Which was why the mercenary band known as the Red Dragons were currently travelling there.

As of now, the Dragons were just waking up from their slumber, having made camp in a large clearing in the Sylphid Forest that was popularly used by travelers.Orange leaves fell from trees that were preparing for winter and a cold chill filled the air, signalling that the frost was fast approaching. In the clearing were a sizable group of men and women, lounging around in front of their tents, eating breakfast, tending to horses or weapons, getting the group's three wagons ready for the journey ahead and generally keeping busy.

Of course there were still some people sleeping in...well, until a loud clanging noise filled the air as The Dragons's young commander, Natalia Alvaine, began banging a large metal pot with a stick.

"Up and at 'em, men! Eat your breakfasts and get ready! We want to be at Wurd by noon! I know it's been tough these last couple of weeks in the wilderness, but once we reach the city, we can start taking jobs again! So stop being lazy and get your asses into gear! We leave in an hour!"

The commander was a redheaded◊ young lady of about twenty-two, clanging the pot while carrying a thick book of Magic tucked under her arms. She wore simple white clothing and a small pendant, a red gem shaped like a lotus flower, hanging on a steel chain.

Natalia Alvaine did not look the part of a mercenary leader, and she keenly knew it, but as the only daughter of the band's founder, it was her responsibility to keep everything together.

Natalia was feeling pretty good. They had not have a job since the Crazy Fisherman Incident last month, and even though their funds were far from depleted,she was getting a little bit worried. Fortunately, they were almost to Wurd and that place always had work if only helping out at the mines. She reckoned they could stay all winter there, if they had to.

"Get your food from Iyo! Hop to it!"

edited 23rd Jan '17 3:10:48 PM by GrimHelm

"Hrm." Brand glanced at Natalie irritably as the cacophony of wood on metal roused him before the sun had fully risen into the sky. Though he got up slowly to begin with, Brand quickly gathered up his things and got himself fully dressed for the day. Things had been quiet for a while since that incident last month, and Brand almost found himself wishing for more excitement. But he quietly put those thoughts away as he approached femininely-dressed werebeast who was serving breakfast.

"Iyo." He acknowledged his fellow Rank 1 member with a nod and not much else from his expression. "Breakfast?"

Breakfast

"Good morning, Brand, wonderful we're having." Iyo said, dressed in a well cleaned maid outfit, and a cooking stained apron. He casually placed the food he had made onto the plate and handed it to Brand. "Bacon and eggs, standard fair. And all the rest of you please line up in an orderly fashion. Cut in line and I swear to my ancestors I will slap the shit out of you." The werefox said with a cheery tone and smile.

edited 23rd Jan '17 3:46:39 PM by SolusLupus

Wolfgang was sitting on a dead stump next to his tent. The peglegged old man, easily the oldest in the group, was completely engrossed in writing in a dragonhide-bound book. The sudden metallic rattling made by Natalia had roused him from his literary stupor. Wolfgang closed the book, corked the ink bottle, and put both in a shoulder-slung bag under his cloak as he approached Iyo.

"Guten tag, Iyo. Brand."

edited 23rd Jan '17 4:01:00 PM by ctrl_alt_deliiiight

Awakening.

Trevor slowly opened his eyes as the rays of the morning sun shone through a few patches in the mercenary's tent. There were time he wished he'd been able to properly fix the damage, but even if that was the case...well, sleep was more of a luxury at times anyway.

Rolling up his sleeping bag and walking out into the camp when their leader continued that...unpleasant racket as he gave a friendly wave to his comrades in arms as he took a seat, not terribly hungry for the moment.

"So, how are you both faring this morning."

Morning

Morgana slipped up alongside Natalia. "Please tell me you already know about some jobs in town." The dark haired woman didn't look like one who had been asleep until recently. "Ever since that fisherman I've been doing nothing besides hunting deer and picking tics out of myself. I need something to break up the monotany."

The Rank III werebeast amongst the Dragons was awoken rather loudly by Talia's yelling, much to her annoyance. Her hair was a mess, and the fact that Kaguya had better hearing than most meant that Talia's voice was like a thousand tiny needles to her brain.

"I swear...does she really have to be so loud?", Kaguya said to herself as she got out of her sleeping bag and put on some clothes before exiting her tent. She followed the scent of food to where Iyo was serving breakfast, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"Morning...", she said groggily.

"Aye, miss Natalie," responded Georgia. Being used to a more militaristic life, she had been up well before Natalia woke up the others, and had for the most part been keeping watch until that point. She walked over to the breakfast line, eager to eat and make it to town.

edited 23rd Jan '17 8:53:40 PM by Aquatica1000

Dragons' Camp, Sylphid Forest, Belandi

Eating an apple he purloined, "Tams" Tamerlane sat atop an orderly pile of assorted goods essential to the day-to-day management of the camp. He looked the very model of comfortable laziness, though his grubby little soul was worried.

As the Dragons' quartermaster, he had been among the earlier risers, directing the ancillary staff to getting the larger tents and wagons sorted away before they made for Wurd. Though truthfully, the sooner they got out of Belandi, the better.

"You heard the lady," Tams said through bites of fruit, punctuating his orders with the haft of his mace. "Getcher asses movin'! We ain't got all day!"

edited 23rd Jan '17 9:11:56 PM by KR_Vandal

Sylphid Forest

A blue girl◊ sat perched atop a wagon, a stack of books by her side and one in her hand. Her barely translucent body scattered rays of the morning sun, casting light patterns onto the wagon cover like a well-lit pool of water. To Mira, who absorbed information like she absorbed nutrients, any knowledge was worth learning. Bestiary of the Line's Fauna, An Account of the Korus Royal Family, The Inner Workings of Alliance Democracy; whatever she could get her hands on.

Mira snapped her book shut and hopped down from the wagon.

"Hey, Talia. What's the difference between the Alliance and the Empire?" Mira said.

She paused. Somehow, Mira perfectly imitated a human's grin. The book she still held in her hand was not history, not biology, but a joke book.

"In the Alliance, it's your vote that counts. In the Empire, it's your Count that votes."

edited 23rd Jan '17 8:56:41 PM by opnerf

Dragon's Camp.

Trevor rubbed his neck, eyes glancing over at the Quarter-Master making just as much noise as their fearless leader and gave a wry smile. "I believe if they didn't hear Lady Natalia's clarion-like cry and noisy din, they might have difficulty hearing you, sir." He politely remarked, glancing over at those joining the rest of the squad and Kaguya being...slightly grouchy.

"...Perhaps she's anxious to get to work that she's...more louder than usual? I don't quite know how that mind of hers works, Lady Kaguya."

edited 23rd Jan '17 9:17:16 PM by TheRealWren

Talia continued roaming the camp, banging her makeshift instrument all the while. The commander responded to Morgana's inquiry with a slight nod.

"Of course, what did you think I've been doing? Been sending messages to Wurd's mayor. We'll get plenty of work."

"....Don't remind me of the fisherman. By the Red Lady, he was freaky."

At Mira's joke Talia snorted and failed to suppress a smile.

"Getting better at that!"

Talia maneuvered her way towards her best friend even as she took in the other Dragons.

Four years. Four years since her father died and the band had officially passed into her hands.

Talia's father was an Imperial soldier who fled to the line after a certain incident. He was a good man and a good leader.

Talia wanted nothing more than to live up to him.

Dad...am I doing good?

She was so deep in thought that she almost crashed into Iyo.

"Ack! Crap, sorry!"

Rank V, Barkley Birch, stared steadily at Talia as she struggled to get their awful mercenary company up and at it. She was already dressed in her dwarfy jacket and pants, decorated with intricate geometric patterns telling the history of the Birch clan. She held an implement in one hand, a plain brass stylus, and the other she held a tube of metal inscribed with dwarfy runes similar to those on her clothes. She slowly fed Prana into it, priming the Burst Cartridge for use. But now the banging was getting to her.

"Hey, ma'am, I'm sorry, but—" BANG!

One slip, and the burst cartridge detonated. With a loud hiss, a blast of air nailed Barkley straight in the face, blowing her hair back and leaving her dazed. Man, could have been worse though, she was lucky that she didn't load it. Could have blown her brains out. But now she was mad. The company's leader was endangering their work!

Barkley sighed and put down her tools for a moment to go stand in line for breakfast, behind Georgia. "Morning, ma'am." she said. Georgia, she could appreciate. Military types, you know, they had their shit together. They were well-crafted.

Sylphid Forest: Breakfast

Mira bowed politely.

"Why, thank you, Talia," she said. "I believe I'm onto something."

Mira entered the breakfast line behind Georgia and Barkley.

"One of those bangs was not a pot and a stick."

edited 23rd Jan '17 9:43:07 PM by opnerf

"Good morning, Miss Barkley" Georgia responded. "I hope you're doing well today."

Sorry for barebones, trying to keep the ball rolling

Dragon's Camp

Wolfgang received his breakfast and sat down on the same stump next to his tent. Anyone who's known him for longer than a week would know, this old soldier eats fast. After cleaning his mess kit and packing it in with his other posessions, he sat back down to continue writing in his book. It was his old Empire drill book, full of memories of his Spellweaving college. It was not for the faint of heart; he followed a grueling course of study more akin to boot camp than a wizardly apprenticeship. The drills in the book are mostly combat manuvers, fire spells, and etiquette, but several decades worth of notes are scribbled in the margins.

Because of his invaluable experience and formal training, Wolfgang is in charge of whipping the new recruits into shape. This entails things such as waking up at dawn and drilling the recruits for hours on end. They see him as a godsend, a bully, or everything in between, but nobody can deny the results.

Wolfgang, satisfied with his note-taking, closes his book and places it in his bag. He approaches Natalia.

"Guten tag, Natalia. I believe you're avare zat Herr Tamerlane and I have completed our duties. Vat are ze reports from ze other senior members?"

edited 23rd Jan '17 9:47:13 PM by ctrl_alt_deliiiight

Breakfast at Belandi

Brand nodded at Wolfgang's meeting, deferential though curt in his respect for the old man before uttering a one-word thanks to Iyo for breakfast.

"Fine," was his reply to Trevor as he stepped out of the line so he could sit down and have his breakfast. As the camp descended into the usual shenanigans that it never seemed to be able to avoid, Brand settled into his own corner of the world he knew and ate away at bacon and eggs.

Breakfast Serving

Iyo nodded happily to each of the mercenaries as he handed out food to each of them. "Good morning, good morning, ah yes, and Afar?" He called out. "Don't worry I did not forget about you, i have your usual turkey bacon set aside. In fact there's extra in case anyone else wants to have any." He worked happily, until his oldest friend and leader bumped into him ever so clumsily. With a certain amount of finesse, he was able to avoid splashing bacon grease on anyone, and turned towards Talia. "Now now, Talia, do please try to watch where you're going. Wouldn't want you or anyone else getting burnt." He smiled warmly.

Dragon's Camp

The gaunt figure of Sister Rosa made itself known in due time; quite fitting, she only showed up around the time that Talia had taken her stumble. "It is as he says, Talia, try to be more careful." She commented softly as she nodded to the younger girl.. "Would you like some tea this morning, perhaps?" She asked, pushing the tea tray in her hands forward slightly.

Breakfast

Joining the lineup for food was the wheezing and coughing form of Osmund, a crudely (and recently) carved wooden fork and plate held firmly in his gloved hands. Craning his neck to try and get a look at what was on the menu, Osmund's muffled voice would pipe up from the back of the line, asking "So, what's on the menu?"

"Burst cartridge popped because Talia disrupted my concentration." Barkley said, and fished another cartridge out of her pocket to show. "These things are hella dangerous. You ever see what happens if you blow one of these on accident?"

"I think I remember from the last time that happened," Georgia responded, holding back a bit of laughter as the memory came back to her. "Perhaps we should discuss with her about that after we've had our breakfast, before anything worse happens."

Dragon Camp

A tall bearded man, clad in armor and foreign clothing, mature yet not old enough to have his hair graying like Wolfgang appeared in the scene, having finished his night-shift patrol. He was waiting for his turn to sate his hunger after being up for most of the night.

"Sabah al-khair Iyo, lady Alvaine. I see you're up to the usual antics." He smiled and took a plate of turkey bacon and pita bread. "Thank you very much. I know how difficult it can be to have to make a different option for me every day" Afar then turned to Rosa, greeting her as well. "Hello Rosa, how are you this morning?" He said as he gestured towards the tea kettle "I would like some, thank you" he grabbed a cup and handed it to her.

edited 23rd Jan '17 10:49:03 PM by LiorVal

"I wish I knew too, Trevor.", Kaguya replied before yawning. "Hey Iyo, I'll take just the bacon!"

She then began to walk up to be served.

Trevor simply smiled and nodded at Brand as the armored mercenary continued to watch the others settle down with their breakfast. It'd been a while since they'd had a morning...this...hectic? Busy? Something like that, he guessed.

"I suppose that'll be a question we'll be waiting quite a while for an answer for, then." The man mused in response to the wolf. "...Granted, I wager she and plenty of others here are anxious to get back to work if this does turn out to be the case."