Once they reached the walls, they traveled along the south edge until reaching the gates. The gates were wide open revealing the large courtyard inside the walls. It had been converted into a training field where dozens of men were currently making practice swings. Gailwyn dismounted from her horse and began to guide it on foot and Thane and his companions followed. She approached a man in his early thirties who was overseeing the training.
“Theo, where is Jerrod? The new recruits have arrived and I need someone to show them around.”
“Jerrod’s still out on a wight hunt. Boss said you get to show the new blood ‘round the place.” She gave an irritated sigh but he was no longer interested in her and was instead looking over her shoulder at Thane. “Like ya heard, name’s Theodore son of Quinn, Theo if you’re my mum or want to piss me off, but I prefer to be called Mace.”
Thane shook his hand, “Thane, son of Alexander, why Mace?”
“Cuz I prefer the weapons with a bit of heft like hammers and maces. Figured it’d be a good name, bit more intimidatin’ after all. Who ever heard of someone runnin’ in fear from the mighty Theodore?” He continued down the line introducing himself to the other three before continuing. “‘ ‘S my job to change this pack o’ rabble to a disciplined fightin’ force by spring. Lost cause for most of ‘em.”
“You think so? What is so bad about them?”
“Ehh, every single one o’ them got their issues and I don’t like ta dig too deep. You got yer usual young kids who think they are far better than they really and are lookin’ for some kind of glory. A few good strong lads who think this ‘s a good way to make coin. A few desperate weepers who’re willin’ to risk their life just for food and a place to sleep.”
“How many are there?”
“A bit over two hundred once we meet up with the regulars. More than enough to deal with the small groups wanderin’ around. Long as they don’t pick up a few wizards that is.”
“You talk too much ‘Mace’” said Gailwyn. “They don’t need to know that much, especially if some of them decide not to stay with us.”
“Bringin’ them in when they ain’t official? How accommodation’ of ya. Now get to your guidin’ and leave me to my work woman.” He waved her off and turned back to the trainees.
“It looks like I’ll have to show you around. Although the walls and keep were rebuilt we haven’t put up many other buildings yet so we have a couple large open yards that we use for training. Barracks and a shared dining area to the right, and stables to the left after entry. You shouldn’t need to worry about the barracks area since it’s usually only used by the trainees and not irregulars.”
“Irregulars?”
“Adventurers if you prefer that term. Anyone with magical prowess or advanced combat abilities are given special tasks. Other than the notice board, most of the important locations are in the keep on the other side of the river.” They lead their horses to the stable and continue to walk towards the bridge leading to the keep.
“What about that building?” Sarah pointed to a small house built right next to the river and wall. A few tanning and smoking racks were surrounding it.
“That is Gryssel’s place. Most of the irregulars are given their own rooms in the keep, but that elf couldn’t stand living in a stone room so he built that himself.” they approached a notice board next to the bridge. “Assuming you aren’t given a job to do, some tasks will be posted here. Mostly general stuff that isn’t too difficult. Any important or dangerous jobs like monster or magical beast hunts will be handed out directly.”
The tour went on to the other side of the river that divided the fortress in half. There was a second training yard with more specialized tools. There was a young magician shooting magical bolts at a target while an older magician stood behind him and struck him with a staff every time he made an error in the spell or didn’t send the spell off with enough force. There was a smithy and armory as well as a library which didn’t contain books so much as it contained maps and records. Information about the surrounding lands and other countries.
They ended the tour in the small keep, which kept the old audience and meeting hall instact, but the rest of the space was converted into rooms for the irregulars as well as a kitchen and dining area.
As the tour was nearing the end, Gailwyn spoke. “Meals will not be provided for the most part. There are a few common ingredients provided. Anything else will need to be provided by you and any cooking will have to be done by yourself. You can also join the regulars in the common mess hall if this is too much trouble. The last stop is Marcus’ office. He will want to see you before you head off to your quarters.”
They entered the office and found Marcus sitting behind a large polished stone desk that seemed to have been here since the fortress was built. His head was resting on his palm and he looked like he was growing impatient with the man in front of him. There is a black haired young man wearing piecemeal armor that was composed mostly of padded leather with a few metal plates in various places. There was a bandage wrapped tightly around his left forearm that had a bit of blood seeping through and he was in the middle of giving Marcus a report in a very animated fashion, even giving whooshing sound effects as he swung his arms around.
“Then a half dozen of the little bastards came running down the hill from behind. I barely had time to turn around when they leapt at me. As quick as I could I brought my arm up to defend myself. He stabbed right through it and I brought my sword down.” The man acts out the incident turning around and bringing his bandaged left arm up as if shielding himself and after giving a fake painful “aagh” he swung an imaginary sword down with his right when he noticed the others who had just entered. He blinked in surprise a few times and his mouth opened and closed silently like a fish before he composed himself. “Oh, uh….where was I?”
“I think I get the idea.” said Marcus. You found a nest of Leios on a recovery mission and your team had to fight them off so you returned injured without the target.”
The man looked embarrassed, “Uh, yeah, that’s about right.”
“Was there any sign of idols, altars or draconic imagery?”
“Yeah, a few, there were little statues that looked like dragons, why?”
Marcus looked over to Gailwyn, “There haven’t been any signs or sightings, have there? If not, see what your magic can find. As for you,” he pointed to the young man who was telling the story, “get that wound patched up proper, you’re starting to bleed through your bandage.” He paused for a moment, “Kisha, you use nature magic, can you do it? The blade evidently went completely through his arm between the bones.”
Kisha seemed to be surprised that he was addressing her directly and gave a nod, “It won’t be a problem.”
The young man walked over nervously and attempted to introduce himself. “I’m Kisha- no you’re prett- you’re Kisha, I’m Bart- Bartholemew. Um…..hi.”
Thane was speechless at the boy’s blubbering, and could hear Sarah give an audible snort while barely containing her laughter. “Hi Bart, “ Kisha replied calmly, “let’s heal that arm.”
Marcus then addressed Thane and his friends. “I wanted to see you, Thane, before the end of the day. I have already spoken to the twins and they have agreed to work with us for now. Have you and Kisha made up your mind?”
He looked over to Kisha who had removed the bandage from the blushing boys arm and was healing the nasty looking stab wound. She gave him a nod before he responded. “We’ve decided to stay. We’ll work with you as contracted adventurers.”
“We call them irregulars here, and I am glad to count you among them. Being students of Castor makes you more than qualified, but we will still need to test your skills. Gailwyn was looking forward to testing your magic tonight, but it will have to wait until morning.” He smiled, “And I would like to see how well you learned to fight from Castor.”
********************
Later that day after sunset
Kisha
Kisha sat with Mahs and Sara in the keep dining hall. The three were gathered and waiting for Thane who was busy in the kitchen.
“So where did he get the meat from?” asked Mahs.
Kisha replied “He traded with that elf in the river hut. Talked with him for an hour about hunting before making the deal.”
“So what kind of meat did he wind up getting?”
Kisha had a worried look on her face when she replied, “Dire boar.”
“Dire..boar? Can you even eat that?”
“The Elf that killed it claimed you can.” Kisha wasn’t sure how palatable it would be. They had heard of dire animals before, but had never seen one. They were larger, meaner and uglier versions of animals, often having bony ridges, horns or scales where their normal versions did not. Whatever origin they had was lost to history, and they were often called walking disasters due to their destructive nature. The thought of eating one was a bit unsettling. She would just have to trust Thane and see how it turned out.
As she tried to see what Thane was doing in the kitchen Kisha noticed Sara give a smirk before addressing her, “Oh look, Kisha, your new admirer is here.”
Kisha looked towards the entrance and saw Bart with what she assumed was the rest of his group. He had taken off his armor and was now in normal clothes as were the rest of his companions. Bartholemew was the youngest of them, it would be surprising to hear if he was over twenty. There was a woman with him about the same age with a thin scar running under her right eye. The third was an older man carrying a rucksack, probably in his mid thirties with the first signs of grey showing.
Bart beckoned at his companions and then to Kisha and his two companions followed him to the table. “This is them, the new guys I was talking about. Kisha here is the one that healed my arm.” He slapped his left forearm to show it was fine despite being stabbed through earlier today.
The woman with him arched her eyebrow, “Hm, she is definitely cute, cousin, but you said she was the most- mmph.”
Bart was quick to cover the girls mouth before she could embarrass him further. “These are my companions, this is my cousin Lily and the old man is Harland.”
“Old man? Watch your tongue boy.”
Lily smiled at Kisha, “So you’re a priestess?”
“No, I use nature magic.”
“Ohh, that’s rare.”
Kisha and the twins gave their introductions and included Thane who was still cooking in the kitchen. They explained that this was the first time any of them had left the village they were born in. It was quite a new experience, but they had often heard the tales of their parents, especially Castor and Maria. Leaving for the larger world was something that they had wanted for a long time.
The three of them sit down at the table next to Kisha. “Until you arrived today, Lily and I were the youngest.”
“How many other groups are there?”
“Hm, there are three other groups and 2 solo adventurers”
“Can you tell me about them?”
“Let’s see, there is one other new group that joined recently set out to the west to prepare a base of operations for the bandit suppression. There is Jerrod’s group that mostly hunts the nastier monsters. Finally there is the elite group that I have only ever seen once. They don’t stop by too often. Oh! There is also Python and Cale, the mage and his apprentice. He’s using this as training for the boy. I think one or both of them are nobles, because when they go out on assignments, they always take a few of Lance’s knights to cover for them. For the solos there is Onyx, which isn’t her real name. She's from the far north and got tired of people pronouncing her name wrong so she goes by Onyx. Probably something to do with her black hair and eyes. She is...the most terrifying woman I have ever met, she always has more knives on her than we have teeth. All different shapes and sizes. Then there is Gryssel the wood elf. Probably the most unfriendly and unhelpful people you will ever meet.”
About this time Thane finally returned with the dinner for the four of them. “Here you go, braised boar with apples.” He set a deep dish with the meat and braising liquid in front of Mahs and Sara before heading back. “I’ll be back with mine and Kisha’s”
In a few moments he returned with two dishes and a few loaves of bread and Sara spoke up, “We were just talking about Gryssel, you met him earlier didn’t you?”
“Yes, he’s a great guy, he invited me to go hunting with him some time later.” The three members of Bart's group all had a shocked look on their face.
“How?” asked Harland. “How did you even get him to talk to you?”
“Um...I knocked on his door and we started talking”
“More importantly, that’s a big meal that looks like it took quite a bit of effort to make. Is there some special occasion?”
“I promised Kisha I would make her a good meal for her coming of age. She’ll be 16 in a couple days.”
“Oho! I have just the thing then. If the girl is coming of age that means it is about time for her to start enjoying wine!” He reached into his rucksack and pulled out a round glass bottle filled with a purple liquid.
“He always does this.” explained Bart. “His family runs a vineyard and he never passes up an opportunity to brag about the wine they make.”
“But I’m not of age yet.”
“Please,” Harland countered, “The gods and the laws of man will not punish you for partaking in the vine a few days early. If you are celebrating now, then now is the time for a toast!” He poured a good amount of liquid into the various mugs and goblets at the tables before raising his mug in a toast. “To the young lady on her birthday. The world is open to you now so enjoy your new life and new friends!”
“To a new life” Kisha’s friends shouted before taking a drink of the wine.
She hesitated for just a moment looking at the wine in her hands before smiling. “To a new life!”
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