Beedis

It would take the squire longer than expected to sneak out of the castle. Guards had been stationed in all kinds of unusual places in an effort to assure everything ran smoothly leaving most of his usual routes inaccessible. He was resourceful enough to find a way out but his good fortune would be short lived.The weather turned quickly and as soon as he made his way past the gates it began drizzling. "Perfect." he muttered to himself as he picked up the pace; there was nothing he hated more than being rained on. The Squire wouldn't get very far down the road before he spotted the company of mounted knights in the distance. He cursed his luck under his breath as he considered his options. Trying to get by the group without rousing suspicion would be difficult. He looked out of place without any official uniform or armor, but with all he had invested into leaving tonight he couldn't justify going back. With pride clouding his judgement he continued down the road despite the obvious risks. As he got closer he noticed the formation took up most of the narrow section of the road ahead, it would be impossible to slip by. Try as he may to play things off the closer he got the more wary the knights grew shooting him wayward glances as soon as he entered their line of sight. "You there halt!" One of the knights finally yelled before brandishing a weapon. A clean exit wasn't exactly an option anymore. The entourage had spread out completely blocking the way ahead, and by this point all eyes were trained on him. Delgue had little choice but to comply stopping in his tracks. Following a brief silence the same knight spoke up again "Now state your purpose!". Delgue's situation had quickly gone from bad to worse. The only thing that would get him out of this now was a bold faced lie, but that was something he could manage. "With all that has happened as of late they were beginning to get worried something had gone wrong. So they sent me ahead to assess the situation." he explained as he scanned the crowd. His gaze finally caught on the woman he thought to be the dignitary. "And you must be Lady Dollya." He continued before turning to face her. "I'm but a squire so it's an honor to meet someone of your prestige." he finished before offering her a bow. The squire acted with practiced ease never once stuttering, or breaking character. He hoped it would be enough to fool the royalty because if the plan worked he would be home free in no time.

Delgue wiped the sweat from his forehead before taking a step back from the hedges he had been fixing. "Come on pick up the pace." The senior knight barked. "Lady Dollya will be here within the hour." the knight continued. "It's one thing for them to send someone to supervise me doing chores but another thing entirely to send someone who has no appreciation for the fine art of gardening." the squire remarked whilst admiring his handiwork. "Don't make me write you up for insubordination again Delgue, just follow orders for once." he commanded. "You know somehow I think our guest has bigger things to worry about than a courtyard she might only glance at." Delgue replied before moving to work on another hedge. At this point the Knight was done humoring him and only offered indignant silence as a response. Today Drakiss was rife with activity. Word had reached the keep that a dignitary would be arriving within the next few days to act as the new regent ruler. The news had the higher ups desperate to make a good impression. So desperate in fact that they diverted all available manpower from training to tidying up. Delgue was no exception as not even the most senior of knights were spared from the chores. It didn't take long for the qquire to fix the rest of the hedges and with the task at hand finished he tossed the clippers to the knight before leaving the courtyard. "Be on your best behavior Delgue. If you cause trouble today the consequences will be dire, and change out of those soiled clothes while you're at it." he ordered. "Yeah, yeah." Delgue replied before waving the knight off as he passed him. Things had yet to calm down by the time he walked back to his quarters. The halls were still filled with the rank and file doing some last minute cleaning. Soon he reached his bunk and began digging through his belongings. With a fresh pair of clothes in hand he began to change. As much as he loved to stick it to his Superiors walking around in an outfit stained with grass, and sweat wasn't a pleasant thought. After freshening up the squire made his way to the door. There wasn't much time left but he would try to slip out into the city unnoticed. Just the thought of the goody goody ass kissers parading around the keep was enough to make his skin crawl. This plan would make everybody happy and keep him out of trouble.

Vormund smiled "Well for now you will have to take my word for it but I'm sure you'll get your chance to see more once this is all over." he explained. Her response to his anecdote made him chuckle "Yes, you know me. I can certainly be hot headed and impulsive at times." he explained before peering at his still bandaged hand. As she leaned in he closed his eyes and titled his head to reciprocate the gesture but the moment wouldn't last. A foul and unsettling wave of magic rippled through the air as Aranel pulled away from his embrace. His expression grew cloudy at the sensation. It seemed everywhere they went trouble was not far behind, at least they were able to enjoy a temporary peace. As two flustered Dwarven soldiers busted through the front doors of the library he shot up from his seat. The two confirmed his previous suspicions. The Drow had taken advantage of the situation and broken into the castle in a bid for power. He knew they were not to be trusted. If the Drow were to succeed they could ruin their only chance at peace, and they couldn't allow that to happen. "We won't let them go through with this." he assured the two Dwarves. It was then another wave of magic rippled through the city. This one more violent than the last, and violent enough to shake the city. The quake put the library in a state of disarray knocking books, and shelves down alike. He managed to keep his footing but the guards were not as fortunate. It seemed the situation was more dire than he had originally expected, they had to move now. The longer they took the more innocents could be injured. He followed the Archmage rushing outside after her. It seemed she was thinking the same way he was. In order to escort the Dwarves to safety she summoned her familiar, and with the civilians safe they wouldn't have to hold back. "Your King and Queen will come out of this unharmed don't worry." Vormund assured the two guards before taking off towards the castle as fast as he could manage. As they ran he found himself wrought with self anguish. "We never should have trusted them Aranel." he said.

"Alright, I'm still skeptical but if you think we can trust him then I'll follow your lead." he responded as they began walking towards the rear end of the village. "I hope you're right. His type must have problems with fake coin all the time." he responded. "Still I wasn't about to give up the payday I got from turning you into your mom." he joked with a cackle. "I need that money to pamper myself once this is all over." he added. "All the Drinks and Girls I can buy as soon as I get home. Maybe I'll even get a bonus for solving this mystery." he continued. They made their way out of the village and back into the surrounding woods. Soon Marlo began speeding ahead of him. She was anxious, this much was obvious and he could feel it from where he was standing but that wasn't going to stop him from being petty. "Remember I'm the one in charge here Marlo; and your stalwart leader has to conserve his energy." he replied sarcastically while keeping his pace. "And remember what I told you Marlo. We aren't after some thieves or your problematic mother this time. Calm down and remember to use that thick skull of yours." he ordered the sarcastic edge now absent from his tone. Suddenly Delgue closed the distance to Marlo grabbing her by the back of her clothing before pulling her down beside him behind a nearby tree. "Be quiet!." he commanded before peering around the trunk of the tree and into the small clearing a ways ahead of them. He could make out the silhouette of a figure awkwardly slumped down against a tree. For a minute he watched in silence. The figure didn't seem to move, in fact the figure didn't even appear to breathe. "I think they're dead." he whispered. "Damn. It seems whoever was after us picked our trail back up. They should know by now that a corpse isn't going to scare us away...if that even is a corpse." he continued. "If anything they helped lead us straight to them." he added. "I can't see anybody nearby but still, we shouldn't get anywhere near the body. It seems like a trap to me." he explained. "We should go as far around it as we can." he suggested.

Vormund chuckled before wrapping his arms around the Archmage and pulling her into a warm embrace. "Aranel where do you get these ideas from? You have nothing to be insecure about." he assured her. "Of course not all humans are beautiful. Just like Elves or Dwarfs there are humans of all sizes, complexions, and physiques." he explained. "If you would like to hear an embarrassing story of my own when you originally captured me I recall myself thinking about how beautiful you were despite the obvious danger I was in." he said following another chuckle. "In all of my travels I have seen many pretty women but none compare to you." he explained sincerely. "Now are we feeling better?" he asked with a smile.

Delgue knew what he was getting into when he insulted Marlo's friends. As she threw the punch this time he managed to catch it before it could make much of an impact. A wicked smirk crawled across his features "Oh Marlo sometimes you make it too easy to push your buttons." he joked. Marlo gladly accepted his offer taking the lead for the last mile or so they had left to walk. He wasn't quite sure why she liked that disguise so much, it wasn't like her. Sure she would attract unwanted attention but that was never a problem for her. She could handle anybody in a fight and he knew she loved fighting. Following another brief stint of walking they arrived at their destination. It wasn't anything special, it looked like all the other backwoods hamlets he had visited thus far. "Of course, just let me do most of the talking and we will get the information we need in no time." he responded. It didn't take his partner long to find them a store that dealt with fabrics. Upon entering they were greeted with an odd odor and a cluttered mess. As his partner approached the counter he stood back scanning over the store and its wares. It wasn't until Marlo jerked her head at him that he actually approached the counter. As he reached the clerk he produced the fabric in question. "We are searching for our friend who went missing. This piece of fabric is our only clue and we have been trying to find who sold him the clothing it originally belong to." he explained. The man's expression shifted as Delgue placed the fabric on the counter; it was clear he recognized it. "Ah yes that fabric is my hand crafted signature. But I am having trouble remembering the sale perhaps you could help jog my memory?" the man asked. Delgue grumbled before digging in his bag for some coin and tossing it onto the counter. Despite the real coin he had just made he still decided to use the counterfeit coin. A rat like this didn't deserve the money. The man looked at the currency and sighed "That helps but my memory is still a bit foggy." he explained. Delgue rolled his eyes before fishing for even more coin and tossing it onto the counter. After this the man looked satisfied "Ah it just came to me. Your friend passed through town rather quickly. He bought some clothing from me and then split. I was told he left through the woods behind the village. Something was off about him if you ask me." the shopkeeper explained. "Now if that is all. Good luck and thank your for your patronage." he said with a smug grin as he began collecting the money Delgue had left on the counter. With the information they needed there was no reason for them to stick around. "I can't believe we found somebody so helpful." he remarked sarcastically to Marlo before they left the store. "Well seems like we got lucky for once." he said. "Of course he could have been lying or trying to lead us directly into a trap but for now I feel like we should follow the lead he gave us. Worst case scenario we run into a bunch of thieves and we have to try the next village on our list." he stated. "What do you think?" he asked.

He rolled his eyes in response to her teasing "Alright fine you win, at least you aren't trying to sabotage me anymore." he remarked with a cackle. "But I'll warn you now. As soon as this is all over I'm splitting. You're my kind of lady Marlo but you know me. I'm a busy man and I can't have you tying me down." he added. "And I don't see why you're complaining when I haven't even shot you yet." he remarked. He knew the punch was coming so he was ready for the it. He braced himself for the impact gritting his teeth as the punch connected. He didn't flinch but the hit stung like hell regardless. "Aww, that one hardly hurt. You're not going soft on me now are you Marlo?" he accused with a cackle. As per request Marlo began to explain how she got her nickname. While a simple misunderstanding wasn't the grand origin story he was hoping for he was still entertained. The degree of success Marlo enjoyed with her violent problem solving never ceased to amaze him. "I'm surprised Marlo, Ducking a fight isn't your style." he remarked with a cackle. "And don't kid yourself Blondie. I wouldn't be caught dead with your friends. Rolling with a bunch of twitchy maniacs would be a bad look for me." he said. "And besides what would The Black Heart think if they found out one of their squires was associating himself with a bunch of lowlifes!" he continued as seriously as he could manage. It wouldn't be long until the two ran into another dilapidated sign marking the road. Delgue held his arm out stopping Marlo as he took a moment to examine the marker. "Seems we are about a mile out from one of our options. You want to lead the way? I feel like you know better than I do what we are walking into here." he explained.

Vormund chuckled lightly at her comment before gently squeezing her hand. "Not to worry your stern teaching helped forced me to learn quickly." He explained with a grin. "When someone is always threatening to maim you if you don't perform you tend to work harder." He added with another chuckle. "But at least in the end things worked out for the best...Well besides the whole mess we find ourselves in now." he said before gently rubbing his cheek against her shoulder. "Now that I know you like stories so much I have a few favorites I could share with you if we get some down time again." he offered. "Ah have some confidence in yourself Aranel." he mused. "I'm sure you would have come out of your shell eventually even without me." he assured her. "The awkward doofus that you really are would have found a way to shine through that cold exterior." he teased. "And I'd rather not think of you and Techran like that." he responded with a chuckle. "I know he turned a new leaf but I'll always be wary of him. It's hard to forget the way he acted." he explained. "Ah I'm sure I'll warm back up to him some day though. Holding a grudge is unlike me." he said. His eyes grew heavy and he began to nod off as things grew silent again. But before he fell asleep he noticed the Archmage's face had grown red it was subtle but her skin was flushed. "What has got you so flustered Aranel?" he asked with a yawn. "Did you read something embarrassing?" he asked.

"Why do I always get the worst assignments?" Delgue mumbled angrily to himself as he swatted at an insect circling his head before removing a folded piece of parchment from a pouch on his armor. The young man unfolded the paper and read it as he had many times before.   "In the past few weeks there have been strange claims coming from various villages in and around the Ellwood Forest. We wouldn’t usually spare manpower for complaints such as these as they are normally hearsay, but we have made an exception for this case. It is of a nature we have not yet encountered. If reports are correct a number of hamlets have reporting missing citizens within days of each other. In every testimony the source of the disappearance was unknown but we believe there is some malevolent force at work. It seems something or someone has been kidnapping these villagers for an unknown reason. We suspect the cause to be of little threat likely just a beast that has gained a taste for blood. Nevertheless it would be irresponsible for us to allow these “kidnappings” to go unchecked so our hand is forced and we are sending someone to investigate. If you are receiving this notice your orders are as follows. -Go to the Ellwood Forest and investigate the hamlets that have reported people missing, be sure to question the populous. -Investigate any and all leads no matter how strange they might sound. -If you find any of the lost villagers alive, recover them and return them to their respective homes -Once the source of the problem is found it is to be eliminated at all costs. -When all above orders are completed return home. We wish you luck and have full confidence in your ability to accomplish this task efficiently and effectively. Godspeed." Read the parchment. These were his orders.   It was because of this document that he now found himself alone on a dreary dirt road in the Ellwood forest. He had spent roughly a week in this hellish place moving from village to village. The frustrating part was that he had nearly nothing to show for it. The story was the same every time. He'd show up, question anyone who could or would speak to him, then go investigate. The problem was that uneducated peasants didn't give the best testimonies. Every lead he had been fed was either ridiculous or nigh impossible. But still he exhausted every rumor and urban legend in the hopes of getting out of the woods sooner. Though as to be expected the trail always went cold before it got anywhere meaningful. Things weren’t made any easier by the fact that they sent him alone. The Black Heart deemed the mission worthy of only one squire and meager supplies.   He was shaken from his internal ranting when the road led him to another village. A small clearing in the otherwise dense foliage. Sighing he eventually found his way to the center of the settlement. Pausing he scanned the buildings in the hopes of spotting something like an assembly hall, or a tavern. From just a few cursory glances it was clear the place was worse for wear. Every home looked sullen, damaged, or old. He wasn’t surprised but still he wondered how some people lived like that.   After some investigating he spotted a building large enough to be what he was looking for. “Bingo.” He mumbled to himself before making his way to the door. The interior of the building was no more impressive than its exterior. It wasn’t a dump but it was devoid of any frills and poorly lit. Upon further inspection it was clear he was in the town’s tavern. At the far end of the room there lie a counter stocked with spirits staffed by one of the village’s inhabitants looking to him expectantly. He grumbled producing his orders from the pouch on his armor before approaching the counter. As he walked he felt the eyes of other guests on him, it was obvious he didn’t quite fit in with the local ascetic and he had to assume visitors were uncommon here. He did his best to ignore the glances and when he finally reached the counter he produced the documents for the innkeeper giving the man only a moment to get a look at the parchment before reciting his lines “I’m here on official business from The Order of the Black Heart. We have received reports of a missing person in this area. Have you seen anything or anyone suspicious lately?” He asked impatiently. “And while you think on it, and think hard on it get me a bottle of something that will bun my throat.” He finished before dropping a few coins on the counter top and taking a seat eyes scanning the other patrons. “Heh.” He chuckled before shaking his head.