Fyrisvellir stared at Tank. She didn't trust the knight, and thought extra vigilance was needed. The northern warrior had cleanly stripped their fallen foes of valuables, and was in the process of scavenging and recording the goblin's plunder.

"Hey, If you don't like the way I'm recording this, you can do it yourself if you want. ", Tank finally said. He was at first flattered by Fyris's gaze, but then he realized she was scrutinizing his honesty in looting.

Fyris let the question go unanswered. She crouched at the edge of the camp, and just watched the rest of the group divide the treasure.

Svikki and Sasha had gathered the goblin's few magical items and were in the process of attempting to divine their nature. Agni was picking through their weapons and armor, taking whatever he thought was an improvement for their group.

"Man...it must be nice to sit on your ass all day , and watch others work. ", Tank said at no one in particular, but everyone knew who he directed his comment at.

Fyris continued to ignore his comments. She didn't care what the others thought of her. She was only concerned about doing her job effectively and collecting her fair share of the treasure. Scavenging corpses was something she considered beneath her and was happy to let others who were more specialized at it to perform that lowly function.

Agni walked towards her, and blocked her view of Tank. She shifted her head to look around him, and continued to observe Tank. Tank gave her an exaggerated wave in return.

"Here, you said you needed a scimitar?", said Agni gruffly as he deposited a gleaming goblin scimitar and several bundles of arrows in front of her. Before she could reply , he walked to the sage and the cleric. The three shared a laugh, as he presented them with armor and some weapons. She noticed he was much more talkative and friendly with them then her, as he assisted them in examining their new gear. He presented a small finely made crossbow to the mephit. Fyris wondered where the goblins found such a device. He gave the cleric a heavy hobgoblin breast plate. They seemed to laugh and joke about the armor, but in the end he convinced Sasha to wear it. The armor was slightly large for the cleric , but she had no trouble moving about in it. They continued talking , but at that point Fyris had tuned them out.

She took the arrows, they were crude but serviceable. Her own supply of elven arrows were almost depleted. In her military career, she never made her own arrows, she always relied on the supply captain and her mentor to provide them. She examined the scimitar and instantly ruled it was too heavy for use. She had no problem wielding the weapon , but preferred her broadsword if she wanted a heavy blade. She missed the light elven scimitar she had given away. In retrospect it was foolish, but at the time, she could think of no other way to repay the young girl that saved her life.

"Hey...I thought you wanted a scimitar ." asked Tank as he noticed Fyris casually tossing aside the weapon given to her by Agni.

"This blade is too heavy. I was hoping for a lighter weapon.", replied Fyris simply.

Tank picked up the scimitar and examined it. " Weight is good, edge is sharp. Its kind of ugly, but the craftsmanship is excellent.". To demonstrate, he slashed it in the air a few times. Despite his attachment to broadswords, Tank was quite skilled in the scimitar as well.

Fyris could not deny that the annoying warrior was her equal with the blade. "Its too heavy for me. I need a blade like I had before to be able to fight in the style of my choosing. "

Tank thought for a second, Fyris could almost see the mouse wheels spinning in his head. "Elven Scimitar? Like the ancient Ice elves used? "

Fyris nodded , unsure where his reasoning would lead.

"Well princess...you're not gonna get one of those around here. Ice Elves were all wiped out by your ", he stopped and made sure Agni was preoccupied with Sasha and Svikki," mentor's father. Sir Hildraxel. About 200 years ago , or 40 years depending if you were outside or inside the magical mists. Also even if you could find a smith to replicate it, they were made with halfling silver were they not? That's pretty rare stuff these days. Especially around here."

Fyris cursed her foolish decision again. She picked up the scimitar and in a fit of frustration hurled it into the night. "Curse me for a fool , for giving away my weapon. I should have given that girl a lock of my hair or a simple kiss or something."

Tank seemed intrigued at her story, " Oh...this sounds interesting...but I'll hear the story another time. Look , I've watched you fight. Your fighting style is elven is it not ? They use more finesse moves then power strikes. ", to demonstrate he picked up a stick and switched from a classic two handed strike stance to a flawless fencing stance. Fyris was impressed at the cretin's knowledge of battle. He then searched in his pack and tossed her a short straight blade. " If you need a lighter weapon, a short sword works. Its about the same reach, and instead of slashing and piercing, its more piercing then slashing. You seem like you have some talent, you can adjust to that can't you?"

Fyris had practiced with the shortblade before. She was skilled in its use, but preferred the scimitar. The knight was correct though, the weight of the weapon allowed her more flexibility then the heavier weapons she had recently used. She practiced a bit, though she had to adjust to the simple thrusting attacks rather then the wide slashes she was accustomed to .

As she was practicing, Tank tossed her another blade which she caught with her off hand. She took it as a challenge from the warrior and effortlessly flicked the sheath off and continued practicing with both weapons. Tank laughed, " I thought so. You follow that classical sissy elf style of fighting don't you."

Fyris stopped, her aloof attitude was replaced by anger , "Are you mocking my skill?", she spread both of her arms, and replicated the silly palm sword twirl he saw Tank do the other day.

Tank yawned ," Hey, don't get me wrong. You're pretty good with the blade, and you can wrack up a lot of kills. In the talent and speed department I give you a 9 out of 10. In the skill department I give you a 4...hmm maybe a 5. Your not so hot unless you got the jump on a guy. "

Fyris shook in frustration. He wanted to strike the man down right there, but held her tongue. She hated this world, and the braggarts in it.


The magic items they recovered were indeed sparse. A wand, a few healing potions, and a small mail shirt. Fyris was given a potion, but somehow she seem dissatisfied with it. The wand and shirt were definitely worth more, but the others seemed content with the items going to those who could use them. It was a worthy ideal, but the paladin could see how that system could be abused. She held her tongue though, and accepted she would follow their flawed rules.

The rest of the trip to Tornic was uneventful. Tornic was a completely different town then Heldann. Outside was a long row of poles adorned with humanoid skulls of various shapes and sizes. Fyris knew they were a warning to attackers. The town itself had a massive wooden wall, and she saw a sturdy stone keep inside. As they entered she noticed there were more guards posted and they seemed more alert. Freshly burned sections of the wall, and unwashed blood told her that a battle was fought recently here.

Agni had booked two rooms at the local inn for them. Fyris thought with the treasure they recovered he could have booked one for each of them. Sasha calmly explained to her , it was more for their protection then comfort. The town was recently attacked, and may be attacked again. Two rooms were more defensible then five.

Svikki and Agni went through their maps and discussed their best course to reach the ancient ruins. Sasha and Tank went off to secure any last minute supplies and equipment they may require that wasn't available in Heldann. Fyris was content to stay at the inn, she practiced her blade work away from the others. She wanted to show that arrogant Tank how much skill she had.

Later that evening , she took her dinner in her shared room while the others were in the dining hall.

Fyris prayed to Mirrodin that her ordeal would soon be over. Fighting gnolls was one thing, but working with scavengers , braggarts, and mephits was another. She hoped she can earn the money she required and return home.

A knock on the door interrupted her prayer. She went to the door , peaked through the crack and opened it after she saw it was Agni and his friends.

Agni seemed pretty grim and the others shifted uneasily behind him. "Hey Bloodshadow, we need to have a talk." Before Fyris could reply , Agni had stepped in and the others followed suit.

Agni was their unofficial leader and he spoke first, " Look, In the plains there, you proved you're a great fighter, and decent tactician. At Heldann you pulled my butt out of the fire...but ..."

Fyris wasn't sure where this was going, but sensed it wasn't going somewhere good.

Agni took a deep breath and continued ,"..I know its only been a short time , but I don't think we can work with you. You're arrogant, you question and insult your comrades, a lot of tasks you think are beneath you. I'm not sure we can make this work out. This isn't the military you know, or even a mercenary company. Believe me I know, I've been in both. This is an adventuring group. We do more then watch each others backs. We're in it for the long haul , at least till we mutually agree to break up. I get the sense you regard this as merely a job, and you'll abandon us when you don't need us anymore. ".

Fyris was stunned, "Am...I being released? ..."

Agni nodded, "Its just a bad fit, Its the best move for all of us I think, I'm sure you'll find another group more to your style. I don't want us to end up like one of those cautionary tales, you know like the Tale of the Silver Champion , The fall of the Knights of Winter or the Hobgoblins of Droamm...where they can best all their foes, but they fell due to infighting ."

Fyris fell back into her chair. She wanted to tell them how much she needed this, but instead she reflected on Agni's words. He was right, this was just a job to her, and she did have plans to abandon them when she raised enough money.

Agni held out a bag of coins, "This is your share from our treasure last night. Like I said, I'm really sorry it didn't work out."

Fyris numbly accepted the bag. Her pack was already prepared and it was a simple matter to gather her things. Agni didn't meet her gaze as she left.

Svikki, meekly wished her luck on her travels.

Sasha bowed and said a prayer to Linel for her.

Tank walked her to the door and was the only one that met her gaze. "Look, if it makes you feel better, I voted for you to stay. Don't feel bad, I know how it feels. I've been where you are right now. If we can't get a replacement sword...I'll try to get you back in."

Fyris wasn't sure what to say. She had never suffered such rejection before. She shook her head and continued walking away.

Tank followed her out of the hall and put his hand on her shoulder. She would have slapped or punched him a few hours ago , but Fyris was too drained to react. "Hey, keep your head high ok? You're too good to sulk . Listen, even if we're falling down we're still going forward. Err wait..that's how Frank busted his nose...Oh never mind...Just remember if you need a hand give me a shout . Ok Fyris?"

Fyrisvellir noted he called her by her name, or at least a short form of it . She disliked the named Bloodshadow but used it exclusively with her former companions. She vaguely remembered putting Fyris on her application and was surprised Tank had remembered. She nodded and slipped from his grasp. She would never take up his offer, she would never humble herself like that, she thought. She felt something wet on her cheek but simply ignored it.


Fyrisvellir left the inn. She could have paid for another room, but felt the need to get away. She walked along the wall, like she did when she first joined the army. It felt vaguely comforting and reassuring as she pretended to patrol the town.

Fyris gave thought to Agni's words. Even when in the army she was a loner. She always felt the rest of her unit held her back. That's why she transferred to the rangers. She mostly worked alone as a Royal Ranger, at most she would work with 4 or 5 others. It was a very independent job. She suddenly realized that her mentor Brita had probably pulled strings for her. She wondered how many times Brita had defended her from her superiors. Fyris knew she was often insubordinate especially to incompetent leaders, which was almost all of them. Despite her beauty she was not the most popular person in the 3rd Army. She knew she was often put on a pedestal , partly because of respect for her dead father , partly because of Brita, not because of her unnatural speed and agility.

Was she a bad person? She was a paladin of Mirrodin and she fought evil. Since she was 15 she dedicated almost 10 years of her life to defend her people. It seemed unfair , when she compared the sacrifices she made and they way people treated her. She grew angry at this world once again. She silently cursed her companions for turning their back on her, she cursed the incompetent wizards at Baltar's port, and she cursed the young girl who she gave her blade too.

Fyris stopped and considered her thoughts . She ran them through her head and then realized she truly was a bad person. She just cursed the young girl that had saved her. She remembered a few months ago she affectionately called the young woman her little sister. It was her own pride that caused her to give her that scimitar. She blamed the wizards at Baltar's port even though they didn't take her money and even directed her to Grom City . She cursed her companions , even though their allegations were true. She did think she was better then them, considered her membership as a mere job and she was going to abandon them at first opportunity. She realized that all her life she blamed others for her own faults. She stopped and wondered how it came to this. Was it too late to change ? She wished her mentor was here.

She wasn't a member of the guard, but she calmly scrambled up the tall featureless city wall. She crouched motionless on the crude ramparts. She knew she appeared how she felt, like a stone gargoyle, a misshapen figure standing vigilant over the town. The solitude and night breeze normally gave her comfort, but she just stood there thinking .

What was she going to do now? Despite her skill at arms, she didn't know the first thing about adventuring or dungeoneering. Join another group? If she could find one. Maybe she could enlist in the army, although they would probably not recognize her rank. She had understood that their numbers were swelled after the great siege , it would take a long time to regain her former position. Even with her rank as captain restored, would she be able to afford a wizard to cast the spell she needed? Theft was out of the question. She heard merchants made good money, but besides killing she had no marketable skills.

Was this why Brita wanted her to follow the path of the maiden? Not just to remain pure in the service of Mirrodin, but ready her for a life of solitude. She reflected on her mentors life and dejectedly noted how sad and lonely it was. She wondered how different Agni's Brita was to hers. Where had their paths diverged , she thought. She wondered if there was another Fyrisvellir . She wondered how her life turned out.

Fyrisvellir sighed at her predicament. She hoped that the young captain who gave her the substantial gift six months ago to aid her on her quest would not find out about her situation. It was too depressing to consider how she squandered his wealth.

A large shadow shifted unnaturally outside the town. It moved till it reached the wall, then it began slithering up the barrier. Fyris's mind suddenly pushed all thoughts of self pity out. Her hunter's instincts screamed at her. She had fought demons and gnolls for the last 10 years, and knew the nature of her foe. Most of her elven arrows were depleted but she still had a dozen left. She smoothly drew her bow and nocked an arrow. As the shadow continued its ascent she used the vision of Mirrodin , and confirmed the nature of her target. A dark vile aura emanated for the beast.

As it reached the top of the wall, she fired . Her arrow flew straight and true as it was launched at the dark shadow. She thanked her mentor for the lengthy sessions they had practiced with blindfolds. Despite her targets murky cover the arrow found its mark. At first, one guttural howl rang through the courtyard. Then many others rang out in the courtyard and beyond the walls.

Surprised guardsmen sounded the alarm, but savage bipedal creatures attacked them. They moved swiftly and Fyris only caught a glimpse of them. They were larger then a man, but smaller then an ogre. They moved like beasts, and were covered with mangy white fur. Their most distinctive feature was their terrible red eyes.

Fyris fired another arrow at her injured prey and struck it cleanly in the neck. The creature however did not fall like a mortal creature should have. It charged the paladin, but a third arrow through an eye finally stopped it. She spotted another of the furry beasts , it had cornered a guardsman and was about to rend him. She loosed another arrow and it struck solidly in its back. It howled and turned, but another arrow shattered its knee. It lost its balance and fell screaming into the courtyard. Her killing did not go unnoticed though. A third beast roared and rushed her. Despite the narrow walkway on top of the wall, Fyris nimbly somersaulted over it. In mid air she managed to sling her bow and draw her blades. They weren't cold iron, but she summoned Mirrodin's power and charged her blades with her gods might. Both the paladin and the beast had their backs towards each other when she landed, but Fyris calmly stabbed backwards with her blades in reverse. She was rewarded with another ear splitting howl , except this time the noise rapidly grew weaker. She withdrew the blades and readied for her next opponent, as a wet audible thud hit the ground.

Fyris wasn't sure what she was going to do the next day, but she knew what she had to do that night.