Davrag Joris yawned lightly as the morning's light touched him,
cracking an amber eye open as he rose from the inn's bed. Davrag had opted
for a room of his own. It wasn't because he would be uncomfortable sleeping
in close vicinity, it was just that he didn't trust them-Exles especially.
A knock on his door caused his eyes to narrow and his paw crept towards the dagger he had hidden under his pillow, "Come in, I'm awake."
The door creaked open and Davrag was relieved to see Yarel walk in, the large rat raising his paw in a respective salute which Davrag duplicated, "Sir Davrag?"
Davrag loved the respect the large rat showed him. It was a nice change from the foul-mouthed vagabonds and sneering criminals of Calishan's underworld by far, "Yes, Yarel?"
"I posted Drethiss by the city's gates like you wanted."
"And?" Davrag's curiosity was piqued. The black stoat leaned in closer to Yarel, not taking his paw from his dagger.
Yarel smiled, knowing the news would please Davrag. "He saw a group head into the city, two of whom match the descriptions of those two stoats; one with reddish fur, seductive and wielding a thin blade. The second was tall, dressed in black, has white fur and amber eyes. He carries a schianova sword."
"You are certain of this, Yarel?" Davrag worked hard to keep a sly grin from spreading over his face as he locked his eyes on his lieutenant's.
Yarel nodded, "Aye, sir. There were four others with them when they entered. We figure they were going to restock at the city but their supplies seemed rather full. We didn't investigate the matter though. Who knows what lies out there?"
"You did right, Yarel." Davrag replied, rising to his feet and donning his cloak and twin, curved blades, "Tell me about the other four with the two stoats."
"One was Morik Ferin, late of the Academy Guard, the traitor," Yarel growled in an uncharacteristic display of anger and emotion, "Stoat. You've seen 'im before."
"Yes, I have." Davrag nodded, stroking his chin, "Anyways, the other three?"
"Another was a masked beast who carried a bow and arrow. One was a mouse who the others seemed fond of. He carried a short sword. We figured he's one of the survivors from that village attack."
Davrag cursed, "Dammit! That's all we need right now; a group of pissed off mice coming after us, especially when we're separated from the main company. Can't be helped now, though...we have to eliminate the group and be out of Tilverin by midnight. Who's the last beast in the group?"
Yarel swallowed, knowing Davrag was not going to take this very well. The stoat was paying scant attention to Yarel as he finished dressing, adjusting his belt as Yarel replied, "A ferret. Tall and muscular, carried a broadsword of exquisite make and a schianova sword similar in design to the young ermine. His fur was night black."
Davrag froze, eyes widening as horror coursed through him, "Jald..."
"Sir?" Yarel took a step forward, a frown appearing on his features.
Davrag whirled on his lieutenant, face a picture of rage, "I want them dead, you hear me?! I want that ferret killed and bring me his head so I know he's dead! Do it! Kill them or you and the entire company is dead, you hear me!?"
Davrag stormed passed Yarel, missing the acquiescing 'yessir' that followed. He whirled into the main hall in the inn, waiting for his troops to assemble. He listened to his heart pound in his chest and every beat seemed to whisper 'Jald Nightson lives, Jald Nightson lived.'
Davrag had seen Jald fight, had fought with him once before and though he was have both his sword arms hacked off and his tail tied into knots before he ever admitted it, he feared the ferret more then anything else in the world.
It took another ten minutes for all twenty (including Yarel and Exles) to assemble in front of him. Davrag kept his voice calm and expression neutral, a far cry from the wild-eyed, screaming figure he had been just ten minutes before, "I hoped to see soldiers before me today." He began.
His eyes narrowed and he snarled, "Instead I see miserable failures!" The soldiers lowered their heads but Exles narrowed his eyes and growled, reaching for his broadsword.
Several seconds later, Davrag was rubbing his knuckles and watching two soldiers help the rat to his feet. He waited under Exles was on his feet. He gave the rat a glare and Exles lowered his eyes, admitting defeat. Davrag continued, "The traitor to your Academy, Jald Nightson, breathes. This is your failure as soldiers. I am going to allow you a chance to redeem yourselves now though.
"Exles," He nodded to the rat, "I want you to choose three soldiers. Once you have done so, you shall go into Tilverin and you will find this little club of companions. When you have found them, kill them! The manner in how this is done means nothing to me. The only one that matters among the deceased is Jald Nightson. Kill the others if you can, but I want Nightson killed! Is this in any way unclear?"
Exles shook his head, turning to the soldiers, selecting three soldiers at random, all rats. "Y'all...come wit' me."
The three rats looked to Davrag and he nodded. "Yarel, take the others and get out of the city. Head to the mountains and wait for me there. I will remain in this city for a brief time to insure Exles carries out his mission to the letter."
Exles swallowed hard, recognizing the familiar tone of voice as Davrag wore a most sinister grin, "Be off with you now. I will be watching, Exles. And I never tolerate failure, nor do I tolerate incompetence. Just ask Tazak."
Exles lowered his head and practically raced from the inn, followed by the three rats.
That night, Eroket and Jald traveled through the streets of Tilverin as a speedy rate, having left Boneflower, Deran, Cadion and Morik at the tavern to 'eat, drink and be merry' in Cadion's words (For tomorrow, they would die, Eroket have jokingly added, earning him a joking smack from Cadion and Boneflower.)
"Jald, what exactly are we looking for here?"
The tall ferret didn't give him an answer at first, scanning the streets and the buildings. They were in the 'business' section of the city. This of course meant quite large signs, beasts doing business everywhere and many of the buildings having balconies.
Eroket turned to one vendor, flicking him a small silver piece and taking an apple, nodding to the squirrel vendor before taking a bite of the fruit he had just purchased. "I was hungry," was his explanation to Jald as he followed in the ferret's stride.
Jald gave his customary 'hn.' "Don't let your guard down, Ero. If Davrag passed this way, he definitely dropped this way. Which means we can expect company from his soldiers. Davrag is bright enough to leave soldiers behind to deal with us, and he'll have both Vandashira's soldiers and Academy ones, giving him quite the team."
Eroket rolled his eyes, "For the love of Vulpuz, Jald, you worry waaay too much."
"I'm just cautious." Jald replied evenly, "It kept me and your father alive many a time."
"Right..." Eroket nodded, "Jald, what'd Boney want to talk to you about yesterday?"
"Oh, it was a private issue and nothing for you to concern yourself with, Eroket. So, drop it."
"Fine, fine." Eroket sighed, "On the way back from the hunt can we-"
"Get down!"
A beast with a drawn crossbow could be seen on the balcony, aiming at Eroket. The crossbow was partially hidden by a cloak and the average passerby never would have noticed it. Jald Nightson was not an average passerby though.
The ferret flung himself upon Eroket, knocking them both to the ground, the ferret rolled over, using the second he had gained to fling a dagger.
The weapon didn't hit Jald's intended target but instead hit his crossbow, throwing off his aim for just a moment. That moment was when the rat fired. The bolt thankfully struck no bystanders and buried itself in the ground.
"Idiot, ye missed!" A shrill voice with a twinge of nervousness in it shrieked. The rat on the balcony looked stricken and took a step back before a throwing dagger hit him in the neck and he toppled back.
Shrieks arose through the crowd as the sounds of steel rasping as they passed from their sheaths were heard. Jald drew his sword and Eroket did likewise.
"Kill them!" The nervous, insane voice screamed."
Two rats lunged forward, both lunging at Jald, who blocked their attacks swiftly, stepping back with a grin.
"Eroket, take one of them, I'll get the other and-"
Eroket didn't hear the rest, spinning and raising his sword as Exles sprang at him, parrying the rat's broadsword in a quick motion, turning his back on Jald.
The mad rat grinned and stepped back. The spectators were beginning to lose their initial shock and were beginning to view the battle as a spectacle.
"Ten coins on the white weasel!" One beast called.
"Twice that on the rat wid a scar for a face!" Another shouted.
Exles snarled in rage as the insult from the spectator but managed to channel that rage into his fight as he lunged forward, cutting at Eroket's head and body.
"Who the hell are you?! Who do you work for?"
A cold grin formed over the rat's face, "I serve Vandashira, the Living Darkness only, ermine...she wants ya dead!"
Eroket raised his blade to block a thrust at his midsection, sidestepped a punch. The ermine thought of running but that would leave Jald to all three of the rats. The only way he was leaving was if he killed Exles first. So be it.
The ermine suddenly hurled his sword into the air in front of him and moved forward. Exles's gaze was drawn to the hurled sword and that time allowed Eroket to kick him in the side and grab his blade as it fell to the ground.
The cheers drowned out the sickening sound as Eroket's blade bit into the rat's knee and leg. The tip of the blade only passed an inch into Exles's knee, but it was more then enough to cripple him. Exles shifted his weight to his uninjured leg, sprang away from Eroket and fell to the floor.
The crowd watched with breathless excitement as Eroket sprang on the downed killer. The ermine's blade swept through the air and Exles rolled and struck with his broadsword. As the ermine leaned into his attack a splatter of blood flew from his shoulder. Fearful that the slash had severed an artery, the ermine ducked into a crouch, paw clamping over the cut.
Losing the use of a leg hadn't slowed the insane rat. The killer drove his blade into the floor, pushing off with his good leg and vaulted towards Eroket with a howl, twisting in midair to position his strong leg outward. In the split second before the rat met his enemy, Eroket flung himself to the side, thrusting up with his blade as Exles landed over him, focusing all his strength into a swing of his sword as Jald had taught him. Then Eroket felt the blade pierce flesh and crack bone as it hit the rat in the chest.
The ermine ripped the blade loose, watching Exles's eyes widen in shock, the broadsword falling from his paws. His face frozen in an expression of bitterness and anger, Exles fell to the ground and died.
Eroekt looked to Jald to se ethe ferret long finished with his opponents, nodding to the ermine once. A commotion on a nearby balcony alerted the ermine and he raises his eyes. He wasn't prepared for the sight that greeted him.
Davrag stood beneath a flickering torch, staring down at the bloodied ermine through narrow eyes. The two stoats locked eyes for a moment and a wicked grin crossed the face of the ebon furred stoat. Somebeast passed in front of Ero at that moment, obscuring his view of the balcony. When the ermine looked at the balcony again, Davrag was gone.
"A true champion!" A weasel called out, walking to the ermine, "What would y'like? Gold, women, power, secrets? Name it and tis yours!"
"Secrets..." Eroket hissed wearily. "What of the-"
"Come with me then," The weasel smiled, "we'll bind yer wound and tell ye all ye wish to know! And never mind th' bodies. It'll be taken care of, lad."
Eroket met Jald's eyes and was surprised to see the ferret uninjured and barely breathing hard, calling out, "Get to the others! Meet me at the tavern. Davrag...Davrag's here!"
The last vision he saw of Jald before he turned to go with the weasel was Jald turning and dashing through the crowd in the direction of the tavern.
A knock on his door caused his eyes to narrow and his paw crept towards the dagger he had hidden under his pillow, "Come in, I'm awake."
The door creaked open and Davrag was relieved to see Yarel walk in, the large rat raising his paw in a respective salute which Davrag duplicated, "Sir Davrag?"
Davrag loved the respect the large rat showed him. It was a nice change from the foul-mouthed vagabonds and sneering criminals of Calishan's underworld by far, "Yes, Yarel?"
"I posted Drethiss by the city's gates like you wanted."
"And?" Davrag's curiosity was piqued. The black stoat leaned in closer to Yarel, not taking his paw from his dagger.
Yarel smiled, knowing the news would please Davrag. "He saw a group head into the city, two of whom match the descriptions of those two stoats; one with reddish fur, seductive and wielding a thin blade. The second was tall, dressed in black, has white fur and amber eyes. He carries a schianova sword."
"You are certain of this, Yarel?" Davrag worked hard to keep a sly grin from spreading over his face as he locked his eyes on his lieutenant's.
Yarel nodded, "Aye, sir. There were four others with them when they entered. We figure they were going to restock at the city but their supplies seemed rather full. We didn't investigate the matter though. Who knows what lies out there?"
"You did right, Yarel." Davrag replied, rising to his feet and donning his cloak and twin, curved blades, "Tell me about the other four with the two stoats."
"One was Morik Ferin, late of the Academy Guard, the traitor," Yarel growled in an uncharacteristic display of anger and emotion, "Stoat. You've seen 'im before."
"Yes, I have." Davrag nodded, stroking his chin, "Anyways, the other three?"
"Another was a masked beast who carried a bow and arrow. One was a mouse who the others seemed fond of. He carried a short sword. We figured he's one of the survivors from that village attack."
Davrag cursed, "Dammit! That's all we need right now; a group of pissed off mice coming after us, especially when we're separated from the main company. Can't be helped now, though...we have to eliminate the group and be out of Tilverin by midnight. Who's the last beast in the group?"
Yarel swallowed, knowing Davrag was not going to take this very well. The stoat was paying scant attention to Yarel as he finished dressing, adjusting his belt as Yarel replied, "A ferret. Tall and muscular, carried a broadsword of exquisite make and a schianova sword similar in design to the young ermine. His fur was night black."
Davrag froze, eyes widening as horror coursed through him, "Jald..."
"Sir?" Yarel took a step forward, a frown appearing on his features.
Davrag whirled on his lieutenant, face a picture of rage, "I want them dead, you hear me?! I want that ferret killed and bring me his head so I know he's dead! Do it! Kill them or you and the entire company is dead, you hear me!?"
Davrag stormed passed Yarel, missing the acquiescing 'yessir' that followed. He whirled into the main hall in the inn, waiting for his troops to assemble. He listened to his heart pound in his chest and every beat seemed to whisper 'Jald Nightson lives, Jald Nightson lived.'
Davrag had seen Jald fight, had fought with him once before and though he was have both his sword arms hacked off and his tail tied into knots before he ever admitted it, he feared the ferret more then anything else in the world.
It took another ten minutes for all twenty (including Yarel and Exles) to assemble in front of him. Davrag kept his voice calm and expression neutral, a far cry from the wild-eyed, screaming figure he had been just ten minutes before, "I hoped to see soldiers before me today." He began.
His eyes narrowed and he snarled, "Instead I see miserable failures!" The soldiers lowered their heads but Exles narrowed his eyes and growled, reaching for his broadsword.
Several seconds later, Davrag was rubbing his knuckles and watching two soldiers help the rat to his feet. He waited under Exles was on his feet. He gave the rat a glare and Exles lowered his eyes, admitting defeat. Davrag continued, "The traitor to your Academy, Jald Nightson, breathes. This is your failure as soldiers. I am going to allow you a chance to redeem yourselves now though.
"Exles," He nodded to the rat, "I want you to choose three soldiers. Once you have done so, you shall go into Tilverin and you will find this little club of companions. When you have found them, kill them! The manner in how this is done means nothing to me. The only one that matters among the deceased is Jald Nightson. Kill the others if you can, but I want Nightson killed! Is this in any way unclear?"
Exles shook his head, turning to the soldiers, selecting three soldiers at random, all rats. "Y'all...come wit' me."
The three rats looked to Davrag and he nodded. "Yarel, take the others and get out of the city. Head to the mountains and wait for me there. I will remain in this city for a brief time to insure Exles carries out his mission to the letter."
Exles swallowed hard, recognizing the familiar tone of voice as Davrag wore a most sinister grin, "Be off with you now. I will be watching, Exles. And I never tolerate failure, nor do I tolerate incompetence. Just ask Tazak."
Exles lowered his head and practically raced from the inn, followed by the three rats.
That night, Eroket and Jald traveled through the streets of Tilverin as a speedy rate, having left Boneflower, Deran, Cadion and Morik at the tavern to 'eat, drink and be merry' in Cadion's words (For tomorrow, they would die, Eroket have jokingly added, earning him a joking smack from Cadion and Boneflower.)
"Jald, what exactly are we looking for here?"
The tall ferret didn't give him an answer at first, scanning the streets and the buildings. They were in the 'business' section of the city. This of course meant quite large signs, beasts doing business everywhere and many of the buildings having balconies.
Eroket turned to one vendor, flicking him a small silver piece and taking an apple, nodding to the squirrel vendor before taking a bite of the fruit he had just purchased. "I was hungry," was his explanation to Jald as he followed in the ferret's stride.
Jald gave his customary 'hn.' "Don't let your guard down, Ero. If Davrag passed this way, he definitely dropped this way. Which means we can expect company from his soldiers. Davrag is bright enough to leave soldiers behind to deal with us, and he'll have both Vandashira's soldiers and Academy ones, giving him quite the team."
Eroket rolled his eyes, "For the love of Vulpuz, Jald, you worry waaay too much."
"I'm just cautious." Jald replied evenly, "It kept me and your father alive many a time."
"Right..." Eroket nodded, "Jald, what'd Boney want to talk to you about yesterday?"
"Oh, it was a private issue and nothing for you to concern yourself with, Eroket. So, drop it."
"Fine, fine." Eroket sighed, "On the way back from the hunt can we-"
"Get down!"
A beast with a drawn crossbow could be seen on the balcony, aiming at Eroket. The crossbow was partially hidden by a cloak and the average passerby never would have noticed it. Jald Nightson was not an average passerby though.
The ferret flung himself upon Eroket, knocking them both to the ground, the ferret rolled over, using the second he had gained to fling a dagger.
The weapon didn't hit Jald's intended target but instead hit his crossbow, throwing off his aim for just a moment. That moment was when the rat fired. The bolt thankfully struck no bystanders and buried itself in the ground.
"Idiot, ye missed!" A shrill voice with a twinge of nervousness in it shrieked. The rat on the balcony looked stricken and took a step back before a throwing dagger hit him in the neck and he toppled back.
Shrieks arose through the crowd as the sounds of steel rasping as they passed from their sheaths were heard. Jald drew his sword and Eroket did likewise.
"Kill them!" The nervous, insane voice screamed."
Two rats lunged forward, both lunging at Jald, who blocked their attacks swiftly, stepping back with a grin.
"Eroket, take one of them, I'll get the other and-"
Eroket didn't hear the rest, spinning and raising his sword as Exles sprang at him, parrying the rat's broadsword in a quick motion, turning his back on Jald.
The mad rat grinned and stepped back. The spectators were beginning to lose their initial shock and were beginning to view the battle as a spectacle.
"Ten coins on the white weasel!" One beast called.
"Twice that on the rat wid a scar for a face!" Another shouted.
Exles snarled in rage as the insult from the spectator but managed to channel that rage into his fight as he lunged forward, cutting at Eroket's head and body.
"Who the hell are you?! Who do you work for?"
A cold grin formed over the rat's face, "I serve Vandashira, the Living Darkness only, ermine...she wants ya dead!"
Eroket raised his blade to block a thrust at his midsection, sidestepped a punch. The ermine thought of running but that would leave Jald to all three of the rats. The only way he was leaving was if he killed Exles first. So be it.
The ermine suddenly hurled his sword into the air in front of him and moved forward. Exles's gaze was drawn to the hurled sword and that time allowed Eroket to kick him in the side and grab his blade as it fell to the ground.
The cheers drowned out the sickening sound as Eroket's blade bit into the rat's knee and leg. The tip of the blade only passed an inch into Exles's knee, but it was more then enough to cripple him. Exles shifted his weight to his uninjured leg, sprang away from Eroket and fell to the floor.
The crowd watched with breathless excitement as Eroket sprang on the downed killer. The ermine's blade swept through the air and Exles rolled and struck with his broadsword. As the ermine leaned into his attack a splatter of blood flew from his shoulder. Fearful that the slash had severed an artery, the ermine ducked into a crouch, paw clamping over the cut.
Losing the use of a leg hadn't slowed the insane rat. The killer drove his blade into the floor, pushing off with his good leg and vaulted towards Eroket with a howl, twisting in midair to position his strong leg outward. In the split second before the rat met his enemy, Eroket flung himself to the side, thrusting up with his blade as Exles landed over him, focusing all his strength into a swing of his sword as Jald had taught him. Then Eroket felt the blade pierce flesh and crack bone as it hit the rat in the chest.
The ermine ripped the blade loose, watching Exles's eyes widen in shock, the broadsword falling from his paws. His face frozen in an expression of bitterness and anger, Exles fell to the ground and died.
Eroekt looked to Jald to se ethe ferret long finished with his opponents, nodding to the ermine once. A commotion on a nearby balcony alerted the ermine and he raises his eyes. He wasn't prepared for the sight that greeted him.
Davrag stood beneath a flickering torch, staring down at the bloodied ermine through narrow eyes. The two stoats locked eyes for a moment and a wicked grin crossed the face of the ebon furred stoat. Somebeast passed in front of Ero at that moment, obscuring his view of the balcony. When the ermine looked at the balcony again, Davrag was gone.
"A true champion!" A weasel called out, walking to the ermine, "What would y'like? Gold, women, power, secrets? Name it and tis yours!"
"Secrets..." Eroket hissed wearily. "What of the-"
"Come with me then," The weasel smiled, "we'll bind yer wound and tell ye all ye wish to know! And never mind th' bodies. It'll be taken care of, lad."
Eroket met Jald's eyes and was surprised to see the ferret uninjured and barely breathing hard, calling out, "Get to the others! Meet me at the tavern. Davrag...Davrag's here!"
The last vision he saw of Jald before he turned to go with the weasel was Jald turning and dashing through the crowd in the direction of the tavern.