Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

ith the introductions done, there was a moment of silence between all of them. Tristan and Hart had quickly voiced their desire to learn more about Thet's language, something Sin appreciate more than they probably knew. The fact that the little sister hadn't so much as acknowledge the existence of the deaf man didn't surprise Sin in the slightest. When faced with people like her, Sin often wondered how certain people managed to be born in certain families. Between Hart and Tristan, Sin figured he'd found the most laid back and down to Idalos nobles he could find. In their sister, Sin had found the poster child of noble abuse in the world.

The six mercenaries watched the Venoras silently as they discussed a creature called Mistral and how it would cost lives to retrieve toothpaste from it. Atolini seemed to take great pleasure in putting them down during her speeches. He tried to keep up with the back and forth between the nobles so that Thetfretr could follow as well but he had to give up rather quickly. While capable of holding a conversation, Sin was nowhere near as skilled enough to interpret a live conversation between three people he didn't know about a subject he hadn't prepped for. He quickly signed an apology towards the young man, who signed his understanding back. Sin promised he'd tell him the rest later.

Sin focused back on the conversation just in time to hear Atolini's tirade on slaves being lower than animals and how much higher Hart stood above them. Somehow, Sin couldn't imagine the friendly young man standing above anyone. Then again, he was a noble by blood and face so who know what sort of a person lived behind the friendly face he shared with Tristan. He didn't know his men well enough to know how they'd react to the girl's words but he knew enough etiquette to know when not to turn his attention away from a woman. He just had to hope that between Aukey's experience and wisdom and Iemes' knightly training they'd be able to keep the other three in check.

The conversation turned back to more useful things as Tristan invited them into a sitting room. As expected, the room was far more lavish than anyone would ever need but when all three Venoras and all five of Sin's guards were in the room even the sitting room felt a little crowded. Tristan invited them in to sit but of the six of them, only Sintih took a seat. The rest of them spread out along the room so they were in view of the duke without crowding around the four of them. With every bit spent with the Duke, Sin's image of the man started to shape. That he enjoyed parties and enjoying himself had been clear from the many rumors. To see it affirmed by the wine and cake or cookies always in the presence of the Duke made Sin smile slightly. Sin was kind enough to accept a glass and toast with the Duke to an immortal who had only brought trouble in Sin's life so far.

Tristan explained why he'd taken Sin and company on while describing his situation to them at the same time. Between the RCA and the Alliance alone, Sin could understand the need for extra security. Having the locals want you out on top of that, Sin wondered why it had taken the Duke so long to get the security he needed. When he finished, Hart took over with some direct questions to the group of men gathered there. Sin looked from Hart to his team. He did his best not to linger to long on Aukey as he looked over them one by one. Magic was illegal in Rynmere and despite how the locals felt about it, the Eastern Settlements were still part of it. "Ser Hart, I'm sure you are well aware that magic is illegal in Rynmere." Sin spoke for the group, as was expected of him. "It wouldn't be good for the Duke's already difficult position if he knowingly hired mages in his employ, wouldn't it?" He left it at that. It was far from a real answer but it kept sides of the conversation safe from potential, literal, mage hunts.

"As for the immortals..." Sin turned back to his group, motioning for them to answer for themselves. Religion was not something Sin bothered much with. His men could pray to whomever they desired as long as they followed his orders when they were on duty. Gallien and Thetfretr both shook their heads. Iemes was less private about his religion. "I think Zanik's a good guy and he gets my prayers whenever I need his help." He winked in Atolini's direction as a testament to his devotion to the immortal of seduction. Sin groaned softly at the display and hoped neither of the Venoran men would take offense to it. Argun kept quiet as he simply stared at Sin. The Eídisi was smart enough to move on for now. Maybe one day the man would trust him enough to tell him.

Aukey was last and he looked from Tristan to Atolini and finally to Hart before speaking. "I met U'frek once. I didn't know it at the time but I figured it out later. I still don't know if he was there to meet me or if we simply traveled the same road but we spent a few trials together." Sin's eyes opened wide in surprise as he looked at the older mercenary. He'd actually walked next to an immortal? Impressive. Sin turned his attention back to the Venoras. "As you can see, nobody here works for an immortal. A few prayers here and there don't put the Duke's life at risk. I myself am not religious but if my house is burning down I'll ask Faldrun for any help he can give me and when the day comes that I'll breathe my last, I'll try and convince Vri to look the other way for a while."

Oh, and Aelig is my Father because I'm a Yludih... After having told, or rather shown, Saeri about his race, Sin had wondered how he felt about sharing his secret with others now. Seeing the three Venoras looking at him told him that he wasn't planning on sharing it any time soon. The fact that he prayed to Aelig was a secret on the same level as his true form. Perhaps one trial he would find himself blessed by the illusive immortal of illusion and he would have no choice but to openly proclaim his devotion. From what little he knew about immortal marks, Sin was sure his Father wouldn't give him such an obvious one.

t did sound a little like a tantrum when Hart suddenly piped up, trying to establish his non-noble blood to the six men that would be guarding the duke and his family. Sin looked back at his companions to gauge their reaction and they were all either looking at the, now, half Venora or at each other before they all looked to Sin. What was he supposed to do about it? Sin turned back to Hart. It was difficult to decide what to do here. On one hand, the man was half Venora, half noble, potentially half like Atolini. On the other hand, the man seemed to put a lot of weight to the non-Venoran side of the equation that made up his race.

"Ser Qijadi,..." Biqaj and their difficult pronunciations. "...it matters not whether you are the brother of the duke or a half-Biqaj commoner. As long as you are a guest of the duke's estate and as long as we're employed by the duke and told to do so, keeping you safe is part of our job." In an attempt to lessen the potential blow to the man's... ego? Freedom? Autonomy? Sin tried to appease the man's Biqaj side. "Same as U'frek protects you on... ocean." His Rakahi accent was thick and his skill with the language was obviously of a basic nature. He hoped all that could be forgiven in light of the, sole, Biqaj blessing Sin knew in their language. Sin turned to face Atolini and switched back to common. "This goes for anyone staying at the estate." He quickly shifted from the woman to the duke to see if he'd overstepped.

As the conversation continued, it seemed that they might have a few more things in common than Sin had expected. Religion rarely cared about social status or wealth. People of all walks of life prayed to immortals of their choice. The things they represented were beyond material wealth or social rank and status. It mattered very little to the fire that was burning your house if you were a dirt poor low towner or the son of the king of Rynmere. In the same way, the immortals, usually, didn't care about those things either. At least, they weren't supposed to.

Iemes and the duke seemed to connect over their devotion of the immortal Zanik. Considering that Iemes had the most experience with court life and would spend the most time with Tristan, this was something Sin was glad for. Aukey and Hart had a similar connection over U'frek. It wasn't as clear what Hart's connection to the immortal was but he seemed interested in Aukey's story. Perhaps the older man could be assigned as a semi-permanent guard for the young Venora bastard. In the end, Sin would pull all of his assets to guard the duke if he had to choose between any of the man's family members or the man himself. Until that point, though, Aukey could be used to forge some bond with the half-Venora.

The conversation shifted to the duke's more artistic endeavors and the man seemed to beam with excitement at the thought of showing off. Sin couldn't help a small smile. Certain things didn't change even when season had passed. While it was more a request than an order, Sin stood up as the duke did and all six of his new guards followed him out the seating room into the hallway and deeper in the house. As mentioned, the walk to the studio was short. Sin had no idea as to the artistic appreciation of his companions. He was sure Iemes had some, just to impress the ladies with. The others, he had no clue.

When he stepped into the room, that hint of apprehension towards the duke's artistic skills wavered and disappeared. As he had been unable to enter the building during the duke's play and having only ever seen a single painting from the man, which he had made together with someone else, Sin had expected something much worse. Looking at the two headed beast with the riders on top of it, Sin, with what little artistic understanding he had, could quickly tell that this was made by someone with a lot of skill. While the subject of the sculpture was a horrible sight to behold, the sculpture itself was beautifully made, almost coming to life before him.

In order to prevent them from crowding the room, the other five enjoyed a good look of the sculptures in the room and stepped back out, waiting in the hallway. Sin remained to answer Hart's question and anything else the duke or his sister might add afterwards. "Not really. We only just arrived so we should settle in first, get used to the lay of the land, in a manner of speech. Over the course of the next ten or so trials you'll see us more frequently until we've found our rhythm in your household." He nodded to Hart in thanks for offering to help out. It wasn't the duty of the half Venora nor that of the duke himself to show them around the estate. That's what nobles had servants for was it not? Sin turned towards the duke. "Perhaps if you could have one of your servants show us to where we will be staying and where the stables are. Thetfretr will take care of our horses for now. Due to his experience, I think it best that I assign Iemes to you for now, ser, until the rest of us can get used to things here."

He waited a moment to see if the duke had anything to say or add to that before continuing. He looked from the Duke back to his two family members. "We will learn your schedules from the other servants and by being present. That said, for now I would appreciate it if you'd let me know ahead of time if you're planning on going anywhere so I can arrange a proper escort. While I can not stop you from leaving on your own, I feel it is well within my duties to officially protest you leaving on your own if I feel it to be unsafe. I would hope that you will let me do my job as I see necessary." Sin turned back towards the duke. "If you could arrange for me to meet with all of your current guards sometime later this trial, that would be much appreciated. I would also like to speak with you in private as well, whenever it suits you best." Sin ended his lengthy response with a short but polite bow in the general direction of the three Venoras.