Continued from The Night's Chill.
4 7 - V H A L A R - 7 1 7 . . .
. . . S O M E W H E R E I N THE EASTERN PLAINS
. . . CLOSEST TO VOLANTA
4 7 - V H A L A R - 7 1 7 . . .
. . . S O M E W H E R E I N THE EASTERN PLAINS
. . . CLOSEST TO VOLANTA
There were around thirty of them, in all.
The Bloody Massibex was a small Yari mercenary company, by comparison to most. Thirty was better than twenty though, and far better than ten. Yet it was enough to prolong talks before action was taken. Almost all morning the main leaders of the company had spent arguing with each other. Bickering back and forth about strategies of approach - and what would be done once that had been accomplished.
"We can't storm into a Necromancer's home!" insisted Klaude, a transplant to Yaralon from Scalvoris, who was most known for the fact that he always wore a pair of thin spectacles, even while fighting. His rapier hung on a gilded sash around his light steel armor.
"Why the fates not," snapped Rosemond, hand tight against her battle axe. A soldier from Rynmere, who considered herself more Yari than Ryn due to simple personality preferences of her lifestyle. Rosemond enjoyed dueling, to the point of slaughter sometimes. Her heavy platemail proved this fact, with hardly a space of her left unarmored and helm at her side ready to cover her head.
The lieutenant of the merc company - a position more to do with his cut of the pay than any leadership - groaned and scratched at his balding head while the other two bickered about their vastly different approaches. In the trees and bushes of the dried out landscape, the rest of the company watched and listened while also muttering about whether they'd ever get going or not.
Hyde kept leaned against one of those trees, arms tightly crossed, and his gaze on the young scout and her fiance. They looked horribly hungover from the liquor they'd drank the previous night. The young woman kept leaning on the broad warrior frame of her lover, and holding back lurches of nausea with her hand. Great. Out of all thirty mercs, she was the only one willing to practice scouting alongside him. He suspected it had more to do with her disinterest to be placed in actual fighting tactics than any interest in scouting itself. He had a couple of guys before, but they'd quit after the last job.
"Someone better decide what we're doing quick," mentioned a shorter man, with thick Yari dialect, who strung a bow. "Night's gonna fall then we'll be at a disadvantage. Necromancers draw their power from the dark."
"No, they don't," chided a thin woman, petite frame wrapped in leather armor, with a slight grimace of distaste for the bowman.
"Oh, y' an expert on necromancers, blondie? You know one, eh? I did, once. Arcs ago. Weak as a mouse in the day, almost immortal at night! Trust me, we don't want to be taking 'em on in the dark."
"I'm not afraid of some shadows," she scoffed and shook her head. The woman turned her gaze to the lieutenant and she asked, "How much we gettin' paid? We get paid more if there are less of us, yeah?" She glanced at the bowman again. He glared at her.
Hyde closed his eyes then, and settled to lightly sleep while the voices burst out into argument when provoked by the reminder of both payment and of possible elimination of that coin being split between them.
At least until he felt a small tug on his sleeve. He opened one eye to look at a lean ... boy. Tall and old enough to be called a man, by a generous sort, but Hyde only saw a boy looking back at him with the naive curiosity of brown eyes. He moved his arm away from the touch, then grunted, "What?"
"Yer name is Hyde, right?" he asked.
"Close enough..." Hyde waited expectantly for why the kid was bothering his attempt to get some rest. When nothing came immediately and the boy seemed unsure, he said, "Spit it out."
"Was wonderin' if I could come 'long with the scout and all," offered the boy with a shrug. "I ent got much experience, but I got sharp eyes enough, I thinks."
Hyde glanced past to the young woman from before, who'd turned to the side to retch out her guts it seemed. He hummed, then looked back to the kid and said, "Sure."
"Thanks!" said the boy enthusiastically. He flipped back his mess of auburn locks, then held out a hand and said, "Name's Jamik."
A quick shake of the hand, then Hyde returned to cross his arms. He shut his eyes with nothing more than another grunt of acknowledgment.
"What are you doing?" asked Jamik.
"...Trying to rest."
"Should I be doing thats?"
Hyde sighed, and without opening his eyes, he said, "Do whatever you want. But don't be asking me about it."
"Oh- right, sorry..."
"When it's time for us to go, we'll know i-"
"Oy, scout!" Rosemond's voice cut clear through the murmurs. "Look alive, we've got a plan."
"We do not," retorted Klaude.
"Aye, that we do," insisted Rosemund. She reached over to grab Klaude by the front of his collar. He dodged the grab, though and stuck up a rude gesture of a hand. She growled, then lifted her battle axe. "You want to dance, four-eyes?"
Klaude huffed, though his hand rested on the handle of his rapier.
"Stop it, you two," snapped the lieutenant. "Gared is right-" he gestured to the bowman from before. "We need to make a decision and quick. Otherwise, we're camping out here another night and starting up again tomorrow. I don't know about ya'll, but I want to get this job over and done with and get back to where I can sleep in a bed warmed by my three fine wives! Not surrounded by you lot, no offense."
Some mutters traded between the mercenary company. Klaude fixed his gloves, then said, "Fine. I guess we will simply waltz right in to the necromancer's home and have a spot of tea before cutting off his head! Brilliant plan!"
"Not gonna make a difference if we wait until it's dark," retorted Rosemond. "Least this way, we all can see what's where and nothing gonna be hiding 'bout."
"How's the climb down there?" asked the lieutenant while he looked at Hyde.
Hyde shrugged, but he moved away from the tree to get a bit closer to the other three. "Not too bad. Those with more weight are going to have a tough time with the incline. Lot of roots and rocks to avoid, loose dirt that'll give away. The house is in that valley though, so there should be another way around on the opposite side that might not be as steep but we didn't get the chance to look it over. There is cover, on the one path, behind a dead tree that could hide at least six of us."
"There's a walkway once you get down, about big enough for one, two people, rest is wild long grass," he explained and made a gesture around his hip-level with his hand. "About this high. Once past the tree, the grass is cut down some, 'bout to the knees until you get to the estate yard past the perimeter fence. Gate is broken, so it isn't shut, and the fence is low enough to jump over."
"Couple o' dogs," he mentioned. "looks like they get fed in the evening, so they'll probably be hungry."
Hyde paused and recalled the light he'd seen in the window of the house... he didn't say anything about it, though. What would he say? That he got spooked by some odd reflection or shadow? He doubted it had anything to do with the necromancer, and more to do with the ominous nature of the estate itself. Just tricks of the eye... he considered to mention it, though, while he watched the three leaders start to converse about strategy again.
"There was..." he started, though it took a moment before attention returned to him. He finished, "...was something in the window. But I don't know what it was."
Frowns greeted him, of varied features, then Rosemond laughed and said, "Probably one of the necromancer's abominations! We'll take its head off like the rest!"
"Alright, enough blabbering," said the lieutenant while he got up and collected his weapons. "We'll split into two, opposite ways, one through the front of the house and the other through the back. Meet in the middle and kill anything you run into. Just remember to keep the head so we can collect the bounties. Any questions?"
The thirty-some company burst into a chorus of immediate comments and questions. The lieutenant waved a hand with a grumble, then waved his hand one way and then the other, "Everyone on this side, you're with Rosemond. Everyone on this side, with Klaude. Hyde, take Rosemond around the side you haven't gotten before. Agreed? No? I don't care. It's agreed. Let's head out."
Though some murmurs lingered, the company gathered what they needed, and split like the lieutenant had said. Under the midday sun, they all started on the path to the necromancer's manor.
The Bloody Massibex was a small Yari mercenary company, by comparison to most. Thirty was better than twenty though, and far better than ten. Yet it was enough to prolong talks before action was taken. Almost all morning the main leaders of the company had spent arguing with each other. Bickering back and forth about strategies of approach - and what would be done once that had been accomplished.
"We can't storm into a Necromancer's home!" insisted Klaude, a transplant to Yaralon from Scalvoris, who was most known for the fact that he always wore a pair of thin spectacles, even while fighting. His rapier hung on a gilded sash around his light steel armor.
"Why the fates not," snapped Rosemond, hand tight against her battle axe. A soldier from Rynmere, who considered herself more Yari than Ryn due to simple personality preferences of her lifestyle. Rosemond enjoyed dueling, to the point of slaughter sometimes. Her heavy platemail proved this fact, with hardly a space of her left unarmored and helm at her side ready to cover her head.
The lieutenant of the merc company - a position more to do with his cut of the pay than any leadership - groaned and scratched at his balding head while the other two bickered about their vastly different approaches. In the trees and bushes of the dried out landscape, the rest of the company watched and listened while also muttering about whether they'd ever get going or not.
Hyde kept leaned against one of those trees, arms tightly crossed, and his gaze on the young scout and her fiance. They looked horribly hungover from the liquor they'd drank the previous night. The young woman kept leaning on the broad warrior frame of her lover, and holding back lurches of nausea with her hand. Great. Out of all thirty mercs, she was the only one willing to practice scouting alongside him. He suspected it had more to do with her disinterest to be placed in actual fighting tactics than any interest in scouting itself. He had a couple of guys before, but they'd quit after the last job.
"Someone better decide what we're doing quick," mentioned a shorter man, with thick Yari dialect, who strung a bow. "Night's gonna fall then we'll be at a disadvantage. Necromancers draw their power from the dark."
"No, they don't," chided a thin woman, petite frame wrapped in leather armor, with a slight grimace of distaste for the bowman.
"Oh, y' an expert on necromancers, blondie? You know one, eh? I did, once. Arcs ago. Weak as a mouse in the day, almost immortal at night! Trust me, we don't want to be taking 'em on in the dark."
"I'm not afraid of some shadows," she scoffed and shook her head. The woman turned her gaze to the lieutenant and she asked, "How much we gettin' paid? We get paid more if there are less of us, yeah?" She glanced at the bowman again. He glared at her.
Hyde closed his eyes then, and settled to lightly sleep while the voices burst out into argument when provoked by the reminder of both payment and of possible elimination of that coin being split between them.
At least until he felt a small tug on his sleeve. He opened one eye to look at a lean ... boy. Tall and old enough to be called a man, by a generous sort, but Hyde only saw a boy looking back at him with the naive curiosity of brown eyes. He moved his arm away from the touch, then grunted, "What?"
"Yer name is Hyde, right?" he asked.
"Close enough..." Hyde waited expectantly for why the kid was bothering his attempt to get some rest. When nothing came immediately and the boy seemed unsure, he said, "Spit it out."
"Was wonderin' if I could come 'long with the scout and all," offered the boy with a shrug. "I ent got much experience, but I got sharp eyes enough, I thinks."
Hyde glanced past to the young woman from before, who'd turned to the side to retch out her guts it seemed. He hummed, then looked back to the kid and said, "Sure."
"Thanks!" said the boy enthusiastically. He flipped back his mess of auburn locks, then held out a hand and said, "Name's Jamik."
A quick shake of the hand, then Hyde returned to cross his arms. He shut his eyes with nothing more than another grunt of acknowledgment.
"What are you doing?" asked Jamik.
"...Trying to rest."
"Should I be doing thats?"
Hyde sighed, and without opening his eyes, he said, "Do whatever you want. But don't be asking me about it."
"Oh- right, sorry..."
"When it's time for us to go, we'll know i-"
"Oy, scout!" Rosemond's voice cut clear through the murmurs. "Look alive, we've got a plan."
"We do not," retorted Klaude.
"Aye, that we do," insisted Rosemund. She reached over to grab Klaude by the front of his collar. He dodged the grab, though and stuck up a rude gesture of a hand. She growled, then lifted her battle axe. "You want to dance, four-eyes?"
Klaude huffed, though his hand rested on the handle of his rapier.
"Stop it, you two," snapped the lieutenant. "Gared is right-" he gestured to the bowman from before. "We need to make a decision and quick. Otherwise, we're camping out here another night and starting up again tomorrow. I don't know about ya'll, but I want to get this job over and done with and get back to where I can sleep in a bed warmed by my three fine wives! Not surrounded by you lot, no offense."
Some mutters traded between the mercenary company. Klaude fixed his gloves, then said, "Fine. I guess we will simply waltz right in to the necromancer's home and have a spot of tea before cutting off his head! Brilliant plan!"
"Not gonna make a difference if we wait until it's dark," retorted Rosemond. "Least this way, we all can see what's where and nothing gonna be hiding 'bout."
"How's the climb down there?" asked the lieutenant while he looked at Hyde.
Hyde shrugged, but he moved away from the tree to get a bit closer to the other three. "Not too bad. Those with more weight are going to have a tough time with the incline. Lot of roots and rocks to avoid, loose dirt that'll give away. The house is in that valley though, so there should be another way around on the opposite side that might not be as steep but we didn't get the chance to look it over. There is cover, on the one path, behind a dead tree that could hide at least six of us."
"There's a walkway once you get down, about big enough for one, two people, rest is wild long grass," he explained and made a gesture around his hip-level with his hand. "About this high. Once past the tree, the grass is cut down some, 'bout to the knees until you get to the estate yard past the perimeter fence. Gate is broken, so it isn't shut, and the fence is low enough to jump over."
"Couple o' dogs," he mentioned. "looks like they get fed in the evening, so they'll probably be hungry."
Hyde paused and recalled the light he'd seen in the window of the house... he didn't say anything about it, though. What would he say? That he got spooked by some odd reflection or shadow? He doubted it had anything to do with the necromancer, and more to do with the ominous nature of the estate itself. Just tricks of the eye... he considered to mention it, though, while he watched the three leaders start to converse about strategy again.
"There was..." he started, though it took a moment before attention returned to him. He finished, "...was something in the window. But I don't know what it was."
Frowns greeted him, of varied features, then Rosemond laughed and said, "Probably one of the necromancer's abominations! We'll take its head off like the rest!"
"Alright, enough blabbering," said the lieutenant while he got up and collected his weapons. "We'll split into two, opposite ways, one through the front of the house and the other through the back. Meet in the middle and kill anything you run into. Just remember to keep the head so we can collect the bounties. Any questions?"
The thirty-some company burst into a chorus of immediate comments and questions. The lieutenant waved a hand with a grumble, then waved his hand one way and then the other, "Everyone on this side, you're with Rosemond. Everyone on this side, with Klaude. Hyde, take Rosemond around the side you haven't gotten before. Agreed? No? I don't care. It's agreed. Let's head out."
Though some murmurs lingered, the company gathered what they needed, and split like the lieutenant had said. Under the midday sun, they all started on the path to the necromancer's manor.
