The EARTH story - May 17, 1372
In the morning, Raz and Beth head over to the mage's guild and begin training Farad and Brennon.
Kithus and Aldarin returned to the inn the previous evening.
It is a warm but drizzly morning in Sandas. A brisk wind sweeps over the city out of the south.
Aldarin also heads out, to keep an appointment he made previously.
It is late afternoon at the Inn of the Drunken Dwarf. The place is popular today, and the common room is crowded with mercenaries. Many of these are dwarves, coming out of the Dwardarf to sign up in the Baron's armies to fight the war in the south.
Two young men enter the room. They are not together, it seems. One is a rather handsome and charismatic specimen, while the other has a slightly - for want of a better term - oriental appearance about him.
They look around the room and see tables full of dwarves and plainly dressed men, all obviously mercenaries. Away in a corner, though they spot three people who look unlike the rest of the crowd. Two are elves, one high, the other sylvan; while the third is a man. It is the quality of their equipment that sets them apart from the mercenaries, though. Instead of the standard issue chain mail and battle axes that the dwarves carry, or the patched leathers and pitted broadswords that the human mercenaries are equipped with, these people wear quality armour, nice cloaks and carry good blades in fancy sheathes.
Clearly they are a notch or two above the rest of the crowd.
Kithus studies the two men as they enter the bar, then whispers to his companions. "There is something about these two that just entered the bar. I can't quit put my finger on it. What do you think?"
One of the men goes over to the bar, takes a stool and sits down.
"Aye, sar, what'll it be?" asks the barkeep, then looks at the man and his kit a little closer. "One o' Yuri's boys, ain't ye?"
Kithus listens closely to the conversation between the man and the barkeeper, while pretending to be involved in a conversation of his own.
Kellogg looks around and figures being that he is the last to sit, the barkeep must be addressing him.
"An ale, please," Kellogg responds in a stong but polite tone. He then furrows his brow. "I do not know Yuri. I'm sorry."
Trying to force a smile to overcome the potential embarrassment of a mistaken identity, Kellogg turns back to the party in the corner while waiting for his drink.
Luthus the innkeeper shakes his head.
"Errr, actually I was meanin' the feller over there by the door," he says, motioning to the other newcomer. Then he hurries off to fetch a beer.
Taking a stool beside the oriental man, the other newcomer replies, "If you are asking me then the answer is yes, I am, or at least was one of Yuri's men. I rode from Castle Yuri this very day."
"Aye," innkeeper says, "Thought ye looked familiar. How is the old paladin? An' what'll ye have?"
"He's well, though I think he's restless to join the battle in the south I think, he's expecting to be ordered there anytime now. It is unfortunate but things are going badly for Nlad, I mean how long has the Baron of Sandas been gone, 3 or 4 months?"
"Since the start of February," Luthus the innkeeper replies. "We don't hear a lot up here 'bout how the war is going...which I don't think bodes well. What other news do ye have?"
"Anyway, an ale if you will, barkeep, I'm celebrating my release."
"Aye, this one's on th' house!"
Aldarin orders more wine and asks to have some snacks of some sort brought over. Preferably some fruit, or bread & cheese. "When do we head back to the drow caverns?"
"Who IS Yuri?" Kellogg asks the two, as long as he has been inadvertantly pulled into conversation.
Upon hearing the the fellow beside him ask about Yuri, "You must not be from around here friend, tales of Yuri's deeds have spread far to be sure, but moreso sometimes I think Yuri himself has told everyone who will listen in a week's ride of his castle of his many great deeds, I know I have heard them often enough, but let me introduce myself, I am Graydon, Armgiver of Tyr."
Up on hearing that, Kithus turns to his champaions, "I think that this place called Nlad could really use some help, maybe when we join up with the others, we should go check it out. It could mean good money."
At this point three more people walk into the common room: a serious looking elf, a woman and a young man in the robes of a mage. They see Kelar, Kithus and Aldarin at a table, while nearby, at the bar, stand two other men. Luthus has been talking to them.
The inn is quite busy this evening.
"Hey Farad," Luthus calls over to the serious elf with a grin. "Here's someone ye should meet! Graydon, lately in the service of Yuri!"
"Yuri eh?" The elf walks over. "So, are you a pompous, arrogant bastard like him as well?"
"Oh-oh," says Luthus.
The woman in mage's robes chuckles under her breath, and goes over and follows Farad. She looks to be in her late thirties; she's of average build. Her skin is light, her nose slight, her eyes brown. Her black hair hangs past her shoulders, and the bronze hairpiece she has holding it back doesn't seem to keep it entirely under control. She's wearing a forest green tunic, a pair of belted grey knickers, and a dark maroon cloak thrown open.
Waving the other young man over with her, the woman says, "Farad, are you going to introduce us to your friends?"
"Egads," mutters Luthus, fearing an impending brawl, "Now Farad, calm yerself down. Drinks are on th' house this round. What'll ye have?"
Luthus turns to the other man, who entered at the same time as Graydon.
"An' I don't believe I caught yer name, sar. Ye don't look like a local. Are ye from th' south?"
Kellogg returns his right hand to the pouch holding his stars, and lightly fingers them as his eyes flash back and forth between Luthus and Graydon.
"I am Kellogg Castain, and no...I am not a local. I'm rather new to these places, in fact."
Before discussing his homeland, he looks at the barkeep and then back to Luthus.
"I trust that the barkeep is wrong, and there will be no brawling here. Am I correct?"
Kellogg does not reveal his weapons, but does straighten his posture to prepare for any potential violence.
"Well, Mister Castain, pleased to make yer acquaintance. An' I hope there will be no brawlin' here in my fine establishment!"
"Worry not Luthus, this elf here has the right of it, Yuri is both pompous and arrogant, though bastard is a bit much. However, I have no wish to start a fight over such a trivial thing, " reassures Graydon to the innkeeper.
Aldarin continues to look quietly on in anticipation of the upcoming conflict.
Turning his attention to the elf, Graydon continues, "Although I can't dispute those facts, Yuri has also done much good. What grievance do you have with him that causes you to speak ill of one such as him?"
Farad starts up.
"He has slandered me. Dared to question my holy Calling!" Farad says as his voice rises. "Would the gods give the gift of healing to one not worthy? Have I not done all in my power to help my companions? Have I not urged them to strive all the more to quench evil? Yet that 'paladin' deems me not fit to wear the same title as himself."
Farad almost seems to glow with a holy aura as he speaks passionately. "But that is a personal affront and I pay it little heed. It was Yuri in my eyes who proved himself unworthy to be called the paladin by his next action. For the thing that burns me most is that he claims to be the holy warrior, a leader of men. But when his men go out into the field and do his bidding, he cuts them off and doesn't support them.
"That is what he did to us. What do you think of a general who sends his men out to do a job, but then doesn't support them properly when the work gets dirty? Did we aid the enemy? No! Did we do anything other than the job he charged us with? No! But rather than praise us for a job well done, he washes his hands of us because he didn't want his name sullied. Such isn't a leader in my eyes, but a politician. A man looking out only for himself. Does he think about the poor farmers who might be killed by the bandits we slew? No, he thinks about his own name. Does he praise us for ridding this world of an evil? No, he accuses us instead. I guess he would rather the bandits lived to rob again. Tell that to the poor farmer who's livestock have been pillaged. The job was done, but he didn't have the backbone to take credit for it."
Farad's words have utter conviction to them. You can tell this elf believes everything he says.
Farad turns to the others present in the bar. "Think of what this means. This nation is at war, and Yuri might very well be one of the men leading the battle. Do you want your family serving under him? Do you want a man who doesn't support his troops sending your loved ones off to combat? What happens if they are forced to kill the enemy? What happens if the battle turns bloody? Better watch out, or Yuri the Famous won't be around to help. Can't sully himself.
"Yuri the Paladin. Before you think that he was simply compassionate and didn't desire unwanted harm to the enemy, think of what he did to his friends. Yuri the Politician he should rightly be named. Yes we went out and butchered the evil that he hired us for. What did he expect? Were we not his hirelings? Weren't our actions done in his name and at his bidding? He thought not! But even if he thought us too rough, that is no excuse for the harsh treatment he imposed afterward. Compassionate? Hardly. He banned us from his castle... an exile I have no trouble with. But one that separated some of our party from their very homes. Is that the mark of a compassionate man? Is that the mark of a wise man? No. I took full credit for our actions, but he took his indignation out upon the innocents of my party. Where is the fairness of the paladin that is so legendary?
"Yuri the Name Seeker is what he should be called. Yes he has done some 'good' in this world, but it seems only when such suits him. When he's called to help others fight evil, he is more concerned with himself."
Kellogg's eyes widen as he listens to the Elf speak. When the speech is done, Kellogg turns back to Luthus and Graydon.
"Is...is this true? Surely there must be some compromise between the story this Elf tells and your perception of valour? Did Yuri truly abandon these hirelings?"
Luthus, looking almost stunned into silence, looks to Farad for the details of this tale of horror.
Farad then turns to Luthus.
"Spend not your money to protect that man name Yuri. The drinks as you say are on the house, but I'll pay for them." Farad drops a 100 gp gem on the counter.
At the sight of the gem and Farad's words, the crowd erupts with applause and starts ordering drinks to beat the band.
"Such is the charity I have for my fellows. Such a payment is small consequence in comparison to the slight that man did me and my friends."
Some of the mercenaries mutter and nod.
"You've got my vote, paladin," says one.
"The incident that you describe, as I remember it, is distinctly different from your accounting of things."
"True or false, did you not offer those bandits surrender, and then in turn murder them under the promise of mercy? As a matter of fact, you game them Yuri's word that no harm would come to them if they surrendered!"
The paladin shakes his head. "Both true and false. I gave them Yuri's word they would get a trial, and a trial they got right then and there. Guilty as accused. Was I wrong to do so? I was Yuri's agent in the field, or thus was my understanding. He charged us with killing these bandits. That I did. They will not bother anyone anymore. Mercy they got with a quick death by my sword. It seems a better death than rotting away in some dungeon before the eventual hangman's noose. I certainly did not promise they would not come to any harm. I kept my word to the letter."
"A real paladin would follow the spirit of his word, not honor it to the letter. If I was told I would get a trial by Yuri, I would expect a trial by Yuri, not one of his proxies."
Farad shakes his head. "I did not promise them that Yuri would try them. I only promised them a trial. Don't put words in my mouth. You know an awful lot about this case for one who was not there. I for one have not talked about it until now. It makes me wonder if Yuri has been slandering me yet again."
"Not only did you break your word you committed murder, 'paladin'. In the process you also damaged Yuri's good name. He was fully just in evicting you from his castle. You are lucky Yuri is compassionate, he could have killed you over such a breach of his honor."
"Bah. How is it murder to kill the people I was hired to kill?"
"They didn't even get a chance to defend themselves in that sham of a trial, where the verdict was all but certain. At the very least you could have bested them in a trial of combat, where they had some chance, but instead you killed an unarmed man! I equate that with murder!"
The elf shrugs. "We didn't catch this fellow by circumstantial evidence. There was no doubt of his crimes. What defense could he give? Yes the verdict was all but certain. What other verdict could there be? You don't have mercy on the guilty, especially those who kill indiscriminately the weak and innocent."
"Is Yuri going to kick all the soldiers fighting in the war out when they have to kill in the field? I was hired to kill these vermin, not negotiate with them. And I admit using deception. I admitted such to Yuri. If he wanted to make an example, he could have done so just with me, but instead he takes his vengeance out on innocents of my party. Well, I for one am of the belief that it is better a bandit's blood on the field than mine. When it comes to the war effort, would you rather have a cunning general or one that sends your sons straight into the gullet?"
"I fought under Yuri's command for 3 years, and would do so again if was asked. In that time he never gave an order he wasn't willing to carry out himself. It is hard, but we have to hold ourselves to higher moral standards then our enemies, lest we become like them ourselves. Still that doesn't mean Yuri can't be cunning, he just won't resort to outright lies to see the blood of his enemy upon the ground."
"And again I told no lie. I was exact to my word. If Yuri or any other says I lied, then they slander me. If you consider it a lie of omission, then I will agree to that. I admitted as much already. Such was my ruse to subdue the bandits. If Yuri found fault in my methods, he should have made issue of it with me and me alone."
"Of course if you were a true paladin, you would understand that the end doesn't always justify the means, and more importantly you would understand that a paladin's honor is his most important possession, an honor that you seemingly sullied!"
"The end doesn't justify the means is strong medicine to take when blood is on the line. Is that what Yuri will tell the parents of grieving sons? Well, I for one don't buy that answer."
"What do you know of grieving parents , my father died fighting for Yuri! He fought bravely and with honor, and would have had it no other way. He always said it is better to die fighting honorably than to live in dishonor."
"I know nothing of grieving parents, as mine were slaughtered by raiders. I see my duty as keeping that from happening to others."
"If you are happy your father is dead, good for you. I for one try to prevent unnecessary bloodshed of those who work with me."
"An enemy is an enemy and one should use all one's wits to defeat them at the least cost to oneself."
"That last statement smacks of cowardice. Sometimes Tyr demands sacrifice and suffering from those following his path and only those that are strong can stay on it. I am afraid you deviated from that path long ago."
"I will not take charity from you, I will pay for my own drinks!"
Upon hearing this, some of the mercenaries start to mutter and throw dirty looks at Farad.
"Sacrifice and suffering are fine, if the cause demands it. But sacrifice and suffering when such can be avoided is foolishness at best and stupidity at worse. A commander who sacrifices his men just for honor's sake puts honor and his own name too high. In my book, a life is more important. And I'm not talking about my own life, but the lives of my fellows."
"I was in command that day, and our party was badly hurt. We could have killed the bandits in combat, but possibly at the cost of one or more of our own. Thus I offered them a peaceful end. I negotiated an end to that contract.
"Yes I deceived them. I have admitted this. But not by a direct lie. I was true to my word and intentions. I saved my team unwanted death, and fulfilled my contract.
"If this is cowardice, then call me a coward. Unlike Yuri, I care about those under my command and will not turn them away if they make an error. And if he had to punish someone, he could have done so only to me. Punishing others of our party, exiling them from their homes. That is cruel and harsh. Did Ilyana need be exiled from her family? That is what I truly hate him for."
"Gentlemen, and gentle elves, please..." says Luthus in a pleading voice.
Kithus shakes his head in wonderment at the conflict. He stands up and goes between the two.
"One kills his enemy and be done with it. He does not need to care how. Even if the killed was more honorable, he would be dead. Right? Now, we should not argue about it. It is merely points of view. Calm down and have a drink." And with some humor and mock seriousness in his voice, "Can't we all just get along?"
The grey elf nods. "Yes, what is done is done. He asked for my reasons of disliking Yuri, and I told him. If he disagrees with those reasons, that is his business."
Farad sits down. "Don't worry Luthus, this won't come to blows here. As I said, I am the one who cares about my associates. I won't bring harm to your establishment."
Farad gives the fellow a look in the eye. "We can go elsewhere and see who is the coward."
"Ahhhh," says Luthus, desperately looking to change the subject. "So what ye fellows doing these days?"
Kellogg, realizing that he has no place in this conversation, shrugs and takes a deep gulp of his drink.
"I was looking to adventure beyond my homeland, but it appears I have wandered further from adventurers and closer to soldiers. I feel much like the cactus that has appeared in the forest."
He gazes past the group to no one in particular. Perhaps merely to the wall across the way...
Another regal looking elf rises from the table and moves towards the bar, speaking as if in answer to Luthus' question, "Ridding this world of the black hearted drow that infest the ground beneath our very feet. That, and the rush of adventure before us, and comrades such as these at my side, that my dear barkeep is what I am 'up' to. I long to return to the depths of the earth to battle once again against my darkskinned cousins and welcome any who would lend a blade to our cause," he finishes clapping a hand on the back of Kellogg.
"Indeed," Beth says, pulling up a chair next to Kellogg and Aldarin. "I am with Aldarin here, and we are both working for the archmage Ray Jay. We're really spending most of our time quite a bit further North of here; we've stopped back in Sandas to recover from some wounds, and so that some of our number may train themseleves so as to be more effective in their chosen profession."
Nodding at the grey elf raising all the fuss, Beth says, "Farad over there is among our group too. He's very capable, and very reliable, and very humorless. He's grouchy a lot of the time, and won't yeild on his principles, but he's a good guy."
Holding out her right hand, she says, "I'm Elizabeth Eastlake, but everybody just calls me Beth. I'm a sort of a sorceress."
Kellogg smiles weakly at his two new friends, and gently takes the hand of Beth.
"I am Kellogg Castain, of the slain clan of Castain." he nods. "Drow..although I have not faced any in my days, I am aware of the evil they are capable of. Have they touched your lives personally?"
It then occurs to Kellogg, he has not yet let go of Beth's hand! Quickly, he retracts his hand and straightens his posture. Gently, but without a smile, he looks Beth in the eyes.
"I apologize. I was far too forward with your touch."
Kellogg turns and grabs his ale, hoping one of the others will answer his question about the Drow.
Farad appears to have run out of wind, and Graydon seems to have been overwhelmed into silence.