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Jamlamin looked at the king "Milord, the gods gave me this gift to use as i see fit, and if your as smart as you look. You know this ability would be of some use to you as i could of killed ever last one of you and you wouldn't of even known useful for assassinating a certain tyrant." He continued no hint of emotion at all in his voice

"You also would of known i could of taken you hostage and turned you right over to Fusos himself. Luckily for you and everyone in the room, i don't hurt the innocent, As for joining you i will join as long as i get half of Fusos' treasury, and a nice little vacationing home somewhere away from people." He gave the king his best smile and slipped into a shadow which he used to get over to the other side of the room out of reach of everyone. "What will it be milord? will you turn me away? or use my gift to help you win, and restore order?"

Alura's smile fell from her face at the Shadow man's words. "How can you put a price on people's lives?" She asked, sadness filling her voice at the thought of what Jamlamin said. She had never asked for payment for what she had done. Now she would not lie, she had accepted payments from the people she had saved. However, this was not because she was greedy or desired it, it was because many of these things were offered in terms of respect.There had been many times where they hadn't even been things of money worth, they had been food or additional herbs, sometimes garments, things that she could use in some form or other. She unclasped a necklace from about her throat. It was a icy blue pendant that had been hung from a white gold chain, the gem no bigger than her thumb nail. However, it was a very expensive gem, it was called a Dragon's Eye. It had been a gift from her Elven father, he had acquired it in his travels. It was a rare stone, there were few in the world.

"If you are needing money, this will catch you a fair price I'm sure. Not as much as you are requesting, but enough to get you what you need and more." Alura said, holding the necklace out in the palm of her hand. She looked to the others in the room, before her bright eyes returned to Jamlamin, a soft sadness held within them. "You have a very sad heart." She whispered in the Elven tongue.

Rilden indeed had a plan not to leave them uncared for. She was grateful, his benevolence would do well in his proper seat. Hopefully they would all be alive to see such a day. Her revelry was broken by a large centaur squeezing its way into her home.

The house was very much cramped and now messy to boot. The presence of a large centaur making his way in was unsettling to say the least. They weren't always what one would consider civilized creatures although first glance would make this one seem to be an exception to the rule. Or she was just too exhausted to care, dark circles under her eyes hid themselves in the dim light of the night. She was tired. Her body begged for sleep, but a sneeze followed by a charging centaur in her clinic made her snap awake.

“A Spy!” the large beast cried as he charged towards the window to which a man all adorned in black stood. Her counterpart calmly stopped the charging beast and withdrew a large needle towards the shadowy man.

Alura spoke, but Robyn didn't catch it all, something about people dying, poison, and paralysis. The next part was made perfectly clear. The shadow man, was a not-so-common thief.

"Like the red haired girl, I too am gifted, just in a different way and my talents could be yours for the measly sum of 200,000 thousand gold coins."

Robyn grew irritated at him despite only hearing a few sentences of him speak. The gull it takes to ask for gold for such a cause was sickening! Especially in a time like this! She obviously wasn't the only one irritated with such a proposal. His Highness did not take the offer well either.

"You think the Gods gave you those powers to make money?" He started.

Robyn nodded, satisfied in Rilden's handling of the thief. But the thief was not one to be finished so easily.

"You also would of known i could of taken you hostage and turned you right over to Fusos himself..”

Robyn remained silent, not about to entertain the thought of paying him anything for his services, not that she had any money to spend as it was. Alura, however, was willing to bargain, offering him up a rare piece of jewelry.

Robyn shook her head. No matter the outcome of the bargain, shadow-man was a lost cause and not one she's sit well being around. Still, she remained quiet. This was between them, not her.

“While you entertain his greed I'll see about getting the patients to the wagon.”

Despite her state, she started doing just that.

Rilden gently lowed Alura's hand holding the priceless gem. He stared at the man. "People who demand money to save the land from despair has no place in saving it." Rilden said. "I'm not sure if you were raised hearing the stories of the gods, but people with your powers never seem to keep their promises." He lifted up his blade to examine it. "This blade once belonged to Aleden, the true high king. Fortis has not seen battle in a very long time, but there is a legend that said that this blad was once used to slay a gift bearer that lurked in the shadows... If you keep threatening me and my companions, and I will remind you that elves are known for never missing a shot. Even in total darkness. Centaurs have extreme endurance, and we are not just some fools that you can take for granted." Rilden said, in a cold tone, just like his. He was in no time to negotiate with a killer. Yes, he was extremely dangerous. But he was no match for the gift bearer of life, two elves, and a centaur.

As Rilden talked, Rhovanor pulled out his bow, drawing an arrow and putting it in position, just to prove a point. It was never a fact, but legends say that Elves can never miss a shot. They were born with a bow in hand. He did not want to fight this man, he could be useful, but he was sure Rilden had no intentions of paying him. Rilden's will was unmatched.

Jamlamin looked at the elf girl she was offering something she valued and while the pendant could sell for a fortune the king didn't allow it, but something else made him hesitant. "I guess your right." He sighed, what the elf girl and the king were saying was hitting home, another contributing factor was what his foster mother had told him.

"While people like me can't keep our promises, i would be letting someone down if i didn't help you so i will help you, so long as you will have me." He said hoping this wouldn't be where his life ended "For free as well" He added.

As Rilden lowered her hand, Alura kept her eyes on the Shadow man. She stepped back from the two men, standing back closer to Rhovanor. She saw the hesitance in Jamlamin's eyes as he mulled over their words. When he spoke, a smile spread quickly over her face about how he agreed to help the 'King'. With a definitive clap of her hands, Alura tried to waive away the hostility in the room. "Come, my friends! There's much to be done. We have a tyrant to up throw!" She called out, trying to fasten her necklace back about her neck but her long hair hindering her in the matter.

"Our dear healer, looks as if she's going to pass out from exhaustion. How about we have some of our fine gentleman here assist her in aiding these people into the back of the wagon?" Alura said as she began to push her way past the men. She walked past Rhovanor, pushed his bow down gently, patted Chiron's arm, and strolled through Rilden and Jamlamin, smiling the whole time. She strolled over to the now sleeping child, scooped him up into her arms and walked towards the wagon to load him up.

To say the least, Rilden was very pleased to hear that the man was going to help them, and without a fee. "I am glad to hear it. Although, once we rise the kingdom again, you will be paid for your actions." Rilden said with a nod, and a hint of a smile. Everyone was going to come out of this with something.... Hope, happiness, the feeling of freedom and the ability to travel safely...

Rilden turned to see Alura next to Rhovanor, and Rilden couldn't help but laugh at the elf's face when she lowered his bow. He was clearly interested in the woman elf. "Good idea." The bearded man said, walking past Rhovanor and giving him a pat on the shoulder. He made his way outside, and towards Robyn. "Please. You have done more than enough for all of us. We will take over from here. Quickly now."

The group now worked in a fast pace, taking the healed people in to the wagon carefully. Once the wagon was filled, storm had now passed, but the clouds still covered the sky. Mud was everywhere, and in the dead of the night, a loud battle cry was heard in the nearby forest. It was time for them to depart.

As Theron was heading to The Flying Eagle inn, he could hear sound of fighting coming from somewhere east of his current position. Curious, he started following the sounds and heading towards the scene. After a couple of minutes he stumbles upon a centaur fighting viciously and passionately against a group of soldiers. Judging by the way they were dressed and the marks they were wearing the soldiers seemed to belong to Fusos. Theron quickly took shelter in the darkness of a nearby alley and he watched the scene unfold. Although he was fighting by himself against superior numbers the centaur was holding his own quite well. Normally centaurs weren't that violent but this guy was a good warrior.

Theron has been in this city many times before. The place the centaur seemed to be defending belonged to some female healer. Threron forgot her name. After the battle was over, he saw the centaur getting back inside as Theron got closer to get a better view and dodged the dead bodies on the ground. After doing that doing that he put his mask back on just in case and started listening to the conversation between all of the people inside. After hearing the introductions Theron was shocked to see that the Heir of the former king was alive and was attempting a take over. "Fusos will pay hansomely for information like this. Unfortunately for him i'm an assassin not a money hungry thief." Muttered Theron to himself quietly as he continued to listen to the rest of the conversation.

Then he heard a sneeze and saw another man exposing himself from the shadows. "No! It can't be!" Said Theron quietly. "A gift bearer??" He said again as he saw the man trying to offer his services to Rilden in exchange for an extremely healthy sum of money. After hearing the rest of the conversation Theron made a run for it, taking cover behind a building because he saw Robyn and the others coming outside with some wounded people and putting them inside a wagon. Then he heard the battle cries coming from the nearby forest. Apparently Fusos's troops were not done yet.

'twas a rather cold night outside in Damascus. The skies were clear and stars and moon were shining bright, and they were the ones bringing light onto the city. Almost full, the moon was illuminating Darlith's room. A candle on the table sat unlit, but it was just recently blown out. Darlith could not put herself to sleep, so all she was doing was looking outside, down on the street, yet there was no activity down on the street. She took out a little golden mirror that she had and took a deep look at herself. A scar on the top of her right cheek was new. The wound has closed up already, but the scar was really noticeable, and she tried to cover it, to no avail. She sighed and just rubbed her cheek.

She looked back at the room, which was filled with bluish light. She was already packed to leave, her bow and knife resting on the bed and her backpack, besides her legs. She put the golden mirror back into the backpack and stretched. Something worried her, she sensed something that couldn't let her fall asleep. She couldn't put her finger on it, yet there it was. She kept trying to reason with herself, that she's got no reason to worry. But suddenly, she learned that she had. She heard something happening down on the street and jumped towards the window, to see what was going on.

"Orcs?!" Darlith exclaimed louder than she, herself, expected. "What are they doing here? Did they actually found me, or is this a simple raid?" she asked herself. "Bloody hell, I need to move out!" she quickly grabbed her backpack and put it on, put her bow and quiver on as well, and took the knife into her hand. She silently crept up to the door and listened, if Orcs were outside in this house. When she decided that it was safe for her to get moving, she did just that. Slowly, she opened the door and hopped down the stairs. Before heading out, she took a glance outside through the window, to see, if the Orcs were still on this street, and apparently they have moved on, she she stepped outside and dashed into an alley between the houses and looked back at the street. She could see marks of wheels of a wagon or carriage of sorts, and loads of orcish feet. "What is going on here? What are Orcs doing here, this isn't a simple raid?!" her curiosity got the better of her and she peeked out to the street and as she made sure it was safe, she got out. She examined the tracks of the wheels and while she couldn't say for certain, they seemed to be rather older than the footsteps that the Orcs left. "So I take it they came here chasing after that carriage or wagon." she mumbled under her nose, when she heard shouting again and quickly dashed into the alley again, looking back to the street. Yet another party of Orcs were running towards the same direction the last party went. "Or maybe they actually found me out." she thought to herself.

She was creeping through the alleyways, trying to reach the post office, because she knew, if they found her out, a letter would have been sent and well the answer to that lied there. The second the post office came into her view, she stopped. She was still covered by the darkness of the alleyway and she looked at a man, trying to knock at the door of the post office. She chuckled to herself at the sight, but suddenly the man broke the door and got inside. Just as this happened, she ran towards the post office and hid behind the wall. He listened to the conversation between the owner of the post office and that man and got curious as to what kind of letter he might be sending. This man got out of the post office and went on his own way and Darlith slipped inside and drew her bow and pointed it at the man in the post office. "Hello. I know this might be sudden, but I need you to answer one simple question and I'll be going. Were any letters sent to Fusos in the past two days?" the man sighed "What is it with you tonight? No, I had no need to sen..." Darlith interrupted him. "And to other cities? Anything really important? Was such a letter sent out?" the man just shook his head. "Thank you." she put her bow back and threw a few coins at the man and went out. She was intrigued by the importance of the message that man sent, so her decision was to follow him, as she knew which direction he went to.

The man hadn't noticed her, or at least he made it seem that he hasn't, and she's been following him for fifteen or so minutes. She realized that this man is probably heading towards a tavern or something, so she decided to intervene. Just to sate her curiosity. She stepped out of the alley, took off her bow and was ready to draw at him. "Hey there, big boy. Turn around, I want to ask you some questions."

Nat kept going towards the wooded, at the same time the raided, part of town. He soon approached a building with lights coming through it's windows and after a closer inspection he saw that it was the inn. Nat stopped and gazed at the sign "The Golden Mug" for a few seconds. "The inkeep' must be really money-grubber if he keeps working during a raid". He smiled after the thought and probably would have continued his way however he heard somebody come out of a back alley and shout "Hey there, big boy. Turn around, I want to ask you some questions."

Nat slowly turned his head to peek behind him. He saw a woman, whose head was covered by a hood, holding a bow. She seemed to have an elvish stance, though Nat was unable to see anything else that was remarkable. Nat smiled to her, turned his head and looked at the inn again. "Hello, lass. You're not gonna get an answer from me, if you dip arrows in my precious body" he said and started going towards the inn "So you're not going to do that are you?". Before the woman could have reacted, he was already opening the door to the inn and entered it, then plumped in a free seat. Then again, there wasn't a single soul in the building except for the snoozing inkeeper. He seemed surprised by a sudden visitor and Nat just raised his hand and said "Two beers. My friend's coming in shortly."

Jamlamin was more than happy to have the blade out of his face, and was even more happy to relieve the healer of her duties "Gods, you look like a fright" He said to the healer after helping someone into the wagon, when the last of the people were being loaded onto the wagon he looked back towards the sound of the war cry "I don't think this is random." He said to no one in particular, armed with this thought in mind he worked faster.

When things were all done Jamlamin was standing next to the wagon his club in hand he had an idea but he didn't know if it would work he had seen gangs of thugs do it before when some of their own got hurt "We need to ditch the wagon, because as long as we have it they will follow it, you don't exactly miss wagon tracks in the mud, and I'm not waiting for it to get stuck." He shouted he hoped the king would listen to his plan.

"If you have any other idea on how to safely escort a dozen injured people out of the town without said wagon, I am willing to hear it." Rhovanor said with a bit of poison in his voice as he went to the top of the wagon, taking hold of the three horses. Rilden listened to Jamlamin's words. It wasn't an ideal plan actually. But it was the only one they had at the time.... The shouts were getting louder, and then, an idea struck in his mind. "We can get two wagons..." Rilden said quietly, almost to himself, then he looked up. "We will get two wagons! Rhovanor will take the one with the refugees, and whoever joins him will leave before us. The wagon I receive will work as the distraction." He turned to Jamlamin. "I will need you to come with me. When it is time for us to disappear, that's when you will use your gift." he said with a nod.

"If you are leaving with Rhovanor, prepare to leave soon. We will meet in Faycrest. Its the safest place in all of Vahldir. They will never find it." Faycrest was the most secretive place in the whole land. Very very few knew the location of it, but his family once hid there long ago from Fusos, and Rhovanor has been around for a long time, so he knew the location as well... Other than that, there wasn't many others who knew. He gave a nod to his long time elf friend, and the others, and then he made his way quickly in the town, hoping to find an unused wagon.

Darlith raised an eyebrow after the man gave her his answer. Yet it brought a smile to her face, the fact that this man was different. He didn't show fear or confusion and he used reason to deal with it. She put the bow on her back and slid the arrow into the quiver, before stepping into the pub herself. She could hear that man talking to the bartender, yet she wanted to look around. The pub was deserted, probably because of the Orcs that were in town. People didn't exactly want to leave their houses, while Darlith wasn't sure as to why exactly are the Orcs were in the city.

She approached the man, and sat down besides him. She took the beer that was obviously ordered for her and took a sip. She laid down a coin and pushed it to the bartender. "Two simple questions. Who do you work for and what was your business in the Post Office?" she gulped down some more beer.

As the woman finally entered the tavern, Nat finally had the opportunity to examine her closely. She was an elf, no doubt and dark-haired, so his first two assumptions done earlier were correct. She did not take off her hood even inside and Nat smiled from the thought. He drank some ale and by that time the woman was sitting at his table. Nat curiously watched as she gave a coin to the innkeeper. The half-elf then gave her an ironic look and took another sip of ale. Just as he was about to ask what would she want from him, Nat heard her questions.

Looking her into the eyes that were partly hidden by the hood's shadow, he waited for a few seconds and then drank some more ale. "You really want to know that, that's all?" Nat put the mug on table. "I'm Eruantien. I call myself Nat. Most people do that too." he then stopped talking and thought about something for a second, looking away. "Heck, who do I work for? I don't know. Myself? No.. Nobody? Anybody? I can work for anybody." he nodded to himself "Give me what I look for, I'll even work for you, even though I haven't the slightest clue who you are." Nat stopped talking once more and picked up the mug. It was still half-full, but the sellsword drank it all in a few gulps, then placed the mug on table. "And the business in the post office.. Let's just say I helped... An employer. To find his lost love. Or hers." he smiled and turned his gaze on the elf. "And now you owe me your story, Elf. Am I so gorgeous your business couldn't have waited morning?"

Alura looked to the King as he spoke and nodded her head. "I will ride with Rhovanor. The caravan will need all the protection it can get. What's more dangerous than an elf and a bow? Now we have two." Alura said with a grin and a wink as she hopped up into the driver's seat. With a smile she relieved Rhovanor of his bow and arrows, slinging the quiver on her back. "My... This is good craftsmanship. My father used to make bows like this, the carvings almost look like his work. He used to be able to make the wood sing for him." Alura mused with a dreamy smile as she thought of her father. She pulled a dagger hidden beneath her billowy skirts that was secured to her thigh. It was fine Elven silver with a hilt made of ivory. In it was carved an amazing barrage of flowers all across the hilt. "He carved this too." She said proudly, looking to the dagger.

Alura watched the King walk off towards the city. "He's a brave man. Good heart, he will heal this land." The Elven maiden said with a definitive nod.

Jamlamin followed after the king "Looks like it's just you and me" He said looking around for a cart but he gave up finding one after a couple of streets "Why don't we just steal one from the inn, or if this place has a market from there." He muttered as he kept stride with the king it was eerily quiet after the warcry and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end there was something out there.

Rilden gave a nod to Alura, looking up at Rhovanor and giving him a nod. He would have to agree, Chiron would also help them as well. This night turned from bad, to worse, to bad again... which, in this day and age was actually good. Jamlamin and Rilden set off in town, and it didn't take long for the theif to start to give up. Rilden had lived most of his life just going for the easier way. He wasn't doing that again. Just when he was about to agree with him, though, he spotted one. Right outside a house. "Quickly." He said quietly, going in a small jog. He gently knocked on the door, hopefully the residence would know that the soft knocking would not belong to Fusos' army.

---

Rhovanor was at a loss of words when Alura jumped up on the wagon, and taking his prized possessions. she started to talk about the craftsmanship. "My father is in charge of the hunting party in Rayacre. He would come back with something new to teach me every time he returned, helped me build this bow. Perhaps your father taught him his ways." he looked up at her, and then at her weapons. "Very fine work.." He said in approval. As if she needed it. Rhovanor watched Rilden walk away, and he listened to Alura's words. He gave a nod. "Aye, he is very different than most humans I've met." He stated. Most he had were thieves and killers, or people who only wanted money, or their own personal gain. he admits that Rilden may have been like that long ago, but he isn't now.

"We should head out. Give some space between us and the army." Rhovanor said. "Everyone pile in." He said loudly, taking the reigns.

---

"Hello, My friend and I are in dire need of your wagon. I will pay handsomely for it." Rilden said to the man who opened the door, handing a small pouch of coins. Minutes later Rilden and Jamliman were riding through the streets. They had the idea of throwing hay and a few blankets in the back to make it look like injured were in the back. Hopefully with the cloudy night sky, they wouldn't notice.

"A mercenary needs to know the person he works for? Since when this became a requirement?" she laughed at him little mockingly and started spinning around a coin on a table. "Or are you just interested in me? Anyway, Nat, thank you for your answers. I take it talking about myself would be repayment, so..." she sighed and took off her hood. "You can call me Darlith, and as you are an observant individual, you have already noticed that I'm an elf." she looked at him with a smile. "While you, yourself are from interesting birth. I wonder, was your mother an elf, or your father?" she didn't wait for his answer, but looked deeply into empty space before her, wondering if she should tell him anything more about her. She owed it to him, but she wasn't sure. Even if he is a mercenary, enough coin and he'd spill out all she said to him to anyone. "I'm being hunted down by Fusos. It's been probably good two years that I've been on a run. Which is why I had to ask you the question, because I could not risk that you sent a letter, which gave any information about me. There even were Orcs in the city tonight, because of which I just had to make sure. Do you have any clue as to what are they doing here?"