The prince lashed out of the meeting room as the two doors shut with force behind him, he could simply not believe how thick the heads of those old men were, had they failed to realize that the path they had tried again and again was simply leading to their inevitable defeat.

A wrinkled man covered in grays arose from his seat as he looked at the prince "Your highness how did it went?" he could reach some conclusions judging from the prince`s outburst but it would be rude to present them "It is in vain, my father will keep meeting them with steel even tough we have yet to win any battle against the main bulk of the riders."

The old man nodded "Then even when you presented proof he was" the prince showed a negative nod with his face "He would not even look at it, we are alone at this Lucien" the face of the prince was grim "Well my prince you need not loose your hope just yet" there was a puzzled look to Reuben, prince of Tanoa

"After all, what we gained from your father`s approval was swords and gold but they might be too focused in the war to try our methods my prince, how hard would it be to find a handpicked group to aid us in the retrieval of these objects?" the facts that Lucien had brought forth were true if a score of common men could do it, maybe a unit of extraordinary men could do it as well if not better

"Were would you have us start?" Lucien had been the prince`s professor and had educated him in the old lore as well as being the one that had groomed him to be a well loved leader of his people "All we need is people that are willing to throw it all away for this quest, your friend, lieutenant leo would be ideal for this"

"Leo?" well the man had an unyielding loyalty to the land and the lord, if he was asked to jump off a cliff by the prince`s command all he would ask is when and how, a natural leader currently he was stationed at Mulos fending off the invaders he led by example and was good at managing small groups into combat and other operations "Now that you mention him he would be the man to lead them for the gathering, but we dont know what they might find"

"I agree my prince, your sister Yiva is quite well known in certain circles surely she could help us find these individuals also... you could always allow me to handle the retrieval of this garb" the prince had always looked for answers in this man for a reason "Yes, yes very well I would like to talk to these people once they are assembled, I need to look them in the eye and convince them that should their lives be lost, they would die for the survival of our dearest kingdom Tanoa"

Lucien smiled and began to make his way off "Trouble yourself not my prince, soon the gift of magic shall be restored to our people and these invaders will learn that they don't know what fear feels like"

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Leonid sat watching the flickering candlelight on the room, he was a man of action not a guard and all this waiting was showing how little patience he had to offer, in part it was his fault after all nobody had asked for him to be so bloody early at the meeting location.

Which was another reason that was fueling his anxiety, all he had gotten was a letter from his friend, Prince Reuben urging him to return to the capital and meet him in a shady, yet high quality Inn, he said it was urgent and that it was their best bet to win the war and defeat the Eirsh horde.

If that was the case he was too eager to be part of it, he had fought the Eirsh bastards and they were relentless they fought with a zeal and fervor that shook the will of other men and their numbers seemed to had no end, they were cruel and brutal many of the peasants have yielded to them and had gotten their fields burned and their lives taken.

They were monsters driven by a hate that Leonid could not understand, why had the Horde suddenly come? The Eirsh rarely ventured outside their lands in the far fields to the west and spent fighting themselves more than anyone else, conquest was of little interest to them since they were warriors not rulers... so why had they left their homes and rode to Tanoa?

He had left the room exactly as he had found it, some flicking candles illuminated it barely revealing the faces of those inside, Leonid was not geared in the usual plate he was fond of wearing in his campaign but he still had his chain mail armor with him, after all the message that Reuben had sent did not specified anything and if given the choice he would rather be armed than not.

So it was just him alone, his armor and his hilted sword, he was not in any way trying to conceal himself or the fact that he was armed and so he waited for the Prince or the other people he had mentioned

two weeks ago
Harper had just snuck out of her house with the help of her best friend and personal maid servent, Servina Valain. She was the only one that knew her secret and why she did it and did anything that she could to help from faking her illness to patching up her wounds. Pushing thoughts of her friend to the side for now she strode silently and gracefully into the base camp already disguised as The Raven where she was immediately greeted by her second in command Henry. "Welcome back boy. After you left we found a man who claims he's a messenger of the Prince. Can you believe that load of crap? He was hollarin' yer name as he wandered through the forrest, says the Prince is requesting your help for some quest. We have him tied up so you can deal with him," he chuckled thinking that this was all just a joke.

"What? Why did you tie him up for? If he wanted to speak with me he would stay put, tieing him up was unnecessary," she admonished him and thumped him on the back of the head as she made her way to the 'prisoner' and untied his restraints. "I apologize for my men's behavior, they were just being careful," I apologized to him, "I have heard your story from my second, and I was not amused. I would like to hear it from you."

"I am a messanger sent by Prince Reuben of Tanoa to request your aid in a quest to bring back magic to our lands so that we might be able to fend off the Eirsh and bring peace once more to our lands. On this parchement is the place and date on which he wishes to meet with you and your fellow companions should you choose to accept," he informed her as he handed her the parchment which she took and glanced over it.

"Bring magic back to our lands? I thought that it was just a child's tale," she mused debating in her mind if it was a trap and if she should go or not, "I will go to check this out, but only if no one tries to reveal my true identity and if he promises to make the roads safer for travelers. Send a messenger to the location to a Tavian if my demands are to be denied. My men will escort you to the border."

"Raven you can't be serious," Henry asked in disbelief.

"Of course," the messenger confirms.

"Just do it, until I return you will be in charge Henry, I will make sure that I am not caught if it is a trap," she commanded and with that they blindfolded the messenger and escorted him as ordered and released him at the edge of the forrest.


present day
She had arrived three days before the meeting was to take place and so far she had not heard a single word from the prince. Servina had helped her sneak away from her home saying that there was a healer in another coutry that could help her with her weak immune system. It was now the day when they would all meet and she had been observing the people in the inn all day as she sat in a dark corner by herself, seemingly asleep and defenceless as she'd left her swords in her room, but she still had her knives on her.

Harper watched as a solider with the King's emblem walked in making no effort to hide who he was or that he was well armed. He seemed anxious to get things going and she couldn't help but sympathize with his feelings, only she was more patient and better at hiding it. For now there was nothing more to do than what she already was doing so she just remained calm and waited.

It was raining, thick black storm clouds had gathered over the city, mirrioring the plight of the Kingdom as they split asunder and the gathering storm broke.
Thick, heavy droplets lashed the cobbled streets as thunder rumbled ominously overhead.
Br'nard Even'star strode heedlessly through the deluge, heavy fur lined boots splashing through puddles, rain bouncing off his bare flesh as his hair streamed out behind him in the growing wind like some ragged golden war banner.

Crossing the now almost deserted street, the Barbarian reached his destination, throwing open the tavern door, he strode inside just as the first flash of lightning rent the sky, lighting up the Inn's dark interior and framing the Warrior in the doorway for a second, like some ancient Norse god of Thunder, returned to walk the earth.

The door swung closed behind Br'nard as the sky darkend once more, the Barbarian blinked for a moment in the warm ruddy glow of the fireplace, that served as the Tanerns only light, before shaking himself like a wolf drying its fur after a mountain storm, sending droplets of water flying in all directions.
Straightning up, the Barbarian paced across the Tavern floor and came to a halt at the bar, folding his broad arms and resting them on its scarred, wooded surface, he nodded to the Landlord who, after taking a moment to snap his mouth closed and jerk himself out of a state of slack jawed surprise, hurried to fill a tankard for the new arrival.

As the Barman busied himself, Br'nard reached one large hand into a pouch at his belt and withdrew a now sodden peice of parchment, he slapped it down on the bar top and proceeded to glare at it for a moment, the ink had all but completely run and the fine flowing script was now all but ruined, but the faded seal of the Kingdoms Royal Family was still visible at the top of the page.

The Landlord returned with a foaming tankard of Mead, which the Barbarian accepted with a nod, before taking a long, deep draught and setting the flagon down on the parchment as if it were some form of high class beer coaster.
These so called 'Civilised' races were always having trouble of some sort, it appeared, but if they were willing to reward their saviours with food, mead and assorted wenches... Br'nard shrugged, nothing more to do for now but wait.

The basket was shaking in Emina’s hands as she entered the inn the meeting had been arranged in. She still had her aunt’s words fresh in her mind.
“You tell us you’re going to join a quest! A quest? Come to your senses my child; you should better find a husband. A woman’s duty is to be home.”
Her aunt had been always like that. She didn’t approve when Emina decided to be a full-time farmer like her father and brothers, or when she refused to marry a man from the city, the Duke’s relative, for he had said she’d be treated as a queen. Emina was shy, but had her father’s energy, and said a life between four walls and of inactivity would wither her body and spirit. Days before, she opposed to her niece going to the capital by her own, but Emina’s father had confronted her and she had no choice but to let her go.

The journey from her farm to the capital had let her exhausted; though she had joined a merchant caravan to bring her nearby the meeting place from Oian by wheel. She couldn’t understand how a trip she didn’t have to walk had tired her, but she had more important things to think about during the night she stayed in a rickety inn across the street.
Even tough she was determined, she was nervous. She was just a young woman, after all. And she’d be surrounded by seasoned warriors; the majority of them, if not all, were going to be men. Would they look down on her? Would they be spiteful or violent? She had seen those soldiers back at Oian and they were ruthless. They had to be. Now, men specially chosen for this mission...
Yes, she was afraid. But she wouldn't turn back.

She ordered a hot drink at the counter, and as she was pondering about her situation sitting in a table near the entrance, Emina saw a blonde armored man walking in; he had the King’s emblem on his armor. Not sure if that was the man she was waiting for, she stood up and looked at him shyly. The man briefly looked back at her, and walked past her to the rooms at the back of the building.
Emina stood there for a few minutes, not sure of what to do, her hand hovering over her basket’s handle. She wanted to follow the man and knock on the door, but was unconsciously waiting for more people to arrive.

Raven watched as an exhausted girl walked in and ordered a hot drink as she took a seat. near the entrence. She shook her head slightly in disapproval as she stood up and silently walked up to the now standing and indecisive girl. "My lady, if you do not mind my asking, what are you doing here on your own without an escort? An inn is not exactly a safe place for a woman, surely they have not dishonored themselves by abandoning a beautiful woman such as yourself?" Raven asked politely.

The gigantic man was obviously a skilled warrior. He had to be part of the group. It was the young woman who had caught Levent's full attention from the moment she got past the door. Not only because she was a wild flower, her beauty unspoilt by the vices of a city. Could she be a candidate for the group? But she lacked the build of a warrior or a thief and the arrogant mannerisms of a scholar or a noble. No, she was... clean. Levent had the urge to stand right next to her and find out the reason for her presence. Flirt, yes, try to know her... on a deeper level. Or at least kiss her on the cheek and smell her. In that case, he'd be slapped, hard-as all clean-cut girls slapped,-but it'd be worth the price.

He left his table to talk to the young woman, but a boy had already gotten close to her. Damn! Levent couldn't just stand there... Only he did, because the boy picked his curiosity even harder after looking at him more closely. There was something really, really odd about this boy. He had a pretty face and his body... Wait. No, he was a she! What the hell? Yes! - She was a woman. But that wasn't what stopped Levent from approaching the counter. It was how she moved and her voice - Command and elegance, traits of a leader. Both contrasted with the hesitating behavior of the wild flower, who grasped her basket like a sailor holds to a plank to avoid drowning.

Levent's curiosity had, once again, gotten the best of him. Clumsily, he managed to walk to the counter not too far from the pair to listen to their conversation and just right next to the big warrior.

Br'nard took a long, refreshing draught from his tankard, before lowering it and glancing down at the small man leaning against the bar next to him.

"Ye were none too subtle there, my lad,"
The Barbarian commented, eyeing the boy up and down, he had a trim, athletic look about him, possibly an acrobat, an Assasin... or a dancer.

Br'nard drained the last of his ale and pushed himself upright off the bar, rolling his shoulders and slowly rotating his neck, working out the kinks as he straightned up to his full height, then he glanced across to the table where two girls where sat talking.
The Barbarian grinned knowingly, and clapped a hand jovialy on the shoulder of 'Dancer boy' (as he had now mentaly christend him).

"Ye know lad, it ain't polite tae lean shadily against the bar listin tae other folks convosations, be ye shy or not! Come now, be a gent and go introduce yer'self!"

His hand still placed on the boys shoulder, Br'nard made an effort to steer the lad across the tavern with him as he strode towards the table.

"Evenin' wenches!"
He greeted the pair in his usal, refined manner,
"Ye'll excuse the intrusion but my young freind 'ere was dying tae meet ye both!"

The Barbarian nodded towards the young lad and grinned, no point in being sublte,
He grunted, addressing the table in general,
"Br'nard Even'star, of the Blood Moon Tribe,"
He named himself with a nod of the head,
"An' I'm 'ere at the request of this Cities Prince, apparantly he's having a lil trouble with raiders... Any of ye here fer a similar reason?"

The Barbarian glanced around the tavern, which was almost completely deserted save for them, the Barman, a few local pesants and another man, clearly a Warrior, armed, clad in chainmail and bearing the same mark as the seal on the letter Br'nard had recived... and on the flags he had seen adorning the city gates.

Br'nard caught the mans eye and nodded, raising a hand in greeting,
"Hail freind, join us why don't ye? The night is young an' unless I've missed my geuss, there's goin' tae be some dangerous times ahead!"
The Barbarian grinned Wolfishly, eyes flashing in the candlelight, as if the very thought of 'Dangerous Times' excited him!

Raven watched as two men approched one had been drinking and the other had been watching them. They seemed friendly enough as the larger man steered the shorter one their way, though not wanting to take any chances she readied herself to grab one of her hidden knives. She listened to what the larger man had to say, analyzing every word and mannerism carefully. "I am no woman or wench as you so put it Mr. Even'star, my second would take great offence to hear you say that, it is fortunate that I left him behind. I am the Raven of Aeos, I have been promise that none from our group would try to discover my true identity," she introduced herself politely, but her tone was laced with a threat, then she studied the smaller man and smirked, "You are a theif, a none too subtle one might I add, but we should get along well if you keep your sticky fingers away from my things."

Emina was brought out of her trance by a young man who approached her. He was thin and had delicate features, and moved with an elegant manner. You couldn’t find this kind of men on the farms, she thought; those were all strong, scarred men.
Her understandable fear of warriors aside, her mother had told her to be wary of men, but this one, despite his mysterious appearance, seemed harmless and made Emina feel comfortable. Besides, he looked much younger than herself.
“Good evening”- she said in a voice higher than she had expected to speak. –“Do not worry about me, I came here on my own and I’m well.”-She lowered her voice, assuring nobody but the boy could hear her – “This is my first time in Leuke and I’m nervous, that is all.”

She noticed a man who had been observing her –and the newcomer- for a few minutes, and almost instantly, started to “feel” his stare, his intentions. Not again, she thought, feeling once again very anxious. She looked around nervously, taking sudden notice of all the other big men that were sitting in the tables or standing at the counter, staring at her. She wasn’t fully aware of how different from the other women she looked until now. It occurred to her that she ought to have come disguised as a man.
-“Aunt Uma was right, I should not have come alone”- she muttered to herself, gripping to her basket’s handle and trying to appear calm. However, as if the Heavens had conspired to make that day a torment for Emina, a huge warrior that had shortly arrived to the inn took the man that had been looking at them and approached. Her biggest worry was not the meeting with the Prince’s envoy anymore.
“Come on now, Emina, stay calm”.

The huge man saluted and referred to them as “wenches”... Was the young boy in front of her a girl? She glared at his build; it was possible, but she was not sure. The scarred man introduced himself as Br’nard of the Blood Moon tribe. Emina couldn’t imagine a more fear-inducing presentation, but again, in this state she could be easily scared by anything. Back at Oian she was not very afraid of big men, or wild animals. Of course, in Oian little people were also soldiers.

All her nostalgic thoughts went away as she heard Br’nard was there to join the Prince’s mission. She was going to respond to his question, but was still scared. She hesitated.
-“Good evening, sir Br’nard”- she finally spoke, and couldn’t help her voice trembling-“M-my name is Emina Galis, of Oian. I see you’re here to serve our Prince, well... I-I am too.”

Br'nard looked 'Raven up and down breifly, before grinning wickedly,
"Well then lil wench its a good thing ye left him at home... wouldn't want him gettin' eaten now woul we...?"
The Barbarian folded his arms across his broad chest and winked...
"Not woman hu...? Well ye definetly smell like one... But yer identity dosen't bother me, so long as ye do yer part when the danger comes, and come it will,"
He added, his face and tone becoming more serious,
"We 'ave a long road ahead of us, so drop the threat from yer tone now, Raven, an' save us all some trouble further down the road."

The Barbarian turned his attention to the other girl, and nodded
"Well met Emina, no need tae piss yerself lass, I don't bite..."
He paused to consider for a moment,
"Well not often anyway.... Ye seen much action then?"

When the big man touched him, Levent's body stopped being his, it obeyed the Barbarian's command like a sheep follows the shepherd. The big man's power could be felt in his warm touch; something dangerous was beating in his chest. Levent was scared and fascinated. The short walk towards the women felt like as thrilling as jumping into the abyss and landing softly. The spell wasn't lifted when Br'nard-as he introduced himself- let go of him. The room became a little colder, that was it. Levent split his attention between the warrior and the wild flower. They were like day and night and it felt cozy to stand between them.

The girl had a vibrant voice. She seemed unware of it until she blurted some words. How cute! Levent would've smiled and greet her with some comforting words but the other woman had grabbed all his attention when after she revealed her identity.

The Raven. She was the Raven! Mercyful moon, what a stroke of luck! Considering how badly damaged his reputation already was , he ignored all subtlety and dared to point at her, agape, like if she was an apparition and Emina and B'rnard couldn't see her. Their words were like bees buzzing and Levent finally regained a bit of composture when some royal knight or guard approached them.

"Oh, yes. Sorry for... Er, sorry," he tried taking his eyes off the Raven and seeing the others, but he kept being impolite. He cleared his throat, closed his eyes for a second, and... he was back! "My name is Levent Akin." He smiled, relieved of being once again under control of himself.

"One can never be too careful, especially with my reputation Mr. Even'star," Raven explained with a hint of amusement as she watched large man try to put Emina at ease. Then the theif caught her attention as he started pointing and gaping at her like a fish out of water, she had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing at him. When he finally regained his composure and introduced himself she was able to regain her composure as well. "Mr. Akin, that is quite an unsual reaction, I take it that you have heard of me then. What would you say if when this is all over I take you back to meet my men? They are always eager for a new recruit and it is rare that I ask someone to join, so they will be expecting you to be very unusual," she smiled at him.

Leonid was having doubts now, he could not help to question how would these people attain what he and a company of soldiers could not.

There was a woman, who lacked subtlety she had revealed too quick that she was here on the prince behest but what did she had to offer? she was clumsy and seemed to lack training on arms of any level, unless the prince`s task consisted on pulling out weeds from the country side Leonid did not had any clue as of what this girl could offer to their goal... maybe the letter had been miss delivered.

There was of course a boy as well, not very bright by what he could gather since he seemed to choke on words and did not seemed to put many thinking before spitting them out, he was a skinny thing and would probably collapse if he wore Leonid´s cavalry armor, he could however see that the lad had muscles on him and a neck and shoulders deprived of fat but with thin muscles... he was not strong but rather enduring and fast he could draw those conclusions.

Then there was the man the size of a house, a barbarian even bigger than those the Barthon knight had faced on the field, he did not seem to be concerned by anything around him, unlike the other two the man seemed to have no doubts about anything and he did not even try to be subtle he simply was being himself.

Leonid would make a particular note about this one,he was a barbarian after all he smoke their language which the Eirsh did not so he was not part of the horde but maybe, a spy hiding in plain sight? he remembered the names of some of the barbarian tribes, the stone crows, the howling hounds, the burned men and the sons of kathos... if he had heard of the blood moon tribe he could not distinguish them from the others.

He did not notice the boy until it was identified by the barbarian, a shady individual that had made efforts to not drawn looks to itself and that had identified itself to the barbarian as the raven.

That woman was full of it, everyone knew that the raven was a man a fearless leader of a band of outlaws that preyed on the rich and where backed up by the poor, he had joined an initiative to bring hose thugs to justice but that man was immaterial like a shadow... to think that the leader of of that band was here in the same room was laughable

Well perhaps it was time to introduce himself to the group, they were getting to know each other so it was only natural for him to get acquainted with the group

He stood up and walked towards them "well then I am a knight in the King´s service and my name is Leonid Barthon, son of Reghar Barthon as well as a friend of the prince and his father, he sent me a letter asking me to withdraw from the front by the looks of it you have been called just as I have"

"Reputation, hu...?"
Br'nard chuckled as he glanced at Raven,
"Well I've never heard of ye..."

The Barbarian turned a the Knight strode across the room and introduced himself,
"Well met Leonid Barthon, son of Reghar,"
Br'nard replied with a nod,
"Ja, I was summoned by this Prince of yers... I hear ye've been having trouble with some Barbarian hordes..."

The big mans eyes glilted in the firelight as he folded his borad arms,
"Got tae beware those Barbarians... Strange folk... ye wouldn't catch me runnin' around clad in furs, half naked an' streaked with woad..."

Br'nard glanced down at his own half naked, fur clad, woad streaked form and shrugged,
"I ain't Erish, I'm Norscan...We 'ave nicer hair."
The Barbarian shook back his long, golden main as if illistrating a point and, sweeping his tankard off the table top, drained it in a single swig and waved it towards the bar for another, before loking around the table once more, he grinned, this should be interestiing...

"It pleases me to see that you all showed up" a gaunt man with pale skin and black hair said as he made his entrance to the building, next to him were two hooded individuals much like himself, by the looks of it they did not wished to be noticed, Leonid would recognize that voice even in hell "My prince" he said as he bent one knee not minding what the others would do

"There is so few of them" a young woman; girl, to be more exact she surely had her first blood by now but she was in that phase in which she stopped being a girl and began to become a lady, the princess Yiva surely "Indeed it seems that not all of them paid any heed to a royal calling, shame on them" a tall man with rugged skin and a bald head with a shaggy skin, he looked to be only skin and bones with darkened dots all over his skin this was none other than Lucien the prince`s mentor and trusted advisor

The prince seeing the formalities made due to his appearance simply said "rise noble folk, while I am discouraged to see so few of you when I summoned for more it makes your efforts all the more precious, while you have get to know each other it is time for me to tell you why I have called for you, some might already have a pretty good lead but it is best that we cut to the chase" he nodded to the patron of the bar and he immediately moved to lock doors and shut windows and make a quick exit

"I am prince Reuben Bariengre second of his name, son of Daabed Bariengre third of his name and with me I have brought Yiva my sister and princess to the realm of Tanoa and Lucien Arhgrezed friend to the Bariengre bloodline and my trusted advisor.

As you might have known, the Eirsh barbarians have banded under one great warchief, uniting the horde once again and for some reason they have marched trough mountains, forests, cities and shores directly towards Tanoa ignoring more suitable targets and easier conquests some of you like my trusted knight Barthon and lady Galis have seen the damages that these men can make and while my father meets them with steel at the field we have yet to stop the main army of the Eirsh Warchief."

The old man Lucien nodded "Indeed it is a mystery why the barbarians have come here... to the general populace that is" he cleared his throat as he continued "while the king knows the reason he refuses to believe it, but what I am about to tell you is the certain truth of this"

The rugged man closed his eyes and appeared to be remembering great tales of old and lore of the ancient ages "When the mountains still soared the sky and the fey folk walked amongst men, the human race benefited greatly from this interaction with the gods and the fey folk and was able to wield magic.

But power corrupts even the most noble souls, men grew hungry with it and began to exercise it to a degree that worried the gods and the fey folk

Men turned against them, in a war that scarred the earth, sky and sea and not shortly thereafter a rift between men ocurred some saw that such power was not to be held by us at all and that it belonged to the gods alone.

The founder of Tanoa was one of these men, he was Barien the bold and they willingly casted away their powers to preserve peace amongst the gods, fey folk and humankind, this caused humanity to renounce to magic.

But this covenant is now threatened to be broken, the warchief knows that the key is here in Tanoa and he lusts for it he wishes to rekindle the fires of war that covered whole continents and caused even gods to die! no matter the cost we must not allow it, our plan is to plead to the gods to help us before it is too late it is a fact that our swords and soldiers are not able to defeat the enemy we face and when the king does not believe its own people we can not hope for any support from our neighboring nations"

The prince then rose his arms, he had always been good with speeches anyway " that is why, to commune with the gods we must gather the relics of the covenant and plead for their direct intervention I have called for my champions to aid me in our finest hour"

He pointed at Leonid "There is a man that would die before staining his honor and duty, he has always served and has sworn an oath to protect the realm from any one who would seek to harm it, Lord Barthon has led men in both war and peace I trust you will trust his guidance in this quest"

He moved towards the huge warrior "This is Br'nard Even'star of the blood moons! a renowned fighter in far and wide he has been met with many names, champion, conqueror, battle master, warlord and the list goes on and on if all of our soldiers had his skill we would only need a regiment of hundreds to stop the horde dead on their tracks, trust him in battle for he is the most experienced of us at it"

It was the turn to present the Alhazredian adventurer "I present you Levent Akin, an infamous adventurer who has yet to be stopped by any garrison, door, bars or keyhole he is a man you can trust to infiltrate any place and leave it before anyone knew he was there, his talents will prove useful if the relics are under guard and need finesse rather than strength"

It was the ladies turn "the woman you see here is Emina Galis and the old blood runs strong in her, some of you might have heard about the witches and druids of Oian, while we never actually recorded people being turned into newts, the crops grow faster there and seemed to be devoid of any plagues, she has abilities that I cant fully understand or explain, all i know is that she will be invaluable to locating the relics"

And then he turned to the Raven... that man sent chills to his spine "This one here is... the raven and believe me when I say it the king has sent several people after him and all have failed, this individual realizes the grave danger we are in, for Eirsh will make corpses of us all, I trust in the raven I hope that is enough for you all"

He regained his composure and continued "Rest now, tomorrow we will set out to show you how exactly do our commune with the gods will work" he made a bow and made his exit

"I thank you all for this gentlemen... and lady" Yiva bowed as well and hastily strode after her brother

"Ill see you here on the morrow, ill lead you to the prince`s location be ready and remember that Tanoa counts on you all" Lucien then left them to themselves

"Yes I am infamous in Tanoa for being impossible to catch, stealing from the rich, and aiding the poor and misfortunate. If you have not heard of me then it means either you have not been in this country long enough or my infamy hasn't spread that far yet," she stated in a pleased tone as she watched the knight approach them out of the corner of her eye. She listened as the knight introduced himself and suddenly recognized him, she waited for Br'nard to finish talking before she spoke. "Yes I remember you Sir Leonid, you tried and failed to capture me, though you did come close a couple of times. It was a lot of fun really, you were so confident in your abilities and determined, yet like all the others you too walked away empty handed. Funny how fate works isn't it? Here I am, seemingly unarmed, within your grasp, and you can't do a thing because I am here under Prince Reuben's protection," Raven smirked in amusement.

Just as she finished speaking three people walked into the inn. She bowed her head to them in respect when their identities were revealed to them and listened attentively to what the prince had to say. What he said about each of them intrigued her and when he came to her she smiled innocently up at him at his obvious unease and of her. After they had left she stood up ready for bed. "I guess I will see all of you in the morning then, Ms. Emina I suggest that you retire for the night as well right now, if you should need anything from me my room is the first door on the left on the second floor," Raven informed her then stopped as she was about to leave and pulled out a dagger with a black blade, hilt, and guard and took Emina's hand, placed the hilt in it, and closed her hand around it. "Here keep this with you at all times for protection. I can tell that you do not have one and I know you may be uncomfortable with this, but it may end up saving your life if you happen to find yourself in trouble. I will aquire a sheath for it before we set out in the morning," she promised, then without another word she took off for the stairs and disappeared into her room. Not wanting to take any chances she placed a knife under her pillow and one under her bedding and left the rest of her hidden knives on as well as her cloak as she fell into a light sleep.

"Let's count all the blunders of today" Levent said to himself while he closed the curtains of his room. Bleh, too many. But almost yelling "You've NEVER heard of The Raven?!" would top any of them, considering the Prince was about to meet them. He sighed and though about the new guy, instead. A military man, a man of a pack, like most soldiers were. He seemed to be the least special of the group, or maybe he let his attraction to the wild flower cloud his judgement. Bah, it didn't matter. In a couple of days they'd be much more interesting.

Levent took off his clothes, except for his shorts, then poured some droplets of ointment from a very small vial on his left index finger. After taking a deep breath, he drew one of the holy patterns on his chest, finishing with a double circle around the necklace amidst his chest hair. He stretched his body, then made a couple of warm up exercises and he climbed out of the window. Even in the darkness, the walls offered their secrets to Levent's fingers so he could climb them. He jumped from rooftop to rooftop until he reached the tallest point available at the square. The night seemed to greet him with the cold caress of wind while he stood there, with his eyes closed towards the moon.

Once he got back to his room, Levent took again the oil vial from his pouch and smiled while he watched it. Magic! The relics were nice to see and use, but infinite possiblities awaited should they be infused with magic: Restoring a portal to Alexandria and reading the Al Azif, opening the door to the stronghold of Khaybar from the sealed spring, unlocking the tomb of the four Rashiduns... Or maybe using it to openly defy the Viziers. Prince Reuben surely knew or had heard that at least two Viziers knew magic, but they didn't teach it to anyone. It was all for religious purposes. As such, the Prince would have a huge advantage should magic be taught to his army, as Leonid's inclusion might indicate. But he had to deal with more immediate threats. Besides, the war between the old kingdoms of the East with Tanoa and other Western kingdoms was centuries ago and both parts had enough of that.

Still, it would be very interesting to see the Viziers alarmed when Reuben's army crushed his kingdom's opponents with magic. The news would be ignored at the beginning, of course - Those old men were so full of themselves and would not believe a word told by sailors and merchants until the confrontation was imminent. And amidst the chaos, many religious places would be left without guards. It would be so easy to perform the necessary rituals and claim the trausers hidden inside.

Levent smirked, then laughed like a child noticing the candy jar at the reach of his fingertips.

"Good times are to come, beloved moon...," he whispered, before jumping on his bed, stretching, and closing his eyes.

Br'nard slept in the stables, by choice, the Barbarian always prefered to sleep outside, under the night sky,
Even in the hustle and drang of the big city he liked to keep to the old ways, and stay as close to nature as he could.

The Warrior yawned, and closed his eyes, it had been a long day and the Princelings speech had given them all much to think about, Br'nard had neither bowed his head nor knelt as the boy had entered, but had listend to all he had to say with a focused intensity.
With the details of both his quest and companions bought into clearer light, the Barbarian had promptly returned to the bar, drank them out of most of their mead stock and staggered off into the night to sprawl drunkenly in the straw of the stables.

When morning came, their quest could finaly begin.

“I ain't Erish, I'm Norscan...We 'ave nicer hair." - Br’nard said, and this time Emina couldn’t help a little giggle. It was true that he looked like a violent, ruthless warrior, but Emina had started to like that man; he reminded her of the men of the fields; humorous, authentic, not keeping an appearance as the others -she included- did.
In the slightly cold stare of Sir Leonid -and thanks to her talents-, she could see he didn’t expect much of her; and she once more held to her basket’s handle. She felt useless, though she reminded herself that she wasn’t there to fight.

When the old man Sir Lucien told the legend, this time Emina could almost feel the breezes and listen to the swords and chants; the aged voice provided the story with deepness and striking greater than the time she had heard it from the lips of the messenger. She could almost feel those elements running through her veins, and a determination she’d never felt before posessed her. She timidly approached Prince Reuben, and spoke in a low but firm voice.
“Your Highness, I know I’m not a warrior, but I give you my word that I’ll do all in my power to keep you and your men in good shape and health. And I’ll use my talents for everything you need, you can count on me as much as I now count on you.”- She wondered if she had been too daring, but she had already spoke.
The kid known as the Raven approached her-“Ms. Emina I suggest that you retire for the night as well right now, if you should need anything from me my room is the first door on the left on the second floor”
“Th-thank you very much, Sir Raven. I will be allright.” -she said nervously. She at first had tought of him as just a brave, talented kid, but after hearing all about him, Emina felt a little scared. He was a thief and a killer, after all.
She took her basket and gave a deep, perhaps overacted, bow to the Prince and Princess Yiva, Sir Leonid and Sir Lucien, then headed to her room- “Good night Your Highnesses, gentlemen.” She saw Br’nard was already walking outside; perhaps he’d be staying somewhere else? -“Good night, sir Br’nard!” -she shouted with a smile and a bow, and walked inside her room.

She was now eager for the next day, and could barely sleep. In her wakeful hours, she tought of the events of the day and the people she had met; she couldn't make any conclusions this soon and on that night, her senses and her head weren't clear.

Raven awoke the next day two hours before dawn, from her observations of the city this was an hour before the next shift change and the watchmen on guard would almost be dead on their feet with fatigue from staying up all night. This was perfect for her as it made it easier for her to slip past the guards and go about her business. Her only goals for this morning was to obtain some dried meats and a sheath for the knife that she'd given Emina as she'd promised.

After strapping on all of her gear she silently left the inn through the front door and took off into the night her first stop the tannery district. It was a foul smelling district because of all the chemicals used to cure the lethers so that they could be use to make other useful items such as shoes and belts but the smell still stung her nose. She ignored the stinging sensation and easily broke into one of the shops and using on of her knives that was a duplicate of the one she'd given Emina as a measurement she found a sheath that would fit snugly and could be strapped around the waist. She left the shop as she'd found it minus the sheath that she'd stollen and made her way to a butchers and took half a pound of dried meat leaving a gold coin behind as payment for the poor family.

After that she went to a secluded cove on the river that she'd discovered when she'd scouted the city. First she bathed herself to get rid of the scent of the tannery then put on her spare clothes which were the same as the first before she washed them and hung them up to dry. When they were done drying she put them in her pack and by the time she got back dawn was just breaking. She went to the bar and waited for her breakfast to be served which came out a couple of seconds later, it was two fried eggs, a slice of fried ham, and a buttermilk biscuit served with fresh milk. As soon as she had her food she began to eat as she waited for everyone else to show up.

Apples, yummy! The merchant was very happy to see a 'fellow Khalirian' and he gave Levent two apples and a pretty knife that seemed quite sharp and useful. "For protection" he had added, as apparently thieves from the area didn't hesitate to mug foreigners. Levent had then regretted deceiving the Khalirian merchant, but Khalirians were unkind to the rest of Alhazred. They had good reasons for that, but it wasn't a good idea to holod a grudge for something that happened two centuries ago. And it was the viziers' fault, not the people's. Oh well...

And, from the distance, he saw The Raven. She was alone. It was a great opportunity to talk to her. Maybe even reveal he was El Viento... Even though she probably hadn't hear about him or, worse, didn't gave a damn (she was The Raven, after all). But Leonid was not that far away, too. He seemed a bit busy. Levent felt a similar feeling clouding his judgement. He even had frozen in place, staring! Where was the big man? Levent would love to be dragged again to the table so he could start talking like a human and ask Raven about many things.

Oh, holy moon!

Raven was peacefully eating her breakfast when she felt someone staring at he, shifting the silverware so that she could see behind her she saw that is was Levent. "You know I am not some exotict or wild animal, I will not attack unless threatened. Are you going to be gawking at me the entire journey? If so at least try to be more discreet about it if not you are welcome to join me and ask whatever you want, I am sure that you have many questions for me," she invited him still not turning around as she tryed to snap him out of his stupor.

Br'nard grunted and came awake suddenly in response to the large, rough and sloppy wet tounge licking the side of his face, jerked out of a pleasant dream involving several a lithe Elven wenchs, he found himself face to face with a large draft horse, the creature whinnied softly and licked him again.

"Arch, gods be good!"
The Barbarian cursed, batting the horse aside and sitting up, shaking his head as he did so and wiping the back of a large hand across his face.
"Blasted creature,"
He muttered,
"Now I'll never know how that ended..."

A few miniutes later saw the Barbarian emerging from the stables and into the early light of dawn, the delicious scent of cooking meat was wafting across the courtyard,
With a grin, Br'nard headed for the Tavern in search of breakfast.

He had never really liked sneaking, he loved what it brought to him, but the mere act was something he never really enjoyed.

But experience had taught him that underhanded tactics had good rewards, how many throats had he slit in the black of the night? how many times had he escaped captivity by not allowing him anyone to see him? and how many times had he satisfied his urges by forsaking his post and allowing himself just a little pleasure?

Well, this one was yet another one.

"My prince" he said as he sat next to the black haired young man and smiled at him "Lord Barthon!" he drew his hand and they gave a firm handshake "I can tell from that face of yours that you disprove of something, but what could it be? them or us?"

Leonid left a sigh escape his lips "I am uncertain that is all, I have seen my share of freaks in my life but they were impressive at least, those however... none of them made an impression, the barbarian is imposing sure but I met his like on the field"

Reuben smirked "You haven't seen that one in action dear Leo, have I told you how he caught my eye?" Leonid made a negative gesture .

"Cattle had been disappearing from a nearby town, when an armed stranger that looked like a mountain appeared at the same time guards where sent to question him, a patrol of 5 was beaten to the bloody pulp since he would not surrender his arms, then they sent a brigade of 20 and he trashed them just as well, the situation escalated out of the local guards and we sent in the soldiers of the King, I don't know what happened first, if he grew tired of leaving so many men unconscious in his wake or got curious about why they wanted him so badly, he had defeated 37 men of the King´s peace until he finally agreed to come with us on peaceful terms, I don't know what you have seen Leonid but that was an impressive feat"

His face let showed his skepticism "Anyone can have a lucky streak" the Prince burst in laughter "Stubborn as a mule dear Leo, I often think that had your father known the man you would have grown to be he would have named you Muleonid" that did brought a smile to his face, Reuben always did had that effect on him

"Still, he is a mercenary and while I don't think he would have any motives to betray us I don't think it that far fetched, Atkins as well... he is a kleptomaniac of sorts he cant keep his hands away from shiny, forbidden and beautiful things, be they women, treasures or ancient relics provided someone outdoes our offer he could turn on us.

Ironica-" he was brashly interrupted by Leonid "Can he keep his hands away from the men?" now both of them were laughing "I do not know Leo, but I have always been good at telling when people want more than what they are having, and the looks he sent to Emina and the Raven, I can tell he wants more than what he is being given"

"About the peasant" said Leo as he grabbed the drink the waitress had brought to their table "Is this some kind of jest? if she could turn people into newt´s that would be useful, why did you requested her assistance?"

"She is perhaps the most extraordinary person I have known, she can do things that I cant quite find the explanation for, youll see, tomorrow I hope also despite that incident that you had, the raven is perhaps the one you can trust the most"

Leonid almost spat his drink as he roared "What?!"

"The raven is a Tanoan, this holds a personal stake for him if we fail the people that the bandits have struggled so hard to nourish will fall so the stakes for you are just as high as they are for the raven, you can trust in that person Leonid, I do and that should be enough"

The hour was late but still Leonid said to Reuben "The night is young my prince?" Reuben smiled as he took the drink from Leonid´s hand and emptied it into his gutter "O yes it is, Leo, o yes it is"


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He was striding in an effort to be back at the Inn in time, but by the time he arrived the Raven and the other thief where already enjoying their breakfast "Woke up early did you?" he moved towards them and figured, that it was time to get to know them better, besides he was hungry enough to eat a sheep

"Morning all!"
Br'nard greeted the Tavern in genral as he pushed through the door and descended the small flight of stone steps to the common room floor.

"Have ye moved since last night?"
He asked the young Theif, who again appeared to be frozen on the spot in the centre of the tavern and giving him a freindly slap on the back as he passed.

"Raven, Leo,"
He greeted the pair at the table as he passed, noting the Bandit Chief was already tucking into a large plate of deliscious smelling breakfast.

Approaching the bar, Br'nard found a plate the size of a small cartwheel waiting for him, piled high with bacon, sausages, roast ham, black pudding, bread and flanked by a large tankard of stout brown ale.

Grinning, the Barbarian swept both the plate and the tankard from the bartop and moved to join the others at their table, setting down his load, the big man began to tuck in with relish.

Taking a swig from the tankard, Br'nard nodded in satisfaction before returning his attention to the plate.

"I could get used tae workin' fer this Prince o' yers,"
He commented with a wink.