Hogar Rafun's Story

A grunt and an exhale of breath escaped the dwarfs lips as he strode down the last stretch of road towards the city gates. He'd run out of bread and cheese days ago, and it had been a while since he'd caught a rabbit, and while Hogar did enjoy his time walking in nature, even he had to admit it would be nice to have something in his belly other then nuts and berries for a change. Returning to civilization brought the prospect of food fresh from the market, and the old dwarf could feel himself salivating at image of some stew and potatoes with a full pint of ale to wash it down.

Food, however, wasn't his chief concern at the moment though, as the real reason for his trek to the human city was to follow up on a job board he'd seen posted some odd days ago. While he really didn't need the money, having enough to get the basic essentials in his own pocket, the excuse to go on another little adventure was all he really needed at the moment, and the promise of getting to crack a few bandit skulls open was a nice bonus.

"Name?" came the short question of the customs officer as Hogar reached the gate.

"Hogar Rafun." The dwarf replied, setting his pack down and pulling out his travel papers and handing them too the guardsman who looked them over quickly.

"What's your reason for being in the city dwarf?" The man asked. Though from the glances the guard was giving toward Hogar's armor and weapons it was easy to guess the man had an idea as to what the dwarf was there for.

"I'm 'ere fer the royal bounty huntin' job I saw on the message broads." He replied.

"Another mercenary then." It was a statement more then a question. Lots of folk like that had been popping up in the last few days. "Alright you probably know the rules. Don't steal anything, don't pick any fight, don't burn anything down, yadda yadda yadda." The guard rattled off with the tone of a man who had been say this a lot recently. "Also you may want to hurry to the keep then, the cut off time is going to be in the next hour or so for anyone that wants to pile on."

Receiving his papers back the dwarf nodded and gave a word of thanks, before picking his pack back up and treading through the gates. He passed quickly through the streets, resisting the urge to stop at any of the shops to gawk at whatever was on display for the sake of good attendance. As much as Hogar wanted to, he would have to put of his usual sight seeing till later. Getting a few directions he hiked through the twisting streets till he reach the Fortress In Stone, as the locals called it. He stopped briefly to place his hands on the engraved walls carved out of the mountain side. "Good stone work." He muttered to himself, still feeling some of his heritage as a man of the mines calling to him.

Further entry to the keep end up with him being redirected to the "stables" he found. Odd, he thought, as he was thinking that they would have met in a court yard or something if the hired warriors were assembling. It didn't matter much to the old warrior though, but he did have to wonder about the odd placement of the stables in the back of the keep.

Reaching the room where the band was being the assembled at last, the dwarf stood giving a scrutinizing look upon the gather men and women. His opinion on the group still on debate. "So do I just sit anywhere then?" He asked the nearest member of staff. They waved the dwarf of toward a random corner as they soldiers attended to getting the mercenaries placed. Hogar gave a gruff and sat himself down on a box in the corner of the room. Setting his pack down, he pulled out a bag of nuts, popping a few in his mouth and eliciting a loud crunching noise as he bit down on them. Resolving to wait until somebody decided to get things moving, the large dwarf settled down quietly, occasionally chewing loudly on his snack while he watch people come in the door.

Alberon was arriving himself. Being carried in the back of a wagon owned by his Temple. He was the Head Paladin from a small temple to the north and used his benefits wisely, due to the nature of the land and terrain. He figured it was best to travel with his Temple's missionary who happened to be on his way to the same city to visit the much larger Temple of Janos within the Capital. So the Paladin merely rode along and helped drive the wagon when needed and protected the missionary if required. But here they would be parting ways, for he planned on signing up with the local mercenary bands on a mission for the Queen. As the wagon approached the city gate he clad himself in his cape and placed the white bear fur covers over his shoulder plates, giving a more refined look. If he was going to meet the Queen, he planned on making an lasting impression. As the wagon arrived, he stepped and thanked the missionary. Passing his way through customs easily due to his affiliation with both the army and Temple. Guards generally knew better than to mess with Clergy, especially ones carrying a giant pole arm on their back whilst clad in polished steel and chain.

Placing his helmet on as he strode toward the Fortress in Stone as it was advertised among the small country he looked on each side of him. The bustling city of this nation. It was similar to where he was born. A slight grin appeared on his face below his helmet. He enjoyed being in cities with many people. He noticed people clearing out of his way, typical response in these times. War on the horizon and acts of mass crime seemed to had shaken the area up badly. Before he left he had to sign releases for many of his fellow Paladin's from his Temple, many where headed North to aid the war effort. When he left, four of the Temple's twelve Paladins remained. Another benefit to being a Paladin, when war broke out, you weren't confined to one side. You were more of an International soldier and able to join whatever side as long as your God's or Goddess's agreed with that side's ideals. But most of the time, a Paladin's job was to protect their Head Priest's interests in whatever town their Temple was. Alberon, however, was not here on the decree of his Priest. But on his own to help spread Justice against those who had wronged the land so badly in this time of strife and need.

Finally arriving at his due destination, he waited until the gates were open for him. With a deep breath he positioned himself into walking stance more suited for one of his rank and place in society. It was a heavy walk, giving off a bold display of confidence and daring, with wisdom imbued however refined enough to narrow out any bravado. One thing about Alberon, he had learned to make first impressions last. In his line of work, an impression could mean the entire relationship with people and the local Temple. Not to mention, he had to look strong, as if he were carrying his God's orders with every step he took. A faithful, controlled confidence was what he had deemed it long ago.

Being directed to the so-called stables and escorted by two guards he continued his walk. Gaining a few stares from the Keep's staff as he sauntered through the halls. Due to his armor and appearance he probably seemed like a low standing Lord or Noble instead of a Paladin or Mercenary. Exactly what he was aiming for too. As he entered the room he looked back and forth among the mercenaries. He noticed one or two with markings from other Temples and Churches and noticed a Dwarf. Odd... Dwarves rarely left there underground hideouts these days. He gave a nod to the short warrior. Earning a Dwarf's respect could be important, a Dwarf was one of the last beings you wanted to fight head on. Low center of gravity and bulked muscle, a living boulder which as legend told, wave upon wave of enemies broke upon a Dwarf Regiment's steel and stone. He was directed stand near the eating dwarf and did so, walking over and letting himself relax a little. Mercenaries... Were not very important to impress.

Hogar saw the paladin walk in, guided by the guards. He was on of the many that raised an eyebrow at the holy warriors regal attire, but he didn't stare much beyond that. The dwarf warrior had seen a lot of paladins in his day, and one more wasn't going to leave him slack jawed at a time like this. Still though, when the large man came to stand by him, the dwarf decided to be a little sociable.

"Nuts?" He said, holding out the bag to the man as he came to stand beside him. "They're still fresh from the forest." While many dwarfs would normally be more recluse in these situations, Hogar was always an oddity in that he was more likely to be the one to start a conversation, rather then putting on the grumpy face and pretending to be a grouchy old man, as he called it at least.

The sun was nearing the center of the sky over the charming countryside surrounding Bran. Perfect amount of light for some reading. A hooded man walked down the main road to the City of the Black Rose Queen, a white staff in one hand and a large leather bound book in the other. His head was down, staring directly at the book with great intensity. The book seemed to be his world, not paying mind to any of the other nuisances of life. However, he seemed to be aware of his surroundings, seeing as he perfectly avoided tripping over rocks or holes without even lifting his eyes from the text. He soon approached the gate of the large city and was halted before he could get past the main gates. Two halberds blocked his way, but he had stopped without looking up from his book. The man at the registration desk stared at him expectantly. "What's your business here?" the guard asked suspiciously. The hooded man faced his body towards the desk and stepped up to it, all while still reading the book. After a few silent moments, the guard looked as if he were going to speak again, but the hooded man raised a large black stony finger, signaling for his silence. Surprised by the hand that sat in front of him and the unexpected gesture, the guard sat there in silence and withheld his statement. The hooded man then snapped the book shut and put it into his satchel. He then raised his head to face the guard. "I'm here to assist your queen with her bandit troubles." The hooded man stated plainly.

The guards eyed each other, unsure of the man. "Your the second man with an eye-patch to have come through here today. Is it standard for you types or what?
" From beneath the hood, the man produced a simple smile. The guards chuckled to each other, but not in a mocking way. "Right then, name?" the guard asked him. "Xandur." he stated in a pleasant tone. The man eyed for a second, then wrote it down. "Alright then. Your lucky, you just made it. Guess that means your the last one. Jacob here will escort you to the....stables." The guard said oddly, gesturing to a guard behind. The two nodded to each other and the hooded man began to follow the guard into the city.

The city seemed rather active at the moment. He had weave his way through the crowd to keep up with the guard. Though, you could feel tension in the air. Though they went about their daily lives, these apparent attacks so close to their beds had obviously offset them. Still they scuttled on with their shopping and sawing and hammering. Anything to make them forget, to try and say for a awhile, I am content. What with the continent slowly circling the proverbial sinkhole into war, they tried to remain happy. Admirable.......but naive.

They had finally arrived to what they called 'The Stables'. It seemed that in this city, stables meant 'cave in back of castle'. Odd that they would reveal an escape point to a band of mercenaries, foreign mercenaries at that. Xandur wasn't worried though, he rarely ever was. The other men and women there were quite the colorful cast. It seemed a fellow patch was their, a dwarf, a tribal, a noble? Wait.....no, clergy member. Symbol of Janos was a dead give away. Xandur was never really popular with men of the cloth. It had something to do with him being agnostic, he suspected. And finally.....a little girl? As he entered the cave and made his way to a rock, he examined her out of the corner of her eyes. There was something off about her. Her eyes and their spacing, her nose and her cheek bones. Her posture was what gave it away though. She was an Elf. Though, he wondered what had happened to her ears.

As he sat down, he pulled out his book and began to read it, holding it in his massive stone hand. Every so often, the pages would turn themselves.

"Yeah, no horses but she spared plenty of asses." Hogar grunted to himself. Already it was easy to peg what kind of man the captain was. One of those thick headed, 'my way' kind of commanders that only trusted their own men. This was going to be a long trip. Getting to his feet again Hogar brushed some crumbs off himself. Getting ready to follow the others out, he paused briefly to turn back to the paladin. "Best we follow the jug head, ay choir boy?" He said in a pleasant tone, trying to initiate some kind of conversation with someone.

While unfazed by their 'Captain's' attitude, she did feel annoyed at his plain disrespect for his fellow humans. "Sure, elves aren't the most caring races on the planet, but at least we treat our own with kindness." She thought as she, along with the rest of the group made its way through the forest. As far as she could tell, this band of people was different. For starters, the tribal woman who just took out a flute and started playing it. When i giant tiger appeared, Theresa was stunned a bit at its size. Even wierder was when the woman climbed on top of it and started riding it arong like a horse.

Then there was the dwarf, or stone-crafters as elves called them. It wasn't a disrespectful term, in fact it was a testiment to their abilities with stone and earth in general. She decided that she didn't really want any friends, mostly due to the fact that they would die long before her, but she thought, "Why not give it a try?" and made her way to the dwarf. "Good day, stone-crafter. What brings you upon this journey: money, fame, or looking to kill something?" She said to the dwarf, a small smile crept along her face.

Alberon just listened to the conversation pass back and forth. He watched the Tribal with interest, they were a different people. But what interested him most was her large tiger. Wondering how one came upon such a mount or beast and actually tamed it. She must have some amount of skill or magical prowess, not to mention intelligence and willpower to control such creatures. Next came the little mage talking to the dwarf, something seemed off about her too. He just couldn't manage to place his finger upon what. And then came the one with the eye patch, he had obviously seen a lot in his days. He had the aura of a veteran fighter and adventurer around him. Added onto that they had a second mage in their travels. One wearing some kind of stone gauntlet riddled with markings, he also seemed human, though was far too fair looking in a sense to be. Half-Breed maybe. Walking at his side was the Dwarf, he couldn't even guess a thing about him. He seemed kind atleast, he had offered food and chances to converse none of which Alberon had taken yet. Dwarves were rather new to him, he had only seen them a few times. And this was the first time he had prolonged contact with one. They were generally reclusive, hiding and digging in the mountains, rarely leaving, some traveling to trade their fine jewels and stone across the world.

Alberon decided now to join in the conversation, removing his helmet to hold it at his side he looked down at the dwarf. "Aye, what are you traveling for? Its rather odd to see a dwarf out of their Mountainous Holds." His asked in a casual tone, moving his gaze from the dwarf to the female mage. Giving her a polite nod and smile before looking ahead again as he awaited the Dwarf's response.

"That's an odd choice of guesses." Hogar replied nonchalantly. "Maybe I'm just 'ere out of concern for the hapless peasants that 'ave been abducted? It's not all gold and glory with us mine dwellers." The dwarf strode quickly to keep up with the group. Despite the difference in leg length, he was able to easily keep stride with the taller band members. Years of trekking through the countryside had built up a lot of stamina in the dwarfs legs and lung, making him a long distance hiker strong enough to give any human or elf a run for their money.

"What about you lass? Why're you 'ere? You don't really look like da fighting type. No offense meant of course." Looking at the small group around him, he decided to put the question further. "'ell I'd ask that ta each of ya."

Thersa was begining to hum a little elven song, when she saw the palidan nod at her, and she nodded back, hoping that was the correct human responce. When the stone-crafter said "Maybe I'm just 'ere out of concern for the hapless peasants that 'ave been abducted? It's not all gold and glory with us mine dwellers." She felt a little bad for thinking his reason were for money.

"Don't take it as an insult, stone-cutter. I meant no disresrespect by that, just asking." She said and then began again, "And to answer your question. I came here for the money, I need it to help out my papa. Working as farmers isn't usual for elves, but he and my mama love it. Half of their crop was destroyed due to some raiders, so they need some help, plus it's his 200th birthday soon, so i need money to get him something nice." She said and began her tune once again, she knew it by heart, and it made her think about happier times.

"200's a good age I guess. Me own pa is almost 143 now, though I haven't visited me family in quite sometime." Hogar started rambling off as he usually did when conversing. It took him a second to refocus his thoughts. "Still though, seems like a dangerous decision for young elf lass, even if ya need to replace da crops. Tell me lass, 'ave you ever split blood before? Or even been caught in da melee?"

Taking on one or two thugs, or even a small gang of bandits was one thing. Having to get in a full scale battle with a whole brigand clan was another thing entirely. Hogar had learned the hard way the what the difference was. Didn't matter how good your sword arm was, if you weren't careful and keeping track of your surroundings and where your shield brothers were, you could easily find some thug sneaking up behind you and planting a knife in your back. With a band here of only eighteen strong, the dwarf felt some doubt that the entire group was going to come back safe and sound. Especially considering no one bothered to ask how many bandits they were going up against anyway.

Theresa was staring at the sky, looking at some clouds that looked like rain, when she overheard the dwarf ask if she had ever spilt blood before. She sighed when he asked this, remembering in an instant that terrible day thirty years earlier when she lost her brother and her ears. She waited a bit before answering hos question, not out of forgeting the question, but reminesing on the memory.

When she did answer, her voice sounded sad and softer than usual. "Well, stone-crafter, I have spilt blood before, and it was the day when I lost my ears." She said fingering over one, which she did when remembering. "But, being an elf." She started, "I don't use weapons like you or human, but rather magic, but that is common knowledge." She took a break before starting up, "Just be wary of your surrondings if you ever have to fight me." She finished smiling at him.

"So, what about you? You certainly seem like you have been in a couple of fights. So, you never answered my question: Why are you doing this? You only deflected my question by saying you could be fighting for the villagers, but something tells me you have a reason." She finished her alligation, just looking at him, but not really focusing, just still remembering that day.

After a few moments of waiting in the cave, two men entered the cave. One, an obvious official, and the other, he suspected, to be the Captain of the guards. His suspicions were confirmed when the official addressed him as so. It was only too obvious that the captain felt threatened by the presence of the mercenaries. It seemed their orders were to assist the captain and his men in locating and destroying the bandits. Apparently a unit of guards had disappeared looking for them. Meaning that they succeeded in the first part of their mission, the last part though seemed to have turned the tables on them. What Xandur was most surprised about that no one knew the guards were. What, did their families just assume that their took up most of their life. Well, now that was a complete fact.....most likely. Unless they were sold in the slave trades. Most people believed slavery to be dead.....then again most people are naive and try very hard to remain so.

As they set out, Xandur had not looked up from his book. Occasionally the page would turn itself, but he was not reading it. He was actually examining everyone with closely without directly looking at any of them. He had yet to pull his hood down so it was quite easy to spy on people. So far, he didn't exactly feel comfortable with the paladin and the man with they eye-patch. The paladin for obvious reasons, but the man with eye-patch acted looked like someone trying to hide something, and hide it well for that matter.

He then started to eavesdrop on the conversation the dwarf and the elven girl were having. He was correct about her being an elf and she seemed like a sweet young girl, risking life and limb for her parents. Though I'm sure her father would much prefer her being safe and sound in his arms for a birthday present than anything she could buy him. He somehow always sympathized with parents, it always left him to wonder if he was a parent. He wasn't even sure if he was old enough to have a child. He wasn't really sure of anything, but that was why he was here.

The dwarf seemed rather friendly, an outdoors man type who thought against the norm. He was probably getting on in years and when that happened, dwarves either became extra grumpy or extra friendly. This one seemed to be leaning towards the latter. The dwarf then directed a question to the entire group. "ell I'd ask that ta each of ya." He must have been referring to when he asked the girl why she was here. He snapped his book shut with a loud thump and put it away in his satchel. He was walking in front of the dwarf and elf, so to answer his question, he spun around and faced them, walking backwards with the greatest of ease. "An odd question for a group of mercenaries. Well, an odd question for a group of mercenaries and a paladin of Janos." he said in a pleasant tone, as he flashed the paladin a small grin. He then turned back to the two. "I myself-" he lowered his hood, revealing pointed ears and the giant scar over his left eye."-am here to make contacts. The more people you know, the easier it is to get information." Xandur said in the same tone, a small smile spreading on his face.

"You see, I seek certain information that no one across two continents have been able to answer." He gave a pause, thinking about how much he should tell them. He then eyed the dwarf for a moment. "I wonder if you can help me with something. Ive asked the experts at both Kurenvar and Garron about this gauntlet, but none have been able to tell me it's craftsman. They haven't even been able to tell me what it's made of." Xandur explained as he lifted the gauntlet up to show him. He then placed his hand on the stone arm and the etchings and runes on it began to glow purple. Suddenly, and unlatching sound could be heard and the gauntlet came off of his arm, revealing his stump just below his left elbow. He then extended it towards the dwarf. "Would you mind glancing at it?"

Xandur then looked towards the elf girl and gave her a warm smile. "By the way, I'm Xandur, just Xandur. Nice to meet you all."

Alberon again went mute as the conversation kicked back up and the mage with the stone gauntlet joined in. When the young, man, half-blood, whatever he was gave him a grin, he raised a brow in a questioning manner. Soon shrugging it off he listened as the mage explained his reasons for being here, contacts and information. Odd enough goals on a mission such as this. It wasn't exactly a diplomatic or social mission. Still eyeing the gauntlet as the mage questioned the dwarf about it as it glowed in his hands. Magical Artifacts... Such devices could be unpredictable, the nature of most magics as a whole was dangerous. Holy Magic included, say a chant the wrong way and you could blow yourself to oblivion.

"By the way, I'm Xandur, just Xandur. Nice to meet you all."

He couldn't help but smile as the mage introduced himself openly. He didn't expect it, though he noticed as younger looking smiled at the elf in a warm manner. A slight chuckle escaped his lips before he spoke up and introduced himself as well. "I am Sir Alberon Durhandor, Paladin, Priest, and scholar if you will of Janos. Here to bring the bandits to justice as well as protect this band when needed. My lord Janos would be angered if none of his soldiers did not pick arms against this act of injustice during these harsh times." With that he bowed his head to the group. "Its good to meet you too Xandur, as well as the Master Dwarf, and Mistress Elf."

Hogar accepted the gauntlet, turning it over for inspection. "And I be Hogar Rafun, of house Rafun of Garron." He stated, not concerned with hiding his noble heritage. Glancing at the different parts of the gauntlet. He had to admit, he couldn't recognize the rock it was made of either. The runes seemed somewhat familiar, but the dwarf couldn't place his finger on where he saw them before. He kept this to himself for now, not feeling any sense in getting the mans hope up if he couldn't jog his memory at all.

"whelp, can't say I can tell ya much more then me brethren have lad." He admitted, a sad thing for a dwarf to say he couldn't recognize stone work. Flipping the fake limb around a bit, he looked into the socket when the mans stump of an arm was supposed to go. He pause, in fact stopping his legs entirely. "Wait a tick." He stared into the socket long and hard. It was only a slight difference in coloration, but he see some familiarity in the material inside. "So that's it." He looked up, hurrying back to return the mans false arm. "I can see why me brethren couldn't figure it out then. You're better off askin' a sorcerer that deals in conjuration. If I'm right then rock this is carved from isn't even from this world. Most mine dwellers look down on that branch of magic so it's easy to see why they couldn't tell you the make up. Also you might want to invest some time in asking a rune smith about runes not used by men, elves or dwarves."

After the initial conversation with the elf and half elf over the gauntlet dried up, Hogar lulled back into silence that had enveloped the band as they marched the rest of the way. Occasionally he would get into small talks with others, mostly consisting of himself blathering on about his adventures and whatever topic he could grasp while whatever poor person nearby got settled with listening to the dwarves ramblings.

When just as they were coming up the road to the village, he was telling the paladin why he didn't wear a helmet in battle despite the protection it offered. "...See, the way I see it is that the other guy is goin' to be aimin' at the spot on ya that will make ya bleed tah death the fastest. By keeping one point on me open and looking vulnerable I can tell were the most of der strikes are gonna be aimed at. Granted it's not the safest philosophy, as you can see where that particular gamble failed me a few times, but fighting in general always carries a risk to it."

The dwarf finally stopped his talking, much to the relief of the two other sell swords who had been the some of the larger targets of the dwarfs attempt to socialize, when The group spotted the sentry. He followed along with the others after the captain up the road into the village itself. It was a pitiful sight really, the beaten and burned settlement barring the sure marks of brutality it had endured.

"The last unit went after the bandits blind and it cost them. Men, see what you can find amongst the rubble."

Hogar gave no complaint, already separating from the group to search through the ruins. Unlike some of the soldiers that started picking through the remains of the buildings, the dwarf paid the most of his attention the the ground. The was some disturbances from when the previous group had come through to clean out the bodies, but there were still some spots of original tracks that the dwarf could spot out of the dirt.

He started from the village entrance, circling around until he found the particular set he was looking for. "The came from the south west..." He muttered as he pressed his large hands into the soils and brushed over the hove prints in the dirt. He started mumbling to himself as he traced the tracks into the village itself. "Then they started circlin' though the houses.... likely tryin' to catch any one outside rather then hit the houses themselves... which means it was probably night when they attacked...." He stopped by one of the buildings, kneeling down to check where the entrance was. "They dismounted... groups of two by each house.... before goin' in..." Slowly he painted the scene of that night into his head, as he read off the signs of what had happened.

"They dragged the villagers out and... gathered them into the village center?" The ground was marred, but it had the marks of many people standing in one place. And there were many marks of where the villagers bodies were dragged away to be buried by the first group of soldiers. "They was lookin' for someone in particular. They killed the rest that didn't mark what they was lookin' for." He offered a sigh and a moment of silence as he patted a patch of dried blood.

Rising to his feet again, the dwarf finally walked toward one of the burned out building themselves. Hogar pulled several large pieces of fallen ceiling and collapsed wall aside. He scanned the wreckage with sharp eyes, trying to find any sign of what was used to burn the building down. Whether it be torch or a bottle of burning oil. He found nothing of the sort. "Did they have a mage with them?" He asked no one in particular. There wasn't enough evidence to prove that the bandits had one, but the dwarf wasn't going to rule it out.

Hogar climbed back out of the rubble, and began walking through the village, trying to see what else he could pick out. Most importantly which way the bandits went when they finished.

Xandur felt a very familiar expression spread across his face when the dwarf named Hogar announced that the stone baffled. Xandur expected no more from the dwarf but knew he had to at least try. He was about to take the gauntlet back, when Hogar piped up. He stated that the reason he couldn't identify the stone was that it wasn't from this plane and that he should seek the help of a Magi familiar with conjuration. Xandur's eye lit up with intrigue and excitement. He had a lead. After seven years he finally had a lead. Not a very strong one, but maybe he could finally figure out who he was. "Thank you master Hogar. You don't know how much you've helped me." He stated with genuine happiness. He then raised his stub and the gauntlet flew out of the dwarf's hands and reattached itself to his stub. The symbols glowed once more, and the limb began to move once more.

Suddenly, the elf girl who called herself Theresa, stated she recognized the stone as well. She then pulled and ankle bracelet off of her leg and showed it to them. The stone was of a slightly different color, but the symbols seemed to resemble the ones on the gauntlet fairly well. She stated that it was apparently a family heirloom. Xandur was about to comment on it, but it seemed they were to be quiet since they were nearing known ambush sites so Xandur remained quiet. Sooner or later though, he would have to speak with Theresa.

They finally arrived at the site of the attack, and almost immediately, Xandur felt a disturbance. Something about this place was wrong, but he wasn't entirely sure exactly what it was. Everyone seemed to be receiving orders about what to do and what not to do, but Xandur simply ignored the Captain. Xandur immediately made his way to the southwest part of the ruins of the village. He walked over a pile of rubble that he suspected used to be a house and crouched down, supporting himself with his staff. Xandur then reached up and removed his eye patch and placed it into his pack. He then breathed in slowly and opened his milky white dead eye and closed the other.

Light and color seemed to swirl out of existence into a torrent of nothingness for Xandur. Then, images and sounds could be made out, but just barely. After a bit the sounds and images became clearer, and what he stared at now, was a truly perplexing sight. The ground was teala nd the sky was purple. Streams of technicolor light danced through the sky and the very moon seemed to display a horribly twisted face with blood coming from every orifice. The entire village seemed to be on fire, the flames scarlet as blood. Sheep ran every which way, bleating for sanctuary and mercy. The sheep were being systematically slaughtered by what seemed to be statues wearing scary human masks. Their goal seemed to be slaughter and destruction. Xandur only saw this for maybe 9 seconds before he immediately closed his eye and opened his normal one. Blood was running from his scarred eye and Xandur was breathing heavily. He slowly stood up and shook his head. Though, he knew no matter how hard he tried, he would never forget those images. Things seen by your minds true sight could never be forgotten.

He looked about and noticed a few of the others seemed to have figured out what he had. That this was no bandit attack and that the situation was far more different that the Captain believed or was equipped for. Xandur wasn't sure what to do, if he said anything, than they might not be payed and they would be sent away. Xandur needed to be here and needed to do this. He then noticed the other eye patch guy seemed to notice as well. The after affects his true sight showed he seemed to be hiding something that had to do with the attack. Xandur wiped the blood from his eye and approached the man.

Xandur walked up to him with a friendly smile and patted him on the shoulder with his normal hand. He then spoke in a hushed tone, his words not matching what his face displayed. "How do you think we should proceed about this. We know each other knows about what really happened here. I know your hiding what happened, though I don't know why. Right now it doesn't matter, because if this turns out to an international incident, we get called off. If the Captain gets a hint of this being to much for his men, then we definitely get called off. Since you seem to know more than I do, I'm referring to you. So what do you think we should do?"

Hogar had been mumbling top himself as the captain had them marching out of the village and onto the road again. Something about the tracks he found back in the ruins just didn't seem right.

He was still mumbling to himself when he bumped to the person in front of him. Uttering a curse and an apology, Hogar peaked his head out to see what had stopped the group. He grimaced at the sight of the dead bodies like everyone else, but more then that he also unloosed his hammer form his belt and looked around the forest. Decades of experience told the dwarf that a scene like this looked like perfect bait for a trap, and he wouldn't put it past their quarry to try and turn the tables on their pursuers.

When the elf woman stepped out and spoke, the dwarf had the hammer raised over head in a heart beat. He lowered it moments later when she made no hostile moves and no one else came out of the brush. Nobody made any move to speak to her, as the group seemed on edge about the woman's appearance. Hogar, quickly growing impatient with the silence detached himself from the group.

"And who might you be, if I may ask ya ma'am?" He said. It might have been going over the captains head to take initiative with a stranger like this, but Hogar honestly thought the captain could sod off. If the man wanted to be an ass then let him, he wasn't earning the dwarfs respect and obedience that way. As for the elf woman, Hogar kept his hammer loose in his grip as he waited for her reaction. He made no apparent stance of aggression, but he'd be ready to defend himself in a heart beat if it came to it. All the while he had pleasant and social expression on, trying to appear polite.

Hogar was... more then a little annoyed with the elf girl at the moment. The dwarf might have been a chatter box but even he never was impolite enough to brazenly cut right in front of someone when they were talking and then try to cut into their conversation. He leaned out from behind her and gave a long annoyed stare at Theresa and made a load throat clearing noise.

He might have been short, but he doubted he was unnoticeable enough for someone to automatically forget he was there. Yes, he was here first. Yes, he was talking. And yes, he was a little annoyed with being interrupted. That and she didn't give the other a chance to introduce herself before butting in.

"Ya might wanna reconsider the wording of that question lass..." He said dryly, remarking toward the nearly accusing sounding question the young elf asked.