Setting
And when he found him, he would kill him.
Such is the life of a paladin of vengeance. His creed gave him tremendous leeway to find his prey and to enact judgement. The hundreds of the dead weighed on his conscious and provided him the necessary spark to keep going on his task. He would not fail no matter what. He would not stop until one of them lay dead.
A sudden wave jostled the ship and made him clutch the edge of the railing. He decided to stay within his cabin for the remaining few hours of the voyage. He walked over to his chest to find the few documents he had brought with him. He clutched the first document and read about the man who he was to meet at the port city of Todd Morden; a man by the name of Anders. He had been invited by the supposedly well known trader to be his guest for at least the first few days. He had been skeptical at first but his father put his mind at ease, as Anders was an old friend of his. Apparently he had been something like an uncle to Ret early in his life, though to much time had passed and Ret remembered little from that time. It seemed so long ago, when he was more carefree and hopeful. Now his mission was the only thing that filled every waking hour.
He laid on his bed with his eyes looking up at the wooden ceiling. He was tired from yet another restless night, so he tried to get some sleep. The burning nightmares once again came to him and stirred him to wakefulness. He instead decided to pace around until he heard the sound of the ship beginning to dock.
He was one of the last to depart. Carrying his trunk, he walked off the gangplank and was immediately greeted by a well dressed man.
"Hello sir, my name is Fenway. I am to bring you to my master's residence," he said with a bow. "Allow me to help you with your things."
Ret nodded gratefully and handed one of his things to the man. Together they began walking the streets. The man kept trying to be a tour guide, pointing out points of interest in the city, but Ret hardly paid any attention. It happened to be that Ret didn't much care for histories, or peoples. Many things have taken the back burner for him.
The man finally stopped talking when they reached a sizeable home where another, fatter, but jolly looking man with a long greying beard met him at the door.
A sudden wave jostled the ship and made him clutch the edge of the railing. He decided to stay within his cabin for the remaining few hours of the voyage. He walked over to his chest to find the few documents he had brought with him. He clutched the first document and read about the man who he was to meet at the port city of Todd Morden; a man by the name of Anders. He had been invited by the supposedly well known trader to be his guest for at least the first few days. He had been skeptical at first but his father put his mind at ease, as Anders was an old friend of his. Apparently he had been something like an uncle to Ret early in his life, though to much time had passed and Ret remembered little from that time. It seemed so long ago, when he was more carefree and hopeful. Now his mission was the only thing that filled every waking hour.
He laid on his bed with his eyes looking up at the wooden ceiling. He was tired from yet another restless night, so he tried to get some sleep. The burning nightmares once again came to him and stirred him to wakefulness. He instead decided to pace around until he heard the sound of the ship beginning to dock.
He was one of the last to depart. Carrying his trunk, he walked off the gangplank and was immediately greeted by a well dressed man.
"Hello sir, my name is Fenway. I am to bring you to my master's residence," he said with a bow. "Allow me to help you with your things."
Ret nodded gratefully and handed one of his things to the man. Together they began walking the streets. The man kept trying to be a tour guide, pointing out points of interest in the city, but Ret hardly paid any attention. It happened to be that Ret didn't much care for histories, or peoples. Many things have taken the back burner for him.
The man finally stopped talking when they reached a sizeable home where another, fatter, but jolly looking man with a long greying beard met him at the door.
"Welcome my good friend!" The man yelled boisterously. "Ret, it has been so long! Too long some might say! Why I haven't seen you since you were yeigh high!" He gestured to the height of his waist.
Ret smiled curtly, and somewhat awkwardly. "Ah, yes. My father did tell me that we knew each other, though I must confess that I don't remember much from that time. My father assured me that you have always been very good to our family, and I'm very grateful of your offer."
Anders clapped him on the back. "Think nothing of it my dear nephew! Come, let me show you to where you'll be staying!" And he walked into his house.
Ret paused. He was pretty certain this man was not his uncle, but he chose to let it slide.
She wasnât frightened, she was bored. If the others around her were more than just humans, they probably wouldâve seen she was a devilish looking creature called a tiefling. Although not a true devil, her appearance would often startle the people of this land because tieflings were not very common. It made it hard to blend in to places like humans could, so she got used to using her looks to her advantage.
She heard a shuffling of feet coming from outside the door. A few of the others in the room whimpered and crawled away from the door. Nothing came of it this time, and the sounded of shuffling feet echoed down the hall and faded away into the dark. Kira rolled her eyes and sighed. She had gotten up her hopes that they wouldâve opened the door by now, expecting all those inside to be too week to defend themselves.
They would have to come and give food to the humans sometime soon, otherwise they would have a lot of bodies to deal with. She would use that as the moment for her escape.
Until then she would just have to be bored. Even though she was blindfolded on the way in here, she could clearly remember her way back by counting the steps as she traveled in. By the gentle slope downwards, she also knew she must be underground.
She had her route planned out, now it was a waiting game.
It was a dark stain on his memory and he did everything not to remember, but the anger did well to fuel his need for vengeance. An entire village in his land was wiped out completely for hordes of undead. A horde of such size could have no natural meaning. So that left the unnatural.
It was the work of a very powerful necromancer. Rhet didnât know if it was a failed plot to vie for power, or even a deeper plot to lure Rhet here. Regardless Rhet had no choice but to come here to Pyron, where rumor has it, the necromancy fled to.
Rhet had been pretty normal until that day. After that everything changed. He journeyed to a faraway temple of his land and submitted to the paladin elders there. For a full year he train mercilessly to become a paladin of vengeance. He has become an embodiment of his tenants:
Fight the Greater Evil. Faced with a choice of fighting my sworn foes or combating a lesser evil. I choose the greater evil.
No Mercy for the Wicked. Ordinary foes might win my mercy, but my sworn enemies do not.
By Any Means Necessary. My qualms canât get in the way of exterminating my foes.
Restitution. If my foes w reak ruin on the world, it is because I failed to stop them. I must help those harmed by their misdeeds.
He would follow these rules without mercy or pause. There were many righteous, good paladins out in the world, but he was not one of them. He only wanted the death of that man.
A steward rushed into the room and whispered something frantically into Andersâ ear. His face dropped. âGood gracious, another one!?â He moaned.
He looked over his family and his eyes fell on Rhet. âIâm sorry for the intrusion my dears. Rhetsam, can you follow me?â and he began to walk out of the room. Rhet did as he was told and followed him out of the room.
Finally the door unlocked to the sound of more whimpering and some frightened cries for help, which were swiftly silenced.
It looks like another ship got captured, Kira thought to herself. She counted at least a dozen more people shuffled into the dark room. The waddled around blindly, tripped over themselves and over rocks strewn across the ground. Kira even saw a few small children. She had a soft spot for children, so that changed things a bit. Before, it was all about her, but now she had to figure out a way to get them out too. Might as well just get everyone out at that point. What a pain.
The captured were gruff looking humans. There seemed to be 7 of them, too much to take on a head on right now. She would have to be patient and hope that they send less guards next time they open the door. It only made sense that they would think as the people grew weaker, they would need less people to guard them.
It looks like it was going to be another long night in this dank, cold cave listening to the sound of crying and whimpering. Such a pain. She was going to enjoy getting out of here. But she knows how to be patient.
There were several red xâs on the map. Anders grabbed a red ink pen. âWhere were they lost?â Anders asked grimly.
âBy our estimates, around here,â the steward said, pointing to an area near the other xâs. Answers cursed under his breath and began to make another x. âThatâs the third time this month. Theyâre getting bolder, assured that we donât have the means to stop them now. The situation looks dire indeed.â
âWhat situations? What are those xâs?â Rhet asked.
âThey signify vessels that have been pirated and their crews and passengers gone missing,â Anders replied. âNo bodies in the water, so weâre assuming a hostage situation. We narrowed their home base location to this island here,â he said, pointing to one of the tiny islands. âTheyâre just outside the portâs authority so weâve been hard pressed to get any help Fromm the local militia. Itâs going to take much more losses before they start losing profit and care enough to do sometching about it. But we canât wait that long.â
Rhet thought about it deeply for a moment. A stealth mission might work, just him and a few others. The pirates sound not too bright, and they shouldnât expect anyone to come in small enough numbers to remain undetected. They would expect a full frontal assault, which is what theyâre probably preparing for.
âAlright, Iâm in,â Rhet said firmly, nodding as if he had it all figured out.
âWhat? In what?â Asked Anders, bewildered.
âGetting those people safely back, of course,â Rhet said. âYou brought me in here to help, didnât you?â
âWhat- by yourself!?â Anders asked, aghast.
âNo, I would need a few people with me. Iâm sure you could drum up a few fighters. Iâll need at least one steady archer and someone who can get in and out of places quietly, and can unlock doors.â Rhet continued with his plan, pointing down at the map. âThe strong side of the mountain is almost certainly where the mouth of the cave is to go underground, and where theyâll be focusing their guard shifts. Now, over here, on the weak side of the mountain there almost always vent shafts to let in fresh air to the deeper parts of the mountain. If I take a few people, we could enter undetected. From there, we find the group, wether by luck or interigation, then we go back the way we came once the people are secure.â
âYou make it sound like a simple task. These are brutes.â
Rhet focused his energy and his eyes turned a misty black color. âAnd Iâm a paladin. I wonât be taken by the likes of them.â
Anderson backed away wary as Rhetâs Eyes turned back to normal. Then he smiled. âHey maybe youâre right, maybe you can beat them. We have a real chance of handling this ourselves!â Anders said, stroking his beard. âI can get together a few other men in just a few hours, and a small boat to get you there. Meet me by the pier you came here on at midnight, when the moon is st itâs highest. That is the time we will strike.â
The two shook hands and then departed. Anders had to get the affairs in order and Rhet wanted to meditate to his God and rest up before the assault. He would take his time inspecting his equipment before any mission. He decided that his plate mail was far too clunky, even if it offered the best protect against sword and arrows. He decided instead to dawn some of his chain mail. While not perfectly quiet, it would be quieter than the plate, and offer him more protection than studded leather in a fight, which was bound to happen. No mission ever went off without a hitch.
Kira heard the sound of once again more feet coming down the passageway, probably to disperse paltry amounts of food and water to the prisoners, barely enough to keep them alive. In fact, probably not even enough for that. They probably wanted a few to die out so they would be easier to manage.
Once again, the locking mechanism sounded as the door began to be unlocked from the intricate locking system. Kira only heard 2 pairs of feet shuffling outside, so this was her time to strike. She was right to think that they would send fewer guards once they thought everyone was too weak from starvation and thirst to fight. Not her; it would take several more days until she would need to eat. Tieflings were like that.
The door opened while she hid in the dark corner near. A bright light filled the room as the lantern light was the brightest thing many of these people have seen in days. Some recoiled from the light.
The two marched in, and Kira was waiting for them. She jumped out a struck at them with a rock she had found on the floor.
Inside his boat is was joined by three other people he had just met, but now their lives were in each others hands. One of the, was a simple fighter with a sword. He was not the most skilled fighter Rhet had ever seen, but it was better than nothing. Next, something a bit different: a female half elf. Her speciality was with the bow and apparently she was pretty good. Anders had called her a âsharpshooterâ. Hopefully she could be put to use. The last man was a roguish sort. He would be good with stealth and getting into places we werenât supposed to be in, which is exactly this whole mission.
They kept talking to a minimum as they made their way over. They finally made it to the shore on the southern side of the island. Rhet could already see a faint glow through the trees. Most likely a small guard camp.
Many problems arose immediately, they would need a vessel enough to accommodate everyone. There was a real chance that no one had any sailing experience.
Sheâll have to make this up on the go.
Rhet led his group over towards the bushes behind the fire. He spied three men keeping themselves warm by it, laughed and telling jokes and stories to each other. This was going to be easier than he thought. They didn't seem to have any spatial awareness.
Just then, He heard the sound of a menacing growl appear to his right. Crap, they have dogs. A rookie mistake branching from the fact that Rhet assumed they were entirely incompetent. He remembered then how dangerous it was to assume. The guys around the fire grabbed their swords and stood up, facing the noise.
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