Come to the Topaz Rose Inn and rest your feet on your travels! Enjoy our connected smithy to re-shoe your horses and browse our wears!
Friend Code: E34601
“Seriously?” Darria moaned feebly. “We’ve been on this trek for three days, how are we still a day away from Dowvale?”
“Because you were so insistent that we stop to hunt for wild mushrooms and other plants multiple times a day, and then hunting for as long as an hour. That’s why we didn’t arrive yesterday.” Sam replied with a huff from the driver’s seat of the wagon without turning back to look at her. “Make yourself useful and pass me a hat, I’m getting sunburnt up here all exposed.”
“It’s not that bad.” Darria responded as she rummaged through the assortment of general goods they had on the cart for something passable as a hat. “Sun is much nicer here than the south.”
“That’s because you were born in the deserts.” Piped in Quinn, lounging on a pile of flour bags, hood of his green cloak up to protect his own face, absentmindedly whittling some wood into the shape of an arrow shaft. “I’ve never seen people with darker skin like you burn, while Sam and I crisp up in a minute. Even Darren and Albus wouldn’t deal well without their helms.” He commented, gesturing to the two hired guards riding alongside in their full armour, faces partially concealed behind their matching barbuta helmets.
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Quinn himself was wearing leather armour as per usual with his quiver at his side and bow at arm’s reach, ever the paranoid man about ambushes or missing the chance to hunt good game. Darria was a herbalist by trade and a tailor by hobby, wearing a muted red cloak over green threads she’d made herself with a sapphire brooch to hold it all together, her dark olive skin showing her to be foreign to these northern mountainous regions. Sam, on the larger size by birth and by baked goods, was an entrepreneur of a merchant after giving up on being a soldier, travelling to small and remote locations to get the best prices on basic amenities, and Dowvale was the next small stop before the surprisingly lively town of Veilpass. The journey had been longer than desired due to Darria wanting to take samples she was unfamiliar with from the wild, something the two guards, Darren and Albus, didn’t complain about when they were getting paid by the hour of travel.
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For a while longer they chatted, but Quinn started to pick up on the unease of the guards as they tried to peer into the pine forests flanking each of their sides, gently sloping up away from the valley path they traversed. Quinn lent his own keen eyes to the task. “It’s too thick to really make anything out.” He commented after a while to Darren. “Part of the reason the Red Axe bandits favour this area, easy to set up ambushes.”
“And that’s why people are normally not stupid enough to actually take the Black Valley route to Dowvale.” Darria added with a hint of annoyance directed at Sam.
“Hey, it’s the fastest route, and with you slowing us down so much, we don’t really have much of an option unless we want to miss the harvest market.” Sam retorted defiantly. “Besides, the top route is cold and unsuited to carts.”
“Then hire donkeys!” Darria whinged. “Like everyone else does to get-“
“Hush!” Quinn interjected, bow suddenly in hand, everyone on edge as they scanned the ridge he stared so intently at. “I heard something.” He uttered, barely louder than a whisper. “Something big.”
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Over the sounds of the horses trotting and the cart wheels turning, others heard it too. Something behind them, something big, heavy, moving with speed within the trees. Suddenly shrubbery and bark exploded a small distance behind them as an armoured behemoth tore out onto the path, it’s equally armoured rider with a billowing red cloak guiding it to bound towards the travellers.
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“Trison!” Sam yelled in terror, slapping the cart’s horse into action though none of them needed the extra motivation to try and flee the great horned warbeast. Quinn loosed an arrow, pinging harmlessly off the heavy shoulder armour of the lumbering creature. He cursed under his breath, trying to look for a weak spot to hit.
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It was faster than the horses, despite the encumberment of its armour. Its rider held in one hand a polearm with a great crescent axe blade, looking almost like it was built for a giant to use. Darren’s horse was lagging behind slightly, Darren himself equipping his sword and shield with practiced expertise. The trison rider released the reins to grip his weapon properly, whirling it above his head with terrifying skill. The axe head arced into Darren with power once within range. Darren managed to bring his shield across him to meet it, but while protecting him from harm the impact itself felt like it broke his arm and knocked him clean off his horse. He struck the ground hard enough to wind himself, and only had a second to realise his situation before the great warbeast’s armoured foot crushed his ribcage without breaking its stride as it ran over him, killing him instantly.
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Albus was in shock. He couldn’t hear Quinn’s cries and orders to help deal with the beast. Without a word he peeled off, heading into the woods to save his own skin, oblivious to Quinn cursing his name and cowardice.
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“It’s gaining on us Sam!” Darria cried as Quinn loosed more arrows unsuccessfully at their pursuers.
“I know Darria!” He called back as he tried to spurn their horse on faster.
“We need to go faster!”
“I know Darria!” Sam roared. “Throw something at it! We’re too heavy!”
Darria grabbed a box of heavy fabrics, tossing it off. It survived the drop to the ground, but not the weight of the incoming trison. Its rider flinched ever so slightly as another of Quinn’s arrows glanced off his helm.
“Rope!” Quinn yelled out, met by a confused and terrified expression from Darria. “Rope Darria! Try to tangle its legs!”
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Quickly tossing through the wares she found the desired item. As she turned to face the monster bearing down on them she fell backwards when the rider swung his weapon to test the distance left. She scrambled, trying to right herself on the heavily bumping high speed cart. How Quinn was able to stand and shoot so well she had no idea. She finally found her footing, tossing the rope at the beast. Some caught its head, wrapping around it’s horn while the rest fell below it, a burst of joy hitting the cart’s occupants as they saw it also catching a leg and threatening to trip it.
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It was short-lived however, as the rider swung his axe with precision and cut through the rope across the horn, leaving it harmlessly trailing from a back leg. The trison was beginning to pull up alongside the cart. Quinn realised he could hit the trison’s unprotected eye from the side. He lined up a shot. The cart bumped. He held his poise. The arrow loosed. The trison’s head reared in pain and fury as the arrow impacted, but it did not slow. Instead, it swung its head back and slammed into the side of the cart, almost knocking both Darria and Quinn down, Sam accidently pulling the reins as he tried to stop falling out of his seat.
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As Darria and Quinn found their footing once again the rider swung in a large arc at them, now easily within reach. The blade impacted Darria first, cleaving through her midriff with horrifying ease, following through to strike Quinn and tearing open his gut, both bodies being flung like damaged ragdolls into the trees.
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Sam didn’t make it much further before the trison rammed with its full weight into the side of the cart, flipping it and all its contents over. It skidded across the ground for a good few meters before coming to a stop, the wares spilt across the side of the road with a bloodied Sam. The trison came to a stop, it’s rider dismounting. Adrenaline running through him, Sam grabbed a sword and a barrel lid as a shield.
“You dare harm my people!” He furiously yelled at the silent assailant. “I’ll make sure they’re avenged.” He uttered darkly. “Don’t think me helpless in a fight, I was swinging swords before you could walk!” The armoured bandit said nothing, his crimson red cloak billowing slightly in the cold wind. He brought his polearm to bare. For a moment they just stood there, assessing one another.
“Show me what you can do, old man.”
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Albus moved slowly up to the wreckage. The two halves of Darria he passed before made him thankful for armour. Sam was propped up sat next to the cart, his right arm wielding a sword and located on the opposite side of the road, his left holding a barrel lid and crushed by the impact of a hit. It looked like the blow that killed him was a thrust by a spike into his chest, presumably by the one atop the bandit’s polearm. Most of the valuables of the broken cart had been taken by now and the horse was long gone, almost two hours after the chase occurred and with the sun just dropping behind the horizon. Albus thought for a moment, looking back down the path.
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Pulling his horse up to Darria’s remains he dismounted. He took a moment to observe the full extent of the damage dealt, glad he fled when he did. There was no way any of them could have stood up to either that beast or its rider. Heading to Darria’s top half he gently flipped her over onto her back with his foot, smiling to himself to see they’d missed her sapphire brooch. He pulled it off, taking a moment to inspect it. “Guess this trip wasn’t totally worthless then.” He mused to himself with a light chuckle.
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The arrow hit with such accuracy and surprise Albus didn’t have time to register what was going on before he collapsed backwards. The shot was perfect, straight into the eye, an instant kill. Quinn slowly emerged from his hiding spot, still trying to hold his guts in with his basic medical skills and a torn cloth wrapping, pacing over to Albus’ body. “Coward. Traitor.” He spat, taking the brooch from his dead hands. It took him a little while with his injury, but he managed to pull himself onto Albus’ horse. He didn’t have the strength to bury his friends yet, he had to get to help and safety for himself first. The night was a dangerous place, but Dowvale was only a few hours ride away, and he knew of people who could help avenge his friends…
Come to the Topaz Rose Inn and rest your feet on your travels! Enjoy our connected smithy to re-shoe your horses and browse our wears!
Friend Code: E34601