The Sellswords

Cara-

Cara shook her head, that was...interesting. She walked to the desk and sat down at the chair looking at her sister.

"We don't know yet. We are working on getting all the people we need. Then there will be a meeting I would think." She said looking around the area. She wanted to go do something instead of just sit around. "We really need to get a hold of our brother." She stood up and changed into some peasant looking clothes and she pulled her long hair behind her head and in a bonnet like thing. She looked in a mirror and smiled, she looked nothing like a princess. She had hidden her form and her identity.

She turned around and looked at her sister. "I'm going for a walk. If you go out, please go with a guard or someone I would trust." She stepped through the flap and walked towards where she would be able to talk to some of the peasants and see what they knew about the destruction of her father's kingdom. She saw Satika and walked over to her. "Satika, would you like to take a walk with me?"

She knew it wouldn't be smart to go off alone, even though she was fully armed and was capable of taking care of herself.

Dent:

Dent laughed at the cart owner. "what money do you want me to pay you with?"

The cart owner pulled on Dents robe. "Pay up he demanded"

"And what if I dont?" Dent said back.

"Guards!" the owner yelled "Thief!"

Dent dropped the apple and ran into the crowd. "Maybe I'm not a people person after all." He didnt stop running until he arrive back at camp. There he ran head long into Piper. They both tumbled to the ground. "sorry ma'am" were Dent's only words and he collapsed in his own tent.

"Maybe I should meet the people I am supposed to be fighting for... maybe later in the week" Dent drifted of to sleep.

I hope it isn’t too late to join? If i’m treading on anyones toes I’ll just leave

Name: Thomas
Age: young for an elf, old for his years
Height: 6'1
Build: Bulky for an elf
Race: Elf
Class: Palace Guard
Eyes: Gold
Hair: Dark Brown
Physique: Muscular

Appearance: Tall and bulky for an elf. Wears his hair short. Unless it’s very impractical, Thomas will always wear his full body plate mail. Except for military parades etc, his armour is completely unadorned. He often wears his helmet as well, to hide his elven heritage.

Weapons: He carries two swords, but only ever uses one, he will not even draw the othe, nor allow it to be drawn. Out of principle he will never use a ranged weapon.


History: Was captured by slavers as a child and sold to a mercenary company a few years later. With this abrupt end of his childhood and the years in the mercenary lifestyle that followed, Thomas became acutely skilful with weapons and fieldcraft, but almost completely devoid of other skills. At the age of sixteen his mercenary company was wiped out and he travelled to the capital city of Alten looking for a new company. Instead he was hired into the royal guards and served them loyally until the coup. Despite his mercenary upbringing he became completely loyal to the king, and stayed true to a strict self-discipline and morality. Thomas was with King Saman when the coup was launched and because of his strict code of honour, has travelled to find the remaining royal family and serve them. As an elf he has a natural affinity with nature, but this has been largely dulled because he has lived much of his life in cities.

Thomas kept climbing the slope, ignoring the slight cramp he was getting in his shoulders. Through most of his travels he had worn only the basic breastplate of his armour, but now that he had almost reached his destination he was in full battle dress. He would have to adjust the straps on his shoulders before they started to saw into his shoulders though.

He had followed a lot of rumours since the coup, and he hoped that this wasn't going to be as fruitless as those had been. At least his pack was much lighter now that he was almost completely out of supplies. Thomas trudged on up the hill.

Something told him there were people further up the slope, hidden, waiting. Guards probably, which meant that at least he was coming closer to something that was worth guarding.

Right on cue a voice called out, "Declare yourself."

"I'm here to meet with the resistance."

*bring me in if you want guys*

This, Lennel thought, is way too easy. Despite tight security on base, many mercs had turned up to join their rag tag team of mercenaries. What worried him the most was that one of the new recruits might actually be in the pay of their enemy. Such things had happened before, which is why independent mercs weren't very well trusted. Still, they would be far cheaper, if less reliable. Four days had passed since the Princess had arrived and Lennel wondered how long the camp would stay safe.

So far, each of the new recruits had been vigorously checked and all had been passed. The brutal fact of the matter was that he couldn't trust any of them. Their enemy was richer than he was and all mercs wanted money. There would be a very small window of time for him to work with complete surprise. The question now was what to do with that small period of time.

The first possibility was that a scratch team might be able to pull off a daring rescue operation, assassinate their current leader, and then restore rule. Immediately, Lennel disregarded the option. Such things only worked in campfire stories and by assassinating the current leader, he wouldn't necessarily succeed in installing new leadership, or even surviving.

A second option popped up fairly quickly. There were many estates in and around the capitol, he could use the short period of time to raid the estates for treasure and supplies. Lennel liked this option better. If it succeeded, the resistance would have more money to ensure the loyalty of their mercenaries as well as supplies.

Lennel left his office to go talk with the Princess about possible targets. He did not notice the assassin, who had been waiting for just this moment. The assassin moved silently and waited for Lennel to lead him to his target.

Cara-

Cara helped Piper up as the guy disappeared. I hope he doesn't act so rude when we leave if he is coming. She thought, she walked towards her tent Piper still with her when an elf approached her.

"Could you tell me where to find Princess Cara?" He asked, his golden eyes looked from her to Piper. Cara nodded,

"May I ask why you want to see her?" She asked looking at him. He stood a good half foot or more taller then her 5"5'.

"I have a letter I need to give to her." He replied,

"I can give it to her." She said sticking her hand out. He shook his head,

"I must give it to her myself." He replied, sternly. She nodded,

"Follow me then, what is your name?" She asked looking at him once more then walking towards her tent.

"Thomas." He replied as he followed her. When she stepped into the tent she removed her bonnet and looked at her sister.

"May I have the letter now?" She asked, he looked at her confussed, "I'm Princess Cara, this is my sister." She said motioning towards Kayia (I hoped I spelled that right). He handed her the letter and she walked over to a chair sitting down and tearing it open. She started reading the letter in her head.


Dearest sister,
I hope this letter finds you in better situations then I am in while writing it. I have heard from our mother, well at least from one of her servants that managed to get away. She is fine, for now, but is being forced to marry Broc Merton. Cara frowned, this couldn't be true. She looked up at her sister, she would have to read this. She went back to reading the letter in her head. This is not good news on our part at all. Not only will this make it hard for us to get her and the kingdom back without the possiblitly of harming her, but it also give Merton right to the kingdom if she marries him. Even though she isn't wanting to. This only means that we have to move quickly and swiftly.

I pray our little sister made it to you safely. Please keep her with you until we can meet up . I don't want her out of either of ours site in case Merton decides to try and take her too. I'm not as concerned about you, he wouldn't want to try an put up with you it would be a mistake on his part and would only cause him greif.Cara smiled at her brothers gently bantering trying to lift spirits a little.

I hope everything is falling into place there and you are able to get the recruits we need. I sent this letter with my most trusted guard and I want you to keep him with you and the recruits. If you can't trust anyone else I know you can trust him. He has worked along side me for years and has done me proud. Be careful of assassins and liars. I'm sure you have thought of it, but some you hire might be trators. Keep this in mind and stay safe my sister.

Your brother,

Tristian

Cara frowned and looked up, Piper had stepped out of the tent but Thomas was still standing there alert.

"You are to stay here with us. Please find a spot to put your tent." She said standing up, "Thank you for bringing this to me." She stood up and followed him to the tent's flap. That was when she saw Lennel approaching. She turned to her sister. "Take this and read it, I need to go talk to someone."

Kaiya sighed and took the letter into her hands. She read it quietly and quickly, but other than where her brother was exactly she already knew all of it. She had spent a few hours out in public in peasant clothes before coming and had heard the scoop on the streets.

The got to the last paragraph and turned up her nose a bit. She could take care of herself and she knew it, and it was insulting of her brother to say such things of her--at least in her opinion.

She watched as her sister left the tent, but did not say a word. It wasn't long before she heard a voice on the other side, "Princess?"

Kaiya raised a brow, uncertain which he was looking for but going for it anyway, "Yes?"

"It's Lennel, the troop leader, may I enter?"

Kaiya smiled a bit, this would be a chance to prove herself to her brother and sister (at least, in a small way) that she was as able to take care of herself as they were.

"You may."

She waited for Lennel to make his way in, wondering what he had in store for the near future and their family.

Thomas stood behind the princesses as they exchanged smalltalk with the mercenary leader. He felt protective of the young royals, and he wasn't quite comfortable with how things stood. As he had been brought into the camp he had seen that the camp was full of mercenaries, most but not all belonging to this Gryphon Company. It would be too easy to slip a traitor in

Relying on a large company of hirelings was worrying enough, but the idea of abandoning members of the royal family even for the short time needed to set himself up in a camp full of armed strangers simply didn't sit right with him.

He watched Princess Cara talk to the head of the Gryphon Mercenaries, though he didn't eavesdrop on their conversation out of courtesy. Instead, he looked through the wide tent flap, eyeing the camp.

Everywhere were unknown faces. For all he knew he was the only truly loyal subject of the royal family in the entire camp. He looked from individual to individual, sizing them up as a potential threat before moving on to the next.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a figure suddenly stand up from behind a tent, drawing an arrow to a bowstring. With the sun behind the tent, the shadows of the princesses and Lennel would be clearly outlined against the material; like shadow-puppets.

"Assassin!" he shouted in warning before barreling toward the princess. The Gryphon leader, Lennel, looked at him in confusion for a crucial moment before realising the threat lay elsewhere.

Thomas floored the princess, covering her with his armoured bulk. He knew he had to blindly trust that this was not a concerted betrayal by the mercenary company, if it was then they were dead already.

*I can shift this around again if i need to, do we have a discussion thread? If we dont, pm me about it*

Dent:

Dent awoke to the confusion and noise going on out side. He creeped out of his tent to see, an archer shooting into the royals tent. Dent sprinted across the twenty feet or so distance in only seconds. He drew his short blade and leaped the last few feet. The archer turned his bow to Dent and let an arrow fly. The arrow stuck Dent just below the left shoulder. Dent had already committed to his attack and could not stop. His blade tore through the archer stomach and out through his back. Dent flipped off the attacker and fell to the ground unsteadily. The arrow was lodged deep into Dent and the pain was close to unbearable. His target lay moaning about the blade in his stomach, that was now also lodged into the ground. Dent stood up and walked away to see if the resistance had a healer nearby. A few other mercs had their weapons raised to charge the target, but when seeing him down, they decided that it was not necessary to interfere with the death of an assassin!

Dent collapsed a few feet farher away. then he was too light-headed to stand again. "Robes provide zero arrow protection." then he passed out from blood loss.

(Rubric>>may want to read the post before yours.)

Piper had come running between and over tents when she heard the shout. Her sword was already drawn. She saw that the robed man had already taken his toll on the assassin. Satika flew to his side once he had fallen. Piper ran to the circle of people looking on to the dying assassin, she walked up to him.

He was plainly dressed. He would have blended in easily with the other mercenaries about. Now his simple garb was soaking through with blood, staining the grass around him. The hole in his stomach was unsightly and some people turned away. With this amount of blood, he'd be dead soon.

Piper glared at the man. His eyes were filled with pain. "Who sent you?" Piper asked with a commanding tone. The man grunted. "WHO... SENT... YOU!!" she shouted. Piper bent and pulled the man half off the ground by his collar. The man cried out in pain.

"Just kill me, please!" he said.

"No! Anyone who threatens the lives of the rightful heirs of the throne will lose their rights! I demand you tell me who sent you!"

"Just kill me quickly!" the man begged, tears of pain rolling down his face. Piper sneered at him. Then she bent close and whispered her deal to him.

"If you tell me who sent you, I'll end your life quickly."

The man grimaced and whispered back, "Smith." Piper let go of him and he thumped to the ground and grunted.

Piper stood then and brought her sword up to strike but then noticed the man's eyes roll back into his head and his mouth gurgled red blood as he finally died.

"Hm, shame," Piper said. She left the body to be taken care of.

She walked back towards Dent. He was concious now. Satika had done her work quickly and well. Piper nodded to Dent and headed to the Princesses' tent. She said to the flap door, "Cara? Kaiya? It's Piper, the assasin is dead. I have some information."

Lennel opened the flap, inspected Piper and drew his sword not knowing who she was. "Lennel," Kayia's voice said. "It's alright, we know her. Let her in." Lennel warily stepped aside but kept his sword drawn. Piper nodded to him. There was a large man in front of the girls, no he was an elf too, Piper could tell. Piper bent around him to speak to them. Kaiya pushed him aside.

"Dent killed the assassin," she addressed the large elf who was protecting them. "I spoke to him before he died. I got a name out of him," the large elf looked interested.

"Yes?" Lennel asked.

"Smith," Piper said. Lennel looked shocked.

"Thank you," he said. "I'm Lennel, by the way. We haven't met. I'm the troop leader."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Piper. I must go now. Dent was injured. Satika has taken care of it." Piper bowed to the general audience in the tent and walked out.

Cedrick stood atop one of the small cliff over looking the camp. he was told to to get involved in any of the battles, but to observe them. he could tell the assassin was from the southern border. Those mercs are cheap, and not to skilled. They're better at information gathering, but still, there were a lot of them.

He looked up at the darkening sky, "Smith, what have you been up to?" His mind faded back to older memories of two boys playing together, "This time, your death shall be me saving you." He leaped off for the tent to speak with Lennel.

Dent:

Dent sat up in a bed and naturally reached for his blade. It wasn't there. His arm was sore, but there was no wound. The man, the arrow, my blade. It all came back so slowly. He remembered the clothing of the man. He remembered the pain of the arrow. He remembered the stab and then, nothing. He leaped from the bed only to find he was terribly light-headed. "I now have a strict no heroics policy, oh who am I kidding. its what I do." Dent then fell down again. He pulled himself back up and walked/limped out of the medical tent. "Now, to get my first assignment, do I speak to this Lennel guy... or the royal family. anyway I am defiantly asking for an assassination assignment." Dent finally stopped talking to himself and headed for the royals tent.

*ok im lost again...cna someone help?*

There was an assassination attempt on the princess, but it was thwarted by Dent. Piper managed to find out the name of the man that sent him, simply Smith. Lennel and Cedrick have dealt with Smith sometime in the past.