Avalon/Roleplay Section/Hector/The old Man of Henhower, part I
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The Old man of Henhower, part I
Hector, Arian, Revan and Xaero start out towards Henhower. They have some investigating to do there, as it is told, the tree that protects them resides in Zod. However, they have to go to Henhower first, to talk with some locals about the founding of the tree. There is an elder in the camp who knows a bit about it. Arian is quite knowledgeable of the subject, but is missing some details the old man might be able to provide.
See, the old man once broke into the Druid stronghold in Wudenkin and stole several chapters from the History of the world. These pages he took about 39 years ago, held secrets to the origin of the tree, and the ceremony performed to first lock the Monsters behind the gates of the Colony Tree. Although, the Elves know a great deal, humans and Elves over the past several years have begun to hate each other. The Elves blame the humans for the disease that engulfs the lands now, and the humans think the Elves think higher of Nature and Trees than they do the intelligent creatures of the world. As the relations soured between the races, so has the communication. Even though the Druid, Arian, has some trust of the Elves, for some reason, they do not tell him the rights required to rebirth the tree. Arian suspects because he too is human, they don’t fully trust him, either.
With the fate of the world at stake, the Elves have come to accept the inevitable overrunning of the Monsters. For they have a secret land, that lay behind the misty Marsh, that is well protected and no dead thing dare wonder there.
As Arian tells the tale to the men he rides with, their anger is prevalent. “Why would they be so selfish?” Hector barks.
“I don’t understand their reasoning.” Xaero interjects.
Followed closely by Revan, “Morons! Why would they risk our continent out of spite for humans? It makes no sense!”
Arian smiles calmly as they unleash their anger towards Arian. Who, veiled in his cloak, allows them to vent. There is nothing he could say, anyway, to relieve their anger. What they say is part true, but there is much more to this then any of them may realize yet.
Jessica is some 50 feet behind the men, in a lavish carriage. She rides with a servant girl and a body guard. “Jasper, I hope you don’t mind riding with me.” Jessica says to her Body Guard. “Ma’Lady, my pleasure is to serve Lord Hector, and the woman he loves. I have nothing but pride in my heart right now.”
Jessica blushes a bit and goes back to staring out the window at the beautiful country side.
At the front of the march to Henhower, the 4 men ride close, discussing possibilities. Arian remains silent most of the time, allowing the men to embellish future possibilities. He smiles a bit, laughing at the almost adolescent behavior of these Nobles.
As the men approach the town, they notice a sign post that reads, “All you varmints turn back. This here town is a free town. Free from oppression and your Tyranny!” The men smile, knowing that their army will be conquering this region soon.
Arian turns and finally speaks, “Gentlemen, the man we seek is very old, and will be easy to spot. He will probably be in a Tavern across town. Once we arrive, I will take Hector with me to find the man. The rest of you stand guard over Jessica. It is important that under no circumstances, you allow any undead or hideous creatures to lay eyes on her, or hear her talk. She must remain completely silent and out of sight.”
The men all look at each other, “Why would that be, Arian?”
“The creatures are drawn to women of stature and beauty. They believe female Royal blood gives them more power, and they can tell royalty! She may not be directly Royalty, but she has the presence of Royalty. So guard her with your life gentlemen.
Revan turns to Xaero, “Maybe we shouldn’t have brought her then.”
Xaero shrugs. “I dunno, I kinda like seeing my cousin again. My whole family thought she was dead for the longest time!”
Revan shrugs too. “OK, but, there sure is a lot of waste here. I’m sure Hector and Arian could use our help.”
As the two men stand side by side, they watch Hector and Arian wonder off into the mist, down Main Street, heading for the other side of town. They left their horses with them, pushing forward on foot. As they disappear into the mist, the tow remaining men get an uneasy feeling, something, somewhere is watching them, they can feel it.
