Arcaea/Dining Hall Late 08-09/Deathwyrm the Delicate
The early morning sun cast long shadows into the city of Talex. At the Eastern Gate stood a man.
Tall, broad, muscular. A rugged, close-shaved face; scarred, one ear a twisted, misshapen mess. Forearms like those of a blacksmith, shoulders like a bull.
"Since the day yer mother pushed ya out into this world," Lars Tomarsen said, "I've been waiting fer this moment."
He studied his son before continuing.
"I fed ya raw goat meat since ya were yeah-high, but not an once of it stuck ta yer ribs."
"I served ya proper mead since ya were five years old ta build yer tolerance fer booze, but still ya pukes on yer second beer."
"I made ya sleep every night on the roof, rain er shine, winter er summer,ta build up yer constitution, but still ya get sick from the slightest draft."
"I gave ya a name ta make men fear ya, and still ya've never won a fistfight."
"I gave ya a wooden sword fer yer first an only toy, ta make a warrior out a ya, and still ya'd rather...". He swallowed the rest of his sentence.
"Yer a complete and total disappointment to me. I don't know whose seed yer from - yer mother's an honest woman, but it can't be mine. The Aenil must have switched ya at birth."
"Well, now yer Duchess needs ya. This is yer chance ta make something of yerself. Get out there, and don't come back til yer a hero, er yer dead."
With that, he turned his back and marched off toward the center of the town.
Dragonwyrm watched him leave. His father was right, he knew - he was the most unsuitable swordsman in the realm. Well, that would change! Starting now, he would be tough and mean, a warrior to the core.
He would start by fighting side by side with the Duchess in Larmebsi. He mounted his horse and, calling his men to follow, heaed off to join in the battle in the neighboring region. -
Deathwyrm Tomarsen (Knight of Talex)
Battle! He had been in a battle! In the front ranks - the men had even charged in the right direction, and everything.
Deathwyrm thrilled at the battle report. There they were, right in the center of the line, smashing through the enemy militia, chasing down the archers...why, they had even had a successful loot!
He was about to reach for a pen and parchment, to tell his father the good news, when he saw a name.
"Oh, no!" he groaned. "Oh, no, oh, no, oh, no! What is she doing here?"
Deathwyrm Tomarsen (Knight of Talex)
"Yes, good, good!" Deathwyrm said gleefully. "We'll show them we know how to loot!"
"Uhm...sire..." he sergeant said, tapping him on the shoulder.
"Yes, and that sign there, with the lovely cat wearing those boots..bring theat, too, if you please."
"Sire...uhm..."
"What is it, man? Can't you see we're...Oh. Where did they come from?" Deathwyrm stared at the angry mob. "Uhm, okay...let's move out..."
Deathwyrm Tomarsen (Knight of Talex)
Deathwyrm's brow furrowed.
He was quite sure he was supposed to be moving to Erahol. He knew that if he tried to turn around now and head off in a different direction, he would be caught in Ornaz by the incoming troops.
"Best to keep going," he reasoned.
He also wondered who had attempted to loot after the peasant mob had appeared.
"What a yipyog!" he said, in the Talex dialect.
Deathwyrm Tomarsen (Knight of Talex)
Deathwyrm and his three remaining men crept up to the top of the ridge and looked down in the next valley.
"Talex Guards!" exclaimed one soldier happily. "And there - that's the City!"
Deathwyrm felt a sense of relief come over him. Almost home! With a purse full of looted gold!
True, he had lost most of his men in the small battles along the way, but at least they had died killing the enemy. This was a good start to his military career.
Now, if he could just figure out where his sister had run off to...
Deathwyrm Tomarsen (Knight of Talex)
The big bull of a man turned from the small cluster of officers to face his son. He looked at him wordlessly, studying his bruised and dirtied face, the hole in his shoulder mail, the brown cloth bags he held in his hands.
"I'd like ta hear yer tale this time," he said. "Where have ya bin?"
Deathwyrm tossed the bags to his feet, where they landed with a heavy metallic clunk.
"Out fighting," he answered. "And looting. Was wounded in one of the fights, so a little slow getting back."
His father stared at him, and at the bags on the ground. A broad smile came to his face.
"So ya have, so ya have!" he beamed. "C'mon - there are undead near the western gate, but we have time fer a pint befer ya reports ta the Duchess."
With his arm around his son's shoulder, the two men walked off to the nearest tavern.
Deathwyrm Tomarsen (Knight of Talex)
Deathwyrm strolled up to the area near the western gate where the men were forming ranks for the coming attack. He seemed somewhat... relaxed.
"YOUR GRACE," he said, staggering to a kneeling position in front of her. "DEATHWYRM AND THE DEATHWYRMS, AT YER SERVICE."
He rose clumsily to his feet. He stood still for a moment, lightly swaying as if to some distant beat.
"OH, RIGHT!" he remembered with a start. "WHERE DO YOU WANT US?"
Deathwyrm Tomarsen (Knight of Talex)
"In Arempos?" Deathwyrm exclaimed. "What was she doing in Arempos?"
The messenger stood stoically in front of his liege, not making any attempt to answer.
"Well - Keep her out of trouble for a while, I suppose."
Deathwyrm Tomarsen (Knight of Talex)
Deathwyrm led the men out the main gates of Remton.
"Be careful, please," he instructed them. "The paint is still wet."
He looked at the trailing wagon critically. "I don't think that yellow matches the grain color I was after," he thought. "The fake shadowing worked, though."
"C'mon, men," he said out loud. "We need to get this food to Talex double time."
He picked up the pace, thoughts of being hailed as a hero swirling through his head.
The men said nothing.
Deathwyrm Tomarsen (Knight of Talex)
"DAMNATION!" Deathwyrm shouted, as the cart tipped part of of its load for the umpteenth time. "Damn these infernal roads!"
The men pushed the cart out of the muddy rut and piled the sacks of grain back onto it. They needed to get the food to Talex - and themselves to the city walls.
"How will we get through?" one man asked, as they lumbered on. "I heared the city was under siege."
"We'll send you ahead as a decoy," their sergeant barked. "Now get a move on!"
Deathwyrm Tomarsen (Knight of Talex)
Deathwyrm blushed to his toes.
"Hero," he said dreamily. "She said I was a hero."
He drifted across the market square, heedless of the cow paddies...
Deathwyrm Tomarsen (Knight of Talex)
For braving the enemy to bring food to our besieged people who were on the brink of starvation...
Let it be known that Deathwyrm Tomarsen shall henceforth be known as a Champion of Talex.
I am proud that he is my knight.
Lady Edara Kindon Duchess of Talex
"Sergeant, what is taking the men so long to - Aenil's Blood! What is that?"
The "thing" was lying on a bed of straw, while the men looked on at a distance. Upon hearing Deathwyrm's voice, it turned its head and revealed the prune-like face of an old woman. But such a face! The black wisps that grew from the giant wart on her nose outnumbered the few grey strands on her head. Her ears were twisted and cauliflowered. It had been years since she had been able to lie about being only 60; indeed, she was prone to slip and speak of her early years in the realm of Miraglonn.
"Are you here to ravish me, too?" she asked in a surprisingly strong, high-pitched voice.
Deathwyrm jumped back. "Ravish you?" he cried, in horror. "Have they been - ?"
The men shook their heads vigorously and sunk back further from the bed. The sergeant stepped closer to Deathwyrm and whispered.
"She's hidden her gold in the straw mattress," he explained. "She says she'll protect it with her body." He paused a moment before continuing. "I don't think she even has any gold. I think she just wants to be ravished."
Deathwyrm sighed, wondering what to do.
Deathwyrm Tomarsen (Knight of Talex)
Deathwyrm pulled his helmet off and began to search the battlefield for his sister.
They had been lined up side by side in the front line; it had been a shock to look over and see her, but he had heard a rumor that his father had allowed her to run some recruiting missions for the Talex militia. Knowing Kirstyn, once she was out of the city gates, it was "anything goes".
The first enemy charge had been ferocious. He had just been congratulating himself on having outflanked the onrushing troops when the sky turned black and a tremendous shower of arrows whipped into the lines next to his Wyrms.
Kirstyn! Her entire unit was lying on the field, men screaming and clutching at the feathered shafts while the enemy threatened to overrun them. He whirled his men and charged into their ranks, hacking at arms and heads with no thought for the men whose lives he was ending. The Aenilians gave way; his men charged forward.
For two hours they killed, and killed, and killed before the last of the enemy, battered and demoralized at the loss of their leaders, fled the field.
Now, he tried to find the spot where he had last seen her. It was difficult to recognize now, with the dead and wounded strewn about, the mud churned up and mixed with blood, horses wandering riderless. At last he came across her shield. Reaching to pick it up, he slipped on the blood-soaked grass and sat down heavily on a body.
"Get OFF me, you stupid yipyog!" he heard the body say. Sighing, he helped her to her feet.
Deathwyrm Tomarsen (Knight of Talex)
"...I urge you to ask to join the Royal Council"
Deathwyrm read the missive again. Surely His Majesty didn't mean anyone? This must just be for the Lords and Important People...still, it sounded like he meant anyone.
Maybe it would be better to ask Duchess Edara about it first...
Deathwyrm Tomarsen (Knight of Talex)
Deathwyrm looked at the blank parchment in front of him. Did he dare voice so strong an opinion? And yet...every fiber felt that this was true, and must be spoken.
"Very well," he said to himself. "The Deathwyrm Treatise"
Royal Council,
When I was young, my faher taught me to play chess. 'There are three points most important to understand,' he would say. 'Time, space, and strength'.
At the moment, we have all three of these in our favor.
We have little need to refit, and so are ready to attack from tomorrow. We are close to the target. We are stronger than the enemy.
Therefore, it is the moment to strike.
The question is, Where? The answer is, Topenah.
We are a single region away from that city. The city's reinforcements are too far away to come to their assistence. We have superior forces, more if you include Ohnar West.
Therefore, as important as a take over of Arempos is, I argue that we must find the best way to strike Topenah in the next few days, even if it delays our TO.
Changing to tactics for a moment, I would suggest either an overwhelming attack meant to take the city, if we feel we can manage it, or; A devastating blow meant to permanently cripple the city, combined with a series of sustained raids against Treror and Hupar, eliminating their ability to raise an army and leading to their collapse.
I feel that one week from today, Ethialia should no longer exist except as a memory.
Most Humbly,
Deathwyrm Tomarsen (Knight of Talex)
