Avalon/Roleplay Section/Hector/Hector's Match, part I
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Hector's Match, part I
Hector sits in a less known pub on the outskirts of town, drinking another pint of ale. He drifts off, thinking of his last battle with the Monsters. His crew did another fabulous job fighting again. They’re really coming together.
He drifts off, thinking of her again. He smiles, knowing now the secret she harbors is not for another man, but her brother.
He feels someone staring at him, and turns to see a cloaked figure turn and head to a back room. Hector gets quite the chill. His hair stands up on his neck and he stares for a few moments off to the back room, where the cloaked figure had went.
He turns to drink his ale again, but can’t stop feeling “charged”. He turns back, and looks at the dark doorway, and stands up. He starts towards the dark door, when he is bumped by a drunk man having a pushing contest with another man. Hector slams the man back and both men go sprawling, knocking over a table full of drinks as it collapses under their weight.
He continues on, and walks slowly, cautiously towards the looming door. He peers inside but is unable to see anything but black. For the first time in years, Hector feels a little fear. His stomach knots up a bit and he is having difficulty swallowing. Really, what is wrong with you? This is just a dark room, quit being such a woman! Hector slides his front foot forward and begins to enter the room. Just for safety, he reaches down and draws out a dagger. As he goes deeper into the room, he notices he can’t see a thing. Suddenly, the door slams shut and he is submerged in complete darkness. He wheels around, wildly, swinging the dagger.
He looks like a child, swinging so wildly the cloaked figure thinks.
Hector screams out, blindly, “What’s going on here? What are you doing?”
Suddenly, Hector feels a strong arm slide over his and another arm wrapping around his neck. The hand, pressing upward into his cheek, forcing his head to the side, while the other is stretching out his dagger hand and pressing against the cloaked figures knee. He can’t breath, he’s being choked to death. How on earth could a man of Hector’s standing get into this situation. He’s never felt so vulnerable. Alone, in complete darkness, stretched out like a helpless child dying, at the hands of someone who’s face he never got to see.
Hector's struggle starts to slow, his eyes start to flutter. This is it! I guess it’s better than getting a sword through the gut, he thinks solemnly now. He’s accepted it now, he has met his match.
Hector's Match, part II
Hector comes to; somewhere in the forest. There’s a campfire and a large, dark-cloaked figure stoking the fire. Hector turns back and looks at his hands, and feet, completely disoriented and numb. When he looks back to the fire, the man is gone. He looks left, then right, then wheels completely around and then forward again. The man is standing at his feet. Looking down, head completely covered with the cloak. But he had these piercing, bright blue eyes that glowed in the moonlight. His face was completely dark from the shadow of his cloak but his eyes seemed to almost glow.
“You know, I know no one of importance, so holding me for ransom won’t work, ya know! And, once I stop feeling all tingly, I may just have to run you through.” Hector lies, trying to gain his freedom.
The cloaked figure stands over him, silent. Eyes don’t even blink.
After a long silence, Hector realizes the figure did something to him, because he is numb, and can’t move much. “What did you give me, and why am I all numb? What is going on here?”
The dark figure kneels down and pulls back his hood. “I am Arian, the keeper of the Druids”.
Druid, great! Now, he would be sacrificed by this freak for some dark religion.
“I hold druid’s in the utmost respect, sir, but please, you must realized that I am the royal tres….”
“I know who you are, and what you think you know, but it is the half of it sir. I tell you, I would normally never venture into the world of man, but this is far too important. We need to work together.”
“Of course, just give me the antidote to this potion you gave me, and we’ll be on our way.” Hector says with a big, fake smile.
“Druids are here to serve both man and nature, normally from a distance. We study and have many secrets to this world.” There is a pause. “The monsters, and undead, they come almost yearly. Do you know why?”
Hector stares, completely drawn in now. “No. But I’ve long suspected that something more was afoot than just an invasion. They lose nearly every time, but where do they come from, and what causes this surge?”
“There is gateway. The gateway to the underworld. This gateway is in the form of a large, golden tree called the The Colony Tree. There are chosen members who maintain it. The elves have the protection of the tree. But for the past several years, the tree dies and every year, it must be replaced, to keep the floodgates to the underworld closed. But in the past year, the monsters were aided by Wraiths and Banshees. They have a much more sinister plot then just to kill humans for as long as they can. They have the desire to take over the world and keep it for themselves. They look to exterminate man.”
Hector sits back. “That is why they linger; they are harder to beat every year. This is because now they are being organized. But it wasn’t always so.”
“No, it wasn’t. The Colony Tree used to live for years. The tree has not been replaced, and the monsters are mounting a giant invasion in the netherworld, and are looking to breach the gate within a week’s time! I need your help to stop that. It is very difficult to replace the tree and the wraiths know that. For the longest time, the elves have replaced the tree, but, it is increasingly difficult for them, for it takes a pure sole to replace the tree, and even the elves are running low on that.”
“How do I know what you are saying is true?”
“For now, we will both have to go on trust. For now, we will have to think of the better good of this world, then the better good of each other.”
Hector turns, he is in shock and leans back. This is a lot to think about.
“We must move out at once to try and stop them.” Arian grabs a bag of powder and poors it into a hot cup of tea. He holds Hector’s head up and Hector sips. Within an hour, Hector starts to regain his motor skills and rises to pack.
“Where are we off to?”
“Cteduul. We need to inform your friend Revan. We will need his help.”
Hector stares at him, he relizes the man must have stalked him for some time to know about his friend. “You’ve followed me, haven’t you? You’ve kept an eye on me.”
“A Druid does much research before they act, I assure you, I know a great deal about you.” Arian grabs his things and packs them on his large Black Steed.
Hector gets a sinking feeling. Something is wrong here. This man has an agenda I do not fully know yet. I fear I am making a mistake. Hector mounts his steed, and the two men ride off together.
Next: Jessica's Vison
