The Swords of Power: Based on Fred Saberhagen's Swords

[poohlive]

There are few things in this earth that a man can compare, equally with a woman. Her cycle, gracing the moon's phases, can not begin to fathom the inteligence of a man. Pregnancy as well, is unequal in the law of nature. Although, it might come close to a day after a local pub's All you can eat Spare rib night.
That is neither here nor there however.
Rape doesn't fall under this category though. As Garret stood there, helpless, watching the steel of a blade lower down to his crotch, and the vindictive look in the man's eyes as he held his groin out for the lethal blow, Garret knew what rape felt like. Helpless pity as something you cherished was about to be forcibly taken from you.
Yes, he knew all to well, and he struggled for all it was worth.
He lowered the blade.
There came a horrendous crashing noise, like rock on bone. Garret cried out, thinking for one horrible moment that he was no longer a man, when he realized the sword was still a few inched above him. He was intact.
The menacing look on the man was gone, instead, a pained curiousity grew in his eyes. He fell down to his knees, and then dropped to the ground. Behind him, the woman he had saved was standing there, a huge rock with a dark stain in her hands.
With a surge of strength, as the other two looked in shock at the woman, Garret freed himself.
He brought his knee up to the man on the left, the poor guy leapt off the ground at least a foot, uttering a horrible groan of pain.
At least he kept his giblets after this was over.
A few punches brought down the other man. He stood over the three men, finally becoming away his package was out for all to see.
Especially this woman.
He tucked himself in, grabbing hold of her hand, and ran out of there.
"Are you ok?" he asked, after they were a safe distance away.
"Fine," she said, catching her breath. She looked anything but fine, but he wouldn't argue with her, not at this moment anyway.
"Well, come on, I'll take you home."
She didn't move, simply stared at him for a moment. Garret's curiousity purged, before he opened his mouth.
"Something wrong?"
She began to tell him.

 

[Lady_Siren]

OOC: is it to late to join? Let me know and I"ll delete this post. I couldn't find an OOC board so I'll post my character here.

Name: Nikki
Race: Half Human/ The other half is unknown
Hair: So black it looks blue
Eyes: Violet
Height:5'8
INFO: Nikki was raised by her human mother but was considered an abomination. With her hair so black it looked blue and violet eyes she stood out like a sore thumb among the village where most if not all were blonde haired. When she asked about the other half of her blood her mother would just shake her head and tell her that it wasn't important. All she owns of her fathers is a single sword. A unique sword that no one could find it's equal. Nikki made it a point to learn how to use the sword and she uses it quite well. Now she is on a quest to find her father and find out who she truly is.

IC: Nikki had heard the scream and it brought back some painful memories. She hesitated only a moment before taking off in the general direction. By the time she reached the alley where the scream came from she was to late for any action. A man stood there looking down at another unconcsious man with a very releived expression on his face. In front of him holding a rock was a woman who had a different expression as she looked at the man who saved her. "Umm hi. Can I be of any help?" she asked unsure if she should interfere or go about her business.

 

[poohlive]

Garret turned, looking at the elf for a second. Just like the cavalry to be a day late and a dollar short. Where was she with that big sword when that drunk had wanted to take the only thing away from him that mattered?
"She's fi..."
But before he could finish, the woman he had saved interrupted him.
"I need both of you," she said, her voice weak, but a sense of urgency was in it. Almost like a mouse who forced herself to stand up to the cat. He looked at her strangely. Just what was she doing in the back of an alley with that man anyway?
Her eyes told him either she wasn't going to answer, or he didn't want to hear it.
"Please, come with me, our village. It is in terrible danger, I'll explain on the way."
She moved back onto the street, "You two both have horses right?"
I glanced at the elf to my right.
Did we?

 

[Lady_Siren]

OOC: ok I'm sorry for my earlier mistakes I couldn't find the OOC forum but now I have read up I see that elves are not part of the story. Thats fine my character is now half human/ half unknown. As for her sword I am awaiting confirmation on what swords are still available and none are then I'll write it as a normal but rather nicely made sword

IC: Nikki looked at the woman surprised by her urgency yet feeling a need to help her. She looked at the man and nodded. "I have a horse, she is in the stables at the local inn at the moment. why is your village in danger? Whats happened?" she asked knowing no matter what it was she would help this poor woman.

 

[poohlive]

She seemed pained by the questions, almost as if each second they weren't moving hurt her. Glancing back at the woman, she gave a simple answer.
"I'll tell you more once we're on our way, but for now we must hurry. Time is of the essence. The walls might already be down."
She ran off, into the woods, probably to get her own horse. Garret glanced at her for a moment, then turned back to the mysterious stranger by his side.
"Well, looks like we have some fun in store for us, my name is Garret, by the way. I'd like to make formal introductions, but it seems we are in a bit of a hurry. Meet me in front of that bar in a few minutes. I need to talk to a man about a horse."
And with that, he was off.
Now, to find a horse, and a man to steal it from.

 

[Lady_Siren]

The woman took off for the woods and the man whom she now knew as Garret left to get a horse. Interesting characters. She shrugged and hurried to the Inn where her horse was kept. She saddled the horse herself because she knew she would be faster, then she headed to the bar to meet up with her new companion. What had she gotten herself into?

 

[poohlive]

It was a stubborn brown horse, barely older than a foal. No one seemed to care much that it was gone, and it suited the job for riding at the moment, so Garret took hold of it.
As he moved back to the woman's side, a brilliant pale white horse burst through. It was a brilliant animal, hardly considered wild, but there was a definite ferocity in it's stare. This was the inteligence of an animal, staring back at someone.
Their new companion rode it.
"Hurry," she turned, speeding off sharply into the woods. Garret looked at the picture for a moment, before following. It didn't look like there was much time at all. Much was needed ot be discussed though, he wasn't even sure he was going to go through with this.
Hell, it could even be a trap.
After what had happened so far, he very much doubted it, but at this point he really couldn't tell. He needed some answers before he continued.
Looking back at the strange woman following them, he realized he needed answers from both of them.
Slowing down, he let his horse (who apparently didn't like running very much, and tried bucking him off from time to time) match that of the woman.
"I'm sorry, you never gave me your name."

 

[The GrandMage]

Gregor Mendal

He downed the tankard of ale, and let his head rest against the bar in the small tavern. It wasn't a big as the bars in the Red Temple, but there wasn't one this far out into the country.

He needed to get going. He stood up, and stretched. His shoulder felt a lot better, but still burned with pain. He slowly made his way towards the door, stopping to turn and glance around at the people.

He grunted, and stepped out into the night.

 

[Lady_Siren]

Nikki rode in silence until Garret brought his horse next to hers. "I'm sorry, you never gave me your name" he said. She glanced at him finding his eyes on her waiting for her reply. "I'm sorry, how rude of me" she smiled "I'm Nikki, it's nice to meet you" she looked him over and wondered about him and why he would help a complete stranger. "Most people wouldn' have bothered to try and save her you know. Most would have just let the scream go. It's kind of common for screams to be heard. I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm impressed that there are still a few guys that have honor and kindness to risk themselves to help others." She realized she was basically babbling and closed her mouth a blush creeping up her neck. She was never like this around guys why was she now? "So where are you from?" she asked hoping to change the subject.

 

[poohlive]

He stared at her a moment. She almost looked like she had just blushed or something. He patted his horse, trying to look away from her. Perhaps this conversation wasn't something she wanted to talk about.
Right on cue, she changed the subject.
"I'm not from anywhere, mostly just a traveller. I just go where I'm needed, more often than not things pop up, and I'm there."
He seemed to point to the white horse and the woman in front, leading. He had to smile.
Something was still bothering him about that women. He had a guess, but wasn't quite sure.
"What about you? You got a life story?"

 

[Lady_Siren]

Nikki thought about his question for a moment. "A life story? Not really. I'm from a village far to the North, I wasn't happy so I left a little over a year ago. Now I just travel from town to town seeking adventure" she didn't tell him about her search for her father. She saw no point to it, so far no one knew anything about her sword or why from time to time it disapeared only to reappear anywhere from an hour to a week later. pushing those thoughts aside she turned her attention back to Garret. "So where do you think she's leading us?"

 

[poohlive]

"You asking my opinion, or you just want to know where we're going?"
He didn't have time to explain much though, they had been travelling for a while, and after a short cut through a small damp march, we were back on a fairly used road.
He could tell by the ruts stutting out, many wagons had travelled here. They were getting close to a town.
A small town in fact, Rumsfeld, if he wasn't mistaken. Although, as they passed the last of the bushes, it didn't bear any resemblence to the small town he had visited only a few months before.
"Rumsfeld," he could hardly believe it."
"Come, they'll be waiting for us."
It was a spectacular sight. Around the village there was this huge wall, made mostly of fresh cut trees. Some of them still had leaves living on them. It was poor shotty worksmanship, and made him think that perhaps it was built in a hurry.
That wasn't the most disturbing part though. It was all the bodies that made him sick to his stomach. Dozens of them lying all around the field. All in grotesque poses, with a weapon sticking out of their back, or in their side. All with cruel deaths.
A few logs were moved, enough for the horses to come in.
He wanted to ask what had happened here, but didn't dare. He feared that they would be answered soon enough.
An elderly man met them inside, smiling at the woman got off her horse and ran to him.
"Father, I have returned."
He hugged her close, holding tightly onto his daughter.
"I feared the worst. They came again, and there was screaming."
"No, no. I made it, and I brought back help."
The elderly man let go of the woman, and looked at Garret, then to the woman next to him.
"That's what you brought? Didn't you talk with the mayor, aren't they sending..."
"No, father. Once I told them who was attacking, no one wanted to help. These were the only two I could find."
The man seemed to age before Garret's eyes. He had apparently thought there was much more in store then them.
"Excuse me, I hate to spoil the whole moment, but if someone doesn't explain what's going on..."
"Oh, yes, yes, of course. You have a right to know, you both do. Jardon, take their horses, make sure they get watered and some rest. We have a few things to discuss."
"Well, so much for this being a trap. You have any ideas?"

 

[SpectralDragoon]

Adron had walked from the mouth of the cave with a sense of purpose, though he knew not why. Maybe not purpose... exhiliration was surely a better word. He could feel the weight of the sword wrapped in cloth and attached to his back pack. As he had pulled the blade free of the stone lock, he could finally imagine great things for himself.

Within a few weeks he was in his home, admiring the scabbard he had commissioned of a great craftsman. A weapon, no, an artifact such as this deserves a carrying case the equal of no other, and he took money liberally from his savings. He wondered what sort of things he could accomplish with an item such as this.

 

[Lady_Siren]

Nikki listened to the elderly man feeling bad about disapointing him this way. What could possibly cause this much damage? Who were they fighting. She couldn't wait to find out.

 

[poohlive]

"Please, sit down, relax yourselves."
Garret did as he was told, and almost immediately a canteen of water was given to him. He drank deeply, wonderful cool liquid trickling down his throat.
"We had had something in this village for a long time, and the most part it has been held secret. A month ago, however, we banished a man name Rorton, for breaking some of our rules. He went to the Lord of the neighboring land, Bawn."
Garret had heard of the name before, very ruthless. Many people left when he gained possession, and the few that are left as almost as bad as he.
"Rorton went to Bawn and told him of our secret, and now Bawn wants it for himself. We have been protecting it ever since. Our village used to house almost a hundred people, but now..."
The mayor glanced at the few people wnadering around, at assorted camp fires, or making arrows, or sharpening swords.
"We have dwindled down to twenty. Some people left to join Bawn's group, and are now fighting against us. The odds are three to one, and most of our warriors are either young boys or elder men. We need all the help we can get."
Garret took another drink, feeling the deepness of the situation finally hit him. Three to one odds just to protect a secret? He wandered about what exact "thing" they were protecting, but decided against asking. If the man didn't want to tell him, he should obey that.
His first thought was to run, hell even his second thought was to run. He glanced over at the woman, maybe she had some better ideas than he.

 

[Firesprite]

Kyleen gently heeled her horse Quercia on. The rain had lessened now, though large fat drops occasionally fell on her from the leaves above.

She sighed in resignation, the man she'd just killed abandoned in the small glade that had seen their needless duel. Why is it, she asked herself men cannot seem to take my word for it when I say I don't want to bed them? And then duelling me to prove his worth? What a foolish way to try proving yourself!

Continuing on, Kyleen stroked the unusual sword she had taken from his pack, the only thing she had taken from him. It seemed light in her hand, but for now she would continue to use her own, not trusting yet the weight and grip of this new weapon. She supposed her attacker had been doing the same and that is why he had been using a plain servicable sword against her.

After many hours of riding through the forest she eventually came out near a village that had erected a hasty wall. Riding around it, she saw the ground littered with bodies. Quercia flicked his ears and snorted at the smell of death and decay, but war-trained as he was, he continued at a deliberate, even pace.

Alert for attack, Kyleen rode up to the gate, both her swords sheathed and her hands visible to any who cared to look.

 

[The GrandMage]

Gregor Mendal

He grunted. He'd been thinking of going back to his hometown, until he'd learned, nearly there, that it was being used as an outpost for Lord Bawn, engaged in some silly dispute with the town of Rumsfeld.

Wasn't worth it in his opinion. That little village didn't have anything. The woman glared down at him as he walked the horse along. She was bound and gagged. He hadn't done anything to her yet, not that he hadn't thought about it.

They were moving through a large, empty field off to the side of Rumsfeld, skirting the town and all it's trouble. She'd been a bother to take along, but he wasn't about to let the theif go, and didn't relish the idea of killing a woman who couldn't protect herself.

"Well,....I suppose we'll just continue on. I just know how much you love traveling with me." He laughed as she struggled against the ropes. It was good to have someone to talk to, even if they had to be forced into it.

 

[Lady_Siren]

Nikki listened to the elder's story. The situation seemed hopeless, what could possibly be worth all this pain and suffering? "Excuse me" she spoke up her voice soft "I would love to help you but I refuse to fight unless I know what I'm fighting for. What is this secret you speak of?" She knew it was none of her business but she had to know if she was going to risk her life. She breifly thought of running but she knew it wasn't an option. These people needed all the help they could get. She glanced at Garret wondering what he was thinking. Wondering if he would help as well. She turned back to the elder awaiting his reply.

 

[poohlive]

The elder glanced at the small fire, crackling in the morning sun. He seemed losti n though for a moment, trying as he might to consider something. Garret glanced at him, carefully.
What were they hiding? Lord Brawl wasn't exactly a nice man, but he wasn't stupid. He wouldn't risk the lives of his men for something trivial.
Before he could answer though, a horn sounded throughout the camp. Garret looked back, as a few archers along the wall hailed the elder over.
"The scout's here, just as he promised."
Garret made his way up a ladder, to the top part of the wall, as did most of the rest of the village.
There, below, was a woman, cautious, and looking with mild curiousity at the gate. Garret furrowed his brow. That wasn't the scout. He recognized that face anywhere. Kyleen wasn't a woman to ride with someone like Brawl. That wasn't her style.
"It's not the scout," he pushed passed some of the other members of town, and opened the gate door.
There, he looked at her, still on her horse, glancing around at the shotty made gate.
He snorted, giving off a smile, "What took you so long?"

 

[Lady_Siren]

Nikki looked at the new arrival with avid curiousity. Obviously she knew Garret so she had to be on their side. Relaxing a little she stayed back waiting to be introduced.

 

[Firesprite]

As Kyleen approached the gates a horn sounded somewhere inside and shortly the gates were swung open to reveal Garret.

"What took you so long?" he demanded of her but with a smile. Kyleen reined Quercia up to a halt a few feet from him and nodded courteously in reply. "Good day to you too, Garret. I was delayed slightly when I was aquiring this sword. Splendid don't you think?" she said, displaying the weapon to him.

Dismounting from her horse, Kyleen fastened the new sword and the old to her belt, reflecting that this village seemed rather poor and obviously not particularly friendly to strangers. She would keep her valuables about her.

Leading her horse and walking at Garrets side into the village with the strange woman on his other side, she asked "What has happened here - and why do they let bodies rot outside their walls? Scavengers will be attracted. I'm sure I saw a few wolves as I came through the trees - not to mention the smell and the flies..." in an undertone that only Garret could hear she murmered "I got the gems."

 

[poohlive]

She did get them, excellent. He had been wanting to ask her, but that might provoke a few questions, and as things stood now there were already too many to be answered. Besides, someone might take it in their best interest to relieve her of those certain items.
"We'll talk about that later. As for the corpses, I think that the villagers have a bit more of a problem than a couple of wolves. It seems as if Bawn is having a little fun here, attacking them for something. No one will give us a straight answer though, what I think..."
Thunder rumbled through the camp. Garret looked up, expecting to see dark clouds on the horizon, but other than the sky being a light gray, there was nothing up there to give off that sound.
Horses. He looked back at the now closing gate. That many horses? How many were they up against?
Garret unsheathed his sword, running up to the top part of the gate. Nearly a hundred soldiers were making their way past the forest and right towards camp.
"Holy shit."
He had no idea there would be so many. Bawn didn't have that many people with him. Where did he find all those men?
As the weapon clad horsemen slowly began to surround the village, Garret's options left him. There was no choice now, they were stuck in here with the others. At this point, they either fought... or waited to die.
"It's been three days," a gruff voice came from over the wooden wall, "Give it to me, or I will slaughter every single person in there."
The elder looked at Garret, who in turn looked at the two women.
"Any ideas, ladies?"

 

[Firesprite]

Kyleen looked at Garret incredulously "How would I know? I've only just got here! What do they want anyway? And who is this woman and the old man? And for that matter, what does a girl have to do around her to get a drink around here?!"
Kyleen was working herself up into a state of aroused indignition. She had been through a lot of effort to get those gems and then been accosted by that man and the stench of the bodies was quite nauseating, not to mention the sight of them still twisted in the agonies of death.
Spying a tavern nearby, the "Golden Bee" according to its weathered wooden sign, she stalked off towards it, whistling sharply for a stable boy to come and fetch her horse.
The boy dashed out and took her reins. Quercia laid back his ears and curled his lip slightly at a stranger taking his reins, but Kyleen slapped his neck fondly and sent him on his way with an admonishion not to bite the lad. She flipped the boy a silver penny and he grinned up at her, bobbed his head and led the warhorse into the stable for a good feed of hay and oats.
Nodding in satisfaction, she strode into the tavern and ordered an ale.

 

[Lady_Siren]

Nikki gazed at the army for a moment silently giving a rough estimate of their number. She then glanced around the village totaliing everyone there. The odds were definitly against them. What could they do? All Nikki knew was that she wasn't going down without a fight but first... she turned to the elder "What is this secret, tell me now. We have a right to know if we are about to die because of it"

 

[poohlive]

"Kyleen, don't be like that," he wanted to run after her, but a small wave of arrows made him duck. They stuck in an assortment of things, apart from the ground, and a few piles of hay. Brushing himself off, he looked back up at the top of the fance.
The elder brushed off the woman, running to grab a bow and a quiver of arrows.
"It's just a gem, from the village. We cherish it, that's all."
He wouldn't say anything more. Garret shok his head. There was no gem worth this much. Not even if it did have magical powers.
Kyleen would be vital for this, but she felt that some ale was needed first. He didn't doubt that, in fact, he'd like something to drink first too.
The second volley of arrows made him lean against the high gate.
"You made your choice, now die with it!"
Garret looked around curiously, wondering if they had any sort of weapon bigger than a sword or an arrow. There was nothing though. A cannon wouldn't be that bad at this moment.
Oh, a catapault. That would work perfectly.
Garret ran over to one of the wagons, looking around for a huge piece of wood.
"Come on," he urged a few others, "Hurry up."
Each of them took a part of the long wood, and placed it against the wagon's end. This wouldn't be the best one in the world, but for the moment, it was all they have.
"Look out!"
Someone from the wall called, as another volley of arrows peaked the wall. This time though, they were laced with fire. They landed on an assortment of buildings, as well as a few wagons and piles of hay. At once, things turned afire. Garret cursed, running to a few buckets of water.
"Use it wisely," he said, doushing out a fire starting on one of the buildings. This was a losing battle all the way.