The Guardsman & The Tramp (Ustengrav)

[Lornak]

40th Day of Summer, 512AV

Ustengrav was drunk again. Haesmar had watched him steadily decline into his usual state of drunkenness with impressive speed tonight. They were sat in the same tavern they'd met a few nights before, The Pig's Foot. In the four days since entering the city he'd grown comfortable far quicker than he'd expected. He could now enter the tavern without feeling nauseous. They were sitting at a table with 3 women tonight, he neither knew nor cared if they were prostitutes. He wouldn't be spending any coin on them. It was Ustengrav they were here for. He'd learn a lot about the old warrior in the four nights they'd spent at the tavern together. Mostly that he was heavy on his drink ,and loose with his coin. Especially when it came to women. Two of the three women were plump & didn't interest Haesmar in the slightest. If he'd had the nerve he'd be talking to the third. She was a cute young women with curled brown hair, she smelled of sweet fruits & had a shy smile that he found inviting. He probably would've been a bit more confident if he wasn't still throbbing with small movements. Haesmar had was still in the process of healing from his first meeting with Ustengrav. His eye had been stitched, and both his knuckles were wrapped in bandages. He'd been advised that it was best just to bathe his head wound in clean water & let it heal itself. The night of the fight had ended far better than expected, Ustengrav had accepted him straight away, introducing himself to Haesmar & treating him like a well earned friend. They'd sat and talked for awhile, Ustengrav laughing & joking while Haesmar spent most of the night just listening, despite himself he enjoyed it, and when the warrior invited him to join him the next night, he accepted without much thought. He found the old warrior full of life & vigour. Especially sexual vigour whenever there were women about. It was a welcome change from the time he'd spent with his cold Father. It was making him open up slowly. He'd have never sat with 3 women before. He hadn't thought himself in any fit state to gamble the past few nights, he'd been in too much discomfort & pain. If the drunks had turned violent over the loss of coin he would've been in no way to fight them off. And he didn't want to have to rely on his new friend to save him in a fight. But perhaps tonight was the night, he felt better than he had before & was considering giving himself some action tonight. He'd save it till later in the night till the drinks had been flowing for a long enough time that coin would be getting thrown about without too much thought. Instead he sat & listened to the sounds around him, the usual drunken brawls, laughter, & the occasional dropped flagon. Smelling the stale ale & sweat that seemed to cling to the walls here, and generally just enjoying being part of a group. Ustengrav was about to swing into another one of his stories when Haesmar decided to intervene. "Why don't you tell them the story about the vomiting warrior? I'm sure they'd love to hear that one!" He smirked at the old man, knowing this wouldn't slow his seduction in the slightest.

[Ustengrav]

Again Ustengrav was drunk, not the drunkest he had even been as he was still able to speak with relative legibility. Ustengrav wore the same attire that he had been for months. Although cleaned of course, the chain mail shirt that encased his body glinted with dents and scuffs, emphasising his past experience with battle. The other reason why he took the time to clean it was to draw attention away from his bruised abdomen that Haesmar had created only a few nights ago. Ustengrav also took the opportunity to wear his special blue stoned ear-ring that dangled from his left ear. This ear ring wasn't actually special, infact it was just an ordinary ear-ring made with a type of bright blue stone, what it did do though is add some character, colour and some personality to his otherwise rugged appearance. This was something that women could pick up on and was a tool he had been using for years. Ustengrav nodded cheekily at Haesmar's suggestion at more storytelling. The challenge at trying to seduce while telling such a story of violence and vomit would be welcomed. "Ah now thats a tale and a half!" Ustengrav smiled showing off his straight teeth, he took another gulp from the wooden flagon that was in circled in his hand. The flavour of honey surrounded his mouth. "It all began, here.. in this very tavern! I was sitting by my lonesome self because none of you beautiful creatures came to visit me." He winked at the youngest girl obviously inexperienced that sat quietly next to Haesmer. Ustengrav then went on. "Thats when I met my best man Haesmar here!" he gave the youngling a respectful and friendly thump on the back while guzzling down the last of the sweet ale that sat at the bottom of his flagon. He continued on with the story, highly exaggerating the feats of strength that Haesmar and himself preformed as they were locked in combat only a few days before. Bending solid metal with bare hands, crushing bones to dust under feet and shattering shields with a few blows from the head. Ustengrav could see that the two older women had not fallen for the rugged warriors stories. The young girl however was captivated by the strong words of heroism and violence and eagerly listened to more, Ustengrav was amazed at how sheltered she had seemed, especially how she was in a lawless city. "That's when, three massive warriors unrighteously stole my young friends coin! We persued them and fought an epic battle, that would put the wars of old to shame!" Ustengrav was getting bolder and bolder by the minute while throwing in a few winks and sly smiles to keep up his seductive looks. Now came the hard part, trying to explain the part with the vomit without repulsing the trio. The two plump women listened contently, now bored of Ustengrav's attempts to make his action seem like legend, they even keep a straight face, hiding there true feelings of disgust, in hope that they could quickly leave. The young girl however, seemed entranced by the bearded storytellers words, her cute face radiated in awe. "All that witnessed our triumph now cant decide if all the strength was in my arms or legs... all three of them." Ustengrav chuckled and smiled once again trying to entice the other two women. "Haesmar though, is as strong an ox and quite the charmer." His voice was directed towards the younger girl, he could see in Haesmar's facial expressions and body language that the young fighter had expressed interest, so for in repayment of his company, he was going to try get Haesmar this fine young girl. "More ale!" Ustengrav shouted, raising his hand in hopes of receiving more of the tasty concoction.

[Lornak]

Haesmar listened in amusement as Ustengrav embellished highly on the fight between them & the 3 muggers. You wouldn't suspect it, but he was astonishingly good with his words. Bending the tale & twisting it into something heroic & marvellous rather than the disgusting blood & vomit-fest it had actually been. Ustengrav had been dropping hints for most of the night about how fine a fighter Haesmar was, how strong & charming he was, he directed it at the cute young girl sitting to Haesmars right. Obviously trying to give Haesmar the confidence to talk to her. But instead it just made him flush. He was embarrassed & unsure of himself. In a fight he knew his strengths, his weaknesses, his limitations. But in romance he knew nothing, he was as inexperienced as a child. At the end of his story Ustengrav roared for more ale. More ale seemed to be his most used phrase. The young girl was looking shyly at Haesmar, a small smile playing on his rosy cheeks. He caught her eye when he turned to have a sly look at her. She had dark green eyes, flecked with brown & some gold. She looked so innocent, it gave Haesmar some confidence to return her smile. "I'm Lily" she told him, breaking eye contact as she spoke. "I'm Haesmar," he replied coyly. They started chatting careful at first, weighing each word before they spoke it, but soon Lily forgot all her fears, she was chatting animatedly, Haesmar listened carefully, talking only when prompt to or really needing to, he enjoyed listening to her. With a shock he realised the time, shit, he'd been having a better time than he'd had in recent memory. "Ustengrav, we better leave, we've got a job to do"

[Ustengrav]

The atmosphere at the table with Haesmar, himself and the three ladies became stronger as Ustengrav's younger associate now engaged in conversation with the young woman. Ustengrav had kept a little quieter than usual in hope that most of the attention would be placed on Haesmar, this hopefully would build up his social courage and in the long run, get him a women to spend the night with. Ustengrav was gulping down the last of the ale that had filled his flagon when Haesmar mentioned the job that the two had decided to do together. "Shit!!" Ustengrav shouted contradicting his previous lax and carefree attitude, while thumping down the wooden flagon that was in his hand. He had completely forgotten about this contract and instead had allowed the drink to fog his mind. A stupid mistake, if they bumped into unfriendly faces. "I am sorry my fair maidens but Haesmar and myself must take our leave!" Ustengrav's voice was now serious and stern, a tone of voice that had hardly ever influenced his speech. He was like this because it had been a long time since he was paid for his services. Most employers of guardsmen or mercenaries preferred the younger, fresher and less experienced for the sole reason of being able to manipulate their wages. A grizzled veteran of the trade knew the price and risk of his work and was generally seen as less fit than the younger members of the profession. At least, thats how Ustengrav perceived it. Standing up from the table that they sat at, Ustengrav planted three golden coins down on the chipped, wooden surface. "For your company ladies." he said while readjusting and checking his gear. Ustengrav and Haesmar finally had gotten a job, guarding a particular warehouse on the other side of town. Their employer said it was nothing dangerous and that they had another guard that they were supposed to meet there, but in a place like Sunberth, where danger potentially lurked around ever corner and down every street, he wouldn't get complacent. Shaking his head at Haesmar in the direction of the door, Ustengrav reverted back to his friendly, more familiar tone of voice. "Dont worry girl, ill take care of your man for you and bring him back in one piece." He again winked at the cute faced woman that was obviously confused at the abruptness that Ustengrav actions and voice had shown. Walking towards the door, Ustengrav shouted for his young well shaven friend. "Come on Haesmar! We are late enough as it is!"

[Lornak]

Haesmar got up following Ustengrav & gave an embarrassed smile to Lily, Ustengrav sure knew how to make him feel awkward. They stepped outside into the cool night breeze. The air was surprisingly fresh, but compared to the stench inside the Pigs Foot, anything smelt fresh. Haesmar strapped on his leather chestplate & strolled down the street. Ustengrav had approached him the night before, telling him he'd found them work. Haesmar was shocked at how quickly the old man seemed to have taken to him, he wanted him there to watch his back in case anything went wrong. In a city as chaotic as this, a simple job guarding a warehouse could easily turn into a slit throat & an empty purse. The warehouse was quite a long walk from the tavern, the other side of town, Ustengrav whistled beside him totally carefree. The city was still buzzing with activity even though it was late. Shady deals were being done down dark alleys, whores were working hard, pleasuring hard cock after hard cock for as much coin they could get their hands on & muggers were waiting beside taverns for drunk vulnerable men to come out & get their knees broken & purses stolen. They continued walking without a word, Haesmar lost in silly fantasies about Lily & Ustengrav, well, Haesmar didn't like to even guess what was going on in Ustengravs head. They reached the warehouse & took their positions, all they had to do was stand by the entrance. The warehouse was a large stone building, with a solid wooden door, reinforced with steel bars. Two torches sat either side of the door frame. Haesmar glanced around, they'd been told there'd be a third guard but he hadn't shown up. People could rarely be relied on in this city. "So... do you think Lily was interested in me? He asked Ustengrav, dropping his eyes to the floor & blushing slightly as he did it. He hoped the older man would be able to help him out. He had a feeling this long night would be spent simply chatting away & listening to the old mans stories.

[Ustengrav]

44th Day of Summer, 512AV It had been four days of work, boring and dull. This guard job first seemed exciting as it had been a while since Ustengrav had been in employment, he was expecting fighting off bandits and thugs, left, right and centre just like the old days of escorting caravans across the land, he even had his new friend to keep him company and a possible laugh or two but this was ridiculous, the only bit of action he had seen since standing guard for this stone warehouse every night was two cats tearing the fur out of each other, good entertainment, while it lasted. It had gotten so tedious, that Ustengrav resorted to buying a metal flask filled with a potent alcoholic spirit, to hopefully liven things up, the five golden mizas it cost seemed like a bargain. Today was the fourth night of mind-numbing job, Haesmar and himself had again came from the tavern. Haesmar's Lily had been meeting them there for the past few nights, obviously not there for Ustengrav's stories of valour but for Haesmar's defining young looks. The grizzled warrior suspected that she was fantasying Haesmar in these heroic stories, the shared looks between the two younglings explained it all. "You and that cute girl and fairly hitting it off." Ustengrav smiled and winked while taking a drink from his flask. "You should get into her! Shes ripe, I can tell! You should do it before someone else does my friend! You never know, even this old bastard has a chance!" Ustengrav bumped his chest and erupted in laughter, the cheers rang throughout the deserted alley bouncing off the stone walls in a opera of echoes. The other guardsman named Yallourn was running late tonight, not a normal occurrence as it was usually him waiting on Ustengrav and Haesmar. "Where the hell is this ugly son of a bitch?!" Ustengrav said in his usual carefree tone.

[Lornak]

4 Days had passed since their first shift guarding the warehouse. The other guard, a short yet stocky, red haired man of around 30 named Yallourn, had appeared later on the first night claiming he'd been given the wrong information & that explained his lateness.. Haesmar hadn't questioned him, he didn't know the man, but he didn't feel comfortable in his presence. He was a shifty character, and Haesmar had caught him staring at him a few times. It made him uneasy. He wasn't sure whether his older companion felt the same, he hadn't brought it up. He wasn't sure how astute Ustengrav was when it came to other people, he always seemed to drunk to notice anything without a firm set of tits & a cunt. Ustengrav & Haesmar had been spending the usual time at the tavern, but they're group of two had grown into a group of 3. Lily had spent every night with them so far, Haesmar had opened up slowly to her, offering more the conversation than he had previously. Ustengrav seemed to enjoy the young ladies company too, but in a different way he enjoyed other womans. He didn't look at her with the lust in his eyes. Although that didn't stop him mentioning jokingly every night that if Haesmar didn't hurry along he'd jump in instead. Although they had their group of 3, Ustengrav often had other visitors over to the table, mainly whores. Haesmar didn't mind, it meant he got to spend more time listening to Lily. He was growing very fond of her. They appeared at the warehouse at the usual time, expecting Yallourn to be waiting for them as usual, but the doorway was empty. Oh well, there'd been no trouble recently & they didn't expect any tonight. They stood in silence for awhile, listening to the sounds of the city. They hardly moved apart from the regular arm movement to swig from a metal flask he'd purchased to feed his habit of alcohol even when he was working. Yallourn appeared a short while later, he seemed dishevelled. His brow was slick with sweat. "I've just spoken to the boss, he says you have to go on parole around the nearby blocks & make sure no one's sneaking around." He rushed the words out as if he'd rehearsed them. Haesmar stared him dead in the eyes, something was amiss, he could feel it. "Why has the boss suddenly decided to start patrolling tonight?" He saw the man's gaze falter at being questioned. His face flushed as red as his hair. "Don't question me you impudent wretch!" Haesmars anger rose quickly, he started towards the man. He glanced Ustengrav moving in to intervene. He grabbed the man by the throat & growled in a low voice "insult me like that again & I'll rip your throat out you little prick."

[Ustengrav]

The third guard had finally made decided to make an appearance, his face was flustered and his red hair had turned greasy like he had been running, Ustengrav also noticed a mark on the stocky guards forehead which had coincidently tried to be covered. Taking another drink from his flask, Ustengrav listened to Yallourn talk, his voice was hurried and aggressive, this was strange because the time that they had spent together guarding the warehouse, they discovered Yallourn's personality was generally reserved and well thought out. Ustengrav thought this nothing more than a stressful day, it was bound to be stressful in a city like this were any moment could be your last. Haesmar on the other hand had the opposite feelings towards their associate. A feeling of mistrust and unnerving, this was shown by the fact of the looks the two had been giving each other, the nights they spent on guard duty. This was enforced when Yallourn supposingly had been given orders by their employer to go on a patrol around the surrounding alleyways and streets. Ustengrav looked at Haesmar trying to signal with his eyes that this did not feel right, while trying to keep up his usual happy, carefree persona. Ustengrav listened quietly as Haesmar questioned Yallourn's supposed orders from the boss, he saw that his face turned bright red, a sign that he wasn't telling the truth. All of a sudden Yallourn lashed out screaming words of authority trying not to lose face infront of the youngling. Haesmar retaliated in his own with threats of death. Ustengrav quickly intervened. "Now lads! Calm down! There is no point in fighting! We will be here together for as long as our employer pays for our services and I really want to be able to enjoy myself without having you two silly bastards trying to rip each others throats out!" he said while forcing the two apart, his voice was deep and strong, trying to display some control over the two. Handing the flask to Haesmar, Ustengrav nodded for him to take a sip to calm his nerves and temper. "Now. We will go for a look about like the "Boss" says, but I swear, if your trying to fuck us about.. you wont just have him trying to rip you a new asshole! You got that?" Yallourn nervously bobbed his head up in down, Ustengrav starred deep into his eyes, reinforcing his unfamiliar and unusual intimidating demeanour. Slowly walking, Ustengrav caught up with Haesmar who started down the street. "Keep your hand on your blade.. there is more than meets the eye here..".

[Lornak]

Haesmar allowed himself to be pulled away from Yallourn by Ustengrav who was trying to calm the situation. He wasn't angry enough to push the subject. Ustengrav offered him his flask of alcohol, which Haesmar accepted & pocketed without drinking from. With the strange behaviour going on tonight he wanted Ustengrav as sober as possibly to help him deal with it. Breathing heavily he started up the street to patrol, not because he'd been ordered to, but because the walk would clear his head a little. He'd really need to learn to control his temper better if he was to survive here. That could've turned ugly quickly if it hadn't been for his companion. Ustengrav caught up with him before he was half way up the street. He muttered a warning to Haesmar, telling him to keep his hand on his blade. As if Haesmar would do anything else in this city of crime & shit. Strolling round the block his temper started to dissipate. He casually looked around the streets making sure they weren't about to be jumped by anyone waiting for them around a dark corner, or in one of the connecting dark lanes. Haesmar still had that feeling of unease. Why had Yallourn been late tonight? & why did he seem so afraid? His snapping at a simple question confused Haesmar. Although he wasn't particularly fond of Yallourn he'd found him mild mannered & generally polite, when talking anyway. He still found him of a queer sort when he wasn't talking. When he'd grabbed him by the throat he'd also noticed a bruise that looked fairly recent on his forehead. Maybe it was just the nerves of the job. Although he wasn't afraid, somewhere in the back of his mind he was always nervous. Some people didn't seem to care if they lived or died, but Haesmar did. He was determined to live a long fulfilling life, but not a boring one. As they rounded the corner to come behind the warehouse they spotted a tall thin man loitering about, Haesmar stepped forward. "What are you doing over there?" He called over to the man. The man didn't seem to hear him, he didn't move. Haesmar took longer strides over to the man. As he got next to man he saw he was just shorter than himself, with short brown hair, a large nose with a weak jaw-line. He was wearing a dirty brown tunic & sandals. "I said, what are you doing over here?" Haesmar demanded. As he said it he grabbed the man by the shoulder & turned him to face him. The man smiled crookedly, showing broken teeth, then spat a large glob of phlegm into Haesmars face. He let go cursing & wiped the spit from his face. "Lets get this bastard!" They began chasing the man. Haesmar was confused as to why the man would act so rashly, it would've made more sense for him just to run as soon as he'd seen the two guards, but he didn't. He was thin, yet fast, he kept in front of them just enough to tease, but not close enough that they could catch him. When we catch this cunt I'm going to break his legs" Haesmar panted across to a sweating Ustengrav.

[Ustengrav]

By the gods this filthy tramp was fast, Ustengrav saw the dirty beggar spit in Haesmar's face, a dire insult to be sure and one that Haesmar would surely like to repay. The grizzled warrior found it hard to keep with Haesmar let alone the homeless man. He was a fighter not a runner, his heavy frame was used to dish out pain and take pain, but running used completely different muscles and the pattern of breathing used for running efficiently differed from the breathing patterns used in a brawl. Soon a side stitch began to develop, an intense throbbing pain under his ribcage forced Ustengrav to slow his pace. It was only then did he managed to catch up with Haesmar who had stopped abruptly in the entrance of a alleyway. The alleyway started small but as its cobbled road advanced forward so did its width, until at the end was a large arena like area. Panting heavily, Ustengrav looked up and before his eyes were two familiar faces along with three others. They all stood together, sneering and laughing, holding an assortment of weapons in their hands. Three of them were new, but the other two had the face of a pig and the face of a weasel. A familiar sight. The weaselish one had a walking stick used to support his frail body up, he had a thick bandage around his leg and several cuts and bruises across his arms and face. The piggish one was large, fat and had a large tattoo covering his arm, his face was severely bruised and his ugly grin revealed many missing and broken teeth. Ustengrav looked in amazement. "I think I remember you!" he said abruptly. "Your the ugly fat fuck that I thrashed several days ago am I right?" Ustengrav laughed and unslung his axe from his back. In truth, he was quite nervous, five versus two wasn't good odds, however his mind soon flashed backed to the many situations of being outnumbered and his nervousness evaporated, his voice and demeanour reverted back to the same tone the last time they stood face to face. "Ah!! Yeah! I put my foot through your grotesque face!! I am surprised you have the balls to face me again! Oh wait.. what am I thinking! Your balls were crushed as I threw my foot into them!" Ustengrav gave a slight chuckle and smile. He then rubbed his braided beard with his large hand and continued speaking in his deep, distinctive tone. "Im afraid this time however, the rats will be chewing on the little chunks of you that will be left. There wont be alot though, I promise you that!". Resting his axe on his shoulder with one hand, he waited for his opponents next move. The same night that he brawled with these thugs, had been the same night he had brawled with his young friend that stood to his left. They battled together then and soon they will battle together now.