Darkness in the Mountains (Part 1)

[Gendler]

Gendler

Winter 25. 494 AV- Sylira, Bronze Woods

Thick grey clouds hung heavily in the sky blocking any hope for those walking the land to feel the warmth of the sun, instead they were showered with tiny flakes of snow. The cold gift of winter was nipping at everyone's heels, but for Gendler it was little less than an annoyance. The snow was white and clean, yet he was far from the purity of the virgin snow he crushed beneath his feet with each step. He had been walking for a day and night without a moment's rest, deeper and deeper into the Bronze Woods, it would be suicide for a man to travel into the woods alone without any provisions or help, its known to be a harsh and unforgiving place for the inexperienced. But Gendler wasn't a common man anymore, he knew not hunger or fatigue. In his mind, even the beasts posed little threat to him now that he had a taste of real power.

Gendler held up his arm in front of him and looked at the deep black ring that was scorched below his nuckles, covering the entire back of his hand. From his studies under the knights he knew what it was: Divine magic given to men by a God so that they might spread and enforce the Gods will. The newborn Chained One didn't know exactly what it did, only that it changed his physical form and would give him the strength he needed for his task. Though Syliras was in the opposite direction, so to where his motivations, but alone he could not accomplish them, even with his new powers. Its well known bandits and other unsavory individuals lurked deep in the Cobalt Mountains, perhaps he could use them to hinder the city in some way. It would suffice for now, even a drop of the city's blood was worth more to Gendler then a chest of riches.

The woodlands where silent as Gendler continued north, the soft crunch of snow and the occasional snap of twigs where all that the undead could hear. It was almost a rhythm, never changing or breaking pace unless he had to cross a creek or climb over a fallen tree. It was almost hypnotising, pulling him deeper into his thoughts. A sudden snap in the distance to his left made Gendler stop dead in his tracks. He had seen no wildlife so far, but he could feel eyes upon him. The undead turned his head to look, his view was partially blocked by his hood, but even so, he seen nothing. Perhaps it was an animal, a dear or some other creature. If it was a wolf there were sure to be more close by. Resting his hand on the pummel of his sword the undead called out "Are you going to come out or are you going to make me come find you?"

[Gendler]

Gendler

For a long moment there was only silence, a small wave of relief washed over him before he heard the familiar crunch of snow. Turning, Gendler faced the source of noise only to be greeted by a haggard looking man in furs with his bow fixed on him. "You dont look like a hunter... Or a Knight." The man shouted. The undead began to scan the man with his cold eyes, judging the threat the man posed. His bow seemed to be of shoddy craftsmanship, simple furs and an axe hanging from his belt, even his appearance was of the same quality. His hair was dark brown and unkempt from days, maybe even weeks of being outside civilization, and a thick beard that complemented his wild appearance. "What are you doing out here out here? Are you a highwayman, looking for easy pickn's from simple hunters?!"

Gendler stood unflinching despite having the threat of an arrow being loosed on him at any moment.

"No."

"Well if y'aint a bandit whats your purpose for being out here? You ain't a hunter, I can see that!"
Gendlers fingers tightened around his pummel as the man launched more questions. "Im going North, to the mountains."
"Then why not take the Kabrin? Dont think to lie to me, or you will get an arrow in your eye."

Gendler sighed and held up his hands, the truth would not set the man at ease if he where to tell him. Gendler thought for a moment, buying his time with the submissive gesture while trying to spin a lie. "Its my son.. He ran off with a girl i forbid him to see.. A girl he claims to love, but... Hes Promised to another, and i've been tracking them in this direction. I have reason to think hes fleeing to my cousin in the mountains. I-"

"Say no more friend." The man interrupted. "Any man who would brave the wilds 'lone for his sons safety is a good man by my book." Lowering his bow the man made his way to Gendler while quivering his arrow "The mountains are a weeks walk from here, terrible county this is." Holding out his hand the middle aged man smiled "Sorry about that, cant be to careful out here. Bandits have been treading closer to the city these past few weeks, must be the cold. Names Jerim." The undead reached out and firmly took the mans hand "Gendler."

Jerim nodded and called out behind him "Caleb, you can come out, its safe." From behind one of the trees a boy no more then 14 years of age walked out from the trees, dressed in the same fashion as the older mans, with a wooden spear firmly in hand. "This is my son, Caleb. We have a camp close by, come rest for the day and we will help you track down your boy. I know these woods like the back of my hand, we'l find em, I promise you that." Gendler noded with false gratitude "Well come on, lets get some food in ya, by the looks of it you haven't eaten in awhile."

[Gendler]

Gendler

Gendler followed Jerim and his son, doing his best to avoid the small conversations that popped up every now and then. As they walked Gendler took in his surroundings, the trees stood with pride even though they were naked and bare, despite the weather the trees lived up to there bronze color. Eventually they came to a small clearing with a pitched up tent and a small fire pit. "I'll get the fire going Pa." the boy said, quickly making his way to the pit. Turning his attention to Gendler, Jerim sighed "Hes a good lad. Sadly there all that remains of us once we pass on from the world.. The worst thing in the world is a father losing his boy, but rest easy Gendler. You wont be losing yours as long as I draw breath."

A sudden darkness began to stir inside Gendlers chest, an unnatural hunger that began to gnaw away inside, a hunger for pain that begged to be fed. Clenching his fists he stared at the man who was now walking towards the fire pit to check up on his son. The Chained One took a step forward, drawing his sword from its sheath, his body now acting purely out of the need to indulge his marks desire. "Jerim!" He called out, unwilling to murder a man from behind. The man turned sharply to face Gendler, his once icey blue eyes now glowing a deep red. Pushing his son out of the way Jarim reached for his axe and stood firmly to defend himself and his son, "You whoreson serpent, I should have known better!" Jerims face twisted with anger as he lunged at the undead, swinging his axe diagonally to meet Gendlers neck. A smirk of satisfaction formed on Gendlers lips as he swung his blade forcefully to meet the axe in attempts to parry the thoughtless attack.

A loud snap echoed in the clearing as Gendlers unnatural strength caused the cheap axe to snap below the head where the blade met. The vibration rang in the undead's hand, the pain of the collision only making the undead's smirk grow into a smile upon seeing Jarims face become possessed with fear. "Please let my boy live, I beg you..."
Crossing his Longsword over, the undead slashed horizontally across the hunters face making the man drop to the ground, howling in pain. Gendler turned his attention to the boy who was frozen in fear, holding the wooden spear out, knowing it would not save him. Lowering his sword The chained one took steps towards the boy. "I didn't take the road because i knew i would eventually come across the Knights. I'm not ready for them yet, so you will have to do for now."

[Gendler]

Gendler

Jerim screamed as he scrambled to his feet and tackled Gendler from behind "Run Caleb!" The hunter yelled as he mounted Gendler and began hammer fisting the back of the undead's head. Pain wrecked Gendlers skull as the man pounded away, reminding him it was a mistake not finishing him off. letting go of his sword Gendler reached to his side to draw his dagger and blindly thrusted it behind him, after the second attempt the blade found flesh, burying itself deep into the man's thigh. Pushing the dagger down it ripped through muscle before Gendler twisted the blade, Forcing Jerim to scream in agony before rolling off him. The undead's face twisted with rage as he got up and faced the groveling hunter. Tossing the dagger Gendler towered over the man with murderous intent fuming in his red eyes, looking behind him he could see the boy running into the woods. The undead turned and walked over to his sword, half buried in the snow. Picking it up he returned to the hunter and stared at him for what seemed to be an eternity, the hunger for his slow death now snapping and barking inside of him like a wild beast that's been starved. Gendler plunged the blade deep into the man's stomach, causing his screams and tears to increase as he knelt next to him, leaving the sword firmly in place. "Your boy is going to come back. And when he does, i'm going to make sure your head will be neatly mounted on a spike to greet him before he joins you."

Jermin gurgled, spitting blood on Gendlers face, pure hatred in in his eyes as he began to feel death slowly walk towards him. Ripping the Sword out of the man's stomach Gendler rose to his feet, bringing his blade up before he began to hack through his neck. After a few good swings The undead grabbed a fist full of the mans hair and ripped it from the rest of the muscle attaching it to his shoulders and held Jerims head at eye level, knowing he could still see for a moment. Gendler dropped the hunters head and began to look around the camp for something to make good on his promise, finding the boys spear next to the fire pit. The undead chuckled at the foolishness of the boy, running into the wild without a weapon. After making his way to the spear Gendler positioned the spear in a horizontal position and kicked down on it, snapping the wood in half with ease before planting the half with the sharpened edge into the fost dirt that was heated inside the fire pit and walked back to Jerims corpse to fetch his head.

Positioning the head above the spear Gendler thrusted down, the sound of ripping flesh filled the undead's senses as his unnatural hunger began to calm and die. The boy was long gone, and if he had any sense he would not return, and would be even luckier if he survived the run back home. But Gendler was hoping he would, maybe even send one or two knights his way. But that would take time and the snow would cover his tracks by the time they got here. Folding his cloak the undead cleaned the blood off his blade before fetching his dagger and continued north to the mountains.

[Sayana]

Before I can proceed...

Your CS needs to be updated to include the seasonal expenses for Winter 514 AV and Spring 515 AV. Typical expenses are 135 gm (Common) and 45 gm (Poor) for each season of play. Once you have updated your ledger to include these, PM me and I will award you grades.