Flame of Aaerna: Chapter I

[Abramul]

In one of the richer parts of Mryn, a cat wandered into a house. He was able to smell

that nobody had been home for a while, but still, he checked each room in turn. Finding

no occupants, the cat returned to the master bedroom. The 'cat' then reverted to his

normal form, a slimly-built young man, with brown hair and green eyes. He was

wearing inexpensive grey clothing, and a belt pouch. He opened the jewelry-box on one

of the dressers, only to find a scrap of paper. Curious, he read:

 

Dear Master Syco Khi'ten, the King of Mryn requests your presence,

 

Sincerely, Spenser Kingsfield

 

"Well, at least it probably isn't a matter of punishment."

 

 

P.S. Coloration is that of my avatar.

 

Evil page-breaking map-thing!

[nickleback04]

Aethelwyne approached the castle, both in awe and intrepidation. So he would soon find out why the king and ruler of this beautiful piece of architecture would want with him, whos idea of beauty was Wings, hi falcon, swooping down on a poor mouse.

 

Come to think of it, the town was rather empty. He had seen no-one except the inn-keeper, and in this large city, surely that would be uncommon? Aethelwyne, now with butterflies in his stomach, neared the castle, almost with fear iin his eyes.

 

But in front of him stood a man, slightly taller than 6ft, with wide, muscular soldiers, also seemingly nervous.

"Ho, who is this! Are you Aravid? If you are, could we possibly meet the king together? I am dreadfully nervous..." said Aethelwyne, looking hopeful.

[Fishystick]

Aravid turned to face the newcomer. He immediately noted that the man was an elf and therefore greeted him in elfish. "Greetings master elf", he said and bowed. "I am Aravid", he continued, "but how did you know my name? And who are you, if I may ask?"

[Elrol]

The tall gates stood before him. Closed now. The sun was slowly setting beyond the horizon, and the city was apparently closing for the night, not something often done in Mryn; or atleast when Elrol had last been here. Speeding his pace, so as to get inside before they shut, Elrol trudged on. The streets were bare of people. As he continued down the street, he could see a curtain open slightly every now and then, but there was no face there when he glanced at the window. Something was amis. "The note", he thought "This has something to do with that note" With a cautious eye on the streets, Elrol made his way down alley way and across town, all the while a feeling of uneasiness on the air. Atleast he stood within view of the palace gates. The courtyard lay beyond and then the bridge and the waiting hall. Nearing the gates, he noticed two figures standing in the moonlight conversing with one another. Cautious as his nature was, Elrol was keen enough to not go walking into a trap. What was he thinking? he was in Mryn. What was he so worried about. A trap in this peace loving town? Yet still that same feeling weighed heavily on his heart. The feeling that something had shifted, stirred, something patient and fierce; something he knew he should fear, but why? His gut had never failed him, so he non-chalantly put his hand within his coat. He grasped the cold wooden handle of his crossbow, already loaded and ready to fire. His fingered twitched slightly, turning the safety off. With habit of many years, he lifted the crossbow from its holster, keeping it under his coat. He slowly folded his arms across his chest, keeping his right within his coat, firmly grapsing the crossbow. If there was danger in these two, he would end it swiftly. With that he shifted from the shadows and into the moonlight, easying toward the dark shapes that lay ahead.

[nickleback04]

Aethelwyne, glad to have found a friendly face in this silent city, turned to Aravid, and greeted him as he would a life-long friend.

"I, sir, am Aethelwyne of the Elves, from Thorien Vale, Illuvaria forest. I, as i said, have come due to a summons from the king. I stopped at the Forester's Hideout only hours after you. The barkeep mentioned someone else on a quest to meet the king, called Aravid, so i assumed it was you. Of course correct me if im..."

 

Aethelwyne breaks off, his Elvish senses kicking in.

 

"Someone watches us from the gloom..."

 

He turns towards a shadowy figure in the gloom approaching slowly. One arm is inside his coat, obviously holding something. Who was this new person? And was Aravid to be trusted? Would he be able to rely on him if this newcomer turned out to be a threat? Aethelwyne's instinct was to trust Aravid. Feeling better, he turns towards the newcomer and shouts:

 

"Ho, friend! Come out of the gloom and meet us! We mean you no harm, as we are only travellers come via summons from the king. Would you care to join us?"

 

Although Aethelwyne was quick to trust, he was unsure if Aravid would welcome this shadowy character...

[Adelbert]

Tom was wandering around town, quite lost. He couldn't see any signs showing him where the castle was, and because of his size he couldn't even see the castle.

"This is getting silly", he thought and passed another closed window. He hadn't seen much people after he left the market. Soon enough he found that the way turned in the direction he though the castle was and he turned with it. He sighed in relief as he saw the big castle ahead of him, even though it was still some way to go. He realised he must have been walking away from the castle instead of towards it.

 

"I've been walking for hours now, I deserve a rest", he thought and simply sat down on the ground, pulling out some bread, fruit and a small bottle of wine. The halfling made quite an amusing sight on the ground, eating. He took his time, having never met a king before and therefore not quite understanding the importance of such a man.

 

When he finished, Tom packed all his things in his backpack and got up. Heading for the castle, he started wondering about what anyone could want from him, a simple halfling.

[Elrol]

Just as Elrol was stepping into the moonlight, one of the men shouted at him

 

"Ho, friend! Come out of the gloom and meet us! We mean you no harm, as we are only travellers come via summons from the king. Would you care to join us?"

 

...via summons from the king??? Elrol did not know others had been summoned, this changed things. That is if this man was telling the truth or course. This indeed meant things were more complicated than Elrol had anticipated.

 

He continued toward the two, eyeing them warily; his hand still clutching the crossbow.

 

"Who might you two be?" he asked solemnly. "You say you are here via summons from the king?"

 

 

[in the western sky the sun slowly sank below the horizon. A thick fog began to drift in from the Candine River closing in on the town of Mryn, blocking out the moonlight and further darkening this night. The waning moon was barely visible though the clouds that had been gathering since mid afternoon. A chill wind broke against the city walls, climbing them and filling the streets of Mryn, carrying with it the fog, the darkness.]

[Abramul]

Syco proceeds to the main gate. Oddly, there seem to be no people in the streets.

"I suppose I'll wait around for a bit..."

 

P.S. Please resize the map?

[Fishystick]

"Someone watches us from the gloom.." Aethelwyne said and turned around. Aravid turned towards the approaching figure and watched him. As he stepped into the soft light Aravid noted he was to an elf. This was very strange, at first the king wished to see him, and then these two elves came walking straight into town, even though he hadn't spotted very many inhabitants.

 

"I am Aravid of the humans, and this is Aethelwyne of your own kin, master elf", he said and bowed again. "We have both recieved news that the king wishes to see us, this is our business at the castle, even though I don't know if they allow strangers to enter during night", he continued and watched the low sun. As he did, he noticed the light coming from a tower or other high building going out and how the moon semmed to fade away slightly.

[Elrol]

[Maren paced back and forth within the guard tower, nervously glancing out the window. He had been in an anxious state ever since that shadow and the arrival of more than half the town in the castle courtyard. But of course, the courtyard hadn't been big enough, there had to be made room in the stables. The knights even gave up their own quarters. Yet still the people were immensley crowded. And with all the crowding the entire town was still not present. Half the town wouldn't budge from their houses. They refused to move. Therefore the guards, to much dismay, let them be.

 

Voices trailed along the wind to Maren's post. He went to the window, looking out for the source. Three shadows stood just outside the main gate. "Probably some people who changed their minds and decided to come join the rest of the throng.", he thought. With that, he descended the stairs and headed toward the gate. However, he did take two soldiers with him, just in case. After the rescent events, he was not about to let his guard down. Better to be safe than sorry.

 

"Ho There!, what might your business be this late hour outside the castle gates?"

 

Within his chambers King Ronan spoke with his officers.

"So you say some of them still won't come?"

 

"No, my lord. They say they will not leave their homes, they feel safe there."

 

"Fools, there must be a way to convince them to come to the courtyard."

 

"Yes Sire, we will continue the effort, but I doubt they will budge. They are all very adamant about staying."

 

"Very well, do what you can."

 

With that the officer left the room. The King then turned to another officer and began.

 

"How goes the scouting? did your men find anything?"

 

"No sire, but I still have men searching."

 

Their voices continued on within the chamber. Conversing over the current state of affairs, and where to proceed next. A long night it would be.

 

 

Unknown to all, miles outside the city gates in a distant forest, hundreds of people who had been snatched from their lives days before appeared out of thin air it would seem. What had happend, why were they standing out here? One minute they had been in their homes, in the streets, in their lives; then they were out here. Dazed, confused, and frightened they stood, huddled together, wondering where they were, and how they were going to get back home.]