Fantasy The Dying Emperor

[Countofcristo]

On a warm summer's morning, in the year 600 AE, Connor sat on the side of the road. He'd have awoken an hour or so earlier, to the crack of dawn, after a long day of riding from Auwan, heading towards the city of Devnor. Connor, alongside the nine poorly equipped commoner guards. Whereas he worn chainmail over gambeson and had additional padding on his elbows and knees, as well as an oval helm, the commoner guards simply wore gambeson and had old swords on their hips. The merchant they'd been hired to protect, Harold of Auwan, readied the small wooden carriage. The carriage had a singular horse pulling it, was rectangular in shape, with no top. Four wheels kept it moving, and eight logs of wood were in the back, being transported through the large forest that they were cut down from and to the capital of Devnor. Only eight horses were present for the guards, and the two guards that didn't own a horse rode in the back of the carriage, sitting with their legs dangling off the back. Connor's own horse, one of average quality, munched some grass as it remained tied to a tree.

Harold of Auwan called out to the guards, who'd slept on the ground, the night air still warm enough to not worry about freezing. "Let's go ladies! Stop lounging about! Time is money, and I'm paying you!" Harold said loudly, and the guards stopped doing whatever they were doing, be it eating, pissing, or relaxing on the grass, and began readying to ride off. Harold was a forty-something year old merchant from Auwan, not an overly successful one at that, and he essentially lived caravan to caravan. That explained the underwhelming experience of the guards, who save for Connor, probably couldn't fight better than a drunk in a tavern.

"One drunk maiden, you want to join. Two drunk maidens, they cost us thirty coin. Three drunk maidens, they are dirty. Four drunk maidens, they're sure flirty. Five drunk maidens, you're living a fun life. Six drunk maidens, think of your wife." One of the guards, a man named Torst of Helbern, sang as he readied his horse to ride. Torst was around fifty, and had a slightly better sword than the other men, it seemed more like a personally made blade instead of the usual family heirloom sword.

"Gods above man, it's too early to be singing. Shut your trap!" A gruff fellow guard, around 25, whose name was unknown to Connor, said as he mounted his horse

Torst sneered in his direction. "I'll slit your fucking throat and we'll see who sings then!"

"Knock it off! We've still got four more days to ride, if I wanted to listen to bickering, I'd have stayed at home with my children." Harold shouted at them from atop the carriage, where he held the reigns.

 

[Riley36911]

Connor had been standing near the carriage waiting for Harold of Auwan, diligently waiting. He had found the guards with him to be at least a bit entertaining, though he felt like the songs they came up with could be a bit more creative. Connor himself had done everything that he was told to do, and was currently fiddling with his fingers when he heard Harold yelling at them. Connor straightened himself out, a bit thrown off by the tone of voice. As they got onto their horses, and he heard Torst singing that song, Connor looked toward him with a curious expression, and tilted his head.

"You really shouldn't be with any women if you can't come up with a better song than that," Connor said, shrugging and directed his eyes up to the front. He started to ride with the guards, though he wasn't entirely enjoying his companions, and the person they were guarding was not the nicest. Connor liked being a knight but it hadn't been exactly what he had thought it would be. He also was still rather innocent in knowing everything that knights face. He knew little of death, loss, and pain. His experiences of pain had been limited to a broken heart and unrequited love.

He fell quiet, though he was generally very talkative when it was appropriate. He did occasionally glance at his companions. He hoped their trip would end in decent time and that they would make it to their destination without any serious delays.

 

[Countofcristo]

Torst laughed at Connor's comment, mounting his horse as the gruff guard stared angrily at him. The caravanners began to ride, heading west and towards the city. Torst rode alongside Connor up front, and spoke to him. "So, you're a knight, eh? That's exciting. You a Hedge knight or did you just abandon your Lord? You seem like a stiff type of bastard, so I imagine the former. I can't picture you betraying an oath."

The caravan continues on, the other guards staying around the carriage, barely keeping a watch on their surroundings. Harold drives the carriage, whistling as he does so, riding behind Torst and Connor in front of him. The other horsemen were mostly behind the carriage, with two horsemen flanking it. One of the guards in the carriage fiddling with a bow, adjusting the string.

"Gods above, that looks like rain." The archer called out as he pointed at the black clouds ahead of them.

"Looks like Tung is angry, that's what." Harold called back, referencing the Demon-God.

"He's angry about how much you're charging for those bloody logs. Ten coin each? What are they? Magic?" One of the horsemen on the flank called out, the other guards laughing at his remark.

 

[Riley36911]

Connor didn't mind making small talk, especially given that there was nothing else to except to ride. They hadn't run into any trouble and so it had been uneventful. When Torst started talking to him, he looked at him. "Yes, I'm a hedge knight. I wouldn't abandon someone, no...unless there was a really good reason for doing so..." He couldn't imagine abandoning his lord at all, really, but there had to be some exceptions right? Connor was still not jaded from the world, and had a lot of hopes for his future. So he liked to imagine a future where if he did have a lord or someone, that he would be faithful to them, whoever they were.

Connor glanced at the sky when they talked about the rain. "I never really mind the rain," he said, mostly to himself. When he heard the cost of the logs, he was surprised. "Why are they so expensive?" He asked, raising his brow. "Magic would make sense...that's a lot." He thought the guards around him were probably bored or not really interested in what they were doing. IF they were sitting around the fire, he would liven them with a story. Maybe they needed a story though. He could tell them about his hapless attempt at romance a couple of years ago, or his unrequited love experience. There were plenty of those to go around. He wasn't sure any of that was appropriate though.

"So if it rains will we continue forward?" He asked, not to any specific person, but just to those around him.

 

[Countofcristo]

Harold seemed slightly annoyed at the jab, rolling his eyes. "They're expensive because it's good quality wood. It won't rot and split as easy as most wood." The carriage continues to roll towards the forest, and by extension, the dark clouds of the sky. "But yes, we'll continue riding if it rains. Rain causes wooden homes to leak, which means wood will be a needed resource for repairs. I'll make good coin off of it."

"Will we get a pay bonus for riding through the rain?" The gruff man calls out from behind the carriage, riding on his horse.

"Over my dead body." Harold called back, chuckling. He shifted in his seat as he continued to hold the reigns to his horse.

The gruff man gave no reply. Harold seemed a little perplexed, but cleared his throat and looked forward again.

Torst sighs, turning to look at Connor again as he rides. "So, how long you been a knight? You seem like a right inexperienced lad. They've certainly lowered the standard of knighting since I was your age."

 

[Riley36911]

Connor looks to Torst, and he is a bit surprised by his rudeness, though he doesn't let that bother him. "I've been a knight for a couple of years. I wouldn't call myself 'inexperienced,' as you say. I mean no, I've never been to war, and no I've never had to really kill someone, but I've dealt with crime and I've helped many people. I think that counts for something, right? And I still worked hard to become what I am today...and hey, I've come across a lot of good stories along the way so there's that."

He doesn't mind that it's going to rain. He just wants to trudge along to their destination. He wonders what Torst's story is. He likes to criticize Connor for his lack of experience, but he wonders what stories he has. Connor admittedly lacks a lot of life experience that his comrades have. He has never been with a woman, for example. He had come close...once. She broke his heart.

 

[Countofcristo]

"If you don't think only being something for a couple years isn't inexperienced, then you're thick-headed too." Torst replies as they continue to ride along. "And what stories do you have? I bet they're all shite." He adds.

The rain begins to spit onto them, not yet heavy or full downpour, more like nature warning them of their impending wetness. Harold sighs, putting on a straw hat that he grabbed from the back of the carriage, preparing for the rain. A few of the guards pull the hoods of cloaks on, though another few seem to just accept the fact that they'd get wet. Torst was among the latter group, and his short black hair was exposed to the sky as the sporadic raindrops began to fall, slowly picking up pace and quantity.

"Well, fuck." The gruff man remarked...gruffly...as the rain poured upon them, thunder and lightening cracking above.