Defense of the Poros RPG

[Orual]

The sun crept slowly to meet the horizon, peering out over a grey morning and a bleak landscape. Captain Anhelm, Commander of the Poros Settlement, was already up to greet it. Dressed in his uniform, his sword sheathed and set carefully on the desk in front of him, Anhelm shivered a little and looked out of the window. He stood up and grabbed his cloak from a hook on the wall of his modest office, and went out into what was the beginnings of his village.

"Morning, Captain," a young soldier said amiably, touching his forehead in respect. He glanced at Anhelm's cloak, and his smile slipped. "You might not need that," he said, a touch of gloom entering his voice. "It's warm again today, and Telpe says not to hope for a cold wind any time soon."

Anhelm laughed, then smiled. "Take what Telpe says with a grain of salt," he suggested. "She is no more an expert on the climate here than you or I. We may get a reprieve from the heat yet." The young man smiled gratefully, touched his forehead again, and left.

"Good morning, Uncle Anhelm!" cried a young girl, running up to him. Her brown pigtails trailed out behind her, and she had a string of white winter flowers in her hand that would be made into either a necklace or a circlet. Her name was Mavi, short for Vidumavi. She was his only niece, and he loved her dearly.

"Good morning, love!" Anhelm replied, picking her up and giving her a kiss right on the top of her head. "How are you? And where are your shoes? Don't your feet hurt?"

Mavi laughed and wiggled her way to being put down. "Telpe says that she's got some tea and soup for you for breakfast, and she sent me to tell you. And my feet don't hurt. I'm like the Wild Men! I don't need shoes." She pulled a fierce face and, making her hands like claws, growled at her uncle.

Anhelm smiled. "You're a tough one, all right. I bet I could pick you up by the toes and your hair wouldn't get mussed. Let's see!" He grabbed her by the waist and tickled her until she shrieked, and at that point he put her down and kissed her on the nose. "Run along..."

She did, and Anhelm went and gathered the feel of the morning, which was fairly like the last few mornings: tense. A settlement right near the Harad Road was not the safest place, especially in these uneasy times. The Haradrim were getting uneasy, egged on, some said, by darker forces, though Anhelm was hard pressed to believe it. He was a practical man, who believed in more or less only what he could see. Some vague "darker forces" were not enough to make him nervous.

But the Haradrim did make him nervous. His father was bound to bed because of them, never to walk again; his people could not let their children stray far from the settlement proper because of them. How could he not be nervous? He was in charge of this settlement; all of these lives were in his hands.

"Captain?" An older soldier came up to him. "I have some reports from the scouts. Would you like to come read them?"

Anhelm took a deep breath. It was time to start his day; brooding would not stop the Haradrim. Only action would. He nodded. "Lead on."