Reclaiming the City RPG

[piosenniel]

The Ruling Ring's first post for Fededhor

Fededhor walked along the dirt path slowly, the road and the errand the only thing to distract him from the misery that weighed like chains. He reached the meeting place, a small garden with a line of benches and one in front of them. He took his place in the latter, sitting back with a dismal sigh.

No sooner had he settled himself, than three soldiers entered the scene. They all halted when they saw him, gazing at him hesitantly, expectantly. Fededhor returned this only with a look of mild recognition, signaling with his eyes that they should sit down.

“We shall wait for the others, to begin,” Fededhor said softly, forcing a meek smile. “And I hope you understand, but I don’t feel as if I could speak, until then.”

The others nodded in their turn, then sat rigid as they waited, not even speaking to each other, barely looking to their left or right, preferring to stare surreptitiously at the ground.

After a pause, the last four soldiers came into the garden, speaking in low voices to each other. They looked in near-unison at Fededhor and the other soldiers, their talk ceasing at the sight. They took their seats swiftly and silently. Fededhor breathed in.


“Men,” he began. “I am sure that you have all found out one way or another already what has happened to the settlement outside of this place, and it is mostly for this reason that I will not speak of it again. What you may not know, though, is what you will be asked to do about it,” he looked up and around him with a steely gaze. “This village has not just broken communication with us in the usual way of not sending or responding to goods, and the like. The people of the place have also stopped all contact with friends and relations living here, there hasn’t been a rider or errand runner to emerge in weeks, not a fire can be seen at night. But for its proximity,” Fededhor gestured vaguely to the trees at his right, outside of which was a stretch of the road that passed the settlement, “I would think that the village had ceased to exist! And this is very troubling to me—,” he broke off hastily then, his eyes flickering back to the dirt, before riveting back on the soldiers, who merely sat, looking on in silence. He breathed in deep again. “We are being sent to find out what has happened to the settlement. We are merely to investigate it. Even if something dreadful has happened, we are to return here, for reinforcements at least, before doing anything else. But rest assured, if something dreadful has happened, when reinforcements are assembled, I plan to be at the head of the line,” he looked around at the others, the pride of his statement, echoed in his face, dissolving into a look of submissive sadness. “I hope that, when the time comes, you are all there, too…and that we are all glad for it,” Fededhor stood up, his hand vaguely brushing the hilt of the sword that hung at his side. “Still, I know that I am getting ahead of pressing matters. It is true, we don’t know what has happened, or what to expect, when we reach the settlement, and all any of us will be expected to do is find out.”

[ March 28, 2003: Message edited by: piosenniel ]