Stephan Hornick
Community Goblin & Master of the Archive
Platinum WoA
Wizard of Story
Wizard of Combat
Borderland Explorer
23.04.1021 NL - Auheim
"Take cover!"
Eremis pointed towards the weathered ruins of a dwarven wall and rushed his party out of sight. His loud battlefield voice commanding authority without doubt.
He hardly noticed the cold of the stone wall at his back, as he slumped against it, his party beside him. This wall must have endured a thousand years in the outskirts of Auheim. Auheim, which was now being destroyed!
His heart pounded in a wild rhythm of excitement, while thoughts of dread and fear washed over him like an autumn's sudden shower of rain.
A demon?? Of all things... a fire-blazing winged demon! We'll never make it. Honestly, who would waste his life to fight against that monstrosity??! We better run. This is not worth a fortune.
He took a quick glance around the moss-covered ruin they were hiding behind to look back at Auheim, or what was left of it.
In the shadow of the Silver Peaks the big settlement was sitting on a hill, encircled by a heavy palisade fence, which was momentarily smoldering with black smoke rising from the wooden spikes. In some places the fence was outright burning with bright yellow flames licking across the wood, in other places it was already tumbled over or never constructed, so that he could see inside. A couple of high pyres were scattered within the town, their fires burning higher than the fence itself. Human flesh was piled high on them by the numerous small demons running rampage within the city. A soft rain of ash had began to fall down on everything around them clinging to his bare skin.
The streaks of eery green light were still shot up into the night sky from those pyres, like pillars holding the glowing magical circle above the town. The red moon showing in its center like an eye watching the infernal ritual from the infernal wastelands beyond.
And when the earth had trembled and cracks had opened all around the countrysite to deep underground lava streams, and the stench of brimstone filled the area with yellow fumes like mist covering the fields, a great roar had echoed across the plains. In the middle of town a creature rose from fire, a demon with heavy leathery wings, a two-handed sword and a whip. And all the minions fell to the ground to worship their master.
Eremis felt that he had gone pale. He turned around to his companions and saw a mixture of feelings.
Their priest, Brother Benedikt, was unconsciously trembling as he held his amulet of the sun, with fear he assumed at first, but as Eremis looked at his fervent eyes, he saw something like belief and determination, a silent prayer on his lips.
The big warrior in furs beside the priest with the hard to pronounce name of Hrgungdvar seemed almost angry. He gripped his axe with a determination that seemed hard to control but seemed to wait for a command to attack. He knew how to face demons.
The eyes of the small and dirty human woman with the spear in one hand and a fox on her sholder twitched back and forth, seemingly looking for a way to escape. FoxRouge kept to her human travel companion though, looking in shock at his determination to use the axe and unsure whether she should stay.
The Riksharr flame dancer, Nichuan, at the other end of the row and his closest friend in the party, was very still and looked at Eremis with huge, reflecting cat eyes. She seemed to be in as much panic as he was. But she looked at him as if with a silent request in her eyes to decide what to do.
How did it come to this?
At first, it was just an easy mission to travel to Auheim and investigate what created the plague that killed the gnome miner, Frundir Samtstein. Then, we added to look for a woman called Rissa in Auheim, and to get back 10 lbs. of silver for Master Durok and 25 lbs. of silver for Magistrate Willert Moosball. But as we were attacked by infected and then came to Alt-Auheim, things got darker quickly: People fleeing Auheim.
Believing ourselves to be smart, we agreed to help them get back. For a mighty sum of money of course. And then, there was this rumor about vampires in Auheim, so we left immediately. But we never thought that we would stumble into an ongoing magical ritual that summoned a demon from infernal pits below!
For a moment, Eremis closed his eyes and collected his emotions, calmed his nerves and steadied his breath as he had learned to do, when the fear threatened to overcome him on the battlefield.
Eremis had come to the Borderland to escape his past and begin his path as an Undying Legend, as he had vowed. Stressing the part where I don't die. In the old margrave he found positions of power empty and no strong leadership, a land in turmoil and fear, soon to be overrun by the wild forces without.
Here, he had decided, I will make my legend. Here, I will become the greatest adventurer the world has ever seen!
And although his first thought was to run and warn Holt-Lindeck and ask for reinforcements to come back later, maybe with magical weapons and such, as seemed to be existing in this land so far away from home, he was stopped short by two thoughts:
First,
What will happen with the innocent inhabitants of Alt-Auheim, if we abandon Auheim in its moment of need?
They would be slaughtered, Eremis realized. And Eremis had vowed as a child to not let his subjects suffer if he had the chance to prevent it. And they were his future subjects. Or so he hoped.
Second, a sentence crept up from his subconsciousness, a sentence his uncle had once said to him, long, long ago, when he had told his uncle of his desire to become like one of those heroes they read about:
"If you want to become great, young master, there is this ONE moment in your life. You will know, when it is time. And it will be terrifying and you will want to flee with all your nerves. But if you really belief, YOU are the one, then you need to overcome your FEAR and grip it with all your might and never let loose. Don't give up, as I once did! Take your DESTINY into your own hands and become, who you desire to become, even if it kills you in the process."
And then he had laughed about his own words. But in young Eremis these words have burned deeper than anything that he had heard before or after. They burned right into his soul and made him to who he was today: A man on the brink of becoming a great hero!
And Eremis felt that it was THIS moment. This moment alone. And he feared for his life and for the life of his motley companions. Do we even stand a chance?? Excited by the possibility of success and the thrill of battle against something so terrifying as a demon, his gaze took on a confident gleam and his hard smile showed vibrant determination that was able to pass on to his companions, as he turned to speak to them.
"Take cover!"
Eremis pointed towards the weathered ruins of a dwarven wall and rushed his party out of sight. His loud battlefield voice commanding authority without doubt.
He hardly noticed the cold of the stone wall at his back, as he slumped against it, his party beside him. This wall must have endured a thousand years in the outskirts of Auheim. Auheim, which was now being destroyed!
His heart pounded in a wild rhythm of excitement, while thoughts of dread and fear washed over him like an autumn's sudden shower of rain.
A demon?? Of all things... a fire-blazing winged demon! We'll never make it. Honestly, who would waste his life to fight against that monstrosity??! We better run. This is not worth a fortune.
He took a quick glance around the moss-covered ruin they were hiding behind to look back at Auheim, or what was left of it.
In the shadow of the Silver Peaks the big settlement was sitting on a hill, encircled by a heavy palisade fence, which was momentarily smoldering with black smoke rising from the wooden spikes. In some places the fence was outright burning with bright yellow flames licking across the wood, in other places it was already tumbled over or never constructed, so that he could see inside. A couple of high pyres were scattered within the town, their fires burning higher than the fence itself. Human flesh was piled high on them by the numerous small demons running rampage within the city. A soft rain of ash had began to fall down on everything around them clinging to his bare skin.
The streaks of eery green light were still shot up into the night sky from those pyres, like pillars holding the glowing magical circle above the town. The red moon showing in its center like an eye watching the infernal ritual from the infernal wastelands beyond.
And when the earth had trembled and cracks had opened all around the countrysite to deep underground lava streams, and the stench of brimstone filled the area with yellow fumes like mist covering the fields, a great roar had echoed across the plains. In the middle of town a creature rose from fire, a demon with heavy leathery wings, a two-handed sword and a whip. And all the minions fell to the ground to worship their master.
Eremis felt that he had gone pale. He turned around to his companions and saw a mixture of feelings.
Their priest, Brother Benedikt, was unconsciously trembling as he held his amulet of the sun, with fear he assumed at first, but as Eremis looked at his fervent eyes, he saw something like belief and determination, a silent prayer on his lips.
The big warrior in furs beside the priest with the hard to pronounce name of Hrgungdvar seemed almost angry. He gripped his axe with a determination that seemed hard to control but seemed to wait for a command to attack. He knew how to face demons.
The eyes of the small and dirty human woman with the spear in one hand and a fox on her sholder twitched back and forth, seemingly looking for a way to escape. FoxRouge kept to her human travel companion though, looking in shock at his determination to use the axe and unsure whether she should stay.
The Riksharr flame dancer, Nichuan, at the other end of the row and his closest friend in the party, was very still and looked at Eremis with huge, reflecting cat eyes. She seemed to be in as much panic as he was. But she looked at him as if with a silent request in her eyes to decide what to do.
How did it come to this?
At first, it was just an easy mission to travel to Auheim and investigate what created the plague that killed the gnome miner, Frundir Samtstein. Then, we added to look for a woman called Rissa in Auheim, and to get back 10 lbs. of silver for Master Durok and 25 lbs. of silver for Magistrate Willert Moosball. But as we were attacked by infected and then came to Alt-Auheim, things got darker quickly: People fleeing Auheim.
Believing ourselves to be smart, we agreed to help them get back. For a mighty sum of money of course. And then, there was this rumor about vampires in Auheim, so we left immediately. But we never thought that we would stumble into an ongoing magical ritual that summoned a demon from infernal pits below!
For a moment, Eremis closed his eyes and collected his emotions, calmed his nerves and steadied his breath as he had learned to do, when the fear threatened to overcome him on the battlefield.
Eremis had come to the Borderland to escape his past and begin his path as an Undying Legend, as he had vowed. Stressing the part where I don't die. In the old margrave he found positions of power empty and no strong leadership, a land in turmoil and fear, soon to be overrun by the wild forces without.
Here, he had decided, I will make my legend. Here, I will become the greatest adventurer the world has ever seen!
And although his first thought was to run and warn Holt-Lindeck and ask for reinforcements to come back later, maybe with magical weapons and such, as seemed to be existing in this land so far away from home, he was stopped short by two thoughts:
First,
What will happen with the innocent inhabitants of Alt-Auheim, if we abandon Auheim in its moment of need?
They would be slaughtered, Eremis realized. And Eremis had vowed as a child to not let his subjects suffer if he had the chance to prevent it. And they were his future subjects. Or so he hoped.
Second, a sentence crept up from his subconsciousness, a sentence his uncle had once said to him, long, long ago, when he had told his uncle of his desire to become like one of those heroes they read about:
"If you want to become great, young master, there is this ONE moment in your life. You will know, when it is time. And it will be terrifying and you will want to flee with all your nerves. But if you really belief, YOU are the one, then you need to overcome your FEAR and grip it with all your might and never let loose. Don't give up, as I once did! Take your DESTINY into your own hands and become, who you desire to become, even if it kills you in the process."
And then he had laughed about his own words. But in young Eremis these words have burned deeper than anything that he had heard before or after. They burned right into his soul and made him to who he was today: A man on the brink of becoming a great hero!
And Eremis felt that it was THIS moment. This moment alone. And he feared for his life and for the life of his motley companions. Do we even stand a chance?? Excited by the possibility of success and the thrill of battle against something so terrifying as a demon, his gaze took on a confident gleam and his hard smile showed vibrant determination that was able to pass on to his companions, as he turned to speak to them.
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