The life of a soldier is rarely dull, least of all mine.
My name is Genco Valheart, elite warrior in the Krik Legion. War has been my life for the past ten years and I relish in it. Service to my country is an honor; dropping our foes like the vermin they are a treat.
My heritage is colored, tainted by the stain of Mooring blood yet strengthened by the infusion of Suul. Many a man has looked down on me for my heritage and many a man has fallen to my blades as a result. I am a force to be reckoned, equal to a small squadron of men in my own right. I am Fury.
Military service has taken me from one end of our great country to the other. I have made raids into neighboring empires, primarily the Celestine lands. It seems our target of late has been a province they call Ethbar. The Celestine troops in Ethbar are hardened, much stronger and more trained than other troops I’ve battled. Even so, they still fall before the might of the Suul war engine and my regiment of Krik riders. The Celestine are dirty fighters, however, they use magic. I have watched time and again as a wide swath has been cut through our lines by magical bursts of energy, crackling and exploding into our troops. Even so, it has never stopped me from charging forward and relieving their bodies from the burden of their overly inflated heads. No man, not even a mage, can withstand the speed and efficacy of my attacks.
I have been released from military service on special assignment, direct from the top. I am to report to a nearby inn to take a job along with a small squad of other elites. They didn’t tell me the nature of the job only that my particular skillset and devotion to the empire are required.
After taking a small repose I made my way to the inn and left Chomps, my Krik, in the stables. Entering, I was ushered upstairs to a plush waiting area. Apparently I was either early or everybody else was late because there was one other man who introduced himself to me as Lohan. Lohan had several knives sheathed over his body as well as a short sword strapped to his back. I’ve seen his type before; they are formidable warriors who, where they lack in melee, more than make up for it from a distance.
It wasn’t long before another man entered with a hound at his heels. The hound seemed unbelievably intelligent as it entered and took a look around the place, following every command of its master. Introducing himself as Han, his mutt as Chewie, the man took his place.
More men entered, first a shorter man – obviously a handler – with his mage in tow. Bile rose in my throat as they sat, the distaste of magic embittering my tongue. With a thinly masked sense of arrogance he introduced himself as Demire, his thrall as Figgy. As much as I hate mages it is nice to see them controlled like the beasts and freaks they are. A well-dressed man entered shortly on their heels seemingly out of place. A group such as ours was an odd fit for a man of his tastes. Almost immediately this man began making passes at the slave help and others in the room indiscriminately, not caring about gender.
Shortly before our apparent contact entered we were joined by another man large of stature. Where he seemed to lack in finesse he obviously made up with brawn. He simply growled at us as he sat, staring at each of us one by one. The contact entered and immediately began speaking of our job at hand. We were to retrieve some stolen artifacts, kill the thief – a mage, and rescue a young lady who had been kidnapped as part of the process. Any mages who could be retrieved were to be collared and brought back, the rest were to all die. Secrecy was at the core and nobody must learn of our job. The flashy man countered our original offer of 3000 copper each and managed to talk it up to 5000 based on hazard pay. I smirked at the thought, it was silly these men took the mages as a threat. Obviously they have never actually faced one.
During the negotiations we were joined by a final member to our squad – a tiny man who seemed full of anger and ego all wrapped up in that tiny little frame. It would seem that years of insult have forged him into a cynical beast ready to lash out at anybody who makes jest. He could certainly be useful.
We took leave early the next morning towards the town where these rogue mages were hiding. Under the guise of “merchants” – or rather, bandits who had stolen a merchant’s wagon – we planned on entering the town and taking a lay of the land. The ruse worked brilliantly and we found trust amongst these den of thieves.
While dining in their inn that evening it seemed our presence brought the whole town out to gawk as the inn filled beyond capacity. Our flamboyant comrade was joined by the handler as they caroused the populace; I sat in the corner with the handler’s ward and simply watched. It seems the carousing was helpful because the next morning as we met to discuss, we learned that there are several mages amongst the populace. Interesting.
We decided to look into a statue that many folk apparently make a pilgrimage to see up on the hill. While there, Han had his hound sniff around and found a concealed entrance into the base of the statue. I tried pushing it to no avail. Demire had an idea to have Figgy attempt to open it with magic, an idea met with success. We descended into the depths under the statue and eventually made our way into a library occupied with three individuals.
I immediately shot one of the occupants, the same one Lohan picked and had delivered a dagger to, and dropped him. I turned and fired on another occupant, dropping her instantly. The third occupant was dropped by Chewie. Of the three, only one was a mage and Demire was able to bring her under his control. The other two were dispatched by Han and I as they were no longer needed and we were to have no witnesses.
We learned the location of Enrik, the mage who had stolen the artifacts and kidnapped the girl Aunica. Deciding that dispatching him would be the best course of action as our first course, we moved towards his quarters. We found a corridor which ended in four closed doors; one obviously had people in there, two others had lights on but no sounds, and the fourth was dark. We positioned ourselves ready, drank several of the potions we were given for the job, and threw open the door where the people were. I fired an arrow at the man in the bed, Lohan flung a dagger. Deflecting against an invisible barrier, I watched both my arrow and his dagger move away harmlessly from the man. I drew my blades and charged along with Lohan and the little man.
The man in the bed attempted to burn me with a glowing ball of fire but it blew up harmlessly in my face. The look on his face was priceless as he realized that the only power he knows – his magic – cannot touch me. I smiled back.
Combat was quick. I crippled his left arm, the one that had held the fireball. He summoned a blade of flame from his right hand and I quickly severed that one. Finding himself defenseless he surrendered. I asked him his name and, no sooner than speaking the word “Enrik” did the little man hurl a stone with all his might and collapse Enrik’s skull, crushing his brain.
The artifacts we were after were in the room and the female we were to rescue was there as well. Our job mostly completed we proceeded to move through the caverns and kill every last living person there. We continued our job on the town ensuring that no survivors were left and burned the village to the ground.
They were right to hire us for the job.