Guy0fV4lor

The Eiden Lands

I'd definitely want to learn more about the setting details before anything else-- but this seems like it could be neat.

Bible of Ichor: Septet for the Dead

Blood Knight Gaming for me lads

Bible of Ichor: Septet for the Dead - A Unheroic Gothic Vampire RP

As per usual-- consider me interested!

I've already got an idea I really like for something like this.

The Storm Cycle: Reclamation

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@Rune_Alchemist@Crimson Paladin@Cu Chulainn

The knight rubbed his chin in contemplation for a quiet moment before rising to his feet; dusting his hands as he'd deliberately scuff away what he'd etched in the dirt with his heel.

"Based on what you've described--" Reinhardt began, sighing quietly as he began his assessment. "I'm confident what you saw was a type of Dragon... A Wyvern, specifically. Which is; fortunately, the 'weakest' of their kin."

Motioning for the children to follow him, Elias would move toward his horse; continuing his assertions as he'd adjust the saddle for a shorter rider, "That said, Wyverns only tend to show up in the vicinity of a much stronger dragon... Which means that even if its a similar case to the Cyclops we fought back in Redwater Point, its unlikely to be alone."

"The two of you can ride on my horse while we take you two back to the village you're staying in. If we find Elnith on the way there that'll be all the better. Should we run into any Harzel knights, they have little business trying to stop us now that we know the culprit behind these attacks is a dragon. Which begs the question..."

Reinhardt's gaze swiveled to their Elven tag along, "It may not be a Fomorian like we'd originally thought, but would you still be willing to lend your aid to this hunt Sir Elf?"

The Storm Cycle: Reclamation

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@Rune_Alchemist@Crimson Paladin@Cu Chulainn

Reinhardt listened intently to the words of the two children; slowly nodding as he came to understand their situation.

From the sound of it-- Elnith had indeed been to this village previously, even managing to stave off the 'midnight-skinned Fomorian' during one of it's attacks. Further, if the little girl's description of the creature was to be believed...

This wasn't a Fomorian.

It was a dragon.

Or at least something similar to such a beast; the likes of which hadn't been seen since the King's old hunts of glory... Especially not the black-scaled kind.

Regardless of whether or not the creature in question was the genuine article-- there was something that needed confirmation. Kneeling down as Ethelred asked his questions first; Reinhardt carved something into the ground with the tip of his finger before looking back to the little girl.

"You mentioned a glowing orange crest on the creature's chest. Did it look like this?

The Storm Cycle: Reclamation

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@Rune_Alchemist@Crimson Paladin@Cu Chulainn

"Dammit!" Reinhardt hissed as the Fomorian hed harpooned launched itself toward him, the creature's sudden lunge catching the Knight by surprise! Without a moment's hesitation his fist cocked back; intending to meet the creature head-on!

Fortunately (or unfortunately) the Fomorian would never get the chance to be properly introduced to Reinhardt's fist-- as a staff would mercilessly strike the creature from the air! Releasing a small sigh, Reinhardt gave the Elven Warrior a small nod in thanks.

"Even outside the Laughing Wood-- it never ceases to amaze me how little regard for their own life Fomorians have... Especially ones as weak as these." the knight irritably grumbled as he dismounted his steed and wiped the blood from his harpoon with a rag before stowing the tool once more. Kneeling down, he'd briefly examine one of the slain Fomorian corpses; noting that none of their number seemed to be malnourished or hurting for food... Was there perhaps a den of these Fomorians nearby? Some sort of outpost for whoever was orchestrating these attacks?

The Knight's gaze turned toward the children as he rose to his feet once more.

Retrieving a waterskin from his horse's pack and removing his helm, Reinhardt approached the boy holding the sword; taking a swig himself to show that the contents were safe to drink, before offering the waterskin to the children. "I apologize for the rudeness of our Elven companion-- but yes, Sir Ethelred here and myself are indeed Knights; just not Knights of Harzel. I am Sir Reinhardt... Now-- as the Elf was asking, do you know anything about the creature that attacked this village? Further; why are the two of you out here alone?"

The Storm Cycle: Reclamation

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@Rune_Alchemist@Crimson Paladin@Cu Chulainn

Though Reinhardt felt a need to remind Ethelred to be more tight-lipped about their primary mission focus of locating Elnith nagging at the back of his mind-- the matter of preventing ambush or any parties attempting to stalk the operation took precedence.

And if the colder than usual air hanging around the frozen knight was anything to go off of... It was likely best to leave any corrective reprimand until a bit later for the sake of morale.

It was when they finally arrived at what remained of the village that Reinhardt's blood ran cold. Among the ashes of decimated homes and the charred corpses of its inhabitants were equally scorched Fomorians. Enough that they should've been easily noticed in the fray... Not only was it highly unusual for weak Fomorians to co-operate with the more powerful members of their ilk, but this also greatly differed from the reports that the queen's scouts had gathered from assault's survivors...

The Knight's brow furrowed.

"So they have humans among their ranks as well..." Reinhardt muttered, his teeth gritting tightly beneath his helm.

The strange pattern of assaults. The inaccurate reports. Elnith's disappearance. The sudden bandit attack. The irregular coordination of greater and lesser Fomorians. Od's kidnapping. The Cyclopean Fomorian's artificial nature...

This entire series of events was a trap designed to split the cohort and pick them off, one by one.

A shrill cry cut through the air before Reinhardt could voice his concerns to the others; interrupting his thoughts. A young pair of children were beset by a pack of Fomorians in a ruin otherwise devoid of any and all life...

Was this another piece of the trap lain by an unseen opponent? Or were these children simply victims of circumstance; having survived the initial attack only to be set upon by the stragglers of the invading force?

Whichever the case-- it was a Knight's duty to protect those in need, even when doing such was likely playing into the enemy's hand.

As Ethelred charged headlong into the center of the Fomorian grouping-- Reinhardt pulled his newest weapon from his belt; wrapping the attached rope firmly around his wrist, hurling his harpoon at the Fomorian closest to the children!

The Storm Cycle: Reclamation

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@Rune_Alchemist@Crimson Paladin@Cu Chulainn

The Fomorian assault ended just as violently as it had begun-- the Cyclopean figure detonating in gruesome show of whatever twisted magics had empowered the creature; and revealing the Fomorian's true nature...

Reinhardt wiped the his gore-coated eyes as he silently looked over the fallen creature; examining the fallen enemy from toe to tip. Even throughout all his years in the Laughing wood... He'd never seen anything like this. If the elf was to be believed, the Cyclops itself was created by someone, or something-- and more than likely directly connected to the increasing Fomorian activity in the area... As well as the midnight skinned Fomorian that he and the others were likely to encounter in their seach for Elnith.

The Knight paused, his head raising as he slowly scanned the surrounding area as thoroughly as possible.

Od was missing-- without a trace of her putting up any form of fight. A group of Fomorians seemed to spontaneously appear in the middle of a settlement. Unusual patterns of Fomorian activity along the neutral border. Elnith's lack of contact. The sudden assault on Airedale that resulted in only half of the Queen's retinue to be dispatched for her retrieval.

More than halfway into the journey to find Elnith; who had been dispatched to deal with the midnight skinned Fomorian, one of his fellow knights would disappear with out so much as a trace? After their numbers had already been halved for the mission? How suspiciously convenient.

Reinhardt's jaw clenched tightly. Whoever the unidentified party at play was... It was clear that the chain of events were all meticulously planned; Od's abduction likely to be an attempt to buy the unseen enemy time to deal with, or dispose of Elnith.

Trying to recover Od would only futher play into the enemy's hands... And the fact that someone that would happen to be exactly what was needed to fill in for her absence suddenly seemed to just show up? It was all highly suspect.

Turning his gaze to the Elven stranger; he looked the man up and down sternly; finally offering a response after a long moment of consideration. "You're more than welcome to join us on our hunt stranger--" the knight spoke calmly, "My name is Elias Von Reinhardt of her Majesty Sorcha's royal knights."

Retrieving the sword he'd discarded previously, the knight would then remove the harpoon he'd utilized; examining it for damage before sticking it on his belt, continuing to talk all the while. "We're headed East toward the neutral area just outside the Harzelslack border. Where we believe we might uncover the source of the increased activity. We're departing immediately, so come or don't-- it makes little difference to me."

Elias knelt down in the debris from the fight, gathering what remained of the Cyclops' armor so he could have it examined later.

The knight swiftly turned on his heel in the direction of the stable, passing a glance over his shoulder "If you're in need of a horse, we have one you can use. And Ethelred-- I hope you have those supplies. Because there's been a change of plans-- we're double-timing it from here on out."

The Storm Cycle: Reclamation

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@Rune_Alchemist@Crimson Paladin@Cu Chulainn

Just as he'd hoped, Reinhardt's harpoon struck true-- it's barbed tip embedding itself deep in the flesh of the creature's Forearm!

The knight's blade clattered to the ground beside him as he dedicated both hands to the frantic match of tug-o'-war; crouching low as he stomped his heels into the cobblestone street to secure his footing. It was a battle of endurance now. The Cyclops; large and strong as it was, had both inferior footing and stance... And although Reinhardt could've certainly attempted to use his superior footing and stance to 'win' the standoff, it was far more tactically advantageous to maintain the stalemate and keep the cyclops occupied.

A golden shimmer caught the knight's eye.

It seemed the elven stranger was still in the fight after all-- and was positioned to strike the monocular Fomorian, but seemed to be waiting on something...

Reinhardt gave the rope a sharp yank as Ethelred prepared to make another strike on the creature. "Dumb one-eye!" he exclaimed; mimicking the Fomorian's own broken speech, "Stink like fish! Weak like fish! Ugly like fish! Must be fish!"

With any luck, the goading would prompt the Fomorian to redouble it's efforts... When Reinhart's unyielding resistance-- would abruptly cease. Hurdling forward toward the creature-- Reinhardt's foot would slam against the ground once during his journey, launching into an uppercut aimed to send the Cyclops straight into the awaiting spear!

The Storm Cycle: Reclamation

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@Rune_Alchemist@Crimson Paladin@Cu Chulainn

Reinhardt swiftly disengaged with a quick back step to the right of the Cyclopean Fomorian as Ethelred dealt a heavy blow to the creature-- ensuring he wasn't about to be trampled underfoot by any of the involved parties. Thus far the engagement had gone favorably; save for the elven stranger getting hurled off to the side.

It wasn't clear if the stranger was out of the fight just yet-- but they'd already done a number on the Fomorian's favored arm, which didn't seem to be regenerating.

Did the creature lack regeneration? Or was it something to do with those strange phantasmal weapons that the stranger had wielded?

Whatever the case; it was an advantage Reinhardt had no intention on passing up.

As the Cyclops moved to engage the foe it seemed to deem most threatening (Ethelred in this case), Reinhart followed behind it in tight pursuit; making ready to place a decisive strike at the monster's hamstring-- until the Cyclops; in it's infantile rampage, threw about the strewn wreckage of the market.

A metallic glint caught Reinhardt's attention; his hand deftly snatching it from the air.

It was a weathered, yet sturdy harpoon-- with a rope still attached.

"How fortunate--" the knight mused as he ceased his pursuit; planting his feet firmly as he readied to hurl his newly acquired tool into the Cyclops' remaining good arm the moment it would raise it's weapon to strike at his fellow knight.