[PK] The Dread City and the Merchant

[Ibn Khaldun 7728]

 

THE DEATH OF GAISORIX

 

PART I

𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅗𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅯𝅘𝅥𝅮

 

 

This child of mine, o’ how I’ve left him to grow unabated. Gaisorix sat himself gingerly at the end of the bed in the clan hall. He looked over shyly to the young man, tucked beneath bear furs and woolen blankets, and spied the golden blonde hair that made a pillow beneath the youth’s head. He got that from his mum, golden as the sun, and not from me - as dark as the stain of my sins. Gaisorix reached to pat his son’s feet gently and untucked a scroll from beneath his red mantle and made a beeline for the modest nightstand to place it.

 

“Wodagek, makosek, ogbagh fynn dobre tegos. Hafekoz teutava ok nemeto ach sin duron,”[1] Gaisorix mused, barely aloud, as if in monologue with himself with his son as an audience.

 

“Despite my occasional outbursts, you will serve the Piast well. Above all things, his heart is firmly planted in his people and so he serves them earnestly despite any wrong decisions made. If there is one thing I learned after migrating our people across the continent, it is that a people cannot be uprooted for long lest the roots wither and fall away from the trunk of the tree. Keep the faith in God, keep the ties of kin, keep your eyes skyward for there is nobility in rising above the mud of lowest land.”

 

Gaisorix wiped a tear from his eye, his monologue turning to confession now.

 

“I have been cut down and injured a few times in my younger years. The Great War made sure of that. We are not an invincible people o’ Brennus. Please respect my wishes when you wake and see yourself naught as a boy, but a man with purpose. I traveled this continent for many years plying trade and learning about the world and so I’ve left you with a few places to visit and a reason why for each. I’ve many sins to my name, but I hope not to accrue another by leaving you without a rhyme or reason for your living.”

 

He felt his chest grow heavy and heaved a sigh as if throwing off a burden one last time.

 

“I don’t think I will make it, where we are going. In all my time traveling, fighting, and contending with the wonders of the world; I have yet to find such a place as this that causes worry and dread to well within my heart. Know that I love you lad and be well,” he patted Brennus’ feet one last time with an unsteadiness about his hand before standing. He took each step carefully and quietly and exited the Langotegos[2].

 

 

 

PART II

𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅗𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅯𝅘𝅥𝅮

 

 

Gaisorix and Bodbmakos rode south to the sound of the occasional trumpet of Gaisorix’s karnyx, the gallop of horse hooves, and the creaking of Cormack’s chariot. Banners streamed above the heads of the Balian host and warhorns whose shrill yells welled from inside bronze bells shaped like shrieking boars’ mouths towered over the Cingedoz and Daelish troops. The armies of Balian, Daeland, and Redclyf eventually reached the outskirts of the dread city of Kivdrona. The mighty cathedral and colosseum came into view first for the approaching soldiers and seemed to tower menacingly like a bird of prey leaning its head forward and inspecting mice skittering the sand.

 

Casimir halted the procession and called forth the commanders of each host for a parlay near the rusted iron portcullis that rested closed inside the wall of the settlement. Gaisorix dismounted and ushered men to tie up their horses snugly at a stand of trees by the refugee encampment. Men and women exchanged masks and checked their equipment as they waited for Casimir’s command. The Cingedoz passed around javelins to stow in the clutch beneath their scutum shields and began to form up in a shieldwall with the Bronze Elves and Vistulians.

 

“With me now! We advance towards the wall soldiers!” Casimir called out with a directing wave of his sabre. The shieldwall steadily grew as men and women formed up ranks and approached Kivdrona. The soldiers debated among themselves whether to try and cut away at the rusted portcullis or to approach a notch in the wall where a hulking form that first appeared to be a battering ram remained. The Bronze Elves and Daelish contingent would enter first to try and secure a space for the rest of the army to safely enter through.

 

The vanguard decided to approach the rammed portion of the wall and found that the mass they mistook as a battering ram was instead a giant bull whose flesh reeked from its decay and parts of it being burned. The soldiers drew their masks tightly across their noses and mouths and stamped out flaming flesh and kicked sand over burning wood to ease their passage through. As they made their way into the town, they found many of the buildings torn asunder and ghastly sights that turned stomachs.

 

A giant tentacle with eyes protruding from its base lingered far to their west near the cathedral. Gaisorix turned his head to the east and urged the soldiers to turn to what he found. A couple of unsettling chimeras loitered the road to their east whose bodies appeared bipedal and human, but their heads were that of owls. A giant creature, tall and q_eer, loomed behind them and began to squawk at the soldiers newly entered. The shieldwall slowly turned and braced with an assortment of spears held overhand and underhand bristling from behind shields.

 

The chimeras began to flock towards the shieldwall, unsheathing swords and axes as they came closer. Gaisorix hoisted a javelin from his clutch and couched it while aiming; a quick pause with bated breath and he tossed it soon after. The javelin found its mark and pierced one of the chimeras in the chest and Gaisorix watched as it wilted and crumpled over. "Rabo! Werrekoz Cingedoz!"[3] Gaisorix chanted upon the success of his attack and encouraged others to launch their own javelins. He looked to his right and saw Casimir wrestling his spear from the clutch of another owl-headed chimera and saw Pamphilos gut it with his sarissa.

 

The shieldwall held its own against the oncoming aberrants and Gaisorix called out for Bodbmakos to usher in the remaining Redclyf soldiers and to watch their south-facing side and rear. A darker shadow loomed overhead and Yelena called out as a lycanthrope, walking on all fours, leapt from building to building before landing down before Woland. A second lycanthrope steered its way in front of the shieldwall with its legs bracing to pounce. Gaisorix slipped out another javelin and held it overhand as one of the lycanthropes set off in a grotesque gallop straight towards the shieldwall. 

 

A feeling of forlorn washed over him as he realized the lycanthrope meant to barrel through the center of the shieldwall and he was standing in its path. A toss of the javelin did little to thwart the inevitable and Gaisorix felt himself tossed down and trampled underneath one of the paws of the beast as it swung Pamphilos around like a ragdoll. Gaisorix felt his scutum shield break apart with pieces of wood puncturing his abdomen and shieldarm. The old man let out a ragged cry as the paw came off of him and held out a weak hand which Yelena took hold of to lift him to his feet.

 

The cohesion of the shieldwall had dissolved with men and women fighting around Gaisorix individually, relying on their own spirit rather than the organization of the group. He gripped what remained of his scutum shield by its iron handle now that the leather straps had torn away and recovered his spear nearby. He found himself dueling a chimera that pushed him further and further from the group. 

 

Gaisorix felt himself reeling backwards as he watched the army’s integrity break away as some opted to join together in combat with a lycanthrope while others dueled with the remaining chimeras. He turned to face his own assailant whose head swiveled left and right like an owl acutely observant as it pecked away at the existing holes in his shield. Gaisorix turned his spear to face the barb towards the chimera, holding it overhand, and began to pepper the creature with blows as a means to keep it at bay. He felt something solid against his back and realized he had stepped into the derelict wall of a charred home.

 

The chimera took a daring lunge towards Gaisorix’s face and he clapped the shield’s rim up against its throat. The chimera shrieked and recoiled and he turned his spear underhand and thrust it into its abdomen. He darted inside the home as the chimera fell to the ground lifeless; either from the trauma of its injury or from the aurum that adorned the spear’s barb. Gaisorix tossed aside his crumbling shield and kept his spear close as he huddled into a corner, hoping to become unassuming and unnoticeable. He slid against the wall until he sat, looking down at his wounds that continued to bleed and he sucked in enough air to whistle through his wounds as he took stock of what happened.

 

Gaisorix began to sob quietly as he heard the clamor of fighting in the distance. That I’ve seen the beauty in this world only to die seeing the dread. Gaisorix feebly brought bits of cloth from his undercoat over the wounds, a forlorn attempt to stop his slow death. That my son would lose his father in this city of abominations. He took out a scroll from one of his pockets, shifting lightly while doing so. He took in a mouthful of breath to steady his hands and began writing. 

 

My son - fear the abomination that is Kivdrona. Though I am lost here, do not seek me for I may turn against you as foe though I mean it not. If Daeland establishes a foothold, though I am unaware given what has happened today, keep to the Morion Gaisoz[4] - the sea of spears and wander not off to your singular death. I have left you all of my wealth to your disposal as I swore you I would and as you’ll find in the note I left by your bedside. Use it wisely. Take care of Bodbmakos and Cormack if they return. Trust in your uncle Arminius and care for old Senex if he returns. Know that Dumnoric is an adventurer, but is one of us. Trust the tribes of the Isles and build from there.

 

Gaisorix blinked away what tears rimmed his eyelids and tried to calm himself. He folded the scroll primitively in the shape of a bird and held it clutched between his two hands. An aura, colored darkest green, poured out from his hands like the sputtering flame from inside a lantern’s basket. The creak of splintered wood and talons on dirt stirred outside the house and an owl-shaped head poked its way through the entryway where a door once stood. The head darted to the left as a parchment bird flew past, too fast for the chimera to react. An old man, disheveled and nearly bled dry, laid crumpled in a corner and caught the attention of the prying beast. 

 

 

Translation from Sprækjom to Common:
 

Spoiler

1. "My intention, my son, was to find a good home. We have dignity and honor in this town."

2. Literally Longhome, a name for clan halls in Sprækjom

3. "Zeal! We Cingedoz are at war!"

4. Literally Sea of Spears, a common name for shield/spearwalls.

 

[OOC]

 

Spoiler

This character was really neat to return to the server with. I had a lot of fun playing a travelling merchant and I intend for my new character to do something similar. I decided to PK after an astounding event run by @Joltastikat Kivdrona and it was fitting given the fact that I had the persona on autoincrementing age and he was in his 60s. I already spoke with the Daeland folks and will remain with them on the new character, but will have some interesting changes in character development with Brennus hal'Iskraduron.

 

PS: Please humor me as I basically did the Letter Delivery spell associated with Housemagery (which I am the correct tier to use afaik) at the end of the narrative post. I only found out it was removed after writing this.

[far1ca 122]

Seated on one of the stools surrounding the Daelish forge, Jasna would tap her fingers idly on the table next to her. She'd look worriedly to the bridge, wondering when Gaisorix was going to return with more tales to tell from their trip to Kivdrona. Little did she know..

[irrl 229]

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

Kivdrona tried hard to wrap its hands around any available for taking.

 

 

Gaisorix was one of them. He was older, and becoming weak by the second. She already knew it wasn’t a good idea to bring him, but he insisted on going down with a bloodied blade in hand. He was knocked back by a lycanthropes, and suddenly another. The man was trampled, and gasping for air. Yelena heard his cries for her, and she rushed over on her own two feet. The mask she wore was already hard to breathe through, but seeing Gaisorix in a bloodied state made it harder to breathe. Her arms wrapped around her kin, dragging him off to the right and away from the battles the rest of Daeland fought. 

 

 

“Gaisorix.. Gavno.” The woman uttered as the ashes coated the duo, her brows knitting as she watched him fall deeper into his state of disrepair. A hand raised, tucking it against his neck to feel his pulse. It was hard to feel, perhaps her numbness of her beat bodice, or the gloves she wore. She had no idea. 

Yelena kept working on him, as long as she could. God, what could one medic do? Her gloves were bloodied at the end of it, completely shattered. She had to leave him behind. A storm was coming, and bodies were rotting into the ground. 

 

 

Aberrants continued to appear, forcing the woman away from Gaisorix. All she could do was keep fighting for her kin; for him. Her best friend’s body was outside, as she remained trapped within a house as a storm passed through Kivdrona. She kept her weak form up against the opening of the broken house where the rest remained, a pile of sand trapping her in. All she could think about was Gaisorix, and the pain she endured. 

 

It was no use. Her people kept getting injured left and right. She already lost three in Kivdrona. 

 

Gaisorix fell a warrior's death.

 

 

 

 

 Yelena was there for his funeral, clutching at Casimir and Jasna tightly. She shared some words, anything that could possibly be remembered of him. 

 

She couldn't help but blame herself for his death. 

 

 

“Hvala Gaisorix. Daikuyu forr everrything we’ve done together. We will all miss yu, vojak." 

[Wulfery 832]

 

 Having retrieved the body from the town of Kivdrona, Casimir stood in front of the burning pyer. Few came to bid their last farewell to the hero of Daeland-Vistulia, whose deeds and words were a paragon of what a true Highlander should be. It was a loss like no other. One that struck deep at Casimirs heart, knowing that even the mightiest may fall one day.

He bid his farewell to the honorable Cingedoz, standing tall, knowing that he will now judge his deeds from lands beyond the worlds of living. Even more than ever before, Casimir felt finally attuned with his deities. More than ever did he see this world in a way that seemed so distant to him before. Speaking so often of gods, and yet not understanding anything. Now at the very least he knew. He saw the Kivdrona town as lair to evil, one which he will not be able to defeat alone.

 

In memory of the greatest hero of the reborn Clandom of Daealnd-Vistulia a runestone shall be raised, mightier than any before. With soon decision coming to whom will Cingedoz clan eldership befall, Casimir knew that they will need more than ever a place to remember what it means to be a Cingedoz.

 

Hvala Daeland. Hvala Vistulia.

Hvala Gaisorix hal'Iskraduron, bravest of warriors, wisest of elders.

May his journies in the world beyond be even more awe inspiring.

May his legacy lead those who seek their path ahead.

[Yashinoki_11 103]

Ragnar would be sad upon looking at the missive. He would shed a tear or two for his long time friend. "May the All-Father be with you, you shall rest in piece, my friend." He said to an empty room.