grigori story A Keepers Return Home...

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Grigori awkwardly lifted his manacled hands to his freshly shaven lip, a torturous insult delivered by his captors, he had no need to wonder about who they were, for the manner in which his lip had been shaved could only have been delivered by the loyalist forces of his homeland. Grigori thought back to his friends and comrades, who likely would have no idea what had happened to him, snatched by the Burghermeisters men whilst visiting the old shrines to the Paragons. Grigori’s mind then wandered to the journey he had just experienced, nearly just as roundabout as his escape from his home “Lakians maybe should not be making of the sailoring…” He contemplated to himself, considering the journey likely took ten times the length for any normal ship to traverse, still, he would have yet another story that none of his listeners would believe, if he were to live to tell them at least.

 

The sounds of home and harbor rang out in the air as the vessel approached Snowhast. Shouts and calls in Grigori’s native tongue beckoned out, giving Grigori bittersweet feelings of once again walking in his home and amongst his kinsmen. Merchants and dealers called for customers to peruse their wares, a fishmonger waved a fish in the air by its tail, pointing it aggressively at passersbys “<Make of the walking to the place that is being of the here to be coming to me, Vizari, to be of the buying of the fish that the fishermans are making of the using of the pole that is being of the fishing with to be catching the fish that are making of the swimming that is being in the ocean!>” and a used gimcrack and kickshaw dealer waved his arms around wildly, attracting many customers, “<It is being me, Crazy Ivan, Crazy Ivan is making of the having of the deal that is being of the great, be making of the coming to the Crazy Ivan to be making of the having of the deal that is being of the so, so great!>” 

 

As much as Grigori wished he could go see Crazy Ivan and his great deal, he was pushed along by the loyalist guards, however, the guards too could not resist the great deals of Crazy Ivan, and so they all quickly made a purchase before hurriedly piling into several awaiting carriages and quickly raced away. The ride was rough and erratic, and the guards stood tense and uneasy, Grigori had never seen Lakian soldiers so serious, even those in the service of the Burghermeister. He watched the guards scan the horizon, clutching their weapons tight. It wasn’t long out of Snowhast that he heard it, Thunk, the guards all jumped, then it happened again, Thunk, Thunk, Thunk… “REBELS!” a guard called out, then the sickening sound of an arrow sinking into flesh, and a brief scream of the driver, Grigori could feel the adrenaline rushing through his body, and everything seemed to slow down, he watched the drivers body fall from the carriage and slide beneath the rear wheel, throwing the back of the carriage into the air, Grigori was weightless for only a moment as the carriage lifted, and then suddenly the world began to speed up and the carriage came slamming into the earth and the world went dark…