A Short Story

[firespirit44 1323]

Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock, the pocket watch beats without emotion, in the palm of his holder. The sound drowning out the snow storm outside, and resounding of the walls of the room. The watch he got from helping Ventraux slay the bloodmage, there appears to be no inner power within it after several testing, probing, and smashing. A beautiful, durable, rather useless piece of equipment that serves no higher purpose. Rather like a soldier, really.

Out in the cold, Hochmeister Samuel and his two Wolverine Guards he pulled form the street trudge towards the ruins of Wolf Edge. There's been sightings of bloodmages appearing here and there every so often, but they cannot risk another bloodmage causing havoc within the city. One bloodmage is already one too many. As the Hochmeister, he swore to protect the citizens of Hanseti, and by extension Asulon, if there was a need. Samuel pulls his winter clothings over, shivering at the constant gust of snow in his face, causing icicles to form on the fabled winged helm.

Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock. The fire cackles behind him, providing the only warmth in the cold room, large bedroom. The room is filled with ornate paintings, expensive redwood furniture, and a lavish Khrajyr carpet. Savages, but at least they provide better furniture than Mori head decorations. The ceilings were tall and dimly lit, making the only person in the room seem smaller. Pity the only person whom he wanted to share this room with was dead 20 years ago. Here he was now, with all the influence a man could ever need, friends, somewhat well off. But his sole comfort, her laugh and her sarcasm, he could not bring it back no matter how he tried. And now here he was, shackled in his position.

Samuel brings his hands up, stopping the two other guards behind him. He gazes into the wintry plains, his sharp wood elf vision clouded by constant snow, making him hard to see whatever that lies beyond. Using hand signals, he orders the two guards to take up the front and back, instead of the two flanks, to give them a wider range of vision. The two burly wolverines, one a human northerner, another a dwarf, took the order without question. He smirked, proud that his guards were good soldiers that would follow orders without question.

Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock. Standing alone in his mansion, the cloaked figure ignored the storm and snow outside of Hanseti, just watching the his golden watch tick. His face was covered in his old clothings, the one he don ever since Glamdring died, ever since he became Edmund Sheffield's agent, ever since he was the Ranger Commander of Oren, ever since he climbed the mountains to Nuremberg. "Why, back in that old outfit again?" Lucas asked dryly. It was true. His black traveller cloak, his cow skin leather boots and gloves, his black hood, and his black mask. It was apart of him, as long as he could remember. Any other clothing just didn't feel right. After all, this cloak has saved him much anguish from Oren guards, Phoenix Guards, and Rennatus guards. His mind wanders to the day he first joined the Order. Powerful, glorious, silver-tongued Gaius Marius. First Hochmeister of the Order. It was no easy task to convince him he would not betray the Order. But after several unfortunate mishaps, the way was cleared for him to be welcomed in open arms...

A crunch. The other two guards did not notice, but Samuel's ears pricked up. He stopped, making the wolverine at the back bump into him slightly. A few curses and silent hisses later, he scanned the area from where the sound came from. The northerner who took the lead folded his arms, uncaring and obviously not convinced.There's nothing there, you paranoid twiggie. But he knew better than to defy his leader with witty comments. There was nothing in sight, except for a few large boulders, and some redwood forest in a distance. Samuel shaked his head, Probably a wolf, they sometimes hunt by the frozen lakes... He waves his hand, signaling them forward. There seemed to be a glint from the area of the boulder though.

Tick Tock Tick Tock. His eyes drifted away from the pocketwatch, and read the memo by the desk. "Treaty with Rennatus". Bullshit, the treaty was never fulfilled. Slap in the face. After all the men who died at Das boot and Greenwall? You cant honestly expect for us just to lie down, and offer talks of peace because some random noble claiming to be the purest bloodline of Horen, magically appears in Rennatus? The war criminals were never once tried, the betrayers never sought out and hanged. Samuel is weak, and never kept his promises. Not to Gaius, not to Mirtok, not to the Order, not to me. He failed. And we're now like this. He crumpled the note in his hands, letting it fall without looking at it again, lest he smash something in anger instead.

A sound, slicing through the snow, howling in the winds. Samuel's ears pricked up again, certain of imminent doom."Get down!" The northerner was too slow, and being the lead, he took all three shots from the front and back. Sam did a somersault and landed ten paces from where the wolverine died. The dwarf crouched low, and the arrows barely missed his head. The dwarf roared "Ye' damn' feckin' cowards! Git' out here so I can put my axe in ye'r necks!" Three masked men, wearing white camouflaged suits emerged from the boulder, with blades drawn. Samuel's heart grew cold. Its a trap!The one standing on top of the boulder pointed his broad sword at Samuel. In a blink of an eye, all 3 figures charged at him. The dwarf tried to intercept them and made a wide slash as the figures charged, but they were too quick. They passed the dwarf, and the one on the right stabbed him at the liver with a dagger. The dwarf howled, and crumpled to the floor. Samuel shivered, seeing how his guard was cut down so easily. I'm the Hochmeister, leader of the Teutonic Order. These damned assassins wont beat me that easily! He drew Gaius's zweihander, and charged head on to meet the other two while the third was distracted.

Tick Tock. The snow storm was billowing unrelentingly outside. Earlier he had met with one of his men, giving them instructions on how to dispose off

a certain individual. It was all too simple. Bait them out with trouble, and the Hochmeister would jump in recklessly. It was the same with Gaius, he loved to stick his neck into places that wasn't his place, like when we helped that town....Celestia? Cant remember. It had undead supporters in it, but their Queen seduced Gaius with her feminine charm....But unlike Gaius, Sam was hard pressed to convince the people of his cause. That alone was the biggest mistake. He glanced outside the windows again. For once, he smiled as he waited.

No words were spoken, no names were given. The assassins just want Samuel dead, that much he inferred. He parried the one in the middle, while dodging to the right as the one on the left made a swing at him. He was slowly being cornered to the frozen lake. There really was no escape. The third one seemed to be done with the dwarf, and was headed this way as well. His heart sank. He could barely stay on the defensive already, let alone take on all 3. The only thing he had was his iron armour compared to their leather.... Wait a minute, I have superior armour, I can use that! When the synchronized attacks came from the front and sides, he decided to trust into the armour his GrossTrapier Valgen made, and ignored the attack from the side, thrusting his zweihander to do a uppercut at the one in the front. The sheer power and strength of Samuel with the two handed zweihander caused the first assassin to crumple to the floor. Blood stained the snow, making rose patches appear in the already bloodied garden of hell. The attack on the side dealt him serious bruising and knocked the wind out of him, but that was at least one man down.

Tick. The pocket watch continued its duties, never giving up, never stopping. The furniture casts long shadows across the floor, and the snow storm still raged on. Its been 20 years since he lived in this place, the Icy South, the Frozen Wasteland. No life was expected here, but why does it seem so beautiful? The ruins of ancient civilizations, a dungeon with its doors sealed, waiting for a prophecy to be fulfilled. The rumour of there is only one person who can pass its trial, and that person would be the Hochmeister. The trees, the air, the aurora. Its beautiful.

As the fight grew one, the battle started circling around the fallen bodies of soldiers. Using them as small stepping stones to launch attack and defenses from, the bodies became a obstacle course. Dodging, rolling, leaping, striking. That was all on Samuel's mind. No time to think, no time to plan, letting his instincts and battle mentality take over. Parry, parry, parry. Strike, swing, jab. The other two, after seeing the first one fall, did not make the same mistake of aiming the armoured parts of his body, but rather the weakspots in plate armor. The neck, the inner thighs, the armpits. They had more mobility than him, so they could run circles until he tired out. The situation was growing dire. Night was falling. Soon, they would be covered in darkness. There seemed no way out.

Tock. There was only one logical thing to do. For the betterment of the nation, for the betterment of the Order, for the betterment of Asulon. Hochmeister Samuel will have to go. He can be hailed as a war hero against Rennatus, but lets face it. Its only some nice words. Hanseti almost ceased to exist when Tarus charged in with his men, and us weakly accepting the terms to a duel with Thorik. Was it not for Thorik, we would have been ended that easily on that day...Hell, we weren't even allowed to go witness that duel. This is what happens when Soldiers and Captains think they make good Commanders and Generals...

Snow. Beautiful, pure white snow fell all around him. At his feet, laid the remaining two assassins. Face down in the snow, with gaping holes protruding from their chest. A stab from a zweihander, there was no making it. Sam struggled to a nearby tree, only to collapse. He heard a groan. The dwarf wolverine is still alive! He limped towards the noble dwarf, and knelt besides him. His face was pale from the cold from just lying there, and the red liquid that seeped out of his sides seemed to have stopped by freezing. The dwarf muttering a few curses, beckoned Samuel closer to hear his last words. Nodding weakly, it was the least he could do for a soldier who gave up his life to save him. "Dwarf, you served me with honour and valor. Do you wish for anything in case you cant make it?"As he knelt closer, the dwarf was panting, and seemingly struggling to get the words out."Ye' can die, Hochmeister."Samuel suddenly felt a stab to the heart. His mouth agape with shock as the dwarf rose to his feet, non-nonchalantly, and stand by Samuel as he convulsed to death. It was quick. He didn't even get a 'why' out. The dwarf stared at the fallen body of the Hochmeister, warmed his cold face with his hands, and wiped the fake blood mixture made from wine, flour and water off his clothings. He stood over, picked the fabled winged helm and zweihander from Samuel's body, and trudged back to Hanseti.

A knock on the door. "About time" he muttered. He snapped the watch shut, and strode towards the wooden door handle. He looked at the dwarf covered in snow and ice. "The goods?" "Yeh, don' ye worry' that prewty lit'tle head of yer's." The dwarf strode over the Kharajyr carpet without care, and placed the winged helm and the zweihander by the table. "Good. Thank you for completing the mission. As promised, here is your minas. Now get out, you're ruining my carpet." The dwarf just shrugged, grabbed the bag of coins, and trudged out in the snow. Filthy dwarf, and that was a lowly dwarf who only cared for money. He closed the door, and inspected the items he requested for. Ah, the fabled winged helm of Gaius Marius, forged by the first GrossTrapier Tesawa Mournstone. And his powerful zweihander as well. The one that slayed the undead Overlord Brevias. Suddenly the dwarf screams could be heard. Jack just smiled and hummed a merry tune as he cleaned the sword of dried blood.

Soon, Hanseti, soon, Asulon...

[Swifty_Digger 7]

Great story looking forward too more :D

[Areon 947]

(( one thing annoys me... Two handed zweihander.... Other than that, great story

[Skippy 2466]

[[ Very nice, I like a good betrayal story :). ]]

[firespirit44 1323]

zweihanders aren't two handed? ack.

[Viscen 356]

(( one thing annoys me... Two handed zweihander.... Other than that, great story

[[Zweihanders were roughly six feet long, and were meant to combat pikes...if you could hold that with one hand then I applaud you. Zweihander also literally means "two hander"]]

[Zebanamana 410]

[[Zweihanders were roughly six feet long, and were meant to combat pikes...if you could hold that with one hand then I applaud you. Zweihander also literally means "two hander"]]

(I think he may have been commenting on the redundancy of saying two handed "two hander."

I applaud you for this story Kai, twas well written and terrifying on the part of anyone friendly with you XD )

[The Lion 736]

*sits in his quiet place and writes in his journal amongst the timber maw forest whilst stoking his pipe*

Tolta, 10th of The Amber Cold, 23, Second Age.

Heard about Sams death today from a traveling merchant, first person i've seen in a while.

Been in these mines for.... about a month. Skin getting pale, hair getting long. Glad to be in the sun. Warmth. The merchant told me Hochmeister "Bealcrest" (Never called him that since the day I met him always going to be Sam) was slain 4 days ago out in Wolf Edge along with 4 others, 4 and 4 strange. Was 5 one got away, lucky, probably dead anyway. Jack has Gaius' old sword and helm from what I've heard. Went to Mirtok, good brother, strong will and loyalty. Told me about his talk with Kai, promoted him to Hochmeister, about time. I think Kai's going to run things now and Mirtok will head the Order and play soldier like he always did. I just wish someone could locate Sam's pipe. I was looking through my things earlier, found an old sharpened bone, still a bit of blood on it. Mad times I had in Aegis. I'll blow smoke in some politician or some ass of a knights face my brother in arms.

*closes journal and trudges towards the Capital*

((I liked the watchmen feel of your post.))

[firespirit44 1323]

((Thank you for such a nice reply Dokahn :D))

[steelersfan1221 300]

Moved to the Great Library. It shall be sorted into appropriate category shortly.