To Meet The King - Geoff Beginnings

Grinning broadly he says, "Though it has been proven many times in the past I look forward to putting my mettle once again to the test! I look forward too to seeing how my lady fares in battle." and sets his once again empty goblet down hard on the table. When Etna bursts into the room he says, "Oh welcome..." and silently wonders again about this rabble.

Hraefn understood the reaction of the court wizard, and the faux pas committed by at least two of the adventurers gathered in the room, unschooled as he was in courtly matters, and respected very much the humble disposition of the grand duke. It was not in vain then, in honour of such a liege, that he had stepped forward to offer his services. "I have no need of payment nor title, Your Grace. If our new friend needs it more he may have mine, should we prevail," with a nod towards the man who had initially been rude to the duke.

Hraefn finally gave up trying to find a comfortable seating position, and stood up, making way for the latecomer in the room, lest she embarrass herself further. In full view, he appeared to be in his mid-thirties, of average height and weight, ruddy and somewhat tanned and callused from the menial labours of village life. Plain clothing, and some leather and hide were his attire.

To the old wizard, "What have your divinations revealed of your dead captain? Have you attempted to speak with it? Were there other clues to be gleaned from the body?" The mild-mannered man waited for permission before moving towards the corpse himself, to see the body up close.

"Have your mages tried speaking with the dead?" Hraefn looked up at the attendant for an answer, and then towards Bram, who had introduced himself as one versed in the arcane, wondering if his new companion had the ability to do so. While awaiting their response, and since he was invited to examine the body, Hraefn took that to mean that he could exercise whatever means necessary. He fished out a small token from his pocket, a miniature wood carving in the shape of a crow, and touched it to himself as he began to inspect the body very closely.

Ilwyn raises her brow at the newcomer. "Redbriar? The same Redbriar that can nail a goblin between the eyes at two-hundred yards?" She holds her chin and smiles, thinking to herself. "I see. This is quite the crew we have, indeed." She then approaches Cædwyn and offers her hand.

"I'll be certain not to disappoint, then. I don't think I caught your name?"

Cædwyn takes her hand lightly in his, and bows grandly, left arm sweeping backwards. "Oh, how absent minded of me. Lord Cædwyn Eigendrast, of House Eigendrast." The names rings a bell to anyone familiar with the area. House Eigendrast is well known as a powerful merchant household, though not exactly scrupulous about how they earn their money. In fact their fortunes were made a couple hundred years ago through the slave trade, though they're not involved with anything of the sort in these times.

Ilwyn looks a little taken aback by his gallantry, but then chuckles at it and responds with a brief curtsey. "A pleasure, your lordship. Now... To less pleasant matters."

The knight turns her attention to the corpse and makes her way over, muttering a prayer to herself as she does. "A truly terrible fate. You're certain it was not undead, your Highness? This man was alive when he... Transformed?"

"I have a reputation now?" Etna scratches her head curiously. "I'm not sure that's a good thing... And besides, anyone could have cleaned up that goblin den in Cragennow, their cave was practically tumbling down around them!" She gives a lighthearted chuckle, but it does little to dispel the clear discomfort in her tone. This was her first time in the city, nevermind in the halls of the Duke himself. And besides that, she was hoping very dearly that none of the wanted posters with her likeness had followed her here. There was still a swathe of good country that wanted her head. In the meantime, she wasn't intending to bring it up in conversation. Surrounded by stone and blustering aristocrats wasn't her idea of good table company.

The contract itself had seemed to be the usual format, despite the obvious ducal seal emblazoned on the notice. She wasn't expecting others. And yet here they were.

One lord, so high on his station he seemed to have trouble seeing, what for the puffing out of his chest and the peering down his nose. Etna hadn't had the 'pleasure' of meeting many dignataries before, and none of those minor country princelings made her half as ill at ease as this one. Despite the Duke's best attempts at being humble, he didn't come across as any less sinister. Something behind their eyes just put her off. The Duke's insistent servant however, had it written plain all over his face. She had been diligently avoiding his needlepoint gaze since she entered, but the feeling of it lingered on the back of her head.

The mysterious figure, as perplexing as he was rude, also disturbed the young hunter. He also had the air of a city dweller, but seemed far less coddled. To bargain with a duke surely takes some stones. Perhaps it was the mystique, the unpredictability of his character that perturbed her. Or maybe... he reminded her too much of someone else. A dark thought lingered in her mind like a stormcloud, but she shunted it to the back of her mind as she assessed the next person in her view.

The knight. Almost certainly nobility as well, and cityborn by the looks of it. But a romantic notion tugged at the back if Etna's mind. Lod had had many stories to tell of gallant knights-errant, brave warriors of justice and freedom. The words were still there, begging to be told again. To sit in a room with one inspired awe, and even though her experience had never been so glamorous, the sight of her promised to fulfil all those stories and notions.

The next was the unkempt man, the apparent scholar. Although she had seen the effects of magic manifest at her fingertips, she had never before met anyone who had made a study of it. His bearing lent itself more to the types of people she had once shared a home with, but his clothing seemed to be from the city. He appeared curious, both in personailty and looks.

Finally, there was one other. He was both very familiar and very intriguing to her. Clearly as out of place as she was confined in an ornate stone box, he held all the signs of having travelled. Etna knew just how fanciful her own story of how she came to be here was, and the notion that his might be as well piqued her interest. And that was before he gave a show of magic, not the kind of magic she expected either, but the same kind she was used to wielding. Never since her own awakening on that dewey morning had she seen another 'feel' nature like she did.

No longer able to contain herself, Etna stood up out of her chair. Standing in the firelight, she was relatively tall, with lithe, wiry muscle. Her plain clothes were strewn with patches if various faded colours, stitched on to fix the wear and tear of hunting. Her dark hair fell in loose tangles about her head, not unlike the crown of a willow. Calluses and scars marked her hands. Sensing the lull in the important business, she took the opportunity to get his attention. "I didn't catch your name. That... magic, that you did just now. How d'you do it?"

Somewhere between Hraefn's first spell and second he had produced yet another of his tokens, this time in the shape of a small rue leaf, smaller than a copper coin. This one he pressed against the mouth of lifeless body, and completed his brief meditation even as he heard the woman of the forest address him.

"Greetings, Etna Redbriar. I am Hraefn. You must give me a while more before I reply to your question, my apologies. Turning to the gathering in this room to address everyone, "While what remains of captain Larings is beyond my abilities, I am able to understand some of the plant life still attached to his host body. Quick, what questions would you have me ask of it? I am only able to do this for a brief moment."

Cædwyn, is clearly uncomfortable with the arcane manipulations of the corpse, but knows an answer or two would prove beneficial. "Does he know what it was that corrupted him thus?"

Bram is, indeed, unkempt. His hair is long, to his shoulders, and hasn't seen a brush in months it seems. His beard and mustache are untrimmed with a crumb or two attached. His clothing, although looking somewhat expensive, are well worn and rather dirty. His thoughtful look, once the aggravated one subsides, is the only thing that indicates a scholarly bent. When the speech has settled Bram takes up the mantle one more time.

"So, is this all of us then? Perhaps a location of this poor soul's attack could be learned and we could be about our business."

I push my greasy hair back. "Ask him if he’s got any gold hidden anywhere. Only seems right someone should take it, to his family of course.

Hraefn concurred with the assessment of the corpse by the duke and his men. Something in the cave Larings returned from transformed the body into a plant aberration. While life and death were part of the natural circle of life, this monstrosity was not.

"Who or what caused your human host to transform into this?" He directed his communication towards the vestiges of plant life still clinging on to the host plant body, taking Caedwyn's suggestion first.

While waiting for a response, Hraefn addressed both Bram and Merri. "The duke says his men will escort us to the cave. And presumably the dead men's family effects have been taken care of," he pointed out with the barest hint of a smile.