CH. 5

A lone robed figure stood in the center of a room filled with pitch black darkness which seemed to devour the light gently cast down by an exact replica of the stars of the night sky. One thousand pools of liquid silver were iluminated by the starlight, the figure moved the pools of silver with a slight gesture. After a short while the figure found the pool he was looking for, spreading his hands apart the pool explanded out flat like a large mirror, on the surface of the liquid silver he could see a fortress in the mountains swarmed with goblins. In another pool near by he could see a young half elven man and a dwarf enter the guild branch of River's Bend, the figure had been watching the young man sice he had left home. The figure smirked darkly, the lives of the men in the fortress were already forfeit, however it would serve as a test of the youn man's ability. Lifiting his right hand to his mouth he spoke in a hushed whisper delivering a simple set of orders, soon after his attention was drawn away to another pool of moonlit silver, the Draegnar stirred in the north for now however their movements were of little consequence.

Adrian scanned the room of the River's Bend guild branch, the walls were covered with massive heads of beasts and monsters preserved with magic, each one had a plaqe with the name of the group or individual who slay it. The head that stood out the most was the head of a silver wolf with baleful red eyes, the head was as wide as the carriage they had ridden on. Three massive long tables ran the length of the room, twenty or so men with rag tag mismatched gear occupied a majority of the seats, most wore iron or bronze plates. There were also a small handful of women scattered throughout the larger group.

At the end of the room was a bar with a man the size of a grizly bear standing behind the counter, his arms were folded showing off his bulging muscles. He scanned the room, standing with his arms crossed, face fixed with a permanent scowl as a serving girl ran orders to the tables. Tagrid took the lead striding across the room with a confidence born from familiarity.

"You're later than expected Tagrid, get stuck in traffic" the grizly sized man questioned jokingly. "You could say that" Tagrid replied with a chuckle tossing the bag of severed goblin ears onto the bar. The large man peeked into the sack, "goblins, this far from the mountains" he spoke disdainfully. "Aye, quite a few, me and the lad over there killed around a dozen last night, bastards dug a trap in the road" Tagrid sighed in frustration. "Hmmm, we'll send out a group to recover the carriage, it'll take a few days to repair, but you and the green horn over there killed a dozen goblin warriors" the man exclaimed in suprise. "Not exactly, they were weakened from hunger, probably pushed out of the warrens by stronger goblins" Tagrid responded.

"Hmmm, that means something else is pushing the goblins as a whole out of their territory, I'll have to post a special bounty for goblins" the man stated with a flat contemplative tone. "More importantly, green horn, the name's Havmal, gulid master of the River's Bend guild branch, I take it like most young fools who thought they knew how to swing a sword you want to join the guild" he purposely demeaned and talked down to the young man to test his personality. Havmal looked over the young man, he knew he was no slouch with a sword, he also knew the young man was of the nobility from his mannerisms. What truly got his attention was the type of sword the young noble wore, he had seen many noble born fools who wore swords encrusted with jewels that served no real purpose. Such blades were merely marks of status, worn by those who had no understanding the true meaning of nobility and the weight of responsibility. This young lord carried a plain sword of good craft, a weapon to slay ones enemies and a tool to protect their subjects, and when needed to punish those subjects who turn to a life of crime.

Havmal also eyed the bloodstains on the young man's mail hauberk, his apearance certainly confirmed their story.

Adrian took a step towards the counter and the towering man nammed Havmal, "Indeed, I do seek to join the guild, though I do not know if I am worthy of such an honor". "Is he always this stiff" Havmal inquired looking at Tagrid with a quirked eyebrow. Adrian ignored the man's deliberate attempts to rile him up. "Tch, no fun, I can usually get high borns to bust a blood vessel, alright if you want in you have three choices. A mock battle with at least a silver plate, gaining battlefield recognition, or completing a bronze level quest" Havmal explained. "Is there any method that will allow me to bypass lower ranks" Adrian inquired. "If you managed to get recognized by at least five silver ranked adventurers for your battle prowess I'd consider it" Havmal stated glaring at Adrian. "For now just fill out this request form" Havmal handed him a document containing various important guild rules and sections for him to sign.

Some minutes after Adrian finished the paperwork the door slammed audibly, the entire room focused on a figure dressed in the red and black garb of an Imperial messenger. No one dared obstruct him, doing so would only invite one's neck to the chopping block. He looked ragged, but bore a fierce determination as he approached the guild master, "Seven-Peaks Fortress is under attack by a goblin war band, all adventures able to bear arms are called to service" the messenger read aloud. A moment of silence befell the room, Adrian felt the hairs on the back of his neck, a mixture of fear and exhilaration swept through him. Havmal took a deep breath before grabbing a massive two handed sword from the wall behind him, "send word to all members in River's Bend, we march to battle on the morrow's morn" he bellowed from deep with in. The hall filled with rousing warcrys as those present took up their arms, before rushing to carry out their tasks.

A devilish smirk spread across Adrian's face, "Havmal, allow me to join in the battle" he called out. Havmal furrowed his brow, "you're not even a bronze plate, give me one reason why I should allow a young git like you onto the field of battle". "Allow me to properly introduce myself, I am Adrian Black, son of Duke Arianus Black. I currently have four men under my command including a silver plate, I will fight either under my own decree or at the side of your men" Adrian replied staring down Havmal with an iron gaze as he raised his right fist to display his family's crest. Havmal smiled, "hahaha wonderful, I was wondering what kind of man you were, welcome to the guild, consider this battle your examination" he replied with a firey expression.

"Tch, can't believe you just dragged me into this mess, you know I was only hired to escort you safely to the capital" Tagrid grumbled as they returned to the Drunken Trout. "You know Tagrid, in the future I'm going to need good reliable men, you certainly fit the bill, how long have you been an adventurer"Adrian questioned causing Tagrid to quirk an eyebrow in confusion. "Ten years, before that I was part of the mining guild, the work was dangerous almost every day we'd get into skirmishes and ambushes with goblins or worse. Finally I got fed up with breaking swinging a pick, so I figured I have to fight monsters might as well get paid for it. Also the materials one can get from slaying monsters are worth a premium, so much so that my wife opened a shop and raised our family into the merchant guild" Tagrid's voice reflected his deep care for his family. "If you ever tire of slaying monsters I'd be willing to give you a title and land worthy of a man of your caliber" Adrian smirked in his self assured manner. "Heh, tell you what, you become an adamantine plate and I'll bring my entire clan under your banner" Tagrid responded jokingly. "If I reach adamantine, you'll at least have to reach mythril" Adrian chuckled.