I
Icicle
Guest
Original poster
The girl's expression evoked an intense feeling of wrongness within him. His expression narrowed into a focused stare as she explained her situation. As she said the word, "please," he shot to his feet.
"Say no more, child. Be at peace." He waved his hand in a cross-shape and a dim aura of light blurred into existence around her. "I shall return your brother to you. Wait in the safety of your house until our return."
With this, he was off. The wellspring of adrenaline started to overflow within himself. He easily identified the path of the several creatures which went through the crops, and followed that. He was happy to find that Tsukamane was just as eager to help as he was, but didn't give her much more than a brief nod of acknowledgement - after all, he was already used to her company, and she seemed to get along just fine.
He got a strange feeling before even arriving at the edge of the crop fields. Tsukamane arrived at the edge shortly after him. She spoke. "Agreed. Time is of the essence. On me!" He led the way into the woods.
Only a minute's walk from the edge of the forest, however, Armen smelled blood. "This way - I smell something." He followed the scent and sure enough, he spotted a bunch of corpses. He analyzed them as he approached. Low ranking rebels. Probably a wandering knight's handiwork. He shuddered at the thought - they were an unreasonable lot.
Armen also saw the kid and his dog crouched in the crook of a tree's roots, seemingly hiding from something. Armen looked around, and his eye caught the glimpse of a metallic reflection. As Tsukamane was walking up, he raised his arm to stop her. He stared over at the tree he saw the metal reflection coming from, searching for something. Before long, it was all too easy to see the culprit - a wandering knight. Curse my intuition.
Armen left his sword sheathed as the knight readied himself. As the knight spoke, Armen motioned for Tsukamane to stay back and walked out toward the knight a few steps, so that he was away from the trees and bushes. He kept his hands at his hips as the knight spoke, his expression stolid. Once the knight had expressed his intent, it was Armen's turn. "You ask me how?...Then I will tell you: the lady before you is named Tsukamane - she is the one who single-handedly slayed the evil king Vrork. It is my solemn duty as the Child of Light to deliver her to King Edyl to announce the completion of my holy quest and of the sheer might and valor of this lady whom you dare to call unholy."
He pointed a finger at the knight and furled his brows. "How dare you even posit a threat of battle against me? Can you not see the sigil of King Edyl that I bear?" He gestured to it. "I know of your kind - you reject the tenants of King Edyl in favor of your own justice. But the result is nothing more than the weight of your ego - you have no holiness about you, and I will not stand to be threatened by a filthy traitor such as yourself. You have no place claiming to distinguish that which is holy from that which is not, nor do you have any claim on bearing the holiness due to King Edyl."
He drew his sword, and immediately, a bright, blinding, almost physical light filled the area around them. Armen's wrath bled out through his glare at the knight, his relentless expression bearing down on his foe. His voice echoed with the force of a gale, his armor glowing bright with power, and his hair and the dust around him flying around in the force of power exuding from his being. "I shall warn you only once, sir knight - if you oppose me, you oppose all things holy." With this, he held his blindingly bright sword at the ready. But all the while, his thoughts consisted of, I dearly hope that this will not become a recurring trend on our travels - perhaps there is a way to purify that magic rock of hers, or even to disguise it.
"Say no more, child. Be at peace." He waved his hand in a cross-shape and a dim aura of light blurred into existence around her. "I shall return your brother to you. Wait in the safety of your house until our return."
With this, he was off. The wellspring of adrenaline started to overflow within himself. He easily identified the path of the several creatures which went through the crops, and followed that. He was happy to find that Tsukamane was just as eager to help as he was, but didn't give her much more than a brief nod of acknowledgement - after all, he was already used to her company, and she seemed to get along just fine.
He got a strange feeling before even arriving at the edge of the crop fields. Tsukamane arrived at the edge shortly after him. She spoke. "Agreed. Time is of the essence. On me!" He led the way into the woods.
Only a minute's walk from the edge of the forest, however, Armen smelled blood. "This way - I smell something." He followed the scent and sure enough, he spotted a bunch of corpses. He analyzed them as he approached. Low ranking rebels. Probably a wandering knight's handiwork. He shuddered at the thought - they were an unreasonable lot.
Armen also saw the kid and his dog crouched in the crook of a tree's roots, seemingly hiding from something. Armen looked around, and his eye caught the glimpse of a metallic reflection. As Tsukamane was walking up, he raised his arm to stop her. He stared over at the tree he saw the metal reflection coming from, searching for something. Before long, it was all too easy to see the culprit - a wandering knight. Curse my intuition.
Armen left his sword sheathed as the knight readied himself. As the knight spoke, Armen motioned for Tsukamane to stay back and walked out toward the knight a few steps, so that he was away from the trees and bushes. He kept his hands at his hips as the knight spoke, his expression stolid. Once the knight had expressed his intent, it was Armen's turn. "You ask me how?...Then I will tell you: the lady before you is named Tsukamane - she is the one who single-handedly slayed the evil king Vrork. It is my solemn duty as the Child of Light to deliver her to King Edyl to announce the completion of my holy quest and of the sheer might and valor of this lady whom you dare to call unholy."
He pointed a finger at the knight and furled his brows. "How dare you even posit a threat of battle against me? Can you not see the sigil of King Edyl that I bear?" He gestured to it. "I know of your kind - you reject the tenants of King Edyl in favor of your own justice. But the result is nothing more than the weight of your ego - you have no holiness about you, and I will not stand to be threatened by a filthy traitor such as yourself. You have no place claiming to distinguish that which is holy from that which is not, nor do you have any claim on bearing the holiness due to King Edyl."
He drew his sword, and immediately, a bright, blinding, almost physical light filled the area around them. Armen's wrath bled out through his glare at the knight, his relentless expression bearing down on his foe. His voice echoed with the force of a gale, his armor glowing bright with power, and his hair and the dust around him flying around in the force of power exuding from his being. "I shall warn you only once, sir knight - if you oppose me, you oppose all things holy." With this, he held his blindingly bright sword at the ready. But all the while, his thoughts consisted of, I dearly hope that this will not become a recurring trend on our travels - perhaps there is a way to purify that magic rock of hers, or even to disguise it.