((Don't worry, it's cool.))

A few guards stood on the cornor. Two of them stood behind a woman, while a third stood in front of her. "You think you're pretty clever, huh," the guard in front asked her with a tone of hated and sarcasm. "Well, you know what happens to clever theives? I CUT OFF THEIR HANDS!" He draws his sword.

The woman cowers before him. "Please, sir, I can pay for the food. I just don't have my purse with me. Let me go get it, and I will..."

"Enough!" he cuts her off, Brandishing the sword. "Silence your tounge, witch, or I'll take it too."

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Lyle decided the time was right. Turning back to face the army, he stood, waved his hand forward, and yelled "FIRE!" He then leapt off the cliff, sliding down in as gracefully as he could manage.

Lissie stared at what was happening below form a far off cliff a mile away. She was sitting on the edge swinging her legs back and forth and whisteling. The only thing that really was going through her mind was whether to get up and help or not.

After what seemed like ages her moral side decided she should help out but as she got up she spied nez soldiers to her left and right advancing toward her. "Damn why didnt i hear them" she muttered to herself and shook her head. Lissie wasnt interested in getting caught but she didnt want to use and magic either and opted out for a short sword on her belt to the left and pulled it out sighing "this will be fun" she said almost laughing at how unfun it really was

Shrike wandered through the central marketplace. It was lavish and filled with many exotic foods, priceless cloth, strange creatures, and an excessive variety of fabulous trinkets, furniture, and weapons from all over Molryne. There were even imported goods from Gelex-Teren. Many different kinds of beings roamed the streets of the marketplace. Elves, Drow, Humans, Dwarves, you name it they were there. Most were merchants traveling to Talendar to stay as far away from Nezarus as possible. But in light of recent events, many more people where coming through Talendar in hopes of emigrating to Gelex-Teren. This has increased Talendar's greedy economy even further although most of the money goes towards war supplies and the Royal Merchant Council led by Lord Vo.

"Hmm, there's less people this year" Shrike said to Ruby as he walked behind the market stalls. He stayed away from the crowds as much as possible because he knew pickpockets liked to hide within them. He then stopped in front of one stall.
"Hey Shoulbi, how much for the bread and salted fish?"

A stout and squat looking man turned around to see who was speking to him. "Hey! Shrike! Good to see ya me boy." he said as he gave the small boy a big hug. "Find any money lately?"
"Yeah, I recently raided Itholl's gang's lair. Boy will she be mad when she finds her gold gone!" Shrike replied with relish."
"That's good, that's good! And will ya be spendin' it here in me humble shop?" asked Shoulbi, his eyes greedily fixed on the bag Shrike just pulled from his belt.
"Sorry, not all of it. I need to get a new flask. An arrow from one of Itholl's traps tore a hole in my old one. Just 6 loaves of bread and 2 strings of fish" replied the boy.
"That'll be 11 pieces of gold and 3 pieces of silver." the old man said with a wry grin.
"Tsk, I don't suppose you could lower it for a friend?" Shrike asked as he took out the amount from his bag.
"Sorry, no can do kid. The economy's tight these days, what with the war an' all" Shoulbi eagerly took the payment and began to choose the bread for the boy.
"No,no. I'll choose" said Shrike. He knew Shoulbi had good quality foods but he always gave his customers small pieces. Shrike quickly gathered the bread as Shoulbi handed him the two strings of salted fish.
"Pleasure doing business with ya lad!" said Shoulbi as Shrike walked away from his stall.

"Pleasure doing business with you too." Shrike muttered as he pulled out from his sleeves a third string of fish and an extra loaf of bread that he had swiped.

((Wow. I was typing this and an earthquake struck. Freaky. x_x))

Eramthgin nearly let out a giggle when the mercenaries charged, shouting, throwing rocks, shooting arrows, and basically bulldozed down the cliff like a pack of rabid buffaloes. "Buffaloes. Buffaloes...Rabid, rabid buffaloes." He whispered.

Humans, elves, and even some dwarfs were in the pack. This would be a big haul for him, should he wait for the battle to end. Listening to them was definitely a wise choice, he nodded. It was hard to find good bodies in the mountains where so little creatures ventured.

The clashing of weapons, the screams and cries of dying men, the shouts and swears as they fought...it was an exciting thing to behold. Without realizing, Eramthgin felt urged to join the battle, forgetting his previous destination of travel. But should he? And if he did, which side to join? "Sars I don't like. Nez...not familiar. Vex? Nice people. I like snow and forest." If the Nez-people really did wipe through the Vex province...then there's no question where he's siding with. Now to confirm his suspicions...

The woman backed away from the guard. "Please, someone, help me!" She glanced around, spying a boy with a dragon. "Please, help me sir!"

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Lyle lept down the last few feet of the hill, stabbing his sword into a Nezeran officer. He kicked him off his blade, then whirled around in time to see the one behind him go down. He didn't wait to see where everyone else was, just continued with his attack.

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The Garrison Commander saw the Mercs had launched their attack, and motioned to his siege engineers. "Hold fire. Cavalrey, Charage!" Drawing his own sword, he lead the Knights of Boarderwatch out the main gate and down the hill towards the battle below.

Shrike was just about to enter the flask shop when he heard a woman cry for help from the alley beside the shop.
"Huh?" he looked down the alleyway, his ears facing towards the woman surrounded by 3 guards. "Hey!" he yelled at the men, "What's going on?"
Ruby went down from Shrike's head to his left shoulder, craning it's neck to get a better view of the alley.

Leaving his hiding place under the shadow of the boulder, Eramthgin went over to one of the mercenaries in the back in charge of shooting arrows and patted him on the shoulder. The man jumped and nearly shot his arrow through his chest. Eramthgin can be pretty unnoticeable if he wanted to be...

"What's going on here? Who's attacking and why?" He asked.

The man looked suspiciously at him, but answered nonetheless, giving a quick overview of the happenings in Molryne, of the invasion from Nezerus. Eramthgin thanked the man and went back to his boulder, casting another quick Notice-Me-Not spell. Convenient bit of magic, but inconvenient in the sense that it breaks if the subjects moves out of the shadow's range, or if the shadow is gone. If he was going to join in the battle, he needed to make sure he was well hidden.

Now that he had a target, it was much easier. So Nez was the culprit. Eramthgin had never been to Nezerus before, having journeyed only to the provinces of Souel, Vex, and the capital. He quite liked the environment of Vex. Not too many people, no crowded cities, and nice, nice views. But from the sounds of it, if Vex had been bulldozed through by Nez, he wasn't about to just let that pass. He may not ever join an army (so tiresome!), but he certainly will be picking a bone with the people of Nezerus from now on.

Whispering a series of spells and focusing on the elements, he directed his magic towards the fallen on the battleground, which is plentiful and easy targets, and erected a rough fifty dead soldiers off the ground. He gave them the simple order of destroying as many Nezerus soldiers as possible and then sat back to watch the view.

The guard looked over his shoulder at the voice. He grabbed the woman's hand. "This woman was caught stealing from a royal vendor, and now she's going to be punished for it."

The woman looked up at him pleadingly. "But I told you, I can pay for it. I just didn't know I left my purse at home. If you'll just let me go home-"

"I said SILENCE!" He shoved her back into the other two guards, who grabbed her by the arms.

---------------------------------------------

Lyle saw the dead began to rise, and for a moment feared the Nezeran forces had just recieved reinforcements. To his surprise, the dead turned and began to do battle with the Nezeran forces. Adding the Cavalry that just showed up, and the Nezerus commander saw he was out manuvered. "Retreat!" he called, and turning himself to flee. His troops scrambled after him in an all out flight.

Eramthgin watched gleefully as the Nezzies began to leave. The dead soldiers also did a little jig of their own in response to his soaring high mood. "That should show them." He said, casting a release spell and relinquishing his control over the zombies. While they were convenient, they continually drained on his magic and would be tiresome to keep for long periods of time.

But oh! The bodies! Beautiful specimen lying scattered across the valley. They are all so fresh too. Perhaps the Sar-people wouldn't mind if he took a few along, as long as they were Nez-bodies? The flesh he would have to scrape off, but the bones would make a lovely addition to his collection.

The boy's face showed slight disappointment at his current situation. On one hand, he was in a hurry and couldn't be bothered to deal with this. For all he knew the woman was also a thief and was stupid enough to let herself get caught. After all, who would take something without checking their purse? On the other hand, she could be telling the truth and her hands would be cut off for nothing. "Geh!" Shrike exclaimed in frustration. He handed Ruby the bread and fish. Ruby wrapped it's tail around the food and flew up to the roof of the building, it kept watch over Shrike and the people in the alley.
"Hey, how about I pay for the her? How much does she owe?" the boy said as he walked over to where the guards were.

((We'll do more with the Battle when more people get a chance to post, so we don't leave anyone behind.))

The guard looked disappointed at the offer. "A gold and 3 silver. If you can pay it now," he gritted his teeth, "then we'll let her go."

Shrike knew the guards wouldn't let her go for just that amount. They would just say that it was only for the woman but he would need to also pay for his safe leave. The guards knew him and he knew the guards, having run into them a couple of times before. He had to settle this as quickly as possible, he had some bandits to catch.
"How about 4 gold to each of you?" Shrike finally said, as he handed the apparent leader the ransom. Ruby kept a close eye on the guards, ready to back Shrike up just in case a fight ensues.

The head guard smiled. "Glad to see someone around here knows the price of law enforcement around here." He counted the gold, then motioned back with his head. The two guards shoved the woman over, and walked past as she lay on the ground. "The Royal Legion thanks you for your donation," he called to Shrike over his shoulder, then he and his two guard friends walked off, laughing as then headed towards the palace.

The woman slowly got to her feet, then bowed to him. "Thank you. I owe you my life. If you hadn't stepped in there..." She looked at the ground, then back up at him. "Please, let me pay you back. I can't pay you as much as you payed them, but I can pay you the original price for the food, and I can give you a place to stay if you need one. I know a lot of people have been forced onto the street recently."

"Anytime sir." replied Shrike sarcastically after the guards rudely brushed past him. He then looked over his shoulder to make sure they had left.

"Thank you. I owe you my life. If you hadn't stepped in there..." the woman began. "Please, let me pay you back. I can't pay you as much as you payed them, but I can pay you the original price for the food, and I can give you a place to stay if you need one. I know a lot of people have been forced onto the street recently."

Shrike raised his in refusal. "No thanks lady, it's fine. I can always find more where that came from and as for a home, Talendar's deserts are mine." Although he said this, he was now short on money he needed to buy a good quality flask. Ruby flew down with the food it had guarded and dropped it into Shrike's outstretched arms. He turned to walk away but paused after taking a couple of steps. He really needed some water if he was going to make the week's trip to the Apsaras Oasis. It was the farthest Oasis from Talen, located near the Arana-Talendar border. "Actually, I do need a flask." he finally said as he turned around to look at the woman he had saved.

"Of Course. I can get you one from my place." She smiled sheepishly. "If I had my money, I'd buy you one here. But I do have one I can spare you. Follow me." She headed down the street. After a bit, she turned left, heading into the palace district. The Palace district, dispite it's name, had almost no royalty living in it. The old Palace one stood in this area, before Lord Vo had commisioned a new one for himself. It now served as a sort of 'servent district' for people who worked for the royal families, but everyone still prefered to call it the Palace District. The Old Palace had been converted into a large indoor market, but it also served as a convenient meeting place for bandits and thugs, where they couldn't be easily observed.

"My name is Sasha, by the way. What is your name?"

"Shrike" replied the boy as he looked around the Old Palace market. He followed the woman through the bustling market, observing the different transactions going on.
'Yep, definitely less people than last year' he though to himself as they pushed through crowds and turned the corners of the narrow indoor streets created by the stalls. Fish, meat, vegetables, spices, perfumes, animal droppings, all the scents intermingled and wafted by his nose. He looked around and tried counting all the shady thugs and bandits who he had stolen from or were part of the bands he had stolen from as he kept himself hidden in the crowd. They were all doing shady business in the dark corners of the huge building. Ruby perched on top of Shrike's head, looking about in search of food it could snatch, maybe a bug or a piece of fruit here and there.

Sasha exited the old palace and entered a small two story building just across the street. She was instantly ambushed by three little children, who wrapped themselves around her legs, yelling "Mom's home!" She leaned down, lifting the littlest one into the air and setting him behind the other two. "Make yourself at home, I'll just be a minute with the flask." She looked down at the kids. "Who wants to go tell your father I'm home?" At this, all three children turned around and ran up the stairs. Sasha used the free moment to head into the kitchen.

In the end, the urge to gather the bodies while they were still fresh overcame his usual instincts of staying out of sight. He looked around for someone who looked like he might be in control...and spotted a guy in a shiny armor barking out orders near the gates of the city. Yes. Barkers were always the big ones, unless they were rogues and trying to bluff impression.

Eramthgin slipped away from the rock and went down the cliff unnoticed, with the people busy cleaning up the battlefield. He approached the Garrison leader cautiously, making sure to appear harmless and non-threatening, as the soldiers standing guard had spotted him and were eying him warily.

"I mean no harm," he said, holding his hands up to show that he was unarmed, "I just wish to speak to the leader."

Shrike raised his hands to the back of his head as he watched the commotion the children made for their mother. The oldest one seemed around his age. He remembered his own parents and how he would join the servants in greeting them upon their return from a business trip. His mother would always pick him up and carry him back in the house much to his delight. But that was a long time ago. He silently hoped that this family would remain together and not get torn apart by the corrupt government, the bandits, and the war like the few families he'd previously met. He sat by a window and watched as Sasha headed into the kitchen. There were cracks on the walls here and there but not a lot. Ruby started flying around the place, looking for something to eat.
"Ruby, not here. Behave." Shrike told his pet as he motioned for it to return to him.

Garrison Commander Randell Yrani pulled back as the mercs and a few of his cavalry persued the retreating Nezeran forces a ways, to insure they completely routed. As he reached the reached the gate, he began ordering troops to begin a clean up and prepare for whatever might come next. As he finished assigning people to removing the destroyted siege weapons, he heard someone speaking behind him. "I just wish to speak to your leader."

He turned his horse and found himself facing a Drow. "I lead these men," he said, riding forward, "I am Commander Yrani, Boarderwatch Garrison Commander. What do you need?"

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For a house in the Old Palace District, it is surprisingly well furnished, not in quality, but quantity. The Main room, which seems to take up the entire first floor minus the kitchen and a room off the kitchen, is designed to be very welcoming. Age has cracked the stone, but a strong hand has smoothed it around the edges. Whatever Sasha or her husband do, they keep their house in decent shape for it.

Sasha returned a few moments later, with two flasks of water and a gold piece. "here, take them." She offered all three to him. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have made it home to my children today. You must take it, I insist."

"Thanks lady." said the boy as he took the flasks and gold. Shrike headed towards the door but stopped before he stepped outside. "Uhh..." he began but wasn't sure what else to say, "Don't forget your purse next time alright?" He left the house and ,after making sure Sasha wasn't looking, went to one side of the house with a window on the second floor.
"All right Ruby, second floor." He said as he handed the dragon the largest loaf of bread he had and a string of fish. He could make it to the oasis with less, he figured as he watched Ruby sneak the bread and fish through the window. After the dragon returned he headed back to the Old Palace market with Ruby perching once more on his head.

Eramthgin had to crane his head upwards in order to see the Commander's face, and the sunlight in the background stabbed painfully into his eyes. He immediately made a mental note to make or get himself a steed some time in the near future.

Shielding his eyes with a hand, he made a short bow and said, "I am a passing traveler, and happened to come across this area." He paused for a moment and wondered how to word his thoughts without appearing suspicious. "I'm thinking...perhaps...would it be alright to grant me a couple of the bodies from the Neze-...Nez army? I helped a bit during the battle." For a moment he had wanted to say the full name of Nezerus, but couldn't recall what it was, and decided that 'Nez' should probably be enough for them to figure out what he was talking about.

((I've decided to color code the main character's text, so that they stand out from NPCs. Check the front page for names, short discriptors [instead of the full length deals], and colors))

She smiled and waved him out the door, closing it behind him with a "Good luck, and I won't!"

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Commander Yrani raised an eyebrow? "Nez? You mean the Nezerus Soldiers? Why would you want an bunch of Nezeran corpses?"

Lyle walked back up, sword holsted over his shoulder. He raised an eyebrow at the Drow before him, but waited for them to finish talking.

Shifting slightly to the side to avoid the sunlight shining directly into his eyes, he replied, "Would if suffice to say that I am a...collector?" It was a subtle hint at his occupation, and perhaps if the people are not as paranoid as he remembered in the past about necromancers, he could avoid some trouble.

As the Commander pondered this, Lyle raised an eyebrow at this. "Excuse me, um, Drow. Can I get you alone for a moment?"

Commander Yrani looked up. "Ah, Mercenary, well done. This Drow here was just telling me he helped your team."

Lyle looked a little confused for a second, then something in his mind seemed to click, and he smiled. "Why, yes, a little bit. In fact, I might go so far as to say he really helped force them off in the end."

Commander Yrani nodded. "I think I could let you take a few... uh, but you'll have to do it yourself, or find some other help. I can't spare the troops."