#wurie

(A very dialogue heavy chapter! Not used to writing like this, but I think I did a pretty good job. Here we see the monsters of Palethorn attempt to heal Tourthun.)

Alexander made his way through the camp, mind racing. So many people’s lives were at stake. Whatever happened with the dragon would...well, it would happen, and Alexander would have to deal with it. If the dragon couldn’t help, so be it. The knight would find a way. He would be strong, and brave, and stalwart. He would destroy the Blackheart, even if it meant his own demise. He couldn’t let the rest of the world turn into this.

The knight marched towards the center of the camp. Monsters of all kinds lined the tiny settlement, though no one was moving. This appeared to be one of the rare instances in between surface expeditions, when most of the people had little to occupy themselves with.

Moving past tents and shacks, Alexander reached the center. As always, dim light shone down from the surface. Tourthun was lying on his side, eyes closed. A group of kobolds were standing around the dragon, chattering. Wurie was at the edge of the crowd. Spotting Alexander, he glanced over at the knight and offered a nod.

“Hey, pretty busy day, huh?” The wolfman captain crossed his arms and smiled. Alexander shrugged.

“Good luck with the kid,” Wurie offered, a sly grin on his muzzle. Alexander grimaced. Even he was joking about this?!

Tagged by the great @candy-m-s! Thanks for the tag!

Rules: Answer the questions as one of your characters. I did Senci last time, so this time I’m picking Wurie, the Wolfman Captain of the Guard, of the city of Palethorn.

1. How are you doing today?

Hmm? I’m fine. Pretty busy. Why was I called here, sir?

2. Ready to answer some questions?

Ah, is this an inquiry about the incident yesterday? I already made a report, but I’ll aid your investigation if you want.

3. How do you feel about your last name?

That’s...not where I thought this was going. My last name? Don’t have one. Hailing from the...tribes up north, I’m not exactly of royal blood. I suppose I could be called Wurie of Palethorn, if you were to fancy me important, that is.

4. Is there anything you’d like to thank your author for?

My...what? ...Creator, you say? Ah, yes, I suppose I have my life to be thankful for. Leaving the tribes was the greatest decision of my life. I’m honored to have gotten to spend my time in this great kingdom. Now the Great Exile destroying my mercenary company, on the other hand...well, not everything goes your way in life, I suppose. Still...it was needlessly cruel. Damn it, Salign. Why’d you do it?

5. You can only eat three foods for the rest of your life, what are they?

Steaks, chicken and beef. Mmm...I’m hungry.

6. Have you ever said or done anything that surprised your author?

I don’t believe so. I’m very diligent and prudent, so I tend to approach most situations with care, taking time to think everything through. Well, I suppose there was that time I gave Sir Alexander a rough time with Tourthun’s fever, but...come on! That was pretty funny. You can’t tell me that wasn’t funny.

7. You have limitless funds, what kind of party do you have?

Limitless funds? Why spend all that wealth on parties? You know how much could be invested into the city? The sewers need work, the walls don’t adhere to safety standards, and the city guard would certainly appreciate some weapons, armor, and a big, fat pay raise!

...really? Ugh, fine. Well, I suppose we could always throw some kind of festival for the whole city. Food, music, performances...and an ocean’s worth of mead! That ought to keep the citizens in line! Nothing unifies a disparate bunch like getting drunk together. The wolfmen in particular respond well, I noticed. They’re normally a nasty bunch, but get one drunk on spirits and he’ll start telling you what a wonderful friend you are! Hah!

8. Tell us a quick story about something that’s happened to you  that not even your author knows yet?

Err...well, I suppose there was the time I...well...oh dear, this is embarrassing. Do you PROMISE to keep this off the books? Really? Well...okay...I suppose I can tell you.

There was this fellow that we were tracking. Real dangerous type. Part of an underground gambling ring. Not the pretty type of gambling, no. The “thugs come and break your legs if you can’t pay” type. So anyway, one of the goons was this young lad. A wolfman, like me. One of the real big-wigs in the ring. So I, being the type I am, found him at a dive and moved to take him in. Well, turns out the place belonged to the gang. All the folks at that bar? In on it.

So now I’m surrounded, and here I thought that was it. I was going to end up in a shallow grave outside the city. But then...he told me to sit down with him, and have a drink. I tried to stay focused, I really did. It started with me telling him to give it up, that the guard will never stop chasing him, that it wouldn’t end with me. But then my head started spinning...they had put something in my drink, you see.

I can’t recall everything, but I remember music, dancing...and cage fighting, I think? Well, I woke up in a bed in another inn halfway across the city with a note in my pocket, thanking me for such a wonderful night. God, I don’t know what I got up to with that lad, but...oh dear, I really hope crime wasn’t involved.

9. Do you have a favorite Hero?

Aha, there’s a good one! William Ironside, the champion of Geralthin! What a man. The legendary crusader that lead the fledgling kingdom to victory. Attacked on all fronts, Geralthin didn’t stand a chance...and yet, he somehow pushed back the wolfmen, shellbacks AND the dragons and their minions! Him and his small army of legendary knights. They never lost a single battle, and crushed any armies that engaged them, time and again. What a hero.

10. What do plan to do after this?

I’m still on duty, but after I get off my shift...well, me and the lads usually find some way to unwind. Maybe I’ll check out the park tonight. It’s supposed to be beautiful this time of year.

Yo

Yo hold the phone

So I’m writing my WIP

I have Wurie, the wolfman guard

I have Leianna the Cleric, who’s currently bedridden

I have a golden opportunity to make them jokingly quote Little Red Riding Hood

…

I have to take this

I guess Little Red Riding Hood just exists in the world of Deaco

“We have to go,” Alexander looked down at the dragon, “Can you move?”

Tourthun looked confused. “Go where? Like this? I cannot even see!”

“It’s very important, trust me. Can you get up?”

Tourthun’s face contorted into one of fear and confusion as his body writhed. He gasped, eyes wide.

“I...cannot feel anything! Father, what is happening to me?”

Alexander grimaced. “Medicine is fast acting, I suppose.” The knight turned to Senci, who was watching with wide eyes, rapt. “We have to go, but Tourthun is in no condition to move! Do you have any ideas, Senci?”

“Huh? Did you bring friends over, father? You want to go somewhere with them? Please, I do not wish to be a burden. Go without me. I will just be here, resting. I will be okay, do not worry yourself about me...”

Senci shrugged. “I-I don’t know, sir knight! We can’t just carry everyone else! You’re the smart one, not me!” He looked guilty and embarrassed, like he had let everyone down by not knowing what to do.

“Here.” The raspy whisper of Leianna caught Alexander’s attention. He walked over to find the cleric holding up a scroll of paper. Picking it up, the knight found it was a magic scroll. It had runes on it, which would activate the spell if said out loud. He looked down at Leianna questioningly.

“Teleportation...reader...and anyone connected...linked it to the Citadel.”

Alexander felt like the weight of the world had just been lifted from his shoulders. He had seen these in use a few times. The reader and anyone touching them would be teleported to the “set” destination. This included anyone touching people that were touching the reader. In theory, you could move entire armies like this.

“This is perfect. Senci! Hold on to me and Tourthun.” The kobold nodded, Touching the dragon with one hand while clinging to Alexander’s leg with the other.

“Okay, Leianna, me and Lexius.” The cleric fumbled for Lexius before grabbing the unconscious priest’s hand, while holding her other hand out for Alexander.

The knight quickly grabbed her hand and raised the scroll to eye level.

“Alright, everyone’s connected. Now…” Alexander cleared his throat. “...Valiance...Wisdom...Foresight...Protection!”

Reality distorted as a magical aura filled the air. The city faded away, surroundings turning into nothingness. After a few moments in what could only be described as a magical whirlwind, the world slowly returned. Tents and monsters came into being, as Alexander found himself back in the Citadel. Suddenly, alarmed shouts and cries. Monsters around him panicking.

Alexander glanced to his sides. Lexius and Leianna were sprawled out on the ground. Senci was next to him, looking around in confusion. Tourthun was lying behind him.

Good. Everyone made it.

“H-Huh? Father, where are we?” Tourthun looked bewildered. Alexander placed a hand on his snout.

“It’s okay, everything’s okay. Just rest. You’ll feel better when you wake up.”

The dragon squinted, as if he was realized something was wrong. After a moment of staring blankly, his eyes shut. He had given up on working out why this wasn’t right.

“Well...okay. If you say so.” Tourthun’s head lowered to the ground as his breathing slowed, trying to relax.

“Alexander!” The knight turned to see a familiar wolfman in armor, looking as shocked as usually did when the knight returned. Alexander laughed to himself.

“We’ve really gotta stop meeting like this.”

A few minutes later, and things were improving. Alexander had caught the captain up to speed on what had happened. Leianna and Lexius were both unarmored and resting in a medical tent. Senci was still as energetic as ever, running back and forth between Alexander and the others to see if there was anything he could do to help.

It had turned out that Lexius and Leianna were okay. Holy magic draws on the body, and thus overusing it could lead to exhaustion. This is normally not a problem, as a skilled healer only needs a bit of energy to heal injuries. The massive, gaping hole larger than a person, and covered in dark energy eating away at the flesh however, was another story.

Lexius and Leianna had given all the energy they had to heal Tourthun’s mutilated body. Lexius had nearly died of exhaustion, his body weak and feeble after using every last bit of his reserves. Leianna was slightly better off, having worked herself into extreme fatigue.

Even so, all that energy still wasn’t enough to completely heal the massive, magical wound. They had stabilized the dragon, but his body still had some healing of its own to do. Tourthun, Lexius, and Leianna would be out of commission for a while, but they would recover, in time. In addition, it seemed the dragon had come down with a fever at some point during the chaos, which was likely why he was acting so delirious.

“What a fix…” Wurie shook his head, the captain looking forlorn. “I can’t believe our luck.”

“That’s just how it is,” Alexander said, shrugging, “We’ll have to find some other way.”

The captain sat down on a large crate and put a hand on his forehead. The wolf let out a nervous laugh. “Ohohoho...what a damned mess. They can kill dragons. In a single blow. We, my friend, have had it.”

Alexander walked up and patted Wurie on the shoulder, smiling. “Hey, don’t worry about it. Everyone’s safe, and I’m not stopping. I’ll walk all the way to the Blackheart myself, if I have to.”

Wurie looked up. His frown slowly curled into a grin. “You’re something else, you know that? The moment the demons struck down a dragon without effort, most would walk away...and yet you persist. You saved him, brought him to safety, and you STILL haven’t stopped and thought ‘you know, I think I’ve done enough for now’. What drives you, Sir Alexander?”

The knight frowned. “The fog is spreading. If we don’t close the Blackheart...this will be all we have left. Alcoves of survivors hiding away, and death, corruption and terror above. All across the world. I can’t let that happen.”

Wurie’s eyes widened. “It spreads?! Oh dear God, by the saints, I did not know…” Alexander nodded. “Oh dear...I understand your resolve, sir knight. God bless you.” The wolf bowed his head.

Alexander smiled. He wasn’t feeling too worried. Sure, the magic that struck Tourthun down could probably vaporize him, but he had the creeping suspicion that it took a lot of time and effort to set that spell up.

From the discussion he had with the monsters earlier, it seems no one had ever heard of or seen that spell before. Just as Leianna and Lexius had to recover from using their magic, Alexander assumed whichever demon responsible for that spell needed time to prepare such a terrifying amount of power again.

The knight held his hand out to Wurie. The wolf took it, and the two shook.

“May God bless you too, my friend.”

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes throughout my time in this great kingdom. My greatest regret was letting those eager young lads go take up arms against the king. They’d still be here today if I had just...leveled with them. We’ll never forget the people we’ve lost. We’ll never forgive Salign for it....but my trust in your kind holds firm. So you had one bad king. I still feel safer here than my homelands. Geralthin is a shining beacon of hope, and when the prince takes the throne, I believe human kindness will return with a fury. Surely you see what they’ve done for Palethorn already? Your people have hearts of gold, and I am certain their desire to do good can’t be suppressed for long.”

Age: 36

Species: Wolfman

Sex: Male

Desc: A large, intimidating wolfman, with light blue eyes and grey fur. Usually seen wearing chainmail with a surcoat carrying Palethorn’s Coat of Arms

A member of the ferocious Wolfmen of the North, fearsome humanoid wolves capable of whipping themselves up into a battle frenzy, Wurie has worked hard to chip away at the judging stares others gave him early in his career. The barbarians of the north rarely headed south to the human kingdom of Geralthin for anything other than raids. The rare migrant and wayfarer were treated with suspicion and given a wide berth. Wolfmen were known to be belligerent and uncouth, so much so that people generally expected a fight to start soon when a wolfman entered an inn or walked the streets of a town. True to their reputation, wolfman who came to Geralthin generally took up mercenary work, naturally predisposed to fighting and war.

Fleeing the wolfman tribes in his teens, Wurie quickly moved to human lands. A constant state of civil war for the title of Grand Chieftain, famine from constant raids, and harsh living conditions made the young wolfman believe that there had to be a better life for him somewhere out there. Wurie began his life in the human realm as a caravan guard. Merchants were always eager to hire wolfman guards, known for their strength and fearless nature. He used the money earned from this job to found a mercenary group, The Silver Swords. He became known as a skilled mercenary veteran, notable for his wisdom and soft-spoken attitude, something that caught his contractors off guard.

Some time after his exploits as a mercenary, King Salign put the Expulsion edict into effect. All non-humans were to surrender themselves and their holdings to the authorities, who would redistribute their lands and expel them from the kingdom. Wurie chose to give in to the edict, putting himself into the kingdom’s custody and dissolving the Silver Swords. Before he surrendered himself however, some of the non-human members of the Silver Swords, along with the people of his hometown, chose to resist the king. Wurie wished them good luck, and reported to a nearby garrison to be taken into custody.

The rebellion was a disaster. Nearly all who fought the kingdom were killed or captured, with what little resistance that escaped fleeing the kingdom or hiding out in caves. Wurie felt a great amount of guilt for the friends he had lost, and thought that if he tried to convince them to surrender, they would have lived through the trying times of the Exile.

The disparate races of the Kingdom of Geralthin were herded to the village of Palethorn, where they would live out the rest of their lives as vassals to the Kingdom of Geralthin. The tiny village grew into a bustling city, with human mercenaries and merchants investing in the city, eager to reconnect with old friends.

Wurie, now a guardsman, quickly rose through the ranks of the city guard. Eventually when the Guard Captain, an old Reptilian retired, Wurie was voted in as the new Captain. His penchant for mediating feuds and disarming volatile situations without resorting to force made him immensely popular, both in the city and among the guardsmen.

His friendly demeanor and professional attitude is something that made people see him as something of an oddity. Wolfmen still started bar fights and had duels in the middle of the city streets, despite the rest of the races seeming to slowly simmer down after many years in the Kingdom of Geralthin. Wurie, when told this, simply shrugged and said he knew many fine wolfmen in the guard, who were as calm and professional as him. Still, even they had occasional outbursts, though usually verbal, as they knew guards couldn’t go around attacking people and breaking things, and tempered themselves accordingly.

The Captain of the Guard has faced much in his life, but now a threat that seems too much for even him has reared its head. The City of Palethorn is overrun with demons, and the city itself is cut off from the outside world by demonic magic. Leading a small group of survivors hiding in the underground, Wurie has slowly become convinced that he and the others are doomed. He still directs and organizes the survivors as best he can, not wanting to go down without a fight. Besides, he can’t let his people down. Everyone is trusting in him to lead them, and he must rise to the occasion. He’s come this far, and he WILL see this through.

Through his duties, Wurie will find humans that have breached the demons’ magic and fight their way through the city, doing all they can to break the demons’ hold on Palethorn. For the first time since the attack, Wurie feels hope...and a desire to lead his people to safety.