Warlords continued.

– “Nice work there, dragging us into some monster-hunting.”
– “Shut up will you. You might well have done the same in my shoes and you know it. Ow!”
– “Don’t be such a baby.” Kyrian said as she grabbed Seth’s head again.
The three were in a room in the inn loft. Dade was desperately trying to rid his blades of the ogre-stench while blaming the recent unfortune on Seth. Seth on the other hand was half lying, half sitting in a chair while Kyrian was cleaning his head wound. Dade had offered to do it but Seth fondly refused, saying that he wouldn’t want his head to get worse.
– “Yeaow!” Seth yelped. “Go easy on me, please.” He gripped the seat of the chair so hard that his knuckles whitened.
– “There, all done.” Kyrian smiled, satisfyingly examining her work.
Suddenly there was a sound from the hallway. The companions froze. They heard a choked scream, like in fear, and then the sound of footsteps as someone hurried away. For a moment all was silent.
There was a knock on the door. The three looked at each other. Everyone they knew in this strange town were in that room and after the old man’s speech more than one had given them an angry eye. “I’ve got an eerie feeling.” Kyrian said. The elves seemed to agree. Seth crawled into a corner where his weapons lay while Dade took a crossbow in each hand and leaned against the wall facing the door. Kyrian walked towards the door. There she stopped with her sword in her hand.
– “Who is it?” she said in a steady voice.
There was a pause. Then she was answered through the door.
– “My name is Arkian.” The voice was deep and smooth, yet almost whispering. “I wish you no harm.”
– “Well that’s comforting.” Dade uttered as he raised the crossbows. “Open K.”
Kyrian opened and sidestepped away from the door. The companions’ eyes widened. “A crogan.” Dade said. And it was. Outside the room stood a crogan, perhaps one of the most controversial creatures in Alderan, with it’s arms crossed. First impression of a crogan might be intimidating. Further interaction might go either way from that but in looks there are few who they resemble. Their skin is blue and on their head are four horns, two to the sides and two jutting from the back of the head. Crogans are slender, yet muscular creatures, and spikes and plates of bone grow in various places on their body. Their eyes are big, black and without pupils, their nose barely noticeable and their feet structure resembles a cross between humanoid and a running bird. They have three fingers on each hand and clawed feet. This one stood a good six feet tall and had leather armor pieces strapped on his face, chest, arms and feet. In scabbards strapped to his thighs was a pair of matching swords, one on each leg, and over his shoulder was a large composite bow. He also carried a specially made quiver of arrows, designed to fit between the spikes on his back
He cocked his head a little.
– “Are you sure you’ve come to the right place?” Kyrian asked. “What do you want?” The crogan straightened his head again and raised his arms to further underline his peaceful intentions.
– “I merely want to offer my assistance. Allow me to explain myself, please.”
Dade didn’t lower the crossbows. “You’ve got two minutes. Are you alone?”
– “Quite. And I assure you, despite my modest arsenal, there is no reason to have your weapons ready.” He stepped inside the room. “As I said before, I mean you no harm. I understand that my appearance may not be comforting to the average person, such as the one who ran away when she saw me in the corridor just now but you seem to be somewhat... seasoned.” Dade lowered one crossbow, the other pointed straight at the crogan’s head. Seth made no gesture with his weapons but Kyrian held her sword ready as she closed the door. This was just too weird. Plus, she remembered an encounter with a crogan a few years back which she and Dade were lucky to escape from with their lives. After that, neither of them had really known what to think of the race.
– “What do you want? Dade said, emphasizing every word.
The crogan’s mouth was hidden beneath it’s leather mask, which the three guessed acted as an armor of some sorts, yet his words were clear.
– “As I said before, my name is Arkian. I came to Redcreek a couple of weeks ago, just wandering through I guess, when I stumbled upon the rather grotesque Grit, the ruul you slew ever so neatly this morning.” There was a hint of glee in the crogan’s eyes. ”I watched as he beat a fisherman senseless and my first impulse was of course to put an arrow between his eyes but then remembered a conversation I had picked up between two peasants earlier that day. They didn’t notice me, as I was trying to go unnoticed but in their rather aimless discussions one of them had mentioned a ruul and how much he disliked having to pay him. The other then mentioned something about more of similar bred as the ruul and the inconvenience they would impose on them if the payments were not made.”
– “Inconvenience? You’re losing me. What are you doing here?” Dade repeated.
– “Pardon me, I don’t mean to bore you. I am about to explain my presence here. May I?” He pointed at a chair beside him and without waiting for an answer sat down and leaned on a table in front of him. “Now to continue, I concluded that if I killed this one there would doubtless be more who would take their revenge on the wrong parties, namely the peasants. So I waited and watched. Until now. You seem an adequate group of fighters and, after seeing the ruul's abuse, I would very much like to aid you in riding the nearby area of his like.” Arkian scratched his chin, seemingly content with his explanations.
Dade lowered the crossbow and sat in a chair facing the crogan.
– “You said you’d been trying to go unnoticed. Why?” The creature stared into the elf’s almond shaped eyes.
– “Well, people who haven’t seen one of my kind are not keen on being friendly with one. Believe me, I speak from experience. So I camped in the hills outside of town.”
– “Poor thing.” Dade said completely void of emotion. There was a moment’s silence in the room. Then Dade leaned back in his chair. What could this mean, he pondered. He felt like he was a pawn in someone’s game, not in control of things and Dade hated not being in control of things. He looked at his companions. Man, Kyrian had rarely looked so good, in a catlike pose with her blade poised and ready to strike in a split-second if needed. And Seth who, on the surface at least, was always so calm and clear headed in any situation What would I do without them, he mused. Probably get myself killed, among other equally amusing things. And then there was this new guy... a crogan. Dade really had no idea how to react to the creature’s proposal. So, he weighed the pros against the cons and came to a conclusion.
– “What do you say guys? We really have no idea what we’re about to face and we could maybe use a little help. I vote that he’s in.” Seth and Kyrian exchanged thoughtful looks and, after a moment, both gave a nod. “Well that sets it. You’re in. Arkian, meet Seth and Kyrian. I’m Dade and I want to make it clear that I still don’t trust you. If you are okay with graduately earning your trust you may continue to be a part of this group. Understood?”
– “Completely.” Arkian smiled underneath his mask. “I will do my best to follow your lead.” He stood up and extended a clawed hand towards Dade. Dade stood up as well and shook his hand.
The four went out of the inn and were met with blend looks as they passed the villagers, the children and teenagers exited at the mere thought of the adventurers and flocked to see them while the adults bore more mixed feelings towards them. One of the regulars at the inn turned towards them.
– “You’re gonna get ush all khilledd...” The man, who was noticeably drunk made a silent hiccough. “Whaddaya gonna do about the othersh?”
– “I’m not in the mood for this.” Dade breathed through clenched teeth. The drunk stood up from his chair and raised a walking stick.
– “You should 'ave nhever have come here you..!” He took a step towards Dade and swung at him from behind.
Without looking behind him, Dade dodged the blow with a slight move of his head. “Violence... is not the answer!” he said as he turned around and punched the drunk square in the jaw, knocking him out. The companions then went towards the market place, the last stop before their journey.

..to be continued.

tack tack

--Drekafluga, still trying to write--