Betrayal laid at the core of every great kingdom. Every nation had people who built its borders who stood on the backs of another to get the job finished. Valiant kings fell to their advisors hidden blades, and armies fell to foul information. It had been a weapon as old as time, yet great houses still fell. For the Stormborn lineage it was nothing so grandiose, just a set of three people. Three people brought about the collapse of nearly seven hundred years of great swordsmen. At the end of it all however, a single man stood triumphant on a mountain of rubble. A man who lost everything.<br/><br/>__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<br/>Morning came with a startle, Anders jumping as his nightmare replayed itself in his mind. It had been over two years and it still felt so fresh. His fingers ran over the scar on his neck to remind him it was over. For now. Dragging himself from the small bed came with difficulty as he shook off the grogginess. Each step felt like he weighed a few tons as he went through the motions of the day. Simple breakfast of bread with some salted pork went down quickly, followed by dressing. He wore a simple tunic, white in color, that was tucked into a pair of pants. His boots went on after. ‘Easy parts done’ he thought before grabbing his armor off the small rack it hung from. Leaning towards a more agile path than most, it was just a set of leather armor with studded metal plates at important locations. It was a slow process to get strapped on, but once it was in place, did not way him down or inhibit his movement. Two short swords in scabbards were tied around his waist as he took steps into the chill morning air.<br/><br/>The port city of Forokia doubled as the nation's largest trading hub, but also its capital. This meant it had the highest population and most diverse community of work. The interior of the city housed the necessary buildings for the government to operate. The castle that housed the high king was planted into the middle of it. Beyond the interior of the city, housed nearly a hundred thousand people from the rich and well off, down to the sad sobs who begged on corners for enough copper to buy bread. Anders was fortunate enough to find work, though it typically paid poorly. He lived in a room rented out above a tavern near the ports called ‘The Rat and Dagger’, it was unfortunately a shit hole where drunks and sailors went to spend all of their coin and after coming back from sea. This morning was no different than any other. He walked down the narrow streets, using them to bypass the traffic of the main thoroughfare as he walked.<br/><br/>Each passing street improved in quality over the course of an hour. Leaving the port gave way to the market district, which eventually gave way to the artisans  district, and lastly the military quarter. It was one of the largest sections of town and housed both the majority of the army, but also several mercenary companies. The streets here were empty enough for fast movement, allowing him to move towards one of the buildings. A sword and shield with a lion standing on its back legs was the logo emblazoned on an steel sign that was posted out front of the building. ‘Prides Righteous’ was written beneath that in a gilded font.<br/>Anders chose to join this mercenary company having known the leader. He was an honorable man that truly sought to serve a greater purpose, compared to killing for money. It was not a quality all mercenary companies followed, many of them seeking fortune or fame over helping the people. Rumor had it that some also conducted assassinations, but it was not a proven fact.<br/><br/>Stepping through the front doors of the building, he was greeted with the smell of a fire. The hearth at the back of the room was the source as it illuminated the entire room with its red and orange light. Multiple groups of men and women of various races conversed, ate and laughed together. Anders himself walked over to the counter and looked at the receptionist with a smile. She was a half elven woman with dusky skin, her eyes leaning into a light purple gazed up from a book at his arrival. She gave him a soft smile before nodding. “Good morning Anders. I trust that your job from the last few days went well?” She said before rifling through stacks of papers. Anders gave her a nod before producing a sealed writ from his satchel. “Signed and sealed by Yuri, owner of ‘The Mithril Mantle’. “ he said with a sigh. “Another guard job for a shopkeeper that was paranoid he would be robbed. Come on Esmer, get me out of the city for a bit. I’m feeling claustrophobic in this place.” He said adding a dramatic sigh as he leaned his chin into his hand. Her scoff was followed  by verifying the necessary paperwork. A small pouch was passed to him, and after a quick perusal, proved to contain the jobs gold amount of ten pieces.<br/><br/>Esmer cleared her throat, drawing Anders' attention up from the pouch. Her eyes flashed in the direction of a notice in her hand. “I saved this for you. Consider it a thank you for helping Tobias.” She said with a slight blush. Anders laughed and snatched up the parchment. “He wanted to ask you to dinner for a while. I just… pushed him.” He said before looking over the document. ‘Guarded escort - Shrieking Mountains - paid on arrival - meet outside of town to the south - Smittys general goods , ask for Galnaek’ It was cryptic, but in no means was that the first notice he took that didn't have a straight forward start.<br/><br/>Anders looked up to Esmer with a smile and a nod. “Good luck to you two. See you all in a few months I suppose. Thank you for getting me something like this… I expect a wedding invitation!” He exclaimed before taking his leave from the building. Anders internally had wanted to get out for months, and finally he got something to help him get some much needed peace from the city and its politics.<br/><br/>The next several hours were slow ones, with his goal being to go and speak to the inn keeper he rented the room from, they understood his line of work and offered him storage in the basement till he returned for a fractional cost.  Unfortunately that was high for so many months, so he nearly lost half of his recent job earnings. The majority of the items he stored were clothes, additional weapons and personal memorabilia. The important stuff he kept involving his family roots mattered more than that though. Following his room being cleared out for a new patron to use, he gathered some necessary supplies. Winter clothing, rations for the road in case they couldn’t find food, and minor things to repair clothing were among the items. His traveling pack held a high amount of weight to it when it was loaded, but he wore light armor for a reason.<br/><br/>The sun had just reached mid day, when he left the city, walking up to the small outskirts shops as he looked over the notice again. ‘Is this another merchant panicking over shadows?’ He thought to himself as he approached the small general goods shop. Looking over the shelves inside, he saw they kept a very simple collection of goods. The shopkeeper in this location looked to be an older dwarf, his hands flipping through a tome of some sort as Anders stepped into the building. The dwarfs hand flew up in a wave, “greetings sir, anything in particular you need ?” He asked, looking up to him. Anders nodded and walked up, placing the notice on the small counter. “Looking for Galnaek.” He said before scanning the room. This shop was unlikely to be doing any trading in the shrieking mountains, and Anders knew at that moment something much bigger was going on.<br/><br/><a class="username" data-user-id="11301" data-username="Catonia" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/11301/">Catonia</a>