The Rune Stone

Neck

Everyone, even Varonno had drunk and ate plenty that night. They all stood up until the late hours, when the moon was highest, forgetting everything that ailed them, be it leg wounds or decisions taken meere hours ago. Next morning they woke to the smell of cooked eggs and the noise of sizzling meat, sitting right next to the company was the mage himself, not a scar or sign of tiredness upon his face, he was making breakfast. Their boatman was also gone by this point, nor him nor his boat were in sight.

“You’d better have some good f*****g explanation for what happened in Ewrorin.” snapped Varonno at the sight of the mage, getting up and rousing the others as well. To his surprise, Shadow was uncannily comfortable with the mage this morning, not growling or barking at him like it usually did. It simply allowed Kralich to sneak up to the rest. "The elder did not want to reveal the location of what we seek. I did what had to be done. This is far greater than the life of one sigle person." answered the mage blankly, not taking his gaze away from the fire. "The hell is that supposed to mean, mate ? That we are disposable as well ?!" interjected Nicholas who was now also on his feet. "Ofcourse you are. You are mercenaries. You are meant to be as such." continued the mage. "You've heard about the rune wars ?" he asked before coninuing once again, not allowed any to even answer or protest at his statement. "A conflict so large and destructive it split and sundered the old continent apart. One of those key battles took place right here. This river exists because of it, before, the two shores were one." the mage would begin, poking at the embers of the fire before some of them flew up against the grey sky of the morning. "The mages in that conflict used Rune Stones; fonts of almost unlimited power, able to bend reality at the will of their wielder. They are dangerous tools in the hands of the wrong person." he said, taking looking into the eyes of each of those present. "We are not looking for a book. I have it already. We are looking for one of the Runes. A rune of which the elves knew already, and in their foolishness wished to protect, leave it ungarded where it laid, so that any might get their hands on it, and throw us all into darkness. Something we cannot let happen. Not again.So I extracted the location by force. A unpleasant but necessary sacrifice." he ended, standing up straight, towering over the rest who were still croutched by the fire. "Hmpf. Why did ye lie to us then ? Why the whole thief hunting ?" asked Torstein while the rest still pondered what they had been told. "It would have been simpler, not to burden you with all of these things, you could have done your job, perhaps easier, if you did not know the weight of the burden." answered Kralich. "Then how do we know you ain't lying again now ? Pulling some wool in front of our eyes, so we go along with you." rebuked the barbarian. "I came all this way to meet you, right ? As did you, the journey you took could not have been easy. You are capable. I selected each and one of you, it might have not looked like it. But I did. Torstein, the letter than promted you to come to Greenwall, the one from your dwarven comrade, I sent it... And Varonno, that smuggler who was supposed to try and ferry you across the sea, the one that never showed up, it was me also. As for Nicholas, I chose the Tavern you frequent as a staging ground, didn't I ? I apologize for this deception. But it was needed, I could not waste the time on going about the land to gather you all. This is a turning point for the whole continent, we can't simply allow that rune to be unattended. It is a far too serious matter to lie about. The truth is... I need you, all of you. I cannot do this alone. The College did not sanction this expedition. They deemed it a fool's errand. But I know better... I know what these things are capable of bringing upon us all." he said before taking a deep, long breath. "Please, will you help me ?" ended the mage just as the first drops of rain started to fall down, upon them. "Where are we headed then ?" spoke Torstein, pulling the hood of his new cloak over his head. Kralich raised a hand, waiting on the rest before speaking again. Both Nicholas and Varonno were weary. "Nothing you care about will exisit in a few years if we don't do this. You have to understand the danger this represents if it falls in the hands of the wrong people... And it always does." added the mage. "Fine. But we are not buddies. You are still a bastard and a half. Those people didn't need to die, there is always another way. They were just doin' their jobs." said Nicholas in the end. Varonno stared across the water, to the other shore. To home. "My deal had me guiding you across the north, not this... This is..." he said, not taking his eyes off the land further away. "I understand that. And I will hold my word to you. If you still wish it, you are free to take us as far as you want, then head home." answered Kralich. "Alright. Where are we going?" answered the ranger in the end, after exchanging a long glance with his companion. "Past the Frostbite Mountains. Further north than any man has been." said the mage, in a cold fashion, unflintching and undaunted, just as the land he spoke of. "What did you do with our guide ? Where is he ?" asked Nicholas as he looked towards the bank of the river. Kralich shrugged, brushing off the question in a quick manner. "He had departed when I arrived. Seemed in a hurry."

The Neck laid at the narrowest point in the river, but that was not saying much, here the water was still way too wide and fast (and cold) for a man to swim across it. It was a masisve fortress split in two by a wide stone bridge, ancient and mighty it looked. Chiseled stone walls, massive spruce gates, the place could resist a siege for months, even years with the use of the river for fishing. As such, it was not hard for one to see how the Neck had amassed its fortune, coming from the main road, The king's Highway, dozens of people were lined at the gates, trying to obtain passage to the other side, on which, the sight was similar most likely.

As the party approached the now open gate, a group of northerners passed by, from the fort, southwards. They starred at Varonno the whole time.“Friends of yours ?” whispered Nicholas. “No, but they know me, at this point probably the whole f*****g Zarvoss knows me, my father made damn sure of that.” answered Varonno in angry tone. When thier turn came, the guards straightened their posture. “Who do I need to talk to, to get on the other side, soldier?” asked Kralich in a gentle tone. One of the guards pointed his finger inside the courtyard of the fortress, towards a small tent, where a few people were lined up. Kralich nodded and headed inside, the party closely following behind him. "I’m surprised they let me inside this time, they are usually not so generous." stated Varonno.As the party approached the tent, the two guards guarding the entrance pushed away the first person in line and pointed Kralich to go inside. This raised a few brows from everyone in the company, including the mage, who did not expect such treatment. Nevertheless, he nodded before instructing the party to wait for him here.

Inside there were two tables,filled up with parchment and coin, lit up by torches resting upon the main peg, each with a soldier clad in gambeson and chainmail sitting behind them. One of them made a sign for Kralich to approach, he was an old fellow with a grey beard that seemed friendly enough at first glance. "The lady wants to talk to you and your friends." said the man with a soft but firm voice. "The lady?" asked Kralich curiously “You’ve misunderstood my friend; me and my fellow travelers just want to cross the border.” “I wasn’t asking. And the lady doesn’t accept an no for an answer anyway. Get your friends and follow Thomas here” said the old man as he pointed towards a young guard sitting by the entrance of the tent. Kralich wanted to protest but the young man grabbed him by the shoulder and took him outside the tent. He was much stronger than he looked. Unnaturally stronger…The mage decided it was best not to cause a scene, not until they were across atleast.

Outside, the situation was explained to the rest of the company, the guard allowed them that, sitting to the side until they were done speaking with eachother. "Stonebridge wants to speak to us ? Why ? Nobody has seen the old crone ever since I was a child." stated Varonno, clearly unsettled by the invitation extended to them. "They would not tell, still, I doubt there is much protesting we can do about it, not unless we do want to cross that border. And you should be happy, if we make it through this, I think they might actually let you through without hassle." answered the mage. "There is never without hassle with Stonebridge..." murmured the ranger pulling the hood of his cloak deeper over his face.

The company was taken past the southern fort, and on the bridge. As they walked they could hear the rapid currents and gurgle of water passing beneath their feet. The water seemed even angrier here and a general feeling of unrest seemed to grow in the hearts of the men with every step they took towards the other side. The twin fort looked much bigger and darker than its southern brother. It had a tall tower on its western side, it seemed made of smooth black stone, with no hints of joins of chisel marks upon its surface. After passing through another series of gates, they were lead inside the castle proper, in a main hall with a massive roaring hearth. Above it, a painting of a regal looking lady could be seen, her features were sharp and cold, with no hint of laughter upon her thin lips. She seemed to be sitting in front of the Neck proper, before any fort was ever built here, which raised many questions from some of the company who knew that the Neck must have been atleast a hundred years old. The guard who guided them up until this point pointed to a flight of stairs on the other side of the hall.“Climb the stairs and then enter the tower on the right.” and with that he closed the door and left the group alone.

"Are you scared?” asked the old barian, looking at the painting and then at Nicholas “A little.” answered the rogue “Don’t worry; I was shitting myself too in my first battle.” “What happened?” “I don’t remember. I got knocked in the head ten minutes in.” said Torstein with a short and hoarse chuckle in an effort to relieve the atmoshpere, but only served to make it worse, as his cackle resonated against the walls of the hall...