[Darkblade Fortress] A walk in the walls

[Eyvind Redbeard]

OOC: continued from here

IC:
After leaving his Office, Eyvind lead Kella through a maze of corridors and up a spiraling stair case to the outer walls of the Fortress. The wind greeted them when the Daekin opened a heavy wooden door so he and Kella could reach the walls. While he waited for her to walk through the door he saw her face again and couldn't resist a smile as he remembered the hug she had given him back in his Office. Closing the door behind them he continued leading the way until they reached a secluded watch tower.

On the top of the watch tower Eyvind embraced the whole view with his arm.

"This is Taralon. Capital of Sheria, important port city. That is what you and most people around the Empire know. What you don't know is the danger it faces. To the west, hidden behind the Khardran Mountains range lays the Orc city of Ire, the Orcs call it Orckon. And it threatens the whole Province with its warbands. The Legions are mobilizing, we are going to war against Ire. To help us, or to ease our task in defending the civilians the Governor and the Thane have decided to raise a Provincial Army, one I was ordered to train and prepare to the coming war. But isn't all. That isn't why you are here. The Legions' objectives are those of retake the city of Narim and wiping the Orcish threat out. To do so they need informations, routes on how to reach both locations without having to fight every inch against the green skins. They outnumber us and therefore we must use all we have at our disposal to win this war.

I was given the mission of infiltrating in enemy territory, finding a safe way to both Narim and Ire so the Imperials can attack the cities bypassing the Orcish border defenses. I will take the best twenty men the Legions have to offer with me, split in two groups. I will lead one and find a route to the city of Narim while Cyrus will take Teig with him as long as the other group and find a route, through the mountains, to Ire.

What I will ask you know, Kella, isn't an order. I will ask you if you would like to join my party to find a route to Narim. You are not obliged, you can stay here and help training the Provincial Army or simply return to Aelyria Prime. This will be a very dangerous mission and although we will have the best with us I won't be able to assure your safety more than I will able to assure any other soldier's safety.

Kella Greeran, my friend, what is your decision?"

He stood tall in front of her, as usual. His hair being slightly touched by the wind coming from the ocean and swinging in the direction of the dangerous west. His eyes looked at her with honesty. And silently he await an answer. There was no one there to see or hear what was going on in the watch tower, but still he stood silent and waited.

[Kella Greeran]

Kella leaned into the gust of wind as it pushed her cowl back and swirled the hair at her crown. She finished the breeze's work and pulled her hood back as she stood precariously near the edge of the watchtower. Heights were evidently not very high on the woman's list of fears. Those slots were reserved for truly perilous things, like slugs and Elven tea parties.

Kella's gray-blue eyes squinted as she beheld the horizon. For the first time in a while she stood wondrously still. The scape was glorious towards the sea. The winding grid of streets was like a woman's plaited hair dappled in red, white and brown flowers, the earth and stone roofs of the city. But the smooth blanket of the sea overwhelmed it all with its softly glimmering cape of stony green, burnished white in the sunlight. Kella mused that it was a cloak for the rocky shoulder's of the world.

The Vagaran could watch the ocean roll and roar for eras. Like the sea elves, it sang to her and beckoned her with its briny kisses, but like Kella it gave no promise of constancy in its arms.
Perhaps in a way her blood missed what her purpose should have been as a Vagaran. Bound so tightly to the empire and the land, it had no other outlet but an inarticulate longing to journey the whale path.
Her brother had seized upon such desires and thrown himself to the tides, returning to her life whenever the current had the whim to leave him on the shore.

But Eyvind spoke of the mountains, and Kella looked to the peaks in the west. To think a hive of Orcs hid behind the stony haunches of the Khadran. It did not surprise her, the little beasts had to stream from somewhere. And where was a more apt home for them then the boulders and cold.
The backdrop of war and battles rested behind everyday of a Legionnaires training, but it was still strange to hear it spoken of. It fell more like a confirmed rumor, than the typical business of a soldier. However, Kella had always expected something to ripen during her stint in the Legion. Though she did not embrace conflict, she would almost say it was about time.

Kella gave Eyvind a bemused smile.
"That is a strange thing, to think I ought to merit more protection than any other soldier under you, Eyv."
Her eyes went towards the sea, "What will be will be, Ginger." The woman looked at Eyvind over her shoulder a moment.
"Of course I'll go with you. That goes without saying, you silly red git."
Her fingers curled over the edge of the partition between her a long fall and she turned her face to the breeze.
"I'm a Legionnaire aren't I?"

[Eyvind Redbeard]

Eyvind remained silent as Kella watched the ocean east of them. He too had felt its call, an everydays' call. And yes, he too was eager to return to it, but unlike Kella he desired the ocean for what it could give to his people, to all the peoples in Telath as much as he desired the ocean for simple pleasure. He starved for a ship to sail the waves, but was he not a descendant of sailors of brave heros? When Kella turned to look at the mountain, Eyvind could see them reflected in her shinny eyes, eyes he would never forget, mountains he would ever mourn. Mountains covered in veils of shadow.

He stood at her side now and looked to the mountains too, suddenly he felt something warm under his hand. Surprised he looked down and realized he had placed his over Kella's hand. Why was he trying to feel surprised? He had done that on purpose.

Words came from his mouth in a low and soft voice.

"Yes, you are a Legionnaire. But a soldier under me? No. You are a soldier over me. You have a higher sense of things, my dear. And you are not only a soldier, you are something more. Like I once said to an Officer named Erin, a soldier only has to look forward to the enemy he fights. You are smarter than that, you are better than that. You are what many would have in their hearts as something worthy of fighting for, of dieing for."

He remained quiet for a moment, his hand holding hers.

"And there I was again wandering with my own thoughts when we have more important things to do."

The Daekin tried a laugh as he spoke and removed his hand from hers and gave her some space, leaning against one of the watch tower's side walls.

[Kella Greeran]

Kella glanced down as her friend's hand covered hers. She just smiled and continued to regard the mountains, her mind envisioning little trails from the city to the austere peaks.

His compliments were born with a bit of an abashed look. The woman was flattered but scoffed good-naturedly at the noble traits attributed to her. Eyvind had a bit of a rosy fog about her, but she was in no hurry to entirely dispel it. That was the charm of friends, they asserted that you were best version of yourself precisely when you doubted it.

Characteristically, sincerity was fielded with a dash of honest humor.
"Thanks, Ginger. I have my moments."

When he claimed his thoughts were wandering, Kella, straightened up and took a breath of the salt tinged breeze.
"I would assume that there is a fair bit of things that I ought to know."

Resting her hand on her sword's pommel, she turned to Eyvind with a keen glint to her.
"Most importantly, when do we leave, and what should I bring?"

[Eyvind Redbeard]

He nodded slightly and smiled.

"Indeed, you have your moments. I only regret not being able to say the same about myself, but that's life, isn't it?"

It was a rethorical question, said with a friendly voice. He had missed her dearly, but with everything going on around then he didn't know if he would have the time to feel something more about her aside of this sweet friendship, not that he didn't feel something more. But things were so hard to understand, he had to focus, lives were at stake.

Standing up Eyvind walked to the northern side of the watch tower. In that direction they could cleary seen the river that came directly from the Khardran mountains.

"The river."

He pointed.

"It comes directly from the mountains. The plan is to use some boats and go up the stream as much as we can. Then the two groups will split, Cyrus will take his men further north to try and find a way across the mountains while we will travel through valleys and hills until we reach Narim's Castellum. The Castellum was built upon a large hill and it controls the plains between Ire and Narim. We won't need to go further west once we get there. A plain is a plain and there is no way for us to hide in it, nor for an army to do so. Once we find a safe route to the Castellum we will send one man back to inform Taralon, then we procced to find a way from there to Ire. With some luck we will find Cyrus and his group once we get there. After that we will all retreat.

It is a covert operation, our objective isn't that of attacking the Orcs nor making sabotage. That is secondary and only should be done if there is no danger at all, something I doubt of."

He paused for a moment.

"We leave on the thirty fifth. Bring light equipment, warm clothes as it may get cold up there and some food. Try to keep things simple, if things get wrong I want everyone out as fast as possible."

He turned and looked at her, his brows slightly curved down and his expression sad and worried.

"If things get wrong I want you out of there."

Maybe he was regreting the letter his hand had written.

[Kella Greeran]

Kella parried a quick response.
"Of course you have your moments, Ginger. Don't be humble." A quick grin split her phrases, "But I know few can attain the level of my relentless charm."

It was a mildly self-deprecating observation, as was usual of Kella. If she was not proclaiming herself the gods' gift to Telath, she was taking deft swings at herself for a bit of a laugh.

When Eyvind moved, Kella quickly followed as he turned them to the view of the river. It was a soothing picture if one didn't think of the purpose it was to serve. Her gaze started at the nebulous source of the river and followed its current to where it was tucked away beneath the skirts of the mountains.
As Eyvind spoke of the path they would take, Kella's mind drew colored lines across the scene as she absorbed what unseen roads they were to travel. Her attention pricked up for a moment at one word.
"Covert?" she repeated.
"I like covert. Things quietly done are oft more influential than the thunder of battle."

When Eyvind said that if things went sour she was to be shuffled off, she turned to face him with a touch of petulance. Like a little sister told she could not follow her older brother on some outing.
"That's a mite unfair. I'll go only if everyone else is forced to leave."
Her arms folded loosely as she spoke. "I'm rusty, Ginger, not woefully far gone. I've been running glorified errands for a while is all."
Kella knew she was out of sync with her training, but was hopeful she could press her way through.
"My handstands are still lovely, but I haven't sparred for some time."
With a swift appraisal of Eyvind and a momentary pause, Kella began again.
"Here's a notion. Give me a tiny refresher course, Ginger." She continued to persuade him at a rapid pace, leaving little room for refusal.
"I know there's much more of a gap with us now after all your Officer training and my boot shining. Just play moderately nice." Her eyes sparkled impishly, "Like I do when we have a battle of wits."

[Eyvind Redbeard]

The Daekin couldn't prevent a smile after listening to Kella's comment about her charm. Oh she was correct, more than correct in fact. Her charm could drive a man mad if she wanted or if she knew the power she had over those whose heart desired her. When she came and stood near him to see the river and listen to the briefing of the mission they were about to embarch on, Eyvind felt something jumping inside his chest. He nodded when Kella commented how she liked covert operations.

"I know you like them and I guess you are somehow more prepared for them than we are. After all you were attached to the Imperial Shields. They should have given you some training, I suppose. If not I know you can move like a cat in the shadows. I still remember that assault to the Navy Compound back in Aelyria Prime."

He paused to listen Kella's indignation about Eyvind's decision.

"You are not rusty, Kella."

He said taking his hand to his lips.

"I am just worried about you..."

He then kissed Kella's hand and then he was overwhelmed by Kella's request. Her speech didn't have a pause and Eyvind couldn't take his eyes from hers. She was asking him to help her refreshing what she knew about combat. She was asking him help and she could still keep her charm while doing so.

"By my honor, you will be a fine swordswoman after we finish this spar. You will be more than a match to any of my men and you will be able to defeat me."

[Kella Greeran]

"Thanks for your concern, Ginger." Kella slid her hand away with a mite more gentleness then she previously rendered Eyvind on such incidents.
"While I like having a very large and well trained redhead looking out for me a bit, I don't want any special attention, Ginger. For good or ill." The woman paused, assessing herself a moment.
"No, I lied. I do like special attention, just not too much." She tried to parse the idea in her head and to construct an allegory of sorts. As she explained she spoke with her hands.
"Pretend I'm an affable and capable Katta Legionnaire when you make combat choices, Ginger, not a Vagaran you're a mite sweet on. That make any sense?"
Her smile turned dry as she continued, "Just like in the beginning, I 'spose. When you were having me shot at, and yelled at."

Kella chuckled and shook her head at Eyvind's characteristic enthusiasm regarding their planned spar.
"Lud, Ginger, I can already defeat you." Her look was both knowing and roguish, "Just not with a sword."
She turned, readying to go back downstairs.
"And while I'm sure you'll give me a good lesson this darkening, I still think you'll be able to wallop me in a martial tussle for a very long time."

[Eyvind Redbeard]

The red haired man laughed some when he heard Kella's confusion of desires. First she didn't want special attention, then she wanted, then she was asking him to imagine her as a Katta. The Sword Daekin could be funny when she wanted and even when she didn't want.

"It make a whole lot of sense but don't place the horse in front of the cart. I didn't ask you hand in marriage, did I?"

He said in a joking voice.

"In the training I will treat like I treat all my men. In a special way. Not being gentler and letting you win easily, I will make you sweat for the victory and I promise you will sleep like a rock this Darkening. Then we can discuss a massage, heh, but you must defeat me first. With a sword."

He silenced himself as he realized what Kella had said. Memories turned into images as he remembered the Darkening of the ambush in Old Prime. He had been rude to her and she had been severely injured by a crossbow bolt. Back then he thought it had been the best thing to do, he had saved them from being tortured and killed by the revolting mob. He had also followed Aslan's Tenets, Stand by your Banner and Horn's Last Call, he knew he had procceded well.

"I am sorry for that day, Kella...but it was the right thing to do."

He said in a whisper, his eyes looking down and a sad expression in his face. This vision lasted for a fraction of second as he straightened his back and continue.

"Follow me to the training field."

He then passed her and walked downstairs, over the wall, opened the door and kept walking downstairs until he reached another door that lead to the courtyard of the Fortress. There were some men already training in there and the Daekin shouted.

"Senior Legionnaire Rabalyn!"

A bulky and black short haired man with his torso bare and shinying in sweat approached.

"Yes, Sir?"

"I would like to have some training weapons for me and Sword Daekin Kella Greeran. Would you mind calling for some servants and having a training circle ready?"

"Certainly, Sir."

And the man walked away. A few minutes later four servants carrying a variety of training weapons and protective equipment showed up. They placed the weapons on the ground and approached the two Officers to dress them in padded armor. Eyvind then grabbed a training longsword and entered the fighting circle.

"Are you ready?"

[Kella Greeran]

On the training field, Kella's eyes began to wander a little. She craned on her toes to see past heads and shoulders and observe the bare-chested soldiers' training. By the curious way she raised her eyebrows, it seemed that she was watching something more than the mens' techniques.
Rabalyn's stocky and sweating frame suddenly overwhelmed her line of sight as Eyvind gestured him near, a none too pleasant vision for Kella.
Crestfallen was an understatement for the expression that swiftly passed over her face, as the barrel shaped man barricaded her from the more graceful specimens. Sure they were all brothers in arms, but it wasn't as if they never gave a look. Kella would describe it as an innocent appreciation of the more handsome things in life, and she was a good girl. Look a little, but don't touch.

Kella dropped her things in a little pile, unhooking her sword belt. She accepted the padding but frowned a little sadly. For a while, she'd been enjoying the freedom of light armor and Elven mail. The smaller Vagaran relied on an amount of agility to maintain some upper hand on her opponents, but then she had been playing with daggers in the past month instead of the brutish sword she was now picking up.

When Eyvind asked point blank if she was ready, Kella entered the circle and scoffed "Aeternia, no." But her devil-may-care smile preceded an adoption of a proper stance, her right foot was slightly ahead of her left, roughly shoulder width apart. If Kella was anything, she was light on her feet, her weight distributed with an acrobat's sense of balance pressing on the balls of her feet.
"But that's never stopped me before."

[Eyvind Redbeard]

The circle's ground was made of compressed dirt, allowing for a stable walk. It had no rocks to avoid having someone tripping, falling and accidentally get killed or kill someone. Eyvind gave a few steps to get used to the ground and stretched his back. He was ready. With a nod he approached Kella.

"Very well then. I will show you the kind of enemy you will be facing if things go terribly wrong. Orcs are terrible fighters, they never give up not even when deadly wounded. Their strength surpasses that of most of us. Beware of it. Aside of that Orcs are clumsy combatants, they need space to maneuver and their rage and savagery is their greatest flaw. But don't think them as easy preys, as I said before they will never give up they will always keep coming. They're Orcs and war is the ocean they swim."

He said as he advanced to Kella. Suddenly when he finished talking Eyvind raised his arms in the air and started running to the Sword Daekin. With a shout coming from the depths of his throat he charged forward prepared to slash Kella's head with a vertical blow. The enormous Vagaran towered in front of the smaller woman, his steps echoeing in the Fortress's courtyard and his shout piercing Kella's mind. Orcs shouted and roared to frighten their enemies and to try to distract them, Eyvind was doing the same. Telling her what would happen when fighting an Orc would never prepare Kella for the actual confront, this was the best she could be given, for now.

[Kella Greeran]

As a very large, rather loud armored man barreled toward Kella with a fairly big sword raised to crack her skull, Kella had two choices of reactions she could have. The first was something along the lines of "Eep!" and darting away. This came from her healthy sense of self-preservation, that scoffed at the very idea of Kella joining the military when there were eligible men she could siphon off for her livelihood. That reaction simply would not do, Kella knew.

So her other instinct quickly rose its head, cresting on a surge of adrenaline. She'd been shouted at before in the midst of precarious situations, tight rope walking anyone? The worst was when that one 'git pitched his workboot at her as she walked a cord over broken glass. She should have fed the boot to him afterward, and the glass while she was at it.

Kella waited until Eyv was close enough that the momentum of his body would be hard to turn on another path. It was a bit nerve-wracking to stay still for so long, there was almost a countdown in her head. And then she snapped into motion, a coiled spring.

Minding her weight, Kella almost slid on her feet instead of stepping, gliding at an angle towards Eyvind's left side. Her sword was raised in a horizontal line a bit above her head to compensate for the drastic height difference. Instead of being in a straight line, though, the point tilted downward to her left.

Aware that she could not match force for force, her block intended to divert the momentum instead creating a wall against it. Meeting his blade with the stronger base of her blade, she attempted to let Eyvind's sword almost slide down the edge of hers as she moved past him.

If the gods were with her, she would be able to quickly turn herself again once their swords slid apart, flanking Eyvind's left side with her sword at ready again.

[Eyvind Redbeard]

A thought appeared in Eyvind's mind when he saw Kella standing her ground as he charged in. The woman was brave, bearing the courage of her kin within her heart. She was more of a soldier than many would ever dream of being. No Orc would make Kella shiver or falter in her resolve which was impressive. If he wasn't making this spar as real as possible he would have smiled, maybe even winked at the blonde Vagaran, but this was a real simulation. The Daekin wanted to have Kella prepared before any combat took place, he wanted her hardened like the Manjet's Elite, his proud Black Shields. It was a hard task, but was something possible to achieve.

As expected Kella moved away in the last second raising her sword to meet his. Eyvind knew she wasn't fool and that intelligence was her greatest weapon but he hadn't expect a clever parry such as hers. Making his sword slide down her blade and stuck in his momentum Eyvind kept advancing and would have hit the ground with his sword was he not experient enough to stop attacks when needed.

With the Sword Daekin on his left flank and probably wanting to counter-attack he only had one choice. While advancing he bent his elbows and brought the sword back, in one continued and fluid move. The sword's tip pointing the sandy ground and the blade covering his left flank. Eyvind also rotated his torso to his left to be able to withstand Kella's counter-attack, if it would come.

His feet would continue walking forward, slowing his momentum down no matter if the blonde Vagaran attacked or not. The Daekin wanted to make sure he would have enough space for his next move. If he managed to walk past Kella he would turn to her and take a low guard stance.

[Kella Greeran]

And the counter attack did come. Kella's body twirled using the force of her hips and shoulders to swing the raised sword in a momentum gathering half-circle over her head.

She slashed diagonally with more force than her moves normally possessed, fomented by a larger gesture.
But Eyvind's sword had been waiting for this, the steel met with a sonorous clang as her blade hammered against his held in a low guard position. Suddenly in close proximity, Kella grinned for a beat at Eyvind and purred over the echo of the striking blades.
"Why se-rale there."

But the impasse did not last. Spry little Kella, shuffled her weight and gave a swift stomp to the instep of Eyvind's left leg. A smaller Vagaran, Kella tended to either be a scrapper or dancer when she fought, no stranger to the tactic of upsetting her opponent's balance. Against brute strength it was what she had to work with.
Plus, Eyv would forgive her, she hadn't gone for anything especially painful, and even if she struck true, it wouldn't be all that bad. Just a little something to throw him off. Right?

[Eyvind Redbeard]

Blades clashed and sparks flew in the air as Kella's counter-attack met Eyvind's parry. A glance of the female's grin made him lose focus. Those lips...he shook his head while taking a low guard. But too late, Kella had already moved to stomp on his foot. Some pain came up from it and reached his brain and hitting it as a surprise. He had felt the pain more due to his distraction than due to anything else, but it was yet another move from the smaller Vagaran that was allowing her to gain more points.

He frowned to regain his concentration once more and won his inner struggle, somehow this adrenalin thing mixed with some hormones were giving him ideas about something else, something completely unrelated with the combat. Something about another kind of combat in another arena.

And he exploded in action, not that releasing the hold of his left hand from the sword and reaching for Kella's leg