Coulter Returns to Zerdargia

[Firebird]

continuation from here http://www.playbypost.com/forums/centri...zerdargia.html

2nd Darkening of Pontius, Winter

As the funeral train moved into Zerdargia, Coulter looked around and saw a city he did not recognize. It was so new and so splendid he mouth would fall open.

"Aye, we'll be honored to have you come to the wake with us, Coulter. I never did ask you, what did you find in the Dolwoods when ye went hunting those cowardly villans who petrified those men. T's a good thing that druid showed up, even thou' he was a pointy earred elf. "

Coulter could see the wagons from the Studdard Mine down the road parked in front of a large building that looked like an Inn.

The funeral cortage moved down the road and then stopped. Coulter thought that maybe that was the funeral parlor.

[Coulter Minith]

The young black-bearded dwarf noted well the location of the recovered wagons and their unharmed drivers, as they pulled up in front of the inn style building; probably going to report their lose to one of the Studdard brothers. Although events in the wider world had sidetracked him momentarily from the real reason why he had travelled to Zerdargia, Coulter Minith had not forgotten about the Studdard brothers and the rumours surrounding them. However before starting his investigation into the four brothers, perhaps even talking to a couple of them, the young dwarf would honour his dead kinsmen and brethren with a tankard or two of dwarfen ale with his fellow dwarfs.

Paying no more attendance towards the Studdard brothers for the moment, placing all thoughts about the dwarfen brothers to the back of his mind until tomorrow, Coulter Minith turned his full attendance towards answering the questions posed to him. ‘What aye found in those cursed woods was some type of hidden glen.’ Thinking back to his time within the Dolwood, the young four-foot tall dwarf continued with his tale. ‘Something strange about that glen it was sunny like a bright summer brightening…summer in the middle of winter, magic aye tell ye is the curse of the dwarfen world.’

With a slight shake of his bearded head at the thoughts of the destruction magic had caused the dwarfen people over the long ages and eras, Coulter Minith needed something else to think about other than the death of fellow deaths. ‘Aye need a drink or too…so where ye planning on heading, any decent pubs around here where we can get a decent ale than?’ This question was posed to the gathered crowd of dwarfs, each hopefully willing to share a tankard or two in the memory of fallen dwarfs.

[Firebird]

"Aye," said Colin, "there's Blackbeard's Ale and Sports Club. We can go there for a mug. I'll just tell me friends we'll meet them in the Malachite Inn later. I want to hear what ye heard. Don't know if I kin make any more head's or tails out ofi it than ye will though."

Colin led him toward the playing field. "Ye know, of course, they named the new playing field after yer clan, didn't you. Name's Minith field. You should be proud of that. Only town in dwarfdom that's got its own playing fields for games, an arena too called Minith Saucer."

As they walked Coulter saw the beautiful gardens and commons in the rebuilt Zerdargia. The place was awesome, and like nothing he had seen before. "Now Blackbeards is just next to the playing field." He led him into the pub which was loud and noisy at that time of the night. "Yeah, ye can play here too. Dice, bowling, and any other game of chance you might want to play. Old man Weatherstone built this and gave his son and grandson the place to run."

[Coulter Minith]

Listening to the words of his fellow dwarf Colin, the former soldier felt himself relaxing in the easy company of a fellow dwarf, and letting his many worried vanishing into the mucky depths of his past memories. Since surviving the horrors of the trenches of the Siege of Malice, Coulter Minith knew he wasn’t the same fresh faced youngster that had started that doomed expedition to the hell-hole of Malice, but had matured into a cultured and experienced warrior and leader of warriors; or at least the young dwarf hoped so.

However talk of wars and bloody battles wasn’t something the four-foot dwarf wanted, or would choose, to talk about in such a peaceful environment. Instead the young four-foot dwarf would turn the conversation over to more peaceful matters and hopefully enjoy his darkening of entertainment with his fellow dwarfs. Therefore wanting to change the conversation, Coulter Minith would say these words. ‘So Carl re ye planning on staying around for the festival? If so we could get some training in this darkening at Blackbeard’s tonight!’

This Zerdargia festival was a first for the Centripax Province, and indeed for the dwarfen race, and Coulter Minith planned on winning quite a few events for the honour of his race and his minor clan. Therefore in the interest of training for the drinking contest, Coulter Minith entered the Blackbeard's Ale and Sports Club to drink a round or two of good old fashion dwarfen ale.

[Firebird]

"yey, I'm up for a pint or two, the real drinking should be done here later after dinner. The Malachite Inn is the best place in town to eat. Got steaks as big as yer arm. Big sucker's. But for a pint nothin's as good as here. Colin was proud of the new Zerdargia and the role Dargis had played in helping resurrect the city.

The city here, we helped Zerdargian clans rebuild it. Lots of our stone was put up here. Dargis has never been open before, that is until 5 eras ago and the king was killed. Some of us kindo like being able to come here. Though there are a lot of old fashioned dwarves whose mad, fethin' mad over it. Yeah, they want to lock us up again. Now me, I don't mind new ideas, but its gonna get bad if somethin' doesn't happen soon. Lots of thing's, lots of things gon' on."

Colin shook his head, being a young dwarf he would love to explore the world and Coulter might be his ticket out. "So what's the world like, cept for the undead is there great sights, palaces, great wonders? Ye uv seen them all, tell me some thing's you seen."

[Coulter Minith]

Having only ever travelled once outside the borders of the Enamoira and Centripax Province of the than Aelyrian Empire, and in that cause fought an army of undead warriors, Coulter Minith didn’t know, or even begin to believe, that he was the right candidate to give tourist advice to anyone; let alone a young dwarf in the sun for the first time. However considering that the dwarf in question asking for advice had only recently ‘seen the light’ the young black-bearded dwarf could disappoint him.

Therefore knowing that his friend had only ever seen the inside of a mining tunnel for the majority of his life, Coulter Minith began speaking of the average wonders he had seen during his travels throughout the lands of his forefathers. ‘Well mee friend aye seen a few sights during mee travels through our ancient kingdom lands from beautiful crafted buildings build by our forefathers many moons ago to simple things like a sunset descending behind our great mountains...but ye know what the greatest wonderment of me travels have been? Looking upon the ocean...’

Like many members of the dwarfen race, Coulter Minith found wide open stretches of water to be one of the most freighting, but amazing, sights to be found upon the surface world. In the depths of the mines a wide open stretch of water found by miners might two things to a dwarf: a quick death if they happened to tunnel above it and/or hard work to either go around it or restart the tunnel. Things seemed to be going along fine with his fellow dwarfs, and all thoughts of the Studdard brothers were complete gone from his bearded head; for the moment.

[Firebird]

"I heard of wonders from those whose clan used to live above, but now I guess we'll ayal be wonderin' if they let us go anywhere. We'd miss our clan too much anyway, can't think of leavin' though we may come here to Zerdargia now's we open. Not too many jobs here, tho' and them mines, well they pay okay and me's mates, the best mates, so ayl'll probably stay here. The Veldar Elite tho's wantin' recruits so's some of us thinkin' we'd join ..."

The young dwarf drank a bit without talkin'. "Ye, we don't have a king now, ye know. Wonderin' what's going to happen. Some's miss the king and the royal family. But no body's been able to bring the clans together. No, it's been hard to find someun that all the clans like, too much goin' on with Dargis bein' open or somethin'. The new kingdom hasn't come to find out what's what. They'll be thrustin' a thane on us if'n we don't choose soon."

[Coulter Minith]

It was true in any sense of the word, life nowadays was hard for the Children of Cetheron; probably this statement was true for every race during these troubling brightenings not just the dwarfen race. However Coulter Minith was a dwarf and could be forgiven for only thinking like the dwarf he was and therefore from a dwarfen point of understanding. Never the less hearing about the decreasing fortunes of the common dwarfs the young four-foot tall dwarf wished there was something he could do, some task he could perform that could help not only his new friend, but all the dwarfs of Dargis.

‘Troubling times…too many elves holding too much power…only the Great Creator knows what future awaits his children.’ Replied Coulter Minith to his brethren, his words filled with all the sorrow and troubles the young dwarfen male felt about the current fate of his breaded race. However there was only so much the young dwarfen laird could do, he was after all only one dwarf, a remarkable dwarf true, but still only one dwarf against a world filled with troubles and problems. No matter how much he wished he could, the young dwarf couldn’t be everywhere or do everything at once. Therefore, thought Coulter Minith, I will just have to face each task one at a time.

The latest task facing the dwarfen warrior in his quest for a peaceful life for not only himself but his race was to find out about the Studdard brothers and their connection to the disappearance of part of the Dolwood. Knowing that one of the four dwarfen brothers liked a drink, Coulter Minith would turn to Carl and ask this question. 'So this drinking hole we re going to any chance of meeting any of those Studdard boys…might need too have a word or two with them in the near future.’

It was true that the young black-bearded dwarf hadn’t planned on bringing up the subject of the Studdard brothers again this night, but things we moving along and questions that needed answering wouldn’t wait till morning.

[Firebird]

Colin was happy to be in the respected warrior's company, and so he spoke freely, "Well old Jiggs might show up but he's so mean and has trouble speaking, so I wouldn't talk to him. Evan is too prissy to come here, he prefers the Malachite Inn. We might run into him there. I hear'd though that Prince Milo is comin' to Dargis, Zer too. The state of the army is terrible. They's lost a lot in de Royal Guard. The Prince'll probably tell us to elect a king, but I don' know, the clans are squabblin' like somethun' fierce. Don' know what's agonna happe'n. I'd stay away from them Studdard's, they ain't nothin' but trouble, but maybe you could talk to the Prince, he might want an experienced dwarven warrior to kindof take charge. Ya'now that's a smashin' idear. You could run the army in Dargis."

Then young dwarf acted like a light bulb went off in his head. "Yea, you'd be great! Thems young dwarfs like me, man we'd join up if'n we had someone like you leadin' us!."

[Coulter Minith]

It always seemed to be the case that some words could act like triggers in the minds and memories of any race, but especially the long lived, and therefore long memories of the dwarfen race of Aelyrian. Acting like a bullet fired from the past, this was the case as young Colin started talking about the military and the current state of the Dargis Royal Guard. These few simple meaningless words acted like a trigger in the mind of Coulter Minith, memories long forgotten, and perhaps suppressed by the black-bearded dwarf resurfaced of the young dwarf’s own time and experiences after joining the Daltina Militia and before the horrors of the Siege of Malice.

Alongside the more dark and terrible memories of the Siege of Malice were countless tenfold more memories of the happy and easy comradeship one can only feel in the present of fellow soldiers. This feeling came from the knowledge that no matter the evil you could, and probably will face you wouldn’t be facing it alone but alongside fellow warriors who would always be there. Fondest of all these memories were the quiet memories of sitting around with his fellow squad mates naturally getting drunk and discussion how to right all the wrong of this world bother past and present. Such memories were now five eras old and Coulter Minith had matured and grown during this time and now known that the only way to truly change this world was by the sword.

However such thoughts of taken a sword and changing the world were for later after a dozen or so tankards of fine dwarfen old. Not wanting to upset his dwarfen friend Coulter Minith would reply with these words. ‘Hahaha…aye doubt the high and mighty Milo would talk too the like of ye and me. Aye mean who am aye, just a minor laird of a minor clan that seen some service in the militia. Not really all that important…it would be nice…Commander Minith.’ With these few simple words the imagination of the wintry grey coloured eyed dwarf kicked into overtime thinking about such a glories history and the honour such a position would hold.

[Firebird]

The two dwarfs stood there, staring into space in the dark, noisy tavern. Each were thinking their own thoughts, Coulter thoughts of glory and hardships of his life in Daltina's guard, and Colin musing on the revelation he had just had about Coulter. It would be possible, he thought. Maybe his own clan could propose Coulter as their new Commander of the Dargis Royal Guard. The most senior men had been unfortunately killed in action at the fall of Zerdargia and it was a shame to waste such a brilliant military career, when Coulter seemed that he liked the idea. Colin was going back and would talk to his father first, the under Laird of Clan Coppersmith. Their clan was still the largest and being the oldest clan of Dargis still carried enomous prestige, though though not still the wealthiest. He decided to ask Coulter to return with him to Dargis and introduce him to his father.

"Um, Coulter, um, Laird Minith, would ye come back to Dargis with me. I'd like you to meet me father. He and I had a fallin' out cause he wanted me to marry a girl in Clan Greyholme, and so I've been workin' for Studdard instead of my father's mine. I'm ready to go back. I've sewn me wild oats and am ready to settle, down. So I guess I'll marry underLaird Greyholme's daughter. Always thought she was kindof nice. She has strawberry blond hair, and nice figure for a dwarf. He might be able to help you meet the prince. Besides the Guard is mostly helping out the city guard, its name is the Redstone Regulars. We call them the "Reds".

[Coulter Minith]

The change of general attitude and behaviour of his dwarfen drinking buddy, most noticeable the use of his heredity title as Laird of Clan Minith, was instantly noticeable by Coulter Minith as this was the first time his friend had spoken so. Although having only known each other for a few brightenings, the black-bearded dwarf had believed, wrongly as events had shown, that he was getting to know his fellow Child of Cetheron quite well and that a firm friendship was in the process of being formed. However in a few short sentences this belief had been scattered with the knowledge that Colin Coppersmith was in fact the son, perhaps the only son for all Coulter Minith knew, of one of the most important and powerful dwarfs within Dargis.

This knowledge about the parentage of his newest friend, although important to some people, wouldn’t effect how the veteran of many fights would judge his bearded friend or for that matter change the four-foot tall dwarf’s plans for the night ahead. However what was somewhat troubling to Coulter Minith was the request for him to accompany Colin to Dargis and meet his father, under Laird of Clan Coppersmith. The problem wasn’t that he didn’t want to travel with his newest friend to Dargis, far from it, but the fact that there were still a number of issues the young dwarfen adventurer had to take care of before any plans of travelling back to Dargis could be made; most notable the issue of the disappearance of part of the Dolwood and how/where the brothers of Studdard were involved in it.

Therefore knowing all these issues both for going and staying, Coulter Minith would reply to Colin Coppersmith’s request with these words; spoken in his usual low rumbling voice. ‘Aye’ve a few things too take care of first…need to talk to these Studdard brothers and make a few other arrangement for the future…But aye, aye’ll travel with ye to Dargis and met ye father.’ It wasn’t really all the much trouble, or indeed takes all that much problem solving ability for the young four-foot tall dwarf to make his decision to travel back to Dargis with Colin. Already, Coulter Minith, had some idea, or more specifically an insight, that in order to solve the mystery of the Dolwood he would have to travel back to the compete darkness of the tunnels of Dargis, and therefore knowing this he might as well travel back with the support and hopefully friendship of the future laird of Clan Coppersmith.

‘So kinsmen ye round or mine?’

[Firebird]

Colin threw down a crown and loudly annouced, "Another fer me new friend, Laird Minith. After all he's gonna be a general some day!" Turning back to Coulter he said, "The funeral's tomorrow and I'll be goin' back 1st brightening of Craxtum, Spring. If ye're gonna hang around here through Melora, I'll see ye then. Where ye gonna be stayin'."

[Coulter Minith]

Fate, or destiny as some religious people would call it, was one of those unexplained supernatural influences that affected everyone and everything; or so Coulter Minith personal believed. Perhaps it had been fate or the unspoken will of one of the numerous gods that had caused the mine to collapse and to killed these dwarfen miners all for the propose of getting this particular black-bearded dwarf, sitting in this particular stool, talking to this particular dwarf. Who could tell what was just chance and what was the pre-ordained destiny of someone; certainly not Coulter Minith.

For the four-foot tall dwarf known as Coulter Minith, fate was something that he believed was unavoidable and therefore a waste of time worrying about it, as whatever was planned to happen was going to happen whatever the case. If it was the wintry greyed eyed dwarf’s fate to lead the fighting forces of Dargis through this troubling brightenings, than Coulter Minith wasn’t going to pull any beard hairs over it. Indeed it might be exciting to go back to the one job in which the young dwarfen warrior had seemed to be good at; being a soldier.

So deep where the thoughts and mind of Coulter Minith towards what the future could hold, that the Child of Cetheron nearly missed the question about his lodgings posed by his newest drinking buddy. Having to wait several moments for his mouth to catch up with his mind, the black-bearded dwarf would reply to the question with these words, spoken in his usual low rumbling voice. ‘Aye’ll be staying at the Templar of Steel’s Guildhall in toon…free broad and its easy enough to find if ye have need of me.’ With his reply given the mind and attention of the young dwarfen adventurer turned to his newly arrived tankard of dwarfen ale. Raising the creamy foamed topped tankard of ale to his hairy lips, Coulter Minith would drink deeply before releasing a very loud, ‘aaaa…good stuff this.’

[Firebird]

"Well, Coulter, me friend, I must be shovin' off to the wake and funeral. I'm hopin' I'll see ye here 1st day of Craxatum. Me Da's wagon will be here to take us back to Dargis. Fer now, I guess we should part company, if you've a mind to find yer bed tonigh'. We won't sleep until the deeds don' an' the lads are lowered to their last restin' place."

Colin turned to go, then turned around and smartly saluted Coulter. "Aey'll be proud to salute ye, Coulter Minith as me commander."

With that he walked out the door.