Jonkar
06-03-2008, 07:48 PM
Year -2, day 20
Aim small, miss small
I suppose being one of the three leaders of this fine mercenary clan we gathered does have it’s advantage, despite all the workload. It got me this well spaced personal office, which I can somewhat call my own private place, while most of the others have to spend their lodgings with room mates. It allows me to safely store away trusted documents, such as these lying right in front of my on top of the desk, containing information about item and money storage. What I value most though, is that it allows me to securely store my book collection here.
While I was reading one of these books, which contained detailed and various information on Centaurs, a letter was shoved under my door. As curious as I am, it didn’t take me that long to put away my book and stride over towards the door to take the letter. My research would have to wait it seems, for this letter contained great importance. Here’s what it read:
Jonkar Sebatine
I need your skills. I have promised to have a merchant killed, however since he counts himself as a friend of mine I can barely go and kill him myself. He doesn't know you however.
He shall be travelling near our village very soon, I have included a map of his route so you can best plan what to do.
I have no doubt you will be successful, good luck my friend.
Chrystan Dalakarv
And with that, my day off ended. As I studied the map with the route the merchant would be travelling, I realised that he already started his journey about two hours ago, judging by the time it was now and the time he planned to leave (Included on the map). Thus, I put away the book I read earlier on the bookshelf, put the letter inside a drawer in my desk, gathered my bow and a full quiver of arrows, put on my green cloak and finally headed out of the door. My companions in this small base we managed to build over the past few months were all busy with their business. Some training, some relaxing and others attempting to make money with their crafts.
Strangely enough, many seemed to be gone though. It’s not uncommon to see some Red Blades away from site while not on a mission on personal business however, rarely was it so quiet. I couldn’t find Mr. Weller nor Serentor. Nor any of the other well known Red Blades for that matter. Ah well, it was Chrystan and Kahlan’s business now, as he had other things to do. After acquiring one of the horses from the stables, I started my journey.
On the way towards the merchant a few things kept crossing my mind though. If Chrystan so easily discards of people that regard him as friends, it would be smart to keep an eye no him. It could be possible this would’ve been a mission however I’ve never seen official records of it, which is curious at best.
After discarding those thoughts, I started picturing the map in my mind again. Killing a merchant was easy, most of the time. They were rarely capable of putting up a fighting chance against someone that was skilled with any weapon however the problem were often a merchant’s guards. Only foolish merchants travelled these lands without any signs of body guards, be it fellow clan members or mercenaries like us. I had no idea how many guards he had, it could range from 2 to 10. Ultimately it all depended on what he was transporting I suppose. No matter though. There were plenty of forested areas which provided me enough cover to snipe him down.
But then I realised that counting on the fact his guards were mindless goons, would be far too ignorant. We’ve had a couple of these escorting missions ourselves and we were no pushovers. If we were facing another mercenary clan, like the Mercenary Legion or the Fireblood Brotherhood for instance, they would be extremely aware of ambushes in forested areas and it would most likely result in failure or death. A new plan was needed but first I had to know what I was up against.
During all this thinking, I had arrived on the course of the Merchant. I hid my horse about 10 meters from the path in between some trees. By my calculations, he would arrive in about 20 minutes. I was wrong, he arrived only after a minute or five. It didn’t matter though, the sooner this would all be over I suppose. As they approached, I was sitting next to a tree waiting for him to pass by. I noticed his horse pulled a cart covered with a blanket, surrounded by five guards. I didn’t recognize any of them as members of a clan I knew, which was a good thing. Although, at the time I wasn’t wearing my own clan armor either, maybe the same counted for them. As they finally started passing me by, I started hailing him.
“Greetings. Transporting some valuables, sir?”, I said.
He replied quite agitated, as if he encountered more trouble on the way. “It’s no business of you, so stay out of it. Unless you’re here to rob me, are you?”
“Only of your life”, I heard myself thinking. My tongue spoke differently though. “I’m not but I’ve seen plenty of bandits up ahead so you might want to be careful. The bastards nearly managed to take me down as well and walk off with my fine armour and weapons.”
“Not again.. I’ve already lost three guards to two earlier attacks. Thanks for the heads up, I suppose. We’ll be careful.”, he replied somewhat relieved that I wasn’t part of “them”.
As he moved on, I noticed he started discussing something with his guards. It seemed my plan had worked and they became quite paranoid. Although, maybe they actually did have a reason to. Who knows, for all I know there are actually bandits out there. Either way, I returned to my horse and studied the map once again. For the first 5 miles, all they would cross was thick forest. They would surely move slower I thought, to increase their awareness. It gave me the perfect opening to set up an ambush elsewhere. Like the plains in which his path through the forest would lead. A strange place for an assassination, yes. But all the more better. They would think the same and their awareness would drop substantially, or at least I hoped.
After taking a different route, I emerged into said plains. I encountered some difficulties along the way which slowed me down as well but nothing disastrous. After finding my way back to the merchant’s path, I noticed he had yet to pass here. This is where I would make my move. A dirt path flanked by grass up to your thighs and a few trees scattered among the plains. And then I found the perfect spot to hide. Somewhat, at least. It was a small rocky formation which could give me enough cover to stay hidden from the distance it was from the road. However, at the same time it was such a long distance it would be very challenging for me to score a direct hit on his head. It was doable on smaller ranges but at this range I had trouble shooting a non-moving target.
Either way, there was no use complaining so I directed my horse there. After killing a pair of lions which prowled the area, I had the area all for myself. I started preparing my shot in advance, making sure I had enough time to calculate the wind direction and the distance of the shot. After a few minutes, the merchant and only four of his guards finally arrived in a somewhat faster paced then I thought. I didn’t count on this. They probably –did- encounter bandits which not only led to him losing a guard but led to him moving faster as well. That was certainly not good.
I had to make my move now. Only a few more meters and he was on the spot. I knocked up an arrow and attempted to get a perfect shot at him. Because of his constant fast paced moving, I couldn’t get a clear shot. I started breathing more heavily, getting nervous. I used my last trump card. I started getting into a trance like state, taught to me by one of my instructors in Old Manderian, which caused me to relax and remain calm. Then suddenly it happened. I remember the moment all too clear. My only thought was “Now” and I released the string without thinking. The arrow soared through the air, right on target and ultimately carrying death for the merchant. As his dying body fell from his panicking horse unto the ground, one of his guards checked on his status while the other three guards were preparing for an assault. It never came. By the time they finally dropped their guard and realised there would be no attack, I was long gone. Back on my way home while the remaining guards helped themselves to any valuables in the cart.
(( Basically this is a story I entered in my clan's writing contest, however I posted it here to see what Forumfall thinks about it. That being said, it's the first of my many stories to be included in Jonkar's journal (Either in-game or on a blog).
I hope you like it, feel free to post your comments/criticism! ))
Aim small, miss small
I suppose being one of the three leaders of this fine mercenary clan we gathered does have it’s advantage, despite all the workload. It got me this well spaced personal office, which I can somewhat call my own private place, while most of the others have to spend their lodgings with room mates. It allows me to safely store away trusted documents, such as these lying right in front of my on top of the desk, containing information about item and money storage. What I value most though, is that it allows me to securely store my book collection here.
While I was reading one of these books, which contained detailed and various information on Centaurs, a letter was shoved under my door. As curious as I am, it didn’t take me that long to put away my book and stride over towards the door to take the letter. My research would have to wait it seems, for this letter contained great importance. Here’s what it read:
Jonkar Sebatine
I need your skills. I have promised to have a merchant killed, however since he counts himself as a friend of mine I can barely go and kill him myself. He doesn't know you however.
He shall be travelling near our village very soon, I have included a map of his route so you can best plan what to do.
I have no doubt you will be successful, good luck my friend.
Chrystan Dalakarv
And with that, my day off ended. As I studied the map with the route the merchant would be travelling, I realised that he already started his journey about two hours ago, judging by the time it was now and the time he planned to leave (Included on the map). Thus, I put away the book I read earlier on the bookshelf, put the letter inside a drawer in my desk, gathered my bow and a full quiver of arrows, put on my green cloak and finally headed out of the door. My companions in this small base we managed to build over the past few months were all busy with their business. Some training, some relaxing and others attempting to make money with their crafts.
Strangely enough, many seemed to be gone though. It’s not uncommon to see some Red Blades away from site while not on a mission on personal business however, rarely was it so quiet. I couldn’t find Mr. Weller nor Serentor. Nor any of the other well known Red Blades for that matter. Ah well, it was Chrystan and Kahlan’s business now, as he had other things to do. After acquiring one of the horses from the stables, I started my journey.
On the way towards the merchant a few things kept crossing my mind though. If Chrystan so easily discards of people that regard him as friends, it would be smart to keep an eye no him. It could be possible this would’ve been a mission however I’ve never seen official records of it, which is curious at best.
After discarding those thoughts, I started picturing the map in my mind again. Killing a merchant was easy, most of the time. They were rarely capable of putting up a fighting chance against someone that was skilled with any weapon however the problem were often a merchant’s guards. Only foolish merchants travelled these lands without any signs of body guards, be it fellow clan members or mercenaries like us. I had no idea how many guards he had, it could range from 2 to 10. Ultimately it all depended on what he was transporting I suppose. No matter though. There were plenty of forested areas which provided me enough cover to snipe him down.
But then I realised that counting on the fact his guards were mindless goons, would be far too ignorant. We’ve had a couple of these escorting missions ourselves and we were no pushovers. If we were facing another mercenary clan, like the Mercenary Legion or the Fireblood Brotherhood for instance, they would be extremely aware of ambushes in forested areas and it would most likely result in failure or death. A new plan was needed but first I had to know what I was up against.
During all this thinking, I had arrived on the course of the Merchant. I hid my horse about 10 meters from the path in between some trees. By my calculations, he would arrive in about 20 minutes. I was wrong, he arrived only after a minute or five. It didn’t matter though, the sooner this would all be over I suppose. As they approached, I was sitting next to a tree waiting for him to pass by. I noticed his horse pulled a cart covered with a blanket, surrounded by five guards. I didn’t recognize any of them as members of a clan I knew, which was a good thing. Although, at the time I wasn’t wearing my own clan armor either, maybe the same counted for them. As they finally started passing me by, I started hailing him.
“Greetings. Transporting some valuables, sir?”, I said.
He replied quite agitated, as if he encountered more trouble on the way. “It’s no business of you, so stay out of it. Unless you’re here to rob me, are you?”
“Only of your life”, I heard myself thinking. My tongue spoke differently though. “I’m not but I’ve seen plenty of bandits up ahead so you might want to be careful. The bastards nearly managed to take me down as well and walk off with my fine armour and weapons.”
“Not again.. I’ve already lost three guards to two earlier attacks. Thanks for the heads up, I suppose. We’ll be careful.”, he replied somewhat relieved that I wasn’t part of “them”.
As he moved on, I noticed he started discussing something with his guards. It seemed my plan had worked and they became quite paranoid. Although, maybe they actually did have a reason to. Who knows, for all I know there are actually bandits out there. Either way, I returned to my horse and studied the map once again. For the first 5 miles, all they would cross was thick forest. They would surely move slower I thought, to increase their awareness. It gave me the perfect opening to set up an ambush elsewhere. Like the plains in which his path through the forest would lead. A strange place for an assassination, yes. But all the more better. They would think the same and their awareness would drop substantially, or at least I hoped.
After taking a different route, I emerged into said plains. I encountered some difficulties along the way which slowed me down as well but nothing disastrous. After finding my way back to the merchant’s path, I noticed he had yet to pass here. This is where I would make my move. A dirt path flanked by grass up to your thighs and a few trees scattered among the plains. And then I found the perfect spot to hide. Somewhat, at least. It was a small rocky formation which could give me enough cover to stay hidden from the distance it was from the road. However, at the same time it was such a long distance it would be very challenging for me to score a direct hit on his head. It was doable on smaller ranges but at this range I had trouble shooting a non-moving target.
Either way, there was no use complaining so I directed my horse there. After killing a pair of lions which prowled the area, I had the area all for myself. I started preparing my shot in advance, making sure I had enough time to calculate the wind direction and the distance of the shot. After a few minutes, the merchant and only four of his guards finally arrived in a somewhat faster paced then I thought. I didn’t count on this. They probably –did- encounter bandits which not only led to him losing a guard but led to him moving faster as well. That was certainly not good.
I had to make my move now. Only a few more meters and he was on the spot. I knocked up an arrow and attempted to get a perfect shot at him. Because of his constant fast paced moving, I couldn’t get a clear shot. I started breathing more heavily, getting nervous. I used my last trump card. I started getting into a trance like state, taught to me by one of my instructors in Old Manderian, which caused me to relax and remain calm. Then suddenly it happened. I remember the moment all too clear. My only thought was “Now” and I released the string without thinking. The arrow soared through the air, right on target and ultimately carrying death for the merchant. As his dying body fell from his panicking horse unto the ground, one of his guards checked on his status while the other three guards were preparing for an assault. It never came. By the time they finally dropped their guard and realised there would be no attack, I was long gone. Back on my way home while the remaining guards helped themselves to any valuables in the cart.
(( Basically this is a story I entered in my clan's writing contest, however I posted it here to see what Forumfall thinks about it. That being said, it's the first of my many stories to be included in Jonkar's journal (Either in-game or on a blog).
I hope you like it, feel free to post your comments/criticism! ))