Village In The Mountains

Two years has passed since Markus first joined the Lunar Wolves, over those two years he gained experience in their handlings; clientele protection, extortion, guard duties, small escort missions for lower priority clients. To him it felt quite bog standard work but the pay was good enough for him, about 200 silver pieces per completed job and 400 silver pieces bonus at the end of the month. Slowly he built himself into a country that he struggled to understand, but yet maintained faith that he could truly understand them at some point in the future, the language he had struggled to understand becoming clearer, the writing becoming natural. Life itself was returning to normality for him, the hatred that seethed in his blood stagnated for a while and gave him time to dwell on the present rather than the past.

During this time he familiarised himself with a blade, understanding its flow to it, the impact it wields and finally how to kill. The last part itself was something he hadn't resorted to yet but knew inside himself that he wouldn't hesitate to do so. One morning he arose to the sound of banging on his door, the sun shone through the window facing his bed, blinding him as he opened his eyes. Slowly he rose from its comfort while the banging got louder and faster, gathering himself on his two feet upon the smooth oak floor beneath his, he slowly opened ajar the door peering past its dark body to the eye of his comrade, Ulyk. His dark green iris glinted a little as the sun hit it while opening the door further. Markus in his bedwear let out a mighty yawn before seating himself back onto the bed.

Ulyk entered the room picking up some of Markus's gear and dropping them on the bed next to him, he seemed panicked or at least urgent. Though this was a familiar sight for Markus by now, Ulyk was known in the group as Ulyk the Paranoid. His hair was ashen white, it wasn't his natural colour as most noted to Markus it was something that came about due to unfortunate circumstances. Ulyk was captured and tortured by a Baron's son, he was released on conditions to never enter their territory ever again, it is something he has never spoken about in detail nor does anyone ask for the details either.

Ulyk after dropping everything on the bed next to Markus placed carefully a letter with the Lunar Wolves sigil in wax on it, on top of the clothes before making a hasty exit. Gathering his senses Markus picked up the letter and slowly snapped the wax seal in two. Flicking the letter open and beginning to carefully read what was inside.

Markus,

Our best currently have their hands full with some business that's been getting investigated over the past year or so. Meaning this task is up to you and whoever you're with.

You are to travel north into the mountains of Kileu in search of a dungeon that we've been contracted to locate and examine. It is said to be close to a small mountain village who reported it to their local lord. The lord's name is Baron Holen. Be careful around that one he's done some nasty things in the past.

Warning about dungeon exploration, be careful for traps, pitfalls, weak bridges and more recently necromancers and undead beings.

Good Luck,

Lope, Leader of the Lunar Wolves

Placing the letter back down on his pillows Markus got himself ready, before attaching his belt with his steel longsword and dagger in tow. They weren't intricate weapons made to look creative by a blacksmith, they were quite plain. The sword itself could be wielded with a singular hand or two perfectly fine, while the dagger could make it possible for him to close distance for a killing strike. The crossguard of the longsword was a pale grey like the blade itself and was plain, it was a bar about an inch in thickness that curved towards the blade slightly at its ends, the handle was leather bound and left enough room for the possibility of using both hands, and the pommel was much like the crossguard but rounded to a nice curve.

Exiting the room with his bag that carried his chainmail vest and coif, his silver and gold pieces and some food and water from his previous travel here. He slowly meandered down the wooden hallway of the inn and descended the stairs to a quiet morning where about 30 or so people sat at different tables enjoying their breakfasts. Far in the corner Ulyk lay with two plates in front of him, Markus moved through the room carefully before plonking his bag down beside his chair and sitting down to tuck into some porridge that had been laid out for him. The room itself lacked the smell of food, the porridge was unusual here as it gave off no smell, it made it difficult to eat it as it created an uneasy feeling within Markus. Yet he kept going before finishing off with a quick cup of water.

Ulyk stared at him as he ate, his eyes flickering from Markus to the room occasionally, his hands clasped tightly together under the table as he leg sat on a nerve and shook like nobody's business.

"What did the letter say?" He asked his eyes darting around quicker than before as he began to sweat a little at his collar line.

"We're heading north to a dungeon." Markus replied, taking a sip of water before placing it back on the table.

"A dungeon? Why us?" His leg stopped shaking but he was sweating far more now as he adjusted his collar a little to let some air through.

"All the rest of our good warriors are busy, so we're being sent." He'd wipe away the water from his mouth as he tapped his fingers on the table in front of them.

Ulyk twitched a little before getting up in a huff and marching out to the horses tied close to the inn. Markus slowly finished his breakfast before hoisting his bag over his shoulder and heading out to the horses with Ulyk. As he exited the inn he noticed Ulyk had saddled himself up and was strictly waiting for him, he sat upon a white mare, his black saddle hung over its sides with stirrups made from iron and leather. The horse's tail whipped around a little, getting startled by its owner as he lay waiting for Markus. Markus's horse was a brown and white stallion, it stood a little higher than the mare. Slowly Markus trudged through the mud to the horse and attached his bag to the saddle of his horse, before untying it from the fence and clambering onto its back.

Slowly the pair made their way along the muddy road and headed north towards the mountains that were the home of the dungeon. Day and night they travelled stopping at various camping spots and inns before finally arriving at the foot of the mountains. Their snow encrusted peaks lay out of the eye's view behind the clouds that swirled around them like foam in a whirlpool. Towards their base lay a post with a collective of signs on it, pointing in every direction it could, some down to the right, some the left, some from the road they just came but one pointed up, directly up.

The pair of them sort of stared at each other and looked back at the sign wondering if this was the place in the mountains. That was until Ulyk broke his silence.

"Don't make me go back there." He yelped, slowly turning to a whimper as he hid his face behind his hands, his horse whining beneath him as it sensed its master's worries.

"Go back?" Markus replied not understanding fully what he meant. He slowly moved over to Ulyk's horse to calm it down as it slowly began to rise on its rears as Ulyk trembled on its back.

"Don't make me!" He yelled again louder than last time, his body trembling as if he had been dunked into a pit of ice.

"We have to go though." Markus spoke softly to Ulyk trying to calm him down, his tone though came across as condescension to Ulyk's ears, as he shifted his sight around the landscape slowly twisting the reins to draw the horse around to walk the other way.

As Ulyk trotted away on the back of his horse Markus simply went forwards towards the mountain path that lay before him. It wound and weaved up the side of the mountain till it came to a plateau, where the village lay. It's houses were split down the middle, as some lay built inside the mountain, windows peeking with faint glimmers of candle light poking through, whilst the others out of the mountain were made with wood and thatch for roofing. In its center a small communal fire that burned day and night.

Demounting from his horse Markus slowly walked through the village, the light of day slowly going down as the moon began to rise slowly from behind the mountain, it's silver lick flashing briefly between two peaks before rising to its highest. As he walked through the village he noted there was no place to stay, so slowly he tied his horse to a post he hammered into the dirt, a makeshift fence of sorts in order to keep his horse with him during the night, placing down a quilt that would be used for his bedding and lighting a small fire from the sticks laying around and some thatch handed to him by some local kids.

Sleeping for the night Markus arose to a familiar sight on his travel, Ulyk had ventured to the village and had settled down across the fire pit from him, Markus lay in a confused state for a while as he began to rise from his quilt and covers, packing the covers up in his bag before venturing back into the village during the daylight. Walking around the village center he bumped into a few people who hesitated to talk to him, before one slowly pointed him towards the elders house. The house lay into the mountain side, the windows carved into the rocky face showed life inside as faint candle flickers described tiresome shadows on the walls.

Approaching the orange doors that they had, he slowly thought about what he would say to them as a greeting, hanging on "Hello." and "Hello there." his brain melted as he struggled to decide which would be best. Slowly scrunching his hand into a fist and knocking on the door gently. As he did the noise in the area seemed to disappear instantly, as if someone had told the world to be quiet. Slowly the door crept open and revealed two elderly women. They both looked Markus up and down before closing the door again, for a bit he stood just in case but then he finally cracked and knocked gently again, the same again as the pair opened the door and looked him up and down before closing the door again.

Ulyk finally arose and had started his venture over to Markus as he walked through the village he stared at the houses with familiarity and finally made it to Markus's shoulder, for a weird reason he felt uneasily calm for Markus's standards. Ulyk stepped forwards and knocked once really hard followed by a pattern of two knocks with a seconds' distance between them. Markus simply stared at Ulyk in confusion as the elderly women reopened the door looking at them both before letting them enter their home. Ulyk simply shrugged as he entered the Elder's home, the house itself deep into the mountain, the candles hung from the ceiling on iron bracers that slowly twisted with the slight wind entering the room. The elders continued walking deep into the mountain as they passed different rooms with locked doors before entering a room that continued to expand more and more with every step.

At its center sat two chairs, hewn from the mountain itself, encrusted with jewels found from within the mountain itself. They both sat side by side and ushered Markus and Ulyk forwards to two carpets laid on the stone floor before them. Both Markus and Ulyk knelt on the carpets as the elders began to speak, to what seemed like gibberish to Markus but slowly Ulyk replied.

Their language seemed to pronounce a's very long with some clicking afterwards, in fact most of it seemed to be that way and it alienated Markus who sat there again bewildered by what was going on around him. That was till they all stopped talking and Ulyk turned his head towards Markus.

"They ask what we are doing here so I told them about the dungeon. They responded to it by saying where it was." He simply stated his composure was kept and he looked to show no nerves about being there. To which Markus simply nodded as Ulyk began to continue.

"They also wish to ask if we need shelter for the time we are here." He stated again with a faint smile on his face.

"That would be nice, yes." Markus responded calmly, still unbeknownst to him, what this all really meant.

They went back to conversing with each other in their own language till Ulyk simply bowed his head and began to stand up, so Markus did too like a mimic. Ulyk said his final words and began to walk out so Markus followed, the pair now reaching the door and opening it to the cold but smooth fresh air of the plateau. They had been inside for hours supposedly as the village came to life with children and their parents going about their daily businesses. The sound was all back together, Markus slowly turning to Ulyk very uneasy about everything.

"The Elders are over a thousand years old, they can control everything on this plateau." He spoke softly trudging down the street, in the corner of his eye Markus spotted a new house had been carved into the mountain. It had not been there when they arrived nor when he slept outside.

He thought to himself "What great craftsman could carve it out that quickly?" but then realised what Ulyk had truly meant. The elders themselves are figures in history that have maintained peace on this plateau, explaining why it seemed so back in the past rather than updated with stone walls and better roofing over their heads. They felt safer knowing that the elders were watching over them all this whole time. The elders were technical gods of this plateau and the villagers were their followers, and as they approached their accommodation for their journey Markus felt a strange feeling as if he was being watched to which Ulyk responded sharply.

"Now that you're here, they'll be watching you closely." he said, grabbing the handle of the birch door in front of them firmly, swinging it open to an interior much like his home in Luik. The level of unease he felt dramatically increased as he ventured in, in all understanding he sort of expected somebody to be home. As he sat down on an oak chair he queried what was going on before slowly passing out where he sat.