Southern Realms

[Cuddly Khan]

[big]Dictionary:[/big]
1. Reconquista, The Reconquista (a Spanish and Portuguese word for "Reconquest" or "Recapturing") was a period of about 700 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula succeeded in retaking and repopulating the Iberian Peninsula from the Muslim Al-Andalus Province.

2. Vantah cycle, The Vantah cycle is a 9 day week period, much like we have 7 days in a week but with 2 extra days. There are also 28 hours each day and 40-42 days in a month


[big]Faction Information[/big]

Much like the actual medieval period, Calradia in is in a time of religious turmoil. The main religion is Aaralianism (pronounced Ah-rah-lee-an-ism), but this is split into the titanic, extremely powerful sects of the Varalites and Orinites, as well as the smaller Conirile church. Various tribal religions and pagan cults still exist, as well as the eastern religions which various countries beyond the Lands of Aarin follow and the old Cult of Nardan which is still commonly practiced across the Empire of Gorinia. The Southern Realms are the lands to the south of Calradia. Calradia is the centre of all trade and is well known around all of the factions that make up the southern realms. It is made up of six factions, but a long time ago there were only five factions, the Nords, the Swadians, the Vaegirs, the Khergit Khanate and the Rhodoks. Now the Kingdom of Alania has joined the lands of Calradia and has taken most of the Nordish settlements. But there is one more. The County of Zendar is a small faction at that and is only made up of one village and a city but it is probably the most important faction of Calradia. The stories behind these factions are:


[big]Calradia[/big]

The Kingdom of Nords
Their leader is King Ragnar. The Nords have a strong Viking culture. The Nords, pagans one and all, don’t hold large chunks of western Calradia. They control the port of Wercheg, and their homelands in the far North, which form a solid power-base for them. In addition, they have a few isolated colonies across the coastlines of the Great Sea. They, usually, only use foot soldiers, in battle.


Kingdom of Swadia
Their leader is King Harlaus. Their basis is in the medieval German and French states. The Swadians occupy the centre of Calradia. The Swadians are a powerful faction, with good crossbowmen and cavalry as well as fairly strong infantry. The differences between the Swadians and Vaegirs are somewhat visual; while each have there own individual strengths (Vaegir Archers are much faster at firing than the Swadians Crossbowmen) there are also some weaknesses that balance this out.


Kingdom of Vaegirs
Their leader is King Yaroglek. The Vaegirs occupy Northwest of Calradia. With a Russian basis, their armies are quite balanced between tough footmen, reasonable knights, and very powerful archers which make them extremely hard to assault, and their claimant to the throne is Prince Valdym, the bastard. The Vaegirs aren't as powerful as the Swadians for heavy armour. However, many Vaegir troops carry axes or variants of axes (Such as the Voulge [The Voulge is a large blade consisting solely of a cutting edge, but in time voulges often had a 'pointed-top' blade for stabbing. Hooks are also incorporated into the back side of the blade]) and pack a massive punch, so en masse, Vaegirs are also quite hard to defeat in battle. Vaegir archers are also incredibly deadly as they fire a lot more frequently and a lot more experienced than Swadians or Rhodoks, so they take down troops like flies with blow torch.


Khergit Khanate
They are led by Sanjar Khan. The Khergit have been crusading in the east a lot and for that reason the Khergit have benefited from a large land expansion, turning them into a major Empire and one of the biggest powers in Calradia. The Khergit are based on the historical Mongols. They occupy a lot of land now, but it is quite sparsely populated and few new cities have been built. The Khergit do not really see religion as much other than a source of wealth from burning temples, and worship whatever gods they please. Their army is based entirely around cavalry, particularly Horse Archers, making them very powerful in open battle but weaker in sieges or forested terrain. They are also fairly good at defending castles. However, the Khergits lack of infantry and apparently light armor compared to other factions means that they are quite weak when besieging.


Kingdom of Rhodoks
Their leader is King Graveth. In the south-west of Calradia lie the cities, towns and villages of the Rhodoks, based on the medieval Swiss and Italians. Their armies rely on tough spear-armed infantry with large 'board shields' to beat back enemy attacks and stop cavalry charges while the crossbowmen shoot down the enemy's armoured troops. Rhodok troops bulk and strong compared with equivalent troops from other factions; they also wear more armour than most other soldiers of other factions, which means that they are harder to take down. The heavy infantry also have good armour and spears, which means they can do quite a bit of damage to other troops while remaining at a distance. The trouble is magnified in sieges, and even big armies will struggle against the crossbowmen.


Kingdom of Alania
Their leader is King Rufund. Alania is an important trade faction, holding Tihr and Sargoth as their main cities. Their forces have excellent longbow men and tough, diverse infantry, as well as a top tier of knights. Their leader, King Rufund, drove the Nord invaders out and rules from Sargoth, he took most of the Nordish settlements and used them for him self forcing them to the coast which they now retain. The Alanians have a good navy, based at Tihr, one of the coastal cities that they managed to take, and are just as dangerous on land. The Alanians are Orinites, and famous for their Crusading zeal, but rifts have begun to show between Rufund and the Elector Bishop, particularly over control of the small crusading states around far-off Irinalla and the Lands of Aarin.

Country of Zendar
Zendar hasn't been annexed because it's the mercenary capital of the WORLD. It's also so rich that it can build a faction of its own and still have enough money for an army; essentially if anyone attacks it Zendar will suddenly hire large mercenary armies at dirt-cheap prices to attack you at any moment. Basically, attack Zendar and they'll turn up at your base pointing out that the risk of a full-out attack was the worst you could have done. That said they're not immune to attack, and at the time of SR they are looking to expand their power beyond the merely financial; this leaves them more open than ever before to conquest.



[big]Southern and Eastern Realms[/big]

Note: There are a few more factions that I didn't get around to completing.

Empire of Gorinia
The Goriniae are led by Commander Varmuna. The Empire of Gorinia is very similar to the Roman Empire. The Goriniae are perhaps the most iconic faction in the Southern Realms, holding a vast empire in the south. Their main weakness is a general lack of long-range shooting, but they nevertheless have very tough troops. Their heavy cavalry are not on a par, perhaps, with Swadian Knights, but are still never to be underestimated, and their skirmishing auxiliary troops are quite effective in support. However, the real power of the Goriniae Imperial armies lies in the heavy infantryman. Equipped in chainmail, plate coats or even full plate, these combat monsters will advance in formation and proceed to turn all opponents into mincemeat unless either very badly outnumbered or faced with a very impressive opponent. The Gorinian frontier is very much a current one, hence the fact that the Goriniae have wooden forts along it (wooden so they can be demolished and moved in the future). Maris is a recent acquisition (prior to that it was briefly independent, although it's often been batted around between the Tenthalese looking for a handy seaport to the west and Lacontia in its more aggressive phases).


Republic of Geroia
The Geroians occupy the north of the Lacadonian peninsula. Their bustling merchant cities have led to an oligarchic republic of citizens from the biggest city-states creating a major regional power. Their troops are pike-armed, backed up by light lance-bearing cavalry. They have a more potent navy than land power, holding the major ports of Calamantia and Eulalia, but on both fronts they should not be overlooked. Their pretender to the throne is Count Helion, elder son of the last, deposed Count of Geroia (the younger son was Lezalit). The Geroians are very consciously Varalite, although this will never get between them and their coin purses.


Realm of Lexandia
Lexandia is something of an oddity; sheltered beneath its mountains, it is the only (nominally) Orinite faction south of the great mountains that is at all sizeable. It is thus religion that gives it its state; by leaving it alone the Goriniae (though nominally Varalite) can play the clever game of playing the Swadians and Alanians (always a game for a Crusader) off against the heretics of the south. It is also a great economic and naval powerhouse, and its navy (much stronger than the weak Gorin fleets) is valued by the Empire as a power balance to the strong Commagene fleets that can often threaten their merchant shipping. Finally, it is a major stopping point for Crusaders. Despite the fact that the Infidel is beyond Irinalla, Crusaders tend to prefer a longer southern route - with Leona as the last Orinite stop-off point - rather than the greater dangers of traversing the Khergit lands or the treacherous crossing of the great mountains. The Leonese will, of course, happily use their strong fleets to transport the Crusaders... for a price.


Duchy of Mallardia
Mallardia is probably a crusader state, founded as part of the reconquista [1] of the southern Gorin peninsula. The only thing they are famous for is having a surprisingly tough fleet of privateers; essentially an unpaid navy liable to prey on both enemies and merchants. The whole country is also kind of a running joke, as everything they have is named after a type of duck; Mallard for the state, Gadwall is their leader, Pochard is the castle and Teal their village. Mallardia's reason is less obvious due to that peninsula being unfinished; two other factions are planning to build a small settlement there as well. The long-fought and bitter wars between old rulers, new Empires, and invading Emirates mean that the peninsula is a constant shifting mass of cultures and warfare that the Goriniae tend to leave alone; the Mallardians are a convenient buffer and are often batted around as a minor ally between states. No power is likely to capture enough of the land there to threaten Gorinia, so the Empire leaves them be to go in search of richer and less ravaged targets for conquest.


Duchy of Rhonewar
Rhonewar has more of an independent history; even before the Gorin Empire expanded, the barbarians and woodsmen of this little area lived undisturbed as the "civilized" folk further south could not see the benefit in battling their way through the thick forests and rolling hills that lay in the shadow of the great mountains for no real prize. The Goriniae, too, ignored it at first; the discovery of rich copper deposits changed their attitude rather. A scholar from Rhodok was at that time in the region, also looking for wealth in the mountains and hoping to profit by leading the newcomers to good mines. However, impressed by the hardy folk he encountered, he found himself advising villages on how to defend themselves against the enslavement that would befall them if the enemy came. Eventually he - barely willingly - led a militia force against the Goriniae. His mastery of forest tactics led to total success, and while his foes were in disarray, he quickly took charge of building defenses, eventually culminating in Rhonewar's vast ducal castle. Crowned Duke by the villagers, the unwilling hero has become a figurehead and legend for the people of Rhonewar, who enjoy more freedom than serfs in most other countries.
So, onto why they haven't been annexed... Rhonewar has the most obvious reason; terrain. The Goriniae are masters of open field warfare; their maneuverable but well-armoured infantry and medium cavalry are more than a match for most "civilized" foes such as the Commagene or Geroian armies. In the woods and hills of Rhonewar, they have far more of a problem (an equivalent would be why the Romans never conquered Scotland).


County of Thuralia
Thuralia was originally a loyal part of a kingdom long since swallowed up by the advance of the Goriniae; a mercenary captain serving with the Goriniae took the relatively protected enclave for his own, building a strong castle to guard it from invasion. Although not originally exceptional at all, long years of beating back their powerful northern neighbor; they have bred a hardy, militarist and suspicious people adept as raiders and in demand as mercenaries. Thuralia's independence probably seems least reasonable, but is rooted in the turbulent formation of the country. The Goriniae essentially failed to realize how determined their former vassal was to keep hold of his land, and so twice sent small forces that were beaten back by the skilled command of the mercenary captain called Count Ialon the first. The repeated sight of aggressive enemy forces hardened the population against the attackers and led to a violently anti-Gorin sentiment that drives the nation to this day.

[Dimos]

seams nice. Will read that someday... Bravo for the try, you deserve it... I will start reading next day

[Cuddly Khan]

You'd better.

[big]Chapter 1: The Way It Was[/big]
Eastern Wall, Gorinia City, Empire of Gorinia

They were everywhere; even on the roofs and on the outside of the wall. It must have been a trap I thought to myself while running along the roof tops and dodging arrows from the archers on the roof. It seemed it was half the Gorinia army protecting their leader. The night was cold and there was a heavy fog so at least that made a difference to my chances of escape. But fog works both ways, they can't see you but you can't see them. I was on a mission to assassinate Commander Varmuna, who is the Gorinia Empire leader, but as soon as I got to the top of the castle the alarm was raised I was sure it wasn't me. So I started worrying about my father, uncle and my cousin who had come with me. I had to scale the castle to get to the top and when I got there I found two guards. So I took them out as fast and as quietly as I could with my daggers but before that I had to get through the streets and to do that I had to go around all the Gorinian patrols, some places I had to climb over the houses to avoid capture. It wasn't that hard after all my training.

My cousin didn't need to do anything; she just waited outside the walls at our hiding place. My father had to steal the Trade in the North from the royal library so we could get one more ally in our struggle, the Blood Khanate requested it in trade for their allegiance in the war, they are desperately low on trade-able goods so they need any help they can get, this book holds the key to all the safe trade routes to the north, we agreed to help them get back on their feet, my uncle had to free the son of the assassins guild master from the prison and, I don't know why but, I was left with the hardest job, kill the Gorinian leader.

When I got to the wall, I found that, there were two soldiers patrolling the along the ramparts. I was running as fast as I could arrows soaring over my head. I had half a second to get two knifes out of my hidden sheath and one second to throw them. One fell over the wall and the other fell over the other side and into the street. I got the rope, which I had used to climb up the castle, off my back, and lassoed it to one of the parapets and rappelled down and that only took three seconds. Doing all this in only four and a half seconds is what I did with those 6 years of learning in the Assassins Guild's Academy. And I, doing all of that, without being shot by an archer was just sheer luck.  When I got to the bottom of the wall I sprinted and zigzagged in no pattern at all so the archers had less of a chance at hitting me and as the soldiers patrolling on the outside of the wall rounded the base of the turret I was disappearing into the trees.

When I got ten meters into the pine trees I went in a different direction to the rendezvous point so I can make sure that I was not being followed by any of the soldiers. I ran for a while until I got to a good enough hiding place where I waited for ten minutes. When I didn't hear or see anything I continued to the rendezvous point. The way there was hard but I made it.

The rendezvous point was just an old, withered, gray elm tree. My father, my uncle, my cousin and I didn't know why there was an elm tree in the middle of a pine forest at the time but we just thought it was a good rendezvous point because it was easy to recognize. When I got there I hid behind a nettle bush and called four times as an owl and two times as a pigeon in two second intervals. When I heard the sound of four pigeons and two owls at three second intervals; my cousin Catriona and I came out of our hiding places at the same time.

She was hiding behind a wide pine tree about seventeen meters away. She was wearing greenish black leather pants that blended into the forest very well. She had black hair and pale skin from being in the dark for too many missions. Her shirt was plain black leather with dark green stripes through it. She was holding an arming dagger in her left hand and a delta dart in her right hand ready to throw. A delta dart is similar to a throwing knife but it is completely black and has a smaller blade and longer but thinner handle so it flies faster.

I walked over to the elm tree and as she lowered her weapons and she said. "Oh, Senith, it's you. I thought you were not going to come back. Where's father and uncle Theyin?"

"They said to meet here if anything goes wrong." I said with growing worry.

She started to look worried as she said "Well they did not come back h…DUCK!" She yelled

As soon as she yelled it I flung myself to the ground, as I was falling I heard a loud THUMP. After I landed on the ground I looked up to see a black arrow sticking out of the elm tree and one of soldiers, from a search part, that had somehow found us, behind me yelled "STOP RIGHT WHERE YA ARE!". Eight solders came out from behind of a sharp, prickly, thorn bush looking ready to kill. I jumped up and drew my combat knife in my left hand and my arming dagger in my right hand.

I could only see two archers but they did not look very experienced. They had very simple hunting bows but the arrows they used were most likely sharp, barbed arrows dipped in lethal poison. I looked to where Catriona stood. She looked ready for a fight and I knew we could not out run arrows, but two against 8 was too much, without it being a surprise attack we did not have a hope. The two archers were there main problem so if we take them first then we might have a chance.

Astonishingly Catriona had the same idea as me and but she was the first to react. As the soldiers started to come closer, one of the archers yelled "DROP THE WEAPO-AAHHH!" I looked again to see one of the archers had delta darts sticking out of his throats. They dropped to the ground gargling and blood streaming out of their mouths and down their chins. Too bad they had to see their death coming but that is the risk of joining the army and every recruit knows when they join up. The other soldiers yelled to see their friends on the ground dead. They must have been angry because they charged at full sprint yelling a war cry at the top of their lungs. We turned and ran the other way and the soldiers followed only a few feet behind.

About 37 meters away from where we had previously been we turned around and ran towards them. I ducked under one of their swords than stabbed him in the back of the neck with my arming knife. I must have hit the vane I wanted because blood was going everywhere. His death must have been almost instant. I turned around to duck another sword blow but this one had a shield and he rammed me back with it. Hmm I thought to my self Maybe this can be used to my advantage. He had another go at me with his sword so I ducked but that I rolled to me right to dodge the shield. And as I had thought he stumbled forward and I put my knife right between his ribs and into his heart before he could recover.

Catriona had killed two of the others but the other two ran off into the forest. Surprisingly that had been rather easy considering that they had outnumbered us two to eight. It was most likely the extended classes on Outnumbered Fighting, at the Assassins Academy, which Catriona and I took together.

Home and family was all I could think of at that moment. Where were my dad and uncle, what where they doing. All I wanted is to be back in Harlaushia, drilling and practicing for my next mission with my farther, feasting at the grand hall with all my friends, packing my travel pack for my next travel to my next mission and saddling and feeding my horse for the ride ahead. Little did I know that that those days would be far behind.

My father and uncle still had not shown up and I was getting very worried. Catriona started walking in the direction where we left the horses and said "We will have to leave. The two that ran will be back with one of the other search parties and when they get here we will not want to be here."

"But what about father and uncle Asem. What will they think if we are not here waiting for them if they arrive?" I ask, again with obvious worry in my tone. A part of me new they will not be coming back.

She stopped and turned around to look at me and said "They will think that we had gone back over the border and back to the guild and do the same." I could sense that she worried as much as me but tried hard not to show it.

"And if they do not come back at all! We need to go back for them." I said

"We cannot go back for them. They can take care of themselves."

"Oh really! Two against a couple thousand, they will be able to take on that many by themselves won't they" I said sarcastically.

"And you think two more are going to help, do you?"

"No! But at least it is better that nothing!"

She let out a big sigh and said "Alright, but we had better hurry. We need to be back to Harluashia by the second day of the Vantah cycle [2] at noon. That is 11 days to get all the way back to Harluashia"

"Then why are we arguing we should already be on our way back" I said as I started walking back to the city.

"Do you have a plan. How are you going to get in for starters."

"Well… I do not know." I said

"They will not be expecting us to come back so soon so at least there will not be as many guards because they will be helping with the search. It will be safer if we enter by the west wall because they last saw you jumping over the east wall. Than we can contact our operatives in town to find out what happened to them."

"OK. That's good with me; we had better go before the other two show up with their other friends"

Right than we had been north-east of the city so we had to creep around the north side to the west. We avoided the numerous patrols, by climbing the trees and hiding behind ferns and other small plants, with ease and made it there in ten minutes.

When we got there it was quiet; too quite. No birds. No wind. The trees were as still as steel. Almost as if every one in the world had just disappeared to nowhere.

"Where do you think the search parties went to" I asked Catriona.

"Shh. I got a bad feeling about this." She said in a hushed whisper.

"I don't like it when you get a bad feeling. They seem to always be right." I whispered back.

It felt like we were being watched. And I wasn't wrong. Two arrows flew past so close to my head that I could feel it rushing past so fast not even a cheater could out run it. I was so lucky that they were a bad shot. A little more to the right and I would have had an arrow sticking out of the side of my head.

I spun around to see where they had come from to see two archers firing strait at me. This time I was sure they would hit if I didn't move. So I dived out of the way as fast as I could and land on the ground with a thump.

Catriona was running away in the direction of the city. I don't know why but if it were me I would be going the other way. Soldiers were running out of the bush. I didn't stay to see how many but I could hear there feat on the ground and it sounded like a lot.
I ran in the same direction as Catriona had gone. I could only just see her but she was starting to disappear in between the trees. I could run faster than she could so I caught up fast enough.

When I caught up, Catriona was puffing and panting almost out of breath. Long distance running wasn't much her thing. She said       
"Most of them are probably wearing armor so we'll lose them in no time"

"Are you sure that you won't run out of breath by than" I asked her starting to get I little tired too.

"No" she simply answered.
We didn't go entirely in a strait line. We headed a little more to the South-West to the tower next from the one at the corner.



There had to be lookouts on the battlements watching for us so when we got to the tree line we crept from small boulders to stumps to a dark shadowy ditch that we crawled in all the way to the wall where we found a grate covering a small hole in the wall which through we could see the streets and the bottom of the houses.

"We could fit through, there can't we" I said to Catriona as I tried to shake the bars to see how sturdy they were.

"Yeah, I suppose so but how do we get through the bars" She asked.

I started to get a leather pouch from my belt "I brought some of that powder that the traders brought to us from the university in the far north. That might w-." I whispered.

"No" She interrupted "It'll be too loud and the guards on the wall will hear and come to see what it was" she whispered “They will catch us".

"Not if we are not here when they arrive and what have we got to lose" I said.

"We have got every thing to. Well I guess might work"

"OK than stand back." I said.

She started to crawl back the other way though the ditch. I opened the pouch and put it out in the ground in between two of the bars. I got a long piece of string out of another pouch to use as a fuse, put one end of the string into the top of the pouch full of powder, held onto the other end and started to crawl backwards along the ditch.

I ran into Catriona and she whispered "Watch where you are going".

"Sorry" I whispered back.

I got a tinder box out of another pouch and struck it with the piece of tinder up against the string once. No, that did not work. So I struck it again and got a few sparks but none of them caught on the string. The third strike worked and the string caught and started a small flame moving up the string like a small fire beetle.

"Move back more; this is going to be a big one" I said looking back at her.

And sure enough it was. A shard of one of the iron bars flew right at me and grazed me on the cheek. I almost yelled out in pain. Trying to keep it in all that came out was a half yelp half gasp.

"Are you alright" Catriona asked.

"Yes" I lied.

It was a big cut and I would have to get it stitched up later. There was smoke everywhere and pieces of stone all over the ground. I had made a bigger hole than I had meant to, not to mention a bigger noise. My ears were ringing so badly but I did not mind. I had to go in through the gap I had made, and fast, before the guards came down to see what the big noise was.

"Go!" She said in a half whisper half yell.

I got up and ran to the hole I had made in the wall. I crawled through easy enough and looked left and right and saw guards coming from both directions. I got up and ran towards the houses. I went into an alleyway between two houses one was two stories high and the other was three. I thought Catriona was right behind me all the way but as I looked back she was only just coming through the hole in the wall. She got up and sprinted to me. I heard a shout and yell as the guards saw her running.

When she got to where I was standing in the shadow of the alleyway I asked "What took you so long"

"My shirt go caught on a bush" she replied "We had better get going"

We turned around towards the dark alleyway and ran. I did not know if the guards were chasing but I ran as fast as I could anyway. We were turning left and right. I was following Catriona though the dark alleyways; she knew where the operatives were.     
They were, apparently, in some deep dark forgotten courtyard in the heart of the city.



We arrived behind the old church a little while after we had crawled through the big gap I had made in the wall. It was out of use and the windows and doors were all boarded up to keep looters out. Out at the front of the church was an old tree in the middle of an old town square it looked dead and gray from where I was standing but it could have been a trick of the light. The cobblestones in the courtyard and at the back of the church were all cracked and the houses were all boarded up as well. Crows were nesting on the church roof and the cross that had been on the steeple had fallen off and was lying on the ground next to us in a million pieces. There was an empty window frame under the steeple where there, most likely, was a stained glass window.

We stepped over the cross and walked over to an old door in the church that had not been boarded up like the rest. Catriona knocked 3 times loudly and 4 times soft.

From inside a voice asked "How is Harlaushia".

And Catriona answered "Harlaushia lives".

And the person on the inside said "And strives; Come on in".

I heard bolts and latches open on the inside and for a second there was silence than the door swung open and standing in the door was a big tall and very strong, judging by the big muscles. His hair was very dark brown and came up to his neck. He was dressed in mostly black and brown. He had one blue eye and one green eye.

"Catriona, it is been a long time!" He exclaimed and through his big arms around her.

"Hello Gavinus, it has has not It." she said as they withdrew from each others embrace. It seemed that they had known each other for a long time. I remember Catriona being with the underground for a while but I did not know where or when. At least I know where.

"Who is this" He said jerking a finger at me with a frown on his face.

"That is my cousin; Senith"

"Aha. Alright, well ya coming in?" He said stepping aside to let us in.

Catriona went into the door first than me and than, after closing and locking the door, Gavinus. There was someone else sitting on an old chair in a corner.

"Markol, can you watch the door for me?" Gavinus said.

"I guess" said the man on the chair.

Gavinus moved ahead of us to lead the way. It was dark on the inside and there were spider webs and dust everywhere.
We walked down a narrow hallway to a massive hall in church with the altar and the rows and rows of chairs in. We followed Gavinus over to the altar and he taped it three times on the top. The top started to slide away from us. I jumped back and nearly bumped into Catriona.

"Gave ya a scare there, did it?" Gavinus asked with a big grin on his face. It was more like a statement. I was so jumpy for some reason. Catriona tried not to smile but it was too obvious to hide. I felt very embarrassed for being scared. The last time I got like this it saved my life and those of 13 others including Catriona and my father. I almost always can sense an ambush when before it comes.

"I will go first" I said as if proving that I was not scared.

Down through the opening in the altar I saw the bottom, it was only eight meters down and I could see light from numerous lamps. The bottom was dirt and rock. There was a ladder on the side leading down to the bottom worn by constant use.

"Well. Are you going?" Catriona said with a huge grin, obviously amused by me being scared

I nodded and took a deep breath.

I stepped over the edge and put my foot on the ladder. I started to climb down the ladder and noticed that on the far wall that I was facing was a torch hanging on the wall, a dead end. When I got to the bottom I turned around to see a wooden wall ten meters away blocking the tunnel. In the middle of the wall was a door.

[Dimos]

Nice story. This was like the beggining, right? Those Harlausians are always ''living hidden'' , like ancient Greek Stoics... Assasin dudes...

[Cuddly Khan]

yes. It's the beginning and there is an assassin guild in Harlausia Town in the mod as well.