United for disparate reasons with unique goals, no two adventuring parties are ever precisely alike. This is one of the reasons different groups so seldom come to blows. We do not seek the same things, and thus we have collegial respect without the burden of competition. We have all chosen a life of danger, hardship, and adventure. We are, by any rational metric, a bit mad.
The Mythseekers were devoted to exploring the lost and forgotten areas of the world. There were those who considered us foolish and even those convinced we would awaken some ancient evil, but we were known for a relatively peaceful brand of adventuring. We sought treasures both material and intellectual.
The Redmarks were as far from this purpose as could be. This name is likely unfamiliar, even to those readers who fancy themselves scholars of my life. I never joined them, and we united only on a single quest, and this was by chance. Aside from that one time, my association with the Redmarks was entirely of that collegial variety. Though we sought different things and fought for different purposes, we understood the way of life of adventuring. Bonds of respect and friendship existed between each group even as membership shifted over the years.
The Mythseekers first met the Redmarks not long after casting the Iceheart's dread city into the abyss. We followed frozen creek to frozen stream to frozen river on the way out of the mountains, eventually finding ourselves in the northern reaches of Esmia, at a flyspeck on the map with the inappropriately grandiose name of Queenswall.
The four of us were half-frozen and ravenous. We were huddled in our winter cloaks, miserable after our trip through the mountains. As we approached the village at the edge of the foothills, little more than a mill and a few low buildings on the shores of a small lake, Velena put her hood over her head. "Esmia," she muttered, her face shrouded.
"Our sister is exiled from this place," Xeiliope said. "Perhaps we should go elsewhere."
"We're out of provisions," I reminded her, "and exhausted besides. I don't believe there
is
an elsewhere."
"And I don't think these people will be able to hurt us if they want," Alia said. "I see one watchtower. A bunch of millers and fishermen aren't going to try their luck against a full party of adventurers, no matter how tired and hungry we are."
"I agree," Velena said. "But I'm not going advertise."
Our goal was the inn. Built on the shore of the lake, complete with a small dock, it was the only two-story structure other than the mill. Smoke threaded out of its chimney. I led the way to the door, the prospect of real warmth putting some spring into my steps. I was scarcely thinking of the sex we were likely to enjoy in the room later, so intent was I on hot food and a fire.
I pushed the door open, stepping inside and sighing as the warmth of the fire caressed my face. Alia stepped in next to me, throwing her fur-lined hood back. Xeiliope was next, and Velena followed, lingering in the amazon's shadow.
The people inside all turned to see the newcomers. Most of those in the room were obviously villagers. Humans and halflings were scattered throughout, eating and drinking in groups of twos and threes. They dressed in simple, yet warm clothes of deerskin and fur. The men all sported beards, and everyone had hair that at least reached their shoulders. A single barmaid circulated through the room with trays of food and mugs of beer. She was a handsome woman, only a few years away from being fair, with a pretty, round face and a heavy bosom. A hearth blazed on one end, touching every corner of the room with its heat.
"Sit where you like," she called in an accent that was cousin to Velena's, with rounder vowels and rougher consonants.
Only one table, the one farthest from the door, stood out from the others. Four individuals sat around it. They were obviously adventurers, a group even more motley than my own. They wore their arms and armor with confident ease. They nodded as we recognized one another as walking the same path.
"Shall we say hello?" I asked, but Alia was already approaching them. I shrugged and followed, Xeiliope and Velena trailing us. The other adventurers watched us, sitting up a little straighter as though to give a good impression.
By the time I came to a stop, Alia was in the middle of introductions. The one closest to the door, who'd had his back to it, was a massive half-orc. His skin was a pale green, his eyes a deeper shade of the same color. His shaggy black hair was shaved along one side, revealing orcish tattoos running down his scalp and disappearing into his clothing. He wore several fetishes of bone and fur, and his clothing was a collection of hides and skins. Alone among them, he carried no weapon. His name was Cull Callen.
The man across from him was a red-bearded half-elf. His shoulder-length hair was brown, his eyes a pale lavender. He wore studded leather armor under a green cloak. He carried a golden bow, a full quiver next to him. A pair of hatchets hung from his belt. His features were sharp, his nose hawkish. He was Thrandlas the Red.
Next to Thrandlas, in the corner, was the woman I'd come to know as their leader. Her hair was silver, nearly shaved to the scalp everywhere but the top of her head, and that wasn't much longer. Despite her hair color, her features were youthful. Her left eye was a sapphire. The right one was hidden beneath a jeweled eyepatch, a scar running from her forehead, through the patch, and down her cheek. She wore tight leather armor in red and black, and anywhere she could conceivably hold a sheathed dagger, she was. They called her Razor Rose.
The last of the Redmarks sat across from Rose and next to Cull. She was plainly not human, her beautiful face covered in fine burgundy scales. She smiled with sharp teeth, and watched us with vertically-slitted eyes the color of fire. Her black hair was wild and long, spilling down to the middle of her back. She wore fine robes, more suited to a noble than an adventurer. A spear tipped in obsidian leaned against the wall by her. Though most will recognize her already, I shall name her: Allegeth ur-Udraeg.
"You look like snowdrifts," Rose said. "Sit down and let us buy the first round."
Gratefully, we sat. As the barmaid brought us warm ale--an acquired taste if ever there was one--we shared the stories of our recent victory and listened to theirs.
We learned that their group was called the Redmarks. While we went into unknown places, the Redmarks eliminated threats. Assassins, yes, but they took care in selecting targets. The world was never made a worse place thanks to the Redmarks slaying a target. They were on the trail of a half-giant warlord who had been massing the various tribes and gangs in the area into an army. Queenswall was the final stop before they struck out into the deep wilderness to the frozen lake where they believed the horde was gathering. We were on opposite ends of our quests.
"When you return," I said, "we'll buy the first round."
"I'll hold you to that," Allegeth said, baring her teeth in what I think she thought was a smile.
"Tell me something, witch. Why do you cover your face?" Cull asked.
"She's been exiled from Esmia," Alia supplied.
"Thank you, Alia," Velena said. To Cull she said, "I don't want to provoke the locals."
"They're barely Esmian," Rose said. "This place might be within the borders, but the Doge hasn't sent his phalanxes here in a hundred years."
"And if they come for you, witch, it will be through me," Cull rumbled.
"I appreciate your gallantry," Velena said, blushing prettily.
Our conversation returned to our adventures. Xeiliope was in the middle of talking about a storm I'd brewed in the depths of the necropolis. "I did not believe I would have ever seen the Iceheart afraid, but our wizard managed it," the amazon said, laughing.
"Storms, hmm?" Allegeth said. "I find fire more effective."
"I'm certain you do," I said.
"Would you stake your storm against my fire?" she asked. Her lip curled, showing off teeth suited to stripping meat from bone. A gift from her ancestor.
"What did you have in mind?"
"A simple challenge. Out over the lake. Entertain the people of Queenswall."
My youthful pride wouldn't let me refuse, and as the stew and the warmth had put some strength back in my limbs, I had no excuse. "As you wish, sorceress."
Her eyes blazed, her pupils narrowing to slits so tiny as to be nearly invisible. "Come."
Rose laughed. "Good luck, wizard." The way she said it made it sound like I was being marched to the gallows.
I followed Allegeth outside. Velena was at my shoulder, her pale eyes filled with concern. "Bel, you're exhausted."
"I feel much better now."
