Drillohiem
Drillohiem walked the halls of the castle, his mind wondered as he looked about aimlessly. Drillohiems mind lingered on Grodak, he did not have his father's ability of true sight but even he could tell that a war raged inside Grodak, one he was losing. But what kind of war could cause Grodak, an orc that had conquered the curse of the casarn, to lose?
Drillohiem picked at his fathers memory's that were still fresh in his mind. As Grall drew his last breath, he had been able to part his knowledge and memories to Drillohiem, something he felt was odd and out of place for his father. Through Grall's memories, Drillohiem was able to see the torment Grall had endured and how it had affected his life.
Drillohiem could still feel the remnants of Grall's grief during his last moments. The feeling of being alone and isolated for one foolish action that saved many lives, and ended many more. Drillohiem thought about how he would have approached the situation and found himself doing much the same.
It may have been Drillohiem's elven half, or maybe the lessons that were drilled into his subconscious that made him agree with Grall's decision. In Grall's eyes, any unnecessary deaths were meaningless, so he kept to what he felt was right. As Drillohiem walked the halls, he found himself thinking about how it was wrong of the elders to abandon Grall for doing what his uncle was doing.
Drillohiem paused in his musing to look around, finding that he had entered a library of sorts. "Huh?" Drillohiem said, confused by his surroundings. "How did i get here?"
When no answer came, Drillohiem turned around and started for the door. A figure cloaked in black cloth stood blocking the doorway, causing Drillohiem to stumble in his step. Drillohiem eyed the figure for a moment until movement caught his eye. More figures draped in black fabric appeared, surrounding Drillohiem on all sides.
The figure that blocked the door was the one who spoke first. "Who sent you?" The gleam of white fangs shone through beneath the shadows.
Drillohiem stumbled back a half step, surprised he would meet this person so soon. "Fluffles?" He blurted out.
A growl came from beneath the hood as a warning. "Answer me before I slit your throat, halfling."
Fluffles
Fluffles watched the halfling as he wondered the halls of Whitewater. His movements seemed random, as if he had no particular location he was headed to. He would enter a room and quickly exit, never even lifting his head to look around.
As Fluffles watched the halfling wonder, he couldn't help but compare the resemblance he saw with his masters, Grall.
"I once had a child named Drillohiem..." Grall had once told him, his eyes lingered on Fluffles adopted goblin son. "But... I wouldn't have been the father that child deserved.... I gave him to an orphanage not long after he was born and when I returned to check up on him...." Grall looked away to hide his expression, his shoulders shook with what Fluffles could only conclude as anger.
He wasn't angry at Fluffles or the spies that were around them. He was angry at himself for losing his son. Fluffles reached out to try and comfort Grall, something he had tried to do several times, but just like all the times prior to this, Grall refused any comfort.
"We have a mission to finish." Grall said in a dry, emotionless voice.
Fluffles had his suspicions then that what Grall wanted to say but couldn't was the son he had tried to protect, had been killed. As a father himself, he could only imagine the pain Grall had gone through. Fluffles let the memories float in his mind for a bit while following the halfling, only to thrust them to the side when they entered the queens library.
Fluffles motioned for his men to fan out and surround the halfling. Once his men was in position, Fluffles took to guarding the door. In his experience, when someone became trapped, the one who is blocking his exit is the one who is attacked first.
The halfling turned around and peered into Fluffles hood, giving him the feeling that even in the shadows that enveloped him, this halfling could see him well.
"Who are you?" Fluffles asked as he lowered his head, hoping the hood would hide his features better.
"Fluffles?" Fluffles flinched, the voice that came from the halfling was so similar to his masters that he had to choke back tears and the urge to run to him.
Instead Fluffles growled, this was not his master. He knew not who this was, but if he claims to be Grall, he will tear his head off.
"I'll ask one more time," Fluffles could hear the anger in his voice and was relatively amused that this thing could cause him such feelings, "who are you?"
"M... my name is Drillohiem." The memories from before moved across his mind once more.
Drillohiem? If he is the son of Grall.... Fluffles could not let Xierma find out. She will order to have him killed immediately.
"What are you doing here, 'Drillohiem'?" Fluffles demanded, his voice now hinting to being on the verge of panic.
"I... I don't know." Drillohiem's voice came across as confused. "I was just wondering around, lost in thought, and ended up here."
Fluffles hissed, he dared not speak for he didn't trust his voice. Thankfully, Theo, one of his men, asked the next question before he could.
"Why are you in Whitewater castle, wondering around without an escort?" Theo's hand lingered on his swords handle, intent on drawing it if Drillohiem's answer didn't satisfy Fluffles.
"I... I am Drillohiem, son of.... of Grall...." Drillohiem seemed reluctant to speak at first, but once he mentioned Gralls name he hurried through the rest. "I came to speak with my uncle, Grodak, who gave me permission to wonder the castle in hopes to find my inheritance."
As Drillohiem mentioned Grall, Fluffles could see his men tense up. Their orders from Queen Xierma was to kill any and all that served Grall, especially any that claimed to be his children. Fluffles cursed under his breath, he couldn't believe that this boy was dumb enough to actually proclaim his relation to Grall.
Fluffles thought of all the situations he could save Gralls child and finally came to one conclusion. It wasn't far fetch, after all, they all knew how he revered Grall as his master. An out burst wouldn't be suspicious in the least.
Fluffles threw himself forward and lashed out, swinging his blade in a wide arch that even a child would be able to dodge, but would keep the others at bay. "You liar!" Fluffles shouted, feigning anger as he took another swing at Drillohiem.
Drillohiem easily dodged Fluffles attacks and escaped through the door behind him. He could hear the other men shout and start to give chase. Drillohiem quickly rushed into a close room, shutting and locking the door.
Footsteps came close to the door and paused for a moment. "What are you doing?" Fluffles muffled voice came through the door. "Check the rooms down the hall, I'll take this one. If you find him, do not kill him, I want the pleasure of doing that myself."
The way Fluffles spoke sent shivers down Drillohiem's spine as the footsteps began to move once more. Drillohiem started to look around, searching for anyway he could leave, only to find a window that was to small for even a child to squeeze through.
Cussing under his breath, Drillohiem moved behind the door, preparing himself for a fight. Click. The door swung open with ease. Drillohiem braced himself, ready to fight back against these men.
Fluffles stepped in, his hood falling to his shoulders, his mouth twisted in anger as he slammed the door behind him. As soon as the door shut, Fluffles face relaxed and he turned to Drillohiem.
"Is what you said true?" Fluffles asked in a quiet voice. "Are you really my masters son?"
Drillohiem stammered for a moment, not sure what to say. If he lied, he might be able to live, but he would bring shame upon his father for denying him, if he told the truth he would probably be killed where he stood. He knew what he should do and what he wanted to do. He was conflicted, he wanted to live, yet he could not bring any further shame to his father.
"Yes," Drillohiem said after a moment, "I am son of Grall, nephew to Lord Grodak."
Fluffles sighed and buried his face into his hands. "Okay," he said as he lifted his head, "attack me."
Drillohiem stared at Fluffles, perplexed by what he said. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me." Fluffles tossed his sword to the side, out of arms reach. "Attack me and make it look good."
"Why?"
"Don't ask questions," Fluffles hissed, "just do as I have told you to."
Drillohiem walked forward, thinking everything through. If he is able to over power Fluffles, the rest will leave him be, after all, he is the strongest of them all. He has taken out all the men who challenged him and they would be to scared to give chase.
Drillohiem understood what it was, Fluffles was trying to do and took advantage of it. Drillohiem's fist began to fly, beating on Fluffles and knocking him out. It was not an honorable battle and Fluffles knew it, but his father wasn't considered honorable to begin with, and so they would see Drillohiem as being dishonorable as will.
Leaving the unconscious Fluffles on the floor, Drillohiem escaped, leaving the castle and heading to where his father had left his inheritance.
Scarlet
A red haired woman and a long white dragon approached a small hut hidden in the trees. The hut was made of logs and looked to have two bedrooms at most. The woman and dragon approached the hut and she knocked. A redheaded man opened the door. He was taller than the woman and unlike her, who had vibrant green eyes, he had yellow eyes that seemed to light up as he saw her and the dragon.
"Scarlet.. " he said as he studied her. "We weren't expecting you back for a few more weeks."
He stepped aside and allowed the woman, he'd called Scarlet, and her dragon in. "I know, Aziel," She said as she entered and looked around. "We're going to be traveling further than usual to find work. So I wanted to stop by and drop off some money before then."
"Mommy! Mino!" A small boy with messy white-blonde hair and mismatched eyes ran out from the back room. He looked to be no older than eight and had a bright smile as he saw them. The dragon swirled around him, picking him up and rubbing his face against the child's affectionately.
Scarlet laughed, smiling brightly as she watched the giggling child. She sat her bag down in a nearby wooden chair as she approached, taking the small child from her dragon counterpart. "Hello, my love," she said, hugging the boy close. "Oh my! What is it Uncle Aziel is feeding you! You've gotten so big since last time!"
"He just doesn't stop growing," Aziel said with a small laugh from the worn table that had three chairs sitting around it. The forth chair rested in the corner, only a single leg was still attached. The furniture, like the small home itself, was old and soon needed to be replaced.
"I gots to eat a lot to be big and strong like Mino!" the boy exclaimed as he climbed onto the dragon's back. Scarlet laughed as she watched her child and dragon counterpart play.
"So where are you off to next?" Aziel asked, watching his sister pull out a bag of gold and silver.
"I plan to go West. Find more work as I go," Scarlet passed the bag to him. "I have to pass through the city of Whitewater. I'm hoping to pick up some more work as I go. It's one of the last cities left so I am hoping that it is able to provide me with enough money to sustain you both for a while." Scarlet was finding it more difficult to find work to support her son and brother. Since the incident with the orc named Grall, there have been less jobs. From what she'd heard, a job in Whitewater was her last hope of keeping her son safe with enough money to support him.
Drillohiem
The cold air hit Drillohiem's skin, sending chills up his spine as he trudged through the snow. If what his uncle, Grodak, had told him was true, they were not able to recover his fathers armor or weapons. Those alone were Drillohiem's inheritance. Grall wasn't what others may call a loving father but he at least cared about Drillohiem enough to not kill him.
Not that it did him any good, a week later the orphanage was burned to the ground and the villagers slaughtered. Drillohiem mused at Gralls feelings when he first found out his son, the one he had meant to kill but instead gave to an orphanage, was killed by his own actions. Up until Drillohiem received his father's memories, he had thought Grall hated him, but the grief he felt when he thought Drillohiem had been killed showed otherwise.
Drillohiem sighed, even in death his father affected the world. At least now, he can affect it in a positive way. Drillohiem paused a moment in the waist high snow and peered around.
"This is the spot." Drillohiem spoke quietly to himself as he rubbed his hands together. "His memories show that he left them here."
Drillohiem began to take a step forward but hit the hilt of a weapon that was buried in the snow. Cursing at his luck, Drillohiem pulled his frozen foot out of the snow and began to rub the quickly numbing appendages.
Once the soreness left, Drillohiem planted his foot once more in the snow and began to shuffle it around. He quickly discovered not only his fathers sword, Oathbreaker, but also the armor he wore. Drillohiem quickly put the armor on, the oricalchum, as Grodak called it, seemed unaffected by the cold and even felt warm to the touch, and strapped Oathbreaker to his waist.
Drillohiem attempted to search for Gralls other weapons but could not find them. With a sigh, Drillohiem turned back to the city of Whitewater. He did not want to return, but he owed it to his uncle the knowledge that he at least found his inheritance.