Running Shadows: Rebellion in Numenor

Pantalimon looked around her, despite the voices. She could tell most were the citizens and soon she was used to the amount of people. "Hm, it does not smell good here." she commented after passing a series of make shift houses. "I'm glad I don't live here...." she trailed off as they passed the town square and a strange structure. It seemed to a kind of stage under a wooden beem, rotting as if it's purprose had become obsolete. Something about it made Pan pause. But after staring for alittle too long and being bumped into by a few towns people she shook off her curiosity and ran to catch up with Alice.

 

The cry of "Dragon!" was echoed by the other citizens. To most level-headed people, a Dragon that was flying away was not a big problem, but to a city of Dragon-hunters any Dragon was a big problem. The commotion started up. People gathered weapons of all kinds; the Dragon-hunters retrieved their personal weapons; and one of the Dragon-hunters ran to fetch Goldwin.

"Father, what should we do with him?" the daughter of the man who'd shouted the first warning was outside now and asking her father's advice.

"Take him inside -- gently, mind you -- it can only be that the Dragon had captured this poor lad for a snack, but he was lucky to get away." the man answered.

The girl just nodded in response to her father. She wasn't a very muscular girl, or very old for that matter, but she was just strong enough to lift Atreyu into her arms and stumble with him into her home.

 

Goldwin tried her best to compose herself and sit highly in her chair as one of her guards announced the emissary coming into the throne room:

"Mi'lady Goldwin of Numenor, this is Robyn of Moraning to see you."

She smiled when she saw Trys position himself next to her chair, close enough to touch, his hands folded neatly across his stomach, easily in reach of all of his weapons.

Goldwin looked at the man in front of her; he was older, probably twice her twenty or so summers, and dressed in elaborate courtly attire of solid black velvet except for the blood-red crest of Moraning printed on his chest.

"Mi'lord Robyn," Goldwin began in greeting, nodding her head respectfully in the man's direction as he reached the foot of the small staircase leading up to the thrones.

"Lady Goldwin," the emissary began, bowing slightly. "I was expecting your parents... are they not the rulers of this... country?"

Goldwin clenched her teeth, biting her tone back to something formal as she replied: "I'm sorry, sir, but both my parents are still ill and in bed. They were unable to speak with you, but I am here to help you with whatever you have to say."

Robyn nodded curtly, though he did not seem pleased. "The Lord of Moraning wishes to pass the word on that several men of yours have been reported in our capitol city conducting some... unlawful procedures."

"What on earth could you mean?" Goldwin asked evenly. She could feel Trys tense next to her at the lie as well.

"Since you're an... adult, Lady Goldwin," Robyn began suddenly, eyeing her carefully, "I'll be blunt with you; we do not appreciate your land sending spies into our cities to cause trouble and try to brew up false lies about unjust ruling from our Lord."

"Sir, I can assure you-" Goldwin began.

"I don't need the reassurance of a princess, with all due respect, Mi'lady," the emissary cut in smoothly. "The bottom line of my message and my visit is to let you know that the men you've sent are being or have been dealt with properly; you'd best inform their families that they will not be coming home. The Lord is willing to look over this issue to a certain extent."

"And how is that?" Goldwin inquired through gritted teeth, her fists clenched.

"Our Lord Michael has decided to not punish your country any further for these issues besides raises your taxes again... by ten percent."

"That's insane!" Goldwin snapped, unable to sit still and proper anymore. She sprang out of her chair, grasping the hilt of her sword. "With the way things already are we've given you enough money to last you well through the coming winter, whereas we'll probably starve! Ten percent more and our farmers will die and trade will bring in no profit whatsoever!"

"Mi'lady-" Trys began, putting a hand on her shoulder to calm her down and keep her still. The Moraning emissary seemed undeterred.

"Would you like me to relay those words to my Lord, Lady Goldwin?" Robyn said smoothly. Goldwin noticed he had made no change or reaction to her change of temperament.

Goldwin sighed and sat back down in her mother's throne. "No, sir," she said quietly, biting the inside of her lower lip to settle herself. "Please know that your message have been received and understood; that's all your Lord Michael needs to know. If you wish to stay in Numenor and rest before your return journey you may stay here in the castle; rooms have been prepared for you."

"We will see," the emissary replied indifferently. "I think I'll walk around the city first... see how things are going."

"Suit yourself," Goldwin muttered, and stood to walk as swiftly as possible out of the throne room before she completely lost her temper. Trys followed her quickly.

Gabriel gave the Lord a stiff bow, unhappy with the smell of blood that was coming off his cloak. It didn't matter, though; with the money he'd get, he could buy another, nicer wool coat that could keep him warm in the coming winter.

"Thank you, Mi'lord," he replied smoothly. "A poor excuse of a country from the north sending spies down here frankly bugs the hell out of me... he deserved to die, especially since he denied us the information we needed to rightfully prove him a traitor to your crown and bring Numenor down where it belongs."

He didn't mean half the words he said, but had to try his best to make them seem genuine in his current situation, especially with the Lord's mind-reading abilities; lying was a trick he'd mastered well, but in here he had to try very hard to be as convincing as possible, even in his head.

 

"Lady Goldwin!" A Dragon-hunter, Boromir ((yes, I just did that)), came bursting through the doors to see Goldwin. He was breathing heavily from the run and all the commotion outside. He'd had to push his way past serveral people, but he was one of the top Dragon-hunters and mere people would not stand in his way.
"Lady Goldwin," He started again, when he caught his breath. "There's a Dragon.... A Dragon just outside. It had a boy in its claws, but dropped him. The Dragon had retreated, but the people are frenzied. We need you."

 

Goldwin stopped her quick stride out of the throne room, Trys beside her still. She stared at the man, recognizing him immediately.

"Where?" she asked, turning and heading toward the Dragonhunter. Trys put a hand out to stop her, though.

"You need to go relay the information you just learned to your parents, Mi'lady," he reminded her quietly.

Goldwin shook her head. "That can wait," she argued. "Now," she said, turning back to Boromir, "lead the way. Oh," she added. "You can come if you want, too, Trys."

 

"South, my lady," Boromir replied. "I suspect its heading for Stybba Lake. But there is no way to be sure. This Dragon, Lady Goldwin, it appeared to be --" He paused for a moment. "A Night Fury."

 

Goldwin cocked her head to the side, not sure if she'd heard the Hunter correctly. "Really, now?" she smiled as they left the castle at a fast pace. "That's odd." She'd trained against almost every breed of Dragon possible for the last ten years of her life, the battle domes along the edge of the city; Numenor had captured plenty of each species captured that they used for training purposes, but a Night Fury was something no one she knew had fought against.

"Perfect," she said now, giving Trys an excited look even as he eyed her nervously. "Just the thing I need to take my anger out on... did you say it almost killed someone in the city before flying away?"

 

"It had a boy in it's grip," Boromir told Goldwin. "He was dropped, but I'm not sure where he is now. I don't believe he was conscience when he hit the ground."


Atreyu woke to find himself inside somewhere, and on a bed or couch. He sat up and a wave of dizziness passed through him. When he tried to figure out what happened, it all came back to him. "Keiran..." he murmured.

"Who?"

Atreyu was startled by the voice, but he calmed when he saw it was a girl. She was holding a plate of bread and a glass of water; Atreyu assumed she was taking care of him for some reason. He didn't wait to find out what her name was or where he was or why she was being so kind as to help him.
"Thank you for your hospitality, but I have to go." He stood and found a painful spazim go through his left leg. He looked down but didn't see anything wrong with it, so he kept walking. Once outside, he saw and hear all the noise and nonesense that occured when a Dragon appeared -- and before an organized Dragonhunter party was sent out. Keiran came to the front of his mind instantly. He hobbled past everyone, and luckily a limping boy was not of much interest to all the people at the moment. It was all about how fast he could move now. He had to get to Keiran first.

 

Goldwin frowned, thinking. "I don't know much about that kind of Dragon to be honest," she replied. Trys walked in front of her now, clearing all the noisy, worried people out of the way that were crowding the streets when they heard the news. "Night Furies are almost beyond my level, but... if it killed a boy I'm going to find the damn thing and finish it myself. I can't have an emissary from Moraning here, the country that's supposed to be known for mastering and containing Dragons, and have a citizen killed on my watch. How much farther till we get where you saw it last?"

"I can fetch horses for us if they're needed," Trys commented over his shoulder. He knew that the sooner they took care of the situation and kept the rumors under control, the better.

 

Micheal titled his head as if he was complating something. When the brief moment of this ended he had a grin and chuckled slightly.

"Personally, I would of tortured him longer. Might of kept him alive... But people seem to prove more useful dead to me thanks to necromancy." As he spoke the guard returned with a friend that was helping him carry Gabriel's reward. "If you so wish you could stay here for the night, it's rather boring..." Whatever Micheal true intentions were was masked by his bored expression. He did have that emissary that should be coming back soon, but in the meantime he needed something to do. So test this Gabriel? He seems quite the interesting one...

 

Blade looked up at the sky and noticed what seemed to be a dragon passing by. He then noticed everybody around rushing to get weapons. whats going on? Blade thought to himself and noticed a man walking up to him but turned his attention back to the fleeing dragon

"you must be wondering what is going on here Blade" The man said with a smile

The moment the man said his name, Blade turned his attention to the man

"you must be wondering how I know your name, well your a pretty famous person. Numenor is a dragon-hunter's place. Its filled with Dragon hunters that well...kill dragons. That dragon that just passed by was called a Night Fury, a rare dragon" the man explained

"I see then. Well thanks for the information" Blade said as he began to walk away from the man

"I want you hire you to catch the dragon. I might not be able to beat it but you should. I will pay you a lot" The man said suddenly

Blade stopped and turned to the man "so this is what this was all about" Blade muttered. Blade and the man began to negotiate a deal. After coming up with a deal, Blade began to pursue the Dragon

 

"It could be some time before we find the beast's lair, Lady Goldwin," Boromi began. "I do agree that horses would be a good idea; they will speed the search."

Atreyu staggered through the bush that was off the trail. He knew where he was going, so it wouldn't take him long to get to Keiran's territory. The Dragon's lair was on the east side of the Widfara River. Atreyu hoped that he would be able to get to Keiran before anyone else. There was no doubt in his mind that others were coming after him.
From off to his left, Atreyu heard a territorial and defensive rumbling growl. He sighed, relieved, and smiled.
"It's me, Keiran," Atreyu assured the Night Fury. He sat down, glad to be off his hurting left leg, and was welcomed by an enthusiastic Keiran. The Dragon was obviously sorry for dropping the boy, and was perfectly pleased to see that Atreyu was back with him. Keiran curled around Atreyu and laid down, his tail in Atreyu's lap and his head on the ground next to Atreyu. A pleasant pur-like sound emmited from the sweet beast.
"It's alright, Keiran. You'll be okay." Atreyu laid his hand on Keiran's head. He laid back against the Night Fury, letting out a puff of air and closing his eyes. The steady rhythm of Keiran's breathing calmed Atreyu down. Maybe no one was following them after all.

 

Goldwin didn't need to say a word before Trys was running the opposite direction, toward the stables. She knew he'd be back within ten minutes with three of her favorite horses that they'd bought from some friends in Layoman.

"Boromir," she began. "Let me tell you something, since you're just a strong as I when it comes to these beasts... we have to do this as fast as possible, and there's only two options; kill the thing and stop the rumors, or run it so far away from hear that it'll never come back and then stop the rumors."

Gabriel felt a smirk rising on the corner of his mouth, but quelled the emotion quickly. "Staying would be very nice, Mi'lord," he began. "Though I must ask why you said boring; I'd think you of all people would be very busy."

 

"I doubt we'll be able to kill it," Boromi frowned. He'd never been up against a Night Fury, and knew little of them, so he didn't think there was much of a chance. "Killing it is the best thing we could do, but if we can't we must chase it as far away as we can. One hit from their fire and you get burned to a crisp. We can't have something so dangerous near here."

"You can't stay here," Atreyu murmured. "They'll hunt you down now that they've seen you. If they don't come now, they'll come later. Lady Goldwin won't stand for a Dragon like you roaming around. But she doesn't know you. You're not dangerous; you're kind."

 

After gaining permission to borrow a horse, Blade began to ride on the back of the horse towards where he saw the dragon go.He started examining the surrounding area as he rode for clues as to where the dragon could be. As he rode he sighed "this feels like a waste of time" Blade muttered

 

After a short while of walking Kain had reached a distance where he could see his former home. He headed closer towards the entrance of the castled off town. Obviously, under his armour his nerves where showing but since he was covered it was barely noticeable. Entering the town itself was easy, he simply followed in with the travellers and merchants. Now to find my house, he thought, plotting out the best route to avoid any Dragon Slayers who would recognise his blade. He went by the term Dragon Knight now as he was pacted and still had all the skills of a Dragon Slayer, but he dare not speak of it in this place.

 

Goldwin nodded swiftly. "Alright, then, we'll do as much as we can, as quietly as we can; that damn leech from Moraning is here... last thing we need is to give him more news to take back to his Lord."

"Mi'lady," Trys said suddenly, behind Goldwin now with their horses. He handed out their reigns and mounted his own horse. "Robyn is out around the city, so there's no doubt he's heard the rumors."

"Let's get moving, then," Goldwin grumbled, getting on her own horse and moving forward.

 

Boromir mounted his horse, a sleek bay, and followed Goldwin. The citizens watched them go, some murmuring wishes to go along and others mumbling disgruntled upsets that they weren't even invited. This was to be an important moment in Numenor's history. A Night Fury being hunted down. Would the hunters come back? Or would the Dragon best them?

The only response Atreyu got from Keiran was flick of his tail. Atreyu opened his eyes and sat up straight, asking, "What's that supposed to mean? You can't just kill them if they come after you. I know you could, but I'm not going to let you. Keiran, this just isn't right. If I could just get them to give you a chance--"
Keiran's wing folded over Atreyu, shutting him up. For now, the Dragon just wanted to lie there with his friend. He didn't want to worry about what was going to happen, just what was happening.

 

"I found you" said Blade said calmly as he finally reached Atreyu and Keiran. He walked up to them with his hands in his pockets and his huge swords strapped onto his back. He stopped walking when he finally reached them and looked at them with a calm and cool look

 

Goldwin let Boromir take the lead, still trying to compose herself. It had been weeks since she'd fought a Dragon; taking care of her parents and running the country instead of training like she usually preferred.

"Trys," she began when her man rode up next to her. "You'll help me, won't you? You'll make sure we can cover this up well enough that Moraning doesn't finally send soldiers up here to occupy the city."

"Not on my watch, Mi'lady," Trys said quietly, still looking ahead. "I'll always be at your back, just like always."