Suddenly the tavern doors swung open and Mathyas swaggered a few steps into the tavern as the doors slammed in the faces of two soldiers behind him. He was now wearing the attire of the Elmshade guard that was given to him by Raven. He came to a stop behind the door to survey his surroundings before clearing his throat. He flashed a toothy grin and addressed the tavern, waving to anyone who had taken notice of him.

 

"Good day everyone!!!"

 

He then began to move again before his two friends following him nearly pushed him down on his face with the door. He began to stride towards the tavern as the two embarrassed soldiers entered, now in the attire of the Elmshade Guard as well, and followed slowly behind him, rolling their eyes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mathyas takes note of the lady eyeing her curiously, as a soft smile plays upon his lips. Not being able to take a hint that this may have been a joke or a prank, due to the almost hyena-like laughter emanating from the two women accompanying the lady. He looks over to his friends. Three of them...Three of us....Good...There shall be no fighting over who leaves empty-handed at least.

 

He rises, collecting his drink and his thoughts. He looks over to his two companions, already halfway through their ales. He sighs to himself. and clears his throat to gain their attention. He sits back down quickly and speaks to them under his breath.

 

"Gentleman...Could you please show a little restraint....These drinks were given to us by a lady....No doubt she is observing us right now...And I don't want her to think we're a bunch of barbarians. We're gentlemen....No...Noblemen dammit....And we have to behave as such. Now come on....I'm going to go show her my thanks....You could at least do the same."

 

He once again rises, followed by Jacob, who begins muttering under his breath about taking the blunt end of his blade to the back of the Captain's head, and Thomas, who is gingerly trying to calm the young soldier down.

 

Soon enough the three ladies find at their table the three men whom the drinks were sent to. Mathyas takes a sip of the ale and gives a smile in the direction of Silvara , as if to approve of the drink (and of her just in case she was interested in him already), before setting it down on the table.

 

"Well....I believe it is the three of you pretty ladies....Or this one pretty lady alone..." He says, looking at Silvara, "That we have to thank for these delicious beverages with which to quench our thirsts....Being the Elmshade Guard is certainly a lot more work than anyone within our ranks at first made it out to be....And of course it works up quite a thirst as you could believe."

 

He winks at Silvara and bows to the three ladies, as do Thomas and Jacob behind him.

 

"If you would please allow me to introduce myself ladies....I am Captain Mathyas Steele....Formerly of the Norwood army...And the current Captain of the Elmshade Guard. You may address me as Sir Mathyas....Lord Steele...Or if you wish...Simply Mathyas," he adds with another wink and smile. "And the gentlemen behind me are Sir Jacob Osborn and Sir Thomas Percy...Two of my companions...Also of the Elmshade Guard as you might imagine. They served with me in the Norwood army as well."

 

"Well...That's certainly enough about us isn't it? You probably bought us these drinks with the intention of starting up a conversation with us did you not?"

 

He picks up his cup and takes another sip.

 

"So why not tell us a little about yourselves mmm?"

 

 

Mathyas watches his friends as well as Silvara's friends depart with the women. He bids the ladies adieu and sighs as his men leave.

 

"They were supposed to stay for protection. You know...I'm sure there are more then a few who may want to take a few stabs at the new Captain....I hear some of the town members aren't pleased with the way I handle judgements on criminals. But I believe that such judgements should be handled with a level-head..Not with a quick sentance. But I am a skilled swordsman...I can take care of myself...And I want my men to have some fun."

 

He pauses and sighs.

 

"I'm going off on a tangent it seems," he chuckles. His good eye subtly sweeps down the length of her body, straying for more than a few moments along Silvara's legs before he returns to his senses and begins to speaking to the object of his interest for the night.

 

"I haven't asked any good questions mmm?" His eye returns from it's journey to look into Silvara's eyes flirtaciously as he begins to pour on his charm. "Well my dear...Interrogation has become an everyday routine in my life....I hope I shall be able to entertain you for a few hours with questions....Otherwise I may have to give the position up...After all....If all the women in the village are as hard to make an impression on as you....I may be too exhausted to ever catch a criminal."

 

He smiles and takes a sip of his ale. "I am curious to know what role an alluring creature such as yourself plays in this city. May I inquire upon what it is you do?"

 

He gently laughs and adds. "Or do you simply have a group of men in this village so deeply and hopelessly in love with you that you need not lift a finger at all?" 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mathyas simply nods to Silvara, taking note of her shoulders.

 

"I'll just have another ale thank you. I'll pay for this one...No need to trouble the lady any further when I'm already present and accounted for."

 

He watches her leave and then turns back to Silvara.

 

"Well...If what you say about your presence is true Madam....Mayhaps you need to get out more? The fair citizens are not all that bad. Maybe you could begin working on that army of male slaves hmmm?" He offers her a wink.

 

"If anything the offer to accompany me around the village some day lies on the table as of this moment madame."

The doors to the tavern opened and in stepped a gruff, dirty-looking man. The newcomer stood about 6'5 and wore a long full-length coat. Upon the man's back were two glistening swords with elaborately-designed handles.

Orion peered through the tavern, looking for the man he knew would probably be there. He spotted the captain of the guard, sitting with a woman, no less.

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me," Orion said to himself as he made his way towards the table.

Orion stopped just when Mathyas said he would buy his next drink.

"No, barkeep, allow me the pleasure of buying the captain of the guard a drink," Orion said. Orion moved to where Mathyas could see and gave him a slap on the shoulder.

"Moving up in the world, I see, Mathyas," Orion said. "Congratulations on your assignment. I hope you and your soldiers are all settled in now."

Orion nodded to the woman sitting at the table with Mathyas.

"Allow me to introduce myself, ma'am...my name is Orion Orestes, known as Ashanti (Angel of Death) to the undead," he said. "They do not wish to see me cross their paths because simply put, I remove the 'un' from their names."

The undead hunter ordered a bottle of whiskey and got a glass to pour the liquid into.

 

 

Mathyas smiles as Orion seats himself at the Captain's table. He chuckles softly as he loooks down at at his his apparel. "Yes, well I thank you for your congratulations as well as the drink Orion. We are as settled in as I suppose we are going to get. But it's a little tougher than I thought it would be...It seems that earnin the trust of the people may be more difficult than I first imagined. It's still up in the air as to what to do with the old Captain...Grant was found trying to steal from the Village...I plan to appeal to the mayor for his say in the matter...But I'm sure you've heard all this. It's good to see our paths cross again. I take it the ruins still occupy your attention then?" He turns back to Silvara. "Yes madame we know each other...We did some work together around Norwood."

Orion took a sip of his drink, listening to all Mathyas had to say about the Grant situation.

"Yes, Mathyas, you know me too well," Orion said in reply to Mathyas' statement about the ruins. "But I'm afraid I'm not the only one that has an interest in the ruins."

The undead hunter took another sip and tried to make himself look a little more presentable.

"I wish I had come back to Elmshade just to pay you my well-wishes on the promotion," Orion said. "But I'm afraid that I may bring bad news as well."

He looked at the table's other two occupants and his face showed the somberness of his news.

"Mathyas, if my reports are true, and I don't doubt them based on my own observations, the undead are on the move," Orion said. "There have been several skirmishes to the north and east of here. I don't know if it's the ruins or what, but I'm fairly sure that a massive army of undead will make its way to Elmshade."

Orion noticed the woman's uneasiness in her chair. He arose from his chair after putting away the rest of his drink.

"I am terribly sorry...I can see that you two were probably having a little relaxing time together," Orion said. "Mathyas, I could stop by the guardhouse at a more convienent time to discuss this further. But why don't you two enjoy the rest of the evening alone?"

Orion turns to go.

The captain nodded a farewell to his friend.

 

"This is quite unsettling news. We will talk about this in length soon my friend....For now, rest easy...This village is well guarded."

 

He looked to Silvara.

 

"You seem to be a bit uneasy m'lady....Is something wrong? I'm not making you uncomfortable am I?"