Sword of Sacrifice

Dathdr eyed "James" suspiciously, and said, "Yes... I see no reason why we cannot talk, like civilized beings. I am Cluracan, and I have set out with my friend here to explore these lands. I'm sorry, he can be a little hot headed sometimes.

- -Barthathos- -

"Yes, I'm sure you are, Dathdr." Barth responded, not impressed by the elf's false name. "And that's quite alright, things are crazy all over, nowadays." He said, trying his best to remain polite.

"God I hate elves..." He thought.

His index finger twitched ever so slightly.

Dathdr eyed the man now, amazed he had seen through his disguise, and known his true name. Dathdr realized something, smiled, and said, "Greeting, forest killer and elf slayer Barthathos, to what do I owe this pleasure to?"

- -Barthathos- -

Barthathos licked his index knuckle and smiled, as he was prone to do when found out.

Meanwhile, Braavos continued to rant and rave. "Be silenced." Barthathos said, motioning towards the hysterical young man with his left hand. At once, Braavos fell into a trance-like state. Although still fully lucid, it was as if he had been hit with laughing gas ; his limbs felt heavy and he lost control of most of his muscles except his eyes, which darted back and forth violently. From fear or anger or a combination of both was uncertain.

"That's a bit harsh, don't you think?" Barthathos said, putting his hands in his pockets. "And if you must know, you owe this pleasure to your little friend over there." he added with a flick of his retinas at the disabled red head that was leaning bow-legged against Dathdr's arm.

Dathdr tensed, and said, "I do not mean to insult you, I am just greeting you by your accomplishments, O noble enslayer of humanity. Now, what qualms do you have with Braavos?"

"Enslaver...Feh..." He thought to himself with growing malignity.

"And I wouldn't call it a qualm, per se. More like a.... Study." He smiled awkwardly at that.

The elf was becoming amusing, if not nosy.

Dathdr smiled malevolently, and said, "Why, I did not know you were one with a learned background! Why, back in Fiodafralis, I graduated top of my class in Grade School! Let me assist you in your study of this man, noble learned dictator, that he can take a good amount of ale, is skilled with a blade, sharp of wit, and makes for a good Vase stand."

- -Barthathos- -

Barthathos frowned. His patience had been severely damaged by the elf's uncalled for remark. "I suppose I must overestimate my reputation if I am so casually insulted by people such as yourself." He replied, his fingers twitching again.

"My generous mood is drawing nigh, elf. Do not try my patience any more than you have already."

He smiled again.

"Now tell me, how is it you came to know our Braavos?" he asked, the silken warmth having returned to his voice.

Dathdr bowed, and said, "I am sorry If I have insulted you. I shall try to better myself in the future. And I have meet the acquaintance of this man here my meer chance, in the town square of Wessenridge, as I asked for directions. Soon after, we were forced into hiding after a small mishap with some of your most excellent armed forces, Lord Barthathos."

- -Barthathos- -

Barthathos knew when he was being insulted, indirectly or not, and he was not the type to be insulted. However, he wasn't about to start swinging his swords at such a reliable source of information. No, definitely not. Not yet.

"Hmm... Has he told you anything about himself? Personal things?" He asked, putting emphasis on the word personal.

Dathdr thought for a moment, and said, "No, not much. He said something about having over a dozen brothers, but other then that, we have either been drunk off our asses, unconscious, or fighting for our lives. Its a shame, really, that such a momentous occasion should be scarred by such tragedy."

- -Barthathos- -

"Nothing I didn't already know." Barthathos responded, feeling disappointed.

"Did he mention anything about his children? Anything at all?" he asked, hoping the elf wouldn't fail him in this category, at least.

Dathdr faltered for a moment, and said, "Kind sir, Braavos has mentioned no heirs. In Fact, he has not even mentioned a romantic fling, save a single bar maid. Pray tell, what would lead you to beleive this man would have children?"

- -Barthathos- -

"Useless..." Barthathos grumbled to himself.

"It appears I know more about your friend than even you, elf. Your usefulness to me has ended."

And with that, Barthathos was behind Dathdr, his blade drawn. The killing stroke had already been made.

"Good bye." the insane king muttered, and then he was gone in a flash of light.

A few seconds later, the blood erupted from Dathdr's side. He went down without a thought of what had happened.


Dathdr has 1 HP remaining

Dathdr fell to the ground, a pain and wetness in his side. Instead of panicking, or bargaining, Dathdr simply said thanks for all the kindness that has been given to him, a pox on the king, and prepared to meet his wife and friends in the afterlife, only to hear voices, a rush of activity, and a dry material being put on his wound. The pain subsided, and Dathdr blacked out.

- -Bisiteros- -

Bisiteros was really starting to regret bringing his little brother and Dathdr along. One minute there were boozing up a storm and vandalizing animals, the other second one was in a brainless stupor, and the other was cut within in inch of his life, both lying amongst a bush along the outskirts of a forest.

"You sure are some lucky bastards that one the scouts spotted your or you'd be dead right now." He said sternly to both Braavos and Dathdr the second they began to regain consciousness.

He sighed. Once again.

"Alright, the six of you are dismissed." He said to the group of mages that had been tirelessly casting healing magic over Dathdr's wounds for the past four hours.

"From now on, I'll not have the two of you wondering off unannounced. This is a fucking war we're trying to fight. Not some god damn field trip. We march on Fort McAlesworth within the hour, and I want you both good and ready." he said, perhaps to loudly.

With that, he turned and stormed out of the room. Despite how he appeared, he was really just glad the two hadn't been killed, but he feared for how long such outstanding luck would last...

Casting one last glance over his shoulders, he saw the two looking at each other, looking as if they weren't quite sure what to say...


HP restored to maximum

Dathdr awoke in a bare room, bandages wrapped around his side. Dathdr tried to sit up, but the pain was to much, and he settled for just propping his head up. Just a minute later, Bisiterios walked in and reprimanded them. Through all this, Dathdr remained silent, then noticed Braavos was in the room, and said, "Sir, with all due respect, I have just been stabbed in the gut protecting your brother, who was rendred immobile for a time by Barthathos. So, sod off for a little while."

And with that, Dathdr looked in his pack for a bottle of wine, and drank generously.

Author's note - The RP will no longer be divided by chapters. I find them to be pointless and time consuming.

- -Braavos- -

Slowly, control of his Braavos' muscles began to return to him. Sitting up in his bed, he took notice of Dathdr, who was drinking quite alot.

"How are we still alive?" He said to no one in particular. He had passed out halfway through Dathdr's encounter with the mad king.

"That's twice I've survived him..." he thought, remembering his slain brother.

"Are you alright, my friend?" He asked the elf.

Dathdr finished the bottle, dropped it, then tossed the other to Braavos. "I am... troubled, comrade. He was right there, the slayer of my poeple, of my homeland... and I could do nothing. I could just stand there and exchange pleasantries with him. And all he asked about was... You. I told him nothing, of course, but he mentioned a very curious thing. Something about a child... Bah! Just lies from his slandering mouth..."

- -Braavos- -

Braavos held a hand up to catch the bottle, but then he heard the last thing he had expected to hear.

"I told him nothing, of course, but he mentioned a very curious thing. Something about a child..." the elf said.

This shocked Braavos somewhat, causing him to miss the bottle, which hit him in the head.

"Gah!" he shouted, rubbing his head gingerly. Picking the bottle back up and uncorking it, he asked, "Who's child? And why did a murderous, sociopathic king deem it necessary to ask you about people's children?"

Dathdr looked at Braavos curiously, and said, "He was asking about yours... If you do not want to reveal anything about this, you have my word I will not pursue it uneless something like this happens again. But I swear upon the ashes of Fioldafralis I mentioned nothing about you or your family, save the amount of siblings you have."

- -Braavos- -

Braavos, who was in mid-drink, began choking. "How did he..." Was the only thing that went through his mind regarding the evil king.

Recovering from his near-drowning experience, a long silence ensued.

"I... Don't know how the bastard learned of it, nor do I know why he cares, but... If you're going to be in danger because of it, I suppose you have a right to know."

Braavos was silent for a few moments as he broke down every internal shield he had, preparing to talk about the one thing he had promised himself would always remain a secret.

"I, uh... I've been a tad dishonest with you about... One thing."

He nibbled on his lower lip before continuing.

"You remember that girl I told you about? The girl my brother set me up with when I was young? Her name was Kellen... She got pregnant."

Braavos was silent for awhile longer.

"I'm the father of twins. A boy and a girl..." His voice cracked slightly "I'm not like my father. I couldn't handle that as young as I was... So I... left. I send them enough money to get them through on a regular basis..."

He was silent again. He had to strain to keep the tears away.

"I don't even know their names..." He said in a voice barely over a whisper.

Silently, he got out of bed and began getting dressed.

Dathdr rose, ignoring the pain in his side, and said, "I will not pretend to know how painful this must be for you, Braavos. I was only with my wife for 50 years, not enough time for talk of children! But, you must follow what you believe is right. I will follow you, so long as you do not stray down the wrong path."

And with that, Dathdr opened a shelf, found a large bottle of brandy, and handed it to Braavos.

- -Braavos- -

"Hmm, I thank you, although I'm fairly certain I went down the wrong path a long time ago." He said, eagerly receiving the brandy.

Five minutes later, a knock came from the door and a muffled female voice interrupted them, "Sirs, the troops are gathering outside the northern gate."

Dathdr sighed from exhaustion, donned his armor, grabbed his pack, and waited for Braavos to set out.