Thread: ᴏɴᴇ ʜᴏᴍᴇ ʟᴏsᴛ, ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴡᴏʀᴛʜ ғɪɢʜᴛɪɴɢ ғᴏʀ [ ɢᴇᴍ x ᴡᴏʟᴢᴇʀᴇx ]

The girl you knew...she's gone...You and the rest of you monsters already stole one home from me. You will not take another. Leave my family and myself in peace. When the small trinket fell into his hands, he nearly dropped it. It felt like she had dropped a piece of her fire into his hands instead of a cool piece of metal. Now, all he could do was watch as she turned and walked away from him, destroying everything from their past that might have meant something to the both of them. Pain like a knife stabbed through his core and he nearly staggered to the ground from it. But instead he stood there and watched as she turned to leave, and walked away. His breathing was labored even though his face didn't move a muscle, his eyes fixed on her retreating form as unfathomable sadness filled his normally penetrating gaze. Barely hearing her parting words, he waited until she turned the corner and dissapeared. Then he fell to his knees, his eyes falling to the necklace in his large hand. Balling his fist around it, he held it above his head and opened his mouth in a soundless roar of pain to the heavens. For the first time in his life, he wished he would just die. He barely slept that night. He ate nothing, but sat at his table staring at the necklace glimmering in the low candlelight. The ache still sat in his heart, as sharp as it had been when it first began. Memory after memory ran through his head and seemed to burn up, tinging all the happiness that he'd had stored up in them. Putting his head in his hands for the hundredth time that night, he groaned in pain as he wondered what the hell had just happened. After years of begging every god and goddess he could think of to see her one last time, it had turned out to be ash. Nothing. Just pain. But then again, what else did a monster like him deserve? She was right...everything that he was, everything in his blood was just something to hate. Destruction. Rage. Pain. War. Now since when did being miserable ever stop you? The thought came unbidden and unexpected to him and made him almost stop breathing. Frowning, he thought for a moment more. He had rarely ever been truly happy in his life, except for the times he was with Eli. So he knew what it felt like. He'd been relatively content the last few years without her, and even found a few joys in his work and the rare companion like the Millers. But he was no stranger to pain or unhappiness in the slightest. As far as he was concerned, they were his only friends that he had known longer than Eli. The thought brought a wry smile to his lips and a rough chuckle. How often had he vowed to keep her safe? To protect her from all harm, even if it cost him his life? For the first time that day, he smiled lightly as he remembered the first time he had verbally made that promise to her. She'd laughed. Oh how he missed that sound. Never, in all those vows, had he once added the caveat that she would need to continue caring for him to follow through with it. He had a duty to a friend, to...the love of his life. The fact that she had been through hell and was taking it out on him was something he couldn't help. It would hurt like nothing else before it, but he knew his duty. After all, she was ALIVE. He thought he would never see her again in this lifetime, but here she was, alive and well. Nothing good in life had ever come easy either. Sighing to himself, he stood up, determined to see this through. Even if she never wanted his friendship again, he would be there for her if she needed him. For now, he just had to keep doing what he did best stoically taking all the world could throw at him and throw it right back with more than it gave. Blowing out the candle on the table, he gently pocketed the necklace and went to bed. C'mon Korm, be reasonable! There's at least 20 extra gold pieces in here! And don't think I haven't noticed that that bastard Bart hasn't been around here anymore bothering Alice. Korm opened his mouth to protest, but the portly, balding man that stood before him interrupted before he could say a word. No, I know you had something to do with it. You can't do both you can't do my family favors AND overpay me for my merchandise. Korm let out a hearty laugh, an incredibly rare sound from him. Don't try and tell me what I can't do Miller, he chuckled, refusing to take back the bag of coins he'd given the man. You get the best ore this side of the Spinyback Mountains, and I pay you what they're worth, not what you ask for. Business has been good for me lately. In the gods names, will you please call me Marth, the shorter man sighed in reply. The father of the Miller family was well into his middle age, with only a crown of gray hair surrounding a shiny bald dome. He was stout, plump, and only 5'6 tall, which was made rather funny by the fact that his wife was a good two inches taller than him. He had a round, jolly face that was framed with a wide nose and a thick, gray goatee. No. Have a nice day Miller, Korm chuckled, turning and walking away with a bag of ore underneath his arm. Sighing to himself, the man turned around and walked back into his shop. His weekly meeting with Marth had considerably even during the brief exchange. Still...the second he turned the corner, the dull pangs returned to his aching heart. Sighing to himself resignedly, he simply shifted the heavy bag under his arm and kept heading down the streets, going back to his forge. He planned to keep his distance from Eli for a good while, realizing that trying to talk to her again too soon might make things worse. Fate, it seemed, had different ideas however. As he turned a corner, he suddenly found himself not 15 feet away from a scene that made him stop dead in his tracks. From his position behind a small vendors stall, he would have been relatively unobtrusive, but he could see everything happening in the middle of the street. The man who ran the show yesterday was standing with Eli and several of the other performers before four very intimidating men. Eli had just asked them a question, while the leader of the troupe seemed to be urging her back. The man at the forefront of the group opposite them smiled charmingly. He was very tall and looked incredibly strong, built something like an ox. But despite his huge build, he was wearing a nice set of clothes and had a pleasant expression on his face. The three men behind him were not nearly as large, but still looked like they could hold their own in a fight. They looked a bit more like a typical thug, but nonetheless had nice clothes on and neutral stances. Hello there miss, he said in a low, rich voice to the troupe. My friends call me Jack. I was just popping a business proposal to your esteemed employer here. You see, my own employer is a new businessman in town. He's looking to make connections and find some new contacts around town, and your show made quite the impression last night let me tell you. You lot seem to really know your stuff. And as such, my employer was hoping to enter into a business deal with your merry band. You see, my employer is a man of many talents and interests, and he's taken a great liking to this town. So, he was hoping to make you a generous offer for a small fee of just 50 gold a week, he'll make sure your business thrives beautifully in this place. It'll become a show spoken of in all parts of the country! he said grandly, with a wide flare of his hands. Korm nearly choked. 50 gold was a large sum, not an amount that a small troupe like that would simply invest in a business deal. This wasn't some philanthropist offering to help out a new small business, this was extortion. But who would these enforcers be working for? Korm had never seen them around before. as he would sure have remembered a group that was that well dressed. Quickly scanning them, he realized that all of them were armed with knives hidden in their belts, while a couple were carrying small clubs as well. The leader of the troupe sputtered something in return, and Korm couldn't blame him. This was an impossible situation for him. Jack's grin turned from charming to malicious in an instant. Now now sir, I'd advise you take up my employer on his generous offer. After all, he'd love to do everything in his power to make sure your lovely girls here stay perfectly safe. That was all it took for Korm to see red. Few thugs would have dared be so brazen in broad daylight, and from the sultry sneers on the faces of the other men, he doubted their business arrangement was intended to stay at just cash exchanges. For a moment, he hesitated, knowing that Eli probably wouldn't be happy to see him. But then he remembered that this was much bigger than that. Gritting his teeth, he set the bag of ore down and strode out into the middle of the street. From his position he was coming from the right hand side of the group, in full view of both of them. Both the leader of the troupe and the man named Jack turned as he walked over to them. Jack looked totally surprised for a moment, but he quickly covered it up with an annoyed smile. Hello there sir, what can I do for you? he asked smoothly. Krom strode up until he was no more than an arm's length away from Jack. The two men stood eye to eye, and were fairly equal in build. Jack was a little larger, his shoulders broad and a slight gut to his frame. He probably had the power of a draft horse in his big body. Korm on the other hand, had shoulders just as broad, but was a bit leaner with more apparent muscle. Both men had the natural grace of a fighter despite their size, and neither one looked ready to back down as they faced off. You can help me by going back to your 'employer' with your tail between your legs and tell him this is a bad place to do his business, he growled. His icy blue eyes were boring holes into Jack, his big arms hanging loosely at his side. Jack crossed his equally massive arms in front of his chest, his smile turning into a sneer. Move along half-breed. I've heard about you already. Don't think you'll dust us as easily as you do the other thugs you've roughed up. Why don't you stick to picking on men a bit smaller than you? Korm sighed and rolled his eyes up to the sky. I'm going to take it that's a no? he said slowly, still looking upward as if he were searching the sky. Yes, sir, that would be a-OOF! Jack's eyes nearly popped out of his head at the speed at which Korm moved. Korm, on the other hand, nearly yelled in pain as his fist connected with the large man's unbelievably tough head. As it was, Jack went reeling and Korm had to ready himself as the four other men howled in surprise and rushed him.