A Province in Disarray

== Preface ==
The following is a chronicling of events in which Brunswick and his son Lupus ventured into the capital village of one of the outer provinces to re-establish order following the death of the regional governor. There, they would encounter the remnants of the local militia, who had come to loathe the crown in the aftermath of the governor's execution.
== Synopsis ==
A cold day in early autumn, the regent of Brunswickia, King Gregor Brunswick, ventured forth to a small village in an outer province of the kingdom. Bringing with him a detachment of the royal guard, the king sought to instate his son, Lupus Arcum, as a temporary governor until such time as the position could be filled more permanently.
When Lupus did finally make himself present - well into the afternoon - the King immediately set to work preparing him for his new responsibilities: Thanks to Abraxis, the province had fallen into economic disarray. In opposition to the laws set in place by the crown, Abraxis had allowed slave traders to come into the region and perform their business unimpeded. Brunswick and his men had been forced to execute the governor, as well as kill or scatter most of the local guardsmen who had aided him. With the region thrown into immediate disarray, it became difficult to manage the local populace appropriately. To make matters worse, a troll in the forests nearby had been seen capturing and killing guards and villagers alike.
Fate would smile upon them, however; as an old acquaintance of the king, one Nephelym Kuri, had found his travels reaching the very same village that day. Brunswick knew of Nephelym's strength and skill, and immediately seized upon an opportunity. The king was in no position to spare soldiers to deal with the troll or the slave traders on the fringes. Despite the fact that Nephelym Kuri had a penchant for collateral damage, Brunswick chose to trust him and his allies with the task of handling the troll. Given that Lupus, young and yet inexperienced as he was, was to take over governance of the province in the interim, Brunswick offered additional payment exclusively to Nephelym, should he agree to take Prince Lupus with him on the hunt. Kuri agreed, and was given three of the royal guard to assist and to ensure Lupus' protection. With that, Kuri and company left with the prince in tow. The king brought his remaining men on a short patrol of the village, during which time guardsman Smoofy gave the king a proper debriefing on the nature of the events involving the open slave trade and ultimately the execution of the former governor. Brunswick left the area shortly thereafter to handle other pressing affairs.
In the meantime, a small contingent of Abraxis' men, the remainder of the local militia, had received word from a scout that Lupus Arcum had been seen heading in the direction of the village. To them, Abraxis was a hero, and his actions were always for the betterment of the province. Even after his death, they remained loyal to him. Lupus' presence in the area was an opportunity: by cutting down the only heir to the throne, they would send a message to the crown, and get revenge for the death of Abraxis. Making their way through the village, the militiamen were able to ascertain the location of Lupus and the adventuring company he traveled with thanks to some rather talkative outsiders.
Further into the woods, Lupus, Nephelym, and the other adventurers were able to find the troll in short order near an old, decrepit watchtower. They slew it without any difficulty, due entirely to strength in numbers. Suspicions aroused in all present, but they would have no time to consider any of them, as they would then be approached by a number of unknown Knuckles soldiers. These men, clad in leather and armed with blades, appeared from the surrounding trees rather suddenly. Having been forewarned of possible survivors of the local militia, Nephelym and Lupus became guarded. The Knuckles claimed to be troll-hunting, but when the party acknowledged the troll as slain, the soldiers refused to leave. The king had offered Nephelym sixteen thousand gold for the troll, plus extra for Lupus' safety.
The soldiers offered forty thousand for them to hand over Lupus Arcum. Not a paltry sum in the slightest. Few could resist such a lucrative offer, especially those whose loyalty typically lay in coin. Nephelym, however, was not so easily convinced, and made a counter-offer: a swift kick to the chest of the negotiator. Battle ensued, and Lupus Arcum was rushed. The soldiers were skilled, but Nephelym's company were more so. They struck down the Knuckles one by one, and miraculously, Lupus and all present survived the encounter, little worse for wear.
Nephelym's party, at this point, split up to cover more ground, and ensure no more of Abraxis' loyalists were skulking about. It was back near the village proper that one member, Kazuki, would encounter more, however these men were not so interested in aggressively hunting down the king or his son. Led by their once-guard-captain, a middle-aged man named Elbrait, these men wanted one thing: to be free of what they believed to be the tyranny of King Brunswick. By their account, the king had come into town to remove the governor due to neglect of proper taxation: since there was no money to be made by the crown from the selling of serfs into enslavement, the king had Abraxis and his men disposed of. The soldiers that survived, upon return, had found their homes destroyed, their families gone, likely dead, and their very livelihoods thrown into the abyss...and they blamed King Brunswick.
Bickering erupted amongst the travelers about whether or not the loyalists were in the wrong, during which time the loyalists fled the scene and holed up in a warehouse on the other end of the village. They knew what would happen: the travelers would spread word of their presence, and of their ill-intent toward the King and Crown Prince. They would be hunted, and likely killed. If they could get even one man through, reach one blade or bolt to the regent or his son, they could send the message that even a common man, can kill a king.
A man, or perhaps a bear, could do it, surely. it was at this point that a peculiar creature, a bear possessed of some semblance of sentience, appeared before the loyalists and offered its aid. The forests where it had made its home had been cleared, cut down by the King's men to fuel their war engines, their palisades, their trebuchets, without a care for the homes they were destroying in the process. Abraxis' men were not about to turn down an ally, even one so unexpected. perhaps it would work in their favour. In no time, the bear had become a friend, fond of the loyalists, and they of it. One such soldier, Yanni, quickly developed a strong bond with the creature, and though it would prove to be short-lived, they would prove that even in the darkest of times, love and friendship can still bear fruit.
The adventurers began to file back into the village, and word spread quickly, as was expected, of the loyalists' 
whereabouts. Several would-be-heroes made their way towards the warehouse. Nephelym's son, Invad, was the first to hear out the loyalists, and found himself morally torn between his duty to his father's contract, and his feelings about the injustice wrought on these men and women. When Nephelym and his company appeared, so too did a wanderer named Malekai, who had heard the loyalists' tale, and believed them to be good men, merely led astray by their bloodlust. Malekai extended a hand of friendship to Elbrait, with the intent of keeping him and his friends safe and alive in the face of the growing adversity. Despite Nephelym's distrust of the men, his son Invad refused to blindly accept the possibility that the loyalists were evil. He was convinced something else was afoot, and that the men, or perhaps the King, were somehow pawns in a larger scheme. The division between the adventurers became greater as they became more restless, between those who wished to help the misfortunate militiamen, and those who wished to eliminate the open threat to the king and prince. Malekai, Invad, and a few others ultimately sided with Elbrait and the loyalists. Nephelym and the rest, sided with Lupus and the King.
The loyalists gave no quarter. They rushed through the front entrance of the warehouse, bursting through the 
adventurers, and some of the kingsguard, before they had a chance to process what was happening. Steel sang loudly as many present struggled momentarily to acclimate to the sudden shift in force. Elbrait, along with three of the militia, rushed the prince while the others held their ground against the adventurers. Blood, magic, and the sound of clashing steel filled the air as the two sides crashed against one another again and again.
Yet the might of these adventurers, with their esoteric ways, was not something the loyalists could withstand for long, and the kingsguard were better armed, better armoured, and better trained than the leather-clad militiamen could ever hope to be. They did not last long, and as the battle pressed on, they fell, one after another. A few of the men managed to break away and run for the governor's estate, hoping to find the king rather than the son. Elbrait, mortally wounded, was dragged to the edge of town. He was given one choice: he would be spared, in light of all that had transpired, and start a new life elsewhere, or die. Elbrait's loyalty could not be so easily tossed aside. He would not abandon his men here, and would perish on his own terms. In a last ditch-effort, the once-captain rushed Lupus just as his bonds were being released.
Elbrait fell that day, slain upon the prince's blade, his last thoughts said to be of his surviving men, and whether or not they would be safe in the end.
Back in the village, at the Governor's estate, having returned from his affairs, King Brunswick sought to follow up on the progress of his son and Nephelym's company. As misfortune would have it, he would arrive at the estate right as the fleeing loyalists made their way through the back entrance. Seeing their chance, Abraxis' men charged the king, his guards barely holding them back in the confined space. The adventurers, following in pursuit of the stragglers, came upon the skirmish, and stepped in immediately to tip the balance of the fight. When it was clear the loyalists could fight no longer, Brunswick called off his men. he was no tyrant, and knew what motivated these soldiers. Ordering his men to bring the detained loyalists upstairs, Brunswick paid Nephelym and the other adventurers for their services, and had them escort Lupus safely to the province's border. The King then personally confronted the surviving militia.
King Brunswick expressed his understanding of the men's plight. He knew they were not privy to the subtleties of politics, nor the consequences of actions which undermine the authority of the crown. He knew they'd spent much of their lives protecting this village, and thus, despite himself, Brunswick offered them ultimatum: he would spare their lives, and pardon them of all charges, including attempted regicide. The king explained that he had not killed Abraxis out of spite, but because the law is the law. "No lord, nor soldier, should escape it." he spoke. Brunswick offered to personally fund ventures for them to visit the nearby towns and settlements to visit their families, who had not been killed, but rather had been safely evacuated prior to the governor's execution. In exchange, he would ask only that they return to their posts, and guard this village and its people as they had always done, if not out of loyalty to the crown, then out of loyalty to their home. The knowledge that they'd been misled, and that their families were alive and safe, was enough for them.
Six loyalists survived that bloody day, and their names would be recorded in honour of their courage in the face of adversity, and their humility in the presence of the truth. They would continue to watch over the region, reunited with their loved ones, and would serve the people of Brunswickia for the remainder of their days. King Brunswick and his guards would return to the capital to begin the process of selecting a new governor, one ideally more trustworthy than the last.
Category:Events