"Whatever became of......"

The Keg and Anchor tavern, Trinsic.
It's a quiet night..Only a handful of regular patrons populate the South-Trinsic bar at this hour. Two of such regulars sit in a corner, quietly drinking..

One man is tall, barrel-chested with a black beard, streaked prematurly with grey. The other man, small and inquisitive, a scholarly fellow who likes to chat over a mug of ale.

The scholar sips his drink.."Yes, Whatever became of that order..? i remember it briefly now...hmm.. just seemed to disappear, didn't it..?"

The black-bearded man looks up momentarily and shrugs, somberly. "There's more to it than that..Much more." He takes a long draught from his tankard, then begins...

"It all began to deteriorate when this fellow, Beltane, showed up. Great soldier at first, hell of a fighter. He just had a problem with orders...And the fact that he was taking orders from Do'Kora, a "runt" that was some ten years younger than him..well, that made him a little angry. I guess Beltane thought he should have been the High Paladin, the Herald of the Raven.
Eventually, a sort of schism arose, a split in the Legion of the Shattered Hand...There were those who listened to Andrew Do'Kora, those who stuck to the temples and kept quiet and low key. Then there were those who followed Beltane...They went on raids for the "Glory of Khellenduras," made a name for themselves up north in the foothills of Minoc. Yet, for some reason, they still obeyed Do'Kora if he brought his fist down.. guess they still recognized him as Khell's eyes and ears...

Over time, though, the rift grew.. Skirmishes sometimes broke out between the two sides, and eventually Beltane's "clan" took to making thier own outpost in the hills of Minoc. They called themselves "The Raven's Wing," the supposedly "true followers of Khell". Apparently Andrew's method of practicing the Faith was to quiet for thier liking."

The bearded man takes another long sip from his tankard, then continues..

"They let Andrew know, too. I dont think a week went by when the Old Temple didn't have to defend themselves from Beltane and his lot..Andrew did his best, kept his followers alive and always fended Beltane off.. He always stayed on the defensive.. always, except for that one night..

Do'Kora launched a counter-offensive against Beltane and his group..he took half of the men left in the Old Temple, went out to finish off the weakened party of Beltane..He thought he could take them..

Andrew didn't know that Beltane had made alliances with a band of frost trolls from the Dagger Mountains. Apparently, after raids on the Old Temple, Beltane's followers would rest up in thier caves, in exchange for some gold coin and the like..

Andrew and his men followed Beltane's trail right into the troll-caves..Andrew came back to the Temple, wounded, all men lost but three..

The following night, Beltane hit again...The Temple couldnt hold. Few of the Old Followers escaped with thier lives..
Andrew wasn't one of them.

I saw him..He could have made it out alive, could have escaped.. I should have known he wouldn't of left the temple."

The scholar speaks up at this point.." He was killed there then, hmm..?"

"Thats what i said, yes..He personally challenged Beltane. I watched Beltane unmount, draw his blade, and bow before Andrew. I saw Andrew bow in return..And barely dodge the blow from Beltane's broadsword..Beltane fought unfairly and he was a good deal larger than Andrew...But Do'kora..Do'Kora was fast. He moved like lightning, his sword finding the gaps in Beltane's armor...

But like i said..Beltane fought cheaply...At his call, Archers on top of the sacked Old Temple opened fire on Andrew. Do'Kora fell to his knees, five arrows in his body...I watched Beltane laugh at him and mock him..And i watched Andrew plunge his own blade into his abdomen with the last of his strength. I knew Andrew wouldnt give Beltane the satisfaction of killing him.."

The scholar, enthralled by the tale, clutching his mug, pipes up once more "What of Beltane? and what about Khell..? Where was he when all of this happened..?"

The bearded man shook his head. "Beltane met a quiet fate at the hands of Britannia's guards..Less than a month after Andrew's death, i heard his band was caught and tried for some murders near vesper. He was executed, and i suppose the rest of his followers just trailed off.. they never had faith the begin with.

As for Khell..No one really knows. Some think he may have died, been his own undoing with his delving into artifacts...Others think he ascended into another plane..Still others think he may be around yet, perhaps sleeping in wait or in another guise.."

The scholar gives one last comment..."Hmm..Interesting. Now, i can't help but ask..you said you saw Andrew Do'kora die.. You where there then? You fought in Andrew's Legion, i take it?"

The bearded man shook his head. "No, I was not a paladin of the Shattered Hand.." He finishes off his tankard and stands to leave.."I was the Guardsman of the Old Temple..Still am...Yet now all i guard are ruined artifacts and dusty tomes.. There are no Followers. I am the last...
When i die, the Order does as well.."

and with that, Vinson left the pub and headed towards the docks, towards his boat. He had a long night of sailing before him..Yet in the morning, he'll be on Dagger Isle, to tend to his duties, as he always has.

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> The Keg and Anchor tavern, Trinsic. > It's a quiet night..Only a handful of regular patrons populate the South-Trinsic bar at this hour. Two of such regulars sit in a corner, quietly drinking.. > One man is tall, barrel-chested with a black beard, streaked prematurly with grey. The other man, small and inquisitive, a scholarly fellow who likes to chat over a mug of ale. > The scholar sips his drink.."Yes, Whatever became of that order..? i remember it briefly now...hmm.. just seemed to disappear, didn't it..?" > The black-bearded man looks up momentarily and shrugs, somberly. "There's more to it than that..Much more." He takes a long draught from his tankard, then begins... > > "It all began to deteriorate when this fellow, Beltane, showed up. Great soldier at first, hell of a fighter. He just had a problem with orders...And the fact that he was taking orders from Do'Kora, a "runt" that was some ten years younger than him..well, that made him a little angry. I guess Beltane thought he should have been the High Paladin, the Herald of the Raven. > Eventually, a sort of schism arose, a split in the Legion of the Shattered Hand...There were those who listened to Andrew Do'Kora, those who stuck to the temples and kept quiet and low key. Then there were those who followed Beltane...They went on raids for the "Glory of Khellenduras," made a name for themselves up north in the foothills of Minoc. Yet, for some reason, they still obeyed Do'Kora if he brought his fist down.. guess they still recognized him as Khell's eyes and ears... > Over time, though, the rift grew.. Skirmishes sometimes broke out between the two sides, and eventually Beltane's "clan" took to making thier own outpost in the hills of Minoc. They called themselves "The Raven's Wing," the supposedly "true followers of Khell". Apparently Andrew's method of practicing the Faith was to quiet for thier liking." > > The bearded man takes another long sip from his tankard, then continues.. > "They let Andrew know, too. I dont think a week went by when the Old Temple didn't have to defend themselves from Beltane and his lot..Andrew did his best, kept his followers alive and always fended Beltane off.. He always stayed on the defensive.. always, except for that one night.. > Do'Kora launched a counter-offensive against Beltane and his group..he took half of the men left in the Old Temple, went out to finish off the weakened party of Beltane..He thought he could take them.. > Andrew didn't know that Beltane had made alliances with a band of frost trolls from the Dagger Mountains. Apparently, after raids on the Old Temple, Beltane's followers would rest up in thier caves, in exchange for some gold coin and the like.. > Andrew and his men followed Beltane's trail right into the troll-caves..Andrew came back to the Temple, wounded, all men lost but three.. > The following night, Beltane hit again...The Temple couldnt hold. Few of the Old Followers escaped with thier lives.. > Andrew wasn't one of them. > I saw him..He could have made it out alive, could have escaped.. I should have known he wouldn't of left the temple." > The scholar speaks up at this point.." He was killed there then, hmm..?" > "Thats what i said, yes..He personally challenged Beltane. I watched Beltane unmount, draw his blade, and bow before Andrew. I saw Andrew bow in return..And barely dodge the blow from Beltane's broadsword..Beltane fought unfairly and he was a good deal larger than Andrew...But Do'kora..Do'Kora was fast. He moved like lightning, his sword finding the gaps in Beltane's armor... > But like i said..Beltane fought cheaply...At his call, Archers on top of the sacked Old Temple opened fire on Andrew. Do'Kora fell to his knees, five arrows in his body...I watched Beltane laugh at him and mock him..And i watched Andrew plunge his own blade into his abdomen with the last of his strength. I knew Andrew wouldnt give Beltane the satisfaction of killing him.." > The scholar, enthralled by the tale, clutching his mug, pipes up once more "What of Beltane? and what about Khell..? Where was he when all of this happened..?" > The bearded man shook his head. "Beltane met a quiet fate at the hands of Britannia's guards..Less than a month after Andrew's death, i heard his band was caught and tried for some murders near vesper. He was executed, and i suppose the rest of his followers just trailed off.. they never had faith the begin with. > As for Khell..No one really knows. Some think he may have died, been his own undoing with his delving into artifacts...Others think he ascended into another plane..Still others think he may be around yet, perhaps sleeping in wait or in another guise.." > The scholar gives one last comment..."Hmm..Interesting. Now, i can't help but ask..you said you saw Andrew Do'kora die.. You where there then? You fought in Andrew's Legion, i take it?" > The bearded man shook his head. "No, I was not a paladin of the Shattered Hand.." He finishes off his tankard and stands to leave.."I was the Guardsman of the Old Temple..Still am...Yet now all i guard are ruined artifacts and dusty tomes.. There are no Followers. I am the last... > When i die, the Order does as well.." > and with that, Vinson left the pub and headed towards the docks, towards his boat. He had a long night of sailing before him..Yet in the morning, he'll be on Dagger Isle, to tend to his duties, as he always has.
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