While studying, resting, training etc…
“Raidensblud aren’t just Aegirian soldiers… there was clearly a separation: ‘Your Commandant’ and all that…
“What is the difference? They all wear red cloaks…”
11 thoughts on “Of Raiden’s Blood and Red Cloaks”
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Alexis seems to not think very deeply about this question.
“Sure. King’s guard versus the military. This was written about a little during the second age. The really interesting questions are: how many of the king’s guard are there? What percent of the king’s guard is here? Why are some of them this far from the king? Clearly the king sees his good-health directly wrapped up in what’s down that corridor. But why would his good-health be wrapped up with the sword? This sword?
“It’s too bad I wasn’t able to look out of some of the eyes of the dead that were slain by the Raidensblud. It would have been interesting to see how many of them came out to quell the uprising. I wonder where the put the bodies. Have they already all been buried? mass grave? Seems unlikely.
“What do you two think? You’re more Aegirian than the two of us.” Alexis looks at Ethelred and Gustav.
Ezrin mumbles a little, as if he is trying to remember something,
“King’s Guard? … Order of Raiden? .. King’s bride?”
He looks to Gus and Ethelred as well.
Gus gives a suspicious look towards Ezrin.
“I have my doubts about the Raidensblud intentions. They have taken control very quickly. I have my doubts they want to help Aegierians rather than just rule over us. Their desire to stop slavery is admirable. But I haven’t heard of much success there. King Adelfried seems to be creating a cult that requires dedication to him rather than the people of Aegir. Some dye their cloak with the rubia plant, some with blood.”
Ethelred listens to the wild speculating by his companion. When there is a lull he speaks.
“Is there something specific we need to know about the Raindensblood? There are some here protecting the sword. That alone might give us pause on what our mission is.
Are we to really go against the kings guard? Are we to become enemies of Aigier? We might as well join the rebels in the north.
Long have we hoped to be on the path of the peace maker. Maybe the vision we shared was just that .. a dilusion.
We must think about what the future after this mission. We might have to flee to west lands. Even Sutheron would not be a safe place to hide thses days.”
Ezrin looks at Ethelred, a bit taken aback by the Aegirian’s straightforwardness.
“I was thinking specifically of the ones that are here protecting the sword we seek, and wondering about them generally. You raise a good point Red, about the potential consequences of getting on the bad side of the King’s Guard in general.”
“Perhaps we could focus on the… Dark Hand directly for a bit… there is the Pool after all…
“Or, if we are to stay the course, we make sure we don’t end up on Adelfried’s Most Wanted list somehow…”
Alexis nonchalantly adjusts his hat and says with a smile.
“We’re not going to make any enemies. At least not until we’re far enough away that it’ll be hard for them to reach us.”
“Switching our focus away from the sword is about all we have done since we arrived at this fort. If we are to get the sword we must do it and do it soon.
We are here. We have no mission we must turn to right away. The fort is about to get very busy with soldiers returning.
We know of one direct path into the fort where we think to sword it. Erika mentioned it was below the commandants chambers. We know there is a room in his office we have yet to see, where some of the tainted treasure is ‘hidden’.
Alexis, do you have a plan to get past the guards? Ezrin can make some of us invisible? We can try and over power them? We could look for another way in?”
Alexis addresses Red. “What can you engineer for us? Some sort of listening device to hear at a distance? A sense-direct-route-to-most-magical-object-in-area sensor? A perch for our tent so we can get a better look around the fort, rather than being confined by these four walls?”
Alexis has an idea and looks at Gustav. “Can you make a 20′ tall tree here, in the courtyard that we could make a perch in?” Quickly Alexis’ face changes, he looks slightly pained and he continues “Never mind. These Aegirians would just cut it down, and then ask you to grow them another one. And they’d be happy to slaughter the deer while they were at it.”
Alexis looks back to Ethelred to see if he’s ready to respond to his ideas. “What about listening through doors, walls, or the earth?”
“That is a very interesting idea. I think to really be able to build an object that could listen one would need a background in sound. Much like I had to study how to make weapons to learn how best to make the ballista, I would have to study musical instrument construction. Knowing how to amplify, manipulate, shape sound would be required. I, sadly, currently lack those skills. It is also unlikely anyone with in this fort poses these skills.
What about a non physical device? Could you and maybe Ezrin figure something out?”
“A… non-physical device…?”
Alexis looks at Ezrin questioningly.
Ezrin shrugs in confusion, and looks thoughtful for a moment, he chuckles to himself quietly.
“I don’t have any non-physical devices, nor have I heard… actually, perhaps something etheric of phlogistonical? I’m only barely aware of those fields however, and only in most general of theoretical senses, but it is postulated in the Mhordtinkhonian Metaphysical Theoretical framework that there is a Weave of Warren.. and it is a… matrix embedded in… wait. Perhaps the weft of the weave is ether? or was it phlogiston?”
Ezrin shakes his head,
“Either way, many in the Collegium view Mhordtinkhonian Metaphysics as pointless theoretical speculation at best…”
“There are, of course, some clairaudience and clairvoyance divinatory rituals and incantations, and several physical devices used for scrying, the Orthen stones for example. The rituals and incantations are not fully know to me. The Pool sounds like once such physical device, perhaps, though, it is not entirely physical?”