Sellsword Ch. 01

"You did your best, lad. Nothing more to be done, but bury the poor lass."

I wasn't listening, but he was right regardless. Time passed as the guardsmen put out the fires of the houses, buildings and brothels. As they did this, I finally saw the redhead girl I had slept with; she was alive, and was helping other girls to safety from the brothel since it was one of the buildings set alight by the raiders. One innocent had survived at least.

The dead were gathered up, given last rights by a Holy man who was somehow found in the city, as city workers went to work digging mass graves outside of the city in a nearby forest.

I was escorted to speak to the city Council, in the Grand Hall in the centre of the city, where the Council met and also where it's members had hid during the attack. It was an old stone building, and according to records it had stood for over seven hundred years, rebuilt so many times and repaired following sieges and attacks.

The Captain escorted me inside, where there were plush carpets and sigils of former powerful houses that were once in charge of the area in, and around Kirkston.

There were a few guards protecting the inside of the buildings, but these ones were far more seasoned, and kept inside the building to protect the Council members.

Through a big set of Oak doors, I was led through and I saw four people sat around a large round table, two men and two women. The Council of Kirkston.

The two women were strong Northern women, one with flame red hair and the pale skin of the far North where I hailed from, a very country woman. The other woman was pinkish in skin tone, with long brown hair. The two men were fat, built with thick beards of grey hair, and had looked to have once been warriors, but a long time ago. All of them wore the sigil of Kirkston on some piece of their clothing, except the redhead woman who wore the sigil on a pendant around her neck.

"As asked of me, by yourselves Council members; I present the man who came in the aid of defending our city against the Orkley raiders." The Captain said loudly, as if speaking to an entire room of people, and stepped back to leave me standing alone in front of the Council.

They looked at me, every one of them furrowing their brows; except the redhead that hailed from the far North as I did. She stared at me, and finally spoke up.

"You're from the Northern coast aren't you? The Clans to the far North, you're of their people?" She asked.

I nodded.

She smiled, and leaned to place her arms on the table.

"I haven't seen many of mine own people, in a while. Most do not leave the Northern coast, unless the Throne seeks our assistance in war or battle. We do not warrant their interest, unless to deal with Orkley raiders, or our foreign enemies when they invade our shores."

I smiled back, her smile was warm and friendly as if she was from my own Clan, or a Clan we were close with.

"You hail from the Northern coast, ma'am?" I asked her.

"Indeed, the Cirici Clan, in the Deadwood Hills."

I had heard of them, my Clan never warred with them as their lands were slightly East of ours, in the far Northern Mountains. They were good warriors like any other far Northern Clan, but were exceptionally experienced in diplomacy, and most of it's members either became soldiers or diplomats for the North to the Southern cities, and lands.

They were tutored in reading, and writing from a young age, but also to fight, and wage war if needed also. I had only met a Cirici Clan member twice in my life, as I never went East unless I had to for the sake of my Clan. They never troubled or bothered my Clan, like some other Clans did.

"And your Clan, sir?" She asked me.

"I am a Coridian, I hail from the far Northern Mountains on the edge of the Northern coast."

She smiled.

"I know of the Coridian Clan, a proud warrior Clan. You were the Clan to lead the initial resistance, to kneeling to the Terrarian Throne, when it was first founded. You fought for Clan freedom, and secured the Northern lands for Northerners. I know of your history."

"We are also now very loyal to the Crown, and the country as a whole." I added.

She continued to smile, as one of the big, portly male Council members coughed to draw attention from her, to himself.

"You assisted this city in it's time of need, what may we call you?" He asked, with a gruff voice.

"Koran Candon, of the Coridian Clan." I replied.

The portly man nodded.

"I am Karis Torod, don't worry sellsword you will be paid for your services today." He said, pulling from beneath the table a small bag of coins, that jingled as he rested it on the table and opened it by the string around it's opening.

He pulled a few Gold Sovereigns, and placed them on the table into a pile; there were six of them I could count from where I stood.

"Approach." He told me, as the Captain relaxed behind me on the door and I approached the table slowly under the watchful eyes of the other Council members.

I collected the coins into my hand, and stepped back to bow; showing that I respected the power these six people had in their hands, and stepped back waiting.

"We have more work for you, if you want it sellsword."

I looked at the young redhead woman from the Cirici Clan, and I turned to face her to show my respect.

"I am available for hiring to work, ma'lady." I said.

She nodded, and pulled from beneath the table a roll of parchment, and what looked to be a map and laid it on the table and unrolled it to show it was a map of Northern Terraria, and parts of the south as well.

"A young woman, by the name of Serass has gone missing from her home; her family believe she was harassed by members of a Cult. The Cult of Koras to exact, they follow a doctrine that the Northern Gods had betrayed the true God Koras, and had imprisoned him in the mountains of the North. They believe they must free him, so he can take his revenge on the Gods who betrayed him and their followers; us to be exact. For this to happen, they believe a woman of simple means, and upbringing must be impregnated, to give Koras a human child, a son for him to possess and for him to interact with our world. As we all know, these beliefs of this Cult go back thousands of years, in the past their members have fought bloody internal wars, or have been almost destroyed by followers of the Northern Gods, and the Throne. Now it's believed they've resurfaced, and growing in numbers."

The map was unrolled and she held it open on the table to see the landmarks on it, of the North.

"We need you to find the girl, before Koras's followers find her. That poor girl will be forcibly impregnated, in their sick rituals. Her family home is not far from here, in the town Windermont. According to townspeople, she was last seen heading into the nearby Foras Hills and Mountains. Now if she was fleeing from the Cult followers, she may have put her own life and safety at risk in entering those mountains. You know of them?" She asked me.

I nodded, approaching her and the map and leaning over to inspect it closely.

"I know of the Foras Mountains, they are extremely dangerous particularly in this season, as we enter Winter. They'll be heavy snowfall, and dangerous winds that would knock anyone to their deaths unless they are seasoned in travelling through them. If she made it through the mountains, there is a chance she reached the Toron forest that is inside the mountains, surrounded on all sides by them. The forest itself is unreachable except through travelling along the mountains, it's sealed off from entry anywhere else. If she's a Northern girl, maybe she travelled along their with her family once and knows how to reach the forest. You want me to look for her along those mountains, and the forest?" I asked her.

She nodded, and looked up at me as she stood over the table staring down at the map with me, it was then that I noticed her large breasts, and the cleavage I was seeing. She was wearing a very tight-fitting light blue dress, that hugged her chest and waist pushing her pale, firm breasts up out of her dress at me. I felt a stirring in my breaches looking at this respectable, powerful woman, and as if on cue a few strands of her red hair rolled off her neck and hung over her face as she looked down at the map. My cock was at full hardness looking at her large, pale breasts.

"Yes, you'll be compensated for your services and the trouble of looking for her. We need her found, The Cult of Koras has taken many women and girls over the years and most are never seen again. We need to stop this happening, for all we know they could have her already, and we need to stop them from taking her away."

I agreed with her, even talking of Koras was seen as blasphemy towards our Northern Gods, the Goddess Rylar of stone, and her husband and fellow God Forak of the snow. Thinking back Koras was regarded as a renegade God, one to go against the snow and stone. If you read about the Northern mythology, according to legend Koras had attempted to steal Rylar from her husband, Forak but he had saved her from Koras. Forak and Rylar together imprisoned Koras in the high Mountains of the North, sealing him away for all eternity.

Every so often legend tells Koras emerged from his prison, through the impregnating of women and him possessing the born children, and walking the lands in human form. But there was no proof, or true evidence of that being true.

I looked down at the map, and saw the redhead woman look up at me with her piercing blue eyes and there was a moment; a spark there, and she hurriedly looked back at the map using her hair to hide her face.

"Find her, and you'll be paid the sum of thirty gold Sovereigns, sellsword."

The man who spoke was the same portly man, Karis who had paid me for defending Kirkston.

I nodded, and looking at the redhead woman through the faint strands of her red hair whispered.

"I never got your name, ma'lady."

She looked up, her blue eyes piercing through her hair at me.

Her eyes wandered, looking at Karis who was speaking to the other portly, older man.

"I am Taraa. Taraa Torod, Karis's wife."

She spoke in such a low, cautious whisper.

That was it, I looked over and saw Karis watching me with suspicion and maybe some jealousy in me speaking so privately to his beautiful wife. Now I was close to making an enemy for life, in Karis who was watching me slyly.

I stepped back, and straightened my back looking at the map.

"Fare enough, thirty Sovereigns is good enough for me." I said, loud enough for Karis to hear who nodded.

The deal was struck, and Taraa Torod shook my hand as if officially sanctioning my job.

"Make sure you are ready, to leave in the morning. Any business you have to finish, and such please tend to it before you leave tomorrow. Upon completion of this job, you'll be paid the full amount of Sovereigns offered." She told me standing up straight behind the table, staring across at me.

"Thank you, ladies, sirs." I said gently, as I bowed to each of them and left the room with the Captain opening the doors for me, to leave through.

As the Captain escorted me out of the government building, he gave me a brief description of the girl, she had just turned eighteen and had bright red eyes, and was quite petite and small in size. With her name and a description I had somewhere to work from at least.

I made my way to the area of Inns, to sleep in until the morning when I would go see the blacksmith, pay for my sword's repairs and then leave for the Foras mountains, and look for the girl. That would be in the morning of course, after a nice long sleep in a feather bed in the Inn, as I dreamt about Taraa Torod and her beautiful body.

*****

I hope everyone enjoyed this story, I've taken some inspiration from Game of Thrones, and the books but try to create new characters, and the world. All feedback, and comments are appreciated; please feel free to let me know what you've thought about this story.