The Dragon Rune

[Kurokat]

First post.

 

[Morigan]

Tala shuddered and pulled her cloak closer around her shoulders as she headed towards the Inn. The Cracked Acorn wasn't the most well-reputed Inn in town, but no one asked too many questions. She was almost there and could practically taste the ale she would order once inside. She wondered if her brother was already there, or if he would be late again. She smiled despite the chill; he would be pleased when she told him about their newest contract.


She rounded the last corner and there was the Inn, welcoming her on the cold evening. She pushed the door open and slipped into the noisy common room. She pulled her cloak off, hanging it on one of the many pegs by the door and looked about for her brother. She caught the eye of the bartender and signaled for an ale as she moved to a small empty table in the back of the room. She took the chair facing the door and settled in to wait and surveyed the room. It was still early evening and many people were milling about, drinking and talking, some drunk already. The crowd was an eclectic mix, though it tended towards the seedier side, which is honestly why Tala had chosen it. The treasure hunter-for-hire lifestyle didn't always leave the siblings in the best standing with the rest of society.


The bartender made his way to her table and set mug down in front of her; she silently handed him two coppers in payment. Tala took a leisurely sip as she waited.

 

[Kurokat]

Keal glanced up at the sun briefly before looking back down to white evenly shaped rock he was kicking along. He was going to be late. He sped up a little kicking the rock to the side and resuming his normal gate. His sister was probably at the tavern already. In his eyes she was uptight, always worring about being on time, and getting a new job as soon as she finished one. Knowing her she was probably early to the tavern. Keal was never one to worry too much as long as he could get a decent amount of pay every now and then he got by.


Finally after a few minutes or so the tavern became visible. Quickening his pace twoards the tavern, he wondered what this new quest his sister was so eager about. He was actually excited about this one.


As soon as he got to the tavern he ran in throwing his coat on the rack next to the one he recognized as his sister. He scanned the rambunctious crowd trying to pick out his sister. It was embarrassing that he had to stand on his toes to catch a glimpse of her at the bar. He had never been the the tallest but at least he found her. Nudging his way through the large rowdy tavern guests he made his way over to his sister.


He claimed the seat next to her before a too eager looking man got the chance. "Sorry I'm late... I got caught up with a rock on the way here. " the bar tender stopped by the table seeing that a new customer had arrived. He politely request a drink of water, which the man promptly brought him. He handed a copper to the man who took the metallic coin and left. "So what is this new quest you summoned me about?"

 

[Morigan]

Tala watched Keal burst through the door, barely managing to get his coat on a peg before he was pulling out the chair and sliding in next to her.


"You know, if I had a copper for every time I heard you say 'sorry I'm late' we wouldn't need another job ever again," she said with a half-hearted scowl in his direction. "And a rock? Next time a rock makes you late, I'd better find you trapped underneath it," she flicked him on the arm to show her irritation. She took another long sip of her ale while the man brought Keal his drink. "And talk a little louder, we can just invite the whole town in on it!" Tala knew she was being hard on her brother, but she worried about him. If she didn't keep track of him, take care of him, who would?


"Anyways...we've been commissioned for the College of Magi. They want us to find something called the Dragon Rune stone. It also goes by the names Blood Stone and, oh, something foreign..what was it?" She squinted as she concentrated. "Oh yes! Dagoth'shul. Apparently it's very old and mysterious. Aren't they always?" She laughed a bit before continuing. "The mages want to study it something fierce, so they've offered us a huge sum if we can retrieve it." She drained the last of her drink and looked at her brother, her own green eyes mirrored in his, a trait they both inherited from their mother's side of the family.


"So what do you say? Up for another one of these crazy artifact hunts, Keal?"

 

[Kurokat]

Keal knew his sister was joking. She always seemed harsh but it was just because she was so bossy. "Well it was a really interesting rock.. I should have picked it up actually." He took a large gulp of his water as she ranted sarcastically about his lateness.


He perked up when she moved on to the rune. He was really excited to go on another quest. It was always thrilling seeing new places and meeting new interesting people. He didn't care as much about the money as he did about the trip but it was nice to know they would get payed a decent amount. "Where is this rune? It must be far away if the mages were going to hire some one to retreive it!" He beamed curiosity and excitement. He and his sister looked a great deal alike but they had major differences in their personality. Tala looked a lot like his father but she had the jade green eyes of his mother and a dusting of freckles. It reminded him of their parents.


He took another sip of the water. "I'm up for anything with adventure!"

 

[Morigan]

"Yes, it is quite far away. Some remote mountain chain is the rumored location, but they warned it may not be there. Apparently it has been lost for ages and no one has seen it. Our track record impressed the College, so they are counting on us to find it."


She pulled out the roll of parchment she Magi had given her. "This lists all the clues and references about the Rune Stone." She laid it out in front of him, and the many different scribbles and notes in dozens of different handwritings. "We need to head east in the morning. And yes it will be an adventure, but the mages hinted their could be...hazards...along the way." She looked at her brother sternly, "So we have to be careful, okay? No mistakes, no rushing into things unprepared. You have to listen to me, please Keal. I couldn't stand it if I lost you too."

 

[Kurokat]

Keal eyed the map with enthusiasm and fascination. He had never seen anything like it. The parchment looked very authentic and even had the magi seal on it. As Tala went on about the quest he could picture the adventure in his mind. Enormous mountains crusted with snow and caves bursting with crystal he could hardly wait to leave.


"This is going to be great!" He decided he would read the rest of the paper that night, so he rolled it up and looked over twoards his sister. She was lecturing him again on how she thought he was going to get them into trouble. "Got it. I'll be safe! No talking to strangers... Blah blah blah..."

 

[Morigan]

Tala swatted his hand and snatched the paper back. "I'll give this back when I believe you're actually taking this seriously," she glared at him. "The mages seemed honestly concerned. They said 'strange things' have happened to other people who went looking, some have died." She stared at him harder still, trying to impress the seriousness on him. "Now, I've arranged for us to leave first thing in the morning, and we're all paid up on our rooms upstairs for the night. "


She held the parchment back out towards him, "Promise me Keal. And mean it!"

 

[Kurokat]

Keal sighed. As much Ashe beloved his sister was nagging she was right. He had gotten them into quite a few debacles in the past. Like that time he was kidnapped by a group of robers. Or the time he was tricked into taking a job at a brothel. But nothing ever seemed to happen his sister always got him out of whatever situation he was in.


He looked up into her matching eyes. Every thing she did really was to protect him. "Fine I promise I will listen to you and try not to get into trouble or get lost. "

 

[Morigan]

Keal finally agreed seriously to be careful this time. Tala sighed and smiled at him. "You know I'm hard on you because I care," she said as she handed him back the paper. "Look over this carefully, and please don't lose it or...spill anything on it." She stood up from the table and headed towards her room upstairs for the night.


She turned to look at him once more, "Meet me down here at first light, and we'll head out. I've got our provisions all ready. Goodnight brother."

 

[Kurokat]

Keal eagerly took the paper. "Will do! " he knew his sister cared. He didn't want her to get hurt either. "I will be supper carefull I promise! " He took the last gulp of his water as Tala said goodnight. "Goodnight. I promise I won't sleep in."


After finishing his water he grabbed his coat and went up to his room to check out the paper. He spent a few minutes reading over it before he decided he should get some sleep so he flopped in the bed and passed out.

 

[Morigan]

Tala spent the night in a deep, restful sleep, though the morning light came a bit too early for her. She dressed quickly, her usual traveling wear. Sturdy leggings under a long black tunic, followed by boots and a vest. She secured her hair off her face and pulled it back int her customary braid and gathered the last of her belongings before heading downstairs.


While she waited for Keal to join her she collected her cloak from the peg where she'd left it last night.

 

[Kurokat]

Keal woke up before the sun was even up. He was so excited he couldn't sleep so he might as well make use of his time. He read over the clues once more before getting dressed. He threw on a pair of tight black pants and a green tunic. He paced for a while before finally he saw the sun peaking over the horizon so he packed his bag and ran out with one arm in his coat and his tall boots unlaced. He tied them as he ran down the stairs.


"I'm ready to go!" He ran over to his sister. "Are we stopping anywhere for supplies ?"

 

[Morigan]

She smiled a little bit at his enthusiasm. "Didn't you forget something?" she asked with a smirk pointing down at his unlaced boots. "And I've already gotten us some supplies, we're ready to head out. I've got two horses waiting for us as well, though we only have them until the next town. I arranged for us to transport them to the next town's market where they are too be sold. After that, we'll be on foot."


She gave him another once over. "Other than the laces, are you sure you haven't forgotten anything?"

 

[Kurokat]

Keal looked down at his boots slightly embarrassed he forgot to tie them. He began to tie them as his sister spoke. "That's a lot of foot traffic thank maker I brought my boots..."


He stood up again and looked through his bag making sure he had clothes, pans, herbs, and most importantly the clues. "Yes I am ready to go!"

 

[Morigan]

"Very well, off we go!" she passed out the door and headed to where their two horses were saddled, one a dark chestnut and one a dappled gray.


"Choose whichever you like Keal," she said gently, gesturing towards the horses.

 

[Kurokat]

Keal ran past his sister out the door and to the horses. "The gray one is so pretty " he said while petting it softly. "I might actually buy this one. Think about it it would be nice to have a horse the whole way. And I think I have enough money."


He began to mount the horse. This mission was going to be awesome.

 

[Morigan]

"Oh and I'll just walk behind you after that, shall I?" she quipped. "And where'd you get so much money, by the way?" She swung her leg over the saddle and pulled herself up on to the chestnut. With a squeeze of her knees and click of her tongue, she set the horse into a brisk walk and head to the main road that would lead them to their next destination.

 

[Kurokat]

Keal squeezed his legs lightly and the horse began to trot after his sister. "Oh well I started working with the blacksmith. All I do is hold the horses while he puts on their shoes. It pays pretty well. What have you been up to besides the whole rune thing."

 

[Morigan]

"Looking after you is a full-time job, you know. Though clearly I need to do a better job since I had no idea you were working at the blacksmith and making enough money to buy a horse..." she shook her head. "I've been doing the usual, escorting nobility, security work. That kind of thing. Maybe after this job we'll be rich enough to hire our own escorts and security," she laughed.

 

[Kurokat]

Keal shrugged while looking at his sister. "Well the blacksmith is pretty old, and he has quite the stock pile of money. Since his wife died he doesn't really have anything to do with it so he pays me a good sum to sit around and prep the horses." He sat up straight pretending to ride in the way nobels did.


"Even if you hire your own escorts, knowing you your not even going to listen to them. You already know how to get around anyway. What you can really use that money for is hiring some friends."

 

[Morigan]

"Or bribing the town magistrate not to arrest me after after I kill my little brother and hide his body!" Tala said in mock annoyance.


It wasn't too much longer before they had passed the borders of the town out into open country. The sun was climbing higher and starting to burn away the chill from the night. Despite her warnings the previous night, Tala was excited about this job too. She just tended to keep her happier emotions buried, in order for Keal to take her more seriously. She grew thoughtful as the silence stretched on; losing their parents had been hard and Tala had always tried to give Keal the best life, as well as she could anyways. She glanced over at him, smiling a bit at the relaxed expression on his face.


"I'll race you to the top of that next hill," she suddenly, pointing to a crest a ways off in the distance. "Ready...GO!" She took off, with out waiting for his answer.

 

[Kurokat]

Keal laughed. "Really? Didn't know you would do that to your brother you love Sooo much!" He stared in her direction with puppy dog eyes. He prided himself on his adorableness.


After the conversation they fell into silence for a while. The day was moving along quickly as they traveled. They were making good time by the looks of it. It was nice to get out and go on an adventure again, he knew his sister enjoyed it too. She always tried to look out for him. When their parents died she took full responsibility for him. Knowing himself he must have been quite the handful, so he respected that she wanted to take care of him. But he was grown up now and she could be very bossy at times.


Keal was surprised that his sister just rode off, but then again he wasn't surprised. He squeezed his legs together and got into a jokey position. "That's not fair and you know it!" He shouted while trying to catch up to her.

 

[Morigan]

Tala laughed over her shoulder when he called out after her. "I never said I was fair!" She spurred her horse on even harder, trying to put more distance between them. She could see the next hill getting closer and was determined to beat him to the top. His puppy dog eyes were his trademark way of getting her to do what he wanted, but she wasn't going to let them work on her this time.


The noon sun beat down on her as she raced along the main road, her chestnut horse still in the lead with Keal closing the gap behind her.

 

[Kurokat]

Keal was catching up to Tala. His horse was faster but he didn't know if he could bridge the gap before They reached the hill. It has gotten much warmer throughout the day but the win still chilled his face as they rode on with such speed. As much as they both loved each other, no one denied that there was somewhat of a sibling rivalry between the two.


He eventually reached the hill and pulled on the reins to decelerate. His sister had beaten him but he was sure he would have won if they had started at the same time. "You won this time Tala.." He laughed.