Khaelyn of Amere

[Khaelyn]

My name is Khaelyn. I never intended on being an adventurer. Although my father was a seasoned warrior in the army of Swadia, he had long since settled down in Amere, a small town. I always expected that I would, like my father after he retired from service, would be a farmer. This changed, however, when Amere was attacked by bandits. My family's farm was burnt down, and many were killed. My only option was to abandon all that I had ever known. Luckily, our horse survived the attack, and the bandits left some weapons behind in their hurry to leave town.

I heard that there was work to be found in the city of Jelkala, in the Kingdom of Rhodoks. Upon arrival, however, I was attacked.

Luckily, I had a sword and shield ready, and my father had trained me sufficiently to defeat my attacker. A man obviously driven to banditry by desperation.

A merchant native to Jelkala saw what had happened and offered me a job. It was not what I had in mind, but it was better than nothing. A gang of bandits had kidnapped his brother. He offered to pay me to free his brother. I agreed.

The merchant advised me to recruit fighters from the nearby villages, which I did. Nine men appeared willing and able to take the fight to the bandits. Apparently, the area around Jelkala had been plagued by bandits for a long time, and the villagers were looking for someone, anyone, to stand up to them. On my way back to Jelkala, to report back to the merchant, we ran into a small group of looters. One of the men believed he recognized a few of the looters, as they had attacked him a few days ago. This caused much uproar among the men. I saw no options but to attack the looters. It was time to see what the men and I were truly made of. After a short skirmish with the looters, we were victorious. Unfortunately, one of the men died during the fight.

When we arrived in Jelkala, the merchant seemed pleased with the men I recruited to save his brother. After asking around, he found that four men, possibly part of the gang that kidnapped his brother, had been attacking travellers very close to Jelkala.

Outnumbered and certain of defeat, the bandit surrendered immediately and pointed me in the direction of the gang's hideout.

Wasting no time, we travelled to the hideout. It was conveniently located in a small canyon, which could easily be blocked by the few men I had at my disposal. I ordered the men to wait for my signal, while I snuck up on the bandits by myself. The fight that followed was a short one, and thank the Almighty without casualties on my side.

The merchant's brother was found unharmed, and safely returned home.

His brother was overjoyed when I returned, and quickly followed up with another plan. Apparently, he heard that the captain of the city's guard was conspiring with the bandits. After paying me for a job well done, he offered me another job: to help him capture the captain of the city's guard, so that he could bring the captain to justice before the king. I foolishly agreed, but the matter turned out alright for me. I was again paid, and the merchant and I parted ways.

This is where I decided that I should make a living as a mercenary.

 

[Nikolai II]

Welcome aboard.

You might consider making the pictures slightly smaller - they are running off the right side of my screen

 

[Khaelyn]

I thought they'd be smaller. Turns out I was wrong. Will use smaller pics next update.

 

[Khaelyn]

After the merchant and I parted ways, I spent days chasing after the looters and bandits that plagued the area. I sold their equipment in Jelkala, eventually buying crossbows for the men. It seemed for the best. They were no soldiers, and a crossbow is relatively easy to use, after some practice. We got by, with very few casualties. Soon, however, the source of my income dried up around Jelkala. It seemed that the bandits started to avoid the area, as it was no longer safe for them to operate there. I decided that moving to Veluca, which is close to the border with the Kingdom of Swadia, might be a good idea. When I arrived in Veluca, I met a man in the tavern. Bunduk was his name, and he offered to join us as a crossbowman. Apparently, he got into trouble with a local nobleman, and had to leave town. He suggested that we cross the border to Swadia, because he had heard that work was plenty and the pay was good.

Unfortunately, I did not get to know Bunduk well at this time, because shortly after we crossed the border, we were surrounded by a large group of Swadian infantrymen. Apparently, they were deserters, and they were looking to make money. I saw no other options but to surrender. I cannot dream to defeat over forty seasoned infantrymen with only eleven crossbowmen by my side. Fortunately, the Swadian king himself decided to punish the deserters. While they made battle, I saw a chance to escape.

I quickly made it back to Veluca, where I fought in a tournament which had been going on for several days. The fighters were exhausted and made many mistakes, which allowed me to defeat many of them. I caught the eye of a lady of Rhodoks. She saw in me the rescuer of her son, who had been captured by the Swadians and was being held in Tilbaut Castle, close to my old home. I agreed to free her son and decided to waste no time recruiting new men. I would have an easier time getting into the castle alone, anyway.

On the way to Tilbaut Castle, a group of five men stopped me and demanded over a hundred denars. I refused, of course. I am uncertain why they even decided that trying to rob a heavily armed traveller would be a good idea. Sadly, they could not surrender or flee in time to save their lives.

When I arrived at the castle, the trule difficult task awaited me: to free Lord Tellrog. The prison guard was easily bribed, however. When I attempted to smuggle Lord Tellrog out of the castle, however, we were discovered. Luckily, the garisson was slow to mobilize, and we eventually made it back to Veluca. When I arrived, Count Trimbeau, another Rhodok count, paid me for freeing his comrade in arms, and offered to pay me as a mercenary in service of his king, King Graveth. I agreed, if only to protect myself from the inevitable anger of the Swadians, because they would certainly have found out that freeing Count Tellrog was my doing.

I gathered a small warband and awaited the call. It never came. King Graveth made peace with King Harlaus of Swadia before I was called into action.