Meanwhile, in Meadowfort

The rumbling was at first distant and quiet but increased in volume. The people of Meadowfort stepped out of their houses and looked to each other curiously at the sound. Marianne Merenian frowned at the sound, rising from her kitchen table, grabbing her sword from where it sat by the door and walking out. She hadn’t had need to use the blade in nearly ten years and she hoped that would continue.

“Why the sword, Marianne?” Her neighbour, Palema asked. She was a pretty young woman whose curvy body had attracted the eye of many the young men of the village. She had ultimately settled on Charen, the local baker, a few months back and the young couple seemed happy and content in married life.

“I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Sho-.”

Before the younger woman could finish her reply, the source of the sound came into view. There were at least a hundred of them. Aeln, ferrun, and even brutish urken, riding lepsi in an disorganised horde towards the village. Panic swept through Meadowfort as the riders descended on the village, people scrambling over each other to escape. Meadowfort wasn’t a large village and as the crowd of scared and confused villagers reached the opposite side, they were blocked by lepsi riders who had circled around them. They were trapped.

Marianne gripped the hilt of her sword but did not move from her position next to Palema. She wanted to fight but numbers were not on her side, not by a long shot, and at least for the moment the horde were not inflicting **** on Meadowfort. She glanced across the village square and saw her old party mates, Halen and Serepia Lindinus, daggers and staff in hand respectively also holding their position and waiting.

The horde of riders were content for the moment to keep the village encircled, simply leering and grinning at the obvious dismay of the villagers. Marianne 's eyes roamed over them. Riders and mounts were much like, scruffy looking and hardened. The lepsi were ungroomed, their antlers jagged and sharp and their hides scraggly and lined with scars. The men wore a wide array of mismatched armour, haphazardly strapped to their bodies and they wielded weapons of a multitude of qualities. Some had swords and shields and bows while others had clubs and wicked looking farm implements.

A particularly large urken, one of the brutish tusked people of the north, pushed his lepsi to the front of the group and trotted it out before the terrified crowd of villagers.

“People of Meadowfort.” The large male urken yelled, “ I am Kazo, representative of Ungonius Hammer Fist. Do not be afraid. Be glad for your village will now be under our protection.”

Kazo stopped as if expecting there to be a reply but the villagers simply stood in place watching him with fear filled eyes.

“Ungonius,” He continued, “has decided to take up residence in your most famous of forts. He will watch over the local villages which for too long now have been ignored by the fat lords of the Dominion. All he asks is that you pay fair price for this service.”

Some of the men of the village bristled at what was implied. To give up their hard earned crops and gold to these bandits would be unacceptable. A few took angry steps forward before being hushed or stopped by elders or spouses. Marianne was thankful that cooler heads in the village were holding the men back. The alternative would be a bloodbath.

“I understand this is a difficult decision for you all to make.” Kazo yelled, “We will return at dawn tomorrow, fully expecting the first payment for our generous defense of this village.”

Kazo gestured to the other riders and the horde turned and began to leave, the ground rumbling once again under hundreds of hooves. Marianne let out a sigh of relief and walked through the gathering to Halem and Serepia. A few of the villagers offered her quiet greetings but just as she was about to reach her destination a hand shot in front of her and blocked her path.

“Why didn’t you do anything about those brutes?!”

Marianne shifted her gaze to the owner of the hand and frowned. Omlin Tamperii was a constant thorn in her side, always quick to criticise her. Marianne knew that Omlin’s grudge extended back to when they were younger and she had rejected his advances. He had been a greasy creep when he was younger and nothing much had changed apart from his expanding gut and his receding hairline.

“I consider myself a skilled fighter Omlin, but I don’t fancy my chances against so many opponents, especially when they are mounted and have already flanked us.”

“We will have to plan our next actions carefully.” Halen approached Marianne and Omlin pushing through the circle of onlookers. “We could go to one of the cities of the Dominion to ask for aid.”

“They will not go out of their way to help a small village like us!” A man in the crowd yelled.

“Perhaps we could hire some mercenaries?” Someone else piped in.

“That would be expensive.”

The crowd talked over each other in a cacophony of many voices. No one was listening to each other simply wanting to express their opinion.

Marianne coughed loudly and raised her hand. She was a respected member of the village and most of the people quieted down to hear her speak. Those that didn’t were bullied into silence by sharp elbow and shushing. Marianne waited for everyone to have their eyes on her before speaking her piece.

“The Adventurers Guild.”

“That...could work.” Serepia said quietly, “They will take only a reasonable fee as long as they get to loot the camp.”

“That’s right and as many of you know Serepia, Halen, Farel and I used to be members and our children have just started working for the guild. When Farel....passed, the Guild leaders said that I could always count on them.” Marianne noticed that much of the crowd were listening to her intently.

“What do you say?” Marianne asked looking from face to face. There was no roar of approval from the crowd but quiet murmurs of hope at the plan. Even Omlin gave a **** nod grimacing as if the taste of it in his mouth revolted him.

“Very well.” Marianne said, “I will make preparations to g-”

“I’ll go.” Halen interjected, looking between his wife and Marianne. “Mari, you have very much come out as a leader for Meadowfort and the people here need you.”

Marianne wanted to disagree. The Guild always dealt with her more when they were all adventurers and she had built a relationship with many in Marth as a result. But in her heart she wanted to be here for when her children returned, to protect them from the battles ahead.