by Matt » Wed Sep 28, 2005 2:48 pm
Vagnar stood to take his leave of the warband, his face eerily uplit by the small, sheltered fire. As he turned to depart, he let out a small gasp of surprise.
“Not leaving on my account I trust?” Instantly every member of the warband was on his feet, weapons drawn. Like an apparition, a man emerged from the darkness and moved into the small circle of light. He was clad in fine leather and velvet, his high-collared black doublet adorned with a rampant gold lion. Around his waist was a heavy belt, made from links of gold, and from it hung a sword on the left, its ornate hilt adorned with gold wire and a large blood-red cabuchon in the pommel. A similar dagger hung from the belt on the right side. Around his neck there was a silver chain with a large rose pendant. His blonde hair swept back from his face and they looked upon a man in his prime, handsome and bearded, his face hard from veteran service. His eyes, gray and piercing, bore into them, and each man felt a small, quivering frisson of fear. He stopped near the edge, his left hand resting lightly on the haft of the sword. He held out his right hand, and on his third finger they saw a ring of gold set with a fiery topaz.
“No, not leaving at all,” he repeated as he looked at each of them in turn. “I am Cedric Arlen, Earl of Westmarch. Welcome to Tandir.”