Thorin Brothers https://bfuryofthecalled.runboard.com/t48 Runboard| Thorin Brothers en-us Thu, 28 Mar 2024 23:28:40 +0000 Thu, 28 Mar 2024 23:28:40 +0000 https://www.runboard.com/ rssfeeds_managingeditor@runboard.com (Runboard.com RSS feeds managing editor) rssfeeds_webmaster@runboard.com (Runboard.com RSS feeds webmaster) akBBS 60 Re: Thorin Brothershttps://bfuryofthecalled.runboard.com/p2732,from=rss#post2732https://bfuryofthecalled.runboard.com/p2732,from=rss#post2732clang...clang...clang... the rhythmic beating of of my hammer on steel still is a sweet escape to me. It helps to keep the animal dormant inside of me until the sun falls. Night is when I let the beast out. It has been two months since my brother was injured. The longest time we have been apart from each other since we both awoke on the isles of the north. With so many years spent traveling together I really don't know much else to do other than to forge during the day and hunt at night. The Fury has tried to get me to come out of my solitude but to no avail. It just doesn't seem right to shed blood with others when my brother isn't here. The send one brave soul every day to try and get me to at least go on a patrol with them. I wonder whose turn it is today. I hope it is someone smart enough to just ask and accept my polite answer of no in silence. I hear a stumbling outside between hammer strikes and hope that it is not who I am assuming it is. "hey uh...Thurston...Jayne wanted me to ask if you would go on patrol with us" Caboose timidly asks. I still dont know why Jayne thought it a good idea to send the person who laid my brother in his current state but i will still answer in my same fashion. Clang....clang...clang... for some reason Caboose must have found courage this morning and was dumb enough to not just walk away. "Come on Thurston, i said im sorry and there is no reason for you to stay cooped up in here all the time. we can use your spear and shield. we need all we can spare. this doesnt help Az at all and what good is it if there is no world for him to wake up to?" at least his attempt was half way decent...I slowly put down my hammer and my shoulders slump as if signaling a resigning to his reason. i hear him stand up straighter as if to claim his victory just as a dagger from my belt flies past his head and sticks in the door support of my tent. he shrieks and before he head is back to me i am in front of him, another dagger drawn and pressed against his throat. "tell me Caboose, what gives you the right to say what helps and what doesn't? Hmm? how many of our enemies has your spear tip claimed in the past week? 2...3...lets even be adventurous and say 5. now lets add that in to the total that the Fury has slain. that brings a grand total of 20 orcs, goblins, and other vermin the Fury has slain in seven days." i slowly turn his head to the corner of my tent, forcing his neck to drag across the blade drawing a rose colored line in his flesh as each layer slowly separates from the other. "there are at least 30 weapons laying in that pile of scrap i am using to make my crafts. every one of them taken from a slain piece of scum that i have hunted. And that pile is just from last night." "We havent found many enemies during our patrols" I throw him to the ground and place my boot on his neck, "and why my courageously stupid friend do you think that is? Because when the enemy cant seem to figure out why entire patrols and raiding parties go missing and only blood is found where they used to be after a week or so of that how many of them do you really feel eager to go out into the night? I am the reason this camp has enjoyed its respite from battle these few months. so do not presume to come into this tent and say i am not helping the cause." i lift my boot and walk back to my anvil. i place the steel back into my forge to reheat it as caboose gets up and heads to the door of my tent. "oh and corporal...every time you step into my tent from now on that scratch on your neck will get just a bit deeper." Clang...Clang...Clang... i hear a shuffle outside my tent again and then footsteps leading away. i crack a half smile and go to the door and pick up what was left for me. a good size piece of meat, a few berries and a large mug of ale. Varg seems to be the only one to really understand to leave me to my peace. He brings whatever his fresh kill was from the morning and some other scraps of food and a mug of ale the same time every day. I will admit, his deliveries have been a welcome change to my routine. i eat the food and drink most of the ale, i pour the remaining out over my brothers shield, every time trying to encourage him with a taste of the sweet honey brew to entice him to wake up from where ever he has gone. A sentry sounds the alert horn, someone or something is approaching. i slowly start to gather my weapons as i hear a shouting... "OI! I swear to all that is holy to any of you bastards inside this camp if any one of you hits me again ill cut your balls off and feed them to you. And bring me the jackass that hit me, ill be merciful and just beat him to an inch of his life with my hands instead of my club!" for the first time in two months a full smile returns to my face. I replace my weapons and pick up my hammer. Clang...Clang...Clang... Brother will find me soon enough. nondisclosed_email@example.com (Thurston2028)Thu, 18 Nov 2010 11:20:47 +0000 Re: Thorin Brothershttps://bfuryofthecalled.runboard.com/p2277,from=rss#post2277https://bfuryofthecalled.runboard.com/p2277,from=rss#post2277clang...clang...clang... the ringing of steel on steel was a sweet sound of refuge to my ears. The outside world seemed to melt away with each stroke of the hammer. the only other presence in my head was the sound of my father critiquing my every strike. Not so hard Thurston, the steel has a soul just like every other living thing. you can not simply force it to bend to your will, the result will be a brittle blade. you must treat it with respect. if you show it the respect it deserves it will bend with you. you must pour part of your own life force into every strike of the hammer. only then will the metal accept what you want it to do. it will be strong and true. smithing always was a form of meditation for me. nothing else mattered. just me, the forge, and the piece of steel. there was beauty in the violence that hammering out a piece of raw material into the form i wanted. i heard jayne enter the tent behind me but never looked from my work. clang...clang...clang... you have been too long removed from the rest of us thurston, please come join us by the fires. i saved you some salted pork and a tankard of the majors finest. clang...clang...clang... you mourn your brothers injuries i understand and respect that. we all miss Azhara, but he will join us again soon. we must carry on. he would want no less from us all especially you. clang...clang...clang...sizzle... i appreciate your efforts jayne, you are a good man. Respectfully though i must say that no one here understands what i do now more than my brother. his spirit watches me while his body rests, he knows what i prepare for now. prepare for? what do you have to prepare for that we have not all been doing these past months? you all know us as mercenaries, assassins, swords for hire...but you do not know our true art. what do you mean thurston? a man can be an artist at anything he puts his mind to jayne, you in your leadership, toland in his brews and succulent food. my brother and i...our art is death. take away the money, the loot, the glory and that is what is left for us. death... clang...clang...clang... and i am about to paint a masterpiece. i see jayne take a step back out of the corner of my eye, not of fear but out of respect. i sheath my newly made blade, strap on a second, daggers in every spot my belt can hold and finally my brothers shield to my back and my spear in my hand as i mount the fastest horse the camp has. i clasp jayne's forearm...tell the camp not to wait for me my friend, i will find your trail in the morning. he watches as i ride quickly into the night but strangely it is as if my horse's footsteps make no sound. i return at dawn, the camp with the exception of a few centuries posted as watch are still asleep. covered in blood as black as the night sky i see reggie the goblin on watch, as i approach him his eyes widen in horror as he sees the string of goblin and orc heads hanging from my saddle, the necklace of ears and fingers around my neck. i ride slowly towards him and stop. i remove my trophies and place the necklace on the ground at his feet. my apologies my green skinned friend, if any of these belonged to your kin. i ride past him to my tent. by this time the rest of the camp has awakened at the commotion i made coming into camp. some stare in awe, some kneel or hold there weapons out in salute, some simply stare. eldgrim is the only one who speaks... I trust your hunt went well brother. yes it did, unfortunately non of the meat was worth taking. eldgrim simply laughed and shook his head. those who still slept were soon awake with the sound of my hammer and anvil. clang...clang...clang...nondisclosed_email@example.com (Thurston2028)Fri, 10 Sep 2010 02:37:02 +0000 Re: Thorin Brothershttps://bfuryofthecalled.runboard.com/p2197,from=rss#post2197https://bfuryofthecalled.runboard.com/p2197,from=rss#post2197I find myself for the first time lost in the world. I have always been the one who could find the light in the darkness, the solution to the impossible, the hope in the hopelessness. I sit here next to my brother and for the first time...lost. Perhaps it is because I am the older of the Thorin brothers, perhaps it is because I was always able to control the rage that lies in our heritage better than my brother, but now there is just a swirling vortex. As I sit and watch Azhara sleep, the only reminder of his injuries are the many bandages. I have never experienced a feeling of alone as this. It has always been the two brothers. The two brothers against...against everything. Man, beast, army, anything. Now there is only the one. Many times have we nursed the wounds of the other always joking about how the other should have been quicker, should have watched the flank of the other, how the one got hurt because the other got caught up in the blood rage that we are so well known for. Even when I was so gravely injured in the ambush a few months ago there was joking about how the other faulted. The jest that masked the heartache at seeing the other hurt. The mask for the love of two brothers. Now there is no jest, no critique of form or tactic. Only silence. The invincible Thorin brothers are now suddenly and unquestionably mortal. My brother sleeps the wakeless sleep, only time and the gods will decide if and when he wakes. Your brother would be disgusted if he saw you right now, Major Toland tells me. Perhaps, but he would expect no less. I was always the one looking out for him. Ever watchful, protecting, guarding. It is impossible to always protect those we love Thurston, trust me. True, but I should not have had to protect my brother from one of our own. Corpral Caboose made a mistake, it could have happend to any of us. Mistake?! He thought it was one of the orks following us. How many orks wear a white bear skin and sing dwarven drinking songs while taking a piss in the woods?! My brother lies in a coma because of the incompetence of Caboose! These are trying times Thurston, we are all on edge with the enemy so close. Feelings of anger and revenge at Caboose will not help Azhara now. Would his blood change anything? Do not lecture me on such things Toland, the only reason Caboose's head is not attached to the end of my spear is out of respect for you. And for that I am thankful Thurston. We cannot afford the loss of another man now. Another man?! Do not count my fallen brother as just another soldier under your command. Of course not Thurston, but you and I both know that Azhara's head was ruled by rage not by calculated thought like yours. Just because I am the leash that holds my brothers rage in check do not think that I am not capable of the same ruthlessness and destruction as he. I am well aware of what lies within you Thurston, I just beg of you to not let it cloud the judgment of the good man i see before me. There is no better place for Azhara to be right now, the elves will tend to his wounds. Toland, I respect you as a person, a warrior, a commander, but do not try to empathize with me. He is my brother, all that I know. He is my family. What else do I fight for if not with him at my side? Thurston, I have felt the pain you do now. My son lies in the ground now because of this war. I know the loss you feel. But am I wrong in saying that your family has grown in the past year? If not in the Fury as a whole, but in the Brotherhood? (Toland extends his arm) (a single tear slides down my face as I grasp Toland's arm) I am sorry Major, it is not fair to direct my anger at you. You are right...just make sure the Corporal does not cross my path until my brother wakes, lest he wishes to be a head shorter. And after he does wake tell him to run far from my brother after he finds out who put him in the wakeless sleep. (Toland laughs) Come Thurston, The Tehvikings and I have a barrel of a special brew for you. (another tear rolls down my cheek) Rest well my brother, and wake soon. I expect to know of at least five half elf kin to hear about next we meet. Walking away from that bed was the hardest thing I will ever do. nondisclosed_email@example.com (Thurston2028)Fri, 27 Aug 2010 23:12:27 +0000 Re: Thorin Brothershttps://bfuryofthecalled.runboard.com/p1341,from=rss#post1341https://bfuryofthecalled.runboard.com/p1341,from=rss#post1341"Azhara, Orcs!" Cried Thurston, swinging at the shifting darkness. "Hang on brother" I cried, running over the bodies and slick ground made it seem imposable to get to him in time. The Orcs in the trees started to take shape more defined then just shadows, like those of a nightmare upon finally waking. Coming closer I started to see Thurston was sluggish and starting to be over run. I urged my legs to push harder. Burning from the fight and running through the hills my legs had little to give. When Thurston ducked to the side avoiding the swing of one of the Orcs, my legs found all the energy they needed. The seconds seemed to take lifetimes as I reached my brothers side. Swinging with all the power I had left, my hammer hit home. The crunch of bone mixed with the squish of skin and internal organs being shifted out of place was sickening. The Orc's armor ripped from his arm as the bone inside pushed out through the thick, leather like skin. Reaching my position next to him, i looked in shock to see just how bad Thurston's condition was. Four arrow shafts protruded from his body. Each having been on fire had kept my brother from bleeding out, but had caused major damage. Just as I crushed the second of the Orcs, my brother collapsed. Finn, having been behind me when I came to Thurston's aid pulled the injured soldier from my brothers hand and dragging him away, promising Thurston he would return for him soon, he only barely acknowledging Finn's words, blood now coming out of his mouth with nearly every breath. As a third Orc lunged at me from the woods, my attention being too focused on my brother and his condition, I wasn't fast enough. A large and, thankfully Orc made, short sword found its way into the top of my shoulder. Screaming in pain and frustration at being caught off guard in a battle I grabbed the Orc's arm and twisted. The bones each popped as they gave way in an attempt to turn at the angel I was forcing the arm. The Orc, pain and wrath fueling him, was clawing desperately at me, trying to break the hold I had, before I broke the arm. Even before my brother and I met the fury, our job was killing. On jobs where the coin demanded it look to be a suicide or an accident, I had a favored way of finishing. The dull, wide short sword, resting in the meat of my arm, would do perfectly for the task. With a last firm twist the bones of the Orc's arm gave way and separated. Crying out the Orc dropped to one knee holding his weapon arm as the fingers and wrist shook with the pain of the splintering bone. I reached up and pulled the Orc weapon from my arm, gritting my teeth at the pain of it, noticing that the feeling in my hand and fingers had already numbed from the pain. As the Orc focused he replaced his blistering pain with rage toward the one who had caused it. Just as I was hoping the beast jumped up, arms spread open, in an effort to take me to the ground and return the pain I had caused him. It was too late when it noticed that the sword it had only seconds ago been wielding, was now poised at his leaping body. Bracing myself for the weight of the blow, I thrust with precision learned from a lifetime of practice. The blade hit home. Sliding through flesh, between bone, the sword passed just inside the chest of where I knew the heart to be. The blade would cause blinding pain, enough so that the Orc, without thinking would want it removed, not thinking of the consequences of that action. Where the blade not nested would cause great pain, but no fatal wound, however, if removed with out great care and precise movement, the edge would drag across main bloodlines and sever off the still beating heart from the rest of the body. With his unbroken arm, the Orc seized the wire grip of his weapon, intent on removing it and continuing the fight. I simply turned my back, knowing that using his arm not used to wielding his weapon, and the angel he would have to pull to remove the blade, he was done. As I came to my brothers side a thump from behind told me that the foolish Orc had done what I expected. Finn returned to my brothers side, bringing with him his brothers to help defend and remove Thurston from battle. His skin was becoming pale and his breathing shallow. Knowing I needed to get Thurston and Jayne back to camp, I couldn't help but think to myself what was so important that they had fought to keep safe in the life of the one soldier. The journey back to the camp held no surprises. Eldgrim and the rest had done a good job of making sure there where none left to follow. The twisted road seemed to take hours as the three litters were hauled up hill and out of the valley. Jayne's condition stayed the same, but the soldier and Thurston were fading with the darkness of the night as dawn slowly crept into the valley. At camp all three men were hastily put up and attended to. Each had lost a large amount of blood, and it was decided would be in need of meat when they were conscious. A small hunting band was sent north in the hopes of finding food for the survivors, I was not among them. Thurston lay in a tent, a small fire next to him to keep him warm as his body could no longer do it for him. My shoulder throbbed from stitching and branding, my knees and legs ached from the fight and long run, but I hardly noticed looking down at my brother. Four dark splotches across his body gave evidence to where there had been arrows only hours before. One on his leg seemed to have done little damage, two near his stomach seemed to be connected by the faint scar from where Finn had cut him once in practice. The worst of them was in his chest, opposite his heart it had pierced his lung and getting it out had taken longer then the other three combined. I feared for his quick recovery. The soldier the group had fought so hard to save was the first to recover. From what I gathered, having not taken time away from Thurston, he was returning to the front of the crusades having found something of great power to aid in the oncoming fight. Hardly worth the lives cost in my opinion, but the rest of the Fury was in an uproar over the importance of what it could mean. All that mattered to me was Thurston and Jayne healing. Both were to make full recovery, but waiting was always the worst part. nondisclosed_email@example.com (Azhara)Sun, 18 Apr 2010 12:01:12 +0000 Re: Thorin Brothershttps://bfuryofthecalled.runboard.com/p1329,from=rss#post1329https://bfuryofthecalled.runboard.com/p1329,from=rss#post1329Waiting was always the worst part of being left on guard duty. Not so much the waiting to be done, not in these hills....more the waiting for the sound. A quarter moon had gone by with out any activity from the valley to the south. It was far too long considering how many orcs and goblins we had seen march into it not long ago. "They have nowhere to be just now brother, they simply wait for the crusaders to be pushed back this far in order to ambush." my brother had told me a number of times. I didn't buy it. No matter how smart and orc, they don't think this far ahead. Not to mention they were dragging goblins along behind them. After nearly a week of waiting the fury finally decides to send a scouting party down to see whats up and I am stuck at camp. Waiting. Three hours into the night it came. The sound soaking into the bark of trees and spring grass, barely noticeable if I hadn't been waiting through the night for it. It was far off. A long run. The others wouldn't be able to keep up, not with me in the woods, only Thurston was an equal to my speed through this terrain. I should have gone with him. I would wake them, but I wouldn't wait. "FURY!" almost as fast as the word left my lips tent flaps were thrown aside and the small band of farmers, barkeeps, cooks, and miners were assembling as fast as an army trained since childhood. It reminded me that although these people were not in the business of death like my brother and myself, they had a good idea what they were doing. "Fury, the call, to the south, the others need our help! Go!" Without waiting to see what the unit did, I sprinted into the woods, ignoring the well trodden path that moved east before turning back down to the valley. The trees in these woods were young, hardly more then fifty years, they were thin and soft. Easy to maneuver through. Not like the forest near the mountains my brother and I were raised in. Oak, Elm, and Pine the likes of which the ships of old times were built of. Nothing like this. I miss the days of my brother and I, cutting those trees each morning to feed our fathers forge. I hoped he was okay, the horn had blown twice more since the first I heard. Coming across the last stretch of wood, the trees thining and becoming little more the obstinate children compared to the thin saplings of the dense wood already passed I saw the rise where I knew the path cut back across to come into the valley. There, on the far side of the path, I could just make out the Fury on its way. I knew my way would be faster. The horn sounded again, just over the rise I was climbing. Then a sound that chilled my soul, the horn was choked off and I heard screaming. They weren't the screams of orcs. My muscles cried out as I pushed harder to climb the hill faster. My brother, Jayne, Caboose, and Finn needed my help, my muscles could wait for rest. Pulling the strap for my hammer loose from my chest, it came free in my hand. The weight of the massive weapon off my back and into my hands, mixed with the need of getting to Thurston's side drove me over the crest of the hill into a nightmare. Jayne, and Finn were near a small rock pile blocking the path north. Jayne's left eye was gushing blood, and his jaw looked to be swollen shut. Finn, spear in hand, was stabbing at the oncoming horde trying to keep them at bay long enough for Jayne to gather his senses and resume the fight. Caboose, his left arm covered in blood, was doing the best he could one handed to keep Finn from being flanked. Thurston was nowhere to be seen. "FURY!" came Finn's cry for help. Lifting my hammer screaming in rage, I made sure he knew that he would have it. From what I could see there were no less then thirty bodies scattered around where they held their ground. It did little to balance the odds, even with the rest of the Fury nearing the fight. Swinging the hammer three of the closest goblins fell to the ground with a sickening crunch. Pulling the weight back into another swing I caught the first sight of the worst of our problems, archers lighting shooting-star arrows across from us on a rise above. Wishing that Thurston had taken his spear instead of his sword with our shield i cursed, only having my hammer and short sword would do me little good against fire-tipped arrows. Still no sign of my brother I made my way to Finn's side and told him to step back to aid Jayne and see to his wound. Caboose taking up guard behind me to protect them should I be overtaken Finn fell back. Swinging wildly, the onrush slowed to a more cautious advance, they no longer had the advantage of overwhelming injured men, now they had to think. Arms burning from the effort of swinging the hammer I began to loose ground. The numbers were all wrong, goblins didn't just blood rush a scouting party. They were going somewhere and Jayne's group was unlucky enough to be right in the way. Arrows began to find themselves closer and closer to us, I wanted my sheild. "Where is Thurston?" I cried to Caboose as he stomped out a small fire an arrow caused near his feet. "We were separated when we fell back over that pass on the hill." Cursing again I lifted the hammer to crush the newest gang of goblins brave enough to come at me together. I was glad they were slow to learn, if they were to stagger their attack I would have lost my advantage. Even so, my arms burned and my shoulders felt as they no longer wanted to hold my arms to my body. Stabbing into the side of the horde Eldgrim was a welcome sight. The fury had arrived. As fast as it had started the battle came to a blood soaked end. The fury made short work of the remaining enemy force. Fox and Mo returned to gift of the shooting-stars to the chests of the goblin archers, nether of them missing a single time. Running to the rock pile I saw that Jayne had turned an unsettling shade of pale. Caboose had wrapped his arm in a cloth from his tunic, once blue it was quickly darkening into black. We needed to get them back to camp and see to their wounds. "Finn, what happened?" I asked out of breath. "We came over that hill right into the face of them," he said holding Jayne still so that he wouldn't further his injury, "Jayne called for us to fall back and try to make it back to the path and call for help." "How did that happen?" I asked pointing to to open hole in Jayne's face, the bone could just be made out through all the blood. "After they saw that he was calling for help he took the business end of an axe to the side of his head. If Thurston hadn't been right there, he would be dead" "He still could be if we dont get him back. Where is my brother?" "Azhara!!!!" Came a cry from the edge of the woods along the hill. Thurston, his back to us, was coming out of the dark woods dragging a body along with one hand and a blood covered club in the other. Shadows from just inside the trees shifted after him menacingly. nondisclosed_email@example.com (Azhara)Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:17:04 +0000 Re: Thorin Brothershttps://bfuryofthecalled.runboard.com/p1315,from=rss#post1315https://bfuryofthecalled.runboard.com/p1315,from=rss#post1315"Well big brother what now?" "What do you mean what now?", I reply. "Well big bad necro guy has his crown and all of his other stuff back, means we are pretty much screwed if we stay with these faeries." "Show some respect to the Fury brother. they have more than proven themselves formidable on the field and supplied you with plenty of things to kill and ale to drink." "That they have, don't mean i like 'em none. coin is good enough i'd still put my hammer to their heads" "And you would have my spear in your ribs before you got a chance to spend any of that coin. Assassins we may be but last i checked we still held a code of honor to the marks we take." "bah, that honor of yours has cost us a lot of coin over the years." "Please brother, you can drop the act when it is just you and I, I know who you really are under the wall you put up in front of them and i know that fathers lessons on honor were the few you actually listened to instead of doing in your own way." "shut it...i just dont know why we are still here. a lost cause and a fools errand" "a storm is brewing brother and that storm is headed by a sea of black flesh and black blood. this is a fight the likes of which we have never seen. the stuff of legends lies just over those hills and its not waiting for us to find it, its coming to us and since when have we ran from a fight?" "i know, just making sure we were here for the right reasons still" "Azhara you are hopeless...besides not like there will be many jobs to take if we dont do something soon...wont be anyone alive to afford our fees." *faint sound of a horn blowing* "nah im sure we could find some maybe in the old lands" "Quiet brother!!! listen..." *horn sounds again* "quickly brother, get your hammer Jayne calls for aid" "Jayne better hope there is something for me to hit or it will be his head bein smashed" nondisclosed_email@example.com (Thurston2028)Thu, 08 Apr 2010 21:00:36 +0000 Re: Thorin Brothershttps://bfuryofthecalled.runboard.com/p995,from=rss#post995https://bfuryofthecalled.runboard.com/p995,from=rss#post995the fire light flickers with an intoxicating glow, each flame dancing up at the stars off of the oak and maple logs i set on the fire. i set myself further away from camp tonight, i needed to remind myself that i was still a solitary being even though it would be accurate to say my brother and i pretty deeply rooted into the fury now. either way sometimes it is nice to just sit under the stars, the smell of the fire filling my nostrils, my eyes never leaving the dance of the flames except to take another bite of the hickory smoked and salt cured pork that lay beside me and to wash it down with a mug of major toland's sweet honey mead. "OI !!!!" Eldgrim's call breaks me from my meditative trance. my hand instinctively falls to my spear shaft until i see that it is Eldgrim with Fox in tow. I smile at the fact that being in the midst of the fury for as long as i have been hasn't completely dulled my instincts. "You spend way too much time writing in that book of yours brother" "and you dwindle major toland's mead supply faster than 5 of the fury combined" " 'tis in our blood brother, as my cup is empty and yours is not nearly big enough, i will bring us more. Fox stay here and make sure thurston doesnt leave, I will see him drunk tonight on the sweet nectar of the gods"  you know thurston i find it hard to believe that you and Azhara are really brothers. he is wild, almost barbarian, and you are so much more calm and clean cut. he likes the spray of the blood on his face and shield, you prefer the skill and precision of your spear like eldgrim. well thats because we are not blood brothers my dear. well then by all means share your story with me as its a decent walk to the kegs and doubly so with the rest of the tehvikings guarding it. we are adopted brothers, our tribe was from a region not too far from your eldgrim's in fact i believe our tribes were often at odds with one another over territory and hunting grounds. when we were about 9 or 10 years old a good portion of our tribe went sailing further north. we were caught in a storm and we were the only to survive. we were stumbled upon by a group of dwarves. one of them actually was exiled because he wanted to take us in. so he became our adoptive father. he taught us to craft metal and more importantly to fight. i think that azhara was his favorite sometimes for his blood lust as you say, he made a much better dwarf than i. when father was angry at me he would always call me a "durned elf". so how did the two of you become assassins and mercs? our father was murdered by a band of brigands, we hunted them down and killed them. neither one of us picked up fathers trade well enough to make any real money and that was really the only skill we had other than fighting so it seemed like the logical choice. we didnt start out as assassins, was only when we found out how good at killing we were that we went that route. you dont look like the killer you are thurston. Eldgrim and i watch you everynight sitting at your fire staring blankly into the flames or writting in your book...are you sure this is the life for you? i am what i am fox. do you ever feel bad about killing, or have you? the only people i have killed are those that try to hurt me, my brother, or any of you here. and most of them are orcs or undead anyways. the only people ive killed are my fathers killers. that doesnt make you a very good assassin then, letting your brother have all the blood on his hands. i never said that. when i take a job it is just that a job. im not the one killing the mark, the person who paid me to do it is. i am merely just the tool by which they do it. the blood is on their hands not mine. you could refuse to do the job. thats not who i am. i have my place and my purpose in this world same as you. im not saying that i will not pay for the things i have done when my judgement comes and i will see my punishment when the Valkyries simply fly overhead or take me by the hand. i accept that OI !!!! enough talk more drink. Of course brother, how can i refuse when you obviously fought so hard to not drink the mead on the walk back. fox simply rolls her eyes at the two of us nondisclosed_email@example.com (Thurston2028)Fri, 12 Feb 2010 19:16:32 +0000 Re: Thorin Brothershttps://bfuryofthecalled.runboard.com/p610,from=rss#post610https://bfuryofthecalled.runboard.com/p610,from=rss#post610It has taken some getting used to but i am finally able to get a worry free rest amongst the fury. i guess it is the life i have lived i always have to sleep with one eye open so to speak since there is always that chance of revenge on us assassins. an accepted job hazard. but there is something strange here that i have begun to feel...a sense of belonging. perhaps by the joined cause against a monster that threatens to kill all who live, but its something that i can only say i have felt a connection with my brother. My father talked about this type of a bond. a bond that only those who stand, fight, and bleed with each other can have. yes we all have a common threat and ultimately that is what has brought us all here but, no that is not what the bond is. brotherhood, true friendship, something deeper than just someone to watch your back has developed between these people, and now has begun to pull me and my brother in as well. it is very surreal for me to say with honesty that i can fight, eat, sleep, drink, anything with these men and women knowing that no dagger in the dark will find my back and should some danger be lurking in a corner that im not looking at that the very least a shout of warning will come my way with genuine concern for my life behind the voice. I think myself going soft sometimes but then i stop and think no, i can still kill without a seconds hesitation be it man, woman, or beast. no nightmares of terrible guilt have come to my mind. i guess that i have just found that i might actually be able to experience something that is close to happiness in this life. never will i truly find it that i know of. too many bad things have happend to me and misdeeds i have done to be foolish enough to think i may be worthy of that life, and honestly nor do i want it. this is who i am, and i dont regret it. What do you write in there on these quiet nights Thurston? my thoughts Jayne. What about? everything. Strange that you are so different from your brother. We are not brothers by blood. we were taken in by the same dwarf. our ship crashed in the northern isles. we actually are from a place quite close to where the tehvikings hale from. in fact our tribes were at war once i think. ironic that we fight sided by side now. what are your brother and the tehvikings doing over there? there is so much noise, they will bring the whole black orc legion down on us. give it little mind jayne. they have some secret little circle with major toland and a few of the others. in times like these we all must find what little things we can to make good memories rather than bloody ones. true enough. personally i like just watching the flames from the fire. it is easy to lose myself into my thoughts there. i agree friend, although i must say it is hard to go into reverie like that when nursing a bruised head from you or atalan's stray rocks. now we said we were sorry, but one we told you to duck and two how were we to know what direction a rock would bounce off of orc heads. fair enough i suppose. Fox, you look cold my dear, why do you stand so far from the fire? well there would be plenty of warmth in eldgrims tent were he not with his little band there. this is true, here come by the fire, im sure i could provide just as much warmth as he. well only sense you offered. Eldgrim might be mad if he sees you with your arm around her thurston... oh hush jayne, eldgrim would never hurt me. besides his love of the drink gives me an upper hand, times when he has his full wits about him are few and far between. ...that made us all laugh. the rest of the night was spent the three of us talking and sharing stories of better times around the fire, Fox resting her head on my shoulder, jayne with a a bear fur wrapped around him dark as the cloudless night sky. just simply talking. the company was so enjoyable we talked, sipped major tolands wine, and watched the sunrise. only to be greeted by the scouting parties horns of aid...while i am getting more comfortable here and resting easier i must say. waking up to the sound of a horn is becoming quite annoying. time to trade quill for spear yet again, it is a good thing the orcs bleed black, would have run out of ink a long time ago if they didnt.nondisclosed_email@example.com (Thurston2028)Sat, 05 Dec 2009 19:36:39 +0000 Re: Thorin Brothershttps://bfuryofthecalled.runboard.com/p479,from=rss#post479https://bfuryofthecalled.runboard.com/p479,from=rss#post479I must say it is taking some getting used to being around so many people as my brother and I are now. Before this the most we would be around would be a crowded night at whatever local tavern in wherever we happened to be on that particular night. On the other hand it is nice that the people we are around actually have a cause and a purpose in life other than handing us some coin to kill a neighbor whose farm land is more fertile or a politician who may be in the way of personal career motives. I have never had a problem killing people for coin, it is one of those necessary evils in the world that my brother and I just happen to be among the best of the best at. To kill for a cause that is greater than us i must say has a liberating feeling to it, one that I have not felt before. We have grown particularly close to a few members of the fury, notably the Tehviking brothers. I still need to make Finn give me some coin for the armor repairs he forced me to make. There is another that has recently joined our happy little band. Atari, a local tavern owner befriended my noble brother after Azhara aided in beating some local brigands. Eldgrim and Finn share my enjoyment of spears, Thorgrim and Mav share in my brothers love for just hitting things. I always find enjoyment in pulling out Midas, my golden plated club. mostly because it reminds me of the wealthy merchant I took it from shortly after i slid a dagger into his back as he lay next to his mistress. She didn't stir, it was a good kill, a quick kill, a skillful kill. That's why the spear is my true love. Anyone can swing a sword, it takes a patient and thoughtful person to be truly deadly with a spear. watching, waiting for the perfect timing, seeing the small crack where the armor doesn't cover, thrusting the end into your enemies heart, or stomach if you are feeling particularly mean for a slow death. Nothing can beat that. One could call it fate that so many of the Fury use spears, though most just because it keeps the orcs at length, but a few share in my love for the more sophisticated weapon. "Brother put down your quill and pick up your spear, Jayne's horn has been heard, the patrol needs us" "Coming brother" I Stand, Midas at my hip, I reach over my spear slides comfortably into my hands.nondisclosed_email@example.com (Thurston2028)Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:17:17 +0000 Re: Thorin Brothershttps://bfuryofthecalled.runboard.com/p465,from=rss#post465https://bfuryofthecalled.runboard.com/p465,from=rss#post465“This isn’t the way it was meant to be” I said. Fighting off the cold as the weather turned against us. “I know brother, but in the end we will be wealthy men, with fat wives and many children” replied my brother. His beard was showing small beads of frozen moisture from the chilled morning. “You will have a fat wife” I said “I will have many thin mistresses.” “Whatever makes you happy little brother, but someday I think even you will grow tired of small brainless women.” replied my brother with a knowing smile. “For someone who has known me as long as you have dear brother, I would have thought you would know me better.” I said returning the smile. The morning was cold and unforgiving, a very standard morning in this part of the continent. One thing in this life i was truly glad of, my brother and I were very good at taking the cold, orcs were not. The scout party that we had come upon were across a stream from our camp, covered in leaves. even from the hundred feet between us and the rotting bodies, the urge to gag at the stench was strong. even the scavenging animals in these woods would keep away from that pile of rotting meat. “They are moving very slow” said Thurston, his breath practically freezing in the wind. “Yes, that is good” i replied “that means they are tired, and will be easy to kill and quick to die like their friends over there.” “Ha, if i didn’t know any better, i would say you were afraid brother” said Thurston “There are many times in life that i will gladly be the first to draw blood on a field of battle, but there is a difference between fighting with our new friends against dozens of those beasts and it being just the three of us.” I said. “I know that we chose to stay behind, we know this land better then any of them. But i worry why there are bands of those monsters wandering so freely here.” “Another time brother, and we will find an answer to your questions. living away from men as long as we did may have been rough on our keeping up on the day to day going ons of the realm, but if you remember, even as children, we knew this war was coming. We were born for this you and I. War is in our blood. besides, without us those drunken dogs would be trying to cut up friends who couldn’t take it the way I could.” This made me smile, watching man fight was always something Thurston and I found amusing. Dirty, rough, and wild, not like us, our father taught us that one blow, one kill. that is all it takes. Be sure, be clean, and be swift. Dwarves had, what was in war these times, an outdated sense of honor. At least the group of men we now served with followed this code as they did, otherwise the scratch on my brothers armor would be his guts on the ground. “If he doesn't get here soon he will miss all the fun and not just those” I said, pointing to the pile of corpses. “He will be here, you saw him fight. Men like him don’t belong behind a bar. they belong behind a sword.” Said Thurston. “He is a man without purpose, and you know as well as i do what that can do to someone.” “Get your spear and bat brother, we are out of time” I said. “they know we are waiting for them.” I said as I kneeled into the cold mud of the weeks worth of rain this land had seen. “Curse your eyes brother, how can you tell, they are so far away?” Said Thurston, copying the movement down to the earth. Each of us grabbed a handful of our ground, and saying a silent prayer to Toutatis god of earth and war, asking for his protection in return for our removing of this bane on his land. Thurston, after tightening the strap holding his bat to his side he grasped his spear in his fist and rubbed the mud onto his arms and over his eyes. After applying wet musk smelling earth to my arms and eyes I looked at my brother. While the two of us were not born of the same woman, no one could ever tell. Ready for battle with mud over our arms and eyes, many people mistook us for twins, often the only way to tell us from one another were our weapons. “May your arms never tire and your blows land true brother” said Thurston reciting a dwarven farewell spoken by our father the last time we ever saw him alive. “May your arms never tire and you blows land true brother” I replied extending my hammer toward him. His spear touching the stone of the weapon for only a second before we each darted into the woods opposite each side of the wide caravan trail to wait for the now quickly approaching orc band. “Perhaps that smell isn’t that bad after all” i thought “makes for setting a very nice trap."nondisclosed_email@example.com (Azhara)Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:11:33 +0000 Thorin Brothershttps://bfuryofthecalled.runboard.com/p252,from=rss#post252https://bfuryofthecalled.runboard.com/p252,from=rss#post252The story of the Thorin brothers, taken from the journals of Thurston & Azhara Thorin... The night was particularly bitter and cold. Of course coming from a Northman bitter and cold is just above freezing, good sleeping weather. The fire provided enough warmth for my brother Azhara and I, along with the hot tea he was brewing the night really wasn’t uncomfortable at all. “Why do you bother with that damn journal? We are Mercenaries and assassins not scholars. “My brother said.      “You know not everything in life is bloodshed brother. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy slitting a few throats as much as you so long as they deserve it, but it is nice to do something that I don’t have to wash red stain from my hands when the day is done. Besides, if it is a question of masculinity you are trying to ask me then I might ask you why you seem to light up every time the thought or smell of a nice aromatic tea is in the area?”, I replied.      “Keeps your ass warm at night doesn’t it”, he shot quickly back. “You know we really need to find some work soon, our supplies not to mention our purses are getting light.”      “Maybe if you hadn’t of slept with the inn keepers daughter we could have stayed in the town we just come from”      “Hey it was completely consensual, you heard her thank me after”      “Then why did you kill her father when he claimed you took her honor?”      “Hey she thanked me for that too.” Why I tolerate him is really beyond me sometimes. Pitty perhaps. The fire started to die low and after the warm tea was in our bellies sleep sounded quite good. Surprisingly we both fell asleep quite quickly, luckily neither of us sleeps very heavily. We both woke to a rather sickly sound. Something that sounded like rattling bones. Since coming back to the mainland we had run across a few of the undead. Really more annoying than scary though. By the time we had gotten up and in a ready stance there were five skeletons and a couple more fleshy looking creatures surrounding us, realizing a spear really wouldn’t help much I drew my swords and readied myself, back to back with my brother, with is ridiculously large war hammer he had just purchased he asked quietly, “Can I brother?”      “Yes Azhara, go play”, before I even finished my sentence he charged the first two skeletons and splintered both of their forms in one blow. Perhaps the hammer will prove some use after all. I sliced through a few of the creatures myself and then found myself pinned between the two fleshy ones, seems like I would actually have to put some effort into the two of them. Just as I was getting ready to attack I heard the sound of bone crushing and then a soft moan as the creature to my left on dropped, next to him a rock lay. Then out of the bushes a blue faced man impaled the last creature on a spear, holding him at the perfect height for another to lop off its head. “Brother, finish up will you. It seems we have guests”      “Well met strangers, My Name is Eldagrim, these are my brothers Finn, Thorgrim, and Mav. We heard the fighting, got excited but I must say I am a bit sad you only left one for us”       “Sorry to disappoint you my friend, I am Thurston Thorin, the large one behind me is Azhara. Your assistance is appreciated.” I responded.      “Not needed though” Azhara sarcastically inserted.      “Quiet Azhara, show some respect, they could have just as easily watched then hit you with the rock instead, your head sure makes a good target. I apologize for my brother, he can be a bit unpleasant at times.” I said.      “No worries, we tend to like that anyways, you two will fit right in” Eldagrim said laughingly.      “Fit in?”      “Yes, we are members of Fury of The Called. We march against Megalamarth and can always use some new recruits to help the cause. You looked as if you could handle yourselves well enough. Please come back to camp with us, if nothing else you can get some undisturbed sleep.”      “What is the pay if we join your little group?” Azhara asked as he wiped the blood spatter from his face.      “Brother!”      “Ha! Yes you will fit in rather well. The pay is you keep what you kill, and I promise there will be much to kill soon.” Eldagrim replied. We Packed our things and followed the Tehvikings back to camp, the first righteous work we have had in months. And who knows, maybe something better to live for rather than coin and death. “These guys better not be laying about the pay”      “Don’t worry brother, I’m sure you will make more than enough to buy your drink and company for many months to come” I guess coin and blood for a living isn’t always bad I thought to myself...nondisclosed_email@example.com (Thurston2028)Thu, 17 Sep 2009 01:50:35 +0000