Dantorel

Kalli had been in negotiations with the barman concerning their dinner. She sure as hell hadn't expected a full on brawl to break out on the other side of the room. Spinning around quickly, she felt her stomach drop as she saw a scrawny brat of a boy in the middle of the crowd. Durza. He had upwards of five men after him. He was holding his own, but unless he could duck dance his way out of that door, he was going to get hit eventually. And he may be speedy, but he was tiny and one hit was going to be enough. Torn, she reached for the daggers at her belt. She rarely had cause to use them, but she was a good actor-she could probably bluff her way out of that fight. She just wasn't sure about Durza. This was why she didn't look after people very often. Her charms worked best on her own. She thought of the little magic she knew, her hand hovering over to her flute. She didn't want to reveal that here. She couldn't. Before she'd had time to do anything other than jump to her feet, she knew she wasn't much use to him here. She started scanning for escape routes.
A bottle flew over Durza's head and smashed over a man who had been minding his own business at another table. Bad case of wrong place wrong time, but for Durza, it could be his saving grace.
Ok, this time she could afford to use a little bit of Luck. That wasn't what the magic was called, but it was something. To have hit Durza with a nice boost would have been lovely, but he was buried in enemies and she hadn't put a marker on him yet. The big fella, however, she could use. All she needed was for him to choose the right people to take this out on. She prepared everything and waited, muscles coiled, to see how he would choose. Her mind whirred. He was a huge man, an absolute mammoth that easily dwarfed Durza, and the other men. He had to be a warrior. She'd seen some of those marks carved into his skin. She may even have seen him before, or at least another of his people. All she could remember of them said he would act with a warrior's honour. All that remained was to see whether he thought defending the weak more honourable than ending the fight quickly and restoring the peace.
Ready to hit him with a big dose of Luck if he looked like he was choosing the wrong way, she waited. As soon as he saw the numbers however, she knew he'd chosen the right way. He started throwing men across the room, and Kalli just hoped Durza hadn't dodged all of that to get knocked over by a flying drunk.
She scanned the room as the big man finished it off. How had this happened? She saw a flash of green vanishing around the corner. A few eyes rolled towards her from semi-conscious men on the floor. Belissa. Of course. That girl never knew how much trouble she was in until she's drowned in it. It was honestly a miracle she was still alive. But she was also a viper and that her little following were so ready to fight for her spoke worlds to Kalli. She glanced over a few of the men on the floor. She recognised some of them. Thieves. From the same crew, run by a weasel of a man called Aron. They paid for information as well as anyone else, but no other crew leader gave Kalli the same sick feeling as Aron. Belissa had gotten herself involved in Aron's crew, and Aron's crew should not be making moves this far south. Kalli's eyes narrowed. Trouble was brewing. There'd be a turf war here soon. Time for them to leave. The roads would be far more dangerous than she thought then, and that meant she and Durza might have a little more trouble getting to the next town than anticipated. What better way to deter the unsavoury element than with their very own walking, talking mountain?
Quickly turning back to the bar, she placed an order for more food and a lot more drinks.
When she turned back, the big man had downed all of Aron's men, and had taken instead to booming at poor little Durza, who was miraculously still upstanding. Kalli grinned. Taking a keg on one hip, and holding mugs in the other, she walked over to Durza. "And here I was thinking you were still safely in my room. Honestly kid, at least you're making your first night in an inn memorable." She handed him a mug.
She grinned up at the warrior man who head, shoulders, and chest above her. "Thanks for the help, big man. I ordered us some dinner while you were cleaning up. Shall we sit at your table?"
 
Lore Post

Aron's Crew: A thieve's "guild" that works, typically, in the northern kingdoms. However, a stronger, more organized guild (yes, this new one can actually be called a guild) showed up on their turf. With their members being superior in quality, this new group easily shoved Aron's crew from their lands. As such, they are trying to get a foothold in the small town of Sentry.

Kalli has a bad history with Aron, as he would either like her as a slave, or her head on a silver platter.
 
Thriin was surprised. Both of the people he now kept company with at his table in the corner of the room were very small. One of them seemed almost to be a child. The female seemed to want to ask him for a favor, as she had bought much beer and food for him. "What are your names, small ones?" he asked them. The child shifted uncomfortably. It was obvious to Thriin that he did not wish to tell him his name. The female, on the other hand, stretched out her hand with a grin on her face. "I'm Kalli! Good to meet you..." Thriin could tell she wished to know his. "My name is Thriin! I am from the northern lands. I am very glad to have met you little people! Why did those cowards try to fight this child unhonourably? I wish to know!" The child shifted more. He obviously wanted Kalli to speak. After waiting a few moments, the child seemed to realize she wasn't going to speak for him and groaned. "It was because of that stupid prostitute! She came up to me and started trying to woo me! I don't know why, but I laughed at her, and apparently these push-overs didn't like that very much. Thanks for the assist, though. I can handle five or six, but more than that is too much" Thriin was surprised by the child's bravery. He did not know many warriors who were valiant enough to even attempt to fight ten men at once. "Well! You are very brave for such a little man! I did not know that such bravery existed in these lands. Well met, warrior!" Thriin laughed his usual booming laugh. Kalli seemed to nudge the child, however, apparently trying t0 get him to introduce himself since Thriin helped him. The child groaned yet again. "Ugggghhh... fine. My name is Durza. There, happy?" Thriin was content that Durza told him his name, but Thriin was focusing on something else. The female, Kalli, didn't seem surprised to hear that Thriin was from the northern lands. The one thing that could've marked him as such were his accomplishments that were depicted all over his body, specifically the ones on his arms, the left arm denoting he was the sole wielder of the axe of the first northern warrior, Grimmfang, and the right depicting that he had slain 100 men in a single battle on his own. Kalli seemed to understand what his markings meant, as she spoke to him with respect, unlike the other people in this land he had visited. That must mean that she knows at least a little of his homeland. He only hoped she knew much about these lands he was in, as he was desperately lost and no other person would speak to him for fear he was a madman. "If you'll pardon my rudeness in asking, Kalli, could you tell me about these lands? And about this place? And what is a prostitute?" Thriin decided that, if she could answer his many questions, then he would try to travel with her and Durza.
 
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Kalli laughed lightly, taking a healthy swallow of her ale. Durza was certainly a little brat. But if he was going to need a rescue, who could thank his rescuer himself. His confidence was overwgelming, but not as she had initially thought, completely unfounded. At the very least, it seemed to amuse the warrior, who was a strange kind of man, but a good kind of strange. He was Kalli's kind of straightforward and she found his nature rather refreshing. What a trio they probably looked, one giant and two skinny runts who could very well be his lunch.
"Thriin then, I can tell you anything and everything you wish to know about this place," she promised. She was a storyteller after all, and not only that, but she knew more about the inner workings of the underground and half the nobility than anyone else around. "As for the prostitute, well, her name was Belisa. They are women who sell their bodies for money. Willing men, and sometimes women, pay them for sex and some, like Belisa, manage to get themselves into positions of some power this way."
She frowned at the corner, stuffing her mouth with the dinner that had promptly arrived. She guessed no-one wanted to piss off this table again tonight. "Those men she was with are all in a thieves guild run by a man called Aron, so I guess she's in with them now too. Last I saw them, they were far further north, and I barely got out with my head still attached. If they're this far south it means they're looking to expand their territory, or they got booted from theirs."
She made a mental note to ask a few questions later tonight. If Aron's men recognised her, there'd be trouble, but she didn’t think they'd be back tonight.
"They're rats, but there are a lot of them, and they'll be back. It's probably best if we aren’t here when they arrive ," she said to Durza.
She nodded at Thriin. "That goes for you too, big man. I'm sure you could handle them, if those markings are anything to go by, but making enemies of the entire underground probably isn't a great way to start your new life in the south. Could make travel rather difficult. Durza and I are heading for another town tomorrow if you want to come with us."
 
Several miles to the West, in the town of Quake.

Fire-lit torches bobbed in the forest just North of the small village. Orcs, in a group no less than fifty, had amassed. Their chieftain was huge, powerful, and scarily smart, for an orc that is. His massive form, standing at 7' tall, the orc towered over his subordinates. With grunts and fists, he directed his followers around the sleepy town. The night was moonless, perfect for an attack.

Grinning with a smile of pure malevolence, the orc chieftain gave his troops the signal.

Immediately, the savage war cries of fifty orcs sounded throughout the town. Great wolves charged throughout the town, biting down on any unwary guard. The orcs ravaged the town, tearing down doors and families. They left none, but two, alive. The first, a young woman of only 15 years of age. She was hidden away in a cellar, way back in the woods, having run away from home only a few minutes before the attack.

The second, a priest, incompetent and foolish, was taken by the orc chieftain. He was to be their sacrifice, their gift to their black gods. A sacrifice to gain favor in war.

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Halfway through the night, in the town of Sentry, dogs began to bark, looking to the town of Quake. Light could be seen, almost as though the town was on fire.
 
The hounds could be heard in the tavern a few people stand up to investigate the ruckus only to be swarmed by the town's guards. "What happened?" Durza asked a guard, "The town of Quake has been ransacked and we are going to search of survivors." Durza bursts out of the tavern to see the far off town ablaze. Durza stood in of the road his fist clenched and his teeth bared he could hear the distant scream from an old memory. He had to go there, now. He turn to his face away form his new acquaintances as a single tear trailed down his face. He would have burst down the road by himself if it wasn't for them. In a low, almost whisper he asks, "We are going to hell them right?" Full facing them he tries for a grin "I mean it's up to you guys if go or not." Looking at the giant man and could tell by the way he was standing and the fact he had just help him seconds ago we would help, no matter what cause. Kalli was harder to read, she did help him but would she have if he hadn't tackled her? He waited anxious for his new companions respond, bouncing on his heels in anticipation shifting his weight and fiddling with his dagger hilt. The memories kept echoing in his mind making him even for jumpy. They might have thought he was just impatient but he was more worried than anything. As the dogs barked and the smoke continued to rise into the dark sky.
 
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