Abberthorn

The Fabled Sword

The moons were full on that clear starlit night. A thick fog rolled into Legan, concealing the movements of the coven making their way through the small town to the Lowland Inn. One by one six cloaked figures entered the inn, greeted by the warm glow of the fire. Extra chairs had been brought in, and placed around the fire, making space for the extra people. As the last came in and joined the group, the woman that Aramore had met the night before came forward. She removed her hood from her head and began to talk. 'My name is Leerah, and this is Nefran and Ariah' as she spoke, she pointed with an open hand to the women on either side of her. 'And the men are Ezra, Darmien and Leakly' each removed their hoods as their name was said.

Nefran was an average looking woman of medium height and slender build. She had long wavy brown hair that she used both hands to throw out from under her hood, revealing it to hang halfway down her back. Ariah was a short petite woman with short ruffled blonde hair no longer than an inch in length. Ezra was a tall well-built man with no hair. He had two large scars on his face that any person would find hard not to stare at. One started on his lower left cheek and ran its way down to his collarbone, while the other started above his right brow and streaked down to his jaw. Darmien stood as tall as Ezra but not as well built. He had short straight brown hair and a fine well-kept short beard. Lastly Leakly stood just shorter than the other two and was of an average build. He had short dark hair no more than an inch in length that stood in random directions. He looked somewhat nerdy and yet still capable.

'I am Aramore and this is Daemon and Durane' Aramore said as he pointed each out in turn. 'So, what can you tell us about this coven and its relation to this town?'

'Well as I told you last night the coven was started by eight witches and Mages upon the discovery of the Demon-Blade, on the battlefield after the end of the thousand-year war. They had found the sword and realised its significance, so quickly decided to find a safe place to hide it. They then swore on their lives and the lives of all of their descendants that so long as one of us remained they would endeavour to keep the sword from falling into the wrong hands. So, they buried the blade somewhere within the confines of this town, and ever since then our families have been here keeping this place safe from harm as best we could' said Leerah hoping that she was doing the right thing.

'So, what I don't understand is if you all had your charm of protection on this village, then why did that grendle still attack?' asked Durane breaking the ice.

'Well like I said, eight sorcerers started the coven, six families remain. Arthur here's family are still here, but as far as we know none of them have any powers. Up until tonight we weren't even sure if this family was still aware of the coven' said Leerah defensively.

'I was made aware of the coven on the eve of my thirteenth birthday, as I presume all of you were. However not being a caster like the rest of you, I had to find other means of keeping to the promise made by my forefathers. So since my thirteenth birthday I have done everything that I could to build trust within the community, I have done all I could to remove any bad elements from the community' Replied Arthur, seeing that he no longer needed to pretend to be ignorant of the coven.

'So that is why you seemed to have so much authority over the people of the town the other day'

The room went silent as everyone in stunning awe turned to look at Daemon. 'Wow that was very perceptive of you young one, there are not too many adults who would have seen that' said Leerah looking truly shocked and puzzled.

'So, it's true then you have formed some sort of underground government?' asked Aramore.

'Well I wouldn't have called it that exactly but essentially yes. It did not start out that way, however. Our last governor, Governor Shneedleblat was a good man, and he kept this place in order. But Governor Hector on the other hand, he has been ruling this place with fear and murder, so I decided it was time that something was done. I started running things if you will, from behind the scenes. Everyone in the town acts as though they fear Hector, and then come to me with his orders. They ask whether they should carry them out, and I try to decide what is best' answered Arthur.