Oathbreaker

XII: The Paladin and The Ranger

Sibin heard someone set something in front of him, pull up a chair and sit down at the table he sat at. He opened his tired eyes and saw the half-elf ranger looking at him. He learned forward, letting all four legs of their chair sit on the floor once again. He looked down at the bowl of stew, still steaming for the heat of the cook pot. Sibin smiled softly, this would be his first meal in three days. Since he left the effigy of Coreth, he hadn't stopped walking until he saw the ranger in the city. Sibin waited until the ranger took the first bite of the stew, then took up his spoon and began eating. The two enjoyed their meal in silence, only disturbed by a waitress that had come to the table.

"Can I get either of you anything to quench your thirst?" The waitress asked.

"Water." Sibin muttered. The woman nodded and turned to Jerod.

"I'll take a bottle of the house mead, please?" Jerod asked, handing the waitress a few coins as payment. She nodded and a few moments later returned with a bottle with a golden liquid in it. Jerod popped the cork from the bottle and took a big sip from it.

"Mead, huh?" Sibin asked, watching Jerod as he sighed and set the bottle back on the table.

"I don't know how you people make this stuff, but it's better than any elven wine, ale or anything else I've ever had before." Jerod chuckled. He grabbed the bottle again and held it out towards Sibin.

"Have you ever tried it?" The half-elf asked. Sibin shook his head, contemplating whether or not to sample the honey wine. He'd never purposefully dabbled in a substance that could cloud his judgement, but seeing as he was in a tavern and had no one to protect at the moment, he shrugged and took the bottle from Jerod. He pressed the bottle to his lips and drank the mead, feeling the cold liquid flow down his bone dry throat. The wine was slightly sweet and floral with a bitter aftertaste. He gave the bottle back to Jerod, and when the waitress returned with Sibin's water, the paladin asked her to fetch a bottle of mead for himself. When she returned once again, Sibin paid her and the two resumed their meal.

"So, what happened to the village?" Jerod asked as he raised his stew bowl to his lips, drinking down the last of the warm broth. Sibin looked into his empty bowl and sighed, letting his memories flow back to what he could remember.

"I believe I was lured away from the village so whoever attacked it could do so without me there." Sibin uttered coldly. He shifted his weight in the wooden chair and leaned forward against the table.

"A girl had ran up to me and told me something had stolen her goat from her. She told me the direction it went into the forest and I took off after it. That was just after sunset. After looking for the goat for almost an hour, I heard an explosion and saw a huge plume of black smoke rise into the air in the direction of the village. Once I got back, the place was already engulfed in flames." Sibin retold the best he could. Jerod listened intently, leaning forward towards Sibin.

"I ran to the village center and discovered the townspeople, butchered and left there to die. The blood soaked into the mud and my boots sank into it. The place reeked of iron and smoke. After that, everything just goes black, and the next thing I know, I'm waking up in the forest in front of a statue of Coreth." Sibin explained, his voice began to shake as he regaled the traumatic event.

"And your oath?" Jerod asked, hoping that wasn't too prodding of a question to ask Sibin in this state.

"I felt it break as the village burned." Sibin stated. Jerod nodded slowly, he couldn't imagine how it might've felt to lose something so important as an oath carried down through generations of his family.

"But, Coreth allowed me to atone for my mistake and I restored my oath, on the tenets that I avenge the village and destroy those who destroyed it, then rebuild Coreth's Lance and restore it to its former glory." Sibin explained. Jerod's eyes grew wide. This is why he felt as though their fates were intertwined. He knew, in that moment, he had to join Sibin.