Of Monsters & Men

Chapter 1.2: Oagard

Despite his love for sailing, Oagard felt a terrible tightness in his heart. The exiled prince of Astaroth stood alone at the stern of the ship, looking back at the home he would never see again. The gods had been cruel in letting such treachery take place.

The sands of Astaroth grew more and more distant as the lonely ship moved ever closer to Neuhalfen. The waters of the Boiling Ocean lapped at the wooden planks of the vessel's bow and the sound of wind playing with sails filled the air along with the cries of seagulls.

It was only a few days ago that he was dining with his father, the dark elf Sultan Saleet Zahkar, on his lifeday when he was framed for trying to assassinate him with a bloodscorpion. His father, opening the gift given to him by his eldest son, would have died if not for Nasri, Oagard's younger brother, who killed the creature with a dagger moments before it caused the sultan's demise.

It all happened so fast. Immediately the royal guard seized Oagard for handing his father a basket with a poisonous creature, and despite his efforts at claiming that he had no idea of the scorpion's presence, several servants stated that they saw him placing it in a similar basket earlier that day. Lies.

Sultan Saleet was shocked and at first refused to believe in his son's betrayal, but he ordered for Oagard to be sent to the dungeons to await his trial nonetheless. Days later the trial proved him guilty, and in spite of his brother Nasri's attempts to prove his innocence, false testimonies of "honorable elves" ended up proving a conspiracy that never took place, accusing Oagard of trying to take the throne of Astaroth for himself.

Other than Nasri, the only elf who remained loyal to Oagard was his old tutor and uncle, Salim. The old scholar convinced his brother, Sultan Saleet, to banish Oagard from Astaroth instead of making him face the executioner's block, and here he was now on a ship to Neuhalfen, forbidden from ever returning to his homeland.

He looked down at the deep water, wondering how peaceful it was under the blue abyss when a voice from behind him caught his attention. 'You ever been to Neuhalfen?'

He looked over his shoulder and saw Namir, the ship's captain, standing behind him. 'Twice.' He answered. 'When I was a child.'

Namir walked up beside him and spit at the water. He was a merchant and a smuggler. His long ears were decorated with earrings and his white hair was tied back in a dirty ponytail. 'Fine place. Beautiful whores.'

Oagard hesitated before asking. 'Are we heading to Argos?'

Namir laughed, his rotten breath complementing his decaying teeth. 'Of course not. This ship is headed for Tarsh. Argos is a city for princes and noblemen. Tarsh is a safe haven for people like us.'

Oagard was about to contest when he realized he was no longer a prince, but an exile. 'I have never heard of Tarsh. Is it near Mira's Cove?'

Namir looked him in the eye, finding his lack of knowledge strange for somebody traveling with a smuggler. 'You have never been on a merchant ship have you lad?'

Oagard stared at him, remaining in silence.

Ignoring his silence, Namir continued to speak. 'Tarsh is near Black Gulf. It is a Kyrosi slave city; a home for thieves and rapists. I would bet you never mixed with the likes of those either.' He paused. 'Of course you haven't. How do you even plan to make a living in Neuhalfen?'

Oagard had had plenty of time to think about that, so the answer was at the tip of his tongue. 'I plan to sell my talents for gold.'

'You are going to work at a brothel then?' Namir said, laughing alone at his own joke. Oagard simply glared at him.

'I will live as a sellsword.' He retorted proudly.

Namir rolled his eyes. 'Hmph. And what mercenary company would take you in? You think sellswords think highly of highborn dark elves? Best chance you have of surviving is selling yourself into slavery along with the fauns or facing minotaurs in the fighting pits!'

Oagard ignored him. 'When do we arrive?'

Namir stared at the horizon. 'Might as well lay back and put your feet up. If the wind is in our favor, it won't take less than two weeks before you see dry land again.' He then patted him on the shoulder and turned to shout orders at his sailors.

Oagard remained at the stern of the ship, thinking of how he would adapt to his new life in Neuhalfen. Despite his dislike for Namir, the old smuggler had a point. Dark elves weren't very well regarded where he was headed and it wasn't like he could simply hide his grey skin and silver hair.

He sat on a nearby barrel and considered his options. Neuhalfen was a fairly large continent, smaller than Gamoria, but still very large. The people who lived there were not very fond of outsiders and slavery was an all too common practice in the southern part of the land.

Two kingdoms ruled Neuhalfen, Argea in the north and Kyros in the south while the eastern part of the continent was wild country, home to the ancient centaur herds and faun clans. The Argeans were a noble people, philosophers and poets, but the Kyrosi were ruthless slavers who loved nothing more than spilling blood and drinking wine.

Fortunately, Kyros was home to the most famous mercenary company in the known world, the Blades. Famous for employing the best sellsword armies money could buy, the Blades accepted outcasts from all over the world into their ranks, among them exiles, murderers and war veterans. They didn't usually discriminate against other races, allowing even some fauns to join their midst, but the company only employed the best fighters and usually killed those whom they deemed unworthy.

The young exiled prince had been trained from a very young age in sword and spear fighting techniques, but he didn't know how his skill would match up against the world's best mercenaries. Either way, he didn't have much of a choice and simply hoped the years he spent training in the palace courtyard would prove useful in the days to come.