Playing with fire

Mercenary

The road that Eldar and Almorea traveled on from Greenwing to there new destination of Wolvine was a long one. The unlikely pair spent three days and two nights following the beaten paths that led from city to city. Despite having to walk on foot, the journey seemed to be over before it had begun and surprisingly the two travellers faced no problems along the way.

As they approached the simple wooden gates of Wolvine, Eldar looked to Almorea. "Young one, are you listening?" The tiefling nodded, looking rather confused. "Good," replied the somewhat serious looking drow. "Before we enter you must understand that this is not Greenwing. People will not be so friendly here and they will try and take advantage of the fact you are new to these parts. You must also understand that a race such as yours is not as accepted as one might hope it would be."
Almorea looked up to Eldar somewhat distressed. "What do you mean? My race? What do you mean by that."
Eldar sighed. "Your parents never explained to you your lineage?" She shook her head and Eldar sighed once more. He did not quite know how to put such an important and hard hitting matter into words. "Your species, tiefling, are humans descended from demonic ancestry. Yes? This itself would not be such a problem, however, due to this humans have taken it upon themselves to view your race as lesser beings. There popular opinion has seeped its way though society and as a result some people do not take to kindly to people of your sorts. That is not to say everyone shares this opinion but it is useful to be aware this fact."
Almorea pondered for a moment, attempting to take in the information she had just received. She was aware of her demonic ancestry yet she had never  before heard of any prejudice against her kind. "But we are just like everyone else," she exclaimed, utterly confused.
"I know this, and so do the people of Greenwing. That is why your hometown attracts so many travellers. It is a sight to behold with such a diverse variety of inhabitants that are so accepting." He paused. "I do not wish to make you any less excited for the adventures you will go on. I only wish to prepare you and to make you aware that not all people are as educated as you and I. Now shall we find my employer?"

The two entered the gates to Wolvine with eagerness. It felt to Almorea as if she were crossing into a different world. The streets were much more open to those in Greenwing and instead of tightly packed, stone constructed, three story buildings there were one story, thatch roofed cottages lining the pathway. Each cottage seemed to advertise a different trade such as a fruits seller and tailors. Despite its openness people seemed to crowd the city. It occurred to Almorea that most of these people were humans with the occasional exception being half-elves.
"Ah..." Almorea exclaimed as she entered through the gates. "I see what you meant about my race... I'll stick out like a sore thumb here," she sulked.
The drow laughed. "Ha! Yes I see why you would think that, but you have little to fear. You see, due to the amount of un-extraordinary humans here who have little to no talent when it comes to fighting or magic they are practically gasping for people like us to work for them as mercenaries or guards." At this he gestured to the two guards at the gate who happened to be half-orcs. "I see..." Almorea replied. "So being an outsider might not be so bad after all."
"Indeed. Especially in the case of my employer. He believes the less common races such as ourselves make better guards due to our 'intimidation'. People are always scared of the unknown. That's also why I believe you will almost certainly get the job, despite your age. He has a particular liking towards tieflings."
"Well what are we waiting for?" Almorea cried out. "Which way are we headed."
Eldar led Almorea through the bustling centre of the city until they reached what looked like some sort of a training grounds. It was a modestly large sized field that held various pieces of equipment such as targets and dummies that could be used for practicing combat. As well as this, at the edge of the field was a small wooden cabin that was surrounded by many men that looked to have a drinks in one hand and a weapons in the other.
As the pair approached Eldar cried out to the men. At this the heads of the warriors turned and in response they raised there drinks and cried out before going back to there previous convocations. Once closer Eldar greeted the men more formally  "good day fellows!" One particular authoritative looking man who seemed to be quite a formidable half-elf  turned, stood up and embraced  the drow with open arms. "You have returned! I was beginning to fear the worst. Where have you been?" The brown haired half-elf wore heavy leather armour that appeared to be quite worn and carried a ornate longsword across his back.
"Ratna, I do apologies, I had an emergency and had to leave in great haste," Eldar stated with an air of acceptance and authority.
The half-elf Ratna looked solum, "yes... I heard. I am sorry for your loss. I did however only expect you to take leave for a couple of days. Where have you been?"
Just like Eldar had done with Kimmen he gently pushed Almorea forward. "I went to see my sisters apprentice of sorts. The two were planning on traveling and despite my sisters absence I took it upon myself to help her along the way."
Ratna looked down at Almorea unimpressed. "So you bring her to me?"
Not wanting to seem voiceless Almorea straitened herself up and replied. "I heard you might be looking for potential mercenaries?"
"Aha! The young one speaks! Well then what makes you think I'd hire someone like you?" Almorea gazed up at Eldar then back to Ratna with a sense of determination to prove her self worth. "I am not just some young girl to be meddled with!" At this Almorea seemed to focus, concentrating on a particular spot in her mind. Her eyes began to cloud and slowly they started to blacken until they were the colour of midnight. "You see?" She gave a challenging smile.
Ratna appeared to be baffled. "I...urr... well, I might have underestimated your appearance. However, there is still the problem of combat."
Eldar quickly interrupted. "She has her own weapons and if you will allow me she can begin practice today. If you permit me three days to train her you will not be sorry."
Ratna paused. The young tiefling was certainly impressive but if she could not hold up in combat no amount of intimidation would matter. However three days to train her did seem like a good challenge. "Fine," he huffed. "Eldar you win, and as for you 'Almorea' I expect great things from a tiefling such as yourself. Prove to me your worth." At this Ratna sat back down at his bench and continued to gulp down his drink like he had done before. This was the queue for the two to leave and begin there work.

As Eldar and Almorea walked steadily away to the training grounds the two almost couldn't believe there luck, yet neither of them wanted to admit, this for fear of revealing there previous doubts. "Do you really think it's possible in three days?" Almorea questioned as she unstrapped her scimitar from her belt.
Eldar thought for a moment. "I do think it's possible but I never said it would be easy. I may have exaggerated your potential a little in order to sway Ratna."
Almorea scoffed "I think you underestimate me just as much as him! Come on! Let's get on with it." Playfully she leapt into an amateurish fighting pose with her blade outstretched in front of her. In retaliation Eldar drew his own battle worn sword high above his head and clashed it down upon Almorea's scimitar, causing it to fall out of her hands and onto the floor with a great 'clang'. "I though you said you were ready?" He joked. The young tiefling wasted no time in picking her weapon back up and smacking it against her opponents sword. At this Eldar seemed to become unbalanced and as Almorea once again smacked her sword against his, his weapon fell to the floor.
"Ha! I thought you were meant to be a mercenary but you can't even keep a firm grip on your sword when fighting an amateur!" Eldar looked to Almorea astonished. "It's not possible! This is your first time using that thing!"
Almorea playfully stuck her tongue out then began to grin, "I guess I'm just too good." She boasted. The drow looked to her confused. There was something bothering him about her. There was no way she could master that amount of strength in just one swing for someone her size. On top of that her moves were totally unpredictable and all over the place. It was as if someone was willing her on, guiding her and telling her to take action without her even knowing.
"Almorea, that was certainly impressive, however despite your apparent 'natural talent' your tactics are plain amateurish! I have much to teach you before you are deemed  worthy of our profession but for now, I guess I must say... well done." For a brief moment Eldar seemed almost sentimental towards the tiefling. She had such energy about her that he loved. Her innocence towards the world was not only refreshing but to him was so different and pure that he felt a strong duty to look after and protect her. He could see why Wilder and her became such strong friends.

The two spent the next three days training and practicing all manner of techniques that would aid in combat. In this time Almorea learnt how to correctly fire her crossbow and after half a day of missing targets (and almost shooting Ratna as he walked past) she had become a decent shot. They trained hard alternating from using her scimitar to using wooden swords that they could use against one another without causing to much injury. On top of there harsh training routine every evening they camped in the same grassy field they practiced in so when they awoke they could begin there routine once again.