Beyond Chaos – A DiceRPG
[1199] – Y06.099 – Trouble in Our Hearts IX

“What are they doing here?” one of the younger warriors of the Heroic Honeysuckle grumbled. 

“They should know better than to walk with their heads held so high in our fort.”

“They must think they’re somebodies because they’re Iyrmen.”

“Iyrmen are not so bad, but…”

“Yeah…” 

Several eyes glared upon the half elf, but he did not pay them any mind, too busy eyeing up the long walls he used to trek, the open grounds which had forged him into the warrior he was, and the apple trees, which held the most delicious apples across all of Floria, and to a little Jonn, the entire world.

“What are you trying to spy?” called a voice, of a handsome Florian, whose hair was chestnut, his eyes hazel, with a touch of trouble. 

“Nothing.”

“Of course, I don’t expect you to admit to it.”

“There’s a reason why you aren’t welcome here, leaf ear.”

Jonn inhaled deeply, but let out his sadness through his sigh. “There was a time when I was welcome here.”

“Before the Massacre,” the warrior stated.

“During the sixth week of dawnval, usually towards the end, we would open up the barrels.” Jonn motioned with his hand towards the wall in front of him. “From corner to corner, we would line up the barrels. There would be alcohol of all kinds, those from the Order, and those from the villagers around. From seven to ten, we would work the fields. They told us we would grow strong bodies if we worked the fields, so we worked the fields, from dawn until dusk, with several breaks, one before noon, one during midday, and the last, a few hours before dusk, where we would eat and drink with the rest of the Order.”

“You were… from the Thousand Hunts?”

“We swore our Oaths to the southern forest, deep within the hills. You could hear the birds tweeting. You could hear the insects chittering. We swore our Oaths during the sixth week of dawnval. Our Oaths, which forever bonded us as brothers, sisters, a family. I believed them, those Oaths. Then the King, the King of Aldland, he decided to provoke a hornets nest, and over a single night, those Oaths meant nothing to my brothers and sisters, and I was forced away. Away from the South, away from my home, away from this land now known as Floria.”

“It is our home now.”

“I hope the cider is still smooth,” Jonn said. 

“You don’t need to worry about that any more, leaf ear.”

Jonn’s eyes fell upon the handsome fellow, who was roughly his age. As he stared into those hazel eyes, the half elf smirked slightly. 

“Is it so funny to lose your home?”

“My friend, Fred, is from Rock Hill, so I know when a man worries for Rock Hill honestly.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Jonn narrowed his eyes, his own eyes now filling with a troublesomeness towards the warrior opposite him. 

“You can’t insult my honour in my own home, you cur.”

“Is this your home?” Jonn asked. “I bet you do not know of all the tunnels which the children of Thousand Hunts played within.”

“If you wish to exchange blades, let us do so,” the warrior growled. 

“I have my duties,” John replied, “but I am free enough to teach you a lesson.”

Nobby stood awkwardly to one side, uncertain if he should speak up, but he followed Jonn as they made their way to one of the open grounds for training. 

‘Once more, Jonn! With all your effort!’

‘Ra!’ Jonn had growled, but the wooden sword slipped out of his fingers, his hands aching so terribly, almost bleeding from swinging his blade countless times. 

“We will spar until surrender,” the warrior said. 

“Okay,” Jonn replied, drawing his blade, the blade which was so large, gifted to him by another half elf, who had forged it long before he had sworn his Oath to the father. It was the same blade he had wielded against his mentor in the previous year in order to keep that Oath.

Nobby hadn’t seen Jonn use Oathkeeper in a long while, but he noticed just how comfortable the half elf looked as he wielded it within his hands. 

‘You should have known your place,’ Sir Finn thought, feeling the tingle of his own magical blade, a Basic blade which had been gifted to him thanks to his position as greater than an Expert. ‘I’ll show you mercy and take just an eye since you’re not using it properly.’

The silence accompanied Jonn, who could feel the warm noonval breeze. As it swept through the Order, he felt the familiar caress of the wind. Yet, though it was familiar, it was not the same. Once, the wind could travel freely through the spaces between the buildings, but now, because of all the tapestries and paint upon the walls, the wind came to him battered and bruised. 

“If you do not wish to step forward…” Sir Finn charged forward, his blade whipping through the air. 

Jonn opened his eyes, glaring at the warrior intensely, causing him to shift and swing his entire body to the side, even though Jonn had yet to swing his blade. However, by the time Sir Finn had returned to his senses, he brought his blade up to defend himself from a terrifying blow, which flashed white hot. 

“You! By the Oaths I have sworn, my duty shall soar!” Sir Finn chanted, his blade glowing purple and orange as the petals floated all about them, exploding with thunderous force, catching the attention of the entire fort as the pair clashed. 

“Though you speak poorly of my leaf ears…” Jonn began, willing forth his magic, ready to chant his spell now that he had marked his foe. He recalled the words of the twins, who thought his ears were handsome, though not as handsome as their father’s, okay, just a little bit. “As it is my duty, I cannot stumble.”

The explosion of thunder rocked through Sir Finn, who crashed against the training dummies, while the warriors of the Order quickly leapt to his side, including those who had just emerged, noting the appearance of the figure in full plate, and the large auroch of a man.

“Finn! What happened?” one whispered, his eyes darting to the side, asking the trainees about what happened here. 

“Okay?” Tanagek asked, taking his place beside the pair, along with his other companions. 

“Okay,” Jonn replied simply. 

“What is the meaning of this?” boomed a voice, as the Honeysuckle Sword marched onto the scene, finding the Iyrmen to one side, and his own to the other, who were ready to fight.

“That leaf ear picked a fight with Sir Finn!” a younger trainee exclaimed, pointing at Jonn with an accusatory finger.

“Yeah! What was that all about?” an even younger trainee exclaimed, while a six year old crossed their arms, glaring at the half elf, thinking thoughts that a six year old shouldn’t have about another, no matter how stinky the no good leaf ear was.

‘If he fought Finn…’ Sir Harold thought. “What trouble do you have with Sir Finn, young man?”

Jonn glared at the Honeysuckle Sword, recalling how he had drawn his blade against Adam in the previous year. 

“I hope you’ll punish your man accordingly,” Sir Harold stated firmly, glancing back towards Jurot and Adam.

“Now, now,” Adam said, holding up a hand, before motioning for Jonn to approach. “Manager Jonn, what happened here? Don’t be vague about it, I want to know exactly what happened.”

Jurot could see the annoyance rise on Adam’s face, but at the same time, the half elf held quite the cheeky smirk upon his face, one which meant trouble, because unlike the Honeysuckle Sword and Sir Finn, Adam and Jonn were close, and understood one another, including how unlikely it was that Jonn would have started trouble.

“Ah? So Sir Finn, was it? He picked a fight with you because you’re a no good half elf? There’s got to be more than that, right? He was probably feeling inadequate, since these guys took over your old home while its master was out, with the help of their King, so it’s not like they earned it, and they probably wanted to take it out on you so they could feel like they were somebodies, so you taught them a lesson and defended your honour, and now they’re trying to blame you for it?” Adam asked, his voice light and playful, the half elf’s wide grin domineering his face.

Jurot could see the smile, that was plagued by annoyance, but also mischief, as the half elf was already prepared to fight. As much as Jurot had made his brother promise, what was he meant to do when the Florians wanted to behave in such a manner? 

“I hope you are more careful of your words, or people may misunderstand,” Sir Harold stated firmly, filled with annoyance. “Please keep your man in line.”

“I hope you’ll punish your man accordingly,” Adam replied, smiling innocently towards Sir Harold. 

“Do you think my men would lie about what happened here?”

“I don’t know? All I know is that I believe Jonn, since my man wouldn’t lie about what happened here since he knows we can just cast a quick Zone of Truth, and he’s lying to me, I’ll beat him up. Though, I suppose that’s a good idea, isn’t it? We could cast a Zone of Truth to see if he’s lying. It’s only a Second Gate spell, so one of yours could cast it, and one of ours could cast it, and we can get to the bottom of this.”

“You are within our home,” Sir Harold stated, his voice deep, and full of authority. “I ask that you show proper respect.”

“Hmm,” Adam replied, closing his eyes slightly, his brows pulsing.

‘Adam…’ Jurot thought, preparing himself for the half elf’s outburst, and yet…

Seconds passed as the half elf continued to groan, keeping himself from burning down the place, verbally, though no one would have been surprised if he cast a few Fireballs just to clear his mind.

May the 4th be with you and I hope you enjoy this additional chapter!

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