Part Four: Thokk
Cold air blew through the darkened alley as Thokk made his rounds on the dark sutumn night in Northmere. He shivered a bit and pulled his cloak a little tighter. His keen orc vision scanned the area, looking for threats. The uptick in petty criminal activity since the king and queen's departure had been disturbing for the young guard.
A sound in the shadows caught Thokk's attention and he carefully edged around a building to see what the source was. He saw a figure in a dark cloak walking quickly and near silently past the end of the alley. Thokk kept a watch unsure who it was until the young woman tossed her hood back and Thokk recognized Raven, a mysterious girl recently moved to the area. She seemed to be most active at night and it was not unusual to see her going out of town and returning again most evenings. Noting this but not seeing anything suspicious about the nocturnal activity, Thokk returned to his route.
Nothing else was moving in the cold night, and so, finishing his rounds, Thokk returned to the guard's barracks hoping but not expecting to see his partner, Tiberius. The slightly warmer interior of the guard house greeted Thokk who sighed quietly, it was empty, meaning Tiberius hadn't returned to report back to thier captain. Shaking his head. Thokk decided to return outside to see if he could stop Tiberius from getting too drunk at the local tavern. He grumbled slightly under his breath as he walked. He didn't understand why his partner liked alcohol so much. It seemed no real escape from reality to the practical half orc. He smiled a bit, he didn't have to try too hard to escape from reality, he had no memories that he could be bothered by. As he pondered his lack of a history, he found his way to the front entrance to the Elephant tavern. He could see his partner happily laughing with the barmaid and finishing an ale. Thokk could only guess how many this made.
Subconsciously Thokk rubbed the scar he had on his shoulder, three slash marks that he had no memory of receiving, as he often did when perturbed. He thought back to his first memory of Northmere. It was only one year prior. He had awoken on a battlefield, surrounded by dead bodies. Some monsterous, some human and elven...no others like himself. He had begun walking, unsure of where he was headed, unsure of his name, unsure of his very identity. He walked for hours it seemed, blood streamed down his face from a gash in his forehead, he stumbled, and kept walking. The sun was just starting to rise after a long night of walking, it glinted on the church steeple and Thokk felt that he had to get there. He needed...something...some sense of self, of what happened.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Thokk pushed open the door and entered the tavern's warmly lit interior. He marched up to Tiberius who was sitting on a barstool with his back to him. He rolled his eyes and cleared his throat, "Of course I find you here, you haven't reported in yet," he said more as a statement than a complaint. It was after all, expected.
Tiberius smiled crookedly, "Here it's good, try some?" He nodded at the drink.
Thokk shook his head and looked through tired eyes at his partner, he wasn't above having a drink or two but he didn't like getting drunk and he didn't understand it...at least not fully. He wondered if his past might be something he would want to forget by any means at his disposal. Is that why he had no memories? "No thanks, I am hungry though," he walked over and sat down at a table, knowing that he couldn't finish his reports until Tiberius returned to the barracks so he might as well have dinner. He groaned a bit as Tiberius joined him, "Can't I eat in peace?"
Tiberius just smiled and finished his drink, "You came to me, remember? Look Sock," Thokk inwardly cringed at the mispronounciation of his chosen name but tried not to show it, "We are partners which means we should be able to talk, maybe even drink together, dont you think?"
Thokk motioned at Effie who nodded, knowing her regulars and their preferred orders she left to prepare his meal. He looked back at Tiberius who was still looking at him, "No I have to endure you while we are on duty, then we can part company."
"See I think you like me but you are afraid to say so."
Thokk silently began to eat the meal brought to him by Effie, not answering Tiberius' inquiry. He was thankful for the distraction of the two mousefolk that began fencing as they often did for entertainment. Mildly interested, the young half orc finished his food while watching the well rehearsed routine out of the corner of his eye. He was just finishing the food when the door burst open to reveal his captain, covered in blood and a stunned expression on his face. Thokk instantly stood, adrenaline coursing through his veins. Ever since he had taken the Paladin's Oath six months prior, he had tried to protect the town from all eveils that might beset it. The sleepy village was mostly quiet, which to Thockk's surprise, he found a bit boring. He thought after waking on a battlefield of slain bodies he'd like the quiet peacefulness of a small town. He was wrong. And now he found himself hoping for a challenge.
"They took Keith and nearly killed Louisa..." Thokk realized he hadn't heard the first part of the captain's explanation, He began listening intently, "I don't know what they were, they attacked out of the bushes. I carried Louisa to doc McGill's place," Thokk noticed that the captain's arm was badly injured. "If Keith is alive I will need help getting him back." Thokk could see that the captain, although not an old man, looked weary and worn out tonight. The dark circles under his eyes and the slump of his shoulders made the young fourty something seem much much older.
"You didn't see anything?" Tiberius was asking.
Geoff shook his head, "No they attacked from the bushes...it was too dark to make out details."
Thokk nodded, taking in everything and trying to think of what these mysterious attacker's might be. He began scanning the crowd just as Tiberius began yelling for volunteers to help look for Keith and his attackers. Silently, Raven seemed to appear out of nowhere and volunteered her blades. Thokk knew her to be an accomplished swordswoman, he'd seen her practicing on the edge of the forest at night. 'If I hadn't seen her earlier I might consider her a suspect,' he thought to himself.
Captain Geoff spoke then, "I have aquired the services of a healer. If we are going to find him alive we must make haste." He spoke grimly, his eyes hard and cold now.
"Looks like we've got a spellcaster coming with us," Tiberius said with an indecipherable expression.
Geoff nodded, "Let's be off then."
Thokk tightened the belt that held his sword and threw on the cloak he'd dicarded onto a chair earlier. He felt a sense of excitement tinged with fear. Keith had become a friend as had everyone, he glanced at Tiberius, well almost everyone on the guard force. He nodded at the volunteers and began following his captain to whatever battle lay ahead.
