#meredith gruksdottir | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

aquadestinyswriting · 2 months

Text

Titan Modern AU- Chapter Four

Summary: Meredith and Elowyn have a chat with Starhammer regarding the shooting that took place two days ago, and what Fangthane's interest in it is.

Words: 1,798

Tags: @druidx, @sparrow-orion-writes @warriorbookworm, @thesorcerersapprentice, @blind-the-winds, @philosophika, @the-down-upside-finch, @hippiewrites

Warnings: Political BS incoming.

Notes: Had to do a little more worldbuilding for this one. Enjoy the little history lesson.

Meredith hovered in the door an extra moment, before Starhammer’s flat stare forced her to march in and stand at semi-attention next to the sofa that Detective O’Toreguarde was now sitting in. Starhammer ambled back to his desk and sat on the edge of it, stroking his impressive moustache,

“I had rather been hoping that I’d misheard the name Gruksdottir gave me, Detective. Not that I’m displeased to see ye, mind, but given why I need to talk to you…” he trailed off, glancing over to Meredith, who was looking between the Detective and her Lieutenant with a politely confused expression. He ‘harrumphed’ and looked back at Elowyn, “Given the situation, I think it’s only fair that one of us explains a few things to Constable Gruksdottir.” he said.

Meredith stood a little more at attention,

“Sir, if necessary, I can leave the room and get back to my post –” she started, before Starhammer held up a hand to cut her off,

“Negative, Constable. Command has requested that you be informed of the situation as it pertains to the security of the Kingdom with Toreguarde’s borders, seeing as you’re the only officer here besides myself for the time being.” he replied. The Lieutenant’s statement caused both women to frown in wary confusion, first at each other, then at the old man sitting in front of them. Elowyn sighed, then nodded,

“I suppose it would be advantageous to explain why and how you know who I am.” she conceded. She looked over to the Constable, whose frown of confusion had only deepened, “Lady Frigidwake and I know each other on a personal basis. She, and her friends, took me under their wing after the chaos of the attacks that almost destroyed Toreguarde ten years ago died down and we started to rebuild. We’ve become close since then, and consider ourselves as family.” she explained.

Meredith nodded as she took in what Detective O’Toreguarde had said,

“I, of course, had heard about the attacks.” she said, finally sitting on the arm of the sofa, her voice low. “I was only a bairn at the time, but my Uncle Snorri and my brothers, Alfie and Magni, were deployed to help in the defence of Toreguarde, in honour of the alliance between our states.” Meredith looked down at the floor, her hands gripping at her kilt, “Only my uncle made it back in one piece.” she murmured. She shook her head to clear the memories away and looked back up at the Torejar Detective and Lieutenant Starhammer, “However, I fail to see what Detective O’Toreguarde’s relationship with Lady Frigidwake has to do with the shooting that occurred two days ago.” she said.

Elowyn’s face fell into a sympathetic grimace as Meredith spoke. No one had asked Fangthane to send reinforcements, but they had been enough to secure Toreguarde’s continued existence. Without them, Elowyn dreaded to think what would have become of her home and what remained of her family. She, likewise, shook her head to clear away the unwanted memories and looked up at Lieutenant Starhammer, her face twisting into an unhappy grimace,

“I’m guessing word has reached Fangthane about what happened?” she asked. Starhammer nodded, his face, likewise, falling into an unhappy frown,

“Aye, lass.” he confirmed. He glanced over to Meredith, who was looking more confused than ever. He sighed and shook his head, speaking directly to Meredith for the moment,

“D’ye remember the attempted assisination of King Storri a few years ago?” he asked. Meredith sat more upright and nodded,

“Aye, sir, I was a cadet at the time, but it was the only topic of conversation back at HQ for at least two months after.” she replied. She glanced over to Detective O’Toreguarde, who was staring at the window, not moving a muscle, “I also recall the… upset over Toreguarde’s refusal to extradite the suspects back to Fangthane when they fled here.” she added. Starhammer nodded,

“Aye, that caused quite a lot of upset alright.” he muttered. He stood and walked behind his desk, “It will not surprise you then, Constable, to hear that those same suspects are currently being investigated for the attempted assisination of the Triumverate Council of Toreguarde.” he said, leaning on the desk and looking at Elowyn.

To her credit, Meredith thought, the only reaction Detective O’Toreguarde had to the statement was a very slight twitch in her jaw. She watched as the Torejar woman sucked in a breath and slowly let it out before speaking,

“Olin, I understand that you have a duty to the Crown of Fangthane. But I’m just a detective, I’m not someone who has any authority over the decisions of the Toreguarde Council.” She stated, “I was put on this case to track down and bring in any and all individuals responsible for the crime that was committed. No more, no less.” she added firmly.

Starhammer blustered for a moment at the candid reply, before huffing an irritated sigh and sitting in his seat, the metal and plastic creaking loudly as he leaned back,

“I know ye don’t have that kind of authority, lass. That’s not why I’m annoyed.” he groaned, “The point is that I’ve been ordered by High Command – at the behest of the King’s Guard, mind – to try and convince the Toreguarde Council to agree to their latest extradition request.” he sighed.

Elowyn frowned in confusion once more,

“I fail to see the problem, Lieutenant. Yes, the Toreguarde Council has previously refused to extradite any members of the Grimbeard Clan back to Fangthane, mostly because they were seeking political refuge, claiming they were being targeted due to being open Throffites –” she was cut off by Meredith’s snort of derision,

“Bloody bollocks is what that is.” the constable muttered in Ghàidheal. Starhammer sent her a sharp glare, cowing the younger officer, before gesturing for Elowyn to continue.

Elowyn glanced between the two Fangthanians warily. Clearly there was some contention there. She shrugged it off and continued,

“However, given this latest turn of events; should any members of the Grimbeard Clan be convicted of the attempted assassination of the Triumverate Council, then I’m sure they’ll be more than happy to extradite them to Fangthane afterwards.” she said. Starhammer grimaced,

“That’s the problem, hen, His Majesty wants them extradited now, not later. High Command isn’t convinced that having them tried in Toreguarde first will lead to the request being granted. The expectation is that the Toreguarde Council will stall for time by insisting that the criminals serve their time here first, which could be at least another twenty years.” He shook his head, “I’m already arguing the toss about this with yer aunt.” he added.

Elowyn sat more upright, her face set into a determined grimace,

“While I appreciate that you think you’re trying to prevent any issues pertaining to my relationship with Lady Frigidwake – and her involvement in the mess that is the relationship between Toreguarde and Fangthane – I can assure you that you have nothing to worry about. I’ve already cleared my involvement in the case with the Attorney General.” she said firmly. “In fact, I think she asked Fugit to put me on this case.” she added.

Starhammer blinked for a moment, ‘harrumphed’, then crossed his arms over his chest and grumbled,

“Right. Well now I know who to direct Selene to when she throws a fit about yer involvement.”

“When she throws a fit about my almost getting shot you mean.”

Starhammer pursed his lips, but said nothing in response. Instead, he turned his attention to Meredith, who was looking pointedly out of the office window,

“Gruksdottir, I do hope ye’ve been paying attention and not been daydreaming on the job.” he called. Meredith snapped her head around so she was looking at her Lieutenant,

“I have, sir, I simply believed it wise to not get directly involved in the latter part of your conversation as it seemed personal, sir.” she stated, trying her best not to look as offended by the comment as she felt. Starhammer nodded,

“Good.” he said, “Now that you know what’s what, I want you to look up any files we might still have here about the Grimbeard Clan and corroborate with Detective O’Toreguarde to make sure our records on them are up to date.” he ordered. “I might as well have something to give Sergeant Major Ragnarsson when he calls for an update.” he added with another grumble.

Meredith hopped off her perch, stood to attention and saluted,

“Aye sir.” she said. She looked over to Elowyn, who looked between both Fangthanians and nodded, also standing up. The detective gave the Lieutenant a short bow,

“I’ll have a talk with Captain Fugit about what other information we might be allowed to give you. I want to see justice done as much as you do, Lieutenant, and I’m not going to stop until those responsible are behind bars. Though, which ones those will be, I cannot say.” she told him. Starhammer sighed,

“I’m sure ye will, lass. Go on then, I’ll not keep you any longer. Gruksdottir, ye’re dismissed.” he said wearily.

Meredith saluted again, turned on her heel and marched to the door, holding it open for Detective O’Toreguarde and quickly following her out into the reception area. She gestured to another door across the small reception area,

“Why don’t we sort out that witness statement first?” the Constable suggested, hiding a small smile at the barely hidden flustered expression on the other woman’s face. Not that she thought the slightly shorter woman looked quite cute like this. Of course not.It was a strictly professional observation.

Elowyn’s eyes went wide and she ran a hand down her face,

“Cuthbert’s scales.” she groaned, but quickly collected herself, “Yes, of course. I apologise, that conversation with Lieutenant Starhammer derailed things a little bit.” she added. Meredith shook her head,

“It’s no trouble, I realised that we’d all gotten a bit waylaid.” she glanced at her watch. It was now 1:15. She grimaced as her stomach rumbled, loudly. Elowyn cleared her throat to cover up her snort of laughter at the flush of red that spread across the Fangthanian woman’s cheeks and nose,

“Tell you what, Constable, why don’t we grab you some lunch? Then, assuming Lieutenant Starhammer’s relieved you of guard duty in favour of looking into the Grimbeards, we can pop down the station and get the statement out of the way. Then I can find some information that might be of help to you after that’s done.” she suggested. Meredith blew her breath through her moustache with an annoyed huff, but nodded,

“Aye, that sounds like a plan.” she agreed. Both women then turned to the stairs and made their way down them in almost perfect lockstep.

#aquadestinyswriting #titan fighting fantasy au #modern au #fictional politics #meredith gruksdottir #elowyn o'toreguarde #olin starhammer

14 notes · View notes

aquadestinyswriting · 2 months

Text

A Mother's Intuition

Summary: Meredith finally makes it home, and her mother is waiting in the kitchen to have some choice words with her.

Words: 854

Tags: @druidx, @sparrow-orion-writes, @ashirisu, @thesorcerersapprentice, @blind-the-winds, @philosophika, @the-down-upside-finch

Warnings: Discussion of potential pregnancy. That's it .

Notes: Takes place pretty much immediately after 'A Lesson in Propriety'. Dru, I hope this makes up for breaking your heart the other day <3.

The Ironforge household was quiet and empty as Meredith quietly stepped in through the front door. She stepped inside and closed the door behind her as quietly as she could manage, not that it would help her any. The rest of her family were all at their various jobs, and the fact that the front door was unlocked meant that the only person that could be in the house was her mother. The young woman slowly put her pack on the seat beneath the coat rack, slipped off her borrowed cloak, sucked in a breath and nervously walked towards the kitchen door.

Morag was waiting, her arms crossed over her chest and a less than happy expression on her face, when Meredith finally slunk into the kitchen. The rotund dwarf was leaning against the counter facing the door. She glared at the sight of her youngest daughter and gestured to the dining table,

“Sit.” She directed simply, turning around and grabbing the kettle from over the fire and mixing up another mug of the vile concoction she had sent her daughter earlier.

Meredith did as she was told, hanging her head and worrying her bottom lip. It was rare for Morag to be this upset with her youngest daughter. Normally Gruk was the one doing all the shouting and attempting to punish her, Morag had rarely had any real cause to raise her voice. On the few occasions that she had, Meredith had vowed to herself that she would never manage to do it again. Yet here she was.

The younger woman winced as a steaming mug was slammed onto the table in front of her,

“Go on, before it gets cold.” Morag instructed tersely, taking the opportunity to roll her now greying hair back into its usual bun and sitting down opposite her daughter, still glaring at her. The silence in the small kitchen was deafening to Meredith as she blew on the ‘tea’ and drained the mug as quickly as she could manage, still trying to avoid eye contact with the middle aged dwarf in front of her.

“Right, that should help avoid any unwanted surprises.” She said, leaning back in her chair, “Now, would you care to explain exactly what the two of you were thinking last night?” she hissed, her brown eyes narrowing dangerously. Meredith shifted uncomfortably in her chair,

“Well… we kinda... didn’t.” she replied quietly, staring at the table rather than facing the angry and disappointed expression on her mother’s face. Morag sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose for a moment,

“Right, now that’s been established, can you remind me what I told you after Yoruk told us he wanted to openly court you?” she asked. Meredith nodded and began playing with one of the smaller braids in her beard,

“That ye didn’t want to hear the patter o’ little dwarven feet comin’ from our direction for at least another decade, and preferably after we got married.” She replied, only now daring to chance a glance up at her mother. Morag snorted,

“Exactly! The fact that ye’re even here tells me that at least Ionah doesn’t know about this. At least we can be grateful for small mercies.” The older woman sighed heavily, her stern expression lifting slightly, “I had just hoped that ye would actually tak’ the advice Merri. Ye’re not that long of age, and ye’ve been tellin’ me and yer da that ye feel that ye’re needed by Moradin outside the mountain. Ye canna do that if ye’ve got a baby to look after.”

Meredith squirmed under the extreme disappointment in her mother’s voice and face,

“I ken,” she sighed, “I did say as much to Yoruk at breakfast.”

Morag sent her daughter a small smile,

“Then ye ken full well that ye’re maybe better holdin’ off entirely until after that’s all sorted out?” she suggested. Meredith looked back down at the table again,

“Aye.” She agreed, “What about da though? He’s gonna put two and two together eventually.” She pointed out sullenly. Morag shook her head,

“Dinna you mind aboot yer da, hen. I’ll deal with that.” She said firmly. The older woman reached across the table and lifted her daughter’s chin, “Mistake made and lesson learnt?” she asked gently. Meredith met her mother’s gaze and smiled sadly,

“Aye, the hard way. As usual.”

Morag chuckled,

“I don’t think there’s ever been any other way for you to learn.” She teased. Her expression became a bit more serious, “Make a note o’ when yer next Moon’s due and if ye miss it by more than two weeks, or start to feel unwell in the mornings, tell me.” She ordered. Meredith nodded,

“I will mam.” She promised. Morag nodded in satisfaction, got up and hugged the younger woman. Meredith relaxed at the gesture. Yes she had been careless, but it seemed that her mother still had her back when it mattered. When the two women separated, Morag smiled cheekily at her daughter,

“Just in case though, have ye given any thought at all to names? And where’s the engagement present, for that matter?”

#aquadestinyswriting #titan fighting fantasy #the trouble with meredith #meredith gruksdottir #morag ironforge #pregnancy discussion

14 notes · View notes

aquadestinyswriting · 1 month

Text

You Never Cared

Summary: Llachlan and Pal-El enter one of the many chambers of the Hall of Heroes, having been told to go to this one in particular by the Hall's guardian. A one-sided argument ensues when the spirt they've been sent to see shows up.

Words: 1,003, a little over, but I can't make it much shorter.

Tags: @druidx, @sparrow-orion-writes,@flashfictionfridayofficial, @ashirisu, @blind-the-winds, @philosophika, @the-down-upside-finch

Warnings: Implied neglect, implied character death, implied ritual sacrifice, all of the angst

Notes: This is set during the current campaign! I have Pal-El's player's permission to use the character here. Based loosely on an actual session, mostly because I don't remember what exactly was said at the time and I'm not allowed to record sessions for this campaign.

Pal-El looked around the chamber he had been directed to by Aurianna. It was beautifully decorated, he thought, recognising the runic text of Moradhir scripture carved into the pillars on either side of him. The ceiling was vaulted and a large statue of Moradin stood at the far end of the chamber, the gaze of the Dwarf Father overlooking a simple shrine at His feet. A large barrel sat to one side of it and the shrine itself was adorned with offerings of various gemstones, various smithing tools and tankards that had once, presumably, been filled with ale and beer.

The warforged paladin turned his attention to the black-haired dwarf that walked alongside him. Llachlan was sullen and shifting uncomfortably, glaring at the statue of the god his people so revered. Pal-El sighed, he understood why the young dwarf was reluctant to be here. Hells, he was nervous, and he’d had a very good relationship with Archlector Bloodvein, all things considered.

Both paladin and forsaken warlock froze as the air in the chamber… shifted. The lights flickered briefly as a slight breeze wound between the two beings. Pal-El looked around as the breeze died down, standing ready just in case anything popped out of the shadows that were cast by the lights. His sensors didn’t pick up any intruders, or much of anything if he was honest with himself. Lachlan frowned as he too looked around the chamber, seeing nothing that seemed untoward. But that didn’t mean that they were alone, he knew all too well that there were ways for his enemies to cloak themselves even from his eldritch sight.

“Hello son.”

Both Llachlan and Pal-El jumped at the sound of the voice coming from behind them, both whirling around to come face to face with the semi-translucent form of a much younger dwarven woman than either of them remembered. The short, stout figure wore the vestments of an Inquisitor of Moradin over a set of heavy plate armour, which was heavily inscribed with scripture. Her beard was a bright auburn with no sign of white in it and only barely reached her stomach. A simple mace hung from her hip on one side while a mythril-bound book of Moradin hung from the other.

Pal-El immediately bowed his head, his mechanisms clunking and his armour clanking as he immediately fell to one knee, a hand pressed flat across his chest where his Core sat,

“Your Eminence! Truly I am glad to see you face to face once more. You look… well.” he intoned, stumbling over his greeting as he tried to think of the correct words to say in this moment.

Llachlan, as Pal-El kneeled, glowered at the figure standing in front of him, crossing his arms over his chest. He snorted,

“Bit late for the whole ‘son’ thing, don’t you think?” he spat.

The spirit’s hopeful expression immediately fell at the words. She closed her eyes and slowly shook her head,

“For all that she tried to convince you otherwise, you never stopped being ma wee baby boy, Llachlan.” she sighed, “I know there aren’t any words I can say that –'' She was cut off by Llachlan’s angry snarl,

“Then don’t!” he snapped, “Just – Get on with what you’re here to do, then get lost!”

Pal-El cautiously raised his head, frowning as he took in the hurt and lost expression that crossed his mistress’ face at the words. She said nothing more, nodded and turned her attention to the warforged that was still kneeling at her feet. The spirit smiled sadly at him,

“Pal-El… what’re ye doin’ still kneeling like that? Come on, get up.” she said, obviously trying not to let her voice quaver too much, and failing badly. Pal-El did as he was told and stood once more, towering over the short woman. He looked over to Llachlan,

“I know we’re here more for my sake, but maybe it would be a good idea to hear her out?” he suggested. Llachlan turned his glower to the warforged,

“Why should I?” he asked, “I don’t need, nor want, to hear whatever damned excuses she has!” he snapped.

“I make no excuses for what I did and said.” The spirit interjected, her voice quiet, despondent, “As much as I cared, still care –”

Llachlan’s twisted into an ugly scowl, his face burning a deep red as he clenched his hands into fists at his side,

“You cared? You. Cared?! Bollocks you did!” he thundered, throwing a hand out to one side, “All you fucking cared about was your own damn self! If you actually cared, then why not tell me about my own damn heritage and where the powers I ended up with came from?! If you cared as much as you say you did, then why the hells was I made to feel like the monster you clearly thought I was?!” Lachlan didn’t bother trying to stop his tears from falling into his beard as he continued his rant, “If you cared as much as you say you did, then why did you let them take me just to kill me?!” he sobbed.

Meredith Gruksdottir shook her head, tears streaking into her own beard,

“Because I was too blind to see what was happening right under my nose.” she replied, her voice tight, “Hate me all you want, Llachlan, but I will not deny the fact that I still love you.”

Lachlan’s scowl lifted into surprised shock as his mother’s words finally reached him. His heart ached. How could he have allowed himself to be manipulated into believing that the one person who loved him so unconditionally despised his existence? And yet, there was still a part of him that couldn’t bring himself to forgive her. Not yet. Instead, Lachlan settled for a grumble and nodded to Pal-El,

“Well, since ye’re here, ye might as well fix this idiot.” he grumbled. Meredith simply smiled sadly at him, then turned her attention to the warforged that was patiently waiting for her attention.

#aquadestinyswriting #titan fighting fantasy #the ouroboros of destiny #flash fiction friday #pal-el #llachlan bloodvein #meredith gruksdottir #character death mention tw #implied ritual sacrifice tw #implied neglect tw

10 notes · View notes

aquadestinyswriting · 3 months

Text

WIP Intro: Titan Modern AU

Genres- Low Fantasy, Modern Setting, buddy-cop drama and shenanigans,

Themes- found family, cultural adjustments, fighting against injustices, breaking the veil, fictional politics

Synopsis: Constable Meredith Gruksdottir of the Stronghold Guardian Corps division for the Kingdom of Fangthane has screwed up. Royally. A bust gone wrong has led to her immediate transfer away from her home city to work in the Fangthane Consulate of Toreguarde.

While working her way back up from the bottom of the barrel, Meredith ends up literally bumping into Detective Elowyn O'Toreguarde while the latter is investigating the notorious Grimebeard Gang, who are suspected of attempting to assassinate the ruling Council of Toreguarde. When the Fangthane Consulate is attacked by what appears to be a Toreguarde-grown Nationalist group known only as the Brotherhood, the two women are forced to work together to try and prevent war from breaking out between the two nations.

Taglist: (dm to +/-): @druidx, @sparrow-orion-writes, @thesorcerersapprentice, @blind-the-winds, @philosophika, @the-down-upside-finch, @cljordan-imperium

Characters

Constable Meredith Ironforge (aka Gruksdottir)

Detective Elowyn O'Toreguarde

Captain Arthur Fugit

Lieutenant Olin Starhammer

Lady Selene Frigidwake

Chapters

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

#aquadestinyswriting #titan fighting fantasy #titan fighting fantasy au #modern au #meredith gruksdottir #elowyn o'toreguarde #low fantasy #buddy cop adventure

12 notes · View notes

aquadestinyswriting · 5 months

Text

A Promise to Break

Summary: Before she left to go to Toreguarde to seal up the Hellmouth. Meredith promised her father she would have nothing to do with Drakemar, or those who worked directly for him, unless absolutely necessary. Unfortunately, on her second day there, she accepts a contract to work on the Emissary’s (and thereby Drakemar’s) behalf. When word reaches Fangthane that Elowyn has been released from this contract, Meredith is forced to come clean.

Words: 922

Warnings: none that I can think of, let me know if there is anything I need to tag

Notes: written for the Flash Fiction Friday prompt.

Tags: @druidx, @sparrow-orion-writes, @warriorbookworm, @mariahwritesstuff, @writeblrsupport, @ashirisu, @flashfictionfridayofficial, @thesorcerersapprentice, @blind-the-winds, @freedominique

“Given that Captain O’Toreguarde has now been released from her service to Drakemar, and that she has clearly shown no previous intent to cause issues within Fangthane even while beholden to him, I doubt that there is any real cause for concern.” Captain Bloodvein said, settling back into his chair, “However, I’m sure you can understand why we need to question her true motivations for the time she was here while under his… protection.”

Meredith fought down the urge to squirm in her seat. She’d rather been hoping that the contracts with Drakemar’s Emissary had been entirely forgotten about, given the whole ‘Ragnarok’ situation just a few years ago. She thought back to the conversation she’d had with her father the night before she left for Toreguarde the first time.

Meredith huffed a sigh and rolled her eyes, which only served to make Gruk even more irritated,

“Just promise me ye’re no’ gonna have anythin’ to do wi’ the thing.” He growled, “The last thing I want or need is fer that monster to have any influence o’er ye!”

Meredith held up her hands in the most placating manner she could,

“Alright da, I promise I’ll no’ have anything to do with him.” She agreed, heaving a sigh, “Not that I’d want to anyway, I’ll have enough to deal with just figuring out how to fix that damn portal.” She added.

Guilt squeezed at her heart. The promise had lasted all of two days after her arrival in the other city. She looked up at Captain Bloodvein, whose brow had furrowed in suspicion, or concern, it was always hard to tell with the man.

“Are you well, High Inquisitor?” You’re looking a little peaky.” The heavily armoured dwarf asked.

Damnit.

Meredith huffed out a sigh,

“I’m well enough, thank you.” She replied. She glanced around her office for a moment before shaking her head, “Forgive me, but this is a topic that I’d hoped had been forgotten about. I understand why you have questions, but be assured that the contract with Drakemar’s Emissary had no sway over Elowyn’s actions at any time after we fled Toreguarde the first time. In fact, Lady O’Toreguarde was rather of a mind to end the contract herself at the time, as my father will be happy to attest.”

Captain Bloodvein nodded, his eyes narrowing,

“That is assuring. Though I can understand why such a desire had since fallen to the wayside given the circumstances that later occurred. However, why had you hoped that this matter would be forgotten?” He asked pointedly. His query held no malice, Meredith noticed. She grimaced, noticing that the older dwarf had clearly already put two and two together and was simply waiting for confirmation of his suspicions.

Meredith closed her eyes, silently prayed to Moradin for guidance of any sort, then opened her eyes once more, forcing herself to meet the other dwarf’s gaze,

“I regret to say that I was beholden to the same contract.” She said, her voice quavering despite all her best efforts, “You must understand, Captain, that the Edict against adventuring did not just apply to the remaining Heroes of Toreguarde, but all people who lived, worked or even visited the city. My Moradin-given duty at the time fell squarely within the remit of adventuring, so had I not accepted the contract, all of my attempts to help would have been stymied from the start–”

Captain Bloodvein held up a hand, stopping Meredith’s anxiously rushed explanation,

“So Lady O’Toreguarde, yourself and the others of your party at the time were forced to sign?” He asked. Meredith grimaced again and looked down at her desk, outright fidgeting in her seat now,

“Not forced exactly.” She murmured. The High Inquisitor clenched her fists and looked up at Captain Bloodvein once more, “The Emissary did give us the option to decline. However, given why I was in Toreguarde at the time, I felt I had little choice in the matter. I cannot speak for Elowyn.”

Captain Bloodvein nodded, stroking his beard thoughtfully,

“Perhaps, then, it would be wise to contact Toreguarde to request a similar release for yourself?” He suggested, “I doubt that there’s any need to inform anyone else of your own involvement in all this, but it will probably set your own mind at ease given how skittish you obviously are about it.” He said mildly. Meredith frowned, confused,

“Ye’re not upset that I essentially took gold directly from a dragon?” She asked warily. Captain Bloodvein shrugged,

“There are people who would be, no doubt, but you’ve explained why and I am satisfied with your reasoning. As to Lady O’Toreguarde’s involvement, I am satisfied that her previous obligations to Drakemar did not constitute any threat to the security of Fangthane and will be happy to tell the Council and His Majesty as such.” he stated. Meredith whooshed out the breath she’d been holding and nodded,

“Alright. I suppose I’d best ask Elowyn how she got her contract nullified, then make sure mine is done in a more discreet fashion. It’s bad enough that you know. My da’d kill me if he found out, High Inquisitor or not.” she added with a mutter. Captain Bloodvein chuckled,

“Yes, please do make an effort not to get yourself murdered. It’s a lot of paperwork to sort out all the vacancies we still need to fill.” He joked. The older dwarf stood, picking up his helm, bowed and exited the room, leaving Meredith to groan and bury her head in her arms.

#aquadestinyswriting #titan fighting fantasy #writeblrcafe #the troubles of meredith gruksdottir #meredith gruksdottir #captain bloodvein #flash fiction friday

12 notes · View notes

aquadestinyswriting · 3 months

Note

21 and 22 for the otp ask!

Hi anon, thank you for the asks. I'll answer these for Elowyn and Meredith since they're the other characters on my mind at the moment. And also because I answered for question 21 for Selene and Edwin already. OTP ask game in question, and answers under the cut as usual. Tagging in @druidx because this involves Elowyn.

21. Who would get into a fight to defend the other's honor? Who tends to the other's wounds?

This is much more fun to answer for Elowyn and Meredith from my perspective because the two of them are as bad as each other for stuff like this. Elowyn generally tries to avoid fights, but I can definitely see her having words with anyone that insults Meredith, though it's unlikely that a fight will break out unless the person doing the insulting starts it. As for anyone insulting Elowyn within Meredith's earshot; If Elowyn hasn't heard them, or is looking the other way, Merri will definitely hit them first and ask the questions later. If the insult is bad enough, then she might hit them even if Elo is watching. Something, something Dwarven honour and duty etc.

As far as tending to wounds: While Merri has been properly trained to deal with injuries, both she and Elowyn are equally capable of healing and they'll probably share the responsibility.

22. What reminds each of their partner?

Since the relationship between Elowyn and Meredith is platonic, they're not partners in a traditional sense, but there are certainly things that remind them of each other since they both work in different cities that are quite some distance apart and they are very close.

I'll answer more specifically for Meredith's half, since Elowyn's creator will know better than me what will remind the woodling of Meredith. There are a few things that remind Meredith of Elowyn, namely the smell of worn down leather and, strangely, moss. I think she'd also associate strong, cheap spirits with her as well since it was established that Elowyn preferred her drinks rough back when she was able to drink alcohol. Generally though, it's getting into situations that remind Meredith of the time the two of them spent travelling together that will remind her most strongly of Elowyn. Given the scrapes they got themselves into during the campaign, and the work that Merri does now as High Inquisitor of Fangthane, a lot of them are eerily familiar and Meredith will sometimes forget that she doesn't have a woodling paladin and gold dragon mount backing her up. The number of times Meredith has accidentally called Yoruk (her *husband*, the man she knew decades before Elowyn and willingly got married to) some version of 'Elo' in the middle of a fight is a bit embarrassing, honestly.

#writeblr ask game #writeblr community #titan fighting fantasy #elowyn o'toreguarde #meredith gruksdottir #meredith+elowyn

8 notes · View notes

aquadestinyswriting · 2 months

Text

Titan Modern AU- Chapter Three

Summary: Meredith gets a telling off for staying in the office past clocking-off time. Starhammer offers her a lift to her new place and she gets some time to settle in. Two days later, Detective O'Toreguarde returns to the Consulate to get that witness statement.

Words: 1,646

Tags: @druidx, @sparrow-orion-writes @warriorbookworm, @thesorcerersapprentice, @blind-the-winds, @philosophika, @the-down-upside-finch, @hippiewrites

Warnings: None for this chapter.

Notes: 'Haud yer wheesht!' is one of my favourite Scots phrases. It basically just means 'shut up'. Tone can indicate the swearing in the middle when required.

“Gruksdottir, weren’t ye supposed to clock off at five-thirty?” Lieutenant Starhammer frowned as he walked past the computer in the main reception area, noticing that his new constable was sitting at it. The clitter-clatter of keys being hit in rapid succession paused as the short woman looked up from the screen,

“Writing up an incident report, sir.” she replied, ducking her head back down and resuming. Starhammer huffed out a sigh,

“About the shooting that occurred earlier?” he asked pointedly. Meredith nodded, not looking up from her screen this time,

“Indeed sir.” she confirmed, her tone distracted, “I had to leave my post to render medical aid to a Toreguarde Investigative Branch officer.” she added.

“Gruksdottir, ye’re aware that it’s now ten minutes til six, aye?”

“I am aware, sir.”

Starhammer growled, marched over to the desk and put a hand in front of Meredith’s face, blocking the screen,

“Then why are ye still here?” he ground out. Meredith frowned, the first time Starhammer had seen the expression on her face, and looked up at her commanding officer,

“Because I need to finish the report, sir.” she remarked, confused. Starhammer simply shook his head, grabbed the mouse, saved the document and closed it. Meredith pursed her lips,

“I was still working on that.” she grumbled. Starhammer shook his head,

“And now I’m ordering ye to go and bloody well clock off.” he retorted. Meredith spun the chair so she could send the lieutenant a confused glare,

“I did clock of at five-thirty, sir –” she didn’t get any further as Starhammer groaned, closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose,

“That doesn’t make it better, Gruksdottir.” he sighed “In fact that makes it worse.” he added. He squinted one eye open, just in time to catch his constables’ bewildered expression before she schooled it. He sucked in a breath, lowered his hand and sat on the corner of the desk,

“Look, I understand that, back in Fangthane, things’re a bit more hectic, and I’m sure most officers are forced to work a bunch of unpaid overtime to meet deadlines set by politicians that have no idea how the world actually functions.” he noted, “However, that is definitely not the case here, and I’d rather ye actually went home after clockin’ off.” he held up a hand as Meredith opened her mouth,

“I wasn’t done, haud yer wheesht. While I do appreciate the enthusiasm, I find that writing reports as soon as an incident has occurred often leads to officers forgetting key details as they’ve not had a chance to fully internalise what happened. Make some notes, aye, but let yourself sit with it for at least a day before writing up a full report.” he suggested.

Meredith’s annoyed frown lifted into something a little more thoughtful as she took in what the lieutenant had just said. After a moment, she nodded,

“That makes sense, sir.” she said, moving to switch the computer she’d been using off. She paused momentarily,

“Sir, did Lady Frigidwake get back to you about lodgings for myself?” she asked. Starhammer beamed at her and nodded,

“That she did, lass. Actually, it’s a good thing ye were still here. Apparently a room just became available in a lodging house on Serpentine Road. It’s not too far from here, about a ten minute walk or so.” he replied happily. Meredith nodded and finished turning the computer off, grabbed her Shanter and stood,

“Very well, sir. I’ll grab my things and check out of the Crabbit Sow, then make my way there.”

Starhammer chuckled,

“Not by yourself, you’re not.” he told her, “I’ll give ye a lift to the inn, let ye grab yer things, and help ye get settled into your room.” he said, bringing out his keys and jangling them. Meredith, realising she wasn’t going to be winning any arguments with her Lieutenant, simply shook her head,

“Again, ye don’t need to go to such trouble.” she grumbled, “But I’ll not turn down the offer of a lift when it’s given.”

An hour later, Meredith was standing in the room she would be calling home for the foreseeable future, looking out at the view over the canals from the window of her kitchenette. Starhammer smiled as he finished signing off the last bit of paperwork and turned to his constable,

“Right then, I’ll let ye get properly settled for the night. If ye need anything at all, here’s the number for my house phone. Dinna panic if one of the wee ones answers it, just ask if their grandpa’s available.” he told her.

Meredith repressed the urge to roll her eyes as she took the slip of paper and placed it on the counter,

“I don’t need babied, sir.” she told him. Then she smiled, “I do, however, appreciate what you and Lady Frigidwake have done for me.” she added. Starhammer beamed at her,

“Ye’re very welcome, lass. One last thing, before I pop off home to get assaulted by a three and five year old, when that T.I.B officer comes ‘round to get yer statement, bring them into the office. If the shooter’s who I think it is, I have some pertinent questions to ask them in return.” he said. Meredith frowned,

“Sir?” she asked. Starhammer shook his head,

“Stuff to do with High Command and the King’s Guard, hen. I’ll fill ye in when that officer pops by. In the meantime, I expect to see ye at 9am tomorrow and no earlier.” he said firmly. Meredith suppressed the urge to salute, though she did stand a little more at attention,

“Aye, sir.” she replied. Starhammer rolled his eyes, but said nothing as he grabbed his coat and finally left. Meredith cocked her head to one side, then walked back to the window she’d been looking out of. She watched the hustle and bustle at the docks below, pondering her Lieutenant’s words. She stroked her beard thoughtfully, then shook her head, turned away from the view and set about sorting out the shopping that Starhammer had insisted they pick up on the way.

True to her word, two days later, Meredith spotted the dark skin and brown hair of Detective O’Toreguarde approaching the Consulate entrance just as the nearby clock tower chimed 1pm. Meredith relaxed from attention and waited for the Detective to approach.

Elowyn allowed herself a small smile as she noticed the Fangthanian woman relax when the clock tower chimed out the time. Discipline like that boded well for conversation ahead. She just hoped that the constable was able to remember what she saw the day of the shooting. Elowyn shoved the memory of her partner’s leg bleeding profusely through her hands to the back of her mind. Time to get that statement, then do whatever it took to catch the man who’d shot him.

The Torejar officer nodded in greeting as she stepped up beside the Fangthanian woman,

“Good afternoon, Constable Gruksdottir. I’m here to take down that statement if you’ve time?” she asked.

Meredith nodded, and gestured to the door of the Consulate,

“Of course, Detective. I’m on lunch for the next hour so we’ve plenty of time. However, my superior officer has asked to speak with you regarding the incident we were both involved in.” she stated, walking towards the door and pulling it open. She gestured for Elowyn to walk in ahead of her.

Elowyn frowned, confused, walking to the door but not quite through it,

“Did your superior officer say why, Constable?” she asked warily. Meredith shook her head,

“Not in any explicit terms. I believe, however, it was to do with the individual who shot your partner.” she explained.

Elowyn pursed her lips. It wasn’t like the Stronghold Guardian Corps to insert itself in Toreguarde internal affairs, even if the man responsible for the chaos a couple of days ago was Fangthanian. Then she remembered why she and Breakwood had been chasing him. She sighed and stepped into the blessedly air-conditioned lobby,

“Very well, in the interests of maintaining some cooperation between our states, I can explain some details to your commanding officer.” she said. She looked back at Meredith as the other woman walked into the lobby alongside her. She suppressed her smile at how attractive the constable looked in that slate-grey uniform. Even the beard was somehow attractive on her. Too bad she was a witness and, thereby, completely out of bounds.

Meredith, seemingly oblivious to the slightly too-long look the detective was giving her, walked on ahead, leading Elowyn across the marble-floored lobby and up the majestic mahogany staircase. It didn’t take long for both women to reach the upper floor and find the door leading to Lieutenant Starhammer’s office. Meredith rapped on the oak surface, then stood at relative ease as she waited for a response.

“Aren’t ye supposed to be on lunch, Gruksdottir?” Starhammer called from the other side. Meredith merely shook her head,

“Detective O’Toreguarde from the Toreguarde Investigative Branch has arrived to get that statement, Lieutenant.” she replied. Elowyn quirked an eyebrow at the pronunciation of Lieutenant, but didn’t say anything. There was a grumble, the slight screech of a chair being pushed across the floor, then the steady tromp of a decidedly rotund man walking to the door.

Lieutenant Starhammer opened the door with a little more force than he probably intended, Elowyn realised as she noticed the Constable stand a little more to attention as soon as he had done so. The old man’s eyes widened as he took in the short stature, dark skin and ruffled brown hair of the Torejar woman standing next to his sheepish-looking Constable. He quickly schooled his expression, shook his head and gestured to the sofas,

“Well come on in then.” he groused, stepping to one side to allow both women to walk into the office.

#aquadestinyswriting #titan fighting fantasy au #modern au #meredith gruksdottir #elowyn o'toreguarde #olin starhammer

7 notes · View notes

aquadestinyswriting · 3 months

Text

Titan Modern AU- Chapter Two

Summary: Meredith takes guard duty as seriously as she does everything else in this job. While giving a warning to an ill-informed youth, Meredith witnesses the shooting of a Torejar police officer. Her Field Medic training kicks in and she rushes over to assist.

Words: 1,712

Tags: @druidx, @sparrow-orion-writes @warriorbookworm, @thesorcerersapprentice, @blind-the-winds, @philosophika, @the-down-upside-finch, @hippiewrites

Warnings: shooting, blood, guns, violence, gunshot wounds, If I've missed anything please let me know.

Notes: This was a much tougher chapter to write than expected. There's a lot going on, but I've tried to keep everything as consistent as I possibly can. Also, yes, Meredith is using military time, as she rightly would.

Meredith steadfastly ignored the children that were doing everything in their power to try and make her move or speak,

“C’mon Larry, we’re gonna get in trouble.” one of them, a young pre-teen with blonde hair said, just as his companion took another step towards the woman. The taller of the two snorted disdainfully,

“Quit being such a wuss. It’s not like they can actually do anything!” he retorted. Meredith kept her eyes straight ahead, but was making a note of just how close the teenager was getting to her out of the corner of her eye. The teen stepped forward another two paces until he was standing directly next to Meredith, who still didn’t move. At least not until the kid reached out to try and grab her Shanter off her head. She quickly reached out, grabbed his wrist then quickly pushed him against the wall, twisting his hand behind his back,

“Bad move, kid. Lookin’ is fine, touching is a nono.” she stated. She glanced back to see what the blonde-haired kid was doing. He was standing rooted to the spot, face drained of colour. Meredith nodded to him then returned her attention to the teenager that was now struggling against her grip,

“Oi, geroff!” he complained, “So I reached out to touch you, that ain’t illegal!” he protested. Meredith shook her head,

“Actually, son, I think ye’ll find that it is.” she retorted, “Under Fangthane law, it’s illegal to harass an officer of the Stronghold Guardian Corps while they are on duty. Touching any part of the uniform counts, as does blocking their line of sight. I was just bein’ nice earlier.” she told him. The teenager snorted,

“Yeah, well we ain’t in Fangthane are we? This is Toreguarde and this is assault!” he cried. Meredith snorted,

“The Consulate counts as bein’ on Fangthane soil, pal. Now, I’ve every right to read you your rights and arrest you, but I’m feeling generous. I’m happy to let ye go with a warning, provided you don’t do it again.”

Meredith didn’t get to hear the youth’s reply as a lanky Fangthanian man wearing a rumpled suit rushed past, quickly followed by two Torejar people wearing what seemed to be leather duster jackets atop dark blue uniforms. Probably members of the Toreguarde police force then. The Fangthanian pulled out a gun just as he was about to round a corner, aiming for the woman. Right as he pulled the trigger, the tall, lanky man shoved his partner to the side. Two shots rang out, causing every civvy in the area to scream and run for cover. The man took both shots, one in his shoulder, the other in his leg, and fell to the floor.

Meredith immediately let go of the youth she had been warning and ran over to the prone officer, right as the other woman picked herself up. A crowd immediately began to form around the group as Meredith pulled the male officer’s coat open to have a look at his shoulder, then glanced down at his leg. Both were bleeding far more than she would have liked. She sucked in a breath through her teeth and looked up at the people milling around her. She pointed to one of them,

“You, call an ambulance!” she snapped, then pointed to another, “You, go in the front door of the Consulate. There’s a first aid kit on the wall on your immediate left. Grab it and bring it back here!” When neither person moved, Meredith growled, “Move it!” she snarled, already moving to place as much pressure on at least one of wounds the man had sustained as possible.

The two unwitting volunteers nodded, one pulling out a mobile phone, the other dashing off towards the Consulate. Meredith grimaced, realising she didn’t have enough hands to stop the man on the floor in front of her from bleeding out since she couldn’t reach his leg from her current position. She looked up again, noticing that the female officer was hovering uncertainly nearby, her face pale and hand hovering over the holster of her pistol,

“Oi! I need another pair of hands here! You want this man to bleed out or not?” Meredith snapped irritably.

The dark-skinned woman quickly shoon her head, as though coming out of a daze. She quickly knelt down next to her partner,

“Farren!” she yelped. She looked up at the other woman, “What do you need me to do?” she asked. Meredith gestured to the gunshot wound on the man’s leg,

“Put as much pressure on that as you can manage. With any luck I’ll be getting a hold of that damn first aid kit pretty soon, but I reckon that leg’s gonna need a tourniquet.” she replied. The officer nodded and placed her hands on her fellow officer’s leg. She winced at his hiss,

“Sorry, Farren.” she apologised. She looked over to the woman that was helping them, green eyes meeting blue,

“Thanks, I don’t know what I’d be doing if you weren’t on hand.” she said. Meredith shook her head, concentrating on the task at hand,

“Ye can thank me after we’ve got your pal here stabilised.” she replied. She looked up at the man with the mobile phone she’d directed to call for an ambulance, “How long?” she called. The businessman nodded, looked over to Meredith and placed his hand over the speaker,

“They’ll be here in two minutes.” he called back, quickly returning to the call. The woman that Meredith had told to get the first aid kit pushed through the crowd and handed the box to the Fangthanian woman,

“Here, is he going to be alright?” she asked. Meredith glanced up at her taking the box with one hand and opening it with practised ease,

“Hopefully.” she muttered. She pulled out a pack of gauze and a roll of bandages and quickly began patching the officer’s shoulder up. It wasn’t her best work, but it would have to do. She looked up at the crowd of people again, glancing briefly at the leg, which was still bleeding profusely through his partner’s hands,

“Anyone got a belt they can live withoot?” she called, her accent slipping with her rising anxiety as she felt the man’s breath begin to falter. Another businessman stepped forward, quickly unbuckling and unthreading the belt at his waist,

“I need a new one anyway.” he said, handing the item over. Meredith nodded, taking it. She shifted a little,

“Reckon you can keep some pressure on that shoulder for me while I try to tie this leg off?” she asked. The man nodded and quickly placed his hands on the bandage as Meredith took her hands away. Satisfied that the shoulder was taken care of Meredith shuffled next to the female officer,

“‘Scuse me.” she murmured, trying not to shove the other woman away too much as she manoeuvered into a position that would allow her to tie the belt around her patient’s thigh. The Torejar officer stared at Meredith as she worked. She opened her mouth to say something, but the sound of approaching sirens caused her to look in the direction they were coming from instead.

The paramedics were quick to take stock of the situation and thanked Meredith for her quick thinking and resourcefulness as they loaded the male officer onto a stretcher. Meredith groaned and dusted off her hands as she pulled herself up again. She looked over to the female officer, who was hovering nearby. She was pale and sweaty and half in shock, Meredith noticed.

“You gonna be alright?” she asked. The Torejar woman nodded, wiping her bloodied hands on the towel one of the paramedics had handed her,

“I will be.” she said. She looked up at Meredith and held out a hand, “Thank you. You’ve saved the life of a good detective.” Meredith shrugged and shook the offered hand,

“I was only doing my duty.” she replied, “Part and parcel of being part of the SGC, Miss..” she trailed off, eyeing the officer expectantly. The Torejar woman coughed im embarassment,

“Oh, yes, sorry. There wasn’t time for introductions earlier. Detective Elowyn O’Toreguarde, Toreguarge Investigative Branch.” she replied, “The man whose life you just saved is Detective Farren Breakwood, my partner.”

Meredith nodded and snapped off a quick salute,

“Constable Meredith Gruksdottir, Clan Ironforge, of the Fangthane Stronghold Guardian Corps.” she replied. She smirked a little at the slightly confused look that Detective O’Toreguarde was giving her.

“Gruks… dottir?” the detective murmured. The Torejar quickly shook her head and smiled, “Well, it was a pleasure to meet you Constable, but I’d best go with my partner and make sure he’s not going to do something stupid when he wakes up. I’ll probably be by in a day or two to get a witness statement, if that’s alright?” she asked. Meredith nodded,

“Of course, Detective. I’m typically on guard duty between the hours of 09:00 and 17:30, with a lunch break from 13:00 to 14:00 hours.” she replied, “You’d be best getting the statement either during my lunch hour or after I clock off for the evening, as I’m not permitted to speak unless necessary during guard duty.”

Elowyn quirked an eyebrow at the reply and nodded again, scribbling a note into her pocketbook,

“Duly noted.” she muttered, “Well, I guess I’ll let you get back to it then.” she said, quickly bowing her head slightly before dashing off into the back of the ambulance just before the doors were slammed shut and it drove off to the nearest hospital.

Meredith shrugged, looked back to the front entrance of the Consulate and sighed, noticing that the two boys from earlier were long gone. Well, as long as the older one heeded the warning Meredith had been giving him, then there wasn’t anything else for it but to get back to work. She tilted her wrist, checked the time and marched back to her position. She still had another two hours before she could clock off, and it wasn’t like there was anyone else to take over. Maybe she could get away with handwriting a report summary until she could get to a computer to type up a full one?

#aquadestinyswriting #titan fighting fantasy au #modern au #violence tw #shooting tw #blood tw #gunshot wounds tw #guns tw #meredith gruksdottir #elowyn o'toreguarde #farren breakwood

7 notes · View notes

aquadestinyswriting · 3 months

Text

Titan Modern AU- Chapter One

Summary: Meredith gets to meet with one of the people in charge of her new post. A quick conversation about Fangthane culture is had before the discussion turns to other matters- namely where Constable Gruksdottir is going to be staying.

Words: 1,161

Tags: @druidx, @sparrow-orion-writes @warriorbookworm, @thesorcerersapprentice, @blind-the-winds, @philosophika, @the-down-upside-finch, @hippiewrites

Warnings: Some talk about fictional religions but otherwise only avoid if the idea of women with beards grosses you out.

Notes: I fully admit, I just wanted a justification for Merri to keep her beard because I literally cannot see her without one. It allowed me to do some worldbuilding though, which is always fun.

Meredith stood at firm attention with her arms behind her back. The only indication of what she was feeling being a slight quirk of an eyebrow when she caught the surprised stare of the Diplomatic Envoy she was being introduced to out of the corner of her eye.

Lieutenant Starhammer coughed politely, sitting down behind his desk and waving at his new constable,

“At ease, Gruksdottir. This is meant to be an informal chat. A chance fer us all to get to know each other.” he said. He beamed at the tall, slim woman, who was now settling down into the couch next to the fireplace, “Lady Frigidwake here is the Diplomatic Envoy to the Kingdom of Fangthane. She’s not quite the one in charge, but she does do a lot of work to keep things ticking along as smoothly as possible.” he explained. The Envoy laughed and smiled at both Fangthanians as Meredith relaxed her stance,

“Well, I try to.” she quipped. She gestured to the magpie sitting quietly on her shoulder, “This is Chrackle, he’s a companion of mine. I must ask that you try not to pay him too much attention as he’s supposed to be a working animal.” Meredith nodded, noting with amusement the slightly offended-sounding croak the bird made,

“I’ll bear that in mind, Ma’am.” she said. “I realise that you are, of course, versed in a great deal of Fangthanian culture, but I couldn’t help but notice your surprise as you walked in, Ma’am.” she noted. The other woman flushed a little in embarrassment,

“Ah, yes. I do apologise, that was insensitive. I’m afraid to say that I haven’t had much experience with the Throffite community. Very few Fangthanian women grow their beards out these days, so when I was informed that Lieutenant Starhammer was expecting a female constable, I made an assumption. Again, I apologise.” she said. Meredith shook her head, finally,

“No offence has been taken, Ma’am.” she stated, “You are quite correct, the majority of Fangthanian women shave, and I am very much an exception. Believe me, I am quite used to awkward stares and questions.” Lady Frigidwake pursed her lips and toyed with the end of a strand of greying auburn hair,

“That still does not excuse my conduct.” she retorted, “However, lessons have been learned and I shall not dwell on it any further.” she added, tickling her magpie under his beak as he nibbled at her ear.

Starhammer chuckled and leaned back in his seat, which creaked loudly,

“Well, now that we’re all acquainted, I think we can finally turn to business.” he said. He looked to Meredith first,

“I understand ye didn’t get a chance to work out someplace to stay while you’re here, given how quickly ye were kicked out the capital. I’d offer to put you up myself, but my youngest has had to move back home and has brought the weans, so there’s no room, I’m afraid.”

Meredith shook her head,

“You don’t need to go to that kind of trouble, sir.” she protested, “I’ll be happy enough to keep staying at the Crabbit Sow until I can find somewhere more permanent.”

Starhammer snorted,

“I’m no’ having ye waste all yer savings like that, lass.” he retorted. The Lieutenant turned to Lady Frigidwake,”D’ye ken of anyplace that’ll be willing to put her up?” he asked. The envoy tapped a finger on her chin thoughtfully,

“I’d need to make a couple of calls, but yes, I think I might know some people.” she replied. She pushed her glasses back up her nose as she smiled at Meredith, “I’ll have somewhere for you to stay by the end of the day.” she chirped. This time it was Meredith’s turn to flush,

“Ye really don’t need to go to so much trouble –” Starhammer scoffed,

“Lassie! It’s no trouble. Ye’re a constable of the Stronghold Guardian Corps! Since we dinna have a barracks on site, that means ye’re entitled to have a place to live nearby.” he reminded her. “Moradin’s beard, ye’re an uptight one, aren’t ye? Auld Vanskleig’s right when he says that working here for a bit’ll be good for ye.” he added.

Meredith opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to find some way to protest, but couldn’t find the words to refute what her new commanding officer had just said. After a moment, she huffed a sigh,

“Aye, sir.” she grumbled. Lady Frigidwake shook her head,

“I’ll go make those calls now, then. Lieutenant Starhammer, was there anything else we needed to discuss in the meantime?” she asked. Smoothing down her skirt as she stood. Starhammer thought for a moment, then shook his head,

“Nothing that can’t wait until next week, lass.” The old soldier stood, with a bit of effort, and bowed slightly to the envoy, “In the meantime, please give my regards to Father Shiverstaff, and remind him that he still owes me drinks.” he added with a smile. Lady Frigidwake laughed and inclined her head slightly

“I’ll pass the message on.” she said. She turned to Meredith, who had by now also stood and was standing at attention again, “It was a pleasure to meet you Constable Gruksdottir, I look forward to working with you.” she said. Meredith snapped off a salute,

“Aye, Ma’am.” she stated. Lady Frigidwake smiled, sent Lieutenant Starhammer a knowing look, then swept out of the office. Starhammer sighed as he turned to Meredith,

“I’ve got my work cut out, haven’t I?” he muttered. He picked up the top sheet from a stack of papers, “Well, seeing as ye’ve been sent back down to start from scratch, I might as well have ye on guard duty at the front door until I get word of what Command wants done with ye, or we figure out where yer strengths lie.” he said. Meredith nodded brusquely and saluted again,

“Aye, sir.” she stated. She sent him a quizzical look, “May I ask what time I can leave my post, sir?” she asked. The Lieutenant sighed,

“Well, the office closes for the day at five-thirty. Seeing as I’m pretty much the only other person here for now, you might as well clock off then.” he replied. Meredith nodded,

“Of course, sir. Thank you, sir.” she said. There were a few moments’ silence until Starhammer heaved a sigh,

“Ye’re free to leave and get to yer post, Constable.” he said wearily. “If there does happen to be any trouble out there, ye do have permission to get involved.” he added just as Meredith began marching out the door.

“Understood, sir.” Meredith called as she finally exited the room, leaving Starhammer to wonder just what he’d gotten himself into. He opened the folder he’d been sent from Sergeant Major Ragnarsson, reading through the various evaluation forms and report summaries. He stroked his moustache thoughtfully,

“Well now, I think I owe the Field Marshal quite the favour for this.” he murmured.

#aquadestinyswriting #titan fighting fantasy au #modern au #meredith gruksdottir #olin starhammer #selene frigidwake #chrackle #fictional religion

8 notes · View notes

aquadestinyswriting · 3 months

Text

Titan Modern AU- Prologue

Summary: Meredith is called into her commanding officer's office to explain what the hells happened the day before. She complies and gives a full oral report.

Words: 1,385

Tags: @druidx, @sparrow-orion-writes @warriorbookworm, @thesorcerersapprentice, @blind-the-winds, @philosophika, @the-down-upside-finch, @hippiewrites

Warnings: Mentions of fictional politics, violence, guns, bombs.

Notes: quick worldbuilding note, the Clan name is used in formal settings and when you're in Trouble. Most people of Fangthane use their given name instead. Also, the ranks are a bit of a mixture of the RCMP and RMP(UK)

“Ironforge!”

The voice bellowing from the office at the back of the station was enough to make several officers clap their hands over their ears. The Sergeant Major was pissed. More than usual.

A short, stocky woman looked up from her paperwork, wincing. She slowly stood, tucking a stray strand of auburn hair behind her ear,

“Aye, sir?”

“Office! Now!” snapped the reply as the rotund, middle-aged man stormed back into the office, leaving the door open. Several officers, of varying ranks, immediately began avoiding the gaze of their colleague as she marched stiffly between the desks and piles of paperwork. She grimaced as she heard the whispers trailing behind her,

“What the fuck did she do?”

“Got the front of the Houses of Parliament blown up apparently.”

“Moradin’s beard! you reckon they’re gonna –?”

Meredith ignored them, keeping her face as neutral as possible as she approached the door of her commanding officer’s office. She stepped inside, closing the door behind her and stood at complete attention, her hat held firmly in her hand at her side. She said nothing as she watched Sergeant Major Ragnarsson glare at her from behind his desk.

“D’ye mind telling me what in all the hells happened at the Houses of Parliament yesterday?!” he snapped, pulling open the top drawer of his desk and lifting out a large bottle of cheap whisky.

Meredith cleared her throat, looking over the older man’s shoulder, not daring to move as she replied,

“Sir, my team and I were chasing down the suspects of the Sonefort murder case as they attempted to flee. The suspects fled towards the Houses of Parliament, shot the guards on duty and continued to flee into the cellars, whereupon they shot more of the security on duty at the time. We were simply attempting to apprehend them when we became aware that the cellars directly under the Royal Court had been rigged with explosives.” she explained.

Ragnarsson heaved a sigh, pouring out a generous shot of whisky into the glass on his desk,

“So why didn’t you call in the bomb squad, Gruksdottir?” he asked plaintively, “You know the standard operating procedure is to do so.”

Meredith simply switched her gaze from the poster on the wall behind the Sergeant Major to his face instead,

“We didn’t have time, sir. The suspects running into the room set the timer going,which was set for less than five minutes. I had to act in the best interests of both my team and the people still in the building, sir.”

“Then why not simply evacuate?”

“Because the suspects we had been trying to apprehend were taken hostage by the individuals who had set the explosives, sir. It seems that, while they had previously been allied, those that had been setting up the explosives were a bit peeved at their friends bringing the Guardian Corps back with them.”

“Is it possible that they were also ‘a bit peeved’ at their friends setting off the timer for the explosives, Gruksdottir?” Ragnarsson sighed, running a hand down his face.

Meredith returned her gaze to the poster behind him,

“That is indeed, also a possibility, sir.” she agreed. Ragnarsson clucked his tongue and picked up a manila folder, stuffed with papers. He opened it and regarded his constable with a flat expression.

“Your written report mentions that, while you did send Constables Gurrissdottir and Firiksson off to evacuate the site, you and Constable Kiruksson insisted on staying in the cellar to, and I quote, ‘do whatever it took to save as many lives as possible, including those of the suspects’.” He shook his head, “I take that to mean that this included encouraging Kiruksson to attempt to disarm the explosives?” he asked.

“He insisted on trying, sir. Kiruksson had recently received bomb disposal training and was confident that he could at least detach the primary bomb from the rest of the rigging.” Meredith replied, “I am fully aware that this was a break in protocol, and placed Kiruksson in what is deemed to be unnecessary peril. However, it was the best option we had at the time, sir. As established, there was no time to call in the bomb squad.”

Ragnarrson’s face fell into a deep scowl. He threw the folder onto the desk,

“‘Deemed to be’?!” he roared. The Sergeant Major stood, slamming both hands on his desk, “Both you and Kiruksson are extremely lucky, or Blessed by Moradin Himself, that he was not killed when the bomb went off in the lobby!” The older man straightened his back, sucked in a breath and placed his hands behind his back,

“Now, as the commanding officer of the squad in question, I’m sure you’re more than aware that you are being held entirely responsible for this debacle?”

Meredith only slightly nodded her head, and stood even more at attention than before,

“Aye, sir.” she stated firmly. Ragnarsson shook his head,

“You’re very lucky that the Field Marshal likes you as much as he does.” he sighed, “There were plenty of calls to have you stripped of rank and kicked out of the SGC altogether.” he paused a moment, watching for Meredith’s reaction. When he received none, he carried on,

“As it is, due to your previously impeccable record, Field Marshal Vanskleig was able to twist some arms and merely get you demoted back down to the bottom tier and a field transfer out of Fangthane until things simmer down.” That got more of a reaction. Meredith didn’t move, but she did set her jaw, though she continued staring at the poster instead of at her Sergeant Major,

“Aye, sir. Where am I being transferred to, sir?” she asked, somehow managing to keep her voice level. Ragnarsson grimaced,

“The consulate office in Toreguarde.” he replied, “Apparently Lieutenant Starhammer needs more officers and the Field Marshal offered to send you. Something about only needing one good officer instead of five or six freshly-graduated cadets.” The Sergeant Major relaxed a little and placed another tumblr on his desk, pouring out another shot into it,

“You can stand at ease now, Constable.” he sighed, picking up his glass and downing the whisky in it. Meredith slowly allowed her posture to relax a little, finally looking at her commanding officer,

“Permission to speak, sir?” she asked. Ragnarsson waved a hand as he sat back down in his seat,

“Granted, you may be as candid as you wish, Gruksdottir.” he sighed. Meredith nodded and allowed herself to relax entirely. She twisted her Shanter nervously in her hands,

“Toreguarde, sir? I understand a transfer is necessary but why not to Firetop, or even Stonebridge?” she asked. Ragnarsson shrugged,

“Field Marshal Vanskleig seems to be of the opinion that it will be good for you.” he said, “Something about your talents being wasted in areas of the Kingdom that are already adequately staffed.”

Meredith groaned, walked over to the desk, picked up the tumblr and downed the whisky in it, grimacing at the afterburn in her throat,

“How soon do I need to leave?” she asked, already dreading the answer. Ragnarsson poured out some more whisky as soon as she placed the tumblr back on the table,

“By tomorrow evening. There are a few Members of Parliament and Lords and Ladies of the House that are very upset that you’ve not been brought up on charges yourself, so it seems wise to send you off sooner rather than later.” he leaned back in his seat as Meredith downed the new shot,

“I’ll be honest, I’m sad to lose such a fine officer, but politics is as politics does. We’ll get a message sent to Khull to inform Forhoksson of what’s happened as soon as I can manage it.”

“Thank you, sir.” Meredith sighed. She shook her head, “Permission to leave, sir? I need to inform my family and get packed.”

“Permission granted, Constable. I hope we can work with one another again at some point soon. Just keep your head down and nose clean, aye?”

Meredith stood briefly to attention, saluted the older man, waited for his return salute, then turned and walked out of the office. Ragnarsson watched her leave, then, as soon as the door closed behind her, poured out a full glass of the whisky with a grumble.

#aquadestinyswriting #titan fighting fantasy au #modern au #meredith gruksdottir #jotunn ragnarsson #kargun vanskleig #fictional politics #shooting tw #bombs tw

8 notes · View notes

aquadestinyswriting · 5 months

Text

Writing Snippet: A 'What If?'

Alright, so I did a bit of "speculative" writing for the Destiny's New Servants campaign before I took over as GM, trying to figure out where the first GM was going with the story. I've lost most of that writing due to changing laptops and being careless with file transfers over the years (make sure you back up your work kids), but I found this one hidden in the depths of my external hard drive about a month ago.

I vividly recall writing the following piece over the course of about a week. I started the morning after the session where Starhammer died because I wanted to remember every detail of that session, then just... carried on with my ideas of what might happen next.

Now, I was also wondering how best to have Merri leave the picture once I took hold of the reins of the campaign at this point. I had an idea of what I had planned to happen back in Fangthane, but the fact was, the first DM was not going to go easy on us, and it was very likely at least one of the characters would die in the fight against Darkhide. We also knew that Darkhide wanted to rip open the portal to the Pit again, and we'd used up all the God Clay that was left on Titan; what the hell were we going to do if he succeeded? So I wrote something to cover that exact scenario. It all becomes a bit self-indulgent, but that's part of why I like it so much. I apologise in advance to anyone using screen readers, I couldn't think of a decent way to split up the different sections of the story. I'll change it once I come up with something that isn't so much of a pain in the backside for you.

This fairly long piece covers the aftermath of Starhammer's death then skips forward a bit, just as a heads up. The speculative stuff starts after Merri's conversation with Elowyn and Enezeage.

Tags: @druidx, @sparrow-orion-writes , @homesteadchronicles, @warriorbookworm, @mariahwritesstuff, @writeblrsupport, @ashirisu, @thesorcerersapprentice, @blind-the-winds, @freedominique

Elowyn grumbled as Enezeage shimmied down the wall and back onto the street. She got down as the half-orc rolled his shoulders,

“Should we go in after them?” he asked, cracking his knuckles. Elowyn shook her head,

“No, first we need to find Meredith and find out if she wants to press charges.” She said firmly, “We can’t just go in and start arresting people.” Enezeage grumbled, but nodded and looked up the street, noticing that the Celestial Dog had paused in front of what seemed to be a grove of trees. He pointed to it,

“What’s that?” he asked. Elowyn wracked her brain for a moment,

“That’s the Grove of Obad-Hai.” She replied, cautiously running up to it and stopping as she saw a very pale and shaken looking Meredith come out of the trees, along with a man in dark brown clerical robes. The man bowed slightly to the Woodling and turned to Meredith,

“Remember what we said, Daughter of Moradin.” He said sternly, before melding with a nearby tree. Elowyn made a face as the Grove seemed to retract and create a firm barrier around the outside,

“I hate those trees.” She muttered, before turning her attention to Meredith. Upon seeing the look on the Dwarf’s face, she rushed up to her and wrapped her arms around her shoulders,

“Meredith, oh by all the Gods, what happened?” she asked as the other woman began to shake, quite violently, the Woodling noticed. Meredith’s breath hitched as she tried to speak but couldn’t seem to quite manage. Elowyn rubbed her shoulders, “Come on Merri, talk to us.” She said in as soothing as voice as she could manage, waving a hovering Enezeage back slightly. Meredith took a few shallow, shaky breaths and clutched the book she was carrying to her chest tightly,

“St–Starham–mer… he’s– he’s dead.” She finally managed to choke out, tears streaking down her face as the events of the whole evening finally hit her. Elowyn’s hands stopped abruptly, staring at the dwarf with wide-eyed shock,

“Wh–what happened?” she asked in a low voice. Meredith hugged herself tighter,

“The beer… the traitorous swine, he spiked the beer wi–wi’ ooze.” Elowyn’s heart dropped into her stomach,

“Oh no.” she moaned, bringing the traumatized dwarf into a tight hug, “Merri, I’m so, so sorry.” She said, tears stinging her own eyes. Enezeage grunted,

“What about those robed dudes?” he asked gruffly. Elowyn sighed and nodded, gently pushing the dwarf back so she could look at her again,

“I take it those guys showed up when you came outside?” she asked. Meredith nodded,

“Aye, they wanted tae know who I wis an– an’ whit I wis doiin’.” She replied, her voice raw, “I summoned the dug when they drew their swords an’ chased me doon the street.” She finally met Elowyn’s eyes, “They s–said they were bounty hunters.” Elowyn nodded,

“Right ok, Merri I have to ask you this because it’s important.” She said her tone turning a bit firmer, “Do you want to press charges against those guys?” she asked. Meredith fell silent for several long moments, chewing her bottom lip as she thought the question over. Finally, she slowly shook her head. Elowyn bit back a growl of frustration,

“Are you sure? We can get these guys arrested and taken off the streets.” She said. Meredith glanced down at the floor,

“I– It’s no’ worth it.” She said quietly, “D– dinna take this the wrong way, but… I dinna trust that they won’t just get away’ with it.” Elowyn sighed and forced Meredith to look at her. When this was accomplished she pointed to her badge,

“You see this badge?” she said, “That means that I can go arrest those hooligans and get them locked up and make sure they never get out onto the streets again.” Meredith gave the Woodling a sullen glare,

“Then why don’t ye tell that to the officer who tried to kill me when they paid him off.” She retorted bitterly. Enezeage growled,

“Let’s just go take care of them, Elowyn. We know what they’re doing is wrong anyway.” Elowyn looked up at the Monk and shook her head as she came to the realisation that perhaps Meredith might be right,

“No, if Meredith doesn’t want to press charges, then we have no choice in the matter.” She told him firmly. She turned back to the Dwarf, who was still huddled into herself, “Are you sure you don’t want to press any charges?” she asked. Meredith nodded,

“Aye, it’s not as though anyone's gonna waste their time with the only dwarf left in the city anyway.” She muttered darkly. Elowyn sighed heavily,

“Alright.” She said, “Can you at least remember what this officer you ran into looked like?” Elowyn made up a mental image of the man as Meredith described him and nodded firmly. She recalled that he was likely one of the Road Wardens.

‘Right then, looks like I’ll need to go have a word with someone’s superior officer.’ She thought to herself, gently looping her arm around Meredith and guiding the poor woman away from the Grove,

“Come on then, let’s get you home.” She said gently, motioning with her head for Enezeage to take point. The Half-Orc grumbled, but did what he was silently told, tucking his arms into the sleeves of his own robe as the little group finally began to make their way back to Acacia Avenue.

~*~

Meredith rocked back on her heels with a sigh, she was devoted to Moradin, no question about that. However, even as she reached for His grace this morning, there was… nothing. The hollow feeling that was left behind after Starhammer’s death was hitting the young dwarf hard. Darkhide was still a massive threat that needed to be taken care of, but could she even be of any help to the others at this point? That she could not reach her God scared the cleric, although she knew it was unlikely that Moradin had forsaken her it was still disconcerting to receive no response to her daily prayers.

‘Not only that, but the High Priest and Archlector will have felt the shift by now as well.’ She thought to herself as she got up and made her way downstairs to the kitchen.

~*~

Orock had held a lovely service to Starhammer’s memory, Meredith thought, but that she could not hold a proper Dwarven ceremony upset her more than the knowledge that the older dwarf was gone. Elowyn, bless her, had tried to help but the Woodling just could not understand just how deeply Dwarves held their traditions. Unfortunately, even if there had been a body to bury, Moradin was not available to grant any Blessings and Meredith doubted that Throff would want to stick around either. Meredith was still nursing the first mug of ale she had been handed, unable to really bring herself to drink all that much, when a lanky human came rushing into the back room,

“Elowyn! We got a situation at the Garden of Galana!” Farren yelled as he dodged an irate Khord Inititate whose drink he had knocked over. The Woodling was on her feet instantly,

“What kind of situation?” she demanded, kicking Enezeage in the shin to wake him back up and rounding up the rest of her group. Farren grunted,

“Apparently, a bunch of men in black cloaks have a problem with the church’s High Priest and are trying to get into the Garden to ‘have a word’.” Elowyn frowned,

“But why would they…?” Elowyn muttered, trailing off as she realised what the problem was. She glanced over to Meredith, who had grabbed her mace and Book of Moradin and was looking over at the Paladin expectantly. Elowyn sighed and turned to Farren,

“Has the local Watch House responded yet?” she asked. Farren shook his head,

“The Captain in charge said something about it being an ‘ecumenical matter’.” He said, clearly not happy with that explanation. Elowyn frowned and turned to Meredith,

“You’re staying here.” She said simply, gesturing for the rest to follow her. She expected to hear an angry exclamation and to be asked why, so when it didn’t come, Elowyn looked back over her shoulder with a worried frown. Meredith had gone back to her seat, without comment and was back to staring into the mug of ale she had been nursing. Orock frowned as he looked between the dwarf and Woodling, and made his way to stand behind Meredith,

“I’ll keep an eye on her.” He rumbled, “You’d better get going.” He said, laying a large hand on the dwarf’s comparatively tiny shoulder. Elowyn nodded,

“Once we’ve sorted this whole thing out, I’ll get someone to come back and get her.” She said, running out of the Plot Hook and making her way, with the rest of her companions to the other side of the city.

~*~

Elowyn almost skidded to a stop as she finally made it to the Garden of Galana. She had expected that the Abouna would use some clerical magic to keep the area safe. What she hadn’t expected was the sight of a tall human Wizard with auburn hair and spectacles, standing in front of the entrance to the Garden, holding back a very irate group of humans in black cloaks.

“Step aside!” the leader of the people in black cloaks hissed, “There’s a stunty in there that has a very good price on his head.” The Wizard snorted,

“I’m giving you gentleman one last chance to leave before I get upset.” She replied evenly, gripping the Yew staff in her hand a little tighter. Elowyn smiled a little,

“Hey Derren, what do you say we let these fine men know who they’re back-chatting?” she asked, looking up at her partner. Farren, catching the look in the Woodling’s face, grinned,

“Yeah, why not?” he asked, grabbing his cosh. Elowyn looked back at Felix and Enezeage,

“You guys stay back here with Aurri and grab the ones that decide to scarper.” She said, “I think Abouna Shiverstaff and Grand Wizard Frigidwake are a bit more likely to try pressing charges so we can nick this sorry lot.” Enezeage grinned around his tusks and nodded,

“Finally.” He growled. Felix brought his hands into a casting position and nodded. Elowyn looked up to Farren again and nodded, casually walking around the group of men until she came around to the front.

“Is there a problem, Grand Magus?” Elowyn asked, using her best ‘on the beat copper’ voice. The leader whirled around, a little panicked as he suddenly seemed to realise just who it was he was up against. Selene smirked a little and looked over to Elowyn,

“Good afternoon, Officer O’Toreguard, Officer Breakwood.” She greeted happily, “I was just asking these fine gentlemen to leave the area.” She explained, “They seem to have this ridiculous notion that they can collect a bounty on the good Abouna’s head, despite Toreguard Law clearly stating that all religious figures are under the full protection of the Drakemarie Empire.” She added. Elowyn tapped her chin thoughtfully,

“Really now?” she asked, turning to the group of humans, “What do you lot have to say about these accusations then?” she asked politely. The leader, who had backed off, glowered at the Woodling,

“Seems like there was a bit of a misunderstanding.” He said in a low voice, “We weren’t aware that the… dwarf that was in the area was the High Priest of the church.” He said. Elowyn looked at her fingernails and tutted,

“Well you see, that’s a bit of a problem. I was under the impression that the few Dwarves still in the city were still protected from murder and abuse under general Toreguard Law, not just the religious figures.” She said, glancing up to her partner, “Officer Breakwood, what do you think?” she asked. Farren tapped his cosh against his boot,

“I think you’re right, O'Toreguard.” He said, “I don’t recall any news about changes to the law, I think I’d remember if someone said something about Dwarves being fair game.” The leader of the other group backed up some more,

“Well, we’ll just be on our way then.” He said, turning around in an attempt to get away, only to find that the people at the back had already been either knocked out or frozen in place as they tried to flee. Enezeage cracked his knuckles,

“Hullo there sunshine.” He growled, grinning somewhat menacingly. The human grunted as Farren grabbed his wrists and cuffed him. Elowyn turned to Selene,

“Well at least now we can get this lot booked once we get them to the nearest station.” She said. The Wizard nodded,

“I believe I can help with that.” She smiled. She looked up to a nearby rooftop and whistled. Almost immediately a large magpie flew down and fluttered onto her shoulder. Selene tickled the bird under his beak, “Chrackle, take this down to the nearest Watch House, we need a couple of wagons to take these fine gentlemen there.” She said, quickly taking out a slip of parchment and quill and making a note. The magpie chuckled as she tied the note to its leg. Selene rolled her eyes,

“After you get back. Stop being greedy.” She chastised. The magpie chuckled again as it flew off. Selene looked at the group of men, who were being rounded up by Farren and Enezeage, then turned to Elowyn,

“Thank you for the help Elowyn.” She sighed, pushing her glasses up her nose, “I didn’t want to have to resort to casting anything to scare them off.” Elowyn nodded as she leaned against the outer wall around the Garden, watching as Farren read the whole group their rights

“I know, at least I’ve managed to get a hold of these guys now.” She sighed, shaking her head. Selene frowned down at the Woodling,

“What happened?” she asked in a low voice. Elowyn shook her head sadly,

“These guys don’t know it, but Enezeage and I know exactly what they’re about. Merri sent a Celestial Dog to find us because she was in trouble. She ran into these guys last night and they chased her all the way from the Dwarven District to the Grove of Obad-Hai.” Selene frowned,

“Why didn’t she stay in the temple?” she asked, “Between them she and Starhammer should have…” Elowyn was shaking her head again,

“Starhammer’s dead Selene.” The Woodling said, her voice tight. “By the time ‘Zeage and I got there, the temple didn’t look too good either.” Selene sighed heavily and pushed her glasses up her nose,

“Egrim’s not going to be pleased with the news.” She muttered, “Once word reaches Fangthane about that, every dwarf in the vicinity is going to get called back there and Father Shiverstaff only just got this place back up and running.” The two women watched as a paddy wagon rumbled up the street and the robed men were loaded onto. Chrackle landed on Selene’s shoulder with a satisfied croak. The Wizard fished out a regular gold coin from her purse and handed it to the bird, who chuckled happily. The captain of the nearby watchhouse approached and saluted Selene smartly,

“Do we know if the High Priest wishes to press charges?” he asked. Elowyn stepped forward,

“Elowyn O’Toreguard, watchhouse eight sir.” She greeted smartly with a salute of her own, “If you will allow the Grand Wizard and myself an hour or so to talk to the Abouna about the matter we can let you know as soon as we can.” The Captain narrowed his eyes slightly, but nodded,

“Very well then. I will get these lads back to the watchhouse while we wait.” He said stiffly. Once he was gone, both Elowyn and Selene frowned in concern,

“ Do you think they might get away with it after all that?” Elowyn asked quietly. Selene sighed,

“Almost certainly.” She replied heavily, “But we can’t dwell on that right now. I think we’d better let Egrim know they’re gone.” The Wizard looked expectantly at her familiar, who croaked in acknowledgement and fluttered to a heavy vine. The bird cocked its head for a moment before tapping on the wood. After a moment the vines retracted and another Woodling popped her head out of the door to the church,

“Elowyn, Selene?!” she exclaimed, rushing out and pulling the Paladin into a hug, “Oh, I’m so glad you’re safe! I was so worried!” Selene smiled and nodded in greeting, while Elowyn hugged the other woman,

“I know mum. Look, can we come in and see the Abouna? It’s important.” Oakrose nodded,

“Of course dear, come on in, all of you. I’ll get the kettle on.” The whole group were ushered inside and told to wait in the refectory. Selene held up a hand before going inside. She quickly gestured and muttered a few words, a silver shimmer hanging in the air for a few moments before dissipating. The Wizard nodded, satisfied,

“That should keep out any further, unwanted guests.” She said as Oakrose gave her a concerned look. The older Woodling shrugged and went back to work while Selene joined the others. After a few moments a dwarf with a wood-brown beard and blue(?) eyes bustled into the room. He seemed relieved to see who had shown up,

“Ta fer gettin’ rid of’ those idiots out there.” He said giving everyone a grateful smile, “ I wis off a mind tae ask the Council what the bloody hells they were playin’ at an’ getting’ help from the Druids.” Selene shook her head,

“You honestly didn’t think I would leave you to deal with those hooligans yourself, Egrim?” she asked. The dwarf waved his hand,

“Ach! I ken you would’t Sel, ye’re pretty much the only one on tha bloody thing that's no’ a backstabbing–” Elowyn held up her hand,

“Ok I think we get the idea Abouna.” She chuckled, “The ‘idiots’ as you call them, have all been arrested on various charges so they shouldn’t be bothering you again.” Egrim snorted derisively,

“Until they’re all released again in a week, tops.” He retorted. He shook his head upon seeing the expression on Elowyn’s face at his comment, “Dinna get me wrong, child, but I’m no’ blind nor deaf. Aside from myself, yon wee cleric friend an’ a handfull o’ Slayers, there’s no one else left this side o’ Fangthane.” He pointed out. Elowyn’s face fell,

“If I can get enough evidence…” She said desperately. The dwarf sighed heavily,

“Elowyn, lass, I ken ye’re tryin’ yer best, but ye’re only one of a very few that actually care about this.” He nodded to Farren, who was making up a fresh rollie. The human shrugged,

“Hate to break it to you kid, but ours is the only Watchhouse that was still going anywhere near the Dwarven district.” He lit the cigarette and took a drag, “I think the Council are pretty much just looking the other way until it all ‘blows over’, especially since we’ll be under siege by a massive horde of undead in about a day or so.” Egrim barked out a humourless laugh,

“’Blows over’ he says. Bah!” the dwarf went over to a nearby ale cask, drew himself a tankard, checked the contents and took a swig, “Given what happened last night, they’ll be lucky if they’re no’ fightin’ a fresh war immediately after this.” Elowyn’s eyes went wide and looked between the Abouna and Selene,

“But why would they do something like that?” she asked plaintively. Selene sighed heavily,

“Mostly because the whole city has likely been placed on the Fangthane Book of Grudges, Elowyn.” She explained, “From what Edwin told me the last time I contacted him, the Low King is under a lot of pressure from the displaced dwarves that are now living there to get some kind of retribution for the people that have lost their homes, livelihoods and even family members.” Elwoyn shook her head,

“But Starhammer wasn’t even killed by this Brotherhood of the Cleave. They were still outside and waiting when Merri came out of the temple.” She protested. That earned her a confused look from the Abouna, who paused while taking another swig of ale,

“Wait, what?” he asked, putting his tankard down, “So if those bastards weren’t responsible, who was?” Enezeage snorted,

“From what Meredith told us last night, it looks like it was that Grinbeard guy.”

“Grimebeard? Garl Grimebeard?” the dwarf asked, looking between the rest of Elowyn’s group. Elowyn nodded,

“Yeah, turns out he had forsaken Moradin and was poisoning people with Oozes disguised as beer. I thought we took care of him?” she asked looking over to Felix and Enezeage. Felix shook his head slowly,

“No, it was one of the other members of his family, remember?” he replied, “The others had long gone by the time we took care of the Clay Golem created out of that poor gnome and the Oozes in the cauldrons.” Both Elowyn and Egrim looked like they were going to be sick,

“We never got around to trying to find the rest of them.” Elowyn muttered, “I honestly thought it was Garl we took care of and the rest just scarpered.” She buried her head in her hands. Selene looked over to Egrim with worry,

“What’s the matter, Egrim?” she asked. The dwarf sat down heavily,

“I’ve been in contact with Fangthane a lot recently, fer obvious reasons. I wis wonderin’ aboot tha rumours goin’ about around some folk goin’ missing’ recently. I don’t think the activities of ol’ Grimebeard has been limited tae Toreguard.”

“You think he might be responsible for the disappearances?” Selene asked. The Abouna nodded,

“Ragnarsson mentioned somethin’ about finding some bad beer in the Cathedral’s cellar. I didn't think anything’ of it at first, even dwarven beer goes bad if it’s kept long enough, but…”

“They’re trying to get rid of every Moradin worshipper they can.” Selene muttered, “But why?” the wizard looked up at her old friend, “We need to get word to Fangthane about this, now.” She said firmly, “

“There might be a problem with that, lovies.” Oakrose said as she came into the refectory, handing Egrim a scroll. The Dwarf unrolled it and quickly read through it. He crumpled the parchment not long after,

“Bollocks tae that.” He swore, tossing the balled up parchment to the floor. Selene sighed,

“Let me guess, all communications out of the city have been forbidden, including all scrying and other magical means?” she asked lightly. Elowyn groaned as the dwarf nodded with a weary sigh,

“An’ afore ye ask, I rather think they’ll include familiars as magical objects.” Selene snorted,

“I’m well aware of that Egrim.” She snipped, “Luckily, if there’s one thing Alexis did manage to teach me in the time I travelled with her, it’s to never just rely on one or two methods of communication. That and to never kowtow to a giant red lizard who thinks he’s smarter than you.” She added. Elowyn frowned in confusion,

“What are you going to do?” she asked nervously. The Wizard honestly scared her sometimes. Selene sent the Woodling a reassuring smile,

“Just going to visit an old friend to ask for a bit of help.” She said, “But first, I think I’d better go and fetch your cleric. She’ll be safer here.”

~*~

Much, much later

Darkhide laughed maniacally even as the last of his life seeped from him,

“You’re too late.” he coughed wetly, spraying blood, “The portal is open, the way is clear. A– and you have no God Clay to– to save you.” He chuckled, his throat gargling. Elowyn dropped to her knees, despair written all over her features. Enezeage had bowed his head and placed his hands in his sleeves, while Felix cried out in anger and anguish. Quintin closed his eyes and prayed silently to Correlon Lorethion for a swift death. Meredith, however, struggled to her feet,

“No.” she growled, wincing from the beating Darkhide had given her earlier, “I am not admitting any sort of defeat to you.” She spat, glaring at the Necromancer. Darkhide grinned darkly,

“Do I need… to remind you girl? Moradin… is dead.” He said, now gasping for air. Meredith snorted, looking over at the giant rend in the earth in front of the group.

“I heard ye the first time, ye bag o’ wind.” She said flatly, “But ye never said anything’ about Throff.” She added, glancing back at the dying human. Darkhide frowned momentarily, then his eyes widened,

“No.” he croaked, his last breath finally leaving him as he attempted to reach out towards Meredith, who was staggering over to the portal’s edge. Elowyn jumped to her feet,

“Merri? What are you doing?” the Paladin yelped, racing up next to the dwarf. Meredith looked down at the chasm with a determined expression,

“Finishing’ this.” She replied. She looked up at Elowyn, “Take the others, and run.” She commanded, “If this doesn’t work, ye’ll need tae evacuate as many people as ye can from the Plains.” Elowyn frowned and shook her head quickly,

“But what about you?” she asked. Meredith sighed and glanced back at the chasm,

“That doesn’t matter.” She said quietly, she looked back up at the Woodling sharply, “Now get goin’!” she snapped, a ripple of power washing over Elowyn. The Paladin tried to resist, but found herself unable to. She glared back at the dwarf, even as her feet took her away, tears stinging in her eyes. Meredith watched her friends leave, guilt tearing at her heart,

“I’m sorry.” She muttered, “But this is my burden to bear.” The Inquisitor turned back to the portal, took a deep breath and knelt. She took a moment and then began to cast,

“Throff, gentle Mother of my people, know that I do not make this request of You lightly. I am fully aware of the cost involved and I will pay it.” She prayed, gathering up as much power as she could muster, “Please, grant me the strength to close this abomination, to heal this world that has been wounded so badly already.” She begged, tears stinging her eyes. After a moment, Meredith felt the earth beneath her ripple slightly. She smiled softly; there may not have been any spare God Clay left, but wasn’t Titan made of the stuff? The Dwarf closed her eyes tightly, pushing yet more power into the spell, feeling it drain her very soul as the earth finally began to move, closing the portal to the Abyss. Demons, who had been making their way up from the bottom of the Pit, screeched as slowly, their means of escape closed in around them. They pushed back and the spell wavered.

Meredith was almost completely tapped out, black spots obscured her vision as she felt the resistance,

“No,” she breathed, “I–I am not letting…” her breathing became shallower as she tried to push yet more power into the Shaping spell. It was then she felt a gentle brush on her shoulder. She blinked back the blackness creeping into her vision and looked in the direction the touch had come from. Stringwhiskers, limned in a golden light, twitched his nose at her,

“We know what you doing.” He squeaked, “We come to help.”

“You got this Merri, keep going.” Alphonse’s voice encouraged from somewhere behind her. Looking around at the faces of her deceased friends and travelling companions, Meredith nodded and glared at the portal, which was slowly pushing back open. Gathering up what little strength she had left, the dwarf pushed it all into the spell. The earth rumbled violently as the two opposing forces clashed, but finally, with a deafening ‘boom!’ the portal snapped shut. The hand of a Balor that had been unlucky enough to get in the way, wavered then disintegrated into dust on the wind as everything finally settled. A weak ray of sunlight lit up the ground where the portal had been and a bird flew over and perched on the out of place hammer that glinted as the clouds above Castle Dire finally broke.

When the Command spell finally wore off Elowyn and the others, they were most of the way along the road to Toreguard. Almost immediately, the Woodling spun around and began marching back up the road towards Castle Dire,

“When I get a hold of that girl, she is getting the earbashing of the century!” she snarled. Felix tugged on her arm nervously,

“What was Merri even doing?” he asked. Elowyn shook her head,

“The stupid woman’s probably trying to close the portal by herself.” She replied. Enezeage strode in front of the Woodling,

“Then maybe, it’s a good idea to do what we were told?” he suggested. Elowyn was about to give the Monk a scathing reply, when the earth under their feet rumbled. Felix squeaked and grabbed a hold of Quintin’s leg. The Elf staggered a little at the sudden gesture, but was quick to find his footing again. Enezeage grabbed a hold of Elowyn’s arm as the Paladin fell back with the sudden movement, a large, squat sea of calm amidst the chaos. Felix looked around in awe as the tremor ceased,

“Whoa, someone’s either being really stupid or really brave to try casting this big a spell.” He said, his eyes wide. Elowyn frowned and checked to see if there was anyone evil nearby that was attempting to cast something new. The only hint of red she found though, was a brilliant glow up where the portal had been opened.

“OK, ow. Remember that big ass portals to the Abyss don’t need to be checked for Evil.” She muttered as she blinked her vision back. Felix shook his head,

“It’s not an arcane spell.” He called as another, larger rumble shook the road beneath them. He waited until the new tremor had passed before continuing as he studied the lines of power only he could see, “I think… yeah, it’s Divine Magic. It’s all white and gold.” Elowyn paled and looked up towards Castle Dire,

“Merri, what are you playing at?” she whispered. Aurianna mewled from her perch on the Paladin’s shoulder,

“I think she’s trying to use a Shape spell to close the portal.” She said quietly. Elowyn frowned,

“How? There’s no God Clay left, right?” she asked, now beginning to panic. Enezeage hummed as he realised something,

“That’s true,” he rumbled, “but what did Titan make the world out of?” he asked. Elowyn’s eyes went wide as an even bigger tremor rumbled through the earth, causing everyone to lose their footing. Once it was over, a massive ‘Boom!’ rent the air then… the earth stilled. The group looked at one another questioningly as they got up. After no further tremors came along, Elowyn rushed up the road as fast as her legs could carry her, at least until Enezeage hoisted her onto his shoulder and ran the rest of the way for her.

Once they reached the top, the group looked around in shock. Darkhide’s body was still pretty much exactly where it had been left, as had the bodies of the other Cabal members and the undead. There was, however, no sign of the portal. Or of Meredith. Elowyn was let down as Enezeage looked around in confused awe,

“MERRI!” Elowyn called desperately. She ran around the grounds of Castle Dire, looking for any sign of her old friend, “MEREDITH!” She ran around the rest of the huge courtyard, “Meredith Gruksdottir, you get your ass over here right now!” There was no reply, aside from the croaking of the ravens that had come along to feast on the dead. Quintin quickly came around the corner,

“Elo, I think you need to come have a look at this.” He called. The elf looked confused and upset. Elowyn rushed over to him,

“What’s going on?” she asked. The Ranger held out an elaborate mace. It was made of the best Iron and etched all over with Dwarven Runes. Meredith’s warmace. Elowyn reached out to touch it, but quickly withdrew her hand,

“Where did you find this?” she asked sharply. Quintin turned around and nodded to the courtyard behind him,

“Next to the edge of where the portal should have been.” He replied heavily, “We’ve looked everywhere in the area. There’s no sign of her besides this.” Elowyn glared at the elf,

“There has to be!” she snapped, her voice tight with emotion as she ran over to where the portal had been less than an hour before. Quintin sighed and followed the Woodling at a more sedate pace, tickling a raven that had landed on his shoulder under its beak.

Elowyn reached the knoll where the portal had not long before torn a hole through reality to the Abyss and looked around desperately, tears streaming down her face. The rest of her party finally arrived in the area, looking as lost and confused as the Woodling felt. She looked at each other them, still hoping there was something, anything else. Slowly they shook their heads. Cragspine approached the Woodling, who was now hugging her knees into her chest and sobbing. He gently touched the Paladin’s hand,

“Meredith might not be here, but portal is gone.” He said in a low voice, “This place saturated with Divine Magic, she obviously successful.” He pointed out. Elowyn really didn’t take too much comfort in the little Kobold’s words. The Dwarf, despite some of her faults, had managed to more or less survive their entire journey and had been a welcome, steady presence when everything had, as they often said to one another, ‘turned to shit’.

“It’s not fair.” She sniffled, “Why did all the big stuff have to fall on just her?” Cragspine shook his head,

“The Gods are fickle.” He reminded her, “Come, we go tell big human peoples news.” He said gently, tugging on the sleeve of the Woodling’s overcoat. Elowyn lifted her head and slowly shook her head,

“You guys go on ahead, I need a minute.” Cragspine looked back at Enezeage with a questioning expression. The Half-Orc nodded and shooed everyone else back to the road to Toreguard. The Monk turned to Elowyn,

“Don’t be too long.” He rumbled. Elowyn nodded as he turned around and followed the others. When she was finally alone, Elowyn knelt on the grass and prayed,

“I hope you managed to find wherever it was you wanted to go.” She said, fresh tears making their way down her cheeks, “You really do have a bad habit of wanting to outdo yourself though, don’t you?” she laughed, “I will personally make sure that what you managed to accomplish today is properly recognised though. Maybe once word gets out about it, people back home will stop being such dicks to Dwarves again.” She looked at her hands, which were balled up on her knees, “I’m going to really miss you. I mean, it’s no fun being the only girl with a bunch of men and who am I going to complain about Gorgeous with now?” The Paladin sighed heavily, “Sleep well, Sister. Hope you’re waiting with a mug of decent beer by the time I join you up there.” She said with a faint smile. The Woodling pulled herself to her feet and looked up at the sky above her, saluted and finally left.

~*~

Even though it was well after dark by the time Elowyn and what remained of her party got back to Toreguard, General Strucker was waiting at the gates for them,

“Did you manage to stop him?” he asked, clearly nervous about the answer he was about to receive. Enezeage, who had picked up Darkhide’s body on his way back, dropped it at the General’s feet,

“There’s the evidence.” He grunted. The General slowly grinned at the sight,

“So it’s over.” He breathed, “At last.” He gestured for one of the guards with him to take the body, “Get that to the Wizard’s Tower, no doubt they’ll want to make sure that there’s no chance of him being resurrected or have any other means of coming back.” He ordered. Two of the guards saluted, picked up the body and carted it off immediately. The General frowned as he looked the group over, “Hang on a minute, what happened to your Dwarf friend?” he asked. Elowyn stepped forward, Meredith’s mace in her hands,

“She fell closing a new portal to the Abyss that Darkhide managed to open before he died.” She said quietly, “If it’s all the same to you, General, I’d rather explain the situation in front of people who know more about magic than I do.” She requested. The General’s face fell as he regarded the beautiful weapon and nodded,

“Indeed. Come, I’ll arrange for a full Wizard’s council in the main Council Chambers for you. Grand Magus Frigidwake is something of a night owl these days and I’ve no doubt she’ll want to know exactly what happened.” He said. Felix coughed, getting the man’s attention,

“You might want to call on some of the religious leaders as well.” The gnome said, “Meredith was, after all, a cleric of Moradin.” The General nodded again,

“Duly noted, Master Gnome, I shall take note of that. But enough, I rather think you all deserve a bit of rest before you get bombarded from all sides with questions.” He said rather more gently, “We’ve arranged for you to stay in the Plot Hook overnight so that you can have a bit of a lie in.” Everyone nodded tiredly, following the General to a rather large and luxurious carriage and piling inside. By the time Orock showed them all to their rooms, they were all already mostly asleep and dead to the world by the time their heads hit their pillows.

~*~

Elowyn found herself feeling oddly calm as she waited outside the main council chambers the next morning. Perhaps, she thought, it was the absence of the Merchant’s Guild, or maybe it was because she had a decent night’s sleep for the first time in what seemed like forever. No matter what the reason, she walked confidently into the large chamber, alongside her friends, who also seemed far more at ease. Selene smiled at the group warmly as she took her seat at the head of the chamber and waited for the rest of the Wizard’s Council and Toreguard’s Religious Council to sit. This done, she leaned forward in her chair,

“Elowyn O’Toreguard, Paladin of the Light and Sergeant of Watchhouse 8, Northwest Precinct, can you please explain to the council what, exactly, transpired at Castle Dire yesterday morning and afternoon?” she asked calmly. The Woodling nodded and stepped forward, telling the combined Head Wizards and Religious leaders of the fight with Darkhide and the rest of the Cabal, of Darkhide’s apparent defeat then his opening of a new portal to the Abyss that was made permanent with the sacrifice of what seemed to be the population of a nearby village. She then went on to explain how, despite being beaten bloody and almost to death earlier, Meredith, Inquisitor of Moradin, had refused to admit defeat and sent the rest of her party away.

“We’re not sure what she did,” Elowyn said, her throat tightening at the memory, “but whatever it was, she managed to completely and utterly seal the portal. The only thing we could find of her when we returned to Castle Dire, was her warmace.” She finished, gesturing to the item, which had been placed on a plush cushion on a table near the front of the room. The Head Priest of Pellor stood and regarded the mace with a curious expression,

“I must admit, my fellows and I felt a very large pull of Divine Magic just before the earthquakes started.” He said, looking around at his fellow High Priests, who were all nodding, “How this single cleric accomplished such a thing is… well none of us have been able to work it out.” He admitted, “Normally a large ritual has to be involved to pull such a large amount of magic into a single area.”

“Perhaps I can help with your query.” A voice quavered from behind Elowyn. She frowned as Selene’s eyes went wide and the Wizard stood with a hasty, deep bow. She looked over her shoulder to find a very elderly dwarf come into the room, escorted by several beardlings and leaning heavily on an elaborate metalwork staff. Elowyn bowed deeply as well, though noting with worry that the old dwarf appeared to be quite unwell.

“Archlector Vanskleig, it is a real honour to have you visit us.” Selene said, her tone worried as, she too, noted that the old dwarf was clearly unfit to have travelled such a long distance, “Someone get him a seat!” she snapped as she hurried down from her position to assist the beardlings in helping him to a chair that was conjoured by a junior wizard. The elderly dwarf smiled warmly at the Wizard as she knelt in front of him,

“Do you require anything, Archlector, a drink of water perhaps?” she asked Vanskleig shook his head,

“No, child. I am here to find out what happened yesterday.” He replied evenly, “I am afraid I do not travel well using portals.” He added. Selene nodded and stepped back, looking over to Elowyn,

“Elowyn, dear, can you quickly summarise what happened at Castle Dire again?” she asked. Elowyn, despite how soul sick she felt to recall the events again, nodded,

“Of course, Grand Magus.” She replied. Taking a moment to centre herself again before repeating what she had told the Council. Once she was done, the Archlector nodded,

“You recall that Meredith was a Shaper, correct?” he asked. Elowyn thought back to when the group had visited Fangthane the first time and nodded,

“Yes, Your Holiness, I do.” She replied, “However, I do not see how that would have helped matters.” She admitted. Vanskleig smiled, his grey eyes twinkling,

“Ah, but it does help. Quite a lot actually.” He replied with a weary chuckle. He looked around the rest of the Council, “The ability to Shape is a rare one.” He said, “It only occurs once in every three or four Dwarven generations, and has only ever been found in one family line.” He explained, “Few know of the Redhammer Clan, but when they were exiled from Fangthane we believed the ability to Shape had been lost to the worshippers of Moradin and Throff forever.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully, “That is, until young Meredith Gruksdottir displayed the ability; at a very young age as I recall.” He shook his head, “The gift of Shaping is a blessing from Throff, She who found the Magic Clay. It would seem that when the portal to the Abyss was opened, Meredith realised that the only way to close it permanently was using what had since become known as God Clay.” He explained. Selene shook her head as several voices piped up,

“Wasn’t it used to seal up the portal under the Wizard’s Tower?”

“I didn’t think there was any of it left.”

“Where would you even get the stuff from anyway.”

The Grand Magus sighed and slammed her staff on the floor,

“If you must ask questions, do so one at a time!” she snapped, “I should not need to remind any of you about good manners!” The High Priests and Wizards who had stood up to ask their questions all at once sat back down, looking suitably embarrassed with themselves. Selene turned back to the Archlector, who was chuckling,

“Ah, now that’s the young Wizard I remember hearing about ten years ago, I did wonder what had happened to her.” He noted with a warm, grandfatherly smile. Selene bit back an embarrassed laugh as the Archlector proceeded to look around the Council Chamber again,

“As to your questions. Yes, there is no more spare God Clay that we know of, however is not Titan made of the stuff?” he asked. Before anyone could answer, he was talking again, “From what has been described, it would seem that Throff, upon seeing the calamity that was unfolding, granted young Meredith a chance to use Titan itself to seal this new portal.” The Archlector sighed heavily, “Of course, such a casting requires a significant cost.” He looked over to the mace at the far end of the room, suddenly seeming so much older than he already was, “Clearly young Gruksdottir felt that the price asked was worth the safety of Allansia, if not all of Titan.” He said, his voice low and heavy with grief. Silence reigned as the enormity of what had actually happened settled on the rest of the Chamber. That one lone dwarf had sacrificed everything to prevent a disaster worse than had occurred ten years ago from happening again was, clearly, quite a lot to take in. Selene nodded gravely,

“Thank you, Archlector. It looks like we all have rather a lot to reflect upon. Especially given the behaviour of some of the city’s people towards the Dwarven people as of late.” She stood and regarded her fellows, “I think it would be best if we took a recess for the next four hours. When we get back, we will discuss what needs to be done to properly celebrate and honour those who have already given this city so much.” She glanced over to Elowyn and the others as she spoke, striking her oaken staff on the floor and sweeping out of the room. Elowyn ignored the mumble of conversation going on as she approached the Archlector and knelt before him,

“Your Grace, I have a couple of questions if I may.” She said quietly, Aurianna quickly scampering up beside her. The Archlector regarded the Paladin and nodded, waving off his beardling assistants,

“I’ll be alright, I will call when we are done.” He assured them gently. The eldest of them bowed politely and ushered the other outside, knowing that this was a private matter. Elowyn smiled gratefully to the old dwarf,

“Thank you.” She said. Vanskleig motioned for her to sit,

“It is no trouble, child. You are clearly worried about something and wish for guidance. I would be a poor cleric to ignore such a request.” He assured her. Elowyn shifted uncomfortably,

“Darkhide said during the fight against him that… he said Moradin was dead.” She said, trying not to avoid the subject, “I assumed he was merely trying to scare Meredith, but before we left the city, she mentioned that she had not been able to reach Him.” She looked up at the Archlector with worry, “Was Darkhide telling the truth? I thought Moradin had merely forsaken Toreguard following Starhammer’s untimely death.” Vanskleig sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair thoughtfully,

“As a friend of Meredith, I feel safe in letting you know what has happened.” He said, “However, this information is to go no further than us unless it becomes something that needs to be dealt with.” He told her firmly. Elowyn nodded, hugging her knees to her chest by now,

“You have my word Archlector.” She said. The elderly dwarf nodded, satisfied,

“The Dwarven people are currently in crisis, my dear.” He explained, “There is much upheaval occurring at the moment both in Fangthane, and until recently, here in Toreguard. As a result of what has happened here of late, Moradin’s followers have become… unsure of themselves and their faith is wavering. As a result, Moradin is less powerful than He would normally be and is attempting to consolidate Himself.” Vanskleig sighed, “My faith in the Dwarf Father is as strong as ever, my dear, however, I am old and while I have a replacement, I worry for my people following my passing.” Elowyn nodded,

“That’s– That’s some heavy stuff. But I am glad to know that Moradin still exists. It eases my heart just a little.” The Archlector smiled,

“You cared very deeply for her, that much is clear.” He said in a low voice, “When I return to Fangthane, I will ensure that young Meredith is properly remembered by all under the mountain. While she passed far, far too young, she was devoted not just to Moradin, but to her people and her world. Take strength in the knowledge that you knew Meredith for who she truly was, not the legend she will obviously become.” He advised. Elowyn nodded, wiping at her eyes as they welled up again,

“Thank you Archlector, I will.” She replied, getting up and bowing, even as the Archlector called for his assistants.

~*~

Later:

“I ‘eard a little about what happened.” Mrs Higgins said quietly once everyone else had left the kitchen, leaving the Woodling alone with her thoughts. Elowyn looked up at the house’s matron,

“I think the news has made its way most of the way around the city by now.” She said with a weak chuckle. The old human fished out an envelope from the pocket in the front of her pinnie,

“Miss Meredith left this with me before you left to go to Castle Dire.” She said quietly, “Said I should give it you when you got back.” Elowyn took the envelope, her hands shaking slightly as she regarded the firm, almost runic strokes of her old friend’s handwriting. The Woodling nodded to Mrs Higgins,

“Thank you, can you go and fetch me a pot of tea? I think I’ll probably need it after reading this.” She asked in a small voice. The maid nodded in sympathy,

“I’ll go fetch a small pot of brandy to go with as well, dear.” She said, bobbing in a curtsey, before bustling off to the other end of the large kitchen. Elowyn stared at the unopened envelope for several long moments, both longing to read the letter inside, and not yet willing to acknowledge that the dwarf was never coming back. Finally, she broke the wax seal on the back and took out the parchment inside:

Dearest Elowyn,

If you have received this letter, then that means the inevitable has happened. Whatever form this has taken, know that I do not want you, or any of the others, to blame yourselves. When Moradin comes calling, I kind of have to answer Him, right? I wanted to let you know just how much the time we have managed to spend with one another has meant to me.

I know that you love your city and pray to Moradin and Throff both that, once time has had a chance to dull the wounds left behind by this most recent conflict, that our people can live in peace with one another again. I trust that Justice will be done for the atrocities that have been committed, and know that, somehow, you’ll be right there in the middle of it. Please never lose sight of that goal, for I know that it might be the only thing that you have left to cling to when the shadows gather and fate feels like it’s ripped everything and everyone out from under your feet. I tell you this as a reminder. In these last days before we finally face Darkhide, the Light that you have brought into my life has been the only thing keeping me going when I truly believed that I had lost everything.

Even though we have had our differences in opinion, know that I have ever seen you as a Sister and, therefore regard you as kin. No matter the challenges that lay ahead of you, know that I am proud to have stood by your side as you grew from a simple Officer of the Watch into a Paladin that has learned the hard way how to lead and inspire others. Even as both of our peoples face dark and uncertain futures I know that you will be there to help light the way to a better future for all.

Should you ever have need to pass through the lands around Fangthane in your travels, please take the enclosed with you. It will identify you as a close and trusted friend of the Dwarven people and ought to keep you and your travelling companions safe despite the Grudge that will likely be in place by now.

Stay safe òrdugh piuthar and while I hope to meet you again when you finally pass to this next life, I hope it is a very long time coming.

May the rocks stay ever true under your feet,

Meredith, Daughter of Gruk, Son of Ovak

Inquisitor of Moradin 13th level

The sheafs of parchment shook and drops of water splotched the ink as Elowyn finished reading through the letter. Meredith had clearly known that it was unlikely that she would survive the fight against Darkhide. The Woodling frowned through her tears as she realised that there was something else still in the envelope. She gingerly shook whatever it was out onto the table, her heart breaking even further than she ever thought possible as she regarded the item. It was a simple Mythril necklace with a finely crafted dwarven Warhammer attached to it. Both were covered in intricate dwarven runes. Meredith’s Holy Symbol. Elowyn had seen the dwarf use it often enough to Turn the undead to recognise it immediately.

#aquadestinyswriting #titan fighting fantasy #destiny's new servants #titan fighting fantasy au #“speculative” fiction #elowyn o'toregaurde #meredith gruksdottir #enezeage #felix parker-tinker #quentin goldenrose #selene frigidwake #egrim shiverstaff

9 notes · View notes