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Gambit

Aedon Durreah

Village of Aegis
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
As the night passed quietly towards dawn, Aedon made his way through the vacant streets of New Magincia towards the gate that would take him home to Yew. He had spent another evening in quiet company with Izznet, and though a part of him and wished to remain with her, a voice deep inside him shook him and reminded him that it was time to go. Leaving was getting to be harder, and he know that the longer he say chatting and enjoying her company, the harder it would get night after night. He was thankful that she understood his commitments, and laid no demands for time on him. She had in fact been a lifeline for him at this time. And he thanked whatever force sent her seeking him that night.

Arriving back in Aegis, he took the passage way to his house, and headed to his room. He had hoped to be able to fall asleep quickly, but thoughts of what was happening in the Yew troubled his mind and left him wondering what could be done next.

His earlier plans had fallen flat. He had hoped that once Gillian and Thom moved to Yew and she took over the post of Governor, he would be able to slowly withdraw from the area, passing the Knights Rest and Aegis into the care of the couple. He had long admired Thom’s leadership skills, and Gillian was a feisty lass with a desire to build a good life for her growing family. He was still not completely sure what had gone wrong there, but he had little doubt that he had a share of the blame in the breakdown in communications.

It was not long after Gillian and Thom moved in that others showed up as well. Mikael D’Amavir along with members of his house and others from the group The Hand arrived, and about the same time Dramora walked back into Yew. It was a bit clear from the start that the tow ladies had little trust in one another. But as time passed, they did develop at least a working arrangement.

Mikael came back seeking what he always sought, trouble. He was a man given to seeking power through intimidation and violence. And he always gathered to his banner others of the same ilk. To the Hand it seemed common place and normal to torture, **** and murder their way across the land. No age or sex mattered to them. If you breathed a puff of air they coveted, your life to them was forfeit.

One of Mikael’s aims in returning was to once again claim the title of Protector of Yew which he felt was his right. But true to his nature it was not a title he sought by protection the citizens of Yew, but by threats, beatings and slaying any who did not pay tribute or flee the area all together. In an effort to secure some measure of peace for the area, Gillian signed papers naming the thug and his men as Yews Protectors.

This had never set well with Aedon, and though he understood that she was looking to do some good, that her actions set the town up to live with the Hands boot firmly planted on their necks. Aedon withdrew from his post as Guardian of Yew and kept to Aegis retaining his title over the Glade as well as keeping the papers given him by Kyriel giving him protector ship of not only Aegis, but Yew. These he tucked away in a box, after all, there was little he could do to fight against these moves, When he tried and arrest warrant was singed for his arrest and he found himself being held in one of the Hand’s dungeons, and not in the Yew prison. In time, Gillian arranged for his release, and though some thought he should feel grateful to her, he instead was left with a deep sense of betrayal.

Still, when the next elections came around, Aedon again supported Gillian for Governor figuring that she had just gone through a rough patch, as many new leaders might. Gillian and Thom had moved out of Aegis, and Dramora had moved in.

At first this was a good arrangement. Dramora took over running the Rest, and Aedon spent a lot of time talking and enjoying some of the tales she had to tell. Dramora however was still obsessed with getting some revenge against Mikael, who was her ex husband. She panned and dreamed about capturing him, and making him feel some of the pain which long ago she had caused him.

Strangely though, Aedon believed that on some level, Mik really cared for her, and that deep down, Dramora had come to love the man who was once her captor. So together, the two of them came up with a plan to try to make Mikael jealous. A truly dumb idea, but they seemed t be prone to those.

They decided to hire a man to woo Dramora in front of Mik and see what his reactions. For this purpose they chose Judas for the part not only because he was nice looking, but because he had a pleasant manner. Judas also had a reputation for being a bit of a womanizer, but Dramora was a woman capable of looking after herself. The two did a lot of rehearsal for the part and Aedon could not help but laugh when Judas slapped Dramora on the arse as she walked past him.

As she became closer to Judas, Aedon noticed that she was beginning change in her view of him. When Leela was being held by Penrose, she seemed more determined to have Judas, a man not given to fighting handle the matter. Aedon was beginning to believe that her change in demeanor was due to the nearness of the Book of Charnadis.

One day Izznet showed up at the Yew Gate and handed Aedon a letter from Dramora’s sister Leela. She said that the letter was for him and she had been asked to deliver it. Thanking the lady, he took the letter and read it. The letter said that she was being held by Penrose, and he would release her if he came there. Aedon asked that Izznet return to Penrose and ask him when and where, and then headed back to the Rest.

Entering the room he found Dramora, Judas and the one called Wolfwood sitting before the fire. He did not at all trust that man and in truth felt he was working for Penrose on some level. And so, tucking the letter inside his shirt, he said nothing and instead - poured himself a cup of tea -and sat in the corner listening as the three talked.

Dramora was worried about Leela as any sister would be when she did not come home from one of her hunting trips. In an effort to set her mind at ease, he told Dramora that Leela was fine, and would return tomorrow. Dramora asked how he knew this and he told her that Leela had sent word to him. This did little to calm the woman’s nerves but instead caused her to ask. “Why would she write you and not me?” At this point it was clear that Dramora was just angry. Without thinking the remark through, Aedon told her, “Perhaps because you are never home?”

Well, that went over about as well as one could expect. Dramora and the others started making plans to go to Penrose’s house in search of Leela. Aedon again assured her that Leela would be home the next day. Too this Dramora stated that she did not trust Aedon.

This came as a bit of a shock seeing that a week before she had trusted him fully. It was always a wonder to Aedon that faith in another is so easily and readily cast aside. But there was little he could do. She insisted he hand over the letter from Leela, and he refused. Convinced that the way to help out the lady was to follow through fully on the instructions, he was not about to risk another’s life because Dramora had lost faith.

He did not know if they rode off looking for Penrose, and did not bother to ask. He had one thing in his mind to do, and it had to be carried out fully, or a life might be lost. A few days later, Dramora moved out of Aegis, and Aedon never asked where she would settle down. It was not that he did not care what became of a lady he had come to truly care for, it was more that he knew that what friendship might be left was better served by walking away.

He had after all become quite practiced at walking away from things. And perhaps some amount of his insecurities in his own dealings rubbed off on those seeking to find a place within Yew. And it Dramora’s leaving was hard on him, Gillian’s resignation as Governor was devastating.

Long ago Kyriel had told Aedon that Aegis was cursed. And that anyone that took up residence in that glade was subject to great loss and heartache. And this had been shown many times in the tragic deaths of Katya DeCourtney and Mika’el of the Knights of Yew. Aedon himself had not only endured the loss of dear friends but also the murder of his young daughter. His marriage to Janissan Venroe was one of the happiest days of his life, but was quickly followed by an invasion of Aegis by the demon Ix Tab, and Jan almost losing their first child.

It had always seemed that whenever he and the town took two steps forward, they would always be pulled three steps back. And now Gillian was gone, and Aedon was left to again take on a duty he wished to be free of. But he could not support the appointment of Mikael to protect Yew any longer. If this man really wanted the title let him earn it thought words and deeds, and not intimidation and murder. The town would need a strong leader to see her through and the next one that ran for Governor should be someone that has a desire to serve the people and not sever them from their lands and livelihoods.

Setting down his tea, Aedon took up a parchment and penned a letter which would be posted on the town board and at the Knights Rest in Aegis. Calling for John, he asked that he ride to the Abbey and post one copy to the bulletin board, and hang the other on the wall inside the Knights Rest on his way out.

When John had left, Aedon picked up his cup and walked to the front wall of the building he looked out into the light of a new day. Holding his cup tightly in his hands he smiled a bit saying;

“Come and get me Mikael.”
 

Aedon Durreah

Village of Aegis
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
It was almost what I had hoped to achieve. Taunting the Hand in an attempt to draw out Mikael seemed risky for sure. But if I could convince the man to stand forth and really be a force for good in Yew, it would mean that there was still a chance that the town could survive past the resignation of her Governor. If things went bad, as they seem to have, I would at the very least get his arse kicked, and at the worst, find myself sitting in a jail cell again and Yew at the mercy of thugs.

It was not Mik that showed up in Aegis, but one of his more notable thugs. The one they call Fateweaver. He came in under the pretense of checking into the possible establishment of a Brothel in Yew. He also acted as though he did not know that Gillian had resigned. Unless the right Hand does not know what the left Hand is doing, he knew full well.

The odd thing is my undoing did not come from my answers to him, but more so when James declared me to be the King of Yew. He asked if that was my title and I admitted that James called me such. But I am also called Frog King and I cannot recall the last time a toad bowed down to me.

He declared that I was committing treason, and sought to place me under arrest. Knowing what happens to a person the Hand arrests I bided my time and looked for a chance to run.

So now, I am in hiding, and the Hand has taken control of Aegis and Yew. I am not sure what can be done seeing that the one that might be able to help has gone missing, and in all truth when it comes to Yew, he never really cared.
 
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