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(RP) The Tavern

Jepeth

Seasoned Veteran
UNLEASHED
The scene outside the graveyard was a mess. One council mage lay dead at the gate while two others struggled back to their feet. The abomination had just vanished leaving Jepeth, Threepwood, and a few feet away the elder mage Jaanin behind.

As Jepeth was trying to regain his wits Jaanin approached them both.

“Who is the Bloodeye?” she asked Threepwood curtly.

“Pardon mum?” replied Threepwood with a smile.

“Don’t play coy, pirate, who is the Bloodeye?” she said more forcibly than before, pointing a finger at him.

Threepwood glanced over to the still dazed Jepeth who returned a quick shake of the head ‘no.’

“Me apologies mum, we best be shoving off! Lovely island ye have here; come visit our’s someday!” said Threepwood.

“Wait!” she yelled quickly, but it was too late.

In a flash Threepwood quickly cast a moongate, grabbed Jepeth by the back of his platemail neck ring, and jumped with him through.

The moongate snapped shut with a dull pop and woosh of air leaving the elder council mage behind furious.

***

The pair of cousins fell out of the blue moongate and it quickly vanished, leaving them alone on a street of Skara Brae.

Threepwood got to his feet but staggered and fell back down upon the ground. Jepeth, meanwhile, rolled off his back and onto his hands and knees and wretched.

“Ye are,” Jepeth gasped, “terrible at magic!”

“Well I only picked it up cause I knew it’d annoy ye,” replied Threepwood who was trying to hold down his last meal. “It’s not like I cast the ‘gate often!”

“Never,” gasped Jepeth in between heaves, “do that again.”

“Oh aye yer lordship!” said Threepwood annoyed. “Did ye wish to stay and have a parlay with that mage or not?”

“What in the bloody hell are ye doing to the street in front of me pub!” shouted a woman’s voice behind them.

Jepeth looked up and finally became aware of his surroundings. Threepwood’s moongate had deposited them right in front of The Shattered Skull tavern.

“I donnae care if ye be the Governor or the bloody King I am NOT cleaning that up!” yelled the barkeep.

“Are ye daft?” hissed Threepwood, standing up. “Keep yer voice down!”

“And YOU!” she yelled at Threepwood, looking even angrier than before and placing her hands on her hips. “Ye be banned! Ye know that!”

“Gwen please,” whispered Jepeth as he shakily returned to his feet, “I think we need to get inside. Let us in for just a few minutes; we’ll be no trouble I promise.”

The barkeep looked back and forth between the disheveled pair, down at the cobblestone covered in sick, and made an exasperated sound.

“Fine Jep’, but he’s yer responsibility!” she said, opening the door.

“What did ye do here that has her so mad?” asked Jepeth as they stumbled inside.

“Am I suppose ta’ remember everything I do?” grumbled Threepwood.

The waiter brought them each a mug of tea and after a few minutes they both felt better. Jepeth, whose throat was considerably sore after nearly being crushed by the dead of Moonglow cemetery, especially benefited from the hot liquid. Threepwood tried to order something stronger but was ignored without explanation by Gwen the barkeep.

“Who is the Bloodeye,” said Jepeth raspily after a few minutes.

“Ye don’t know?” said Threepwood, surprised.

“I,” began Jepeth. He stopped and looked down at his mug. “I’ve heard that name before,” he said. “Where?”

He wracked his brain for a moment ignoring the puzzling look from Threepwood.

“A pirate!” he said at last. “The damaged scroll from the archive in Britain Tejnik sent me to. The day of the fight on the bridge. It mentioned ‘Bloodeye!’” said Jepeth.

“Ooh, ye solved it!” mocked Threepwood.

“Cousin, is there any part of ye who thinks I’m in the mood for jest?” asked Jepeth. Threepwood saw a very familiar and dangerous look in his eye.

“What else did this scroll say?” asked Threepwood.

“Nothing else, it was mostly destroyed,” said Jepeth. ”It mentioned a rising sea, this ‘Bloodeye,’ and a comet. We weren’t even sure where it was from.”

“I may know,” sighed Threepwood.

“I would love to know but ye haven’t even answered my first question: who is the Bloodeye?” said Jepeth.

“Twenty years ago,” began Threepwood quietly.

Just then a sudden burst of light and air practically knocked every empty mug and utensil in the tavern into the air. As he was closest to it, the loud bang of sound knocked Threepwood off his bench.

“Hullo Governor!” said Tejnik the Marvelous, who appeared in the middle of the tavern to the shock and downright annoyance of almost everyone present.

“Curse ye flunky I swear if ye do that again I will cut you apart limb from limb me-self!” shouted a very angry Threepwood.

“Ah, hullo Scallywag,” said Tejnik looking down at Threepwood on the tavern floor. “What are you doing down there?”

“Keep it down, I’ll throw the lot of ye out!” shouted Gwen the Barkeep.

“Would everyone please stop shouting!” hissed Jepeth banging his fist on the table.

Everyone in the bar looked over at him and this new source of sound.

“Shh!” hissed Threepwood, returning to his chair.

“Don’t yell at me, Gov!” yelled the Barkeep.

“Governor I think ye may wish to keep your voice down...” began Tejnik diplomatically.

Jepeth threw his hands into the air in surrender.

“Continue, Cousin, who is the ‘Bloodeye!’” whispered Jepeth.

Tejnik shook his head and waved his hands back and forth as he sat down at the table next to Threepwood.

“Governor, I’m sorry to interrupt but we have little time,” began Tejnik. “They’re moments behind me.”

“Who?” asked Jepeth.

“The King’s Personal Guard will be here any moment,” said Tejnik. “The Council of Mages are furious at you both.”

“Ooh,” said Threepwood looking around nervously. “Ahh, I’ll speak to ye another time Cousin, I donnae want anything to do with the King’s Personal Guard.”

“No!” hissed Jepeth. He looked around the bar quickly, sizing up his options. “Quickly, tell me your tale!”

“Ahh, nae cousin, I need to depart...” began Threepwood.

“Fine!” said Jepeth turning to his mage administrator. “Tejnik, get him out of here!”

“Aye Governor,” said Tejnik without hesitation.

Jepeth turned to Threepwood. “Ye tell him, he’ll tell me! Go!”

“Vas Rel Por!” cried Tejnik.

A blue moongate appeared behind Tejnik and Threepwood.

“Now wait just a damn minute! Do I look like one of yer flunkeeeeee-” began Threepwood.

Tejnik had grabbed Threepwood and pulled both of them through the moongate. It vanished immediately after they disappeared.

“Ha,” said Jepeth to himself. “See how much he likes it.”

Jepeth looked down at his nearly empty cup of tea, tipped the rest of it back, and placed it gingerly back down upon the table. He looked up and saw the entirety of the Shattered Skull’s patrons and staff gaping at him.

“Politics!” he said to the crowd with a smile. “I should probably go back to fishmongering!”

“It’d be an honest day’s work!” shouted a voice from the back of the room.

Just then the room felt suddenly colder. The air itself seemed to be drawn from the space and everyone instinctively slunk down into the stools or chairs.

A blue moongate appeared. And then another. And another. And another.

Twelve blue moongates appeared in the Shattered Skull Tavern. Unlike Tejnik’s standard loud and dramatic entrance, they made no noise upon flashing into existence.

At once, twelve armed soldiers wearing mail and carrying halberds stepped through each gate. They formed a ring around Jepeth.

“Governor Jepeth of Skara Brae?” said the Guard standing directly opposite him.

“Aye,” replied Jepeth.

“The King demands you appear before Him,” said the Guard in a matter-of-fact tone. All twelve guards in unison raised and slammed the pole end of their halbred’s onto the ground. It made a chilling sound.

Jepeth nodded.

The Guard took a step aside opening space for Jepeth to walk into the moongate he had just appeared from. Jepeth looked over to Gwen the Barkeep and smiled, before walking into the gate and vanishing.

***

In a moment Jepeth appeared in Britain with the guard following closely behind him. He was caught off guard, however, as he was not where he expected to be.

“We are not going to His castle?” asked Jepeth.

“Nay Sire,” replied the Guard. “He demands you meet with him there!” the Guard pointed a gloved hand forward.

He pointed towards the great wooden doors of Castle British. Jepeth nodded and approached the doors. They creaked open for him.

He continued forward through the doors and into a receiving hall. The Guard followed close behind him as he continued heading deeper into the castle. He entered a stark white great hall with armed statues carved from marble rock flanking the space.

And at the end of the hall he saw Him.

There:
On the throne Lord British had won from King Wolfgang,
On the throne Lord British sat upon when he first met The Stranger,
On the throne Lord British used to unite the realm under His rule,
On the throne Lord British had first articulated the Virtues from,
On the Throne of Britannia itself,

Was his sworn liege lord King Blackthorn.

He smiled at Jepeth.
 
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