Commander Braghaman Larethian

It had been a loud and exciting night in Goldshire, especially in the tavern. Many travelers had stopped by on their way towards the capital. Some only stayed long enough to get a bite to eat, others stayed until the skies outside darkened. Somewhere in that time, one of the customers produced a mandolin and began singing to the crowd. He wasn’t horrible on the ears and the customers seemed okay with it, so the owner shrugged his shoulders and let it go.

Throughout the afternoon and into the evening, one young lady kept dancing through the crowd as she carried trays of drinks or food to the various customers. She favored everyone with a smile and never ignored a customer. She was a good hire, the owner thought to himself as he poured...

Sister Anetta cautiously opened the door to Sabina’s room. Two other priests stood behind her as the door slowly swung open. The three looked into the small room and then relaxed slightly.

“Guess she’s not here,” one of the priests said.

“I didn’t expect her to be,” Sister Anetta replied with a shrug of her shoulders. “Let’s look around and see if there’s anything here.”

The three priests stepped into the room and began looking around. One of the priests began looking at things that sat on the small desk in the corner of the room while the other knelt next to a chest and opened it to look inside. Sister Anetta knelt down next to the bed and peered underneath. She slid a small box our from beneath and lifted it...

Banagan walked around the yard of his new home and swung his wooden mace around. The almost-twelve year old listened to the weapon whistle as it sliced through the air. While he paced back and forth in the yard, Valiant lay on the ground with his chin resting on his crossed paws. The winged lion watched as the young man fought back against imaginary enemies.

“Take that,” Banagan grunted as he viscously attacked his adversary. “And that!”

Banny ducked and turned to attack something else behind him. He spun his mace around, adding flourishes to his imagined strikes. Suddenly, the young man dropped to his knee and lowered his head, as if dodging a dangerous swing. Spinning around, he counter-attacked with what he envisioned as a...

“Where are all the kobolds?”

Brother Sammuel looked around the clearing. Normally, the small creatures would be moving around, foraging, and generally causing mischief. But none could be seen. The area was calm except for the occasional cry from the birds in the trees, upset that there were intruders near their nests.

“Must be hiding,” one of the younger paladin trainees answered quietly.

“Yeah, but why? What has them spooked?”

“Doesn’t matter,” the paladin trainer spoke, silencing the chatter among the half dozen recruits that were following him. “Keep an eye out in case they start to get overly curious. Let’s check that cave,” he added, pointing to an outcropping ahead of them.

The paladins drew closer to...

Brother Sammuel stepped briskly through the main hall of the abby and stopped at the entrance to the Library wing. The paladin took a moment to calm his breathing before opening the door and stepping inside. He immediately saw Sister Annetta and Marshal McBride sitting at one of the tables and whispering animatedly. The paladin trainer stepped over to the table and stood quietly. After a moment, the marshal nodded and then looked up.

“What news, brother?”

“They have completed a head count. There are two individuals missing?”

“Who?” asked Sister Anetta.

“Krista and Sabina.”

“They’re sure?”

“Yes, ma’am. They’ve checked all the rooms. No one can account for either of them since breakfast yesterday morning....

“WAKE UP!”

Braghaman’s eyes shot open. He scanned from side to side but saw very little given the darkness of the room. His ears strained to hear the voice again but it was not there. All he could hear was the slow breathing of Niviene asleep beside him.

Another dream, Bragh thought to himself as he lifted his head off the pillow to look around the room. Nothing was out of place. Slowly he rolled out of the bed and stood up. It took a moment to get his bearings in the new room. After taking a deep breath, he quietly moved around the large bed and stepped out of the bedroom. 

Braghaman pulled the door closed behind him and then started walking down the hall. They’d only been in the house for a couple of weeks at this point,...

The young boy stared wide-eyed as his pony passed under the archway of the large goes leading to the abbey at Northshire. He looked at the stonework for a moment before turning his gaze back to his father riding in front of him on a fiery, winged lion.

“I’m really going to be a paladin.”

“If that’s what you want,” Braghaman answered, looking back over his shoulder at his young son. “If you want this.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll be as good a paladin as you someday.”

“Son, I expect you’ll be a greater paladin than I ever was.”

“Why do you think that? Wouldn’t I be just like you?”

“In some way, Banny. But there’s one big difference between you and me.”

“What’s that, father?”

Braghaman pulled on...

Erik opened the door to Madame Eva’s inn and stepped inside. The crowd inside was loud and friendly and called out a greeting to the rogue as his eyes adjusted to light inside. Madame Eva appeared from around the stairs and walked over to Erik. She laid a hand on his arm and smiled. Without a word, she turned and nodded to a corner in the back of the common room. Erik followed Eva’s glance and saw a lone person sitting at the far table.

The rogue moved through the crowd and made his way to the back of the room. Sitting at the table in the corner, facing the front door, Braghaman had both his hands around a mug and vague look in his eyes as if he were lost deep in thought. Erik stood quietly next to the table and waited. After a...

Braghaman woke from a deep sleep, not with a start but rather eased into consciousness. The room was still dark and there was a slight chill from the season in the room, but nothing seemed out of place. Slowly he opened his eyes and turned his head slightly to see the rest of the bedroom.

Niviene was still asleep, curled next to him and holding his arm. Bragh could hear her slow, regular breathing and was comforted that he had not woken her. Closing his eyes, the paladin took a deep breath and then let it out slowly.

It had been a busy, tiring week. The trainees took time as they always did. In addition to their normal training was an incident involving a pair of skeletons that had wandered too close to town for anyone’s comfort....

It was a quiet night at the Larethian house. A breeze pushed through the trees outside and brushed up against the house, but the inside was warm and secure from the cool winds of the season. All the candles had been snuffed and shadows danced throughout the home. Only the sounds of sleep could be heard inside.

Deeper into the night, a grunt could be heard from the first floor. Soon another followed. And then another. Braghaman lay on his back, shifting a little from side to side. Suddenly, he grunted again as his head turned to the side and his arms flew into the air as if to ward off an attack. His eyes opened and then blinked several times as he tried to focus on the objects in the dark. Slowly he lowered his arms and brought his...

“What are you going to dress as?”

“I don’t know, maybe I could make a helmet like the Headless Horseman.”

“That could be cool.”

“What about you?”

“I think I want to dress up like King Anduin.”

Braghaman looked up from his papers and glanced over to Banagan and his friend. The two young boys were sitting on the ground drawing in the dirt with sticks.

“You’re hair’s the wrong color.”

“Well, its just pretend. As long as the suit looks right.”

“You could get a wig.”

“Where do you buy wigs?”

“Bet there’s a shop in the city.”

“What? Like a ‘Wigs n Stuff’?”

“Probably. Seems like you can buy whatever you want there.”

“I don’t think its like that, though.”

“Sounds...

Duskwood Patrols, by the Shrouded Dawn, will be suspended indefinitely. Sadly, because of dwindling participation and me personally being very busy with work over the last three weeks, this seems like the most realistic course of action. Maybe at some point in the future, they can be revived. 

My sincerest apologies to those who had come to enjoy this RP event.

Bragh

Braghaman sat with his left sleeve pushed up to his shoulder and his arm draped across the table in front of him. On the other side of the table, a priest sat and looked at his arm. Gently, he took Bragh’s arm by the wrist and elbow and lifted it a few inches.

“Does this hurt?”

“No,” the paladin answered.

“That’s good. Flex your fingers for me.”

Braghaman easily opened and closed his fist a couple of times. He then looked at the priest who had been watching intently. The priest nodded and then looked up. “Good.”

“What do you think?”

“You said the pain comes and goes?”

“Yeah. It’ll happen without warning and my fingers will spasm some when it does.”

“How bad is the pain?”

“Pins and...

I can hear them coming. Their hooves striking the ground. It echoes, makes it seem like more than one of them are there. But its just the one. Dark skin and reeking of death. And eyes that just seem to burn into you. And as its walking by me, it stops and starts looking. Like it knows I’m there. But I know it can’t.

I’m covered in mud from that Light forsaken place. Camouflage. I hate it. It stinks of fel. It itches. All I want to do is scratch at it, to wipe it off. But I can’t because then the monster will know where I am. So I lay still, pressing against the hill. it can’t see me. Or can it?

The demon steps closer to me. Another step and it’d be right on top of me. I fight the urge to move my leg out of its way. The...

Braghaman sat quietly in the room that the guards had put him in. They had shut the door and latched it, leaving the paladin all alone. Letting out a sigh, Bragh leaned forward in his seat and rested his elbows on his knees. He shook his head as he thought through the situation. After a few moments, he leaned back in the chair and waited.

With no windows, it was hard for Bragh to measure the time as it passed. He could hear people moving around outside. There were several conversations going on out there, but none of them really attracted his attention. He knew that there was only one conversation that he’d be interested in hearing. He also knew that if it involved his wife, that he’d have no trouble knowing what was said.

Time...

Braghaman sat quietly next to the desk as the guard gathered a pad of paper and sat down across from him. It took the guard a moment more to get settled and set his pencil to paper. Then, he looked up at the paladin.

“Name?”

“Bragh Larethian.”

“Where do you live?”

“Darkshire.”

“Over in Duskwood?” the guard asked, looking up from his paper.

“Yes,” Bragh answered, barely fighting back the smirk and sarcastic comment.

“What brought you to Stormwind today?”

“I had a meeting.”

“Where at?”

“The Cathedral.”

“Looking for some healing, Mr. Larethian?”

“No,” Bragh said, frowning slightly.

“Who were you meeting with?”

“Lord Shadowbreaker.”

“Shadowbreaker? A bit old to start...

“If he’s still in Shattrath, I cannot find him.”

Braghaman looked at Erik for a moment before nodding. Turning his gaze, he looked over to the memorial for King Varian. Even in a crowded, busy city like Stormwind, this area was calm and quiet. “Are you sure he’s still in Shattrath?”

“No, I’m not,” Erik answered with a shrug. He followed the paladin’s gaze and looked at the large monument. “If he is, he has found some place I cannot access. If he’s not, then he managed to slip past the portal keepers.”

“Or he found a different way back here.”

“That is also a possibility.” Erik paused for a moment, then looked back at the paladin. “Why would he hide from you?”

“I don’t know. If he is, I’m...