Marachius Ainsley

Marachius stood next to the bar and worked on his cup of coffee. There was a good crowd and everyone seemed to be in fine spirits. He recognized a few of the people there, but not more than to nod as they passed on the street.

“Sorry you have to wait.”

Marachius looked back to the bar and the young lady now standing behind it. She was removing mugs from her tray and putting them in a wash basin behind.

“That’s okay, Tabitha,” he replied. “Gives me a chance to people watch.”

“Well, they’ve got someone coming in to help out. As soon as she gets here, I can leave.”

“That’s fine. That’ll give me time to finish my coffee.”

“Just holler out if you need a refresh,” Tabitha said. She put some fresh mugs of...

Marachius let out a quiet groan and pulled his pillow over his head. He and his roommates were just starting to wake up when the door had flown wide open with a bang and Nara and Leiana loudly entered.

“Rise and shine, buckos,” Nara called out as she plopped down on Kiernan’s cot. 

“Up-n-at ‘em, boys,” Leiana added as she landed on the foot of Marc’s cot.

“Shut up,” Lorn called out as he rolled over and pulled the blankets over his head.

“Oh ho,” Nara said with a grin. “You gents aren’t hung over, are ya’?”

“Maybe,” Marc answered sheepishly, looking out from under his pillow. “Why aren’t you two?”

“Because unlike you boys, we know how to hold our liquor,” Leiana said as she slapped at...

Marachius heard the tavern well before he saw it. His squadmates walked on either side of him, leading him around the corner until they finally saw the establishment ahead of them. Marc saw sailors and guards going in and coming out of the establishment, singing loudly and obviously enjoying themselves, and he rolled his eyes. Finally giving in, Marc accepted that they were not going to let him out of having an evening on the town.

“Okay everyone,” Kiernan said as the group stopped outside of the tavern. “We’ve got forty-eight hours of R&R. So one night to cut loose and one day to recuperate.”

“Recuperate?” Marc asked cautiously.

“That’s what the man said,” Nara responded with a grin.

“Been a while since we...

Marachius sat at his desk and stared at the papers in his hand even though it was obvious that he wasn’t really seeing them. There were people moving around in the room. Other paladins spoke quietly as they moved in and out. But Marachius never seemed to notice.

“What’s up, Marc?”

The young paladin jerked his head up and looked at the hand that had just slapped him on the shoulder. Standing next to him was his squad leader, looking with a slight grin.

“Nothing, Kiernan. Just looking over the orders for the week.”

“You’ve been looking over them for the last few minutes. How much do you remember?”

“Oh.. uhh.. Yeah, sorry about that. Guess I’m a bit distracted.”

“Kind of what I figured.”

“Sorry,...

Marachius rushed into the building, his mace tapping against his legplates as he walked briskly through the hallway. Finally he he came to a closed door and knocked three times in quick succession. He was barely able to wait for the call to enter before he had the door opened to the office.

“Ainsley,” the commanding officer said as he looked up from his desk. “Something you need?”

“Yes, sir,” Marachius came to an abrupt stop just inside the room. “I need to go to Stormwind.”

“Stormwind? Why?” the older paladin asked as he rested his hands on the desk.

“Reggy. My friend, Regynn. She’s missing. She’s not at her apartment.”

“Maybe she’s with friends? A vacation with someone special?”

“I thought so...

Evening had fallen over city of Boralus. Many of the shops had long since closed for the day and the street lamps had been on for some time now. Guards walked the streets, passing under the street lamps and castling long shadows beneath them. Every now and then, the sounds of people would tumble out of one of the local taverns. For most, the day was done and they had retired to their homes. One had not, however.

Marachius stood in a narrow alley between two shops. The lights did not reach him there. He stood quietly, dressed in dark brown leather pants and coat with a long hood pulled over his head and hiding his features in shadow. Blending in with the darkness around him, he watched a home across the way.

As he stared at the...

Marachius sat at his desk, tapping his pencil to his bottom lip. He spent several moments in quiet thought as he tried to decide what he should include on his field report. Put the pencil back to paper, he wrote a few more lines on the paper and then stopped to re-read what he had put down. The paladin then put his pencil down with a nod of satisfaction.

Marc was just setting his pencil into a cup on the side of the desk when he heard the commotion outside. He turned to look at the open doorway when he heard the call.

“Incoming! Man the defenses!”

Almost immediately after the call, there was an explosion that Marc could feel vibrating through the floorboards. The paladin jumped out of his seat and grabbed his shield and mace. He...

Marachius stood outside the shop and looked in through the front window. In the window was a blue dress on display. The paladin studied the dress, his head tilting to the side slightly. He was slightly aware of the people walking past on him on the street, only enough to make sure that he wasn’t blocking the way as he looked. 

“Looking for your sweetheart?”

Marachius blinked a couple of times before looking for the voice that had just spoken to him. A woman stood in the doorway of the shop, looking at Marachius.

“I’m sorry?”

“Well, I assume that you’re not shopping for yourself,” the shop owner said with a grin. “Though if you are, I’m sure we can alter it to fit.”

“Oh, uh no. Its not for me.”

The shop...

The group of five paladins guided their chargers through the streets of Boralus, making their way back towards the docks. The hooves of the chargers were caked with the mud of a long journey, and clumps fell off onto the streets as the horses clip-clopped past all the pedestrians. The paladins, though weary, sat upright in the saddle and carefully guided the chargers single-file past all the people.

“Keep up, Ainsley!”

Marachius raised his head and realized that he had fallen behind. Worse still, the other four were all staring back at him. Marc nudged his horse in the side and caught up with the rest. Once back with the group, he nodded and the others started moving again.

“Window shopping?” Nara asked, glancing over her...

“Wake up, Marc!”

The young paladin’s eyes shot open and he looked around. He was sitting in a chair next to a small table in the barracks, where he’d apparently nodded off to sleep. On the other side of the room, sitting on her bunk was his squadron mate Nara, writing on a pad of paper.

“What?” Marachius asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“You were getting rather loud there, Marc. Must’ve been some dream.”

“Dream?” Marachius repeated, finally starting to focus on the day.

“Yeah. Way you were grunting, I figured you were in a fight or something. But then you started saying someone’s name, and I wasn’t sure anymore,” she added with a smirk. “Dreaming of your girlfriend?”

“No,” Marc...

Marachius had gone to the market to grab a few snacks. He knew that it could be useful to have a few things like dried fruits or nuts tucked away in his medical bag. Finding some of what he was looking for, the paladin was heading back to his station when something caught his eye.

Further down the road, coming out of one of the shops was Regynn. He started to call for her but quickly realized the futility of that given all of the cart traffic and people walking around the harbor city. He had just started to raise his hand and walk towards her when he Marc saw a man wearing an apron step out of the shop. Reggy turned and spoke with him for a moment before turning and heading down the street, away from the paladin.

“Is that him?”...

Marachius sat on the ground with several pliers and hammers scattered around him. He held part of his armor over his lap and carefully examined it before finally stopping at one spot. There, a few links of the chainmail had been rent apart. Twisting the piece around in his hands, Marachius finally sat it down across lap and picked up some of the tools. 

“You doing okay, Marc? You took a pretty good hit out there.”

The paladin looked up to see his squadron leader standing over him. Kiernan smiled and watched as Marachius set the pliers back on the ground.

“Little bruised, but I’ll be okay,” Marc answered, reaching a hand around to rub his right side. “Unfortunately, my gear is a little worse for wear.”

“You’re...

“Ainsley!”

Marachius had been sitting outside on a bench when he heard his name called. Looking up, he saw a commander walking towards him with several troops in his wake. Marc immediately jumped to his feet and stood at attention. As the commander stepped up to him, Marachius snapped his arm up in a salute, which the commander returned. The men behind the commander watched quietly, some nodding slightly, while others showed no notice.

“Men,” the commander said, glancing over his shoulder at the five men behind him. “This is your new medic. Get him squared away with a bunk and explain the mission to him. You all go out first thing in the morning. Ainsley, pay attention to what they say. They’ve been here since the first...

Marc watched as Reggy headed off after their conversation. It’d been weeks since they’d seen each other; she’d been sent to the front while he was continuing his training at an accelerated pace in Stormwind. But they managed to end up in the same place again and in some ways he felt it was just like it always had been.

And in some ways it was different, he thought to himself.

He was still a bit surprised that she was wearing a dress, even though she’d told him about this change in her letters. Marc had assumed she was telling the truth, but it was still a noticeable change.  Once Reggy was out of sight, he let out a slow breath and glanced around the area.

“Not unusual for her to be serious,” he said to himself quietly....

“Ainsley! Front and center!”

Marachius looked up from the arm he had been bandaging. A young man had run across some wild animals out in the forest and ended up deeply scratched up as a result. Tucking in the edge of the bandage, the paladin laid the arm back down on the table and smiled at the young man, saying “I’ll be right back.”

Jumping up from his stool, the paladin jogged in between the cots and tables of the healing ward and made his way to the main doorway where two senior paladins were standing. Coming to a stop, Marachius immediately stood up straight and threw his arm up in a salute. After a moment, the other paladins made their own salute, allowing Marachius the lower his arm and stand at attention.

“How’s...

(This follows the events of this: https://chardiary.com/c/Regynn-96/diary/entries/545 )

Marc sat on his bed, his foot idly tapping against his greatsword on the floor as he read over the letter one more time. His brow furled slightly and he let out a quick breath as he thought about what he’d read.

“Boralus”, the paladin muttered to himself. “And we thought I’d be the one running around.”

Marachius continued reading, reaching up and scratching his chin. At least she’s found some friends over there, he thought. Someone to keep her company while I’m stuck here.

Then he paused in his re-reading. “Boyfriend? Why would she think I was a boyfriend? What did Reggy tell her?” His face scrunched up as he re-read the...

Marachius finished brushing down his horse in the stables. The patrol had been mostly uneventful, but the paladin took special care with his horse none-the-less. Once he had finished, Marc put some feed in his horse’s stall and put up the rope that kept it from wandering off. Picking up his sword, helm, and medical kit from the ground beside the stall, he then headed out.

Once outside, Marachius slung his sword over his shoulder and onto his back. With his helm under his arm and his medical kit in his hand, Marc looked around the crowded city. He knew that he should get some dinner after a long day in the saddle, but he wasn’t ready yet. Instead, he decided to walk around. 

Without realizing it, Marc first found himself standing...

“Hey Marc.”

“Yeah, Aydin?” Marachius turned to look at his teammate as they finished putting away their saddles and gear.

“We all were planning to go to the Pig ’n Whistle once we get cleaned up. You game?”

“Sure,” Marachius answered with a grin. “Just need to clean off some of this road dust first.”

“Great! Bring your friend along if you want.”

“Reggy? I don’t know if she’s back yet, but I’ll check.”

“Okay. Don’t take too long. Last one there buys the first round.”

“Sounds good. You can buy me an ale when you finally show up,” Marachius responded with a smirk.

“Funny guy. Funny guy. See you there.”

Marachius milled around the yard with the nine other men. The commander hadn’t explained what was happening other than telling the young men to gather their gear and be ready to go immediately. So the ten men stood near each other, talking quietly about what they suspected was happening. After a few minutes, two captains came walking out of the Cathedral dressed in full gear.

“Alright paladins, we’re going on a patrol of Elwynn today. You five will be riding with me,” the captain said as he pointed to one group that included Marachius.

“And you five are with me,” the other captain said to the second group.

“We’ll be out for most of the day. There are supplies waiting for us at the stables.”

“Ainsley. Samson. Did...