Commander Braghaman Larethian

Face From The Past

With a downward swing, Braghaman brought his made down on the skull of the skeleton that the paladin had been fighting. With a grunt, he pulled his mace from the bone and quickly scanned the area. At his feet were the remains of three other skeletons that had been fighting him. The paladin could hear the rattle of bones from other parts of Raven Hill cemetery, but nothing was nearby.

Bragh took a moment to catch his breath before moving past the broken fence around the cemetery. He didn’t have to go too far before he found the body. On the ground were the bloody remains of an adult. The victim’s clothing lay shredded on the ground around the body.

“Guess you got too close to the fence, didn’t you?” Braghaman whispered as he knelt next to the body.

“I see you got my invitation.”

Braghaman jumped up and turned around quickly, holding his mace up in front of him and shield at the ready. Standing a few meters away, near the fence, was a lone figure dressed in black robes with the hood pulled low. Shadows concealed the person’s face.

“Are you responsible for this?” Braghaman asked, taking a step towards the mysterious person.

“Nope,” the robed person said, a female voice coming from the hood. “But maybe he got the wrong idea that there was treasure to be found there.”

“Why would you do that?”

“You’re here, right?”

“If you wanted to speak with me, you could’ve just come to town,” Braghaman said, his voice getting an edge.

“But what we have to talk about is private,” the robed woman said, not moving as the paladin slowly stepped closer.

“Well, I’m here now. Say what you have to say before I take you in to the authorities and let them sort you out.”

“Fine,” the woman answered. Pointing her right hand towards the paladin, she reached up with her left and pulled the hood back. “I’m home, honey!” She spoke a word and fire erupted from her hand and flew towards the paladin.

“Anaja?!” Braghaman yelled with wide eyes. He brought his shield up as flames splashed around the edges.

-------

Braghaman woke with a start, sitting up violently in bed. The paladin panted, gulping for breath. The chill of the night air washed over him as he frantically looked around the room, expecting another attack. Niviene was shifting beside him in the bed.

“Okay?” the priestess mumbled, still mostly asleep.

“Yeah,” Braghaman said after a moment. The paladin took slow, deep breaths as he tried to slow the beating of his heart. Bragh lowered himself down onto the bed and pulled the covers up. “Yeah, angel. I’m fine.”