Marachius Ainsley

Visiting Darkshire

Marachius rode next to Katherine the Pure as they traveled through Elwynn Forest on their way to Darkshire. As they rode, the elder paladin talked about experiences she’d had growing up, sharing the lessons she had learned as a recruit and young paladin. From time to time, Marachius would ask questions but for the most part he listened or responded when a question was asked of him. 

They had not travelled for too long before they came to the turn into Duskwood. The trees closed in around the road and the shadows deepened as they moved further into the shire. The conversation lagged as they paid more attention to their surroundings. Marachius was on edge, looking for every howl that echoed amongst the trees. Finally, they came to the gates of Darkshire and entered the village square.

They stopped by the fountain and Katherine slid off of her saddle. Following suit, Marachius pulled his great sword from his back so that he could more easily climb down from his saddle. Holding the sword in one hand and reigns in the other, Marc looked to the other paladin.

“Stay here. I’m going to check in with the town guard and then hopefully we can find the person we came here to talk to.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Marc said, reaching over and taking hold of Katherine’s reins. As she walked away, Marachius looked around the village. He’d visited twice before, but both times were with a group of trainees, and they didn’t spend much time in town. He noted that even though the village was shrouded, the people moved around town as if they didn’t notice. They had purpose, but the young paladin saw no fear or uncertainty in their eyes. 

They’re not worried, he thought to himself. Its just a normal day here.

Then a scream split the calm. Marachius looked around the village and saw two of the Nightwatch guards look towards the road leading west of town before glancing at each other. With a nod, the two guards started running in the direction of the sound. Without hesitation, Marachius gripped his sword and sped off after the two.

On the outskirts of town the guards and Marachius discovered what was causing the commotion. A woman lay on the ground next to an overturned wheelbarrow. Standing over her was one of the many undead that roamed this area. The two guards divided up, with one running to the lady and trying to pull her to her feet while the other drew his sword and tried to drive back the zombie. 

Marachius approached cautiously, watching as the guard swung his sword at the monster. Hunks of flesh were hacked off by the guard, but the zombie didn’t seem deterred. It simply turned its attentions towards a new target: the guard. As the Nightwatch swung his sword again, the zombie turned slightly. The blade cut through the air and cleaved into the side of the monster. The guard tried to pull his sword free, but it had become lodged in the zombie’s ribs. The zombie swung its free arm and struck the guard in the shoulder, causing him to lose his grip on the weapon and stumble a few steps back.

Marachius gripped his sword by the blade, his gauntlets protecting him from its bite, and ran at the monster. Lowering his shoulder, the paladin drove into the zombie, knocking him away from the guard and knocking the guard’s sword to the ground. Bringing his own sword back, Marc swung it at the head of the monster, the cross piece connecting with its jaw and ripping more flesh from its skull.

Before Marachius could recover from his swing, the zombie hissed and lunged at the paladin. Knocking him to the ground, the zombie landed on top of Marc and immediately started clawing at his armor. The impact of hitting the ground caused the paladin to drop his sword and it slid just out of reach. Marachius pushed back against the monster and tried to roll it off of him, but he found that he lacked the leverage to accomplish his escape.

“Watch out!”

Out of the corner of his eye, Marachius saw Katherine running towards him with her mace in hand. With an underhand swing, she caught the zombie on the side of the head and sent it rolling to the ground. Hissing, the zombie tried to get back up, but before it could move far the Nightwatch guard stabbed it through the head with his recovered sword.

“Alright, Ainsley?” the elder paladin asked, reaching a hand out to help him to his feet.

“Yes, ma’am,” Marachius said cautiously before stepping over to his sword and picking it up.

“The attitude is right,” Katherine said with a grin. “But I think the technique could be improved.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Marachius answered again, turning a bit red.

“No worries, paladin. We all had to learn somewhere. If you’re uninjured, we need to get on with why we’re here.”

Marachius nodded and slung his sword over his shoulder, then followed as the elder paladin led them back towards Darkshire.