Sir Malificars Actions

sir malificar was tired and disgruntled. so very tired. two weeks of searching for the emir in the endless deserts, with barely anything to be heard. he was angry, and the next d'shar bandit who fell into his parties grasp was going to die, and die slowly, in case he had any info. then, on the winds, he heard a shout. it was 2 of his scouts, returned, carrying a man, with his family close behind crying. Sir Malificar cried out, "HOLD! What have you found squires?" His scouts answered, "The family were worshiping false idols, and had a note from the emir, thanking them for their help in hiding him and that they may join his army!" Sir Malificar turns to the man "Is what they say true?" he asks the man. In answer, the man spits and Malificar's feet, and yells, "I AM A FREE MAN, AND YOU SHALL NO T TAKE THAT AWAY SON OF A DOG!" Sir Malificar smiles evily, and turns to his men "What we have here good sirs, is a man and his family who housed an enemy of the kingdom, has info on him, and refuses to tell us, all while calling us vile names. what should we do with him men?" Malificars men smile gleefully. "BURN HIM! BURN HIM AND HIS FAMILY! IN ASTREAS NAME!" "Sir Malificar Turned to the man. "what do you say? you can tell us or you and your family will die." The man considered for a moment, and then said to him "i will tell you. The Emir is residing close to torbah with his growing army of dshar and singalians. he means to take the city by force, and then try and retake all of the land." He then gave Malificar a dirty old map of his, and said"now please, let me and my family go."sir malificar ponders for a moment, and then starts laughing maniacally."of harbouring our enemy, you are forgiven...The Man exhaled...however for worshiping false idols that have been banned in pendor, i declare you guilty! BURN THE MALES BOYS, AND HELP YOURSELVES TO THE WOMEN!"The Man and his family Cried out in terror, but their pleas fell on deaf ears as Malificar studied the map he had been given. four hours later, after the men were finished, they rode out in the direction of Torbah.

The capital of the D'Shar provinces was not a pleasant sight, the city had grown too fast and too far, the nomadic people of the D'Shar being pressed into citizenhood by the authority of the King. Duke Rafik was dutiful lord, but far more used to reigning over smaller lands, his current lot seemed to have stretched his abilities to the limit.

The house the man had spoken of came into view, built into the slums which spread out from the city walls like a tumor, it was larger than the others nearby, clearly an old farm house, most likely a horse ranch in its better days. Now, however it was falling apart, the windows were uncovered and the door was kicked in, yet you immediately notice that there is no grass or growth of any kind around the building, almost as though the surrounding land had been cleared...

"ARCHERS!" one of the men shouted out as a number of arrows whipped out of the dilapidated ruin of a building.

Sir Malificar ducked behind his shield, which thankfully blocked two arrows zeroing in on his throat. clearly these werent inexperienced men they were facing. looking around, he saw that two squires and a pure knight had been struck. one squire was dead, and the other shot through the leg. the knight took the arrow in the soldier, but didnt seem to notice. Malificar reared his netherworld charger, and yelled the order "KNIGHTS OF THE EVENTIDE, CHAAAAAAAARGE!" [i] The Knights charged towards the house, and as they neared, dismounted. Sir Malificar charged the door first, ducking under his shield and charging with his claymore outstretched[i]

As the knights charged in they found the ground floor empty except for some rats scurrying between the large amount of broken remnants of what must once have been the furniture.
Yet, through the wooden ceiling shouts and footsteps could be heard.
Most of the non-load-baring walls in the interior had broken down and in the rear left corner the knights perceived what was left of a simple wooden stair leading to a trap door in the ceiling. Most of the treads were still there but neither they nor the beams holding the treads looked like they would be able to bear the weight of a full grown man, let alone a whole group of armoured knights.


What shall we do? one of the squires asked.

OOC: If you could use some breaks to structure your posts a bit, dowpride, this would make reading a lot easier.

Sir Malificar pondered for a moment... but only a moment. he quickly ordered his men to start lighting torches. then, as loud as he could he yelled"WE WILL BURN THEM OUT MEN! IF THEY WONT SURRENDER, ASTREA WILL PURGE THEM! his men then threw torches up the trapdoor, and started hacking at the ceiling, and throwing torches into the wholes. fire soon began to take place, and the smoke started rising through the wholes in the rafters. Sir Malificar rushed out of the building with two knights and a squire, and ran around one side of the house, and sent the others to the other side. he left a knight and 2 squires guarding the front door. "WE WILL FLANK THEM MEN!"

Sir Malificar heaved himself at the latter, causing it to fall on its side. he then charged the two men as they were falling slashing one across the throat, causing him to drown in his own blood. he then stepped away from the corpse, and walked over the fallen man. the man was screaming"MERCY OH LORD! PLEASE HAVE MERCY! I AM JUST A SIMPLE FARMER!" Sir Malificar snorted derisively. "you are no more a farmer then i am a dragon"Sir Malificar then stabbed his sword down onto the mans leg. The man screamed in pain, and writhed on the ground as the sword grinded and cut his leg to pieces.


Sir Malificar pulled his sword out, and spoke to the crippled man."you will tell me what i wish to know dog, and i will make your death painless, but if you dont... you will wish your mother had never slept with the goat that sired you" The Man sobbed"Yes, i will tell you. deeper in the city, in the tavern of the rusty spear. ask for H'akal. He will show you the way. now please, finish it." Sir Malificar seemed to ponder for a moment. then he said"NO. You and your band killed one of my squires and injured another. you will not get a quick death. YOU TWO He pointed at two squires drag this man into the house, and break his other leg!"

The two squires picked up the screaming man, and dragged him to the door, then threw him inside, after cutting his hamstrings. the screams were loud, and high pitched. nothing emerged from the house.


Sir Malificar turned to his men"well lads, to the tavern it is."

Sir Malificar led his knights into the tavern. instantly the noise stopped, and the music ceased. all eyes turned to regard Malificar." I want to see H'akal. for every minute i wait, one of you dies." [/i]He shouted at the ensamble. the men just stared at him, confusion or mistrust in their stares. Sir Malificar laughed and said[/i]" i see you need a demonstration. Very well." With this, he turned to the nearest man, and gutted him with his sword. while he was impaled, Malificar lifted the sword up, and threw the man down on a table, blood flying everywhere. the populace was stunned for a moment, before starting to scream. Sir Malificar shouted at the top of his lungs:"SILENCE! YOU WILL BE SILENT AND SHOW HIM TO ME, OR I WILL BURN YOU ALL ALIVE."

Some of the pure squires and knights turned away in disgust as Sir Malficar slaughtered the innocent man.
Sir Malficar's shouts were completely drowned out by the noise of the people in the tavern who were all trying to get out of this trap. Over the heads of the panicking crowd Malficar saw a man in traditional D'Shar clothing leave the tavern through a side door, guarded by several bladesmen.
There was no way to get through the crowd to the side door, so they would have to go around the building.
As Malficar hurried out again one of his corrupted squires approached him with a worried expression on his face and whispered into his ear:

Sir, two pure knights and seven pure squires left us raining curses on our heads and shouting Astraea would have her revenge on us all. We managed to calm the other pure knights and squires but they are worried nonetheless.

Aloud he said:

Some peasants ran out of the tavern, shouting for the city watch. No matter what you have done in there, we had better hurry.

[OOC: This leaves you with 5 CKs, 5 CSs, 3 PKs and 12 PSs.]

Sir Malificar shook his head sadly." Those poor fools do not realize that in the name of the greater good, to free pendor form war, some people must be killed who are inocent. it pains me so, but astrea understands."[/i] Sir malificar and his men rushed out of the door and ran their horses around the tavern.[i]

They heard more people call for the city watch as they turned around the corner and sped down the narrow alleyway as fast as possible with their destriers.
Though they never lost sight of the man and his guards for more than the time it took to turn around the next corner they did not really catch up as the narrow and labyrinthine alleys of Torbah gave a certain advantage to those on foot. Yet, as they turned around another corner they suddenly faced what they thought to be their prey. The eight bladesmen had formed a double line blocking the way, the man in robes standing behind them. He gave a whistle and five archers appeared on the roofs on each side of the alleyway.
The man in robes spoke up:

What is your business with me, speak quickly!

Sir Malificar raised his shield, and his knights did the same"I am Sir Malificar, Paladin of the Eventide. Some men associated with you open fired upon myself and my men on the outskirts of the city with no provocation. Before the last one died, he told me your name, and where to find you. I demand to know why you attacked my retinu.

A smile drew across H'akal's face.

So you found our special ... welcome. Most certainly you were led to the site of the assault by a map you were given by someone you threatened for information about His Grace. You see, His Grace is a very prudent and cautious man and has taken numerous precautions to fend off less amiable people who seek out his followers.

Well, you seem to have survived our welcome and even found me, so you are not completely incompetent.
What business do you have with His Grace then?

Sir Malificar slowly moved into fighting lines with his men, while responding"His grace is wanted by the crown of pendor. we dont want to hurt him, merely take him back to sarleon where he will face trial. no doubt he will be aquited and given some nice land of his choice to live out his days. i merely wish to speak with him. Before you ask if killing that man was needed, sadly it was. The smallfolk do not understand matters of importance greater then their own realms. they would have laughed at my authority, and threatened my men and I. i could not allow this.

H'akal laughed.

And you think I should betray my master? That he would let himself be dragged to Sarleon to face a mummer's farce of a trial, only to be arrested on a small patch of land for the rest of his days? His Grace commands soldiers of his own and does a he likes and the former mercenary who calls himself king now will soon face his wrath!

He gave Malificar's troops an enquiring look.

I had best have you killed here, as you are obviously a danger to my lord, but I will not waste the lives of good men to do what Duke Rafik's men can accomplish as well.

He smiled maliciously and then he and his men vanished through a narrow archway into one of the houses, while shouts and approaching steps were heard echoing from the walls. The city watch was in search of a murderer and they were close to finding one.

Sir Malificar yelled to his men "WE WILL NOT LET THEM GET AWAY THAT EASILY! YOU, SQUIRE, GO INFORM THE GUARD WE ARE IN PERSUIT OF THE MURDERERS, AND THEY SERVE THE EMIR! WE WILL CONTINUE ON AFTER THEM! FOR THE KING!" With that, he and his men charged after the men through the house, shields raised, yelling for the king and astrea.

When Malificar and his knights had dismounted and stormed into the house they found it empty but for a startled old woman sitting at a fireplace, who told them men had come through before and left through the backdoor.

They quickly rushed to the latter and found it open. The door led on a small plaza from which alleyways went off into several directions. There was no one to be seen, not on the plaza, nor in any of the alleys.

As they heard the old woman shriek in surprise they turned around to see a guard captain coming out of the door. His men, Malificar's squire he had left behind, as well as a an agitated civilian followed him. When the civilian saw Malificar he cried out.

That' him, surely, that's him!

The civilian hid behind the guard captain as the latter approached Malificar with the guardsmen slowly filling the plaza.

Sir Malificar turned to the guard captian and spoke loudly to him"YES I KILLED THE MAN SER! HE HAD RUN FROM A GROUP OF BRIGANDS THAT ATTACKED US! He must have been with them, for they did.""Sir Malificar holds up a scroll[/i]this scroll has the warrent of the king and my order master to hunt down emir xerxes, and that man was one of his!"

The guard captain looked unsure.

This man - he pointed to the civilian hiding behind his back - swears he knew the man you slew not to serve the emir, yet, one never knows these days. Moreover your squire here says the same as you and indeed I had reports of some brigands attacking knights on the outskirts of the town. In fact we knew H'akal was involved in some shady business but we did not know what kind of business and he has many friends here in Torbah that would hide him.

Actually I am obliged to to take you back to the castle to at least question you, but maybe you scared him enough to flee Torbah. Moreover it's only your word against that of this coward here, so I'll let you go this time, but do not try to cause trouble in Torbah again! You had better leave town now, to avoid anymore conflicts with the population.

Sir Malifcar nodded thankfully to the captain, and the squire, who beamed with pride"I will take your advice good sir. i would appreciate an escort to the castle, i should at least inform the lord that the Emir is here. you seem like a reasonable man, if you wish to rise in rank, there are openings for men and trainers in my chapterhouse in singal. if you are interested, i am sure any man who would with to come would be well rewarded and would gain much." Sir Malifcar indicated for his men to mount up and then rode to the castle.

You did WHAT?

Duke Rafik was red with anger. The guard captain who had reported everything to him hastily backed away from the furious aristocrat.

You hunted one of the most dangerous men of the principalities to Torbah and did not even bother telling me, me, the duke of this damn town? If my patrols had known, they could have helped you! H'akal would be singing a little song to my torturer right now and we would know about Xerxes' whereabouts before the next dawn! But with H'akal escaped, the emir will know that he is hunted by now and go into hiding who knows where...

He gave Malificar an irate glance.

And, if that weren't enough, you even killed a civilian - he slammed his fist on the table, sending several glasses bouncing off the edge and smashing on the floor -, putting the whole quarter into a state of turmoil! The tavern was completely ravaged by the panicking crowd and even some of my guardsmen were wounded when they tried to reestablish order! I should have you hanged on the market square for that, yet my hope is, that I won't have to besmirch myself with your blood, as your own grandmaster will be sufficiently angry with you. Now, if you do not have anything more to say, remove yourself.

Sir malificar stared sullenly at his boots"My apologies my lord. the man had been with the group that killed some of my men. i dont forget that. i had no idea what the situation was here in singal, and i dont know how many people were on the usurpers parole. i didnt even know who this man that i was hunting was, other then his name. i have here a map of the countryside wher ehe was supposed to be heading, givin to me by a nomad who has rested him. with your permission, i want to help bring xerxes to justice. it is the only way to make up for breaking the peace."Sir Malificar stared straight at Duke Rafik as he was saying this, though his sorrow and shame was clear.

No, I will hear no more of this. You caused enough trouble here and Emir Xerxes is most certainly already miles away or hiding in the deep desert. If you have not left the city by nightfall, my men will show you the way out - with pikes. I hope that was clear enough.

With these words the duke turned away and hurried off to his private quarters. The moment he disappeared a messenger rushed into the hall with a message for Sir Malificar. He bowed and handed over the letter. It bore the seal of Azlanek of Tantal, grandmaster of the Eventide and the grandmaster's orders were clear: He wanted Sir Malificar and his men to return to Singal without further delay.

Sir Malificar spat on the ground outside of the keep. foolish lords, always thinking they know best. i cannot return to singal in shame. i WILL find this xerxes. foreward men! we must spread the news. any man wishing to take up arms against this acursed pretender will get land and rewards from our brotherhood. many will become sworn men, and many will be given new land to settle in for the name of astrea. let it be known!