A small, nameless village in Khorvaire rustled as the sun reached the middle of the sky. The marketplace was a tiny roar of people haggling, and stand owners trying to pull in customers. Calls of jewelry and clothes, of fresh-out-of-the-forge weapons, and of magic items filled the air. Most had no need for anything the traveling merchants always came to town with: There were no warriors, no mages. . . The only large building in the town was a church of the Sovereign Host to the south end of the market, known as the "temple district" by some. Why these merchants thought the town would have need of enchanted broadswords or scrolls of any and all sorts of magic sometimes confused the villagers. But all the same, they came.
A little girl clung to the hem of the sleeve of her mother as they maneuvered through the market. Her mother was mumbling something about where in the hells the grocer's stand was this day. A call of jewelry, and the flash of a diamond caught the little girl's eye. With the curiosity of someone her age, she detached herself from her mother's sleeve, and wandered to the stand. A necklace, made of diamonds of all sizes and connected by a gold string hung in front of her.
The sky darkened suddenly, and the little girl looked up, expecting to see clouds blocking the sun. Instead, she yelped at a massive, black plated Warforged who stood over her. It was a giant to her, standing at least 7 feet tall -- she couldn't guess how tall it really was. Its face was forever transfixed with a grim look, and a cold stare that it was forged with. The white eyes, at the least, offset the look slightly. Gold trimming was on his plating, but some of it was chipping away. But what surprised her the most was its width and right arm. It was as wide as three average-sized humans, and its right arm was a large sword that connected from its elbow and reached down to its feet.
The girl looked around, noticing eyes of other merchants and market-goers were transfixed on the two. The Warforged knelt down carefully to better look at the girl on her level. "You should not be here," was all it said. Its--or, she assumed, his-- voice was like a low rumble, similar to a rock slide, but it held no emotion. She didn't know what to say to the construct. It held out its left and only hand, which the girl took hesitantly.
The next thing she knew, she was in the air, and sitting perched on the back of the Warforged's neck, inbetween two large spikes on its plating. She looked behind her to see how far up she really was -- 7 feet. Her eyes noted what looked like a dragonmark etched in the construct's back. She didn't know which mark it was, but she knew it was a mark all the same. Reality sunk in again, and spun around and clasped her arms around the head of the Warforged. She trembled with fear of falling at first, but then began to enjoy the view she now held: She could see over the heads of everyone, it seemed. She giggled quietly to herself as the Warforged moved forward and the crowd split to avoid his path. Within a few moments, they had caught up to her mother, who was just finding the grocer's stand.
"Madam. . .?" The Warforged rumbled again. Her mother spun around in shock, and stared up at the Warforged, and then her daughter. "I am designation A001-017. Named, Bulwark. I believe this is--"
"Maria!" the mother cried, interrupting Bulwark. Something about the name made the Warforged hang its head for a moment. The little girl wanted to ask what the matter was, but she was in the air again as her mother demanded the construct put her daughter on the ground. She stared up at Bulwark as her mother wrapped her arms around her daughter and pulled her close. After a moment, the mother looked to the Warforged again. "How dare you take my daughter! You could have hurt her!"
"Mother, please. . ." the little girl pleaded as she turned around. Her mother looked down to her with a frown, and then back up to continue talking to the Warforged. Its interest had faded, however, and it had already begun moving again. The little girl stared as Bulwark walked, ignoring a second embrace her mother held her in. . .
Sun Jul 13, 2008 3:09 pm
