Erik Thunderhoof's page

Two months later(the court got cleaned up in the meantime)

The court is silent. Just the rustle of the trees in the wind and the tweeting of a few birds which are sitting in the trees are filling the air. The sky is cloudy and a light mist lays over the court.
Suddenly all the birds in the trees are taking off and disappear into the city. A few seconds later an eagle lands on one of the bigger branches.
A few moments later the double door of the building opens and a 8'2 tall male centaur steps into place. He wears a leather armor/barding combo, a composite longbow with a quiver which contains 20 arrows over his shoulder and on each of his flanks a scabbard with a longsword in it.
"Next time wait for me, Syr", he says in a light annoyed tone to the eagle while walking up to the tree. The eagle tilts his head a bit while looking at his master. Then the centaur smiles, reaches into a little pocket, takes out a dead mouse and throws it up to the eagle who catches it in midair.
Then the centaur turns around and walks over to the strawpuppets. He draws his swords and starts training while he switches between hitting the puppets and shadow fight.

Dorn glares at Jafgar. "Why wouldn't they approve a centaur, or anyone else? Good agents come in all shapes and sizes. Come on in Erik, grab a barrel."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I don't take alcohol well. Either I'm doing the weirdest stuff or I get very aggressive. I still remember those moments."

Dreg scoffs, "O' course they do laddie, they let my sorry arse in. I just figgered there bein a centaur agent confirmed woulda made a lot more noise is all."

"Well", says Erik, "let's just say that they need someone who knows Iobaria very well, in case they need to send some of us there.

The door opens and a male centaur enters. Each one of his hoofs is packed in into a little leather bundle. He wears a leather armor/barding combo and a leathery glove on his left hand. Over his shoulder he carries a composite bow and a quiver, on each of his flanks is a scabbard with a longsword inside. On his lower back sites a eagle which is scanning the surroundings.

The centaur himself looks around before he catches eyes on Twillika, Rainbow and Bree-Bran. He smiles and says: "Didn't expect you three here. He you doin'?"

"Good luck, then", says the centaur and holds his hand towards Rook.

"I'm a relatively newbie."

Erik comes a little closer to Rook and says: "Hey, we all have our ups and down. Some are a piece of cake and some appear as unsolvable. Tell me: What do you do when you fall? Staying down and crying like a foal. No, you stand up and keep on going. Every and every damn time."

Rook turns around, his face still dominated by his troubled expression.

'Yea,yea, sorry about that.'

He then sighs before speaking again.

'You try not blowing up some steam when you haven't received a mission after that whole debacle with the last Grand Convocation. When your fighting 5 story tall dinosaurs and you have to switch to deer and bears, that just...'sigh' never mind.'

The centaur looks a little confused:"Sounds bad. May I ask what happened?"

The sound of hoof steps enacts in your ears. You look around and see a centaur coming towards the scene. His black hair flutters together with his tail while his dark turquoise eyes are looking around. His light tanned skin and his bronze buckskin fur are partly covered by a leather armor/barding combo.

"Hello, I'm Erik; Erik Thunderhoof. I traveled all the way here from Iobaria. About myself:

From the point I woke up in her shed to her death, 12 years had past. Now I'm 23 and on the search for my place in this world.

While still practicing with his swords, suddenly something little flew past Eriks head, almost hitting him. He jumped a little as he recognized it. He looks around and sees a half-orc who seems to mumble something to himself while he sits down on a bench. "Dude, watch out where shot your stones!!!", he says putting his swords into their shaft while turning to the half-orc.

After some time later, the centaur opens his eyes because a snore enacts from very nearby. As he looks down, he sees the fox sleeping, on his back, mouth open, tongue hangin' out.

The centaur chuckles a little before he stretches and stands up. He reaches into his bundle again and picks two longswords out of it. He grabs one in each hand, walks over to the melee ground and trains some of his combat moves while switching between puppets and shadow combat.

When the fox starts to sleep, the centaur leans his upper body against the tree trunk and starts to relax for while.

Erik Thunderhoof wrote:

The scene continues for a while. With the time, the centaur lands more and more hits. At the end he leaves a panting bruised fox behind. Worried about his condition, he says: "Before I risk it to knock you out, I quit." With that said he picks up the blunt arrows and put them back into the chest. After that he picks up the normal arrows, put them into the quiver and walks back to the tree to his bundle. He leans bow and quiver onto the tree before he lays down to relax.

the bruised fox staggers over under the tree, weaving a little unsteadily...

"Fair enough...use those opposable thumbs of yours and pass some of that elixir back over here. Nice thing about weighing 8 pounds, keeps the bar tab pretty light "

The centaur walks over to the bottles and grabs one. Then he returns to the tree, lays down, opens the bottle and hand it to the fox.

The scene continues for a while. With the time, the centaur lands more and more hits. At the end he leaves a panting bruised fox behind. Worried about his condition, he says: "Before I risk it to knock you out, I quit." With that said he picks up the blunt arrows and put them back into the chest. After that he picks up the normal arrows, put them into the quiver and walks back to the tree to his bundle. He leans bow and quiver onto the tree before he lays down to relax.

It's an unusual duel. At the beginning, the fox dodges every shot the centaur fires at him. But over the time, he takes more and more hit's by the arrows.

The centaur looks around as he notices a chest standing nearby the range. He walks over to it, kneels onto his forelegs and opens it. Inside are several bows and different kinds of arrows. He finds a quiver with blunt arrows owning a soft leather ball as a tip. He stands up, walks back to the target with the fox and gets himself into position. " Just to let you know: I'm not gonna hold back myself", says the centaur as he raises the bow and starts shooting.

Elven Spear wrote:

"Master Fox, that is enough. Ery has conceded to your superior skill in the most respectful way.

[b]..but not my superior wisdom, which is the important point here. He may be going into the tomb to read some dusty old manuscripts but there's always something in the way that needs killing. He doesn't need to be an expert with that thing..." he looks over. "He's NEVER going to be an expert with that thing, but there's no reason he can't be better with it. Even if all he learns is how to hold it the right way so he can cover an allies retreat it MIGHT save his life, or the lives of the people he's with. Hey, you want to scrape more friends off the dungeon floor, i'll go play with the horse.

The fox slinks off somewhere and reappears over the top of the target a few minutes later with red target painted on his side...at least you hope it's paint. He climbs down the arrows to stand in the center

"Hey OATBREATH. New practice regime. Moving target! "

"You're not serious, are you?", says the centaur, completely ignoring the insult, as he sees the fox standing on his arrows.

Not paying attention to the conversation, the centaur puts on his armor. After dressing up, he grabs his bow and quiver, walks up to the shooting range and starts practicing.

A 8'2 tall male centaur enters the court. His black hair, which covers his pointy ears, is slightly moving by the breeze and his dark turquoise eyes are scanning the court. He's carrying a leathery bundle on his lower back. His light tanned skin and his bronze buckskin fur are glistening because of a bath that he took earlier. He walks over to one of the trees that are located on the court. The steps of his hoofs are muffled by the earth floor. At the tree, he puts the bundle he's carrying down on the floor and opens it. Inside of it, there is a leather armor/barding combination [Masterwork] and a Composite Longbow with a quiver which contains 20 arrows.

A heavily built northerner comes in - a bundle of heavy armor, buckler shield and cloak in one hand and a variety of polearms in another (Lucerne Hammer, Bardiche, Glaive-Guisarme, Syringe spear, long spear). The shield has the symbol of Irori emblazoned upon it.

He nods to those in the court looking around at the tidied but partially broken court, dropping the two bundles off to one side.

"Morning all! Ouch this place looks like it took a few rounds with a storm elemental. not much of a carpenter or anything but if anyone can help fix it up i can hold things in place. he says in a carrying yet friendly tone.

Just in for a bit of training. Anyone big on pole arms got any advice on what works for them?"

He then proceeds to take a few swings on one of the training dummies with various polearms, not so much trying to do damage as much as trying to work out tactics.

Erik, who's panting a little, just gives a greeting gesture to the newcomer while clearing the rest of the ground before he starts to build a pyre.

This is just a thread for chatting for the SC members. Since most threads of the SC are not frequently in use, I want to create one like this. The weather and the daytime can be changed (non magical!!!) by anyone who is here, but keep it realistic.

The training court is silent that warm morning. No clouds in the sky and the sun rises slowly from the horizon and sends light beams through the openings that are build into the 14 ft. high wall which is surrounding the court on three sides. The facade of the three story high building on the forth side of the court is dunk into yellow light.

The big double door of the building opens and a 8'2 tall male centaur enters the court. His black hair, which covers his pointy ears, is slightly moving by the breeze and his dark turquoise eyes are scanning the court. He's carrying a leathery bundle on his lower back. His light tanned skin and his bronze buckskin fur are glistening because of a bath that he took earlier. He walks over to one of the trees that are located on the court. The steps of his hoofs are muffled by the earth floor. At the tree, he puts the bundle he's carrying down on the floor and opens it. Inside of it, there is a leather armor/barding combination [Masterwork] and a Composite Longbow with a quiver which contains 20 arrows.

(Important!!! New rule!!!: If you don't post something for a while because you forgot or can't or whatever, make sure you do a post where your character is leaving the scene or go to sleep or ..., I don't know. Just make sure that he or she is not standing around and does nothing.)

"Listen, just put my stuff inside a bag and keep it under counter. I'll pick it up later", says the the centaur to Jack. Syr landed on Eriks back before he leaves the building again.

The court looks like a mess. Dozens of twigs and branches of different sizes got broke off the trees and are lying all over the floor right now. The leafs got blown away mostly and the floor is pretty muddy. Almost every step Erik took ended with cracking wood under his hoofs while he walks over the court. The trees look battered but nothing that can't be fixed. Syr flew off to one of the trees that are less damaged and keeps his eye on his owner.

After a while of thinking Erik walks towards a hovel, altered to the main building, walks halfway in and comes back outside with a rake in his hand and starts clear away the wood.

The sundial shows 4 pm.

While Erik cleans up, an idea pops up in his head:"That's enough wood to build a small pyre. If we all help together we might be done with the cleaning and and the pyre before night falls."

While everyone inside talk to each other to kill time, the storm outside gets lesser and lesser until, in the early afternoon, the rain completely stops. On the court itself are several puddles and twigs and branches, which broke off of the trees. The wind is still present but not that strong as it was in the storm. It carries away the last remaining clouds and as the sun appears, it is starting to dry everything.

"Well, that storm must be in a hurry", says Erik with a smirk. He unties his bundle and his rope. The bundle itself is soaked in water and much heavier. Water drips from it onto the floor. "Better hang it up for drying", he says to himself as he leaves the building. At a tree, he spans the rope between two thick branches and hangs the bundle over it, before returning into the building. "Sorry about that", Erik says to Jack for leaving a wet track behind himself. Then he asks him:"You got a spare bag or something for my stuff? Just for lend; I'll give it back!"

"Well, I don't think that's a good idea, even if I would try", says Erik while looking at the stairs. "First, the stairs are to narrow. If I would try, my lower body would get stuck. Or did you ever saw a horse going up such stairs? And second even if get up one the first floor, it would he NEARLY impossible to get down.
I still remember my first night in Absalom when I arrived. In a tavern, I ask the owner if he had any space in the stable left for the night. He shook his head and said he has a room big enough for me in the first floor. I didn't liked that idea but since I didn't know if any other tavern had a place left, I took the offer. Going up was easy, but going down wasn't. I tried forward but the danger was that I would fell down forward and get hurt. Then I tried backwards but the railing broke halfway down because of my bulk. At the end, the owner had to call a sage who had to cast a levitation spell to get me down. That was really embarrassing, especially because of the onlookers who gathered downstairs. I had to pay 150 GP to the owner because of the night and the railing. And 2.700 GP to the sage just to get me down.

Since then I try to avoid stairs like those", he says while he nods towards the stairs.

While the monk covers one of the windows, Erik gets up, grabs his bundle and emptys it. He takes the bundle and his rope and walks to one of the destroyed Windows to cover it.

"That should do the trick for now", he says while looking at his work. He got a little wet while putting the leather on the window. Luckly there're not more broken windows in the room. "I'm more worried about the windows in the rooms upstairs", says Erik while looking to the stairs which lead upwards to the other floors with a concerned look.

While Erik watches the people in the room and Syr keeps feasting on his meat chunk, another loud bang enacts. A lightning strikes into one of the trees on the court again. The tree even get set on fire but it gets quickly put out by the rain.

The shockwave however, is so strong this time, that the glass of some windows breaks into little pieces and because of the wind, the rain gets pushed into the building.

Lightning: 10d8 ⇒ (4, 3, 8, 2, 8, 7, 1, 6, 5, 5) = 49
Another showcase.

Jack simply nods. "There should be. Lemme check." He goes to the cool cellar to check. Down there for about a minute, he brings up a thick jug and places it onto the bar. "Found this. I think it is milk, if that is what you'd like other than water. Didn't see any thing like juices though." He shrugs. "Then again, juices don't last long."

He pulls the cork stopper off the jug and pours a little it out into a glass. He nods, it is indeed milk. He finishes filling up the glass and goes behind the bar for a decent sized chunk of meat for the hawk and some bread for the monk. He returns and tosses the meat up to the bird and brings the glass of milk to the centaur, and the bread to the Sarenite.

He returns back to the bar and picks up the gold and places it into a strongbox underneath the bar and looks back up at the crusader. "Right. Sorry about that. So what would you like? I can make a good plate of Varisian bean and greens if you'd like? Or maybe a bit of chicken or beef stew?" He looks down at the bar before looking back towards the woman. "Hm, how about a nice steak meal, since you said you came back from that demonic place. Nice and hearty and gets you ready for a new day." He grins and then goes to prepare the meal.

"Thanks", says Erik while taking a sip from the glass. Syr catches the chunk with his beak, places it under one of his feet and starts feasting.

It's still raining outside but not as hard as before anymore. You can say, it's raining "quite normal". Here and there, some lightnings are brightening the outside.
Suddenly a loud bang enacts as a lightning strikes into one of the trees outside on the court. Erik almost chokes on his milk and Syrs meat chunk nearly falls down.

Lightning: 10d8 ⇒ (2, 4, 5, 4, 6, 8, 1, 2, 4, 4) = 40
(Just to show what could happened if someone gotten be hit by this.)

"Well, in that case I don't say no", says Erik. He turns to Jack. "You have some non-alcoholic drinks too, beside water? I don't take alcohol very well. Just one keg, and I am unpredictable for the rest of the day. This is experience talking."

He looks back outside through the window of the court. The rain is pouring down like a waterfall at the moment. The court is completely empty. The members who were still outside since Erik entered, are gone. Maybe returned home.

Syr makes a couple of noises and flaps his wings. "Oh, and a piece of raw meat for my eagle. Just throw it up there. He gonna catch it."

"Thanks, but for now I don't need anything", says Erik while looking out to the window. He's worried about the others who are still outside. He turns back to bartender: "Say, I though you're working in the temple of the SC. Did the others return back home or did you get supersede by a co-worker?"

While Erik and Syr are practicing on the court, a faint rumble enacts in the distance. If you look to the north east, you can see dark clouds coming towards the city. Followed by a white veil.

"Oh oh. We better head inside. Come here, Syr!!", says the centaur while grabbing his stuff. Syr just finished the piece of meat before returning to his masters back. Erik already put his bow, his quiver and his gauntlet back into the bundle, closes it and heads through the double door into the building. Inside was a long corridor, broad enough to for a carriage, which connects the court with the street on the other side. Erik heads through a door on the left side of the corridor. It is a little broader than normal doors, just broad enough that Erik fits through but he has still to bow down to not hit the frame.

The room is high enough that Erik can stand up right. His hoof steps are echoing from the stone floor. Around the room are several tables with chairs spaced out. On the Bar on the right side are several empty bottles and kegs. On the left side of the room is a staircase with a slope to roll up the barrels from the cellar. On the walls are pictures, portraits, shelves and some skulls and antlers. Torches and chandeliers illuminate the room with warm light. The chandeliers are hanging from wooden cross-beams.

Syr flies up to on of the beams while Erik hangs his bundle on a metal hock. Then he puts a chair aside from one of the tables and lays down.

Duration of Thunderstorm: 2d4 - 1 ⇒ (3, 3) - 1 = 5 hours

"And at the end it's sometimes always the search for your place in the world." Erik sighs.

While he stands there with Reinart and Valeria, still looking after Azadeh, Syr begins to pull on Eriks hair. "What is it, Syr?", says the centaur while he turns to his eagle. Syr responses with some flapping of his wings and some soft shrieks. Erik knows what Syr wants. So he trots back to where he put his bundle down, reaches into it and picks out some raw meat and a Falconry Gauntlet which he puts on his left hand. He turns around an let Syr climb on his hand. "You ready?", he asks his bird. Syr answers with energetic flapping. So Erik let his arm shot forward and the eagle flys to one of the other trees. Erik walks more into the open court while fixing the raw meat on a long leash. After doing that, he starts to rotate it.

If you ever saw a falconer in real life, like on a medieval festival , you can imagine the following scene. Just without multiple falconers and one centaur.

Erik and the others look after the Azlanti as she disappears through the building. He has a worried look on his face and says to himself: "I hope I didn't say something wrong. I didn't mean it."

Erik speaks up: "Reinart is right at that point. He or she is gonna die, one way or another." He turns to Reinart: "But what are gonna do if you can't prove that he or she is dead?
Let's say the convict is trapped drowning by a trap that he actived by accident and you don't do anything to help him. He dies.
But if you return to the one who implored you with this task and tell him that your job is done, is he gonna believe you automatically? What if he wants to see a prove for your statement right now but you don't have any? Even if he or she is gonna go to the location of the convicts death, the corpse might be already be eaten or carried away by someone or something. And at the end you stand there empty-handed and being marked as a liar.
So after all it's better to rescue the convict and bring him alive to his rightful justice."

While Erik watches Voren and Valeria as they try to teach Azadeh more about defensive combat, Syr put his eyes on the little bird that came with the young woman. The centaur notices this and before Syr could do anything, Erik holds his hand out and says: "Syr, no!!! Don't even think about that!!!" Syr gives some kind of an annoyed stare to the centaur, but listens to him and stays down with his eyes still fixed on the bird.

The centaur, who is laying under the tree, remains quiet, as he expects that one of the others speaks up before him. Syr, who still sits on his back, also remains quiet.

The centaur and the hellknight are chatting for a while before Erik returns to his place under the tree.

Guys, don't wait until I post something. Just fell free to talk to others without waiting for me.

"Whoa, where did you come from? I didn't noticed you at all", says Erik as the Kitsune speaks up, completely overhearing Valerias answer to his previous question. "And what do mean with "network of systematic terror and oppression."

She gives a wry grin as she pats the axebeak on the head, and it coos softly in return. "Well met, Sir Thunderhoof. This is Kantaria. Yes, the armor is designed to evoke fear. A scared enemy is a less effective enemy. And for those who lack the conviction of the truly wicked, a stern word can send them back to the proper path without the need for escalation."

"Where did you two actually met the first time?", Erik asks both, Valeria and Twillika.

In the meantime, the sundial shows 12:00 pm and the sun stands on its highest point.

The Hellknight turns to intensely regard the centaur for a few seconds, silently letting his challenge hang in the air. Finally the helmeted head nods, seemingly satisfied, and says "Stand down, sir." Reaching up, the knight takes off the helmet, revealing the face of a young woman with pale blue skin and cropped black hair. Her face is crisscrossed with numerous angry pink scars that don't seem to be fully healed. The red pinpricks of her eyes resolve into red irises in moving geometric patterns around her dark pupils.

"Or is that how we greet fellow members of the crusade these days? I am Hellknight Wintrish, of the Order of the Nail."
She urges her axebeak forward and extends her hand. "I must admit, I'm surprised to see a centaur within the walls of the Grand Lodge. If you fight half as well as Blademistress Vox though, you shall be a great boon to our cause."

The centaur lowers his bow and stares in awe before he speaks: "I'm sorry about that, but to be honest, you scared me there. I didn't expect such a... "hellish" member of the SC", says the quadruped as he study the woman and her companion. While he talks, Syr comes back and lands on his back. "I'm Erik by the way, Erik Thunderhoof. And this is Syr, my eagle." He turns around and nods at the eagle on his back.

A shrill screech echoes through the courtyard as a towering mountain of hard angles and spikes strides in. The cry erupts again from the wickedly curved beak of the large black bird comprising the base of the mountain. Black leather, steel, and fabric make up its barding. A circle of black carpenter's nails is emblazoned on a slash of red cloth across its chest.

The rider atop the creature is clad entirely in fiendishly patterned plate, with black and red robes swirling about it. The mithril armor gleams blindingly in the sun, with jagged dark spikes of cold iron jutting out at odd angles. Twin pinpricks of red light survey the grounds from within the visor of a horned helm, eerily silent given the bulk of the armor. The heraldry of the knight stands proudly on a tabards draped over one shoulder:a golden sword before the red roundel of Cheliax, wreathed within a halo of black nails. One mailed fist grasps the reins of the bird, trailing a white silk ribbon embroidered with a gold longsword.

As the duo approach, the knight nods toward the Wayang and pony. "Madam Saiville, Madam Legacy. I trust you are well."

Erik jumps up from his place as the black duo lands in the court and stares with a mixture of anger and fear at the knight and his companion. Syr already flew off as the first shriek enacted. As the knight speaks to Twillika and Rainbow, Erik looks confused between the duo and the knight a few times. Then he grabs his his bow and quiver and positions himself in front of Twillika and Rainbow."Who are you and do you want from these two?, the centaur asks,ready for a possible fight.

The centaur notices the monk: "Say, who are you, actually? You didn't introduce yourself yet to us", says Erik as he looks at the mysterious figure.

"Oh, I almost forgot, at one point of my childhood or youth, I don't know when, I almost got left behind in intention.

You know, sometimes my tribe met a tradesman caravan. Either the tradesmen rode on horses, sat on a cart pulled by horses or both. That's where my father got his armor by the way. I never saw a human or a horse at that moment. And one day it happened that I called those two our half-relatives. Back then I didn't know that this was some kind of insult. Normally when one of your own kind says it, they get banished or left behind. But since I was still young, the headman was indulgent."

"Well, my story started typical, if you can call it like that.
I was born as a part of a little Rashalka-Tribe who roamed around on the Caemorin in Iobaria", says Erik as he picks up a folded piece of paper which reveals a map of Iobaria as he unfolds it (Link). "It's this big piece of meadow here", he says as he points on the Caemorin on the right half of the map. "My mother was responsible for scouting for supplies and warn us about enemies. My father was responsible for the defense of the tribe. I always loved how his metallic armor glittered in the sun light.

But one night we got attacked by a group of cyclopes. I was 11 as this happened. My parents didn't survive and I was forced to flee. I ran towards the Fangard without thinking were I was going and ended up in this open space", he points on the little line that reaches into the big forest besides the Caemorin. "And then I collapsed on the floor and fainted because of exhaustion. I woke up in a stable which belonged to a shed in which a human rangeress lived. Her name was Tyrmir."

The centaur pauses for a while before he continues:"She taught me in the skills of the rangers. Tracking, hunting, everything. And one day, I was on my back from a successful hunt to the shed, I found Syr here." He looks up to the eagle who flaps with his wings in response. "He was a little chick which felt out of its nest. Left behind or something. I brought him with me and took care of him. When he was full-grown, I tried to release him into the wild but he returned every time." Erik smiles up to Syr who is still scanning the court. The look on the centaurs face turns a little sad all of a sudden.

"Then one night, Tyrmir left the shed without any weapons or something to defend herself. I followed her to a cliff. Apparently she knew I followed her because she turned around and looked at me. And then in front of me, she transformed into a werewolf. I was shocked and ready to fight or flee but she didn't do anything. Instead she explained to me that she was on a journey with her parents and her little sister on which they were attacked by a werewolf. Her father was able to kill it but the werewolf got her already. Ignoring the danger, they brought her home and tried to heal her. But one night she transformed and killed everybody, including her sister. Still in her wereform, she got aware of what she did and fled. She found refuge by the lycanthrops in the Fangard which explains why she was a ranger.

Then after she told me her past, she throw herself off the cliff." Erik stays mute for a while. Then he speaks up again.

After I burnt her corpse on a pyre, her ghost in child form appeared and spoke it's thanks to me. While she was speaking the ghosts of her parents and her sister appeared. She also told me that I can have her bow", he nods over to the bow, "which I forgot to put to her corpse and everything I need from the shed. After everything said, she and her family disappeared." He pauses again. This time longer. "In the shed I also found this armor I wearing", says Erik as he gestures all of himself. " I think that a centaur hermit lived there before Tyrmir.

After I got everything I needed I tried to figure out where I should go. I joined up with another centaur tribe who was on its way to Vurnirn in the Hoofwood", he points on a little forest in the right corner of the map. "It was kinda good to be under your own kind but it just didn't felt right. So I left Vurnirn and the Hoofwood behind and tried my luck in Mirnbay", he points on a city eastern of the Caemorin. " There I picked up rumors about this "Pathfinder Society" here in Absalom. And to my luck I found someone who teleported me from Mirnbay to the gates of Absalom."

After the strange interruption by Carol, the Wayang saunters over to Erik with her Eidolon.

"That was . . . strange. Still, she's in the Silver Crusade, so she must be a nice person."

"So" Rainbow Legacy begins, "What did you want to talk about? I'm afraid neither of us are great storytellers."

"Tell me something about you. Where do you come from, where did you two met, stuff like that. And maybe I tell more about me and my past."

Erik shot every arrow he brought with at least 3 times. A view of them broke at the impact on the target. After he walked up to the target, collecting the arrows that didn't broke and putting them back into the quiver, he walks back to the tree where he unpacked his bundle. He puts his arrow and his quiver aside and lays down at the trunk to take a rest in the shadow of the tree. Syr flies up one of the lowest branches to keep a good view.

The centaur looks over to Twillika and rainbow and says:"Hey, you two!!! Why don't you come over and give me some company. Maybe we get to know more of each other!!!"

The bright eyed little ones hug the flying pink pony (?) and reluctantly leave as their mother and father call to them. Rani has finished removing her spikey armor and packing it away and is ready to leave for her much needed spiritual healing.

"I'll be back for practice, again." Rani says as she bids her goodbyes. "I just don't know when. Perhaps you will still be here and we can spar a bit or have an archery contest. I'm probably not as proficient as you are, but I have trained in ranged combat, as well as melee."

The children and their parents lead the paladin to a waiting carriage and ride away with the soul-weary woman.

"Challange accepted", says the centaur as he waves goodbyes to Rani and her family. "But I'm not trained in melee, so you have an advantage in that case", says Erik before they disappear through the building outside to the carriage.

The sundial in the middle of the court shows 10:00 in the meantime.

Erik gave both of them a hug. After doing that and getting his bow and quiver, he starts practicing at the shooting range.

After a couple of shots, a shriek enacts from above the court and a couple moments later, an eagle lands on the centaurs lower back. "Hello there, Syr", says Erik and pets the eagles head before returning to his shooting practice. Syr sits silent on Eriks back and is looking around the court, not minding the target practicing of his owner.

Erik runs around on the court with Annika and Sammad on his back and even jumps over some crates. Annika, who sits in front of her brother, has her arms wrapped around Eriks waist as far as she can. Both of them are laughing of enjoyment. After 15 minutes, Erik returns to Rani and her brother and says: "I think that's enough for today. After all I'm here to train my archery skills. And besides, I don't think Syr likes to see that his place is taken by someone else."

Please don't write what Erik is doing. He is my character.

The youngsters look longingly at their father. He finally nods, bringing shouts of joy from the miniature twins ad they are loaded on his back. "Eric is not like your ponies, children. You need only ask him for what you want to do. See? He has no reins, so you have no way to guide him, save your voice."

"Woah, woah, woah, hold on, hold on!!! I don't wanna risk anything, ok. Just one at the time. And by the way I'm not done putting my armor on yet. You have go down again." The twins gave Erik a sad and disappointed look. But here is a deal: When I'm done putting on my armor, one of you goes with me and the other one goes with rainbow. And some time after, you can switch places. How about that?"

Twillika turns to the children. "Oooh, that's a big honor. I hear centaurs don't let people do that too often. But you know, you look small enough to fly around on Rainbow Legacy if she'll let you." Rainbow nods with a big smile. Before the parents voice their concerns, Twilika points to the military saddle she has on Rainbow Legacy, including the strap designed to prevent people from falling out.

"I am serious. When I'm done putting on my armor, we can start. My training can wait.

The children, now divested of their candy, oooh and ahhh over the centaur and the winged horse. Mother admonishes them that "It's not polite to stare", but even she can't help but marvel at the unusual creatures. The somber paladin and her brother smile, momentarily distracted from their intense conversation, and come over to help.

"I have some experience with that. May I help?" Rani asks politely. If allowed, she and her brother, Raji, quickly and gently install the barding onto the centaur's hindquarters. "It never thought about how a centaur got into their armor. I suppose in your village you help each other. You could probably have a set altered so that you could don it by yourself."

The two cinch the final straps. "How is that fitting? Do you need any adjustments?"

" Yeah, you can do my hindquarters. Here, take these", he says as he holds two leathery leg protectors. " I can do my forelegs and the rest by myself. And about your question of my village. I was part of a small Rashalka-Tribe in the Caemorin in Iobaria. When I was 11, we got attacked by cyclopses. I don't know if anybody else survived. I fled towards the Fangard-Forest and collapsed because of exhaustion. I woke up in the stable of of a human rangeress called Tyrmir. She lived in a shed by the forest and taught me in being a ranger. But one night she committed suicide by throwing herself from a cliff. She did it because she was a werewolf and could handle it anymore. My name is Erik by the way, Erik Thunderhoof."

He glances over to the children, smiles and says: "Does someone of you care for a ride with me?"

The Wayang and her companion trot up to the centaur, and she quickly dismounts.

"Sure thing! We can help you!" the wayang says cheerfully before grabbing some of the armor/barding and looking at it quizzically. The pink pony-like creature also grabs a piece with her mouth.

"I . . . uh, I've never put armo . . .bardi. . .I've never helped a centaur with this before. You, uh, you're going to have to tell me what to do." she says as she looks up appologetically.

The centaur smiles. "Ok, first of all I need help with the piece for the lower body", he says by holding the barding part in his hands which has a big hole for the upper torso, a belt for fixing it around the horse belly and a loop for the tail on it. "See this?", he asks as he points at the loop on the down end of the armor. "You need to put my tail through this. I can't reach it that easy. I do the rest", he says after putting his upper torso through the big hole.