The Zelkaven Sword: Chapter 1

         It was just noon as the man returned to town from his excursion into the woods to take care of the raiders.  He had been noticing less and less since his weekly trips.  There had been none to speak of this time.  He was doing his best to keep the trails clear for travelers and to keep the village safe for his wife and daughter.

         The village was fairly small.  It had one tavern, to which the man was heading.  He passed by several homes; second one on the right was his, on his way.  The only smithy in town was just past the homes and on the right of the town square.  The tavern was just beyond that.  There was a small store, a letter carrier office, and a butchers’ shop on the left of the square.

         Everyone he passed waved and said “Hi” to him.  He would wave or nod back.  He was known to be fairly quiet.  This was his home and had been for the past five years.  The people believed him to be a bard.  Only his brother and one other, not living in this town, knew his true past.  A large black wolf was seen with him on occasion, but was not present now.  She was not comfortable in town, or so it seemed.

         The bard carried a sword with him, sheathed at his left side, warrior style.  Many speculated, but no one ever asked, that maybe he had trained as a warrior before becoming a bard.  He appeared older than his thirty years.  His eyes, bright green, hid every trace of what he once was, but still seemed to notice everything and stayed constantly alert without seeming to.  He wore unassuming clothing, brown jeans, black hiking boots, and a blue short sleeved shirt.  He kept his long, dark brown hair tied back at his neck to keep it away from his face and out of his eyes, it was down to the middle of his back.

         As he neared the door to the tavern, he heard the sound of swords clashing.  He knew the proprietor well and knew he hated fighting inside his tavern and would have put a stop to it if he could.  The bard pushed open the door, intending to stop the fight, and hit someone heading out.

         The young man was about 5'10" and fairly thin but muscular.  His right eye was emerald green and his left was an ocean blue.  His hair was long and  dark brown with natural red highlights and covered his ears while shoulder length and tied back at the center.  He was wearing a dark green tunic, dark brown breeches, and a long black cloak.  The boots he wore were an odd shade of red, kind of a magenta color.  They seemed made of some sort of unfamiliar material.  They were more shiny than most normal boots.

         As soon as the young man recognized the bard, he pulled him aside quickly, “You should stay out here and wait it out.  Those two are seasoned warriors.  You’d have no chance in there.  I’m leaving before I get hurt.”  The bard just smiled and helped the young man outside before turning to head in.  The young man grabbed his shoulder, “Darian, don’t be reckless.  Those two will kill you.  One of them, I think his name is Warlock, scares me.”

         Darian turned to look at him, “Don’t worry, Jarith.  I’ll be fine.  Just keep others from entering until I get things calmed down.”  With that said, Darian walked in and shut the door.  He then took the time to look around the tavern.

         The tavern looked a shambles.  The proprietor was hiding behind the bar.  Several customers were cowered in the corners or under the booths.  All the tables and chairs were in various stages of knocked over and pushed around.  The center of the tavern was cleared except for the two warriors circling each other.  As they circled, Darian could tell they were evaluating each other.  They were feinting and using other techniques to test each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

         As the two warriors faced each other, it was obvious which one had to be Warlock.  He wore the blood red robes of a mage but held a sword in his left hand.  He exuded a sense of evil and made Darian feel a little uneasy.  It was easy to see why Jarith had been afraid.  Warlock’s eyes were completely black and he had long black hair tied at his neck.  The other warrior was wearing black jeans, black boots, and a black shirt.  His eyes were brown and he had short-cropped light brown hair.  It was also obvious who the better warrior was.  Warlock seemed much more at ease with his weapon and was the more aggressive.  The other seemed unused to fighting someone left-handed.

         Darian felt he needed to intervene quickly before blood was shed inside the tavern.  “Excuse me?  Could you two take this outside?”

         Warlock stopped short, annoyed.  He didn’t even look at Darian as he responded, “Stay out of this, boy!  Unless you want to be next!”

         Darian answered back, “I do not intend to get involved.  But, you are scaring everyone in here.  You really should take this outside.”  He had observed Warlock’s movements and knew he might have to fight.  Warlock did not intend to leave the tavern willingly.

         “Maybe I should take you outside!  I bet you are that bard everyone was talking about.  You should talk with your sword.  Or is talking all you’re good at?  If so, I shall continue and deal with you afterwards.”

         Darian smiled to himself knowing Warlock had just made his first mistake in underestimating Darian’s abilities.  He wore his sword warrior style for a reason.  He had used his trips into the woods to keep his skills sharp as well as to keep the roads safe.  Darian refused to betray the memory of the knight who taught him.  “I must admit, I probably am the bard they talked about.  But that does not mean that I don’t know how to use a sword.  Although, I really would prefer it if you would take this outside.  I prefer not to fight if I don’t have to.”

         Warlock was furious as he turned to face Darian.  “Again with the outside!  I’m sick of you!  I’ll go outside.  You first though.”  He turned to his opponent, “I’ll deal with you later.  I need to deal with this bard first.”  Warlock then headed towards the door and stopped a few feet from it and looked back at Darian.  “After you, boy.  Let’s see if you can back your words up.”

         Darian quietly turned around, smiled to himself, and walked outside.  It had not been more than a few minutes since he had walked inside and the sun was blazing in his eyes.  He had to let his eyes adjust to the change in light from inside the tavern.  Jarith was still at the door and pulled him aside.

         “Are you mad?  He’s a seasoned warrior!  He’ll kill you.  Raiders are nothing compared to his type.”  Jarith seemed really worried.  But before Darian could answer, Warlock pushed the door aside and looked at Jarith.

         “It’s too late for your bard friend here.  Watch it, or you’re next.”  Jarith backed away quickly.  He didn’t like the look in Warlock’s eyes as he said this.

         Darian moved into the town square, where it was more open, feeling that the time for talk was over.  Warlock followed him.  As they faced each other, both drew their swords.  Darian adapted himself to Warlock’s left-handed technique by switching to his left hand.

         Darian did not believe in circling your opponent.  He had been taught that too much of your movements were telegraphed when circling.  It was true, you could read your opponent’s movements, but they could read yours as well.  He stood his ground and watched Warlock carefully, giving him his full attention.

         At this point, the townspeople started to gather at a safe distance.  No one had ever actually seen Darian fight.  They were surprised to see how he moved easily into a defensive stance, even with his off hand.  Many of the older people had seen those of the old knighthood who had trained to use both hands.  They also knew of the old rules of engaging in single combat.  It was well known that they did not circle their opponents.  But they had also been led to believe that all of the old knights and students had been killed about seven years ago.  They had also been told that the old school had been burned down along with the village that had held it.  Few survived that destruction, and none were willing to talk about it.  The people of the village looked at Darian differently as the fight moved on.

         Warlock was caught off guard by his opponent’s defensive stance, but he figured Darian must’ve been afraid of him.  So much for that cocky attitude, he thought to himself.  Now that he was sure of Darian’s incompetence, Warlock turned aggressive and slashed for his throat, using it as a feint, he then turned it into a thrust for his neck.

         Darian quickly read the move and stepped to the side of the thrust, ignoring the feint entirely.  Then, he swung his sword for Warlock’s stomach.  Warlock blocked the attack and pushed his sword for a lock, trying to knock Darian back, or, with luck, off his feet.  Darian avoided the lock by using an old technique.  He slid his sword down Warlock’s, then pushed back just enough, while sidestepping, to end up behind Warlock.  He then slashed his sword for Warlock’s unprotected back.  Warlock ducked that attack by dropping to a sweep, with his sword, for Darian’s legs.  Darian quickly jumped the attack.

         As he was about to strike back, someone yelled, “There’s an army marching on the town!”  Darian stopped mid-swing to turn towards the yell.  All at once, there was a sword at his throat.

         “Next time you make that mistake and I’ll not hesitate to kill you.  You surprised me today, I’ll give you that.  Fight for your village, we will see each other again.”  With that, Warlock turned and walked away.

         Darian, still a bit shaken, looked around for the young man who yelled the warning.  Upon spotting him, Darian asked, “Shaed, where is it?”

         Shaed answered quickly, “They’re on the north side of town.  I’ll go and get some more fighters and meet you there.”

         Darian nodded and dashed off to the north side of town to get a look at the army and see what was going on.

         As he reached the outskirts of town, Darian saw the approaching army.  It appeared to be an army of several robed individuals.  All were wearing red robes, except for one, the tallest was wearing black robes.  Darian could see they all had curved blades.  He couldn’t be sure, but they all looked to be about four feet tall.  Which would make the one in black about five feet tall.

         Once the men who could fight were assembled, the black robed individual walked towards the center of the field.  Darian assumed this must be their leader and that he wished to parley.  The men all looked to Darian to see what he would do.  So he walked towards the center of the field to talk with the leader of the army to see what was going on.

         The leader of the army bowed to Darian.  Darian was surprised, but bowed back.  “I am Rast, leader of my people.  We are taking over this town.  You may accept it and leave.  If you do not, we will take it by force and kill everyone.”  He had an odd accent to his words.

         Darian knew the people would not leave.  This was their home, and his.  “We will fight.  These are our homes.”

         “I thought as much.  I will look for you on the battlefield then.”  With that, Rast turned and walked back to the army.  Darian also returned to the villagers.

         “What do they want?” Someone asked.

         “They want to take over the village and have us leave,” Darian said.  There was uproar as several of the people refused to leave.  They were as willing as Darian thought they would be to fight for their homes.  “I have told them we will fight.  This will not be easy, this is not going to be like fighting raiders.”  Darian then checked to make sure they were ready.  Since they obviously chose him as their leader, he started giving orders to make sure that they understood this was not going to be an easy battle.

         Once the attacking army noticed the readiness of their opponents, they advanced.  Darian ordered the fighters to advance as well.  As they neared each other, skirmishes broke out.  None of the attacking army would engage Darian though.  As he would approach, the attacker would back away and move on.  Darian noticed Rast watching him.  He was surrounded by his guards.  Darian cautiously approached the guards and they moved out of the way.  At this point, Darian realized that Rast wished to fight him and had given orders to that point.  He decided to be cautious in this fight, more so then against Warlock.

         Darian stopped a few feet from Rast and held his sword ready, this time in his right hand.  Rast pulled his curved blade out and held it ready as well.  Darian then noticed that it had a serrated edge.  Rast was wearing bandages on his hands and Darian could not see his feet under the robes.  Darian also noticed that he had been right and Rast was only about five feet tall, making him a foot and a half shorter than himself.

         Rast attacked quickly, swinging his curved blade for Darian’s chest.  Already on guard, Darian blocked the attack and countered with an upward slash for Rast’s chest.  He blocked and pushed the blade aside, reversed his sword, and slashed for Darian’s throat.  Darian stepped back quickly to avoid the attack, then feigned an upward slash for Rast’s chest.  As Rast moved to block, Darian thrust his sword for Rast’s stomach.  Rast sidestepped and swung the hilt of his sword at Darian’s chest.  Darian just barely moved out of the way and was struck on his left shoulder.  He backed off quickly to regain his balance.
         Rast quickly advanced after him and slashed at his back.  Darian turned around just enough to avoid a serious injury, but was still cut along the back of his left shoulder.  He slashed his sword diagonally for Rast’s chest.  Rast quickly blocked and thrust through the attack to try and catch Darian off guard.

         It almost worked.  Darian was barely able to side step the attack, but he had to drop his sword.  He quickly stepped back and out of range of Rast’s sword.  Rast quickly pulled a small dagger out of his sleeve and threw it at Darian’s chest.  Darian dodged to the side, but was not quick enough and the dagger sunk into his left shoulder to the bone.  Darian quickly pulled the dagger out and threw it back at Rast.  Rast caught the blade before it could strike him and resheathed it in his sleeve.  He then kicked Darian’s sword towards him and stood ready.

         Darian swayed a bit as he picked up his sword, but steadied himself quickly.  He couldn’t afford any weakness right now.  Darian made a false charge towards Rast.  As he sidestepped, Darian swung his sword to the side to catch him off balance.  It didn’t work the way he hoped it would.  Rast, to avoid the attack, bent backwards, but the movement, and sword slash, caused his hood to fall down around his shoulders.

         Darian stood there, awestruck.  Rast had the head structure and fur of a rat, but stood on two legs.  Rast, to take advantage of Darian’s surprise, thrust his sword for his chest.  Just then another sword came down on his to knock his sword away.  “Darian, snap out of it!”
         Darian shook his head as he recognized Jerith’s voice.  Just then another robed individual attacked Jerith and he moved away.  Darian then moved into a defensive stance and watched Rast.

         Rast then rushed forward and slashed for Darian’s legs.  Darian quickly backed away, caught a little off guard.  He was not being careful of his surroundings and got his right foot caught in a hole and fell onto his back, accidentally avoiding another attack for his throat.

         Rast saw his chance to end the fight and held his sword over his head to thrust it into Darian’s chest.  Darian saw the danger he was in and quickly thrust his sword up towards Rast’s chest.  Darian’s attack was quicker than Rast’s.  But as Darian’s long sword pierced the robes, Rast disappeared.  All of a sudden, cheering went up and Darian looked dazedly around.  Apparently, the whole army disappeared when Rast did.

         Darian slowly sat up and pulled his foot out of the hole he had stepped in.  It appeared swollen, but Darian didn’t feel any pain.  He didn’t know how badly injured he was and decided to try and stand up.  Once he put pressure on his foot, his leg buckled and he sat down hard.  He seemed a little dizzy, so he stayed seated until he felt he could see straight.  This time he got up slowly.  He then tried to put a little pressure on his foot and found that he could not do so without intense pain.  As he stood there, Jerith came up carrying a good-sized branch.  “I thought you might need this.  I’ll help you over to the field medic.”

         “I’m fine.  I’ll see my brother when we get back.  How is everyone?  Did all of the army disappear?”  Darian felt a little dizzy again, but was able to steady himself with the branch.  He was just beginning to feel the pain of his injuries, but figured if he got his mind off of them, he would be ok.

         “I know Azul is a druid, but you look really pale.  We did lose a few of the fighters.  And yes, they all disappeared.”  Jerith slowly tried to get Darian to head towards the field medic, but Darian started off towards some of the younger fighters.

         Darian didn’t get very far before his injuries took their toll.  He passed out just before Jarith could get to him.  Jerith quickly called to the others to help him carry Darian back to town.  At this point, he didn’t think the field medic could do anything.  The men helped him carry Darian to Azul’s home just outside the east side of the village.

         Darian woke up in a dream to the sounds of people talking in a strange language outside his door.  He slowly got out of bed, trying to remain quiet.  His wounds seemed to have healed.  He walked to the door and slowly opened it a crack.  Nothing could be made out, so he opened the door further.

         Once his eyes adjusted to the lighting, Darian saw two swords made exactly alike.  He looked at the swords and noticed that they were both silver long swords and seemed to be twins with black hilts and a spot on each hilt to receive a gem.  Darian watched as twin faultless diamonds were encrusted into each hilt to further the fact that the swords were twins.  Both diamonds were perfect, clear, round, and almost palm-sized.

         Then, he watched as the sword was given to a mage.  As he wondered who, “Zel Kaven” was whispered in his ear.  He watched as Zel cast a spell on the two diamonds.  The twin diamonds seemed to call to each other and the two swords became one sword.  Darian saw as Zel continued to cast the spell and the diamonds turned blood red, the color of evil.

         Darian could do nothing as he watched Zel wield the sword and kill all those who helped create it.  He then watched as Zel went out and gained followers and brought evil back into the world.  Then witnessed as Zel turned the sword on the gods and attacked them.  Darian saw the gods gather together to fight Zel.  He saw as the sword fell to the ground, forgotten in the battle.  He also noticed that, all of a sudden, the sword was no longer where it fell.  He watched as the gods destroyed Zel and then began looking for the sword.  Unable to find it anywhere nearby, they gave up the search.

         As the images slowly came to a stop and faded away, an old man stood in front of Darian.  The old man wore bright white robes and sandals.  He had long gray hair and a gray beard down to his chest.  The odd thing was that his eyes were the same bright green as Darian’s.  “You, Darian, are my son.  I know this is going to be hard to believe, but I don’t have much time to explain.  I am the god Vasilis.  I need you to find and hopefully destroy the Zelkaven Sword.  As we speak, Warlock, son of the goddess Letalia, is being shown this same dream by her.  She is a goddess of evil and intends her son wield the sword.  You must get it before he does.  If he gets it, there will be none to rival him.  Will you accept this quest?”

         Darian thought about it for a moment, trying to figure out how to phrase his answer.  He knew he really didn’t have much of a choice if he wanted to keep the peace.  “Yes, but I need more information.  What is the sword capable of?  Is it dangerous to handle?  And Warlock?  And what of the attack on the village?  What were those rat-like people?  I don’t think we killed them.  I don’t feel right about that.”

         “I understand.  But I cannot answer all of those questions and do not have that much time.  On your journey, seek out Valretia, she knows more about the sword.  On Warlock, you have faced him and therefore know more about him then I do.”  Here he paused to gain his thoughts.

         “You are right, my son.  You did not kill the rathoul, as they call themselves.  Only silver can kill them.  But they shall not attack again in that number for a while.  The magic that causes them to disappear when struck by a sword causes them to return to their home.  Not much else is known about them.  But, I must go.  Just remember, Warlock is getting the same information as you are.  Goodbye, my son.”  Just before he left he handed Darian a silver necklace with a silver sword pendant on it.

         With that, Darian woke up.  His wounds were completely healed.  But, that had happened before, when he was younger.  Now he knew why.  He found himself at his own home in bed and wearing the necklace.

         Just then, his wife walked in to check on him.  She seemed very surprised to see him awake.  She was about 5’6” and had short curly brown hair and blue eyes.  She was very beautiful and many people adored her.  Darian felt very lucky to have been the one she chose to marry.  “How are you feeling?  Azul will be here soon to change the bandages.”

         Darian slowly sat up testing his now healed muscles.  “I’m actually feeling fairly well.  And I need to talk to my brother anyways.  How’s Shakita?”  Darian wanted to get her mind off of his injuries, she seemed really worried about him.

         “She’s fine.  She’s positive you would be fine once you got some sleep.”  She smiled at Darian.  Even though she was not Shakita’s mother, she still cared for the girl as if she were.

         Darian smiled and laughed softly, “I wonder what gave her that idea.”  He remembered when he was younger and had first realized what Shakita was.  She had saved his life.  Shakita knew he just needed sleep to heal his wounds.  “How are you doing, Rhian?”

         Rhian smiled wanly, “I’m ok.  I was really worried when they brought you in.  You looked awful.”

         “I should have listened to Jarith when he said to see the field medic.  I might not have looked so bad.”  He smiled warmly, to show he felt much better.

         “Well, next time, I’ll tell him to hit you if you don’t listen to him.  But, we should let Shakita in here, she’ll want to see you.”  She laughed a bit to dispel her own fears for her husband.

         “True.  We should.”  He smirked a bit as Rhian opened the door and a young woman of about 20 fell into the room.  She had been listening intently and had not realized she was leaning on the door. She was about 5' 7" with long, black hair and bright green eyes like Darian’s.  She was slim for her age, but had the muscle structure built from traveling for several years with her father.  She wore brown jeans and a plain white shirt to try and be like her father.  She did not like to wear dresses and only tolerated them for special occasions.

         “Dad, you’re ok, right?”  She smiled as she sat on the bed next to Darian.

         “I’m fine Hun,” Darian smiled.  He didn’t quite know how to let his wife know that his wounds were healed.  He didn’t want to scare her and wasn’t sure how she’d take the news about going on a journey either.  Especially since he wanted to take Shakita with him.
         “That’s good.  Mom was really worried about you.”  Shakita smiled at her father.  Just then, there was a knock at the door.  Rhian left the room to answer it, figuring that father and daughter should have some time to talk.  She knew that Darian and Shakita had traveled together with Azul for at least two years before settling here.  There seemed to be a strain in the relationship between Darian and Azul, so it was more important to keep Darian and Shakita as close as possible.  She knew that Azul was not really Darian’s brother, that it had been through adoption, but that did not explain the strain.

         Darian smiled at Shakita, “So, you want to go on a quest with me?  I was thinking we could go see if Vaylien would come along as well.”  He knew Shakita viewed Vaylien as her real mother and would want to see her.  They had not seen her in seven years, but she only lived one town away.  Yes, it was a week’s travel by horse, but Darian had only kept in touch through letters.

         “Really?  I get to see Mom?”  She got really excited.  Darian had found Shakita just over nine years ago.  He and Vaylien had helped raise her.  Darian had written to Vaylien about Shakita’s abilities, but wasn’t sure if she understood what he had meant.

         “Yes, you’ll get to see her.  We just have to convince Rhian.  She might not understand.”  Darian had never explained about Shakita, nor told her everything about Vaylien.  He did not want to frighten her.

         Just then a man walked into the room.  He was about 5’6” and was fairly thin.  He had short, sandy blond hair and hazel eyes.  He wore the brown robes of a druid and green sandals.  “How are you feeling, brother?”

         “I’m feeling fine, Azul.  How about you?”  Darian tried not to show that he felt uneasy around his brother.  He did not even understand why he no longer trusted him fully.

         Shakita hopped off the bed.  “I’m gonna go get ready for dinner.”  She didn’t feel comfortable around her uncle either.  He didn’t quite smell right.

         “I’m doing good.  You look a lot better than you did yesterday.  Let me get a look at the wounds.  I want to make sure they’re healing well.”  He walked over to the bed as Darian moved so the bandages could be removed easily.

         Azul was awestruck as he removed the bandages.  He couldn’t help but sound confused as he said, “Your wounds are healed.  That’s rather odd.”

         Darian smiled.  “I know.  I had a rather odd dream as well.”  Darian did not wish to admit that this had happened before.  Azul had not been around when it had first occurred.  “I’ve been asked to go on a quest by one of the gods.”

         “Really?  What type of quest?”  Azul had heard of the gods asking people to go on quests and it often meant that the quest was dangerous.  He figured that the god had healed his brother.  Azul did not realize there had been any change in his and Darian’s relationship.

         “It’s to find an ancient weapon.  I was wondering if you would like to join me?  I’m going to ask Jarith and Tevick as well.  I also want to bring Shakita, and am going to visit Vaylien.”  Darian did not want to admit that he was searching for the sword of myth.  At least, not to Azul.
         “I’ll definitely join you.  I don’t know how Rhian is going to accept Shakita going though.  Have you told her yet?”  Azul believed that there should be no secrets between those who were married.

         “No, I don’t think she’d understand.”  Darian believed it would just frighten her.  “Besides, Shakita seems about 20 now.  I’ve trained her myself.  I think she’s ready to start learning more.  And that can only happen with experience.”

         Azul left it at that, knowing that one of these days, things might change.  Just then, Rhian called from the kitchen, “Dinner is ready.  Azul, are you staying?”  She liked Azul, he seemed reserved, and was easy to talk to.

         “I would love to, but I must go and prepare a few things,” was Azul’s answer.  He left the room and as he passed by the kitchen, he stopped and looked towards Rhian, “Darian is fine.  I’ll let him fill you in on the details.  See you later.”

         “Bye, and thank you.”  With that, Azul left the house and returned to his home to make sure he had everything he might need.  As a druid, he had many herbs and knew the different uses for them.

         Darian and Shakita both entered the kitchen.  Rhian was surprised, even though Azul had told her he was fine.  They all sat down together to eat.

         After dinner, Darian decided to talk to Rhian about the quest.  Shakita had gone to sleep.  Darian figured it was a good time to have a talk with Rhian and let her know why he had to leave soon.

         “Rhian, can we talk?”  Darian was a little nervous.  He was not sure how she would respond.

         “Sure, what’s on your mind?”  Rhian was curious to see what was going on.  One did not heal overnight for no reason.  The gods must be involved.

Darian explained his dream, feeling that Rhian deserved to know the truth.  Once he finished telling her about the dream, he said, "I  wish to take Shakita with me.  She is of age and we will be visiting Vaylien along the way.

Rhian was stunned by the dream and could only respond, "She is your daughter, so I have no right to say no.  But, I am glad you have asked, so, yes.  I understand why you wish to take her."

"Thank you.  And, yes, you do have a right.  You have helped me raise her.  I would not deny you that right."

"Thank you."  After that, Rhian and Darian went to bed.  Darian had a long day ahead of him the next day.

The next day, Darian woke up early and headed into town.  The first thing he did was head over to the letter carriers office and write a letter to Vaylien.

Vaylien,

         I know I have not written you back lately.  Things have been busy and those raiders keep trying to cause trouble.  I've been doing well and Shakita misses you.

         I had a really odd dream and am going on a quest to find something.  I'm going to be traveling through your village and thought I'd see if you want to come along.  I'll tell you more about it when I get there.  Oh, by the way, you'll want silver weapons.  I'll explain later

                                                 Take care,
                                       
                                                 Darian

Once Darian finished writing, he handed the letter to the person at the desk and paid for the fastest carrier to deliver it.  He then headed over to Jarith's home.  Jarith lived outside of town as he preferred to be closer to nature and was therefore on the outskirts of the forest to the south of town.

Darian knocked on the door and heard, "Be there in a moment," so he waited.

About five minutes later, the door opened, "Oh, hi Darian.  How are you feeling?  I'm surprised you're even up."

"I'm doing well.  I have been asked to go on a quest and was wondering if you would come with me?"

"I would be glad to.  I will start preparing.  When do we leave?"

"We leave in a week.  Oh, I've been told we need silver weapons, so I am going to have them made.  What do you need?"

"I won't need anything.  I have a family blade that is made of silver. 
And I always use silver for my arrow tips."

"That's good.  I'll see you around then."

"Ok."

Darian left and headed back into town towards another friend's house.  His friend's name was Tevick.  He did not think that Tevick would be home, but he checked anyways.  He was right and so headed towards the tavern.  Tevick loved to drink and harass the barmaids.  As Darian entered the tavern, he spotted Tevick right away. He was approximately 5' 10" and very muscular.  He had short cropped dirty blond hair and green eyes.  He wore a brown shirt, black pants, and black boots.  He was already drunk and was harassing a new barmaid.

"C' mere sweety.  I want another beer."  The barmaid ignored him and went to another table to take their order.

Darian quickly walked over to his friend, "Hey, how you feeling?"  Tevick had some bandages on his head and left hand.

"Good.  You?"  He slurred his words badly.

"Good."  At this point, the bartender looked over at Darian and Tevick.  Darian motioned for food and water for him and Tevick.  "I'm hungry.  How 'bout you?"  He asked Tevick.

"Starving."  Tevick swayed in his seat to face the bartender, but Darian stopped him before he fell over.

Just then, the bartender walked out of the kitchen with food and both Darian and Tevick started eating.  After eating, Darian took Tevick home to help further sober him up.

After a few hours of sleep, Tevick woke up sober and Darian asked him to come with him on the quest and found out that he used a broadsword.  Tevick readily agreed to go with Darian as he would be able to visit other taverns.
Now that Darian had his friends going with him, he headed over to the town's blacksmith.  The blacksmith was very glad to make the silver long swords and broadsword.  Darian paid in advance and headed back home.

One week later, Darian and Shakita met with the others just outside town.  Darian gave Tevick his silver broadsword.  He had his silver long sword and had already given Shakita hers.  He had also already purchased horses for the trip.  They all mounted and headed off at a trot.