Edrig
Burned Village of Beldeth
Sir Eldrig Mathens was the son of a baker. His mother was the kind of woman who always had bits of bread for her neighbors and for the local children to snack on. Perhaps not the best business practice, but the woman herself had said that she would not see people go hungry if she could help it. Eldrig understood and supported his mother's kindness, in fact, he aspired to be as kind as his mom. He remembered the hungry years living in Lorbas and knew that drove her to be kind. Moving away from the free lands was a risk he was glad his mother took for them.
Eldrig had inherited his mother's kindness. He was sweet and soft, characteristics that made him very unsoldier-like. It was a fact often pointed out by members of his squad whenever they thought he wasn't listening. That had stung at first, but by now it was just a part of their friendly banter. Eldrig was not very good at reading social cues at times, so he was glad that they were trying to be friends with him too.
But why a soldier? His mother was not especially pleased with Eldrig's choice of career. She wanted him to stay with her at the bakery and learn the craft of yeast and ovens. But Eldrig didn't want to be a baker, at least not at this point in his life. Maybe when he retired? Maybe. That or an ornithologist. Eldrig wanted to serve the country that had taken him in, to repay Keldanis and her people. Eldrig tried to be a good man, after all. He paid his debts and offered help freely to those in need.
He had taken to being a soldier well. He was fairly good at following orders and he was already decently strong when he enlisted. The only issue was that he sometimes questioned the orders given to him. An issue that had gotten him in trouble a time or two, but was ultimately passed over based on his physical abilities. Leonin did not make up for much of Keldanis' population. He only knew of a few other families in all of Fort Solis. Most of the other recruits were humans or dwarves or of elvish descent. He was one of the oddballs. At least he wasn't the only oddball. His best friend was also an oddball.
His best friend was named Markus Eairsow. They had known each other since they were young, meeting by chance through one of Markus' family's trips to Fort Solis. Every time they came to the city, Markus would come and play with Eldrig while the rest of the family took care of their business. What made Markus odd was that he was a Markus was a lordling. One of those humans who Keldar blessed for some reason or another to be really good at something. Markus was grand at whittling. It was quite a sight to see him in action. With just a knife and a block of wood, Markus could make any little trinket or bauble you could think of. Eldrig had at least three little statues of himself back at home in Fort Solis. He thought Markus' talent was really cool, but not everyone agreed with him. When other lordlings had talents like being able to prepare magical meals or always being able to tell the truth from the lies, Markus was called inadequate. Thus, he too was an oddball. Eldrig didn't get why Markus being super good at something made him an oddball, but Markus had long since told him to stop getting frustrated over it. He still got frustrated anyway.
It was a wondrous day when Markus told him he was getting married! It was to his old sweetheart from the village he grew up in, only a day's travel from Fort Solis along the Wolspine range. He got to be the best man at their union ceremony(wedding as it was called in Keldanis). The next day had been rather sad as Markus decided he would not be a soldier but instead a woodworker, like the rest of his family. Eldrig respected his choice but was disheartened to know he would be seeing less of his best buddy. He put the frustration and feelings of slight abandonment to use in training.
Eldrig ranked up from a soldier to a knight quickly, yet another reason he was labeled as weird. That wasn't quite fair to Eldrig. It wasn't his fault he trained harder than the rest, nor was it his fault he did the work no one else wanted to do without complaint. They knew if they wanted to succeed they would have to work hard. They were told such the day they signed up. Yet another thing Eldrig didn't quite understand.
That is what got Eldrig out here, on the opposite side of the country from where he would normally be stationed, away from Mom and Markus. The Dusk Wall was the Order's first and foremost concern, but it was a steadfast and stalwart bastion that was in no danger at the moment. The influx of monsters in eastern Keldanis was an issue that the Silver Guard was having trouble fixing. Instead of relying on the adventurers and mercenaries of the guild, this small army had been sent out to form a temporary base of operations and to cull the masses threatening Keldanis. Eldrig was a part of the Seventh Squad of said army, but he was now on special orders. He, the oddball, was now in charge of his own squad, a duty usually reserved for knight captains. It was an honor. But he wondered why.
Why was he given such an opportunity to prove himself? Part of him said it was because he had given the commanders a good impression, but that likely wasn't true. Logic dictated that it was because he didn't fit in well with the Seventh. He was an oddball. They weren't. It was fitting that he would be put to use leading a group of civilians in their odd situation.
The whole circumstance of it all was glaringly upsetting to Eldrig. These poor mercenaries were caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, subject to the whims of a powerful mage, and then practically killed. All to be revived by the Order. To top it all off, they were now sat with the bill. A huge bill.
Keldanians are often taught that struggle makes a person greater. Overcoming hardships through effort and will is one of the key tenets of Keldar and his worship. But a six thousand gold debt!? That was too much. It was ridiculous, not to mention unheard of. The Order rarely ever dealt with citizen affairs outside of occasional trade and the going ons of Fort Solis. Of course, they were there to help in an emergency, but even this was far beyond the scope of simply lending aid. Especially because it looked like rendering aid was putting these people under even further duress!
The invisible noose of debt would hang around their necks for as long as it stood unpaid. What if these people were in a hurry to get somewhere? What if Runner had a dying grandmother she was hurrying to visit, or Inathia was trying to attend a wedding for her kin?
He comforted himself with the fact that they were given a grand boon of aid from the Order. Supplies were given to them through Eldrig and they were privy to the safety of the camp. The debt could be paid off in mere months rather than years via the artificially increased bounties upon their targets' heads. That still did not make what was going on right.
Eldrig had personally carried one of their bodies back from the scene of the ambush. The state they were in was ghastly. He was no stranger to battle and the horrific wounds it can bring, but even so. Dismayed that the Order would simply put these people, who were still somehow alive, out of their misery, Eldrig found himself unable to do anything more than carry them. He regretted not voicing his concern sooner, but as it turned out he needed not to worry. The order was given that they would receive as much medical care as possible. The strange thing was that there was no reason further given. Not even to the Lieutenant Commander.
Regardless of the reason, Eldrig was happy these folk were alive. They were fun! They seemed to like living. For the most part, they didn't give him that much of a hard time, unlike some of his brothers and sisters-in-arms. In addition, they were civilians and most of them were not even Keldanian, so they brought fresh ideas and stories that he was interested in.
Over these past few weeks, Eldrig listened and helped them where he could. They had raided several gnoll camps with great success and gotten used to each other's fighting styles. Eldrig had to say, it was one of the most unique formations he had ever been part of. Unorthodox, maybe, but it worked. They may be just civilians, but they showed real promise. He would not be surprised if they joined up with the guild and made their alliance official.
Even still. What was command thinking sending them out to take care of a demon!? Were it a professional squad of soldiers, then Eldrig could understand sending so few. But fledgling adventurers(because that is what he equated them to)? If it was not for Yule's tactics and sheer dumb luck, this would have been a death sentence for at least a few of them.
The thought of command sending them to die was a wriggling doubt in the back of his mind. He knew that they wouldn't purposefully send them to their deaths, but what if it was accidental? Did they overestimate them? Underestimate the enemy? Was it all a test? It was an incredibly irresponsible one if it was.
Surely there was a reason behind this. Nothing went on in the Order without a reason. Just as Golden Warrior Mivera was there to eliminate any major threats before they arose, the Order was there to cull the monsters. All of them had a purpose and a mission. So why have them deal with this demon when Mivera could have done so easily? Eldrig was no stranger to the might of the Golden Warriors. He had seen their brilliance shine in the sea of darkness that was the Night Lands. She had already taken one down, another would have been simple.
Once again, he circled to the question of "why?"
A good soldier was not supposed to question their superiors. A good soldier followed orders without question. It was what was necessary to manage the ranks of the military to an efficient degree. Less time asking why and more doing meant more things getting done.
As Eldrig helped Yule and Baz bring back the group's stashed supplies, he made up his mind. This whole circumstance was too much for a mere knight to get involved with. This was likely the plan of the Lord Commander and other higher-ups in the military. Schemes and plots and smooth talks were not his forte, hells he could barely speak a sentence without stuttering. Everything in it stunk of some sort of conspiracy or hidden motive. Both were things that no soldier would want to be caught meddling in.
Eldrig Mathens was not a very good soldier.
He had decided to help these folks out. They were good people and they deserved to have someone on their side in this matter. Eldrig was not sure how much he could help, but he would fight for their side tooth and nail. This was unfair to them and he could not stand that. The demon was the last straw. When they got to camp, Eldrig was demanding a meeting with the Lord Commander for an explanation and at the very least, an apology to these people. They deserved one.
Eldrig Mathens was not a very good soldier, but he was a good man.