Sir Edrin Vellas, the Gallant Knight - Trials

While they ate and regained their strength after the long travel, a group of priests from Northshire Abbey, accompanied by a handful of guards and a carriage, traversed the town square in a rigid formation. Citizens and merchants alike stepped aside to make way for the esteemed clerics and their entourage. Observing the spectacle, Wolram passed his student his ration and approached their abbot, a lavishly dressed man, who held a watchful eye over the ornate chest secured on the wagon he was sitting on. Edrin was unable to hear what the two were conversing about, just that the guards closed in on the old knight, prepared to protect the abbot.

Thanks to Wolram's charismatic abilities however, the situation was quickly diffused and with a swift hand motion he ordered his squire to join him at the carriage. Edrin asked his master what the matter was, to which he replied that they've got new work already. Hesitant at the prospect, the squire gathered their belongings and accompanied Wolram at the wagon. Their mission was simple: Guard the clerics and their cargo on their way to Grand Hamlet in the southern Elwynn Forest. In Edrin's eyes, a simple enough job, nothing they hadn't done before. The young man greeted his employers cordially before marching close to his master.

The carriage's horses trotted at a slow speed, giving Edrin ample time to check his surroundings and company. Four priests, their abbot and four guards were all that the abbey had sent to deliver their mysterious freight. Edrin felt uneasy just being near them and intently observed each one of the guardsmen. Regular men of middle age and well-armed with swords and shields. One looking bored out of his mind, the other marching in an earnest motion, while the third was unremarkable. Taking a look at the fourth guard behind him, a sharp pain pierced Edrin's chest. What he saw was the face of the one he'd never forget. He recognized the man he had last seen two years ago.

Wolram noticed his squire's unrest, the nervous playing with the hilt of his sword became more and more apparent. Confiding in him, he asked what plagued his heart so much. It was difficult for the young man to speak those words of weakness to his master, but he reluctantly answered him. About his feelings of hate, rage and the dark thoughts that had followed him in his nightmares ever since he lost his father. Edrin had opened up to Wolram many times before, albeit taking some time at first, but he never spoke about the feelings he harbored for the man he made responsible for the death of his father. Laying his hand on his shoulder, Wolfram urged his squire to quell his emotions.

Hours had passed and the sun began to set. The caravan had traveled through most of Elwynn Forest and was just leaving the Redridge Mountains on the last stretches to Grand Hamlet. Worn down from the long travel, the guardsmen were already speaking of the famed ice cold ale of the Scarlet Raven Tavern and their homemade apple tartes. Wolram on the other hand was still on high alert, with Edrin trying his best to follow his example, even though the laughter of the guards irritated him greatly. He tried to focus on the sound of the horses' horseshoes hitting the paved way, finding any way of blocking out the rabble would be enough for him.

Edrin's focus was broken by a loud crack from above the ravine they were traspessing. Swords at hand, they steered in the direction of the noise, only to see a huge log crashing down the cliffside. Managing to narrowly escape the massive tree, it landed with a deafening smash on the wagon, flinging the chest and two of the priests and their abbot off of it. Startled by the commotion, the horses reared up, breaking from their reins and darting into the woods. Chaos ensued, Wolram and Edrin had barely any time to assess the situation, as they needed to defend themselves. A group of bandits ambushed their caravan. Their goal was the gold coins inside the chest, now scattered on the ground.

The clashing of metal was loud and ubiquitous. Two of the guards had already fallen to the ambush, one crushed beneath the tree, the other succumbing to two of the five bandits. Wolram ensured the clerics were escaping the battlefield towards Grand Hamlet, while he and the third guard were fending off the brigands. Edrin was fighting two of them at once, but as fortune was on his side, they were not of equal talent. What must've been a new recruit was easily dealt with by a few slashes with his sword, bringing him quickly to the ground. Fighting two enemies at once was not easy for Edrin, but two lowly outlaws were no match for the trained squire.

Finishing his second duel with a quick stab, Edrin finally had room to breathe. He turned to his master who had been helping the injured guard beyond the fallen tree. Explaining that the gold had been stolen by the last remaining thief, Wolram told his student to follow the fourth guard that had given chase after the bandit. Begrudgingly, the squire nodded and made haste, tracking both of them down. Running through the brush of the forest, their trail was not hard to spot. Rustled leaves and churned up earth made it easy for the farm boy to find them. Edrin followed their trail for a short while, before it abruptly ended near a short cliff.

Looking down, he spotted two bodies piled up within the ravine, the chest filled with gold closeby. Blood was smeared across the rocks, it seemed that both of them fell down during the skirmish, into their demise. Edrin cautiously descended the rugged cliff to retrieve the chest, when he heard a noise come from the two men. The guard had survived the fall, but broken his arm on impact. Pleading for help, he reached towards Edrin in desperation. Edrin, however, simply stared in silent contemptment. It was the same man he had begged for help that fateful night, who is now doing the same. Crying and whimpering at the young man, the guard asked again, but Edrin would have none of it.

During his time of need, this man dismissed a young boy searching for someone who could save his father. His apathy had cost the life of a loved one. This would be his retribution. The answer for his grave misdeed. The squire picked up the chest and heaved it up the cliff. Shocked and horrified, the guard's desperation grew even greater, but Edrin ignored all of it. For him, this man had doomed himself two years ago and this was his fate. Returning to Wolram, exhausted from pulling the chest through the forest, he lied to his master, telling him both guard and bandit died from the fall. The knight spoke his prayers to the guard, before aiding Edrin in bringing the cargo to Grand Hamlet.

Two guardsmen and a cleric had lost their lives that day. Despite the unexpected ambush, both the abbot and the chest made it safely to Grand Hamlet, for which the knight and his squire had been compensated. They stayed in town, but Edrin was restless for the next few days. Wolram noticed the state his student was in and eventually joined him on the bench outside the tavern he would sit on each night. Torn about his actions, Edrin ultimately released his anger and confessed his lie to Wolram. How seeing this man, this monster in such pain made him feel vindicated. How it made him feel powerful. That he deserved it all for what he had done.

Wolram stood up and with an angered, disciplined look scolded his student harshly for his misconduct of the sworn oath he pledged when becoming his squire. What he had done was inexcusable and not befitting of someone he had considered his successor. Still emotional, Edrin shouted at his master, in an attempt to make him understand. But Wolram understood from the beginning. Stopping the young man's tirades with his deep voice, the knight spoke his final word. He absolved him from his duties as his squire, denying him the right to train under him any longer. Feeling hurt and miserable, Edrin struggled to find clear thoughts. In the end, he accepted and left. Without saying a word.