Mercenary Tales 3.

The City-State Of Vexil. 

Marn Webb has lived his entire life in the city of Vexil. He's hardly ever gone outside the city walls. And only did so when he was child, when he and his friends would play beyond the city's walls. 

Marn who is around forty years old, has worked a number of jobs in his life. Mostly manual labour, like bricklayer and hauler. Nothing too taxing on the mind. As he didn't have any form of education. Not that many people do. 

He was married once, and even has a couple of children. Not that he sees them, or cares about them. As his wife left him when he beat her too often. 

And the temple she went running to, sent the city watch to apprehend him. And for his crime of wife beating, he was publicly flogged, then spent two years doing hard labour. 

Helping to fix the city's walls, which was more than dangerous. As a number of prisoners doing hard labour died during those two years. 

Mostly due to accidents, with the large and heavy squared off stonework would fall or topple over onto them. 

Though Marn did see a couple of his fellow prisoners executed for escaping. Which was never a good idea, as the spellcasters in the city watch can easily catch those who escape. 

Seeing those two casually beheaded, was enough to put Marn off from trying to escape, as he thought about it often enough, until witnessing their brutal, and casual executions. 

In the decade or so since his time doing hard labour, Marn Webb has struggled to hold down a job. 

His last employment was stacking boxes on wagons at a warehouse owned by one of the main trading companies here in the city-state of Vexil. 

He was let go due to his tardy behaviour, and overall poor effort when it came to his work. Which was inevitable, considering Marn likes to drink, and drink a lot. He has done so since his youth, but it's gotten worse ever since he completed his sentence of hard labour. 

There's all manner of reasons for his drinking. None of them really valid. Except for one. And even that one, Marn in his own mind, he's definitely sure about it. 

You see Marn Webb had an older brother, just a few years older than him, and when he was a child, his older brother Mance was everything to Marn. 

He would follow him everywhere across the city, and he would end up spending a lot of time with his brother Mance, along with Mance's friends. 

And it's one of Mance's old friends, that Marn Webb blames all that's happened to him since his childhood, on. 

His drinking, his beating of his ex wife, and not seeing his children ever again. Not to mention the inability to keep a job, any job, no matter how mundane and easy it is. 

Amongst the group of friends, there was a girl that his older brother Mance was smitten upon. It's been so long, that Marn has forgotten her name. 

But there's a name Marn Webb has never forgotten, and never will forget, until the day he dies. Another of the friends amongst the group. 

Who was also vying for the affections of the young girl Mance Webb was smitten on. 

A friend who would end up being a rival to the older Webb brother. A rival whose name was Mira Reinholt. 

And though Mance Webb and Mira Reinholt would often get into fistfights, it was usually over the most childish of things. 

Though they would occasionally fight over the attention of the young girl they were both keen on. And those fights would turn ugly and violent. And would have to be broken up by some of the others in the group. Or a grown up who happened to witness it. 

Of course Marn Webb was always backing up his older brother Mance, even though he'd get along with Mira Reinholt, who it turned out came from one of, if not the wealthiest family in all of the city-state of Vexil. Though that was something Marn didn't find out until later. 

Then on one fatal day over thirty years ago, almost thirty five years ago, when Marn Webb was just over five years old, and his older brother Mance was about eight years old. 

And Mance got into a fight with Mira, over the usual thing, the girl they were both smitten upon. And though the others quickly broke up that particular fight, which occured up on the south wall of the city. 

A few moments later, Mance Webb went flying off the top of the wall. And hit the ground fifty feet below, where he instantly died. 

Marn himself didn't see his brother go off the wall, he was looking at someone else. And that someone was Mira Reinholt. 

Who had a calculating look upon his face, that turned to determination, then anger. The younger Webb brother saw all of this. 

He didn't realize it at the time, but Mira Reinholt was looking directly at his older brother Mance, as he went through those range of emotions. 

To a five year old Marn, the loss of his older brother Mance was devestating. And he would no longer hang around that group of friends. 

It wasn't until a couple of years later that he heard Mira Reinholt was a spellcaster, specifically a mage. 

It was then that he realized that the young mage Mira Reinholt actually killed his older brother Mance. 

And ever since, Marn Webb has wanted to exact his revenge on the mage who killed his older brother Mance. 

He never got to see the mage Reinholt again, though he'd often hear about him. Most notably during the Battle of Vexil twenty five years ago, when Mira Reinholt betrayed Vexil during the battle. 

Pretty much everyone in the city heard about that, and how the young seventeen year old mage was sent into exile during the middle of the battle. 

Marn was fourteen at the time, and helping to stack arrow and bolt bundles on the walls of the city, for the various archers and crossbowmen. 

He was hoping to spot the mage Reinholt being exiled, but that happened over on the west wall of the city, while Marn was serving on the east side of the city. 

After the battle, which incidentally the city-state of Vexil lost. Marn Webb was hoping to hear something, anything about the death of the mage Reinholt. But alas no such thing happened. 

In the years following the largest battle in modern times in The Southlands, Marn kept an ear and eye out for anything concerning Mira Reinholt. 

Even during his drunken escapades, he would do his best to find out if anyone had heard of the mage, who killed his older brother Mance. 

The only time he did hear something, was about a decade ago, when he had completed his sentence of hard labour. 

Marn heard of the border conflict that the city-state of Vexil had with the city-state of Tuledare. And that through rumour, and frankly hearsay, that Mira Reinholt was involved in it. 

And that mage who has killed his older brother Mance, even though he was exiled. Was allowed to visit the city of Vexil for short periods of time. 

So now after a night of drinking, and waking up late in the morning, Marn Webb who figures it's probably best if he went out and found himself a job. 

Finds himself on the streets of the city, just to the south of the Mage College of Vexil. He pauses and has a rest beneath a tree, which he leans against to keep him up, after all he did drink quite a lot last night. 

As he's contemplating returning to the bedsit he's staying at, Marn Webb hears some commotion from others on the street. 

He looks around, and blinks in surprise at what he sees in the distance, heading this way on the other side of the street. 

At first he thinks it's a troll that's heading in this direction, then he realizes that it's not tall enough to be a troll, and it's much more bulky than any troll he's seen before. 

Nor do trolls cover themselves in vast array of weapons, like this individual does. Who is walking at the back of a group of what appears to be mercenaries. 

Who are led by a large figure in dark blue, black plate armour, alongside two others. One on either side of him. One in a white hooded cloak, and the other in a black hooded cloak. 

And though Marn's attention is taken by the large green figure, that he's pretty certain can only be an ork. As it perfectly fits every description of the those rare creatures. 

It's when the group go by him on the opposite side of the street, that his attention is taken by someone else. One of those at the front, the figure in the black hooded cloak. 

Who briefly takes his black hood of his head, and runs a hand through his dark hair a few times, before putting the hood back up on his head. 

Marn Webb blinks in surprise, and though it's been thirty five years. And he hasn't seen him since they were both children. He definitely recognizes him.

Marn without a reason of a doubt, is more than certain he just saw the person who killed his older brother Mance, Mira Reinholt the mage. 

A feeling of rage flows through Marn Webb, and he grabs the handle of the dagger he keeps beneath his rather ragtag looking brown cloak. 

Then after the group of mercenaries turn onto another street, and disappear from view. Marn gets himself under control, and heads off after them. 

"Finally" Marn Webb murmurs to himself as he walks in the sunshine, of what's a cold late autumn day, here in the city of Vexil. 

"I'll get my revenge for the death of my brother all those years ago" quietly mutters Marn Webb who after all these years, finally has the chance of killing Mira Reinholt the mage . . . . . .