In Memorium

[Doyle]

Doyle walked through the streets of Branishor, slowly weaving his way through the crowds of people in the market and made his way towards some of the less frequented areas of the city. Everyone knows about the temple of Cory, the Inn of Good Health and the docks but Branishor was a large place and there was always something going on somewhere if you knew where to look.

Today Doyle wasn't really looking for something going on, he was simply looking for a place to reflect and he knew just the place. Branishor was after all the City of Clerics so smaller places of worship were not in short supply. He entered a very small shrine that had in it's center a statue of a soldier holding a sword high in the air and a sheild in his left hand, on the base of the statue was a simple plaque that read "For all those that would give their all without question, past, present and future". The walls were lined with large marble slabs that appeared to have writing engraved on them, though the ones near the rear of the shrine were blank.

Doyle offered a simple salute to the statue before moving towards one of the near walls and traced his hands over the words which were a list of names.

"Another year has gone by old friends, I am as you will notice still here, I like to hope you all consider that a good thing though I have no doubt you miss me giving you all a hard time. As ever there have been plenty of young adventurers take up arms, but there have also been others who are no longer with us."

He shakes his head sadly as he scans the long list of names.

"I wish I could hear your voices again, we had some good times back in the militia eh? Hard fighting, hard drinking and general troublemaking never really was the same without you... of course I tend to avoid the ale these days."

There was a rustle of cloth moving behind him and Doyle turnt to see a young man with sandy blonde hair shuffling nervously from foot to foot.

"S..sorry for interupting you sir, b...but I saw you walk in and wondered if you were D...Doyle Geradsson?"

Doyle tilted his head to the side and frowned in confusion.

"Yes I am... though I do not recall us ever making an aquintance before. What is your name young man?"

"M...my name is Issacc Meander sir... my mother said you knew my father."

"Meander?... That makes you Bladefist Morgan's kid? I tried to keep in contact with your mother but she is apprently a hard woman to find."

"S...she didn't want anything to do with the military afterwards... espcially you sir. She says some awful things about you whenever I ask, but I needed to meet you to find out why she hates you so much."

Doyle sat down on a stone bench wearily and lowered his head with a sigh.

"Your mother has every right to hate me Issacc. If I were a better man then maybe you would have had a chance to meet your father."

"So you really killed him sir? I don't mean to presume but everyone else I ask says that your some big hero, that you been fiighting longer then anyone else ever... even saved the King once I heard."

"That is what they say... but whenever I look back, and remember people like your father I do not feel like much of a hero. And as for killing him? I may not have held the blade that took his life, but I may aswell have given how responsible I was for everything that happened."

Issacc turned his back on Doyle and walked over to one of the marble slabs.

"I didn't ever meet my father Sir, mother doesn't even like to talk about him much. Always makes her cry and then get angry so it's easier to never say anything. I don't much know what happened sir but I know my mother only says those things about you because she loved my father so much and she ain't never stopped hurting over him. So you must be a hero like everyone says... because if you aren't a hero who is?"

Doyle stood up and opened his arms wide, gesturing to all the names around them.

"Your father was for one, and everyone else on these walls. All of them heroes and all of them would be forgotten if I did not start keeping a list here. Me? I just happen to be a stubborn old man who for whatever reason ends up in a place to do good more often then I screw things up... but it is always someone else who pays for my mistakes."

"So to be a hero you have to die? With all due respect sir that is stupid, surviving doesn't mean that what you have done isn't important... if anything it makes it more so because you show people that we can fight and win without losing anyone."

"Your probably right... but I still say I am no hero... of course my wishes are unlikely to have anything to do with how history remembers any of us. All that matters is that we make sure history remembers everyone and speaking of which I unfortunatly need to add more names."

Doyle looks at Issacc and smiles kindly.

"How steady are your hands Issacc? I rarely have much free time to keep everything here in order so I could probably use an assistant . And while I show you the ropes I can tell you about your father, what do you say?"

"I would like that very much Sir."

"Good, though stop with the sir nonsense, Old Morgan never called me sir and I outranked him... speaking of which I remember one time we were both very drunk...."

[Xanthias]

Well, ummm...thanks spambot! I was actually glad I got to read this so at least something good came of it.