If Veikh wanted to describe how he felt as he stepped foot outside the comfort of the inn into the darkness of the night, usually it'd be something along the lines of either reinvigorating or refreshing. After all, a little bit of thrill in life was basically what he lived for, and why he'd left his home to travel to distant lands in search of adventure. It was undoubtedly something he'd never be able to accomplish as a knight working for royalty.
The inn porch he stood on granted him momentary shelter from the downpour, crashes of thunder briefly lighting up the thick shroud of darkness. The innkeeper had been generous enough to lend him a rain cloak that he wore proudly over his crimson tunic. He couldn't help but run his fingers through the long locks of platinum blonde hair framing his face, shivering at the thought of having to trudge through a thunderstorm and risk getting his hair wet.
As his blue eyes rose to meet a flash of thunder, the term "thrilling" couldn't be further from the truth. It was more along the lines of dread mixed with regret, a curse slipping from his lips as the sudden brightness forced them to close.
He'd heard tales of Ithulmia even before he'd come to the damn place. It was almost cruel how different the kingdom was in reality, especially compared to the never ending stream of stories detailing it's greatness. Corrupted beasts ran rampant throughout the wilderness and you'd call yourself lucky if your sword could do crap against them.
And now, here he was. Joining a rebellion to save two maidens from some mad general who clearly had his head too far up his ass. For all he could tell, the Echoed Obelisk was probably just an empty tower with nothing of interest inside. History often found a way of making the term "stupid" seem a lot more appealing than it actually tended to be. Call it cynicism, but aside from the Corruption he'd seen, Ithulmia was far from as interesting as folktales and such portrayed it to be.
"You look like you're having the time of your life, friend."
Turning towards the inn entrance in irritation, Veikh couldn't contain his scowl as his gaze met the smug face of a young man he'd been used to seeing for the past year or so; Deighe, a beloved friend and fellow knight who had travelled with him to Ithulmia. His black hair was long and feathered, complemented by his amber-colored eyes.
"Yeah, sure." Veikh huffed sharply in reply, tossing the rain cloak's hood over his head as he turned away to stare to the dirt road leading away from the inn. "You done jacking off yet? Can't risk being late to the rendezvous point or else we'll end up pissing off the rebellion organizers, whoever the hell they may be."
"Aww, don't be like that." Deighe teased, the inn porch creaking beneath his boots as he walked by his side. His amber eyes rose to the clouded sky far above, cracking of thunder far in the distance. "Besides, look at it this way; we won't have to worry about being spotted by any of the guards if we're late."
"You don't fucking say. Not that we're gonna risk it." The blonde hissed, tightening the hood of the rain cloak as he stepped out from beneath the dryness of the inn porch; unable to stifle a shudder as he was assaulted mercilessly by the downpour.
Walking down the dirt path with Deighe in tow, it didn't take long for the silhouette of the inn to sink into the distance. The village itself grew small as they reached the outskirts, pelted by drops of rain all the while.
Upon arriving at the scheduled location, a small quarry at the base of a hill north of the village, the pair of foreigners were greeted with a moderately sized group of individuals. Ranging from the likes of humans, to beastmen, to even kobolds; Veikh sighed as he realized how disorganized the rebel force truly was. If they managed to prevail, it'd probably be by some miracle.
"This the last of the stragglers?"
Veikh sighed to himself, the voice belonging to a heavily armored man who appeared to be their makeshift leader; no doubt one of the organizers. Stealth would be impossible with such garb, unless he intended to act as a distraction, which was a gleeful thought. And one he had to throw away as he gave a nod of confirmation.
After being forced to huddle up with the other poor souls taking part in what would probably amount to a suicide mission, the objective was clear; the group would split in two, one group serving as a distraction to lure the guards from their posts while the other would flank and infiltrate the guardhouse upon being given the signal.
It would be no easy task, to say the least, and Veikh found his dread grow. Granted, optimism was not his strong suit.