Sancho Pança

Name : Sancho Pança Age: 20 Race: Human

Ya know? Life can be too harsh sometimes, but ya have to learn livin' it... Hey, myself I’ve passed my childhood roaming the streets and sewers for scraps of food, begging for a loaf of bread, searching for a warm spot to sleep and ya know? I was handed a new life ten years ago, and I can still remember it like today. Taking a walk through the plaza, I was on my usual begging run, taking a few shots for a pickpocket or two for a change, when I noticed two shady men staring at me from the street corner. With a slight grim, the big scarred one took a roasted chicken leg and begun calling me for it. Naive as i was, i just followed the meat scent with my mouth drooling all over the floor, ignoring the imminent danger before me. Just has grabbed the chicken leg, a huge bag came upon me, and suddenly all became dark. Shortly after i heard the trotting of their horses running away from the city, and to a new unknown stop. Luckily i was hiding my trusty knife "El Burrito", which was my usual friend in street fights, and a fine tool to use on the ropes. With some struggle with the bag, i finally had the freedom to spot to the outside, beholding a whole new scenario for my delight.

The huge pillars of a brick made fortress welcomed me with two huge red banners, each one representing a decapitated dragon and a shady knight below him raising its arms in victory. After that a huge portcullis opened to reveal a huge central plaza with all types of military equipment, including catapults, ballistae, hundreds of barrels full of weapons, a large chunk of training targets and many armor pieces scattered around. With this entire arsenal, i wondered what my part in all this was. As the horse of my captor advanced through that place, i began seeing quite the variety of soldiers around there too: Ranging from all kinds, from half orcs ramming giant poleaxes around to tiny halflings playing around with pointy daggers. All these soldiers appeared to have great expertise in weapons, swinging them swiftly and with great ease and passion. But something didn’t appear to be right, their looked blank and emotionless, as their will was taken away. Some moments after the two shady guys stopped their horses, and walked to a large shack in the left side of the plaza and begun talking about the noble looking man there about rewards. "Hey i don't know what ya want to do with these useless beggar kids, but a bag of coins is a bags of coins" remarked the smaller shady guy with an evil grin, after throwing me in a small, badly lit room. Looking around i notice the shapes of small children like me, some playing around happily, others so terrified that even their tears wouldn't dare to come out, all of them in rags, all of them in the same state as me. For some days we were fed with some bread and water and sometimes a thug or two would come around to beat the hell out of us, for pure sadism it seemed. After some weeks half of the children were nothing more than rotting bodies reeking of intense putrefaction...i barely could breath under such diseased scent. Some weeks after all of them were dead, and myself was close to it, the bruises and lashes engraved in my flesh were just too much..too much to handle. As my grieving body was screaming its final agony, some large full armoured men broke through the door. "Hummm, in this room they all died....Pffft weaklings! How can such weak flesh serve the might of Sithar? Dispose of these worthless corpses" Just as he walked away, i tried to lift myself up with all the energy left, but collapsed right after loosing consciousness. "Humm, one survived eh? It seems one of the children is worth it! Bring him to the medical facility!" I woke up after some days i a comfy bed with some comfy white sheets.... WHAT?! After all those beatings these gringos give a five star stay at their fortress? It seemed unbelievable at first, but after the servants noticed myself peeking around the halls, they readily pointed me to the garrison dining room. "There see that big guy with the grey moustache, he is called the Damsel! You'll know why, go meet him!"

"Hey compadre, take this chair and lets have a talk aye? Here, have this meal, i'm Pancheco Pança amigo." This was the first good mannered man that i saw in that fortress. "Amigo, i know they here are a bunch of ruthless bastards, but ya know mate? You'll be passing the next years here with me amigo, so get used to it!" "But why? Why me?" "Ya see, some time ago this guy named Sinthar BloodStone came out of nowhere, and begun conquering all the land with its massive army of full armoured men and monsters, it was horrific ya know?!" Then he whispered at my ear "Ya know, i hate him deeply for his deeds, but my beloved wife Maria is in his catacombs, and i have to serve him to get her. Heh, it’s a messy trade, but ill do it gladly, and ya know what kiddo? I'm charged in teaching you how to dance my way hehehe." For the next years i understood the role that was planned for me in that organization. They Kidnapped children and submitted them to brutal tests, to decide the worthy in each group. The ones who survived were given the task to train under the close command of a senior fighter, who taught them how to be the next soldier in Sinthar's ranks. I just won't understood how could all of them submit to such a tyrannical maniac! Ahh, but my great mentor Pacheco was the link to me all those years, in courage, and in steel ya know? But not just some steel! His swashbuckling fighting style, called the pirate dance, was a mix of rapid movement and quick strikes in succession, giving the enemy no time to strike back. I didn't even know how a pansy little weapon like the rapier did so much damage! With the time i practiced and finally understood the secrets of his fine dancing skill, and became quite the fearsome warrior, who did not fight with strength, but with style amigo! The day of my graduation drew near, and I still wouldn’t find a way to escape that bloody fortress, and found no way other than telling my plans to my master. Just as I approached his office, I heard a strange sound behind the door. As I peeked I found the great Pacheco, master at fencing and dancing was crying?! Kneeled and hugging her wife photo, the eyes behind his tears were inflamed with rage, the rage I’ve never seen ‘till that day. “Maria! That bastardo will pay for what he did to you! Ye shall see! No man, even with an army behind escapes the wrath of Pacheco Pança!” “But Master, what will you do?” As he saw me, a firm smile behind his tears greeted me in a way that I’ve never seen in him. “You want to escape this cursed fortress eh comrade? I shall give you the ticket for your freedom, the freedom of my most prized student.” He then reached for a casket hidden under his bed and handed it to me, inside was a shinning silver bladed rapier. “Here, take one of my prized ladies, this one is called “TheLady” for the beauty and the lightness of her strike, treat it well amigo, I know you will.” Drawing a large parchment under the pocket, he begins pointing some critical structures on the fortress “Ok, you see these three points? They are trapped with black powder barrels, ready to blow at my sight, so we’ll this one like this: at eleven o’clock all the troops will re-unite at the caserns for re-supplying and rest, and at that time I’ll blow the fuse and many of them will go kaboom!”. “You’ll have enough time to run around with all the commotion around, and hop aboard my boat to run away safely. What ya say? Your game?!”. As I nodded, he gave me a final smile “Ah, and as my best student, I would like to see you using my second name Pança. All these hard years have united you and me believe it amigo, farewell.”

As the time came, I knew what had to be done as I walked to the plaza for a final run. Eleven O’clock… BOOM! All in quick succession, the west, east and north caserns blew up, blasting away all three roofs and walls, in a most impressive firework I assure you! Hundred of corpses blasted away in the air, filling the sky with a horrific show of flesh and steel, it was indeed a successful plan. Running and jumping around the debris and ashes, I quickly spotted Pacheco’s mighty galley “Lady of The Sea” and his crew ready to serve me. As I departed away from that cursed place, I could still see Pacheco slicing through the surviving soldiers…I knew he would survive.