Hmmm, well I've thought about doing this for a while. As I've come to a stopping point in the novel I've been writing (and no, it's nowhere near finished), I decided to put my creative juices to use here in the L2 community.
As you can probably tell by the subject line, this was in part inspired by Jute's work. Imitaiton is the most sincere form of flattery or so they say.
However, rather than tell a story through the perspective of the player, my goal is to tell a story from the perspective of the character. As a result most of the posts here will be complete fiction. Some will be entirely fiction, while others will be based on events that actually happened. A select few will be events almost word for word made more interesting through creative writing.
These stories will depict a moment in the life of my main character, Silviera. As a result, they won't stand together too well as a cohesive storyline but instead tell some of the more interesting events in his life. While I will attempt to keep these events in order, the nature of them is such that it doesn't matter the order in which you read most of them. My goal is to write at least one story every week. How long I keep this going depends on reader feedback and whether I have the inspiration to continue.
The stories contained herein may contain mild profanity and a degree of violence. They won't exceed a PG-13 rating however.
Anyway, sorry for the extended introduction.
My tale begins long before Silviera took up his dagger in search of fame and fortune. It begins nine years ago with a dark elven boy named Saleo.
---The Sunless World---
"...I see then."
"Yes."
"And the daughter?"
"Also..."
"I see...then the boy must be told."
Saleo could only make out a few words the two men were saying, but he had gathered enough to know they were talking about him. His acute elven hearing enabled him to discern the footsteps of one of the men beginning to leave the building. As he began to slip away into the shadows, a bony arm reached out from the doorway and grabbed him by the collar.
"Hold it," spoke the bony armed man.
"Ahh...I didn't...I mean...", Saleo stuttered.
The arm pulled Saleo into the building. It was dank and poorly lit, even by dark elven standards. The room itself was barren and lifeless, Saleo had known for quite some time that these two men often held discussions here away from prying eyes and ears. The man that had grabbed Saleo was a Magister, the other was the Dark Elven Minister of Foreign Affairs.
"We'll overlook your spying this time. I have some news about your parents.", spoke the Magister.
"My parents?"
"Yes...while on the way to Giran their caravan was beset upon by Orcish raiders. The entire caravan was killed, including both of your parents and your sister Irina."
"I see...", Saleo responded quietly.
Saleo didn't feel sad...he wasn't shocked or surprised. To him it felt as though someone had just notified him that a package had arrived. For a moment he pondered if this was normal, and then spoke.
"What will happen to me now?", he asked calmly.
"You'll be allowed to live alone in the house of your parents. Your magical studies will continue uninterrupted. The Minister here has offered to pay for your daily expenses out of his own pocket. You should be grateful."
Saleo bowed his head in respect to the Minister, "Thank you sir...I will hasten my studies so as to better serve our race."
"See that you do", responded the Minister as he began walking outside.
"I expect you to be absent from the next meeting with my friend here.", the Minister spoke on his way out.
"Y..yes..", Saleo responded.
With that, the Magister nodded to Saleo in respect and departed as well. Saleo found himself staring intensely at the floor of this barren room, hoping that it would offer some infinite truth that eluded him at present. He shook off the feeling and took to the busy dark elven streets, beginning the long walk towards home. The dark streets seem to stretch out forever, illuminated by the ever present starlit sky exuded from Shilen's power. Before long Saleo was staring at the large grey door that lead to his house. He glanced at the black nameplate held in the center of the door. "The Azarius Household", he said aloud. He knew that from now on that name meant him, and only him.
He opened the door and slowly stepped inside, surveying his new castle. His home was a single room, as many dark elven homes were. It was a rather unusual place in a dark elven village, filled with artifacts from across Aden as well as dolls and bright colors normally not seen within the dark elven village. His father had been an adventurer, trading with other nations and exploring the furthest corners of Aden. It was well known that his merchant mother had been half human, and she with her odd taste had decorated their home as such.
Saleo walked over to the corner of the room and laid down upon his bed. For hours his eyes wandered the lonely room, surveying the possessions of his family. He wondered what it would be like now that none of them would ever walk through those doors again. He closed his eyes and thought back to a conversation he had once had with his father when he was younger.
"Father...why are the Light Elves so evil?"
"Evil? Heh... I guess I had to expect something like this sooner or later living here.", Saleo's father responded.
"You see, a long time ago the Elves and Humans were fighting a war. It was over a territory, or some silly nonsense like that. Our ancestors, who were Light Elves, knew that we would not be able to defeat the Humans with only our own power. Because of that we sought the power of our enemy, dark magic, in order to defeat them. The Light Elves were terrified of our power, some even thought that it had perverted us into evil creatures ourselves. Because of this we were banished from our homeland and forced to live here instead. We lost the war, but held onto the knowledge we had gained. However at the same time we had lost much of the power that we once had as Light Elves."
"So it was just an argument then? The Humans are the evil ones?", Saleo inquired.
"No no...haha...you can't just blame an entire race for the mistakes of a few. Both sides decided that fighting was the answer to their problem. Elves, Humans...even Orcs. We're all pretty much the same people dealing with the same problems."
"...I don't get it."
"Heh, you will one day. Hell, I don't even know what I'm talking about half the time. Just try to look beyond their face and see what's really there."
Saleo sat up in bed, half expecting his father to burst in through the door and tell him that he hadn't really been killed. The minutes passed...nothing. "What was he talking about back then?", Saleo wondered to himself. "Everyone says the Light Elves are selfish and evil, and the Humans too. But how can I be sure if I've never even met them before?" The things his father and mother told him had often conflicted with what he was taught in school and by the other children. He knew one of them had to be wrong. "I'll find out for myself.", Saleo concluded. With a greater resolve than anything he had ever felt before, Saleo left his bed and made his way outside. He had never left the village before, but he knew that the Light Elf village was not far from his homeland. The only obstacle to his goal were the guards at the front gate, they would never allow a child to leave unsupervised.
Thankfully his lessons in magic were accompanied by basic stealth and physical combat. Saleo was fairly good with a dagger and he practiced his stealth skills almost daily in an attempt to make village life more interesting. Furthermore he knew both of the guards on duty tonight. One did not take his job seriously at all, and the other was rabidly fond of Dion Apples. Being a traveler his father often kept such things at home. One wallhugging and apple bribing moment later Saleo was well on his way outside of the village.
He continued forward through the cave he had never seen before, to him it seemed to be spiraling upwards into the sky as he walked. After a while, the light streaming from up ahead began to take a toll on Saleo's eyes. At last he reached the top and surveyed his world as best as he could with his eyes being assaulted by the light.
---End---
...and that's it for part 1. I apoligize if it wasn't entertaining, I'll be trying to improve my writing a bit with each story. I'm still trying to determine exactly what kind of style I'm going for as well, so the writing may drastically change in future versions. Any feedback, positive or negative, would be much appreciated.
I like it so far. I'm getting a good image of the main character. I like how descriptive it is and the direction so far is hooking me in. I wanna know what happens next.
Thanks for all the kind words so far, it's nice to see people enjoying your work.
Still in a writing mood, so here's part 2 earlier than advertised.
---Sense of Wonder---
An endless green plain spread before Saleo's eyes. It stretched out forever, seemingly sucked into the gaping blue sky overhead. To another race perhaps, what lay before Saleo would not be a pleasant sight. The grass was withered, the trees were dead, and even the air itself seem to be seeped in darkness. To Saleo's eyes these sights were a source of infinite beauty and life that he had never known before. "So this is what it's like on the outside...", Saleo spoke to himself in wonder. He knew that he would be unable to express to the other children what it felt to be out here like this, even if he could openly tell them what he had done.
Saleo took a few steps forward with an increasing fear that the next step would send him hurtling back into the darkness of his home. Eventually the feeling passed as he wandered into the wilderness, his eyes slowly adjusting to the excess of light. At that moment he felt as though he was the only person in the entire world. He wanted to examine everything, he wanted to know everything that there was to know. He just kept moving forward, searching under every rock and along every dead tree, sometimes parting the sagging blades of grass to discover an insect that he had never seen before. He spotted for the first time a bird soaring overhead, and watched in awe as it faded from view.
As the sense of wonder faded slightly, Saleo remembered what it was he sought to accomplish out here. He needed to find a light elf and see what they were really like. As he looked around he realized that he had lost all sense of direction, the wilderness stretched out forever on all sides. He tried to recall what his father told him about finding one's bearings out in the wilderness. "The sun must be that...thing...and...", after a few moments he could at least determine where west was. From the maps his father had owned, he knew that he would eventually run into a road if he continued in that direction. Sure enough, after only a short time walking he came across a road.
That the light elf village was nearby turned out to be a gross exaggeration to Saleo. His small legs did not carry him quickly, and after several hours of walking his goal seemed no closer than when he had started. He had noticed the scenery change several times, his surroundings seeming to get brighter and more lively the further he wandered away from his hometown. As he walked, he wondered to himself why his parents had never shown him what it was like out here. He couldn't understand why his combat training took place in a dark cramped room when there was so much more out here. Saleo knew that most other dark elf children had never left the village either, and wondered if it was because of the war his father spoke of.
Saleo found himself crossing one river, and then another. Before he knew it he was in a place teeming with life. Butterflies and fairies littered the air, and woodland creatures seemed as common as blades of grass. And there it was, his goal. A light elf girl was running around shooting a slingshot at random creatures, from her appereance Saleo figured she couldn't be more than a year older than him. He spent a moment trying to determine the best way to approach her, and eventually decided the direct approach would be the best way to show his intentions. She noticed him as he began to get closer.
"Hiyas!", she yelled out.
"Hiyas?....", Saleo thought to himself. He figured he knew what she meant, but something about the way she said it just felt so wrong.
"Um...hello...", Saleo responded after a moment.
"Are you new around here?", she asked.
"Y..yes...I've never been to this place before.", he responded quickly.
He quietly looked her over. He couldn't help but notice that she looked like any dark elf, only with milky white skin and a constant smile that seemed surreal. She was wearing a long white gown with a green and blue trim, and her long blond hair streamed down her back. Saleo became self-conscious about his own outfit, a black and grey tunic accompanied by black pants. He ran a hand through his short silver hair nervously.
"I like blue.", she plainly stated.
"W...what?"
"I said I like blue." she repeated again. "I've seen green people, but never a blue person before."
Saleo stared at his own blue hands, "Th..thanks..."
"My name is Aria, what's your's?"
"I'm Saleo..."
"Where are you from?", she asked. "I'm from over there.", she said as she pointed east.
"Well...you follow the road west and then go north.", he couldn't help but notice in all this time talking she still hadn't hit a single target.
"What are you trying to do with that slingshot?", he asked.
"I'm practicing my shooting! I'm going to be an archer someday."
"But...you haven't hit anything..."
"I know!", she exclaimed happily. "I'm getting really good at missing them, back when I just started I used to hit them all the time."
Saleo felt baffled. "Won't you have to hit the targets when you become an archer?"
"Well...yeah. But, but only if they really deserve it!"
As she was talking, Aria's aim slipped and she ended up firing a rock directly into a butterfly. It tore one of the butterfly's wings right off and sent it spiraling towards the ground. "Whoops!", she yelled, as she walked over to where the rock had taken the butterfly. Saleo observed as she placed the torn butterfly wing on the side of the insect and began to chant a spell. A warm glow surrounded it as the wing began to fuse into the creature. The light faded and in a moment the butterfly was airborne again.
"There...good as new!"
"Wow...", Saleo said quietly.
"Can you use magic too?", Aria asked.
"Yes.", Saleo responded.
He spoke a short chant, and in a moment a noxious cloud of green gas enveloped the butterfly. When it faded the butterfly looked green and fluttered about weakly. A look of concern came over Aria's face, and one chant later the butterfly was cured of the poison.
"Mine is...different...", Saleo stated with a hint of sadness.
Aria seemed to pick up on his tone of voice. "It's different, but it's still as good as mine! You just have to be really careful with it."
"I'm not sure how I could help someone with a power like mine," Saleo said pathetically.
"What if someone was in trouble?", Aria asked. "You could smack the bad guys down with that, and I could heal them afterward!"
Saleo suppressed a smile at the thought, "Thank you."
The two talked for hours and hours. The topic of their conversation changed wildly, from details about their hometowns to ideas about what the rest of the world was like. Saleo found himself asking most of the questions and Aria was happy to answer each one of them. He learned that light elves spend most of their time outside, and that Aria was allowed to wander as far as the river on her own. Aside from the setting, their lives seemed very similar to the ones they shared in his hometown. When the sun finally set, the two of them sat together as Saleo watched it fall for the first time. They agreed to meet at this spot again the next day, and went their separate ways.
The two kept their promise the next day, and many days thereafter. While Saleo had avoided being caught leaving the village, at least by someone who actually would report him to the proper authorities, his teachers became suspicious that he didn't seem to be in town for a good portion of each day. When confronted about it, Saleo was so terrified that they would find out and step up the guard he could only remain silent. Day after day they asked him, and always he would remain silent. He eventually began to ignore all questions, and even stopped speaking to the other dark elven children during their lessons. His teachers began to think that the loss of his parents was beginning to make him mentally ill, however the Magister saw a use in his apparent disability. Silence was a valuable asset to an assassin, and thus Saleo's training shifted from the magic arts to those of a silent killer.
Saleo did not mind the change, in fact the training he was given allowed him to sneak out of the village more easily with each passing week. The months passed, and every so often on a trip to the light elf border Saleo would meet another traveller and ask them what they knew about the world. He met humans, orcs, and even dwarves, and learned a little more about each race with each meeting. He knew that his parents had been right, the races were not all that different after all. He longed for the day that he would be able to freely leave the dark elven village forever and find his own place in the world. Aria had become his closest friend, and he dutifully visited her every day. However, one trip to their meeting spot met with an unexpected surprise.
"Saleo!!", Aria yelled as she saw him approach.
Saleo saw there was a horse and cart next to their normal meeting spot. Two bulky dwarven warriors were standing nearby, one of them lifted Aria and threw her into the back of the cart.
"Hey, Boss!", one of the dwarves yelled. "There's another one over there!"
"That's a dark elf, Mick", the Boss dwarf responded. "They're all too brainwashed, not worth the trouble as slaves."
As soon as the word slave passed his ears, Saleo's legs took over. He dashed over to the dwarves unsheathing his dagger. Before the dwarves even knew what was happening Saleo was flying through the air towards them, slashing as hard as he could at the chest of the one called Boss. Saleo's flimsy dagger clanked right off of Boss's thick blue armor, it caught Saleo off guard and sent him tumbling to the ground. The dwarf roared with a deep laughter.
"We got ourselves a dark elf hero here!", the Boss laughed.
"Come on Boss, we better get out of here before a border patrol arrives.", Mick stated nervously.
One dwarf took the reigns of the horses, while the other jumped into the back of the cart where Aria was. Aria had been screaming the whole time, but stopped when Saleo heard a loud crack from within the cart. Saleo stumbled to his feet frantically as the cart took off speeding down the road. Saleo ran after it as quickly as he could, shouting.
It just got better. I like how you give the characters realism and a sense personality. It attaches emotion to the story. You've got quite a knack for storytelling. Can't wait for the next installment.
Saleo chased after the cart as long as he could, but his short legs were no match for the pace of it. He knew that if he gave up he would never see Aria again, and worse she might suffer at the hands of some slaver. He would not be able to make it back by nightfall however, he might even be gone for several days. No amount of silence could save him from his teacher's wrath if he returned home after that amount of time. "I'll worry about that later.", he thought to himself as he continued along the road, pacing his running rather than attempting to catch the cart. He figured if he was lucky the cart would be sitting right in the next town, if not he could at least hope for someone who saw where it headed. He thanked himself for listening to all the stories his parents had told him about the outside world.
Just as he was beginning to give up hope, Saleo glimpsed the towering walls of Gludio Castle. The high cliffs and low rivers prevented him from taking a direct route, but he decided that if he followed the road he'd likely come to the entrance sooner or later. After a few more minutes of walking, Saleo spied another set of walls surrounding Gludio town. His pace picked up, and he found himself dashing toward the town gates. He noticed there was a guard posted on each side, but just ran straight through anyway. Luckily they didn't see the dark elf child as much of a threat either, and allowed him to pass without a second thought. Saleo was expecting to immediately find the cart upon entering town, but he was completely unprepared for what stood in front of him.
Hundreds, perhaps thousands of people scurried about the stone streets gossiping and conducting business. Having grown up in the dark elf village Saleo was no stranger to crowds, but these people exhibited a life that he had never seen before. Merchants shouted at passerbys, races of all types were gathered together discussing various world events, people argued and yelled and laughed. Under normal circumstances Saleo would have jumped on this opportunity to observe how people interacted in a large town such as this, but he had more pressing concerns at the moment. He spent a while roaming from merchant to merchant, asking them if they had seen a cart being led by a dwarf lately, but they all responded negatively. As he neared the western gate he came across an orc selling scrolls that enhanced the power of weapons.
"Have you seen a cart lead by a dwarf, possibly two dwarves, pass through here recently?", asked Saleo.
"Sure have.", the orc responded. "One of them stopped by and bought three scrolls, they left through the west gate not more than half an hour ago."
"Do you know where they might have been headed?"
"Probably to Gludin, it's the only town in that direction. From that town you can take a ship to Talking Island.", the orc stated.
"Thank you very much", Saleo said as he bowed. "Do you know where I could find a map of the area?"
The orc tossed a rolled up scroll to Saleo, "Knock yourself out kid, I've got dozens of these things."
Saleo bowed again, "Thank you so much."
Saleo thought the orc looked a bit embarrassed as he waved goodbye and ran through the western gate. Saleo unrolled the map and was able to find Gludio on it rather quickly. He discovered that it was pretty much a straight to trip to Gludin, and a much shorter trip than it was from his hometown to Gludio. Fortunately for Saleo the journey was uneventful, and after an hour of jogging he arrived at the gates to Gludin town. He ran past the gates and headed for the harbor in plain view. Saleo had to hold back the tears when he saw a ship several hundred feet out from the harbor, sailing in the opposite direction. Saleo approached what seemed to be a harbormaster, as he was answering the questions of various travelers around him. An elderly human asked the question that Saleo was waiting on, "When is the next ship going to arrive?"
"The next ship arrives in six hours, you can buy your tickets now.", responded the harbormaster.
"How much are the tickets?", Saleo yelled from the back of the crowd.
"8,000 adena is standard faire."
8,000 adena...Saleo had never seen that kind of money before. He only had a few hundred on hand, and there was no way he could possibly put together so much money before the next ship arrived. He decided that the only way he was going to get on that ship would be to sneak onboard with one of the other passengers. He spotted a dark elf couple and decided to use them when they boarded the ship. For now, however, all that he could do was wait. Saleo sat down on the edge of the stone dock, letting his legs hang over the water as he watched the sun set. Even if he could get on the ship, it wouldn't arrive at Talking Island until the next morning. He hoped that Aria would be okay until then. "What am I even going to do when I find them?...", the thought had never even crossed his mind before. All he cared about was finding Aria, but the memories of his short battle with the Boss dwarf came pouring back the moment he was given a chance to catch his breath. "I can't do it...I don't have any chance at all...", he said aloud.
"Can't do it?!", came a shout from behind Saleo.
"Huh?", he said as he turned around, seeing a tank of a dwarf wearing the same blue armor that Boss had been wearing. He instantly became suspicious of this dwarf.
"That be sissy talk boy! A man that be thinking he fails before he tries be no man at all!", the dwarf said cheerfully.
"They're just too strong...it's none of your business anyway.", Saleo snapped. The dwarf's cheerful disposition only put Saleo in a foul mood and he found his manner of speaking irritating.
The dwarf plopped down next to Saleo on the docks, Saleo felt as though the dock shook from the impact.
"Don't be that way sonny, nothing's too strong for old Grimfang Toothrot! Perhaps ye've heard of me?", the dwarf struck a pose as he said those words.
Saleo slid himself a few inches from the dwarf, "No, I haven't."
The dwarf seemed dejected for a moment but quickly perked up. "Ah, well ye've heard of me now you have! What can old Grim do for a fine lad such as yerself? I be a bounty hunter for hire."
Saleo thought for a moment and then responded, "I don't have any money."
"Aye, aye...just be telling me yer troubles and I'll be working out the payment based on the job."
Saleo thought to himself for a moment, "I suppose he can't make it worse..."
"I'm chasing a pair of slavers, they kidnapped my friend.", Saleo stated seriously.
Grim's expression changed rapidly to one of serious concern. "Slavers...be they orcs?"
"No, these two were dwarves. One was wearing the same type of armor that you have on.", Saleo explained.
Grim's expression changed from concern to anger. "Dwarven slavers?! Have our craftsmen sunk so low while I was away?!" Grim stood up and swung his giant mace at the air as though the target of his anger stood before him. "Where be they headed?!"
Saleo pointed out to the sea. "They left on the last ship. I'm waiting for the next...but I don't have the money to board or the strength to take my friend back."
The anger began to fade from the dwarf's face as he realized his energy would be best spent later. He sat back down and patted Saleo on the back, who was so taken aback by the force he nearly fell forward into the sea.
"I'll be paying for your ship fare, and helping ye take vengeance upon those brigands meself! By the mace of my grandfather I be striking those charlatans down!", Grim yelled with confidence.
Saleo was completely taken aback by the dwarf's offer. "Why would you go to that kind of trouble?... You don't even know us."
"Because it be the right thing to do of course.", Grim responded. "Besides, we can't be having fools like that damaging the respected name of the dwarves."
Grim pulled a small blue sheath from his backpack and handed it over to Saleo. Saleo unsheathed it to discover a powerful looking dagger. "What's this?"
"That be a Swordbreaker, forged by me in me younger days. It's your's now."
Saleo ran his finger along the blade, he could almost feel the craftsmanship that went into forging a weapon such as this. "Thank you...I don't know what to say..." Saleo felt guilty that he had ever been suspicous of Grim.
"You be embarrassing me if ye keep that kind of talk up lad! Ye should just be grateful to have such a powerful weapon so early in life. Why, most men don't be getting their hands on a weapon like until they turn 19. Of course, the moment they be turning 20 they be seeking the weapons of 39 year old men...but that's just how youth be."
Saleo nodded, thinking the dwarf might not be completely right in the head. For some reason he also sensed a deep wisdom in Grim's words, however.
"Why, when I be a child we trained with rubber sticks fighting Keltirs long into the wee hours of the night. Back then, ye couldn't even move up to wolves since at the time they shot laser beams from their eyes. What with the orcs having mastered the methods of flight, ye'd dare not even consider thinking about what lay beyond."
Saleo dismissed his earlier thought, and decided that the dwarf was in fact crazy. The sun had now completley set, so Saleo laid backwards and stared up at the sky waiting for the ship to arrive. Grim didn't seem to notice that Saleo had stopped paying attention and continued to weave tale after tale long into the night. One such story involved how his family gained the name Toothrot, apparently they had created a new type of candy from the venom of giant spiders. It had become so popular but was so destructive that it destroyed the molars of an entire dwarven generation. Saleo missed that particular story however, as he had his mind on other things. The ship finally arrived in the dead of night, and Grim kept his word and bought Saleo and himself a pair of tickets to Talking Island. A few moments later they were sailing in pursuit of their targets.
Grim couldn't seem to stop talking, and he didn't seem to care at all that Saleo hadn't said a word himself in hours. About ten minutes into their voyage Saleo met with an unforeseen complication as he felt as though his insides were twisting around themselves. He staggered over to the side of the ship and emptied the contents of his stomach into the sea below. Had he not been so sick he would have likely realized that he had not eaten anything since the morning. "Haha, this be your first time on a ship I see.", Grim spoke cheerfully. "What's...going...", Saleo's sentence was interupted as he heaved again into the water. "Ye be seasick lad. It be caused by the rocking of the boat, men with lowly constitutions be getting sick just from being onboard.", Grim continued. "Ye'll be getting used to it once ye've sailed enough times." Saleo only caught half the words that Grim was saying, he had never felt this sick before. He wondered if dying even felt this terrible. "Ye scrawny dark elves just can't be handling the life of a real man," Grim laughed.
Saleo ignored Grim's taunts and tried to concentrate on keeping the rest of his insides where they belonged. The ship was far from its destionation, and he knew that the real test would begin once they arrived.
---End---
And that's it for now. My stories tend to switch between drama and comedy quite rapidly, so be prepared for that when reading. I've never particular cared for stories that take themselves too seriously, life is a mix of both after all. I would be open to some reader opinions on the matter. So if you've liked the story so far please tell me whether you prefer one, the other, or both so I can concentrate more on a particular area. In any case, I hope everyone is enjoying it so far.
With the Fireworks event in progress I don't expect to have another one of these stories up for a week or so, though if the mood strikes I may prove myself wrong.
Awesome stories. I really got excited when Grim came and said he'd help haha.. And then that saleo thought he was crazy but then decided he wasn't.. Until the dwarf spoke of flying orcs and keltirs who shot laser beams out of thier eyes. Oh well.. Good story!
Sorry I haven't been writing lately, some real life issues recently injured my creativity. I'm working on the next chapter now and with any luck it will be up in a day or two.
Thanks for all the nice comments everyone, I wouldn't keep this up without them.
As a side note, it's extremely irritating that I can't edit posts after a certain amount of time has passed. Going back and reading my old work I've noticed a few typos, so when this story grows large enough I think I'll put the corrected version up on my website. Anyway, on with the story.
---The Clash of the Titans---
The ship slowly pulled into port. Saleo felt immensely relieved, not only was he closer to Aria but he could bid farewell to his seasickness. While on the ship he had been able to eat a full meal, though he was unable to keep most of it down. He had attempted to sleep several times but had always met with failure. As he and Grim stepped off of the ship he wondered if there wasn't some other way to return to the mainland. He dismissed the thought as he had more important matters to tend to, and turned his attention to Grim.
"Have you been here before?", Saleo asked.
"Aye lad, many a time. Last time I be here I sold a dozen novelty thumbs to the locals."
"Novelty thumbs?...", Saleo couldn't hide the fear in his voice.
"They be these enormous mechanical thumbs ye can attach to the tip of your own thumb. Guaranteed to increase the effectiveness of a thumbs up by ten fold or me name isn't Grimfang Toothrot! We've only had on average seven deaths per year from this product, a new family record."
Saleo shook his head regretting he had said anything, "Where should we go to look for those slavers?"
"Talking Island Village be a short walk away, we best start our search there.", Grim responded confidently.
Saleo couldn't help but gaze back at the ocean as they walked forward. He couldn't help but admire the beauty of it, now that he was no longer rocking amongst it. It eventually faded from view as he and Grim took to the trail, and Saleo turned his attention ahead. Saleo regretted that he knew so little about the outside world, had he not found Grim then Aria would certainly have been lost to him forever. He resolved to learn as much as he could about the outside world once this event was behind them. Grim wove tale after tale as they traveled, Saleo wondered how his vocal cords continued to function under such stress. The pair received a fair share of odd looks as they traveled the roads, the island seemed almost entirely populated by humans. The island had an almost tropical feel to it, and was filled with lush greenery and seemed overpopulated with overly cute animals. Around halfway to the town, Saleo saw a familiar cart parked on the side of the road.
He quickly turned to Grim, "That's it! That's the cart that took Aria!"
Grim's eyes flared up, "Are ye sure lad?"
"Yes, there should be two dwarves. One is wearing dull red armor and the other is wearing the same type of armor you are.", Saleo responded anxiously.
Grim's eyes lit up as though a fire burned within, and he began charging towards the cart as fast as his stubby dwarven legs would take him. Saleo drew the dagger Grim had given him and followed alongside the dwarf. He decided to stick next to Grim even though he could outrun him, as he didn't want to be up against the two dwarves again without aid. As they neared the cart Mick climbed out and plopped his stubby dwarven legs on the grass. Grim dove off of his tiny legs and slammed his head into Mick's side. Mick was caught completely offguard and was sent tumbling a few feet backwards screaming, "Boss!". Saleo was shocked by Grim's strength, and wondered if there was anything he could do to help. Seeing an opportunity Saleo leaped up into the air and slashed at the reigns of the horses, severing them from the cart. One of the two horses seemed to sense his release and took off into the island wilderness.
Boss lumbered out of the cart looking furious, "Who the hell do you think you are attacking us?" He noticed the horse running off, "****it, do you have any idea how expensive those are?!" Grim was already back on his feet, and the moment Boss finished his sentence Grim's mace was smashing against his chest. Boss staggered backwards a bit taken aback by Grim's strength. Grim shouted, "Ye dirty slavers! I'll exact justice for all dwarven kind this day!" Boss drew his own gigantic mace and readied himself for battle, "So I've been found out have I? That knowledge won't leave your grave!" Boss rushed forwards and smashed Grim on the chest with the same technique Grim had used, however Grim was quite prepared and stood strong. "Ye'll have to do better than that!", he shouted as he delivered a return blow. Boss was also ready this time however, and he also held his ground.
Saleo could only watch as the two titans traded blows. With their huge arms he was sure that a single blow would kill him instantly, and since Mick hadn't moved since Grim struck he decided to observe the fight for the time being. The two traded one blow, and then another, and then another, and then another...and then another...and then another... Saleo couldn't help but wonder if the two were even causing any damage to each other, even their armor seemed uneffected by the heavy blows. "Do you...need any help Grim?", Saleo asked quietly. "Nay lad! This be an epic dwarven duel of fate, interference from outsiders be strictly forbidden!", Grim yelled. "Oh...right...", Saleo mumbled to himself. While he couldn't interfere with the duel, he figured there was no reason he couldn't release Aria now that the dwarves were out of the way. He immediately hopped up into the cart.
The cart was filled with odd items of dwarven design. Some seemed to be superbly made and Saleo assumed they were quite expensive, while others were crudely crafted and probably not worth even carrying. Aria was lying down in the back of the cart, she had a gag over her mouth and her eyes were closed. Her arms were tied behind her back and her ankles had been tightly bound. As Saleo stumbled over to her he also noticed that she had a bruise around her left eye. He had to subdue his rage as he untied her, undid her gag, and attempted to rouse her, praying that she was only sleeping. Aria's eyes slowly opened as though she had just awoken from a restful nap, "Saleo! You came!" Saleo's face flushed red, a color he didn't know he was capable of. "Well...I don't really have anyone else to talk to back home." Aria jumped forward and gave him a crushing hug, only deepening the shade of red in his face. He shook her off and turned around embarrassed to show his face, "We need to get out of here! There's a dwarf outside named Grim who's fighting off the slavers for us."
Aria nodded and followed Saleo outside of the cart. On her way out she picked up a small red crystal that caught her eye. The two of them retreated from the cart a bit and watched the two dwarves fight it out. After a minute Aria spoke, "It kind of looks like they're not doing anything." Saleo sulked and hung his head, "Yeah, we could be here for a long time." The two waited quietly for another five minutes or so, but Saleo noticed Aria seemed to be getting anxious and looking a bit angry. As soon as he noticed, she was stomping over towards the fight. He followed her and reached out to pull her away from danger, but before he could reach her Aria's tiny foot was sailing towards Boss's ankle. She struck with a force that should shatter bone, and would have had Boss not been wearing protection. Nonetheless, his leg crumpled under the weight of his own body and he fell backwards, he hopelessly flailed his arms in an attempt to maintain his balance but shortly became one with the earth below.
"Ye gods lass! Ye broke a sacred dwarven tradition!", Grim sounded dismayed.
Aria responded harshly, "he KIDNAPPED me!!". Both Grim and Saleo felt themselves shrinking before her.
"Aye...that they did lass. Well, ye did defeat a mighty dwarven warrior with one elfish kick. That do be something to be proud of Grim supposes."
Aria switched back to her girlish smile rapidly, "Thanks! But...um...who are you?"
Grim twirled his mace around and struck a pose, "The name be Grimfang Toothrot! Famed Bounty Hunter for hire."
"Really? I've never heard of you before in the elf village.", Aria stated plainly.
Grim looked depressed for a moment but quickly perked up, "Well ye know of me now! And ye can tell your village upon yer return."
"You're weird...I like that!", Aria said cheerfully.
"Ye **** right lass, being normal is for the normal.", Grim said with a smile.
"Is anyone going to help me up?", Boss chimed in pathetically as everyone seemed to have forgotten him.
"Ye stay down there where ye belong!" Grim responded. "Ye be a heavy armor wearing dwarf, ye not be going anywhere without help for a while."
"****it...", Boss mumbled to himself. "Useless Mick didn't even see them coming..."
Saleo felt as though a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Not only had Aria been rescued, but there was someone else around to listen to Grim's insane stories. The weight of the journey caught up with him that very moment and he fell backwards, passing out in peaceful slumber. His friends were too busy talking to notice, which was just fine with Saleo as he was in need of some time to himself after the short trip with Grim. As Saleo slept Grim and Aria got to know each other quite well. Aria was quite impressed with Grim coming to help on such short notice, and was quite taken with his personality as well. After they noticed Saleo sleeping, they decided to rest for a while and return back to the mainland on the next ship. After a few hours Grim hauled Boss and Mick over to the Talking Island prison, while Aria watched over Saleo as he slept. She couldn't help but feel a bit nervous being out alone again, but Grim assured her that he would return quickly.
When the ship finally did arrive, Saleo was still residing in dreamland. He was so out of it that he didn't wake up even when Grim picked him up and held him over his back as though he was carrying an old carpet. Grim once again paid for ship fare, for three this time. A few moments later Grim was telling Aria about how he had once obtained a cursed pair of boots that caused him to dance uncontrollably in the presence of dwarven women. Saleo's eyes shot open as though someone had poured cold bucket of water on him the moment the ship left port. He felt the familiar rocking of the ocean and the twisting of his insides. He bemoaned his fate as he knew he had a long voyage ahead of him once agian.
Meanwhile, back in Talking Island Prison...
"I hate you Mick.", Boss stated with contempt from behind bars. Mick was in the cell directly across from him.
"I'm sorry Boss! They just snuck up on me!", Mick responded with disdain.
"Ah...forget it...being a slaver was too hard anyway. I think I'll go into the crafting business, it's a lot safer at least."
"Really Boss? You know I know how to make these mechanical thumbs the size of a person's head and...", Mick was cut short.
"I think we'll make novelty cat and rabbit ears. Yes, that sounds good."
"Novelty ears?", Mick sounded a bit confused.
"Sure they'll take a few years to catch on, but I think they'll be big. We'll handcraft a small number so they're rare, we'll make millions I'm sure of it.", Boss said sounding a little cheerful.
"Whatever you say Boss! I'll follow you anywhere!"
"Now we just have to get out of prison...", Boss remembered where he was and sulked.
---End---
That's it for now, look for the next one in about a week. I was a little tired when I wrote this so if there are any glaring errors I'll get back to them in the afternoon. As always I might get the next version out soon if the mood strikes.
I really great read, I can't wait for more chapters. The characters are all developing well and its nice to see that Boss and Mick have become reformed characters as well ;) . Also a Novelty Thumbs Up for Grim and his stories.
The squash event has been eating most of my time lately, but I'm almost done with the next chapter. Look for it tomorrow evening, with plenty of Grim stories.
The squash event was quite fun, though it did pretty much prevent me from writing completely. Thanks to insomnia and a bit of luck I'm now slightly closer to A grade (very slightly)...but anyway, here's the next part.
---There and...where the hell am I now?---
Grim pulled Saleo up as he almost slipped off the edge of the ship. "Ye gods lad, heave in the ocean don't jump in it!" Saleo tried to explain that he couldn't control it, but he ended up just mumbling something incoherent and falling flat on the deck. Aria was running around waving her arms and jumping around on deck, even after an hour she was still excited to be on the ocean. She was also periodically practicing missing birds with the bow Grim had given her, she was glad that she hadn't failed to miss one yet. Normally Saleo wouldn't have minded such behavior coming from Aria, but seeing her run around so quickly just him feel even more sick. Grim pulled Saleo up off the deck and propped him up against the railing of the ship. "Get a hold of yerself lad, ye don't want to be embarrassing yerself in front of the lass there." Saleo stared down at the water for a moment and then slipped back towards the deck, "I'm going below deck to try to sleep..."
"Aye, tis a shame we don't have me family's patented ocean waterbed on hand. It be guaranteed to either cure seasickness or cause ye to vomit up yer internal organs. Makes the pain stop no matter what! That be the slogan we use. We even had the King of Aden buy a set once, we hear it cured him up nicely and only killed the prince, three of his cousins, and his brother the Duke of Giran. And as we be saying in me family, 1 survivor out of 6 be good odds...and no refunds." Saleo mumbled something to himself and staggered below deck. The others heard a series of crashes followed by a large thud as Saleo fell down the stairs. "I hate the ocean...", Saleo decided to just attempt to sleep where he fell rather than bother going to his room.
Just as he closed his eyes however, his attention was drawn back above deck as he heard Grim scream, "Lad! Get yer [censored] up here right now!" Saleo wobbled to his feet and began stumbling up the stairs, wondering what Grim was so uptight about. Halfway up the stairs the ship suddenly shook violently. It took Saleo by surprise and sent him crashing into the wall, after which he fell backward and rolled down the stairs. His stomach settled almost immediately as the adrenaline began to pump through him, and he knew that something was seriously wrong. Saleo hopped back to his feet and lunged up the stairway, throwing open the door and rushing out into the open deck.
As the door flew open a sword came flying downwards towards Saleo, before he even knew what was happening his hand had unsheathed his dagger and stopped the blade dead in its tracks. He stared up at the dark haired human wielding the blade, the vicious grin on his mouth faded to an expression of scorn instead. "You got lucky kid!", the man said in a sickeningly deep tone as he lifted his blade and attempted to slash at Saleo's chest. Saleo remembered his training and dipped under the blade, using his small size to his advantage. The man had swung hard, leaving himself completely open and Saleo intended to take full advantage of his weakness. He ducked low to the ground and kicked hard at the back of the man's leg, sending him spiraling towards the ground. Saleo gave the man no time to recover and was instantly upon him, slicing his throat with one deft slash from his dagger. The man gave out a muffled yelp as the blood spilled from his neck, and within moments he fell silent. It was the first time Saleo had ever taken a life, but he lacked the time to contemplate this as he surveyed the situation above deck.
A second ship had apparently slammed into the hull, and from the bow a group of heavily armed men were pouring on the ship via a long wooden plank. Saleo saw Grim standing at the base of the plank, swatting his opponents into the water as they attempted to pass. Only the more agile attackers were able to slip by or simply jump over Grim in order to reach the ship, while a few of the crew were defending Grim's back and also fighting on random parts of the ship. Aria was nowhere to be seen, but Saleo decided that defending the ship from the attackers would be the best way to keep her safe, even though it seemed they were grossly outnumbered. He lunged at a man wielding a sword, as he knew he could defend against it better than he could a heavier weapon. His opponent was surprised to be attacked by a child and took a gash across the chest despite his attempt to evade. Saleo immediately lunged and sent his dagger piercing into the man's heart. As Saleo removed his dagger from his opponent, he felt a crushing pain in his side as a mace slammed into the side of his ribcage.
Saleo was sent flying into the air and over the side of the ship. As he began plunging towards the water he was able to extend his arm and grab the edge of the ship. The mace had knocked the breath out of him but he still had enough energy to hold on, though he would need a few moments before he could raise himself up to the deck again. As he struggled to hold onto the ship the one who had struck him came into view. He stared down at Saleo looking furious, Saleo could only assume that he had just killed this man's friend. The man raised his mace preparing for a final strike, and Saleo knew that this was the end of his short journey. As the mace came crashing down towards his skull, an arrow seemed to emerge from the man's palm spewing his blood over the ship's railing and Saleo's face. The man dropped his mace which fell harmlessly into the ocean below, and he turned around to find where the arrow had come from. Upon seeing his target the man left Saleo's view, who took this opportunity to pull himself above deck once again.
When he reached the deck he saw where Aria had been hiding, and the man formerly wielding the mace saw her as well. She was standing atop the crow's nest firing arrows at the attackers with the bow Grim had given her. The man she had shot was attempting to climb one of the sails in order to reach her, but wasn't meeting with much success as he kept losing his grip and sliding back down. Saleo noticed he was punching holes in the sail as he climbed as an arrowhead was protruding from his palm, he hoped that wouldn't hinder their journey once the battle ended. Saleo watched Aria put an arrow in the man's other arm, causing him to slip off the sail and crash into the deck. Saleo assumed he had been knocked out by the impact as he didn't move, and he waved to Aria before joining the fray once more.
Saleo's group and the crew fought the pirates for a good ten minutes. Saleo had managed to take down another two of them, while Aria boasted six takedowns and Grim had lost count after he had sent his fiftieth pirate to a watery grave. Saleo was the only one who had taken blows in return, including a few gashes across the chest and one across his right forearm, in addition to the bruises he was suffering from multiple hits. While Grim was also struck repeatedly, niether his body nor armor showed any signs of damage. Despite their efforts, particularly Grim's, the battle was not going in their favor. Most of the crew had been slain and the pirates continued to pour onto the ship, they seemed to be limitless. As the battle wore on, the ship suddenly shook violently again, sending some unfortunate souls over the railing and into the depths below.
Saleo quickly looked from side to side, certain that another ship had slammed into them and even more pirates were ready to attack. However he saw nothing new on any side of the ship. "What the hell was that?...", he said aloud. Even the pirates aboard the ship looked worried as a few them stopped fighting in order to look around. To everyone's horror, a massive tentacle crawled up onto the deck and sweeped over the area. It was large enough to knock down everyone in its path, and even sent a few people over the edge. As it came towards Saleo he jumped up onto the narrow railing of the ship, and from there leaped over the tentacle and onto a part of the ship it had just passed. When it finished its sweep, it picked up all those that it had felled with its large suctions, and receded into the ocean holding a dozen pirates and a few unlucky crewmen.
"It be a Kraken!", Grim yelled to everyone. Saleo had never heard of such a creature before, but he was terrified nonetheless of something that could wipe out so many people in an instant. "Get to higher ground!", Grim screamed, his voice shook with fear as well. Saleo ran up to the helm, past a few pirates who didn't seem at all interested in fighthing him anymore. From there he climbed up onto the railing above the cabin, and used that to leap to the center of one of the sails which he began climbing. He saw that tentacles were emerging from the ocean, standing straight up in the air seemingly poised to strike. He counted over twelve before regaining his focus and attempting to reach higher ground. They began to sweep over the deck and caught many pirates, despite their attempts to evade or cut down the tentacles with their tiny swords. One of the tentacles that was sticking straight up slammed hard into the ship's hull and Saleo nearly lost his balance, he saw Aria fly from the crow's nest and fall into the water below. "Aria!!", Saleo yelled as he slid down the sail and landed on the deck again. He noticed that Grim hadn't moved from his spot near the pirate ship's bow.
Grim could see in Saleo's eyes what he was planning to do, "Stay here lad! Ye can't do anything for her now!" He ignored Grim's warnings and ran towards the part of the ship where Aria had fell, hoping that she had somehow grabbed onto the railing as he did a short time ago. "I'm going to save her!", he yelled back at Grim as he rushed forward. As he ran he was struck by the one of the tentacles, which was large enough to carry his entire body. As he was being carried to the other side of the ship he sliced at the base of the tentacle's suctions and freed himself, climbing up over and continueing his dash across the deck. The Kraken struck the ship again, and Saleo heard the loud creak of the hull cracking as the force of the blow sent him tumbling towards the ground. Saleo hit the ground rolling and hopped back to his feet before he had even stopped. He reached the part where Aria had fell and peered over the edge, but could not see her anywhere. He jumped over the edge determined to find her, but Grim's stubby arms caught him as he passed over the railing.
"Put me down! ****it! She could still be down there!", Saleo shrieked at Grim. "Ye'll just get yerself killed! Don't be throwing your life away!", Grim responded with a deadly serious tone. Saleo kicked at Grim's jaw and loosed himself from the dwarf's grip, falling into the water below. If Saleo could see Grim he would have noticed the deep sadness overtaking the dwarf's face as he felt the loss of his new friends. Saleo dove underwater in search of Aria, but could not see anything through the thick ink filled water below. He grasped desperately in the dark hoping to find her, and eventually came in contact with what he could only assume was the Kraken. It took hold of him with one of its giant tentacles and slammed him into the ship, Saleo felt the air that remained in him being knocked out by the heavy blow. In moments his mind followed the blackness of his eyes as his consciousness faded. He had failed.
Saleo awoke on an unfamiliar beach, amidst driftwood and dry sand. He surveyed the area, his whole body aching and his memory hazy from the pounding pain in his head. He had no idea where he was, or if anyone else had survived.
---End---
I always have a lot of fun writing sea battles. This particular one was inspired by the IRC RPG I used to run; I had the players undertake a similar challenge. I'll have the next part up sooner than the last as there's no event going on now.
May I make the suggestion to do a chapter or so from aria's point of view? Her actions revel some of her character but without seeing if from her view or more dialogue from her we really don't know her.
May I make the suggestion to do a chapter or so from aria's point of view? Her actions revel some of her character but without seeing if from her view or more dialogue from her we really don't know her.
Actually, I just separated the characters to do just that. It should be very fun writing from Grim's point of view, Saleo is and will remain the main character however.
wait a second wasnt there a kraken thing in Pirates of The Carribean?;) or is that an all around lengendary amimal?
Haven't seen pirates yet, but yes the Kraken is a common mythological creature that shares some traits across cultures and fandoms. I believe it originated in Norse Mythology.
EDIT: Btw, Silviera. You said you probably would be done a couple days ago! How dare you make me wait so long after that! Death to you!!!
Just to clear this up now, I have a horrible reputation for meeting deadlines. Especially the ones I set for myself, lol.
That said, as the servers are down and everyone is going crazy I've taken this opportunity to catch up on my writing. Hard to say how long the servers are going to be down for, but I'll do my best to get a story up to keep a few people entertained for the time being.
I had actually intended this to be a rather short intro. Now that the characters are getting developed however, I don't want to stop anymore. I will get to my stories about my main Silviera eventually, but for now I'll let the tales of Saleo, Aria, and Grim run rampant until I run out of ideas.
I meant to have this story up much earlier but I found myself otherwise occupied. Sorry about the extreme delay, as I know I said I would be done sooner on multiple occasions. Anyway, without further delay...
---A Dwarf and his Kin---
Saleo's foot slammed hard into Grim's jaw. Grim was so surprised by the force of the blow that his grip on Saleo's legs slipped, he watched helplessly as the lad fell to a watery grave. He had to fight the urge to jump in after him, as Grim knew that there was no chance to survive in the water when a Kraken was about. Grim noted that the ship was now sinking, he was fairly surprised that it had even lasted this long. He scurried along the deck gathering any straight and long pieces of the ship that had broken off, fastening them together into a makeshift raft using a bit of rope he had onhand. Grim was a Bounty Hunter by trade, but fortunately all dwarves were trained in basic crafting. There were only a few people left on the ship, pirate and crew alike, and they were too busy panicking to either help or hinder Grim's construction.
Grim scanned the ocean and determined that most of the tentacles were rising from the portside of the ship. As he knew the body of the beast would be on that side, he threw his makeshift raft over starboard and leapt onto it. Grim regretted leaving the crew behind, but he only had the time to create a single raft and figured bringing one of the panicky crewmen would only compromise his escape. He leaned forward on the raft, using his stubby dwarf legs and arms to paddle his way away from the ship. Fortunately the Kraken didn't take note of Grim's escape, nor would he have spent time chasing the dwarf down with such a ready supply of meals still available on the two ships. A few minutes out Grim saw the Kraken pull the vessel underwater, creating a large whirlpool that sucked up anyone that had been fortunate enough to evade for that long. Grim knew that the pirate ship would soon follow, and he turned his gaze out towards the open ocean to concentrate on his escape.
Eventually the disaster faded from view entirely, and Grim was finally able to relax. Grim had met a Kraken once before, when he was a young bounty hunter seeking to make a name for himself. His thoughts drifted back to that time, as the raft sailed quietly over the ocean.
---40 years earlier...
"Ye see, the beards of dwarven women be surgically removed at birth.", Grim continued.
"What, you've gotta be kidding me!", responded a young black haired human gladiator.
"Nay, it be one of the best kept dwarven secrets. I only be telling ye this as a sign of good faith Axel, and I be expecting you to keep it secret."
"Aww...****it! What good is a secret if I can't surprise everyone I know with it?", Axel exclaimed in annoyance.
"Well at least I know what's up now, thanks for telling me Grim.", Axel stated a moment later.
"Aye, though there be many other dwarven secrets...but I'll be saving those for another day.", Grim responded.
Grim leaned back in his chair, adjusting his brigandine armor and surveying the room they had rented at the dwarven village inn. Their party was four in total. Grim, Axel, Grim's wife Marithel who had just become a Warsmith, and Draco who was an experienced Necromancer. It had been three months since Axel had joined, completing their small adventuring group. The four took on small jobs such as hunting goblins and taking down small slaver groups, and were quickly making a name for themselves throughout Elmore. Despite their success, they were all very poor as all their money went into improving their equipment or traveling expenses. Grim and Marithel had actually sold their home in order to buy weapons and armor to begin their business, which is why they found themselves in this small unkempt room at this hour of the night in their hometown.
Draco and Marithel were already sleeping, and Grim decided it was time to do the same.
"Time to be hitting the old sack, Axel", Grim said sounding tired.
"Sounds like a good idea. We've got a lot of work to do tomorrow.", Axel said although he didn't look tired.
Grim leaned his head back on the cold wooden floor, leaving the two beds to his wife and the frail necromancer. He felt an odd comfort in doing this for his friends, and drifted off to sleep quickly as though his bedding was a cloud. Unfortunately it felt as though he only slept for a few minutes, as a hard kick to the temple and a scream awoke Grim the next morning. "Get yer lazy [censored] up ye fool!", Marithel shouted at the top of her lungs while viciously kicking at Grim. It was a morning ritual he had become quite accustomed to by now, though even now it certainly never eased him awake. "Aye...I be awake already woman.", Grim mumbled as he staggered to his feet. Grim noticed that the others were wide awake and ready to leave, glancing over to Mari he noticed that she had packed all his things and was ready enough for the both of them.
"So we be leaving then?", Grim said.
"Yeah, we decided to let you sleep in a bit.", Axel responded.
"The ship arrives in two hours...", Draco added.
Grim noted that Draco always had a melancholy tone to his voice, and his voice seemed to trail off long before a sentence was finished. He found it a bit unsettling at times but Draco had always proved to be a worthy companion since he joined a few weeks after he and Mari set out. Draco had been ambushed by bandits while regenerating his magical reserves, and fortunately Grim and Mari were present to come to his aid. Draco was likely the strongest of the entire group, but even so he always followed commands dutifully and in fact didn't seem to mind at all that his magical talents weren't being fully utilized fighting demons and dragons. Axel had joined two months later, he had actually been a client. He had taken on a difficult job of routing some goblins from nearby an orcish city, but upon seeing the situation firsthand realized that he had no chance of winning at all. So he hired Grim's group to aid him with the mission, and he got along so well with the group that it was decided he should join.
"Aye...Let's be setting out then!", Grim yelled with a confidence that likely awoke everyone in a two mile radius.
The group departed from the small inn and took to the road once more, their goal being a little known port city in the southern parts of the dwarven land.
---End---
I realize this was shorter than normal, but I wanted to get something out there as I haven't finished anything in a while. A very short story also serves nicely to buffer the long story that's coming next.
I make no promises, but I do intend to get the next chapter of the story out very soon (a few days being the goal).
Hi! I'm new to the forum even though I read it often. I stumbled by chance on this thread and here goes my first post to say that you're doing a great job Silviera! Keep up the good work, you've got great talent! Can't wait for the next part!
XD I love your stories, please gimme more stuff to read :p
Seriously this is really good stuff, when can I buy your novel ^^.
I also love the way you describe Grim. It's exactly the way I imagine dwarves and reminds me of a dwarven friend of mine from long ago who RPed in game.
Sorry about the wait, lots of RL problems popped up. Currently I'm getting ready to go off to college for the semester, but I'll try to get a new story up in a few days if I have the time. No guarantees of course, but I'll try my best.