New Site!

I am excited to announce that I am moving to a new website for my stories, the format for the website allows me to separate the stories out as much as I want and I think it will work out better that way.

In any case, on to the new website!  You can reach it here!

Written Chapter 3: Survival of the Luckiest

Assassins are trained in the art of survival as a basics course. It is considered the foundation of their work. To survive is to kill another day. So with that in mind, he was always a quick study on the subject. However, practical application was lacking. During one survival mission that lasted over a week, he was seen running in an open field laden with magical land mines just to get to some water on the other side. Oddly enough, he missed every one of them. To this day it is spoken of as a legend or myth. No one who witnessed it can even believe that they saw it. Sometimes, you just have to have faith though. Sometimes, this is enough.
Christopher was screaming as he flew through the air. The beast that grabbed him had made quick work to toss him to the side, into the river at that. Apparently it had bad luck and bit down on a sword. It didn’t take it long to refocus its efforts on the next nearest person.

Laithestel was prepared for the drake. She eyed it carefully and knew that it would likely be the type to spew acid. They were rather prevalent around these parts. She loosed an arrow into the beast’s side while dodging away from it, hoping to keep its attention. The beast wasn’t fooled however, and turned for the next tasty morsel in sight, hoping to have better luck. Gilthe wasn’t ready to be eaten however and slashed at the beast with his sword, missing in the process, but out of nowhere the space his blade had occupied suddenly burst into flames, catching the beast off guard and causing it to reel back in pain. Laithestel took this moment to fire another arrow, this time striking the throat, and lodging the arrow inside. The acid drake roared in pain, determined to get a meal from its endeavor. It then turned and whipped its tail as Skrymir made an attempt to strike, knocking him winded to the ground. Angerona was staying in its blind spot, making sure to strike at it when it was preoccupied, but it didn’t back down. It was then that it made its fatal mistake. It took a deep breath, mustering all the acid it could, then tried to spit it in an arc at the party in front of it. It wasn’t until it was half-way that it realized its mistake, but it was too late. The acid struck the arrow, but normal arrows would normally melt when lodged in the throat of an acid drake. This arrow however, was normal stock for Laithestel, lined in the purest of Mithril. This metal, so fabled by dwarves as the most durable metal in existence, would not waiver at mere acid. No, this metal would hold fast, no matter how strong the acid was. And so it was that the drake’s acid was turned against it. With no way out, the acid built up inside its throat wearing the lining away until it eventually melted through. The drake gargled once more, then fell to the ground, the acid eating away at the very ground it fell to.
The party sighed their relief. They looked at each other, and smiled at the teamwork. It was about that time that Christopher walked up, completely drenched from head to toe. He apparently got swept downstream a ways before managing to get out.
“Did we get him?” He then looked around and saw what remained and sighed as well.
“Let’s strike our camp, we should be relatively safe until just before dawn.”
“What happens just before dawn?” Gilthe was truly puzzled by the concept of “just before dawn.”
“The drake’s mother will likely be looking for it. We don’t have the luxury of sleeping in.”
Everyone’s eyes seemed to open wide at this remark. No one slept very well that night except, of course, Skrymir. When the time came, the party gathered their gear and headed out. It was not long after that, that they heard the loud roar of a much larger beast off in the distance. Most of them kicked themselves for not sleeping better.
“So, what exactly is this portal we are looking for?” Christopher seemed to have a crazed, but questioning look upon his face.
“Not looking for exactly, we already know where it is, it’s just a matter of getting there.”
“Right, so… Where exactly does this portal go?”
“Ah, that I’m not sure they would want me to say.” Skrymir gave Christopher a wry smile.
“They, would likely not want you to mention them either, Skry.” Laithestel gave him a wry smile as well.
“So, you just expect us to follow you to someplace you can’t tell us about, filled with people you can’t tell us about, just because you two strangers have asked us to?” Gilthe was third in line with the wryness.
“Well, truth be told, I don’t know that they would want you to be taken there either, but as far as we are concerned, you guys were marked the moment you stepped into the tavern.”
“Marked?” Everyone cringed at the high squeak of Akari’s voice.
“You were seen with us, fought by our side, and lived to tell the tale. As far as our enemies are concerned, you are one of us. If you stay in this area for long, you will likely be found, tortured, and killed. Just to find out what our names are. From there, they might resurrect you just to torture you some more. Although, truth be told, I’m not sure if they are capable of that last part.”
The adventurers looked at one another once more, for another option, only to come up with nothing. The trip was actually relatively short; they made it out of the thickest part of the forest, and into a field with many trees. Some would argue that there is no difference, but when you walk through the Estwild forest, into an area with any amount of fewer trees, it can safely be called a field by comparison. It was at this point that Skrymir focused intently. Any interruption was quashed so that he could continue to focus, and find what he was looking for.
“What is he doing?” Gilthe was a bit nervous.
“He’s finding our portal.” Laithestel did her best to calm the adventurers.
“I thought he said you already knew where!” Unfortunately it had failed on Christopher.
“We know it’s here, just not where here. Skrymir is a Finder, part of a special group of people that can find whatever they put their minds to. He’s not exactly the best of the best, but there hasn’t been anything he hasn’t managed to find yet, given some time.”
“And what, you just protect him? He doesn’t seem the sort that needs protecting.” Arash had caught on.
“Ah, I’m with him because I’m a Traveler. He finds the portal, only I can use it without consequence.”
“Without consequence? I thought portals were generally usable by all when opened.” Arash was used to the kind that opened and closed by the hands of a capable sorcerer.
“Well, these portals are different. A normal person attempting to make the jump would leave a bit of themselves behind, tearing their soul slightly in the process. Too many jumps would result in death, often the first results in temporary insanity. The jump into the Compendium is the only exception to that rule, the first time anyways.”
“Ah HA!”
Everyone turned and looked at Skrymir, as he jumped up in an incredibly non-assassin like manner. He was holding a small book that looked to be no more than a small leather bound journal.
“A book? What good is a book?” Gilthe was about to start knocking down the insane people.
“This book is our portal. This leads back to our headquarters, and Laithestel will be taking us there.”
Laithestel gave Skrymir a questioning look, then thought for a moment, only to give in with a sigh. She opened the book and found the page that she was looking for then began to focus. She hadn’t really traveled with this many before, but it only took a few moments longer than usual. The world around them seemed to spin around them, then grow much larger. The book started to envelope them until they couldn’t tell where they were any longer. A few more moments, and the book once more started to shrink as another place came into view.

Double Post this week!

Due to my missing a post last week, I posted a chapter from each story this week to make up for it!
I will be making posts of Written for the time being, I am still working on the formatting and editing of Arcana.  My Brother and I are also working on ironing out certain details of the world and I am going to be drawing a map up for at least the adventure in Arcana, if not a large region of the world.

Written Chapter 2: The Forest of Estwild

Preparations are always incredibly important when going on a mission. You have to know some important facts before you can really begin preparing for anything. For instance, how long is the mission? In this case, there was no way to tell. The Sage told him that it could be the rest of his life and he took that as a sign that it would be a long mission, he has good intuition like that. He made his way to his quarters there in the palace and started writing up a list, among those items was a shiny blue pearl that he was given for a mission but never had to use. It was known as a warp marble, and could transport a person or group to a location in the users mind. One simply had to focus on the location, and then throw the marble to the ground. It did the rest of the work for you…

The party felt a severe change in air pressure, followed by their ears popping. The imbalance came in a wave, with those nearest the device affect first. It was for that reason that Skrymir was able to quickly dispatch one enemy, while Laithestel took down the only other to pass outside with them. They had only done this particular maneuver a few times, but they have practiced it well. Skrymir drew his scimitar quickly, and with almost no sound at all, cut through his mark and replaced the blade to its sheath. Laithestel already had an arrow knocked before the warp marble hit the ground; it wasn’t until she saw a different surrounding that she let it loose into her opponent’s heart. This would mark the seventeenth time that they would have barely escaped harm.

“You only got us outside? This was the best you could manage?”

“Hey, I was hit over the head with a full pint of ale, give me a break, my mind is a little fuzzy!”

“Yet you would risk our only means of calm escape?” Laithestel had a “questioning his sanity” look upon her face.

Skrymir gave her a reassuring glance, only to assume that it was just another creepy smile. He really wished there was more time to work on that smile…

“There is no time to waste, we must hurry to the portal!” Laithestel knew that they would be cutting it close with more passengers this time.

“Right, the lot of you, if you want to survive the night, you will come with us.” Skrymir looked upon the weary adventurers and they nodded their consensus with just a twinge of hesitation.

Upon making their way to the forest we could hear the cries of the brigands inside the tavern yelling, pointing out their position as they fled. They had little choice but to lead them on a wild goose chase.

“We will need to wander aimlessly for a bit folks, please bear with me.” Skrymir once more had a smile plastered on his face. The adventurers had a strong look of concern on theirs.

“I promise, I have done this before, we will make it to safety.” This of course, was even less reassurance, as they would have rather hoped he didn’t do this often.

The Estwilds region of The Compendium were a savage land, few who end up in this section from their own worlds survive long. It was a wild forest, with very few clearings, and even fewer maintained roads. Skrymir and Laithestel had taken the only serviceable road from the last lead of their mission toward their exit portal when they happened upon the tavern. If their portal hadn’t been a few more days away, they may not have even stopped. With all of the confusion, they decided the best possible means of escape would be to travel through the thick forest, and hope to shake their pursuers.

After a few days of travel through the dense brush, the party was starting to get antsy.

“Why do we keep changing direction, and what’s with all the moving, we’ve barely had time to eat anything at all!” Gilthe’s stomach was grumbling audibly at that.

“We haven’t eaten because there isn’t anything to eat out here, save for a few plants and what few animals end up here and haven’t already been eaten by the predators.” Skrymir turned and stopped.

“We have not much farther to go, but there is still a party tracking us through these woods. Whomever they have leading the group has been here for quite some time if he has been able to keep up with us. If I were by myself, I would easily be able to remove myself from the situation, but we will have to take it at a different approach.”

Gilthe’s eyes lit up “We get to take the fight to them?”

“Precisely little one.”

“What did I say about your tongue? What did I say? Get out!” The hobbit pointed towards a random thicket.

“Right, so here is the plan…” Gilthe chuckled and then listened for his part.

“We will circle around a bit here, and then take them by surprise from a few different directions. Laithestel, I need you to pick a tree and climb it, keep your eyes open and be ready to warn us. Gilthe, Christopher, and I will lead the forward assault, while Akari and Arash will take second wave.”

“Oh great, he thinks I’m useless even though I’ve already saved his life.” Akari then let out a yelp as Gilthe stepped on his foot.

“Quiet.”

“Alright, with this we should be able to manage, let’s move.”

Laithestel found a tree near a clearing and made her way up, knocked an arrow and then relaxed while keeping her eyes focused on her surroundings. She could hear the party making their way away from her, and finally nothing. It was a long while waiting there, and she was starting to feel left out when she heard the crunching of a branch off in the distance. She pulled her senses in and could hear someone whispering heavily off in the distance. It was at this point that she raised her bow, and pointed it up and toward the noise and let the arrow loose.

Normal arrows don’t really make much of a sound, at least, not the kinds that are used for defending those who are defenseless. However, this particular arrow was meant to sound the alarm and let those who were paying attention know that what they were looking for was nearby. This arrow was one of those. The arrow itself was larger than most, and hollow. It really resembled a flute of sorts, with several holes in it in key parts. As the arrow zipped through the air, it made a charming cacophony of high pitched chirpings…

Skrymir and the others made a path away from Laithestel and then started to slowly circle around. They were in quite the hurry as they needed to make their way into the correct position before their captors would arrive. With as much effort as could be made, Skrymir, Gilthe, Christopher, Akari, Arash, and Angerona made their way around, made a few sharp turns here and there and most of them were completely lost by the time they heard the wailing of the signal arrow, followed shortly by the wailing of a man being hit by the signal arrow.

“That’s our queue.”

The party made their way towards the edge of the clearing, being ever so cautious, and found a delightful scene…

Laithestel was pretty accurate with her shots, but she could easily count on her fingers the number of time she had hit someone while signaling someone else. It wasn’t often that she could be that precise with a signal shot, but she was very pleased with herself. She started make her way down the tree when the search party burst into the clearing, carrying the wounded man. She stilled herself, as she was taught long ago by her kind and waited it all out.

“Right, get him here in the middle, poor bloke.”

“AAAAHHH! Me only good leg! Why did it have to be me only good leg!” The man was obviously bring a ham.

“Relax there Sal, it’s barely a flesh wound.”

“I can’t feel me leg!”

“Right, we don’t have a lot of time for this, they are obviously nearby, leave him here.”

“No, I think the feeling’s comin back. Yea, it’s all better now, I think I can go on.” It was about that time that Laithestel fell out of the tree with a thud…

As Skrymir and the others saw the scene unfold, they couldn’t figure their luck any better than it was until Laithestel fell from the tree. It took about two seconds for Skrymir to draw his blade and be within feet of someone, and the others were not very far behind. It was almost over the instant that it started. Skrymir lunged forward and took one of them down from behind, he screamed out just in time for another to turn and receive a dagger to his chest. The rest scattered, but it did them no good. Gilthe took one by the legs, surprising him nearly to death, while Christopher jumped from a nearby tree onto another scaring him completely to death with his sheer size. One last one remained, and by remained, it is implied that he was alive; he only received a few shuriken to his arms, rending them useless. Angerona stood over this one making sure he didn’t try and flee. The air settled just as Laithestel managed to regain her footing. It was a tall tree. Skrymir went to the lone survivor and knelt by his head.

“So, let’s make this easy shall we?”

“I don’ know nuffin!”

“So you know something then? That makes this easy. Here’s the game, I ask you a question, you tell me an answer. If I don’t like what I hear…” Skrymir eased in real close to his ear and whispered “You’ll lose something.”

Laithestel looked displeased, but held back any issues she may have had with the threat.“First question then, who sent you?”
“The boss did, I swear it.”

“Good. Second question. What is his name?”

“He don’t have a name, he’s just the boss.”

“And what does this man want from us?”

“I don’t know, I’m hardly told anything!”

“Wrong answer!”

Skrymir bent down and grabbed the brigands hand. He first started by bending the pinky digit backwards, slowly. With his other hand he had pulled a dagger from one of his various hiding places and was positioning it so that the brigand would get the idea.“Please, Please! I swear, I know nothing! He just wanted us to track you, the leader of our group had more orders but he’s dead now! Please, I beg of you, spare me life.”

“Let him go, he can’t do us any harm. We saw our mark leave this world, we should try and find where he ended up.” Laithestel looked concerned that things might go sour any moment.

Skrymir let the man go, kicked him once for good measure, then turned and waved him off.“We have more important things to be worrying about. Leave us.”

The man, genuinely relieved, stood and hobbled off into the forest, roughly in the right direction. There is no telling if he lived to tell the tale.“Right, we have another day’s travel ahead of us. There should be another clearing where we can strike a camp not too far from here near a river. That is assuming that the Estwilds haven’t changed much over the past few years.”

Laithestel and Skrymir took point and moved out into the forest once more. The rest followed, still unsure that they were in fact following good people. They made it to the next clearing without too much trouble, and noticed that the forest had cleared up a bit. They all stopped near a river to get some fresh water on the edge of the clearing. The party hurried to the riverside when they heard it in the distance. Fresh water was truly a blessing at this point as hardly anything in the Estwild Forest could be called fresh.

In their haste, they missed something crucially important though. They hadn’t checked the clearing first, and it was only when they heard the growl of the beast as it grabbed one of them, followed by the screams of a comrade that they realized their mistake…

Arcana Chapter 2

The information that I was granted was all about my target’s research. Argus Arcana, a member of the noble Arcana family was the target. He was responsible for a piece of the research that his entire family spent their time preparing. The Arcana's want to use their Gift, you see. It allows them to perform complex magics by combining one form of magic with Arcanum. Arcanum is a magic that was invented millenniums earlier by one of the ancestors of the family Arcana. It's an arcane weaving of sorts that allows you to create complex spells that affect the surrounding area. Everyone in the Arcana family is proficient in two types of magic, which is difficult to do. Argus Arcana, my mark, is proficient in Alchemy and Arcanum,which struck me as an odd combination. I had no idea how the two could be linked, but then again, that was what the research notes in front of me would pertain to.

The last time a member of the Arcana family had the Gift was over a thousand years ago, a man known as Terrin Arcana. Terrin used the Gift to combine Arcanum with High Enchantment. He was able to create pieces of armor and weapons that were far superior to anything even to this date. Each piece of the Sage’s attire was apprised of one of his creations. All of this, some thousand plus years ago. It's understandable that the family would be desperately trying to pursue this incredible Gift.

Studying the research left me needing a fresh meal and to stretch my legs. I decided it would be a good idea to take a walk through the Imperial City and get a breath of fresh air. Imperial City is an incredible place. It seems every time I return from a mission the place has grown twice it's size. It certainly helps that it's in the middle of the kingdom. Throughout the ages it's size has fluctuated quite a bit. For a long time the capital was barely large enough to be called a town. In the beginning, it was mostly government buildings, and to this day all of them can be found in the same district. When I need to think, I like to walk through a few districts near my home. Nothing cheers me up more than the smell of delicious baked goods and spices blowing in the wind. There is a small cafe just a short waltz down the street from my home. I like to stop there for an afternoon tea, or even in the evenings for something cold. Tonight however I had other plans.

As I made my way past the cafe, I turned off to a side street and went into a little enchantment shop. I felt like I could use more information on the mark’s research whether I wanted it or not. This little enchantment shop, The Scribner, happens to be one of the best shops in Imperial City. Gill, the proprietor of this shop, was a short creature with webbed hands and feet, gills on his neck and an interesting blue-green skin that changed patterns with his mood. He happens to be a great informant on different magics and how they relate to each other. Gill has been in this area of the city for a few generations and serves as a sort of consultant for the military, besides that, he happens to be a good friend.

"Gill, my friend, how are you?"

"Is that you Nerius? You owe me 300 imperials!" Gill pulled in a good bit of air and stood as tall as he could, trying his best to look imposing to an assassin.

"Gill buddy, I told you that I would owe you a favor for that last bit of intel. Cut me some slack friend, I'm a returning patron of your fine establishment. You should treat me better than that."

Gill looked rather perturbed at this revelation, then grunted stubbornly.

"I have no use for your favors, Nerius, all I need is the money. If you have no money son, then I suggest you move on and find a new source of informations."

"I see how it is Gill, jeez. Try not to get so uptight about it, you might live longer that way. Might even die happy.”

Reaching into my travel pouch I recovered a small pouch labeled with The Scribner's logo and placed it onto his counter.

"There you go Gill, that should cover the last bit, and then the bit for today. I need to know why an Arcana would want to research Arcanum and Alchemy, instead of one of the more obviously powerful combinations."

Gill inspects the bag carefully, picks it up in his partially webbed hands and takes the money out, counting it slowly and deliberately.

"Yes, this should do nicely. From my research, Alchemy is the closest link they have to making any sort of breakthrough, Nerius. They are two sides of the same coin by an Arcana's account. Arcanum is the ability to affect your surroundings through means of magical energies, Alchemy is the ability to affect your surroundings through means of science and application. If these two things were joined, they could conceivably create anything from almost nothing. It would trump Terrin's research in spades."

I let out a whistle, "That sounds like a power to reckon with. Who all does research on this particular subset of their Gift?"

"That would be Argus Arcana, and the many assistants he's been afforded over the years. He's been working at it for years. They say that he is close to a breakthrough. Can’t be true though. None of the Arcana family members have shown signs of having the Gift since Terrin. I doubt that they could be near a breakthrough without it."

“So he’s either lying about being near a breakthrough, is hiding the Gift, or working with an outcast member?”

“Oooo, I don’ like the sound of that Nerius. Them outcasts are a force to be reckoned with. They were one of the more practical parts of the family, into the more powerful magics and beliefs. When they jumped ship, they took some of the best the family had to offer, probably set the family back hundreds of years in the process. Not to mention the fact that they bolster the defense of our natural enemies in the north.”

“Yes, that tidbit was free. I already know a great deal about the Empire’s history, thank you very much. Interesting thoughts though. I will have to mull them over. Thanks again for the info.” I dropped a few coins on the counter as I exited his shop, unsettled by the possibilities. Too many options makes my job too damn difficult, I needed to narrow them down. I’d have to work out a way to make that happen.

I took a long route back toward home, walking and thinking the evening away. When I entered my neighborhood I stopped at a nearby tavern intent on trying to enjoy a few drinks. I ordered something sweet to drink to go with a dessert and found a comfortable table with a line of sight to the door.

Written Chapter 1: The Setup

It all started with a mission…
At least, that’s what they told him. In fact, it was a quest. Some may say that there is little difference, but the fact remains that a mission is clearly defined, but a quest leads to many places, has many twists and turns, and is rather loosely defined. The mission as it was stated: Nerius, you must go to the library of the Centaurs, and offer them your services. This action could very well save everything…

It all started with a mission, they were to find a specific book known only as “The Black Book” and to apprehend those found to have stolen it. Their leads were thin, but lead them to a place known as The Compendium, a place where lost souls come to rest. Those that go missing in the blink of an eye, never to be seen from again, they all end up here. The Compendium is really a set of volumes never quite able to settle on a number of volumes before rapidly changing.

Skrymir and Laithestel were enjoying their first meal in some time at a place in the middle of the Estwilds of the Compendium known as Trapper Tavern. The region was pretty heavy with bandits and the like, but nothing organized. Taverns like this weren’t terribly common, but there seemed to be enough muscle around to stave off an army. Skrymir was nearly shoving the food forcefully down his gullet; you could hardly even tell that he was part elf. His human heritage shown through with his facial hair, but his one elf characteristic was keenly hidden by the hood of his black cloak. In fact, most of his body was hidden behind a shade of black, save for the few spots of brown leather holding various pieces of equipment. Laithestel was poking at her plate suspiciously, everyone in the room would be able to tell what she was, she didn’t make any effort of hiding herself. She was a full elf, through and through. Her hair was long and flowing like a river, her skin was fair, eyes striking, and her ears pointy. She had on her normal travelling attire, mostly greens and golds, with her bow slung over her shoulder and her quiver slung to her hip.

“Ahmf vrrl ffud.”

“Don’t speak with your mouth full.” Laithestel looked at Skrymir with scalding eyes. Skrymir took a few moments to chew.

“Sorry. It’s real food. I can’t believe we found real food in the Estwilds.”

“I’m pretty surprised myself. I wonder how the owner came across enough food out here to feed this lot.”

“Probably imports it, there are enough people here that they are likely to be caravan guards or mercs for hire.”

“They could be.” Laithestel continued to remain cautious.

The air was relatively friendly, at least, until the door swung open. As a motley lot of adventurers entered the tavern the place got eerily quiet. The adventurers looked stricken and lost, and there were five of them, ranging from four feet to roughly seven and a half. They were truly living up to the motley bit. The first to enter was a Halfling, not but a few inches more than four feet tall, he had his hand resting on a blade sheathed at his side, he outfit came about a maroon and green color with bits of gold as well. His hair had been growing unchecked for some time, as he had it braided in much the same fashion as the elves might. Second was a couple of elves, one very young, the other somewhere in his three hundreds. The younger had defiance in his eyes, while the older had a bitter sweet look on his face. Almost as if he was happy to have a second chance at something, but disappointed it was with the others. They both sported a similar hairstyle in normal flowing elvish, nearly a silver blonde at that. The fourth through the door was an exceeding tall man, you couldn’t miss him. He had a gleam of insanity in his eyes and two blades on his back. He couldn’t quite stand all the way in the somewhat small tavern. The last to enter was almost missed completely by those in the room. A figure clad in dark colors, with a cloak covering her features. It was almost difficult to pick out anything special about her other than her ability to be the background. It wasn’t until a few seconds after the door closed that the bartender cleared his throat, that the room resumed its course.

Skrymir stood at this point and waved to the group, beckoning them to the only half-empty table in the room. The adventurers looked at each other, less for a consensus, more for a better idea. Seeing few other options available, and nearly ready to fall flat on their faces, they made their way to the empty seats.

“Come, come, please let me treat you to something good to eat.” Skrymir did his best to not look creepy.

“Skry, it would probably be better to not smile if it’s going to look so creepy.”

“I’m trying to be a point of comfort here, Laithestel!” Then in a hushed tone “We’ve walked into a trap.”

“No, your stomach walked into a trap, I walked in to make sure you didn’t hurt yourself.” Then aside to the adventurers “But really, you are perfectly safe here, just don’t make any sudden movements.”

The adventurers looked once more at each other, there seemed to be a sign of unanimous disapproval of their increasingly awful predicament, followed by a heavy sigh.  The commotion of the room continued as if nothing had happened, and the adventurer’s food finally arrived. Just in time too.

“So, if I may have the pleasure, I am Skrymir Azurieus, Finder of things, and seeker of trouble. This is my partner Laithestel, Traveler, and Huntswoman. Would you all honor us to know what your names are?”

They once more looked at each other, but finally gave in.

The Halfling spoke first, “I am Gilthe Took.”

Then the only human “I am Christopher Darkwald.”

Two Elves, one very young, the other of modest age “I am Akari, this is Arash.”

Then finally a Half-Elf spoke “Angerona.”

“Wonderful, thank you! I am pleased to make your acquaintance. You all look hardy and fit for adventuring, you will surely last some time in this place.” Skrymir beamed.

It was the Halfling that asked first. “What is this place? I remember being in the mountains fighting a snow leopard and then waking up near a clearing of strange puddles with these folks.”

“Yes, indeed, you have gone missing from your land, and appeared here, in this region known as the Estwilds, in a land known as the Compendium.”

“And what does that mean exactly?” Christopher’s eyes were wide with disbelief.

“That you are all stuck on a strange world, far from where you call home. Some of you may not even know where you are really from. Gilthe here is a lucky little fella.”

“Call me little again and I’ll chop out your tongue.”

“Easy there fella, you don’t have to act tough with me, I’m not trying to kill ya. However, this room filled with brigands will likely try to do just that if we stay much longer.”

“What do we do? Why didn’t you just tell us to go elsewhere?” Akari was just a tad bit out of sorts.

“Because, I know where the pools are, and it looks like you haven’t eaten since you arrived in this world.” Skrymir then pointed to each of them in turn. “Christopher hasn’t eaten in 2 days, newest to arrive. Gilthe ate the end of his rations yesterday, a well prepared Halfling. Akari and Arash arrived at the same time, Akari hasn’t eaten in four days, Arash in six, putting aside your own life is noble. Angerona, bless your heart, you haven’t eaten in more than a week, at least not much. You are withering away. Yet, you have only been here for three days. The food is good here, please eat quickly.”

Everyone did as such, slowly at first. The Halfling was finished first, only to look hungrily at Skrymir’s unfinished plate. “Go ahead, finish it off, I’m afraid I wouldn’t function at peak performance here if I continued to eat.” Gilthe’s eyes lit up. “You have my sword, Skrymir.”

Skrymir rolled his eyes, then just as he was about to lean back, a brigand bumped into his chair.

“Hey! Watch it bub!”

“Wha dyu saaay da me?”

“I said watch it, you warthog faced buffoon!”

At this point Laithestel’s eyes were showing signs of strain. She then lowered her head into her palms and sighed heavily. This just wasn’t her day.

The action started all at once, but not until the drunkard knocked Skrymir flat to the floor by hitting him over the head with his full glass of mead. The glass flew to pieces, the mead flew everywhere, but inexplicably, not a drop landed on Skrymir. Laithestel was the first to jump to action afterwards, slapping the drunkard with her bow, and then bowing down to wake Skrymir up. The rest of the tavern drew weapons, including the adventurers. Gilthe took first blood from the shins of his enemies, then chanted a line causing his blade to ignite with an eerie green fire. He then set to work by jumping up onto the bar and challenging the bartender. Christopher stood once more, only this time, he stood straight and tall at a complete seven and a half feet. The sudden difference in height had several men jumping back. He then drew his twin long swords and lunged into the fray, striking wildly, and ferociously. Akari hopped under the table, rolled under and toward Skrymir, he then focused and a bright white light became present in his hand, which he held to Skrymir’s head. Laithestel then rose, seeing that Akari was attempting to heal Skrymir, she knocked an arrow and let loose into the fray, narrowly missing Christopher, but taking an enemy out of the battle. Arash built up a fiery mass and let it loose on the nearest unobstructed mob, bursting them into flames. Then to make matter worse, he stretched out with an invisible hand, grabbed the nearest keg and smashed it into the mob as well, lighting the place completely on fire. As Gilthe dodged the bartender’s spear, doing a jig and singing a song, he then lunged forward and struck the bartender with a heavy blow, bringing him alight.

As Skrymir awoke suddenly, he heard the brawl and focused on the situation. He jumped to his feet and took stock, then making a fast decision, he reached into his bag and pulled out his last remaining warp marble and tossed it to the ground. With a loud bang, smoke filled the room and the fire raged on, a bright flash occurred followed by a swirl and the displacement of air. When the brigands regained their sight they noticed their marks were gone.

Change of plans!

Okay, so I was originally going to post each story one at a time chapter by chapter on a weekly basis, but instead as was suggested by my mother, I will be posting chapters from one of two stories every week.  The first I have already posted what is essential the preface/introduction and the first chapter of is Arcana, the other which is actually meant for a different aged audience is a story that I am currently working on called Written.

I can't do Written the justice of having created an introduction, it didn't really flow for the story and here is why:

While working out new programs for the library I work at with our Youth Services Librarian, we ended up coming back to an idea to do a Dungeons & Dragons game at the library for teens.  After looking at it very seriously for a while we ended up stumbling along into creating our own adventure.  At first it was just a simple story line, but the more we discussed it, and the more the kids played it, the more it grew.  It ended up turning into an all out epic.  They have nearly successfully played through the first book, which is to say that they are doing well enough given that I am a devious Dungeon Master.  When we last left off they were facing down over a hundred enemies in a battle that anyone who relishes Fantasy will remember fondly.  In any case, the story was created around these kids playing a game, and so they are present in the story to the best of my abilities to give them their respective voices.  I have chosen to make the story have 3 main characters, in hopes that it would be easier to write than dealing with all of the characters as being just as important, even though we all know that they are in a D&D game.  What follows now is as best an introduction I think I can manage for it, and early next week I will post "Chapter 1: The Setup."

Everyone knows that really excellent books tend to capture your imagination.  The book will figuratively suck you into its world and immerse you in its splendor and suspend your disbelief.  It is generally believed that you wouldn't know the title of your own story, or the story that you reside.  To know would require you to Travel to other worlds and see your book, which would no longer contain you.  There are those who are skilled at Finding the story of others, and gaining extra knowledge along the way.  And then there are those that Write their own story, carving their own path.  This story reflects those unsung heroes that must band together and live a story sung by few, and often overlooked.  This story is Written, so that you may read that story, and tell those that would otherwise never have known.