Raindrop14
Soldier for Christ!
Well about a month ago I told some of you in a blog post, that I would be writing a story based off of the LARPing that I, my little sister, our friend and our brother will be doing. It's not quite LARPing, but close to it. Scarlet Reddel is my friend, Olivia is my sister, Ieglass Dartanian (although spelling of the name may change since my brother isn't here, and I'm not quite sure how he wants it spelled) is my brother, and I am everyone else. I was chosen as the narrator, so I made up the story, although my little sister wanted it to be a little based off of a good TV show, Firefly. My brother, however, wanted an old time setting, so I comprimised. The prologue I made up and we did not play out, but the rest we did. As far as I know there will be no gruesome parts, save but one perhaps, and no vulgar. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the story. 
Prologue
Chapter one: Bonds
Chapter two: New Arrivals
More to come soon porbably, because we might get to LARPing often now.
Prologue
The afternoon sun had set on the town of Genera, where our little story begins. It’s not your ordinary story however; it is one of intrigue as well as some character connection on their endeavor, and laughs. But first I’d like to give you a little background on this planet. It is in fact Earth, but it is Earth eons before your days.
Let us start with some history on this beloved planet. Thirty years ago this town was bustling with people, people who would look out for each other, people who knew each other. It was still as small as it is today, but it was very quaint. Everyone was on good terms, and everyone was like a family to each other.
Of course this was all that peaceful until the war started. The “Loyalists”, as they were called about a year after the war started, decided they wanted to gain control over the population. There are some speculated reasons why they really started the war out of the blue, but no one has been able to prove anything but that.
It began in the operations room in Canada. You must understand that back then the whole world was at peace, so we are similar to being one nation. We also weren’t as primitive as you might think we would be back then.
It was midday and all the men of power came to the meeting.
“What is the meaning of calling an urgent meeting, at this hour? Why not say something in advance?” Cornel Adamace asked, sitting down in his chair around the large oval table. When no one answered he just left it alone.
The room was fairly large, with maps all about the walls, there was no kind of fancy or appealing décor to be seen, and the floors were made of a shiny black marble that reflected the screens showing battle plans. Everything in the room was either gray or black, and when someone wearing bright colors came in they seemed to shrink away in fear of the other colors surrounding them.
The Cornel was wearing his military uniform. He had decided to keep his U.S uniform, in honor if his ancestors’ country, and he had adorned badges of honor and war all over his vestments. Next to him was seated the gloomy typewriter Dr. Shnarks. He was always slumped down, and his height made him look even stranger with the slouching. He had his glasses pushed to the tip of his nose as he typed away recording all the conversation that was going on.
Adamace was always amazed at how Dr. Shnarks could hear everything and be able to type it all out on his parchment, but he left all that a mystery as he didn’t care to hear his whole life story. As the rest of the men came in they all settled down, and General Grains took the stage.
“Now gentlemen, I have called this meeting for a very important discussion. I have noted over the many years that the world has not been at peace, that there are still some people who do not have the same wish as we do for a better world. And I can only see one solution to solving this problem,” He began pacing with his hands behind his back. “We must eliminate all those who oppose this perfect paradise.”
He sounded like it was a simple thing, to wipe out at least a thirtieth of the population. Cornel Adamce was astounded at General Grains’s thoughts that people should just die for a paradise. But it was logical, if the rest of the world was going to live in peace.
“What say you gentlemen?”
“General Grains, this seems like a big leap you know,” Captain Seabear said. “To wipe out probably a thousandth of the population? That’s like plotting a mass murder.”
“Yes, it is very sad to have to kill people, but it is for the greater good! Think of it, the whole world will be at peace! It will be like heaven here!” The General waved his arms about with enthusiasm as he spoke.
“Yes but…”
“Well I think it’s a great plan,” Cornel Faringdale said, standing up.
“You see? Now there’s a man of vision,” General Grains said smirking. “Captain, if you cannot be willing to do what is right for all the people, you shouldn’t be on this board.”
“Well… What do you say Cornel Adamace?”
Everyone had their eyes on Cornel Adamace, he could even feel Dr. Shnarks looking at him. He stood up, straightened his collar, and cleared his throat. Of course he agreed with Captain Seabear, but if he spoke that thought aloud, who knows what they’d all say.
“Well, I believe in doing what is right for the greater good,” He began uncomfortably as he saw Captain Seabear’s saddened face. “But I also believe that this board is meant not only for doing things for the greater good, but we are here to keep balance in the world. If we start killing people, just because they don’t want paradise, that’s just like being a dictator.”
“Ah, you see? General Grains, this cannot happen.”
“But don’t you see? The world cannot be in balance if there are those who would ruin the perfect balance,” The General added emphasis on those words while half clenching his fists in front of him. “If we do not carry out this task, there can be no balance.”
Cornel Adamace thought on that, and he could tell everyone was looking at him again. He was the one who had started the board; he was the leader of the board, and so all of the final decisions were made by him in the end.
“General Grains, you can never reach perfect in a world like this, it cannot be done. There is no perfect but in Heaven.”
“Have you never heard of Heaven on Earth Cornel Adamace? We can make the entire Earth a Heaven! Just a few people Cornel, Not even a thousandth of the population will be gone!”
“I’m afraid that we cannot meddle in the matters of killing, General Grains. It is up to God whether they die or not, not to man,” Cornel Adamace gave him a stern look, as his anger level rose. Adamce swore that if Grains pushed it any more, he would blow his head off.
“I understand Cornel Adamace, and now I see the light,” He cleared his throat and straightened his tie. “If you will allow me, I’d like to take a new approach to this proposal.”
Cornel Adamace looked at him, and saw how shameful he looked. The General would have his way anyway, might as well let him talk. “Alright, go ahead.”
“Thank you Cornel,” He looked brighter, but kept his composure. “I propose we oppress those who oppose the ‘Heaven on Earth’. We do not have to kill them Cornel, we just have to teach them a lesson, tell them they must obey, for their own good of course.”
Cornel Adamce thought about it again, leaning back in his chair. Grains was just going to keep trying until he got what he wanted. That’s the way he’d been all his life though, he’d bugged Adamace forever until something went his way. So there was no option but to give in, lest he be there all day on this.
“I suppose you may post signs and such, but try not to hurt people Grains, I don’t want to start a rebellion war.”
“Thank you so much Cornel, when this is over, you will see that the results are worth every bit of it.”
General Grains left the stage and scurried off, and everyone else began to leave as well. As Cornel Adamace was gathering his papers he was tapped on the shoulder. He turned around to see Captain Seabear with a depressed look.
“Look John, I had to do it. Nothing would suffice, and he may have done it anyway without my consent, so I might as well keep it at the minimum harm,” Adamace said with a regretful look.
“I know Robert, it was for the best. Had he gone and done it on his own he would have killed hundreds, possibly thousands. You did the right thing.”
“Thank you John, it means a lot to know I’ve still got a friend.”
John gave Robert a smile, and left the room with the others. Cornel Adamace was last to leave, as he had to wait and shut down all the power. As he was leaving, he thought he heard a noise behind him. He turned and saw nothing but the darkness.
Adamace turned to leave, but suddenly he was grabbed from behind. He had barely enough time to decipher who was there. Before he could guess, cold steel slid across his neck and the blood poured forth. His body fell with a thud, and the puddle grew with every second. The shadow in the dark left the body there, and shut out the lights on their way out.
Let us start with some history on this beloved planet. Thirty years ago this town was bustling with people, people who would look out for each other, people who knew each other. It was still as small as it is today, but it was very quaint. Everyone was on good terms, and everyone was like a family to each other.
Of course this was all that peaceful until the war started. The “Loyalists”, as they were called about a year after the war started, decided they wanted to gain control over the population. There are some speculated reasons why they really started the war out of the blue, but no one has been able to prove anything but that.
It began in the operations room in Canada. You must understand that back then the whole world was at peace, so we are similar to being one nation. We also weren’t as primitive as you might think we would be back then.
It was midday and all the men of power came to the meeting.
“What is the meaning of calling an urgent meeting, at this hour? Why not say something in advance?” Cornel Adamace asked, sitting down in his chair around the large oval table. When no one answered he just left it alone.
The room was fairly large, with maps all about the walls, there was no kind of fancy or appealing décor to be seen, and the floors were made of a shiny black marble that reflected the screens showing battle plans. Everything in the room was either gray or black, and when someone wearing bright colors came in they seemed to shrink away in fear of the other colors surrounding them.
The Cornel was wearing his military uniform. He had decided to keep his U.S uniform, in honor if his ancestors’ country, and he had adorned badges of honor and war all over his vestments. Next to him was seated the gloomy typewriter Dr. Shnarks. He was always slumped down, and his height made him look even stranger with the slouching. He had his glasses pushed to the tip of his nose as he typed away recording all the conversation that was going on.
Adamace was always amazed at how Dr. Shnarks could hear everything and be able to type it all out on his parchment, but he left all that a mystery as he didn’t care to hear his whole life story. As the rest of the men came in they all settled down, and General Grains took the stage.
“Now gentlemen, I have called this meeting for a very important discussion. I have noted over the many years that the world has not been at peace, that there are still some people who do not have the same wish as we do for a better world. And I can only see one solution to solving this problem,” He began pacing with his hands behind his back. “We must eliminate all those who oppose this perfect paradise.”
He sounded like it was a simple thing, to wipe out at least a thirtieth of the population. Cornel Adamce was astounded at General Grains’s thoughts that people should just die for a paradise. But it was logical, if the rest of the world was going to live in peace.
“What say you gentlemen?”
“General Grains, this seems like a big leap you know,” Captain Seabear said. “To wipe out probably a thousandth of the population? That’s like plotting a mass murder.”
“Yes, it is very sad to have to kill people, but it is for the greater good! Think of it, the whole world will be at peace! It will be like heaven here!” The General waved his arms about with enthusiasm as he spoke.
“Yes but…”
“Well I think it’s a great plan,” Cornel Faringdale said, standing up.
“You see? Now there’s a man of vision,” General Grains said smirking. “Captain, if you cannot be willing to do what is right for all the people, you shouldn’t be on this board.”
“Well… What do you say Cornel Adamace?”
Everyone had their eyes on Cornel Adamace, he could even feel Dr. Shnarks looking at him. He stood up, straightened his collar, and cleared his throat. Of course he agreed with Captain Seabear, but if he spoke that thought aloud, who knows what they’d all say.
“Well, I believe in doing what is right for the greater good,” He began uncomfortably as he saw Captain Seabear’s saddened face. “But I also believe that this board is meant not only for doing things for the greater good, but we are here to keep balance in the world. If we start killing people, just because they don’t want paradise, that’s just like being a dictator.”
“Ah, you see? General Grains, this cannot happen.”
“But don’t you see? The world cannot be in balance if there are those who would ruin the perfect balance,” The General added emphasis on those words while half clenching his fists in front of him. “If we do not carry out this task, there can be no balance.”
Cornel Adamace thought on that, and he could tell everyone was looking at him again. He was the one who had started the board; he was the leader of the board, and so all of the final decisions were made by him in the end.
“General Grains, you can never reach perfect in a world like this, it cannot be done. There is no perfect but in Heaven.”
“Have you never heard of Heaven on Earth Cornel Adamace? We can make the entire Earth a Heaven! Just a few people Cornel, Not even a thousandth of the population will be gone!”
“I’m afraid that we cannot meddle in the matters of killing, General Grains. It is up to God whether they die or not, not to man,” Cornel Adamace gave him a stern look, as his anger level rose. Adamce swore that if Grains pushed it any more, he would blow his head off.
“I understand Cornel Adamace, and now I see the light,” He cleared his throat and straightened his tie. “If you will allow me, I’d like to take a new approach to this proposal.”
Cornel Adamace looked at him, and saw how shameful he looked. The General would have his way anyway, might as well let him talk. “Alright, go ahead.”
“Thank you Cornel,” He looked brighter, but kept his composure. “I propose we oppress those who oppose the ‘Heaven on Earth’. We do not have to kill them Cornel, we just have to teach them a lesson, tell them they must obey, for their own good of course.”
Cornel Adamce thought about it again, leaning back in his chair. Grains was just going to keep trying until he got what he wanted. That’s the way he’d been all his life though, he’d bugged Adamace forever until something went his way. So there was no option but to give in, lest he be there all day on this.
“I suppose you may post signs and such, but try not to hurt people Grains, I don’t want to start a rebellion war.”
“Thank you so much Cornel, when this is over, you will see that the results are worth every bit of it.”
General Grains left the stage and scurried off, and everyone else began to leave as well. As Cornel Adamace was gathering his papers he was tapped on the shoulder. He turned around to see Captain Seabear with a depressed look.
“Look John, I had to do it. Nothing would suffice, and he may have done it anyway without my consent, so I might as well keep it at the minimum harm,” Adamace said with a regretful look.
“I know Robert, it was for the best. Had he gone and done it on his own he would have killed hundreds, possibly thousands. You did the right thing.”
“Thank you John, it means a lot to know I’ve still got a friend.”
John gave Robert a smile, and left the room with the others. Cornel Adamace was last to leave, as he had to wait and shut down all the power. As he was leaving, he thought he heard a noise behind him. He turned and saw nothing but the darkness.
Adamace turned to leave, but suddenly he was grabbed from behind. He had barely enough time to decipher who was there. Before he could guess, cold steel slid across his neck and the blood poured forth. His body fell with a thud, and the puddle grew with every second. The shadow in the dark left the body there, and shut out the lights on their way out.
Chapter one: Bonds
“Excuse me sir, but are you looking for workers?” Scarlet Reddel asked the innkeeper, leaning on the table.
The inn was as small as they come, but that didn’t keep the people from coming. Scarlet was about five feet and six inches tall with a hood shadowing her facial features. She wore a traveler’s garb, but no weapon could be seen.
The innkeeper was a head taller than her, and you could tell he was from the Scottish area of the World by his accent. He wore what everybody else wore in this town, dirty pants, a wrinkly shirt and some boots. He had a vest too, which he’d taken with him from Ireland.
The inn had enough tables to hold all the people that came in here for drinks, and there was a stairwell above the innkeeper’s counter that lead upstairs to the rooms. The whole inn was dimly lit, but that didn’t bother anybody. There was also a common room for those who couldn’t afford a private room, off to the right of where the girl was standing.
“No, can’t say I am missy. But would ya like a meal?”
“Oh, no I’ll just take a room then,” Scarlet was disheartened, but kept her composure just the same.
“What’ll it be then? The common room or a personal room?”
“I’ll sleep in the common room,” She replied looking around at nothing in particular.
She handed him the money that was due. There was a certain currency in the old Earth; they didn’t use dollars, but gold, silver and copper.
When Scarlet received her change she walked away from the desk and sat down at one of the tables. She looked about herself, and saw people drinking, people talking, and people enjoying themselves. Then someone caught her eye. There was a girl of about fourteen who walked into the inn.
Scarlet looked at the girl as she walked to the counter. She didn’t seem to fit with the normal people of this town, but Scarlet had to be sure. She was mainly looking for people out of the ordinary so she would have someone to talk to whom she could relate with.
***
Olivia walked up to the counter and inquired about a room. She had short brown hair that went down to her shoulder blades, and dark brown eyes that were almost black. She too wore the usual garb of those who could afford no better as a traveler.
“Sure, we’ve got the common room and private rooms, which would ya like?”
“A private room,” Olivia said.
“Alrighty, that’ll be five gold pieces.”
Olivia handed him the money and the innkeeper slid her a key.
“You’ll have to share a room with someone by the way, there aren’t enough single rooms left,” The innkeeper said uncertain.
“Oh, well then I might as well stay in the common room. Here,” Olivia handed him the key and the innkeeper sadly returned four gold pieces.
Olivia left the innkeeper and went to the common room to set up her things. She stopped suddenly, as she realized she was being followed.
“Why are you following me?” Olivia asked, turning to face her stalker.
“Why, I was just going this way. I’m staying in the common room too you know,” A girl with a hooded face replied, startled.
Olivia had no proof that the girl was following her or not, so she just went on her way. She set up her bed, but surprisingly the girl set hers up next to hers.
“Find a different spot, I don’t want to be next to you,” Olivia rudely stated facing the girl.
“This is the only spot in the room,” Scarlet replied quite proud of herself.
Olivia looked about and saw that she was stating the truth. She grudgingly laid out the rest of her mat and lay down on top of it. Scarlet finished setting hers up and lay down as well.
“Since we’re here, might as well introduce ourselves,” The girl said cheerily.
“My name is Olivia, what’s yours?” Olivia replied, not turning over to face her.
“Scarlet,” The girl said smiling blissfully.
After a time of boredom Scarlet decided to prod Olivia for some more for conversation. Scarlet poked her and quickly turned when Olivia whirled around, about to hit her. When Olivia saw she sleeping she knew it was Scarlet who had done it, but she decided to let it go. She went back to trying to sleep, intending not to hold back if Scarlet did that again.
Scarlet realized she was taking the wrong approach and began again.
“So what are you doing in a place like this?”
Olivia didn’t answer. Scarlet got agitated and asked again, but with the same result. Angry, she pulled her blanket up and turned away from Olivia, closing her eyes for sleep. Olivia smiled at the thought of tricking her, and fell asleep soon after.
***
When Olivia awoke Scarlet was already awake. She was glad at the thought, and decided to go and eat her breakfast. She rolled up her mat and blanket, and shoved them into her backpack, which contained all her belongings. Olivia Asked the innkeeper for some bread and cheese, and as the innkeeper fixed it up she started to question him.
“So, have you heard any rumors of late?” Olivia asked the man.
“No, can’t say I have. I haven’t been here long, so I’ve got nothin’ to tell ya that I know.”
“Oh, well do you know of anyone who might know some rumors?”
Suddenly she saw Scarlet come up behind the innkeeper. The innkeeper seemed to take no notice of her, and just kept doing what he was doing.
“Well, ya can try the shop, Kathrine’s always got some stories for people,” The innkeeper said, laying out the cheese and bread.
“Okay,” Olivia said, confused at why the innkeeper didn’t tell Scarlet to go away.
Scarlet smiled at Olivia maliciously, and then moved in front of her so as to block her sight. Olivia bent side to side like a tree in the wind, but Scarlet kept getting in the way.
“Oy, you got a problem there?” The innkeeper asked, looking at her and scratching his head.
“No, not at all,” Olivia said, finally shoving Scarlet out of the way.
The innkeeper looked at her as if she were crazy, but let it be as it was. Suddenly Scarlet did something even more foolish. She went up to the innkeeper and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned in her direction, but looked as though he saw no one.
Then Olivia realized that this girl was invisible, or transparent to an extent. She sighed and went to a table, and Scarlet followed her. She sat down and ate her food without paying any mind to Scarlet.
***
“Wasn’t that fun?” Scarlet asked.
“Yeah, for you. You made me look like a crazy person or a mime over there.”
“Come on, live a little!”
“You can make your first impression in a town as a crazy mime, but I’d like people to talk to me.”
“People talk to mimes,” Scarlet said in a proving tone.
“You might, but not normal people.”
Scarlet took that as an insult, and crossed her arms in anger. This girl was really hard to please, and she wasn’t any fun. She decided she’d go look around town and possibly see what magic spell books they had at the little shop.
Scarlet stood up without a word to Olivia and left the building. The shop was right across the empty street. So far while she’d been here she hadn’t seen very many people except drinkers at the inn. Scarlet walked into the little shop and turned immediately to her right to face the counter.
“Hello, and what can I do for you?” The girl at the counter asked kindly.
The shop was quite small, smaller than she’d expected. But what would you expect from a town with hardly any people? The wall ended close to where she stood, about ten feet away. And there was a doorway behind the counter girl, which probably lead to the stock.
“I’d like to know if you have any, magic spell books,” Scarlet said, getting quieter after she saw Olivia come in.
“Hmm, magic spell books…” Kathrine said it loud enough for Olivia to hear, not intentionally of course.
Scarlet gave the counter girl a shocked look that meant to keep quiet, but Kathrine never paid attention to her. She went into the back room, and came out soon with a crateful of books.
“I don’t know what kind of books are in there, but you can look through it and if you find anything you like, just let me know,” Kathrine laid the box on the counter a little bit away from where she was working, and let Scarlet sort through it.
Olivia came up and Kathrine asked the same as she did for all her customers.
“Well actually I’d like to know what you know, about the town that is.”
“Oh, well can’t say there’s been much that happened. I mean, after the war this town was just ruins. A few nice people came and brought it back up to it’s former glory, if you can call it that, and now we act like a pit stop for passersby.”
“Oh, well do you know of any rumors around here?” Olivia asked, not really wanting a history of the town.
“Well, they do speak of this, well,” She lowered her voice so only the two were able to hear. “They talk of some guy who’s been living here for a long time, since before the war I think. And he’s some kind of magician. He’s all wacked out, and crazy as heck. If I were you I’d stay away form him.”
“Do you know where he lives?” Olivia asked, whispering as well.
“Well, you go out there, follow the street to your left, turn right at the end, and the first house to your left will be his. It’s got some dragon above the door, I think it’s supposed to be his house name.”
“Thanks a lot,” Olivia walked out of the store happy with some information.
Scarlet was sorting through the books and found a book with just squares in it, in place of where normal letter should be. And although she was a mage, second level though, she was unable to read it. She bought the book for two gold pieces and left the shop in a hurry.
***
Olivia happily followed the shopkeeper’s instructions, finally able to find some kind of thing to do with her time here. She shortly came upon the house with the dragon crest above the door, and got so excited she could hardly contain it. She calmed herself down though, so as not to make a fool of herself as Scarlet had made her seem earlier at the inn.
She knocked on the door, and awaited a reply from within. When the door opened she saw a man wearing the usual garb of the town, and from what she saw the inside was a mess. Although this man seemed very refine.
“Yes?” The man asked.
“Hey, can I come in?” Olivia asked.
“Do you know that master?”
“No, but I want to see him.”
“You cannot come in if you do not know the master.”
“But how am I supposed to know him if I can’t come in?” Olivia asked, desperately.
“You cannot come in unless you know the master,” The man repeated.
“Well, what’s his name then?”
“I am not permitted to speak without leave.”
“I give you leave then!” Olivia said, flailing her arms.
“I cannot be granted leave from someone under myself,” The man simply said in the same dull tone.
“Excuse me!”
“Good day.”
The man shut the door in Olivia’s face, and left her standing there. She started pacing in front of the old house, pondering what to do. The old man wouldn’t let her in unless she knew the master, but how was she supposed to know the master if she couldn’t come in! Maybe she just had to know his name.
Olivia followed the road back to Kathrine’s shop when she bumped into Scarlet. She was holding a book with some small squ
ares on the cover, and looked surprised.
“Excuse me,” Olivia said going around her.
***
Scarlet suddenly turned around to follow her. She was going to see where Olivia was going so she could possibly do the same as her, since there was nothing else to do in this town.
When Olivia went back into the shop Scarlet was a little hesitant. Then she muttered the word Tarpertraytum, and became transparent once more. She went into the shop where Olivia would be, and listened to what they were saying.
“I was just coming back to ask you a question about the magician guy,” Olivia said. “Do you happen to know his name?”
“Well, I don’t know his full name, but I know his last name is Dragonbane. Hence the Dragon above the house I guess.”
“Thanks.”
Olivia left the shop but noticed that Scarlet was behind her. She turned around, ready to hit her, but was reluctant because people were about.
“Why are you following me?”
“I actually figured that since I want to see the mage too, I’d go with you.”
“Fine,” Olivia grudgingly said, carrying on to the man’s house.
They both followed the road to get to the Dragonbane house, and stopped at the front door. Olivia knocked on the old wood and the same old man answered the door.
“His name is Dragonbane. I want to come in,” Olivia immediately said after the door opened.
“You cannot come in unless you know the master,” The old man repeated with the same tone as always.
“But his name is Dragonbane!”
“You are not permitted to enter unless you know the master.”
The old man shut the door and once again, Olivia was left hanging there with Scarlet. She turned to her with a confused and angry look.
“You see? He wont let anybody in!” Olivia fumed.
“I’ve got a plan. I’ll become transparent, you knock on the door and I’ll knock the old man out. Then we can bust in,” Scarlet said with a mischievous smile.
“Look, I don’t want to break into anybody’s house, okay?”
“This is our only chance! No one knows the old man’s name!” Scarlet exclaimed, waving her arms about.
“Fine, we’ll do it your way. But I’m not affiliated with you if we get caught.”
Olivia once again knocked on the door and the old man answered. Scarlet swiftly came over, still transparent, and reached for the old man’s neck. She fell backwards upon reaching the door, and rubbed her head.
“Yes?” The old man asked Olivia.
“Um, nothing.”
The old man shut the door and Olivia looked down at Scarlet. She stood up, rubbing her head from the pain.
“What happened?” Olivia asked annoyed.
“I don’t know there was some kind of force field in the way, I couldn’t get in.”
“Darn, now we need another way!”
As the two girls stood there arguing about how to get in, and whose fault it was, they didn’t see a young man of about eighteen come walking by. When he reached them however, he tapped their shoulders and smiled at them.
“You guys can’t get in there can you?” The man asked, smiling mischievously. “Well I know the way in.”
And as soon as the man said that he started to walk away. Olivia and Scarlet looked at each other, both with the same level of surprise, then looked at the man walking away. They ran after him, but before they were able to catch up he started running himself.
They followed him to the inn, but lost him in the crowd there. The crowds of drinkers grew and decreased at random times, and at this time there were quite a few. The boy dressed in medieval garb was nowhere to be seen, and they went up to the innkeeper at the counter.
“Have you seen someone wearing medieval clothes come in here?” Scarlet asked.
“He’s a friend of ours,” Olivia added quickly after.
The innkeeper looked at them suspiciously, then said, “Listen, if anybody came in here like that I wouldn’t like to tell ya. I’m still a trustworthy person in this town, and I don’t like to betray trust here.”
“But he’s our friend, what trust is there to betray?” Scarlet asked desperately.
“I’m sorry, I won’t be tellin’ ya nothing.”
“That’s fine,” Olivia said, pulling Scarlet away into the common room.
“But we need to find him, he knows the way in!”
“Shut up okay? People will hear you. Now, all we have to do is wait here for that guy to show up, and we can snag him.”
“Did he even come in here though? What if he got a private room?” Scarlet complained.
“Then we’ll see him leave the building either way. Look, just stay calm and we’ll wait here all night.”
“Alright.”
Scarlet gave in and slumped down onto the ground to watch for the guy. Olivia sat down beside her and they both waited until nightfall. When the sun set and the people decreased and increased there was still no sign of the man they’d seen earlier.
***
Olivia was beginning to doubt that the guy even came in here at all. She started to drift off to sleep, and her stomach growled as well. Scarlet next to her was already asleep, and she decided that it wouldn’t hurt to sleep for just a little while.
When she awoke it was morning and Scarlet was still asleep. She darted up and frantically looked around for the man they were searching for. But he wasn’t there. She shook Scarlet awake, and she opened here eyes a little reluctantly.
“Look, I need sleep too ya know,” Scarlet said to her.
“Get up! The guy’s gone!”
“What?” Scarlet leapt to her feet and looked around for the man they were searching for.
When she saw that it was just the usual people who slept in the common room she got disheartened and gave out a pout.
“Come on, let’s go get something to eat, maybe he’ll come back.”
The two of them went to the counter and got their cheese and bread and paid the innkeeper. They went over to one of the empty tables, which there were more of than usual, and sat down to eat. Scarlet was silent while eating, with a saddened look on her face. And Olivia was pondering what to do next.
Suddenly they heard the sound of horns. First there was one coming from the North East, then another from the South East, and so on. There were four in all, and it sounded somewhat like a warning to the town that something was approaching.
They both leapt to their feet, leaving the food behind, and rushed out the door to see what was going on. The rest of the town didn’t seem to mind the noise, as none of them were bothering with seeing what was going on. Olivia went up to one of the village people and inquired about the noise.
“It’s just to signal to people where the town is. It’s mighty easy to get lost on your way here so we sound the horns in case they need direction.”
Olivia and Scarlet ran up to a tree and climbed it. What they saw was a wagon approaching the town from the East. It was just the wagon, with a cow pulling it. They hurried down the tree and rushed to the East entrance where they could meet the wagon coming in.
Driving the wagon was an old man in the usual garb with a straw hat. They both ran up to meet him, and he had to stop his wagon, surprised by their appearance.
“Hello, what are ya looking for?” The old man atop the wagon asked.
“Um, we were just greeting you that’s all. So, come on in,” Olivia lamely covered up.
They really didn’t know why they came out, but that they were a bit curious as to what his wagon contained. They went around the wagon as the old man went along slowly, and moved the curtain aside.
Inside the wagon was nothing. Nothing at all but the floor and the roof and air. They looked at each other in confusion, and then went into the town and back to the inn. It was strange, that the old man would be bringing an empty wagon to town, but they decided they’d get some more food and ponder on it later.
The inn was as small as they come, but that didn’t keep the people from coming. Scarlet was about five feet and six inches tall with a hood shadowing her facial features. She wore a traveler’s garb, but no weapon could be seen.
The innkeeper was a head taller than her, and you could tell he was from the Scottish area of the World by his accent. He wore what everybody else wore in this town, dirty pants, a wrinkly shirt and some boots. He had a vest too, which he’d taken with him from Ireland.
The inn had enough tables to hold all the people that came in here for drinks, and there was a stairwell above the innkeeper’s counter that lead upstairs to the rooms. The whole inn was dimly lit, but that didn’t bother anybody. There was also a common room for those who couldn’t afford a private room, off to the right of where the girl was standing.
“No, can’t say I am missy. But would ya like a meal?”
“Oh, no I’ll just take a room then,” Scarlet was disheartened, but kept her composure just the same.
“What’ll it be then? The common room or a personal room?”
“I’ll sleep in the common room,” She replied looking around at nothing in particular.
She handed him the money that was due. There was a certain currency in the old Earth; they didn’t use dollars, but gold, silver and copper.
When Scarlet received her change she walked away from the desk and sat down at one of the tables. She looked about herself, and saw people drinking, people talking, and people enjoying themselves. Then someone caught her eye. There was a girl of about fourteen who walked into the inn.
Scarlet looked at the girl as she walked to the counter. She didn’t seem to fit with the normal people of this town, but Scarlet had to be sure. She was mainly looking for people out of the ordinary so she would have someone to talk to whom she could relate with.
***
Olivia walked up to the counter and inquired about a room. She had short brown hair that went down to her shoulder blades, and dark brown eyes that were almost black. She too wore the usual garb of those who could afford no better as a traveler.
“Sure, we’ve got the common room and private rooms, which would ya like?”
“A private room,” Olivia said.
“Alrighty, that’ll be five gold pieces.”
Olivia handed him the money and the innkeeper slid her a key.
“You’ll have to share a room with someone by the way, there aren’t enough single rooms left,” The innkeeper said uncertain.
“Oh, well then I might as well stay in the common room. Here,” Olivia handed him the key and the innkeeper sadly returned four gold pieces.
Olivia left the innkeeper and went to the common room to set up her things. She stopped suddenly, as she realized she was being followed.
“Why are you following me?” Olivia asked, turning to face her stalker.
“Why, I was just going this way. I’m staying in the common room too you know,” A girl with a hooded face replied, startled.
Olivia had no proof that the girl was following her or not, so she just went on her way. She set up her bed, but surprisingly the girl set hers up next to hers.
“Find a different spot, I don’t want to be next to you,” Olivia rudely stated facing the girl.
“This is the only spot in the room,” Scarlet replied quite proud of herself.
Olivia looked about and saw that she was stating the truth. She grudgingly laid out the rest of her mat and lay down on top of it. Scarlet finished setting hers up and lay down as well.
“Since we’re here, might as well introduce ourselves,” The girl said cheerily.
“My name is Olivia, what’s yours?” Olivia replied, not turning over to face her.
“Scarlet,” The girl said smiling blissfully.
After a time of boredom Scarlet decided to prod Olivia for some more for conversation. Scarlet poked her and quickly turned when Olivia whirled around, about to hit her. When Olivia saw she sleeping she knew it was Scarlet who had done it, but she decided to let it go. She went back to trying to sleep, intending not to hold back if Scarlet did that again.
Scarlet realized she was taking the wrong approach and began again.
“So what are you doing in a place like this?”
Olivia didn’t answer. Scarlet got agitated and asked again, but with the same result. Angry, she pulled her blanket up and turned away from Olivia, closing her eyes for sleep. Olivia smiled at the thought of tricking her, and fell asleep soon after.
***
When Olivia awoke Scarlet was already awake. She was glad at the thought, and decided to go and eat her breakfast. She rolled up her mat and blanket, and shoved them into her backpack, which contained all her belongings. Olivia Asked the innkeeper for some bread and cheese, and as the innkeeper fixed it up she started to question him.
“So, have you heard any rumors of late?” Olivia asked the man.
“No, can’t say I have. I haven’t been here long, so I’ve got nothin’ to tell ya that I know.”
“Oh, well do you know of anyone who might know some rumors?”
Suddenly she saw Scarlet come up behind the innkeeper. The innkeeper seemed to take no notice of her, and just kept doing what he was doing.
“Well, ya can try the shop, Kathrine’s always got some stories for people,” The innkeeper said, laying out the cheese and bread.
“Okay,” Olivia said, confused at why the innkeeper didn’t tell Scarlet to go away.
Scarlet smiled at Olivia maliciously, and then moved in front of her so as to block her sight. Olivia bent side to side like a tree in the wind, but Scarlet kept getting in the way.
“Oy, you got a problem there?” The innkeeper asked, looking at her and scratching his head.
“No, not at all,” Olivia said, finally shoving Scarlet out of the way.
The innkeeper looked at her as if she were crazy, but let it be as it was. Suddenly Scarlet did something even more foolish. She went up to the innkeeper and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned in her direction, but looked as though he saw no one.
Then Olivia realized that this girl was invisible, or transparent to an extent. She sighed and went to a table, and Scarlet followed her. She sat down and ate her food without paying any mind to Scarlet.
***
“Wasn’t that fun?” Scarlet asked.
“Yeah, for you. You made me look like a crazy person or a mime over there.”
“Come on, live a little!”
“You can make your first impression in a town as a crazy mime, but I’d like people to talk to me.”
“People talk to mimes,” Scarlet said in a proving tone.
“You might, but not normal people.”
Scarlet took that as an insult, and crossed her arms in anger. This girl was really hard to please, and she wasn’t any fun. She decided she’d go look around town and possibly see what magic spell books they had at the little shop.
Scarlet stood up without a word to Olivia and left the building. The shop was right across the empty street. So far while she’d been here she hadn’t seen very many people except drinkers at the inn. Scarlet walked into the little shop and turned immediately to her right to face the counter.
“Hello, and what can I do for you?” The girl at the counter asked kindly.
The shop was quite small, smaller than she’d expected. But what would you expect from a town with hardly any people? The wall ended close to where she stood, about ten feet away. And there was a doorway behind the counter girl, which probably lead to the stock.
“I’d like to know if you have any, magic spell books,” Scarlet said, getting quieter after she saw Olivia come in.
“Hmm, magic spell books…” Kathrine said it loud enough for Olivia to hear, not intentionally of course.
Scarlet gave the counter girl a shocked look that meant to keep quiet, but Kathrine never paid attention to her. She went into the back room, and came out soon with a crateful of books.
“I don’t know what kind of books are in there, but you can look through it and if you find anything you like, just let me know,” Kathrine laid the box on the counter a little bit away from where she was working, and let Scarlet sort through it.
Olivia came up and Kathrine asked the same as she did for all her customers.
“Well actually I’d like to know what you know, about the town that is.”
“Oh, well can’t say there’s been much that happened. I mean, after the war this town was just ruins. A few nice people came and brought it back up to it’s former glory, if you can call it that, and now we act like a pit stop for passersby.”
“Oh, well do you know of any rumors around here?” Olivia asked, not really wanting a history of the town.
“Well, they do speak of this, well,” She lowered her voice so only the two were able to hear. “They talk of some guy who’s been living here for a long time, since before the war I think. And he’s some kind of magician. He’s all wacked out, and crazy as heck. If I were you I’d stay away form him.”
“Do you know where he lives?” Olivia asked, whispering as well.
“Well, you go out there, follow the street to your left, turn right at the end, and the first house to your left will be his. It’s got some dragon above the door, I think it’s supposed to be his house name.”
“Thanks a lot,” Olivia walked out of the store happy with some information.
Scarlet was sorting through the books and found a book with just squares in it, in place of where normal letter should be. And although she was a mage, second level though, she was unable to read it. She bought the book for two gold pieces and left the shop in a hurry.
***
Olivia happily followed the shopkeeper’s instructions, finally able to find some kind of thing to do with her time here. She shortly came upon the house with the dragon crest above the door, and got so excited she could hardly contain it. She calmed herself down though, so as not to make a fool of herself as Scarlet had made her seem earlier at the inn.
She knocked on the door, and awaited a reply from within. When the door opened she saw a man wearing the usual garb of the town, and from what she saw the inside was a mess. Although this man seemed very refine.
“Yes?” The man asked.
“Hey, can I come in?” Olivia asked.
“Do you know that master?”
“No, but I want to see him.”
“You cannot come in if you do not know the master.”
“But how am I supposed to know him if I can’t come in?” Olivia asked, desperately.
“You cannot come in unless you know the master,” The man repeated.
“Well, what’s his name then?”
“I am not permitted to speak without leave.”
“I give you leave then!” Olivia said, flailing her arms.
“I cannot be granted leave from someone under myself,” The man simply said in the same dull tone.
“Excuse me!”
“Good day.”
The man shut the door in Olivia’s face, and left her standing there. She started pacing in front of the old house, pondering what to do. The old man wouldn’t let her in unless she knew the master, but how was she supposed to know the master if she couldn’t come in! Maybe she just had to know his name.
Olivia followed the road back to Kathrine’s shop when she bumped into Scarlet. She was holding a book with some small squ
ares on the cover, and looked surprised.
“Excuse me,” Olivia said going around her.
***
Scarlet suddenly turned around to follow her. She was going to see where Olivia was going so she could possibly do the same as her, since there was nothing else to do in this town.
When Olivia went back into the shop Scarlet was a little hesitant. Then she muttered the word Tarpertraytum, and became transparent once more. She went into the shop where Olivia would be, and listened to what they were saying.
“I was just coming back to ask you a question about the magician guy,” Olivia said. “Do you happen to know his name?”
“Well, I don’t know his full name, but I know his last name is Dragonbane. Hence the Dragon above the house I guess.”
“Thanks.”
Olivia left the shop but noticed that Scarlet was behind her. She turned around, ready to hit her, but was reluctant because people were about.
“Why are you following me?”
“I actually figured that since I want to see the mage too, I’d go with you.”
“Fine,” Olivia grudgingly said, carrying on to the man’s house.
They both followed the road to get to the Dragonbane house, and stopped at the front door. Olivia knocked on the old wood and the same old man answered the door.
“His name is Dragonbane. I want to come in,” Olivia immediately said after the door opened.
“You cannot come in unless you know the master,” The old man repeated with the same tone as always.
“But his name is Dragonbane!”
“You are not permitted to enter unless you know the master.”
The old man shut the door and once again, Olivia was left hanging there with Scarlet. She turned to her with a confused and angry look.
“You see? He wont let anybody in!” Olivia fumed.
“I’ve got a plan. I’ll become transparent, you knock on the door and I’ll knock the old man out. Then we can bust in,” Scarlet said with a mischievous smile.
“Look, I don’t want to break into anybody’s house, okay?”
“This is our only chance! No one knows the old man’s name!” Scarlet exclaimed, waving her arms about.
“Fine, we’ll do it your way. But I’m not affiliated with you if we get caught.”
Olivia once again knocked on the door and the old man answered. Scarlet swiftly came over, still transparent, and reached for the old man’s neck. She fell backwards upon reaching the door, and rubbed her head.
“Yes?” The old man asked Olivia.
“Um, nothing.”
The old man shut the door and Olivia looked down at Scarlet. She stood up, rubbing her head from the pain.
“What happened?” Olivia asked annoyed.
“I don’t know there was some kind of force field in the way, I couldn’t get in.”
“Darn, now we need another way!”
As the two girls stood there arguing about how to get in, and whose fault it was, they didn’t see a young man of about eighteen come walking by. When he reached them however, he tapped their shoulders and smiled at them.
“You guys can’t get in there can you?” The man asked, smiling mischievously. “Well I know the way in.”
And as soon as the man said that he started to walk away. Olivia and Scarlet looked at each other, both with the same level of surprise, then looked at the man walking away. They ran after him, but before they were able to catch up he started running himself.
They followed him to the inn, but lost him in the crowd there. The crowds of drinkers grew and decreased at random times, and at this time there were quite a few. The boy dressed in medieval garb was nowhere to be seen, and they went up to the innkeeper at the counter.
“Have you seen someone wearing medieval clothes come in here?” Scarlet asked.
“He’s a friend of ours,” Olivia added quickly after.
The innkeeper looked at them suspiciously, then said, “Listen, if anybody came in here like that I wouldn’t like to tell ya. I’m still a trustworthy person in this town, and I don’t like to betray trust here.”
“But he’s our friend, what trust is there to betray?” Scarlet asked desperately.
“I’m sorry, I won’t be tellin’ ya nothing.”
“That’s fine,” Olivia said, pulling Scarlet away into the common room.
“But we need to find him, he knows the way in!”
“Shut up okay? People will hear you. Now, all we have to do is wait here for that guy to show up, and we can snag him.”
“Did he even come in here though? What if he got a private room?” Scarlet complained.
“Then we’ll see him leave the building either way. Look, just stay calm and we’ll wait here all night.”
“Alright.”
Scarlet gave in and slumped down onto the ground to watch for the guy. Olivia sat down beside her and they both waited until nightfall. When the sun set and the people decreased and increased there was still no sign of the man they’d seen earlier.
***
Olivia was beginning to doubt that the guy even came in here at all. She started to drift off to sleep, and her stomach growled as well. Scarlet next to her was already asleep, and she decided that it wouldn’t hurt to sleep for just a little while.
When she awoke it was morning and Scarlet was still asleep. She darted up and frantically looked around for the man they were searching for. But he wasn’t there. She shook Scarlet awake, and she opened here eyes a little reluctantly.
“Look, I need sleep too ya know,” Scarlet said to her.
“Get up! The guy’s gone!”
“What?” Scarlet leapt to her feet and looked around for the man they were searching for.
When she saw that it was just the usual people who slept in the common room she got disheartened and gave out a pout.
“Come on, let’s go get something to eat, maybe he’ll come back.”
The two of them went to the counter and got their cheese and bread and paid the innkeeper. They went over to one of the empty tables, which there were more of than usual, and sat down to eat. Scarlet was silent while eating, with a saddened look on her face. And Olivia was pondering what to do next.
Suddenly they heard the sound of horns. First there was one coming from the North East, then another from the South East, and so on. There were four in all, and it sounded somewhat like a warning to the town that something was approaching.
They both leapt to their feet, leaving the food behind, and rushed out the door to see what was going on. The rest of the town didn’t seem to mind the noise, as none of them were bothering with seeing what was going on. Olivia went up to one of the village people and inquired about the noise.
“It’s just to signal to people where the town is. It’s mighty easy to get lost on your way here so we sound the horns in case they need direction.”
Olivia and Scarlet ran up to a tree and climbed it. What they saw was a wagon approaching the town from the East. It was just the wagon, with a cow pulling it. They hurried down the tree and rushed to the East entrance where they could meet the wagon coming in.
Driving the wagon was an old man in the usual garb with a straw hat. They both ran up to meet him, and he had to stop his wagon, surprised by their appearance.
“Hello, what are ya looking for?” The old man atop the wagon asked.
“Um, we were just greeting you that’s all. So, come on in,” Olivia lamely covered up.
They really didn’t know why they came out, but that they were a bit curious as to what his wagon contained. They went around the wagon as the old man went along slowly, and moved the curtain aside.
Inside the wagon was nothing. Nothing at all but the floor and the roof and air. They looked at each other in confusion, and then went into the town and back to the inn. It was strange, that the old man would be bringing an empty wagon to town, but they decided they’d get some more food and ponder on it later.
Chapter two: New Arrivals
Scarlet and Olivia were in the central area of the town when they were approached by a man in his forties.
“Excuse me, but may I inquire about your government affiliation?” He asked, in a low enough voice so that they were the only ones who could hear.
“What’s your affiliation?” Scarlet asked, obviously not trusting this guy.
“My stance on the previous war is not important,” the man said, avoiding the question.
“We were for the rebels,” Olivia bluntly stated, and proudly.
“Yeah.”
“I see… Look, there’s an old geezer who came into town with a wagon,” the man started. “He’s smuggling some rebels who want to help with the cause, the original cause that is. Were going to gather a group of skilled men and women to help infiltrate their ‘fortress’ and foil what plans they are currently hatching.”
“So what?” Scarlet said, a little unlike herself at the moment.
“If you want to help, meet him at the east entrance and climb into his empty wagon, he’ll be leaving for the capitol in two days at dawn.”
“Got it,” Olivia said, confirming they would do it.
The man left them, and disappeared into the inn of crowded drinkers. The two were left standing there, conversing over what they’d just encountered. Obviously they would want to help with the cause. Suddenly, while they were walking along the road, they saw the man in the medieval clothing from the previous day.
They both looked at each other with surprise, then returned their attention back to the man. He was walking along in their direction, whistling a catchy tune. They both ran up to him, without thinking, and blocked his way of going further.
“Can I help you?” He asked.
“Yes, we want to know how to get in there,” Olivia said, pointing to Dragonbane’s house.
“What? I don’t know how to get in there, and quite frankly I don’t want to.” He said, pushing Olivia’s hand off of him.
“But you told us you knew how to get in there!” Scarlet said, loosing her patience.
“Hey, I’ve never seen you two in my life.”
“Do you at least know his name?” Olivia asked.
“No, and I don’t care to.”
The man smiled at them, and headed off in the other direction. They followed him, and stopped him there.
“Look, leave me alone people!”
“Meet us here tomorrow at seven in the morning, got it? We want to talk,” Scarlet said, then left them there and went back to the inn.
“Ignore her, she had a bit much to drink,” Olivia explained.
“Yeah, I can tell.”
With that Olivia hurried to the inn to follow after Scarlet. She found her in the common room sleeping. Olivia paid for her stay, and took money from Scarlet to pay for hers. Then she went into the common room to set up her mat, and slept through the night to await the happenings of the morning.
When Olivia awoke, Scarlet was up and ready to go. She no longer looked as crazed as she was the night before, and Olivia supposed it had to do with her lack of sleep the previous day. They both got themselves something to eat, and headed out to the center of town to wait for the man who would meet them at seven.
A long while past before they decided that he wouldn’t show, and then suddenly they heard a noise of a door shutting. They turned in the direction of the sound to see the man coming out of the wizard’s house. Olivia and Scarlet both looked on in shock, and the man came over.
“You liar! You said you’d never been in there!” Olivia said, confronting him the moment he was near.
“I’m not lying, I’ve never been in there,” The man said, pulling out a sword from the holster on his back when they got closer.
“You are totally lying! We saw you come out of there just now!”
“I can assure you that you are mistaken. I did not do such a thing.”
“He’s lying,” Olivia said to Scarlet. “Alright then, we’ve still got questions for you though.”
“Fire away,” The man said, wearing a mischievous smile.
“What side did you fight on?” Scarlet asked, getting closer so as to possibly intimidate.
“I didn’t fight in the war, but I did support the Loyalists. What about you?”
“We’re asking the questions here!”
“No, let him ask, it’s fine,” Olivia said, pushing Scarlet back a few steps. “We fought for the Loyalists as well.”
“I’m Scarlet Reddel, pleasure to meet ya,” Scarlet said out of the blue.
“Er, hi.”
“I’m Olivia. So why did you support the Loyalists?”
“Well, they had the winning side, they have good views and the rebels looked as though they were too pathetic and wouldn’t win.”
Olivia’s face went hard, and she felt like punching him there; but she held her anger in, not wanting to attract attention or let him know her true stance with the war.
“Yeah, same here,” Scarlet spoke up, triumphantly.
“Excuse us, we need to talk for a moment,” Olivia said, taking Scarlet with her a few feet away.
“Look, we need to ask him a better question to prove that he has been in there.”
“We should ask him if he uses magic,” Scarlet suggested.
“Good idea,” Olivia and Scarlet came back and Olivia began keeping her voice low. “Do you use magic, by any chance?”
“Ha, no. I despise magic users.”
“Why?” They all turned to see a tall man standing near them. He looked to be a new traveler, by his appearance.
“Because they have an unnatural power, and that just doesn’t seem too fair to the rest of us who can’t use the power,” The man they had previously been talking to stated proudly to this newcomer.
“But they had to learn the art, same as you. It’s the same principal.”
“Yeah, but not everyone is born with it. For instance, I can’t go learn magic now, I was never born with the gift. And these two ladies here are the same.” He pointed to Olivia and Scarlet, unknowing that Scarlet was a mage.
The newcomer just gave a long stare at the man, and then began leaving.
“I’m Scarlet Reddel, nice to meet you,” Scarlet stated to the newcomer.
“I am Ieglass Dartanian,” he replied.
Scarlet and Ieglass went off talking, while Olivia and the man were left there to continue their previous conversation.
“Is that all you want of me?” The man asked, impatient.
“Yes, that’s all.”
Scarlet was busy filling Ieglass in about the war and such, apparently he’d never been here before. Olivia, disheartened at her interrogation, came over to them gloomily and waited until after Scarlet was done her rant. When she finished her speech, Olivia was ready to take off back to the inn on another hunt for the Dragonbane man’s name.
“So you are trying to find a man named Dragonbane?” Ieglass asked them.
“Yeah, you know him?” Scarlet asked in reply.
“I know of a Dragonbane, but these may not be the same people. You say he lives in that manor?” Olivia and Scarlet nodded, although the house could hardly be called a manor. “Then we shall go in there now.”
“Wait! You can’t just break in!” Olivia said, pulling Ieglass’s arm after he started walking to the house.
“Why not? If you need to get in there, and possibly me as well, we might as well break in.”
“I’m all for it!” Scarlet said in agreement.
Olivia just went with it, and the three of them reached the wall-like fence on the side of the house. It was the only way Ieglass saw inside, so he climbed up and over it. The other two followed suit, and they landed on the other side. Ieglass looked around, and noticed two windows, both on the second level of the building.
It was a pretty run down place actually, and looked a little less than habitable. But since they knew someone lived here, they didn’t stop in their endeavor. Ieglass easily climbed a tree that was planted near the window, and broke the glass that blocked their way in. He climbed inside, with the girls following, and he was in a hallway. A very short hallway at that, for it reached on either end from where he stood, about ten feet.
Ieglass turned to the right and at the end of the hall to the right, was a doorway. He entered the room, and saw nothing but, surprisingly, empty boxes. They were all puzzled at that, but left the room to the other end of the hall, where they were met by a door. That door, when opened, lead down a set of stairs leading right. Ieglass lead the way down, and it abruptly turned, after about ten feet, in a U and went on level ground.
They followed this hallway to another that went left, and at the end of that one was the main entrance that lead to the town. This time there were two doorways, the one closest to them on the right side of the hall, was a kitchen, but too messy to really tell what it truly was.
The doorway nearest the main entrance on the right side, lead into a study room. It had books and bottles, papers and ink, all over the place. When Ieglass shrugged, he lead the way back up the stairs; Scarlet however, stayed behind in the room a little longer to read the books.
They were all unreadable for her level of magic, but she took a few and put them in her satchel. She hurriedly followed the others up the stairs, and Ieglass was heading back into the attic room.
“It’s strange how there are no bedrooms here,” Ieglass said, entering the attic.
Upon entering Olivia saw Ieglass knocked down by something on the side. She stood where she was, in the doorway, and Scarlet tried moving past her. Ieglass quickly regained himself, and they all saw that it was the man they’d questioned earlier, who attacked him. He was holding his sword out, and he looked ready to attack once more.
Olivia pulled out her own sword, and entered the room, but stood frozen. Scarlet was able to move into the room, and thus she did, watching the fight between Ieglass and the man. Ieglass had grabbed onto the man, but something unexpected happened. The man seemed to use a sort of power on Ieglass, a very strong electrical surge that made Ieglass fall back.
Quickly the man conjured a force field, and grabbed Olivia’s arm as hostage. Her sword fell from her hand from pure fright, and Ieglass and Scarlet were left helpless.
“Trespassers,” The man said menacingly.
“Yeah, but you lied. Anti-magic user,” Olivia said, accusingly.
“Leave now, or suffer.”
“No, I came to see a friend. Is there a Moralez here?” Ieglass asked, ready to defend from any attacks.
“Why should I tell you? If he’s your friend you should know.”
“I haven’t seen him in a long time, I do not know where he is now.”
“Yeah, well much of a friend you are, breaking into someone’s house just to find him,” The man said, tightening his grip on Olivia’s arm.
“What’s your name?” Scarlet asked, failing at intimidation.
“I’m not telling, it’s none of your business. Now first of all, give me back my books. Second, leave.”
“No, we’re not leaving until we find out who lives here,” Ieglass said stubbornly.
“I can turn your blood to stone, and you could all just stay here for eternity if you like,” The man said, raising Olivia’s hand to remind them he had her as captive.
“I don’t believe that,” Ieglass said, figuring it was a bluff.
The man simply smiled maliciously, and suddenly Olivia’s skin grew hard and gray. She was now a stone statue of herself.
“Why did you do that?!” Scarlet shouted at him.
“I warned you,” The man said, giving a little laugh to his reply.
“Turn her back!”
“No.”
Ieglass’s face grew hard, and he looked at the man with hatred. Tears began to weld up in Scarlet’s eyes as she looked upon her only friend with sorrow. She threw the books she’d stolen, and they bounced off of the field the man had created. Ieglass just stood there, as if the stone spell shouldn’t have worked, as if the man shouldn’t even be able to use magic.
“We’re not leaving until I find Moralez,” Ieglass said again.
“Have it your way,” The man said, pushing the statue of their friend over.
“Excuse me, but may I inquire about your government affiliation?” He asked, in a low enough voice so that they were the only ones who could hear.
“What’s your affiliation?” Scarlet asked, obviously not trusting this guy.
“My stance on the previous war is not important,” the man said, avoiding the question.
“We were for the rebels,” Olivia bluntly stated, and proudly.
“Yeah.”
“I see… Look, there’s an old geezer who came into town with a wagon,” the man started. “He’s smuggling some rebels who want to help with the cause, the original cause that is. Were going to gather a group of skilled men and women to help infiltrate their ‘fortress’ and foil what plans they are currently hatching.”
“So what?” Scarlet said, a little unlike herself at the moment.
“If you want to help, meet him at the east entrance and climb into his empty wagon, he’ll be leaving for the capitol in two days at dawn.”
“Got it,” Olivia said, confirming they would do it.
The man left them, and disappeared into the inn of crowded drinkers. The two were left standing there, conversing over what they’d just encountered. Obviously they would want to help with the cause. Suddenly, while they were walking along the road, they saw the man in the medieval clothing from the previous day.
They both looked at each other with surprise, then returned their attention back to the man. He was walking along in their direction, whistling a catchy tune. They both ran up to him, without thinking, and blocked his way of going further.
“Can I help you?” He asked.
“Yes, we want to know how to get in there,” Olivia said, pointing to Dragonbane’s house.
“What? I don’t know how to get in there, and quite frankly I don’t want to.” He said, pushing Olivia’s hand off of him.
“But you told us you knew how to get in there!” Scarlet said, loosing her patience.
“Hey, I’ve never seen you two in my life.”
“Do you at least know his name?” Olivia asked.
“No, and I don’t care to.”
The man smiled at them, and headed off in the other direction. They followed him, and stopped him there.
“Look, leave me alone people!”
“Meet us here tomorrow at seven in the morning, got it? We want to talk,” Scarlet said, then left them there and went back to the inn.
“Ignore her, she had a bit much to drink,” Olivia explained.
“Yeah, I can tell.”
With that Olivia hurried to the inn to follow after Scarlet. She found her in the common room sleeping. Olivia paid for her stay, and took money from Scarlet to pay for hers. Then she went into the common room to set up her mat, and slept through the night to await the happenings of the morning.
When Olivia awoke, Scarlet was up and ready to go. She no longer looked as crazed as she was the night before, and Olivia supposed it had to do with her lack of sleep the previous day. They both got themselves something to eat, and headed out to the center of town to wait for the man who would meet them at seven.
A long while past before they decided that he wouldn’t show, and then suddenly they heard a noise of a door shutting. They turned in the direction of the sound to see the man coming out of the wizard’s house. Olivia and Scarlet both looked on in shock, and the man came over.
“You liar! You said you’d never been in there!” Olivia said, confronting him the moment he was near.
“I’m not lying, I’ve never been in there,” The man said, pulling out a sword from the holster on his back when they got closer.
“You are totally lying! We saw you come out of there just now!”
“I can assure you that you are mistaken. I did not do such a thing.”
“He’s lying,” Olivia said to Scarlet. “Alright then, we’ve still got questions for you though.”
“Fire away,” The man said, wearing a mischievous smile.
“What side did you fight on?” Scarlet asked, getting closer so as to possibly intimidate.
“I didn’t fight in the war, but I did support the Loyalists. What about you?”
“We’re asking the questions here!”
“No, let him ask, it’s fine,” Olivia said, pushing Scarlet back a few steps. “We fought for the Loyalists as well.”
“I’m Scarlet Reddel, pleasure to meet ya,” Scarlet said out of the blue.
“Er, hi.”
“I’m Olivia. So why did you support the Loyalists?”
“Well, they had the winning side, they have good views and the rebels looked as though they were too pathetic and wouldn’t win.”
Olivia’s face went hard, and she felt like punching him there; but she held her anger in, not wanting to attract attention or let him know her true stance with the war.
“Yeah, same here,” Scarlet spoke up, triumphantly.
“Excuse us, we need to talk for a moment,” Olivia said, taking Scarlet with her a few feet away.
“Look, we need to ask him a better question to prove that he has been in there.”
“We should ask him if he uses magic,” Scarlet suggested.
“Good idea,” Olivia and Scarlet came back and Olivia began keeping her voice low. “Do you use magic, by any chance?”
“Ha, no. I despise magic users.”
“Why?” They all turned to see a tall man standing near them. He looked to be a new traveler, by his appearance.
“Because they have an unnatural power, and that just doesn’t seem too fair to the rest of us who can’t use the power,” The man they had previously been talking to stated proudly to this newcomer.
“But they had to learn the art, same as you. It’s the same principal.”
“Yeah, but not everyone is born with it. For instance, I can’t go learn magic now, I was never born with the gift. And these two ladies here are the same.” He pointed to Olivia and Scarlet, unknowing that Scarlet was a mage.
The newcomer just gave a long stare at the man, and then began leaving.
“I’m Scarlet Reddel, nice to meet you,” Scarlet stated to the newcomer.
“I am Ieglass Dartanian,” he replied.
Scarlet and Ieglass went off talking, while Olivia and the man were left there to continue their previous conversation.
“Is that all you want of me?” The man asked, impatient.
“Yes, that’s all.”
Scarlet was busy filling Ieglass in about the war and such, apparently he’d never been here before. Olivia, disheartened at her interrogation, came over to them gloomily and waited until after Scarlet was done her rant. When she finished her speech, Olivia was ready to take off back to the inn on another hunt for the Dragonbane man’s name.
“So you are trying to find a man named Dragonbane?” Ieglass asked them.
“Yeah, you know him?” Scarlet asked in reply.
“I know of a Dragonbane, but these may not be the same people. You say he lives in that manor?” Olivia and Scarlet nodded, although the house could hardly be called a manor. “Then we shall go in there now.”
“Wait! You can’t just break in!” Olivia said, pulling Ieglass’s arm after he started walking to the house.
“Why not? If you need to get in there, and possibly me as well, we might as well break in.”
“I’m all for it!” Scarlet said in agreement.
Olivia just went with it, and the three of them reached the wall-like fence on the side of the house. It was the only way Ieglass saw inside, so he climbed up and over it. The other two followed suit, and they landed on the other side. Ieglass looked around, and noticed two windows, both on the second level of the building.
It was a pretty run down place actually, and looked a little less than habitable. But since they knew someone lived here, they didn’t stop in their endeavor. Ieglass easily climbed a tree that was planted near the window, and broke the glass that blocked their way in. He climbed inside, with the girls following, and he was in a hallway. A very short hallway at that, for it reached on either end from where he stood, about ten feet.
Ieglass turned to the right and at the end of the hall to the right, was a doorway. He entered the room, and saw nothing but, surprisingly, empty boxes. They were all puzzled at that, but left the room to the other end of the hall, where they were met by a door. That door, when opened, lead down a set of stairs leading right. Ieglass lead the way down, and it abruptly turned, after about ten feet, in a U and went on level ground.
They followed this hallway to another that went left, and at the end of that one was the main entrance that lead to the town. This time there were two doorways, the one closest to them on the right side of the hall, was a kitchen, but too messy to really tell what it truly was.
The doorway nearest the main entrance on the right side, lead into a study room. It had books and bottles, papers and ink, all over the place. When Ieglass shrugged, he lead the way back up the stairs; Scarlet however, stayed behind in the room a little longer to read the books.
They were all unreadable for her level of magic, but she took a few and put them in her satchel. She hurriedly followed the others up the stairs, and Ieglass was heading back into the attic room.
“It’s strange how there are no bedrooms here,” Ieglass said, entering the attic.
Upon entering Olivia saw Ieglass knocked down by something on the side. She stood where she was, in the doorway, and Scarlet tried moving past her. Ieglass quickly regained himself, and they all saw that it was the man they’d questioned earlier, who attacked him. He was holding his sword out, and he looked ready to attack once more.
Olivia pulled out her own sword, and entered the room, but stood frozen. Scarlet was able to move into the room, and thus she did, watching the fight between Ieglass and the man. Ieglass had grabbed onto the man, but something unexpected happened. The man seemed to use a sort of power on Ieglass, a very strong electrical surge that made Ieglass fall back.
Quickly the man conjured a force field, and grabbed Olivia’s arm as hostage. Her sword fell from her hand from pure fright, and Ieglass and Scarlet were left helpless.
“Trespassers,” The man said menacingly.
“Yeah, but you lied. Anti-magic user,” Olivia said, accusingly.
“Leave now, or suffer.”
“No, I came to see a friend. Is there a Moralez here?” Ieglass asked, ready to defend from any attacks.
“Why should I tell you? If he’s your friend you should know.”
“I haven’t seen him in a long time, I do not know where he is now.”
“Yeah, well much of a friend you are, breaking into someone’s house just to find him,” The man said, tightening his grip on Olivia’s arm.
“What’s your name?” Scarlet asked, failing at intimidation.
“I’m not telling, it’s none of your business. Now first of all, give me back my books. Second, leave.”
“No, we’re not leaving until we find out who lives here,” Ieglass said stubbornly.
“I can turn your blood to stone, and you could all just stay here for eternity if you like,” The man said, raising Olivia’s hand to remind them he had her as captive.
“I don’t believe that,” Ieglass said, figuring it was a bluff.
The man simply smiled maliciously, and suddenly Olivia’s skin grew hard and gray. She was now a stone statue of herself.
“Why did you do that?!” Scarlet shouted at him.
“I warned you,” The man said, giving a little laugh to his reply.
“Turn her back!”
“No.”
Ieglass’s face grew hard, and he looked at the man with hatred. Tears began to weld up in Scarlet’s eyes as she looked upon her only friend with sorrow. She threw the books she’d stolen, and they bounced off of the field the man had created. Ieglass just stood there, as if the stone spell shouldn’t have worked, as if the man shouldn’t even be able to use magic.
“We’re not leaving until I find Moralez,” Ieglass said again.
“Have it your way,” The man said, pushing the statue of their friend over.
More to come soon porbably, because we might get to LARPing often now.
Poor Olivia, turned to stone before her friends. What is gonna happen next, that is what I want to know. Will she be turned back to her original state, or will the stone break in pieces? I'll be keeping an eye out for any updates. ~Atsie