Fable: Tales of a Far-East by Knead-Boric, Chapter 1: Merchant from a Far Land
"Past the deadly and desolate mountains east-ways of Darkwood, far beyond any known lands traveled by Men of Albion lays a city, one known as Highhelm. Untouched by the havoc brought forth by the Court of old and unscathed from the fall of the Old Kingdom, Highhelm has remained in the minds of men through the fables and stories of the Cities of the Far-East. A city of legend and myth, only thought of as such, Highhelm still remains unknown to the common man to this day, Hero." -the Snowspire Oracle
Five whole years it's been since Jack of Blades' second downfall at the hands of our Hero. Five whole years of peace it's been in Albion. And five whole years of complete boredom, deprived from any adventure or quests have passed for the Hero.
Our Hero walked into the Bowerstone South tavern, like he has done for the past five years. Here he drank himself to the memories of adventures long pasted; his first real battle at the Picnic Area; his duel with King of Bandits; his triumphs in the Arena of Witchwood; the marriage he shared with Lady Grey; the escape from Bargate; and most importantly, the battle at Archon's Folly. The townsfolk had once cared to revel in their Hero's presence, but that time has long passed. Nowadays they only sing songs and recount tales of the Chicken Chaser's deeds, completely oblivious to his very presence at the tavern counter, so much that they were used to it.
In walked two traders, a common sight in Bowerstone, but these traders were different from the ones that traveled from Oakvale. No, these traders sported coats and knapsacks of smooth fur that look like it had once been waterlogged on their backs, and they wore large metal bowled caps with strange runes on them. They carried scimitars on their person, much like the ones used by the Bandits of Twinblade's Camp. The townsfolk and the Hero wasted no time in noticing this uncommon sight and stared perplexedly at the strange men. The strange men proceeded to sit down at a table in the corner and kept to their business.
After several hours had passed, a large crowd of the local denizens had formed up around the mysterious men. The Traders had emptied the contents of their knapsacks onto the table. Foreign exotic goods laid on display; vials containing an unknown florescent brown liquid; a pair of small Obsidian Pickhammers with lanyards of knotted wool on the pommels; mummified Wood Nymphs sported to be worn as charm necklaces, and many more. Soon, one of the men stood up on a table and announced:
"Ladies and gentlemen! We have traveled the lands of the Cities of the Far-East, accumulating wondrous and mysterious objects! Which we now offer to you for a modest price! Behold, a magical potion, 'Essence of Hideskin, with it you'll have skin as impenetrable as the walls of this fair city, only for 200 gold per bottle!" the merchant shouted. "And here we have..."
The crowd didn't waste much time to swarm the merchants and hand out their hard-earned gold, they hadn't even let him finish his rousing speech. Not too long after, their goods were sold out, their pockets lined with gold. As the men were preparing to leave, the Hero left his seat, and drunkenly strutted towards them.
"Woah there giant," said one of the traders, the one who did all of the talking, "you must be interested in where we came from. I can tell because you're staring down me and madly flailing your hand like a manic... Aye, we came from the Cities from the Far-East, well, at least one of 'em, Highhelm they call it, but me and me brother 'ere actually came from Oakvale if you were wondering."
'Highhelm'... the Hero remembered that name, it was one of the countless tales that Oracle had told him. Hero stared blankly at the trader, reminiscing the Oracle's story.
"Oh, so you're from Oakvale too, are ye? Well it's nice to see a fellow villageois, we passed by Oakvale on our way here ya know. Really has bounced back since the bandit attack. Glad me n' Burton left before it happened, we'd be feeding the Beetles otherwise.". The merchant eyed the Hero.
"Say, you don't happen to THE Hero of Oakvale are ye? Colossal man, fresh out of the Guild, looks like he's a withered old man of a hundred years despite being in his twenties."
"Yes!" the Hero exclaimed while pumping his fist.
"Well that's great! We need someone just like you for our journey back to Highhelm! Anywho, we've left a Quest Card at the Guild for some Hero to pick up. Hope to see you soon then. Goodbye.".
The merchants finished up packing and left out the city gate. The Hero stared at their departure as the gates closed behind them. He knew that a new adventure was waiting for him.
To be continued...
Author's note: This is my first ever fan-fiction, comments and criticisms are welcomed. I don't plan on updating the chapters or making new ones regularly, this was just a way for me to kill time. Hope you enjoyed.