Chapter 1: Shit happens
?'s P.O.V.
Life is unpredictable.
A straight-forward statement that everyone acknowledges some point in their life. Not to mention that the transitions between the events in one's life are just as unpredictable as well. You'd be having a great time one moment only to be shot in ass with a stray bullet the next.
…Not one of my finest moments.
The point I'm trying to make here is: You've got to be ready to roll with whatever bullshit life slings your way.
"You there! Stranger!"
Ah behold, a prime example: Here I am minding my own business in a local tavern, enjoying the serene peace and quiet, only for it to shatter to pieces at the sound of a very irritated individual.
I turned my head to see a tanned, somewhat burly man in his probable late 30's wearing garb consisting of various animal furs and a sword strapped to his side. On his face, aside from a couple scars, was smile, but it wasn't a kind smile no, it was a smug one with traces of malicious intent.
"It seems the bartender forgot to tell you whose chair yer sittin' in." he stated as he closed the distance between us slightly.
"I'm going to take a wild guess and say it's yours." I said before I downed the last of the booze I paid the barkeeper for before he left to take care of something in the back.
"That's right stranger, and I'm gonna give you ten seconds to get yer arse out here before I break you in half." he demand/threatened.
Of course, always some muscle head that has some petty obsession with small things like a fucking chair and gets riled up whenever someone else sits in it. Now, I have a few choices to choose from at the moment. I could:
A: let him have his chair and leave to find somewhere to sleep.
B: Slit his throat and strip him of any valuables to sell later.
C: Smash the chair across the side of his head and get the hell of dodge.
As tempting as option C was, I didn't feel like dealing with the hassle that would certainly arise afterword. So, I get up and proceed to exit the tavern, continue my journey eastward. Maybe I'll make a better impression there than I did back in Macarath. I left the rugged man alone in the tavern in search of a place to stay the night.
'Heh, thought he'd stand his ground. Weakling.' The man muttered to himself as he watched the stranger depart. His name was Grant, a humble businessman if you were to ask him, but others would tell you he's nothing but a ruthless mercenary who enjoys abusing the weak for a profit. He took a seat where the stranger was sitting and looked to the doorway to the backroom.
"Hey! Oswald! Can't a man get a drink around here anymore?" Grant barked. A bald-headed man in his early 50's appeared from the back and made his way to his unruly regular; unsurprised that Grant had scared off his previous customer.
He was a curious fellow, most of his patrons would usually be singing, starting fights with others, or in Grant's case: demand more booze and pay half the amount it cost if you didn't want to end up bloody and bruised. No, he paid upfront in full for a whole casket of Nestran ale and sat there quietly drinking without a care.
His clothes were odd as well: he wore a long-sleeved, light gray button-up shirt with a brown vest over it, black gloves and a red bandanna, and tan trousers with a knife strapped to his right thigh and brown boots. But the most peculiar thing was the strange bracer that hugged his left arm that flickered with lights. He appeared to be of nohrian descent with messy blond hair that covered his forehead, and light blue eyes. He had a lean, muscular build and three parallel scars were present on his right cheek.
Sadly, Oswald realized he needed to tend to Grant before the brute broke something.
"What would you have today, Grant?" He asked as he looked to the brute. "Gimme some of that Nestran ale, would ya?" Grant replied with a toothy grin only for it to disappear when he saw Oswald shake his head and sigh.
"I'm all out for the time being, Grant. That stranger you ran off ordered my last casket. When I'll get more; I don't know, given how my supplier was robbed recently. Could be days, months even before I'm able to get more." Oswald replied.
Grant wasn't happy. That ale was the best thing this ratty tavern had to offer, and now he won't be able to enjoy that for gods-know how long. His anger became directed at the stranger. He got up and stomped out the door eager to make the stranger wish he'd never been born. As Grant left the tavern, Oswald's head fell slightly as he let out a defeated sigh.
"Gods have mercy on that boy."
?'s P.O.V.
Thank god, an inn. Hopefully it be too much gold for one night, come morning I can finally return to my journey east. Unfortunately, before I can even make it to the door, I hear a familiar voice bellow behind me. "STOP RIGHT THERE, WORM!" I turned to see the rugged man storming over to me, fist clenched and anger smeared over his face.
"What now? Did your precious chair break and cause you to fall on your ass?" I asked sarcastically seeing how this was going to go. He sneered at me before responding with venom in his voice "No, but yer scrawny neck is once I'm done with you. For drinking the last of that Nestran ale I've been looking forward to."
…Was he serious? First, he threatens me over a bar stool, now he intends to kill me over some alcohol? I'd understand if I were to insult his kid, or spit on his dog. But over alcohol? Seriously? I sigh internally as I regret not taking option C, as it turns out no matter what I do, I can't seem to make peace with morons like him.
"Listen pal, it's just alcohol. Nothing worth killing someone over, now calm down befor-" I didn't get to finish as his fist connected directly to the left side of my jaw, knocking me to the ground instantly.
"You think you can tell me what I can and can't kill someone over?! I'M GRANT! THE TOUGHEST MAN THIS PATHETIC VILLAGE HAS EVER SEEN!" the man, now known to me as Grant declared in a furious manner. Well, I tried. If he won't listen to reason, then I'll make myself VERY clear to him in a language he understands. Licking the exposed blood from the corner of my lip I stand up and look him dead in the eye.
"Alright, come and get me, you son of a bitch!" I growled as he lunged forward.
3rd Person P.O.V.
The villagers that had gather around the two men were watching in morbid fascination as both men went to fighting. Grant was Strong, not to mention ruthless. Because of this, no one ever got in his way. Not just that, but he was friends with the captain of the guards that patrolled the village. Any crime he'd commit would be forgiven. Pity was felt for the stranger who had no idea who was up against.
However, just as Grant lunged forward to deliver another right hook, the stranger grabbed his hand and countered with a punch of his own directly to Grant's stomach, and a strong one at that. Grant fell his knees clutching his stomach with his left arm as the stranger still kept his grip on his right arm. Before he could recover though, Grant was greeted with a haymaker right between the eyes. The stranger released his grip on Grant's hand, allowing the brute to fall to the ground.
Grant rolled over, his back facing the sun. As he attempted to pick himself off the ground, he heard a sickening snap followed by immense pain causing him to howl in anguish. His right arm which he used to support himself as he tried to get back up was viciously kicked in by the stranger. As he cradled it with his good arm, the stranger had delivered another stomp to his chest; likely cracking a few ribs in the process. The stranger held his foot on Grant's chest as he slowly bent down low enough for Grant to hear him: "This didn't have to happen. But nooo, you just had to show me you were top dog around, here didn't you?" the stranger said as he stared down at Grant with discontent in his eyes. Grant raised his arm in defense as he begged the stranger:
"P-please, no more."
The stranger looked at Grant for a moment before responding "I usually would just leave you there to suffer, but past experiences have taught me that guys like you will just get in the way again, and I'm not going to deal with this shit a second time." Grant's eyes widened as the stranger raised his foot once again before slamming it down hard against Grant's throat, killing him instantly.
Everyone gasped at the sight, some shielded the eyes of children around to see the stranger kill Grant. The stranger stood above Grant's fresh corpse gasping slightly for air before looking around at the villagers and taking off faster than anyone they had ever seen before the guards arrived.
~Several hours later…
?'s P.O.V.
I don't know how far I got running as fast as I was, but I know one thing: It just about killed me when I stopped. I laid on the ground panting and wheezing, feeling like I was about to hurl my guts out at any moment. The last time I ran that fast was when I accidentally stumbled upon the legendary deathclaw: An alpha that looked almost as fucking tall as that dinky the dinosaur attraction in novac.
As soon as I could feel some sensation in my arms and legs again, I went over to a nearby spring to get some water, cause dehydration tends to happen to you when you run like the wind. Once I was finished, I decided to start a small fire and set up camp. I also made a few traps with some landmines around my camp just in case someone got the bright idea to kill me in my sleep.
As I laid my head against a small boulder, I thought about how I got to where I am.
How did Colt Briars; the famous courier six, end up in another world?
Flashback: two weeks ago.
It had been three months since I helped the NCR drive out Caesar's Legion. Although I had my doubts about them being able to effectively run Vegas they were; in the end: the only logical solution. House wasn't exactly favored by many of citizens of New Vegas, and people needed someone real, not an old picture of a man who was about two centuries old and hooked to life support so strong, it could bring the recently deceased back to life. We all got to die sometime.
Anyhoo~ After that, I decided I'd bid the Mojave farewell and begin travelling across America to see if there were any other major old-world cities that were still standing or being rebuilt. During a stay in a small settlement in the outskirts of Nevada, I heard about a nearby cave that was reported to have strange sounds and lights coming from inside. Nobody ever sat foot in the cave in fear of not knowing what would happened if they did, but I was always too curious for my own good.
So, I staked out the cave for a few nights till I was about to give up and chalk the rumor up as horseshit until it finally happened. The cave was alive. The marks on the cave walls began to glow brightly until it created what appeared to be a swirling blue portal. As I inspected the portal a little closer I heard an explosion from outside the cave and next thing I know the whole damn thing was about to cave in. Not wanting to die and with no other choice I jumped into the portal hoping to land somewhere.
I landed in lake…from thirty feet in the air. Needless to say, I was very wet, and in a LOT of pain.
Eventually after I got my bearings I realized a few things:
#1: I was definitely not in Nevada anymore.
#2: I was in a forest with trees just like the ones surrounding Jacobstown, which was weird given how I was nowhere near anyplace with healthy trees at the time.
#3: I realized I wasn't going to be able to pay that cranky, old hag the money I owed her for starting a fight in her bar. That made me feel a bit guilty as it was kind of my fault.
I probably spent a few hours running through the woods trying to find some civilization, and along the way I spotted wildlife like deer, boars, and hares which I wouldn't have put much thought into, but they were healthy, as in NON-MUTATED.
That threw up a red flag. Finding any member of any animal species that wasn't mutated was as rare as finding a G.E.C.K. in a second-hand store. The second red flag was the one with the damning evidence that was not in America or anywhere on earth. I finally wound up in a town called Macarath in a kingdom call Nohr. I kept asking people if this was America, and all I got in return were strange looks although that could also be attributed to the fact that I was wearing Ulysses' duster which I received from him after convincing him not to unleash a nuclear strike on Vegas.
I did manage to get my hands on a map that clearly didn't have any of earth's recognizable continents on it. From there, I began to learn more about this new world around me: There are two major kingdoms that are separated by a giant canyon.
There's the kingdom of Nohr (The kingdom I'm currently in) which is situated in the mountain regions. Unfortunately, the kingdom faces harsh conditions because this, such as crops being unable to grow properly due to the harsh elements. It apparently gets so bad at times that even the nobility of the kingdom has gone hungry. So far, the only way the kingdom can survive is to conquer as much land as they can.
Which brings me to the neighboring kingdom of Hoshido.
From what I've been able to gather; unlike Nohr, Hoshido is different from Nohr in almost every way. The land is fertile, and the environment serene. Making it a perfect target for conquest. However, the hoshidans are no push-overs. They're willing to fight and die tooth and nail for their homeland. Another thing interesting in all this is their cultures: Nohr's culture is reminiscent of European knights and Hoshido's that of feudal Japan's samurai.
Nohr is currently under the rule of King Garon who's seems to me is some unholy combination of Caesar's cunning and authority with Legate Lanius's ruthlessness.
Hoshido is ruled by Queen Mikoto who sadly lost her husband; the late king of Hoshido, Sumeragi.
After gaining some basic information about the world around me. I realize quickly that I needed money, or gold as gold coins and such were the currency in this world. Thankfully I had something that really came in handy for me.
An unmarked, solid gold bar.
It was one of the many gold bars I had managed to escape with during my treacherous journey through the Sierra Madre Casino. A grand reward given the absolute hell I went through just trying to survive while reluctantly helping that sadistic, asshole Elijah gain access to the vault underneath the casino. To this day, I have no regrets about locking the former brotherhood elder in the vault.
The gold bar netted me about 300 gold pieces. I was hoping for more, but I can work with this amount. At that moment I realized I needed something ever since I showed up to this world:
Hooch…Beer, whiskey, ale, didn't matter what they served around here, I didn't care. I wanted to get gassed then and there. So, I did.
Unfortunately, in my drunken state I was arrested for disturbing the peace by starting the biggest drunken brawl the town had ever seen. Not by the guards though. Some guy in regal black armor showed up and kicked my ass. Can't remember how on account of my hangover, but he did. Which is how I got arrested. Thankfully, I managed to break out, retrieve my gear, and sneak out to a supply wagon departing from Macarath. After I was discovered by the driver, and left on the side of the road. I wandered around near the border of Nohr until I stopped at the village that I just hightailed.
So yeah, that sums up how I got here more or less. Most people would probably have a panic attack in my situation and I wouldn't hold it against them.
But, if you want to stay alive; you got to keep a calm, level head on your shoulders.
…and roll with whatever bullshit life slings at you.
Hello there, I'm KillTheLou and this is my first story. I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter, and I hope you more experienced writers could give me some pointers to help refine my skills. I'd like to pair Colt with someone but I'm not sure who. Please give me you opinion in the comments.
Until next time, take care.