Tale of Ansaldo
By Jethro
I was inspired by the TaleWorlds Mount and Blade, most specifically Warband. Note that I do not own the franchise, nor the company and am not trying to infringe on any rights whatsoever.
I didn't want to go. It was dark, cold. Candlelight flickered dimly, revealing strange and erratic shadows. Monsters, moving towards you, and suddenly withdrawing. I've always been afraid, and I didn't want to leave the candle. The light, the warmth! Where are we going? What? Mum? Da? No, I don't want to…
I woke up with a start.
"What…?" I blinked blearily. Dark. Cold. The endless creaking, and chorus of snores. The ship. What time was it?
"Zounds", I cursed. Straining my body, I eventually fell off my hammock and landed on someone. Instantly, we both stumbled in a bundle of curses and swear words.
"Watch where yer going!" the man barked. His eyes were shot with red, but what should I care.
"Move, peasant!" I snarled and shoved him aside. He stumbled, tripped, and fell into another sleeping group. Instantly confusion and then eventual anger was wrought, and the man was dragged into a writhing mass of angry bodies. I smirked at that, then stopped once I felt a sharp pain go through my head.
"Cockatrice's basket." I hissed. That smarts! Putting a hand on my head, I immediately looked for fresh air. There were too many stinking bodies and too much noise. Stumbling up, I eventually staggered along the ship's deck, eventually finding myself leaning on the rails, and I was almost pitched off. I looked miserably off into the horizon. How did I land myself into this situation? For I, of the Medici House - I grimaced again. What a fucking headache. I narrowed my eyes, someone was whistling and my vision went red in an instant.
"Who the feck is whistling?" I shouted. The whistling died instantly, and I felt a sense of relief. The culprit coughed and stepped out of the shadows. A mere sailor. Viciously glaring at him, I continued to do so until he awkwardly looked away. I snorted."Peasant", I thought to myself. After thinking for a while, I looked at him again.
"You!" I said. The sailor started. Clearly he wasn't expecting anything else from me. Not that he deserves any attention from me, that pleb. "How far until Jelkala?" I asked.
The sailor gulped nervously. That man was haggard in appearance, having twitchy movements, and a crazed look. Normally, the sailor wouldn't even try to talk to that man, but that man took the initiative. Demanding orders, with the whispered but still heard mutters of "peasant". "I wouldn't even have wanted to talk to him", the sailor thought to himself, "but the sword at the man's waist…". Indeed, the man's left hand was clutched over his sword. "Maybe he's a little too twitchy" the sailor decided to himself. Better go and give him an answer and get on with it.
"Sire" the sailor began slowly… "We still have around 200 knots until we reach Jelkala." I glared at the sailor furiously.
"And that means?" I growled. The sailor gulped.
"Well uh….." The sailor began. The man menacingly took a step towards him.
"Spit it out!" the man barked. "Yup" The sailor agreed with himself, too twitchy.
"It means Sir, that we still have twenty-three days left until we reach Jelkala!" The sailor panicked. The man froze instantly.
"Twenty three days?" The man began quietly. The sailor began sweating. "Twenty three fecking days!" he roared. At that, the man brandished a wicked looking dagger.
The sailor immediately fled. "Come back here ye fecking bastard!" I yelled. Attempting to give a pursuit, the ship then suddenly released a loud groan. I stumbled on the deck, and nearly impaled myself. I laid there for a while, and then slowly peeled myself off, leaving a dirty mark on the wood. Giving it a look of distaste, I sighed and looked at myself. How did it come to this?
Well, there you have it folks. The protagonist sounds like an awful charming fellow right? This is my first attempt at writing a fanfic (or anything really), so I'd appreciate any reviews, good and bad! I would appreciate some thoughts on the character, and although I don't really have it a going yet, it'll set sail soon once he hits the ground, and he'll hit it running!
Later, for now!