"Whew."
I never expected to travel so far in all my life. I walked for days through the hot, sandy deserts I was used to, to end up in a field, with grass and water, and animals and monsters I had never heard of or seen before. It was a long trip, and a hard one… I ran out of water near the end of it, but luckily I had stumbled upon a man who gladly lent me some of his, just to get me this far… To a place they called Prontera Fields. I was there on a whim, you could say. I had nowhere else to go, so I figured it would have been a good idea… But first, I should tell you what I was like at that time.
My name is Linkin. It's not my real name. I know this because that's my full name, just "Linkin." I never really thought about why I just had one name, and I was happy that way. I was seventeen years old by the time I left my hometown of Morroc and wandered into the grassy lands of Prontera. I had blue hair that I tried my best to keep neat, and it wasn't too long coming to just around the bottom of my nape in the back, and my bangs weren't even long enough to reach my eyes – which were green by the way. I had slightly tanned skin from living in the desert so long. Everyone there had tan skin because of the hot sun. I had left my hometown because… Well there was nothing left for me, and I wanted to see the world. I had become part of the Thieves' Guild after some particular circumstances, and that profession was what brought me to where I was.
I remembered well how becoming a Thief was difficult. The Guild HQ was almost impossible to find, and it took my several days to find it. Luckily, it only took me one day to fulfill their tasks, to prove that I could become a Thief. There were Guilds for all kinds of different jobs and professions, and each one tested you on your skills in that field by telling you to do one thing or another, and bring back proof of your accomplishment. Sometimes these guilds would send you all over Rune-Midgarts, but thankfully they had only sent me into town, to steal some things from a nobleman – in broad daylight. But despite being wracked with worry and cold sweat, I managed to take a few pieces of valuable pottery and return to the Guild, which was situated an hour's walk north-east of the town. I barely passed with a return like that, all worn out, sunburnt, and with a few "useless pots," but they welcomed me into the Thieves' Guild anyways. It was then that they told me to keep an eye out for a kid about my age. Apparently this kid was really something special, and people would pay good money to know where he was.
That was why I was in the Prontera Region. I wanted to see if I could find this kid. But at the same time, I wanted some adventure! I wanted to get out and see all that I could, and the Prontera Region was a big step. Morroc was located in a place called the Sogart Desert. It was always hot there, it hardly ever rained, and there was no grass. There was nothing but sand and sun, and the occasional tree or oasis. In the Prontera Region though, the ground was covered in grass, and different kinds of trees I had never seen before. The trees were shaped like cones, and covered in small needles. Rune-Midgarts, the continent in which all these places lay, was a large area. It was very diverse, from what I had heard, containing grassy plains, sandy deserts, and all the plateaus in between. I knew I had a lot to see, but I was young and I had a good feeling that I would be seeing most of it in due time.
I had stopped to take a rest beneath one of these trees, and ask directions to the nearest city. A friendly Merchant stopped to help me. I learned there were two cities near the region I was in. There was one city called Prontera, and the other was called Izlude. I knew that Prontera was the Capital City of Rune-Midgarts, home of King Tristin III and the Knights and Crusaders of Rune-Midgarts, so naturally I wanted to see it first. It was under an hour north of where I was at the time, so I quickly made haste to make it into the city before the sun went down.
Walking through the grassy area, I looked at everything I could. Everything seemed so different! Even the animals were different… Where as the Desert had dangerous monsters, like Desert Wolves and ants the size of a baby Desert Wolf, the Prontera Fields had big insects about the size of my fist that flew with wings, and even bigger ones that crawled along the ground at slow speeds. It also had white-furred animals, with long ears… My boots at the time were lined with the same fur they had, along the soles, to make my movement silent. I distracted myself, following the animals around the fields… I got down on the ground next to one of the large, green bugs that crawled along the ground, and slid next to it on my stomach. The brown sweater I was wearing beneath my tan coloured jacket got a little stained, but I wasn't afraid to get dirty. I would have washed it out eventually. The bug looked at me, and counting, it had about six eyes. I gazed curiously at it, while its gaze seemed a little frightened. It turned and attempted to crawl away, but I crawled right after it, at the same speed, just to bug it. The knees of my dark brown pants probably got a little dirty… My pants were a little baggy, and didn't even cover all of my legs. I had to where long socks to protect my shins.
Soon the bug slowly crawled up the side of a tree. I stood up and watched it climb. Nothing in the Desert could do that. It soon disappeared into the branches above, and I turned to head once more towards the Capital City, Prontera. Though in doing this, I bumped into someone, and lost my balance, falling back against the tree. I kept on my feet though, barely, almost having them slide out from beneath me. I looked up quickly; to see that the person I had bumped into hadn't been knocked over… In fact, he looked pretty big. I was a thin person by nature, but this guy seemed to be very fit, judging by the size of him. Standing up, he looked to be at least a couple of inches taller than I was.
"Watch where you're going, will ya?" He said to me, crossing his arms in an unfriendly manner. Had I been able to see his eyes, I could have read his expression better. But, he was wearing a pair of tinted glasses. The glass lenses were tinted purple, as to protect his eyes from the sun. But the surface was entirely reflective, showing only my own face looking up at the guy. His mouth, too, was covered. He wore a muffler over his shoulders, and the neck of it was brought up and sealed, almost like a turtleneck, hiding his mouth.
"Well sorry." I muttered back at him. I had to wonder what he was doing so close to me in the first place.
"You don't look like you're from around here," He said, after taking a look over me. "You from the Desert?"
"Yeah." I answered him truthfully. Taking a look at him, his outfit looked kind of scruffy. He was covered head to toe, barely any skin showing except for his forehead and ears. He had a long-sleeve dark brown shirt on, and a pair of matching dark brown gloves… Over his chest was a narrow piece of cloth, probably around his neck had I been able to see it. It was tucked into a black leather belt, and seemed to continue down in between his legs like a sort of loincloth. He wore dark brown pants similar to his shirt, and his boots came up to cover his chins with protective padding. His gloves, too, seemed to have the same padding to protect his forearms. Though on his back, he carried a large sword… It was strapped across his chest, and looked too big to wield with one hand.
"Yeah? What brings you around here?" He asked again, rubbing his chin as he questioned me.
"Nothing really." I didn't think I had to explain myself.
"Yeah right." He responded sarcastically. "Then you must be an idiot, walking all the way through there for no reason at all."
"Well why should I have to tell you?" I asked, a little irked myself now. "I don't even know who you are."
"My name's Iciris." He said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Alright…" I looked at Iciris in a rather awkward manner, but proceeded to introduce myself. "I'm Linkin… I'm just here because…"
"Hold that thought." The guy soon cut me off, raising a hand to hush me. His attention seemed to be diverted from me, and he son just up and walked away! Of course I was offended. Who wouldn't be? It was pretty rude to start a conversation with someone and just walk away.
I watched him then. I wasn't sure where he was going until I took a look ahead of him. Following him, I saw that he was following someone else. Now, I didn't know who they were… But damn, they were something. It was a woman; I don't know how old, but they had to be young. From behind, she seemed to have long red hair, with a bow in the back. Her hair ran down her back, hiding most of her body, until it reached her rear. She had a golden ring around her waist, which served as a waistband of sorts for a piece of red silk that rested behind her. Long, purple, pieces of silk, like unwrapped ribbon flowed out behind her as she walked with each little sway of her hips… She definitely did seem to act fairly sensual. From what I could see, she wore white silk pants of sorts, and at leas something without sleeves, as her arms were bare of any clothing except for two golden hoop bracelets on either wrist, and another two golden rings binding her biceps lightly. She definitely did seem to travel lightly, only wearing a pair of sandals on her dainty feet. I was getting interested as I watched Iciris walk up to her, and attempt to stop her.
"Hey there, beautiful." He said, in a tone of voice that seemed to be over-doing the suave tone. The woman didn't seem to respond, and simply gave him the cold shoulder as she kept walking.
"What brings a beautiful woman like you all the way out here?" Iciris asked, trying to grab her attention again. Once more, she ignored him.
"I know," He said, quickly stepped in front of her, forcing her to stop. "You came to rest! Well that's too bad, cause' you'll be running through my mind all day."
"Listen you creep," She suddenly spoke, her voice sounding mature and stern, seeming to startle Iciris. "I didn't come here to get hit on by some welfare-looking little punk like you."
Little? He was as tall as she was.
"Welfare!" Iciris took a quick defensive. "I do not look welfare!"
"Do too." She responded. "Look at those clothes, it looks like you haven't washed them for weeks!"
It was true. They did look pretty dirty.
"Well, that's… Uh well you see…" Iciris had noticed he was backed into a corner, and suddenly became rather uncertain. I tied to hold back my laughter as I hid myself behind a tree, watching them as they spoke.
"It's poor is what it is." The woman said quickly, poking him in the chest. He looked down when she did, and she quickly brought her finger up to flick him in the nose, almost knocking off his shaded glasses, if he hadn't caught them quickly. The woman simply brushed past him them, leaving him behind to watch her as she sauntered away.
"You… You bitch!" Iciris shouted. "I'll show you! You'll be begging for me in due time!"
Iciris's had turned in my direction, and he must have seen me. I quickly looked away, whistling to myself as I attempted to play innocent. If he asked, I would have said I didn't see any of that, or just played stupid. Already my visit to the Prontera Region was getting interesting. I never though I would meet a guy who would seem so cocky and obnoxious at first, and then go and get shot down by a woman. It seemed my attempt to play stupid didn't work, and he started heading back towards me. I got a nervous feeling, so I attempted to walk away but…
"Hey!"
He stopped me with a shout, and I turned back towards him. I quickly found his hand on my shoulder, it was heavy, and it felt like he had a strong grip to keep me in place, so I didn't dare move. I just looked up at his sunglasses, finding it difficult to offer proper eye contact when I couldn't see his eyes.
"You saw what happened back there." He said rather bluntly. "But every good man has his drawbacks, right?"
"Right." I nodded, looking as seriously as I could.
"You from the Thieves' Guild?" He asked.
"What's it to you?" I gave him another dangerous look. I didn't feel like I had to explain myself to him.
"Well I have a job for you, kid. If you're a real Thief, this should be a piece of cake." He said, seeming to lighten up a little.
I wondered what he had planned. Obviously it had something to do with that woman… What if he was some sort of unstable guy? Maybe he hid his face because he was a fugitive, and he was about to ask me to join him in some crime. Theft…? That would have been simple. But maybe he was about to ask me to help him rape her? That was something I wouldn't have done. But Iciris seemed so much stronger than I was, that it didn't seem like I had a choice in the matter.
"What is it?" I asked, gulping nervously.
"Go score me some points with that chick." He said, gesturing over his shoulder at the woman who had just burned him.
"What?" I was rather confused, and looked just as such. "How's that supposed to prove anything?"
"I don't know, steal her wallet while you're there or something!" He shouted, sounding rather agitated. I didn't want to edge him on any further, so I didn't complain.
"Though where you'd find a wallet on an outfit like that…" Iciris commented, gazing back at the woman as she had seated herself by a tree, tucking her legs in beside herself, as she seemed to seat herself almost upon her hip. "… Well I don't know."
Iciris gave an eerie laugh, one that reeked of a shameless tone. I shrugged it off and walked on then, towards the woman. I could tell why the pervert had gotten so absorbed with her. She was very beautiful. Her body was curved nicely, a slender hourglass shape, her "assets" being just the right size to perk arousal in almost any man. Though, her outfit… I had seen several performers at the pub in my hometown dressed in a similar fashion. Men from all over town, normally old drunks, visited every night to see them. I could see them too, working in the pub as a clean-up boy. Call it a bad impression, but the performances those dancers would put on were pretty raunchy. The old men would have a hoot just watching them. It all seemed wrong to me somehow… So I wasn't too impressed with this woman as I approached her. Still, to make up for Iciris's past actions, I simply bit my lip and acted as kind as possible. She didn't even seem to notice me as I stepped towards her. It was then that I noticed a whip coiled at the ready, hanging from her hip. It was a little imposing, but I simply went with the 'grin and bear it' course of action.
"Hey…" I spoke, getting her attention. "Yeah uh, sorry about my friend… The guy that just spoke to you…"
"Oh, it's alright." She responded. I knew it was a lie, just on how her voice seemed to trail distantly. "I get that a lot."
"Well he's a dreamer, don't mind him." I said, smiling sympathetically. I couldn't help but feel sorry for her, with the thought of how much male attention she must have received. "What's your name?"
"My name is Moonlight." She answered. I wondered if maybe that was her real name, or maybe if she were a performer, if it was her stage name. "Nice to meet you… uh…"
"Linkin." I finished for her with a little smile. She smiled back at me.
"Well Linkin, I can't stay and talk," She said, standing back up and brushing off her pant leg. "But you are kind of cute. Tell your friend he's forgiven."
I was a little surprised that she would so openly say I was cute. I was a little taken away by the comment, and beamed with a proud smile. She stood up and kissed my cheek lightly, baffling me as she sauntered away again. I rubbed my cheek, bewildered. It was the first kiss I had ever received from a girl, so naturally I was rather surprised. Though I was broken out of my dazed state when Iciris stormed over to me.
"How the hell'd you do that!" He asked… Or demanded to know… Or something like that.
"I don't know!" I answered, just as surprised as he was.
"You've gotta teach me that sometime." Iciris said, giving me a pat on the shoulder. I looked at him, my reflection being a tint of orange in the light of the sunset.
The sunset! I almost forgot what I had been doing! I excused myself from his presence and quickly made my way north again. It wasn't the time for little distractions; I had wanted to get to Prontera. Not only did I want to see it, but also it was getting late and I needed a place to sleep! So I hurried, making it to the city gates by nightfall. Though it was strange… Walls that must have been a few stories high surrounded the city, and there was a large wooden door standing in my way. But I couldn't see a way inside. I stood for some time just gazing along the wall. It was a sturdy, fortified stonewall with guards stationed to watch. It took me a while before it finally hit me - at night they closed the gates! I was kind of ticked at that, as anyone would be. It was then that I heard Iciris speak up from behind me again.
"You're not gonna get in like that." He said in a knowing manner.
"What the hell?" I asked practically no one. I turned to him then, raising my arms just to let them fall to my sides again. "You distracted me!"
"Me?" Iciris seemed to be a little offended.
"Yeah you!" I responded. "If I wasn't wasting my time with that woman…"
"Hey, you can never waste time with a woman." Iciris interrupted.
"Yes you can!" I cried.
"Hey, don't get your panties in a knot." Iciris said, calmly, raising his hands in a kind of surrendering gesture. "Prontera's not that great anyways… I've been there. Listen, I was headed to it's 'sister-city,' Izlude. It's open all day and all night, and right on the coast to the east. Why don't you go there?"
I'd never heard much of Izlude. All I knew was what the Merchants back in Morroc knew. Izlude was a port town, one that made trade with other cities along the coasts. I never knew what the other cities were, but Izlude didn't get any goods that the other cities didn't get, apparently. I never was interested in trading. It wasn't like I had a lot of money, so buying and selling never was a major part of my life.
This strange young man had a point though; there was no reason why I couldn't go to that Izlude place. So I had him point me in the direction of the city and left for it. Unfortunately, he had to follow me. In the short time I had met him, I didn't seem to like him all too much. His attitude wasn't exactly the most… magnetic. Still, he seemed to know what he was talking about half of the time. If I asked about a creature or place or whatever else, he seemed to be able to explain it to me in a pretty basic way. He was definitely no intellectual. I could question a lot of what he was saying, and he wouldn't have the answers. But the more I questioned him, the more irritated he seemed to get. So I figured the easiest way to get along with him would be to speak to him as little as possible.
Once more it took somewhere under an hour to walk across he fields to Izlude. We reached an arch that seemed to make a "doorframe" for a bridge. This was the town gate. There was only one guard stationed out front in a small post, so I assumed it wasn't a large town. I could also smell salt in the air. Even a guy from the desert knew that the smell was the sea. Apparently Iciris wasn't lying when he said it was a town on the coast. It was a quiet town, not all too big. It was on a hunk of land separate from the mainland, only by a little bit, only to the point where I had to cross two bridges to get to the town itself. The town seemed to focus to a point at the middle of the island, the buildings and various other junctions circling around that point. I had no time to look around, so I asked Iciris to show me to an inn. I tried not to be too peeved at the guy as he simply pointed out a tavern for me to stay at, and then lead me there. It was a small building, and the business there almost reminded me of the pub in my own hometown. Once more I saw that woman Iciris and I had met.
She was dancing upon a stage. I should have known. She was so scantily clad; I could only assume that she was a Dancer. Her dancing was no less than the others I had seen in Morroc. It was provocative, seducing, and deliberate in order to rouse the men and put most women to shame. I found it pretty sad. How someone could simply hop up on a stage and degrade themselves like that was completely beyond me. I definitely hadn't planned to stick around and watch. Even though Moonlight was moving so beautifully, I didn't want to bother myself being caught up in it all. So I simply went to the bar, to talk to the bartender who could have set me up with a room. Unfortunately, by the time I got there, Iciris was already arguing with the man. I would only get more peeved at him as he yelled. Apparently, he couldn't get a room, and had to be dragged out. The bartender took one look at me and told me to beat it right after, so naturally I did.
So at that point I was without a place to sleep. It wasn't like I could have camped out, as I didn't have any of the right equipment. I knew I'd have to resort to what I did in the desert. I would find an abandoned scorpion burrow or something (because the scorpions were as big as dogs) and spend a night in there. But as I saw it then, I would have had to find another place, something a little different than a hole dug into the sand. And I did. After a short while, I decided to sleep at one of the empty stalls at the center of the town. They were set up in a circle, made of wood and draped with tarps. It looked good enough, so I hopped behind one and crouched down. Slowly lying onto my back, I scooted beneath the L-shape of the stall. My knees were slightly bent, but I was able to lay my back flat out. I lay there, staring at the wood above my face.
It wasn't the best first visit to the Prontera Region. I was hassled by an idiot, missed my chance to get into a town I would have had a chance to actually get a decent place to sleep in, and I was sleeping outside in the cold. I'd had worse though. I was definitely hoping that things would begin to go better. I figured I would find that kid, get the money for it, and then things would just start working. I had to get myself on my feet first, though, which I planned to do just after I got some sleep.