ON THE WAY TO KARILLON
by
Rod G.
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(Author's note:this is the first SHADOW MADNESS fanfic that I know of posted on FanFiction.net.
I hope you enjoy it.BTW,I do NOT own any of the characters.)
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Chapter 1
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Stinger could not believe what had happened to him.Port Lochane was devastated by an unknown force
and now he was in the company of a brown haired and well tanned girl named Windleaf and an odd-
looking gadeteer construct,a Harvester unit,to be precise,designated Mark Five.This unit wound up
being known as Harv-5.With his straw hat ,wooden barrel for a body and funny looking yellow gloves
and boots,Harv-5 looked rather comical except for one thing.He wielded a sharp-looking scythe which
he used mainly on grain,back at Barleygrove,but after all that had happened,he wound up using it as
a weapon on any attackers.Barleygrove,like Port Lochane,was devastated,same as Enclaan,where
Windleaf came from.Her garb-what there was of it-was green in color.She carried a bow in her hand
and a quiver filled with plenty of arrows on her back.Her bare feet trod upon the road which led the
threesome a long way away from the ruins of their former hometowns.As for Stinger himself,who
wore the rough-and-ready attire of a roguish young sailor-leather vest,a long sleeved white billowy
shirt,baggy dark colored trousers and brown leather bucaneer gloves and boots,carried a very sharp
sword which he recovered after the devastation of Port Lochane.
"How long until we reach Karillon?"Windleaf asked.
"Keerg only knows."Stinger replied.
"We must reach Karillon soon,otherwise,"Harv-5 intoned,"there will be death."
"I can't believe you just said,"Stinger said.
"What's not to believe?"Asked Windleaf."You know that's what he often says."
"That's not what I meant and you know it,"said Stinger."If he utters that line once we reach Karillon,
people are gonna panic."
"Like you did when we first found him at your friend Muggin's house?"Windleaf asked.
"Did you have to bring that up?Why did you bring it up?Huh?Why?"Stinger uttered.
"Sorry,"Windleaf replied.It wasn't fair of her to remind me,Stinger decided.The first time Stinger saw
Harv-5,the wooden automaton stood over Muggin's corpse.Stinger jumped to conclusions and assumed
that the harvester unit had done the dirty deed.As it turned out the robot had arrived after Muggin was
killed,just one of many victims of a creature calling itself Red Tom.Eventually,Stinger,Windleaf and
Harv-5 had managed to dispose of the monster.This,however,was merely part of a much greater crisis,
which was this:
There was something wrong with the people of the land.The assembled trio had witnessed a madness
among several survivors.They all realized that if this madness was left unchecked,the rest of the land,
perhaps the whole of Arkose itself,would eventually become a wasteland.They all agreed that the
Council at Karillon would have to be informed,the sooner,the better.Still,the journey to Karillon proved
to be a long and difficult with monsters of varied descriptions dogging their every step.So far,they had
managed to survive,to say nothing of triumph,over such odds.Their weapons-Stinger's sword,Windleaf's
bow and arrows and Harv-5's scythe-helped as well.Still,they were unsure as to how long their luck
would hold out,but,Keerg willing,they had resolved to reach their destination soon enough.
They would have to face one obstacle in their way,though.
There were rumors of a rock creature around these parts,but,until now,they saw no such thing.
"Karillon is north,so we keep going north,"Stinger decided.
"As simple as that,huh?"Windleaf asked,expressing some doubt.
"What d'you mean by that?"Stinger asked back.
"We don't know what's out there.There may be something out there that'd make Red Tom seem
harmless,"Windleaf said.
Harv-5,for his part,was very intrigued by these two.Their behavior could be puzzling at times,he
decided.
"I want to tell you,"Harv-5 said."We must be careful,otherwise . . ."
"There will be death,right?"Queried Stinger.
"Perhaps," was the automaton's only reply.
"Look!"Windleaf said."There's a tunnel!"
The three studied the formation cautiously.
"Do you think it'll lead to Karillon?"Asked Windleaf.
"It's certainly worth checkin' out,"Stinger replied.
"I suggest that if we go in,we do so carefully,"Harv-5 commented.
Slowly but surely,the three made their way to the tunnel's entrance.