Chapter 1: flood
He paused. Slowly he turned; so as not to let himself be seen. There was something in the alley with him. It was not a particularly wide alley so he could not dodge past. In fact it was a thin dead-ended alley.
Silhouetted against the light in the narrow gap between the two walls was a medium sized man. The shadowy man would be hard to battle as he was armed with a short sword. They always give an advantage over a dagger. The shadowy figure started towards him. He turned back to the alley. With a quick thought he started running towards the wall that made the dead end. The figure also started to run. Just as he reached it he planted one foot on the wall and catapulted himself over the head of his pursuer. The man instantly span and swung his sword. He ducked just in time and thrust his dagger between the ribs of his assailant. The man looked down. Only after a while did he realize that he was dead. He slumped forward and on impact with the floor he disintegrated. The alleyway dropped away into the blackness that was his world and countryside appeared. He was temporarily blinded at the light from the sun. He could make out a figure. Another shadowy figure at that, but this one was not as sinister as the last.
"Well, if you cant do better than that then the gods help us all. The time you took to kill that one man was way too long." said the person. It was a female voice. This was not surprising to him because it was his sisters.
"Oh yeah! You gave me a dagger and cornered me into an alley with a man equipped with a sword! What was I meant to do? Anyway, the foot plant was good wasn't it? I bet you couldn't do it Kim!" he retorted. His sister, Kimberly, was a level seven mage. This was quite good for her age. Normally only 16 year-olds made it to that level. She had acquired her robe when she was just eleven and was practicing for her eight level certificate by helping Xzarik. He was practicing for his fighting level eight medal.
" No I couldn't do it; mainly because I'm the one conjuring up the battles for you to practice in. if you don't like it then don't ask for my help." She replied.
"I'm sorry Kim, but I just got carried away. I should have been a bit faster. Besides it was my fourteenth fight today. Thanks for the training."
"Don't worry, you'll do fine tomorrow." she kissed him lightly on the cheek and started the curing of wounds incantations.
Tomorrow Xzarik had his level eight grades in fighting technique. This was also abnormally good, as the average grade for an adult was level five. He was only eleven at the moment.
1 "Dinner!" shouted a faint voice in the distance. There was a house over the horizon. The setting sun outlined it perfectly.
2 " There" said Kimberly, "all finished. Now, race you!" But he was already running. She was naturally faster than her younger brother. She was also naturally stronger and could have easily passed the level nine fighting by the age of thirteen but instead she chose the occupation of mage. Fortunately she was not dressed in the usual robes as it was the seventh day and she could run easily. Xzarik was not fully armored and had no spell books with him. Also he had a head start. This made the race pretty much fair. She broke into a sprint, struggling under the weight of her books.
3 Catching up quickly she shouted: " you've left your sword behind!" And slowed a bit, veering towards the house.
4 Xzarik started to slow down. He stopped. He turned around and started to sprint the other way. Kimberly overtook him in a glance and slowed to a halt as she reached the door of the house.
5 She pushed lightly on the crude wooden door and the hinges creaked loudly as it swung open. She took off her shoes and flexed her toes. All day in a field conjuring different scenes could be very tiring. It was basic magic, but all the same…
"Your dinners on the table. Where's Xzarik?" said a tall lady. She had dark hair and was wearing a black dress.
"He left his sword in the field, mother. He's just gone to get It." she replied. Her mother was regarded as one of the most beautiful women of the south. Her name was Kymberly, like her daughters' but spelt differently. This may not have been important to normal people as few could read and write but Kimberly was a mage. Writing was necessary. She put her books on the table by the door and walked over to the window. Xzarik was walking through the meadow with his massive broadsword over his shoulder. It was cruel of her to steal his sword and to leave it in the meadow, but he should learn not to cheat in races. That was her job. She felt a little pang of guilt rush through her but shrugged it off. If a thief was to feel guilty every time they stole something then they may die of guilt. A thief with a conscience, she thought. Now that would be a novel idea
After they had wolfed down their food they sat in front of the fire. This was boring and so it sparked a conversation.
"Your birthday is next week, Kim. Just think, you'll be allowed to join one of the major guilds when you're twelve" said her mother.
"When will you understand mum? I don't want to join a guild. Besides, they're all in Karoshet. The village needs me. The only other mages are Jon and Westa. Jon is incompetent and Westa is going to die soon. Anyway I don't want to leave" she replied before her mother could finish properly.
"Yes but before long you'll be arrested by the watch. It's common knowledge that you're a thief and everyone is on the lookout." Said Xzarik.
"You can shut up too. If it wasn't for me you wouldn't be the fighter that you are." She snapped at him. "I'm going to bed now. See you in the morning. If I don't see you then good luck." She stood up and walked over to the side of the large open plan room and pushed on a panel. Part of the wall slid away gently and she stepped into the gloom, with a flame sprouting from her hand lighting the way.
Xzarik usually went to bed much later than Kimberly did and so he started to practice different kinds of sword strokes by the crackling of the fire. At about eleven o' clock it started to rain. This was not really a problem in the shelter of the house but down in the village there could be problems by the gallon. In Ka- shora the rain came rarely but when it did it made up for the time it had been away. It did not have to rain for long, as there would be one large mass of water. This year it had not rained so far and it was reaching nearly the end of the year. It would have been all right if the village was on a hill like Xzarik's and Kim's house was; but it was in a valley. Next to a river.
"The rain is really pouring down tonight," said Kymberly. "Just think of those poor people down in the village. It's lucky we're up on a hill." But before she could finish Xzarik was pulling on his warm woollen vest.
"I'm going down to the village." Said Xzarik. He was heading for the door.
"But you have your grade tomorrow. You could drown there. At least you would be worn out. You have to save your strength. Let Kim go." She replied hastily, stepping in front of him.
"No" he replied, "I have to go. Kim's birthday is next week. It wouldn't be nice to let her catch a cold" and he pushed past her and ran into the rain. As he was a fading figure in the distance he shouted over his shoulder "Don't wake Kim."
And was gone.
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7
He paused. Slowly he turned; so as not to let himself be seen. There was something in the alley with him. It was not a particularly wide alley so he could not dodge past. In fact it was a thin dead-ended alley.
Silhouetted against the light in the narrow gap between the two walls was a medium sized man. The shadowy man would be hard to battle as he was armed with a short sword. They always give an advantage over a dagger. The shadowy figure started towards him. He turned back to the alley. With a quick thought he started running towards the wall that made the dead end. The figure also started to run. Just as he reached it he planted one foot on the wall and catapulted himself over the head of his pursuer. The man instantly span and swung his sword. He ducked just in time and thrust his dagger between the ribs of his assailant. The man looked down. Only after a while did he realize that he was dead. He slumped forward and on impact with the floor he disintegrated. The alleyway dropped away into the blackness that was his world and countryside appeared. He was temporarily blinded at the light from the sun. He could make out a figure. Another shadowy figure at that, but this one was not as sinister as the last.
"Well, if you cant do better than that then the gods help us all. The time you took to kill that one man was way too long." said the person. It was a female voice. This was not surprising to him because it was his sisters.
"Oh yeah! You gave me a dagger and cornered me into an alley with a man equipped with a sword! What was I meant to do? Anyway, the foot plant was good wasn't it? I bet you couldn't do it Kim!" he retorted. His sister, Kimberly, was a level seven mage. This was quite good for her age. Normally only 16 year-olds made it to that level. She had acquired her robe when she was just eleven and was practicing for her eight level certificate by helping Xzarik. He was practicing for his fighting level eight medal.
" No I couldn't do it; mainly because I'm the one conjuring up the battles for you to practice in. if you don't like it then don't ask for my help." She replied.
"I'm sorry Kim, but I just got carried away. I should have been a bit faster. Besides it was my fourteenth fight today. Thanks for the training."
"Don't worry, you'll do fine tomorrow." she kissed him lightly on the cheek and started the curing of wounds incantations.
Tomorrow Xzarik had his level eight grades in fighting technique. This was also abnormally good, as the average grade for an adult was level five. He was only eleven at the moment.
1 "Dinner!" shouted a faint voice in the distance. There was a house over the horizon. The setting sun outlined it perfectly.
2 " There" said Kimberly, "all finished. Now, race you!" But he was already running. She was naturally faster than her younger brother. She was also naturally stronger and could have easily passed the level nine fighting by the age of thirteen but instead she chose the occupation of mage. Fortunately she was not dressed in the usual robes as it was the seventh day and she could run easily. Xzarik was not fully armored and had no spell books with him. Also he had a head start. This made the race pretty much fair. She broke into a sprint, struggling under the weight of her books.
3 Catching up quickly she shouted: " you've left your sword behind!" And slowed a bit, veering towards the house.
4 Xzarik started to slow down. He stopped. He turned around and started to sprint the other way. Kimberly overtook him in a glance and slowed to a halt as she reached the door of the house.
5 She pushed lightly on the crude wooden door and the hinges creaked loudly as it swung open. She took off her shoes and flexed her toes. All day in a field conjuring different scenes could be very tiring. It was basic magic, but all the same…
"Your dinners on the table. Where's Xzarik?" said a tall lady. She had dark hair and was wearing a black dress.
"He left his sword in the field, mother. He's just gone to get It." she replied. Her mother was regarded as one of the most beautiful women of the south. Her name was Kymberly, like her daughters' but spelt differently. This may not have been important to normal people as few could read and write but Kimberly was a mage. Writing was necessary. She put her books on the table by the door and walked over to the window. Xzarik was walking through the meadow with his massive broadsword over his shoulder. It was cruel of her to steal his sword and to leave it in the meadow, but he should learn not to cheat in races. That was her job. She felt a little pang of guilt rush through her but shrugged it off. If a thief was to feel guilty every time they stole something then they may die of guilt. A thief with a conscience, she thought. Now that would be a novel idea
After they had wolfed down their food they sat in front of the fire. This was boring and so it sparked a conversation.
"Your birthday is next week, Kim. Just think, you'll be allowed to join one of the major guilds when you're twelve" said her mother.
"When will you understand mum? I don't want to join a guild. Besides, they're all in Karoshet. The village needs me. The only other mages are Jon and Westa. Jon is incompetent and Westa is going to die soon. Anyway I don't want to leave" she replied before her mother could finish properly.
"Yes but before long you'll be arrested by the watch. It's common knowledge that you're a thief and everyone is on the lookout." Said Xzarik.
"You can shut up too. If it wasn't for me you wouldn't be the fighter that you are." She snapped at him. "I'm going to bed now. See you in the morning. If I don't see you then good luck." She stood up and walked over to the side of the large open plan room and pushed on a panel. Part of the wall slid away gently and she stepped into the gloom, with a flame sprouting from her hand lighting the way.
Xzarik usually went to bed much later than Kimberly did and so he started to practice different kinds of sword strokes by the crackling of the fire. At about eleven o' clock it started to rain. This was not really a problem in the shelter of the house but down in the village there could be problems by the gallon. In Ka- shora the rain came rarely but when it did it made up for the time it had been away. It did not have to rain for long, as there would be one large mass of water. This year it had not rained so far and it was reaching nearly the end of the year. It would have been all right if the village was on a hill like Xzarik's and Kim's house was; but it was in a valley. Next to a river.
"The rain is really pouring down tonight," said Kymberly. "Just think of those poor people down in the village. It's lucky we're up on a hill." But before she could finish Xzarik was pulling on his warm woollen vest.
"I'm going down to the village." Said Xzarik. He was heading for the door.
"But you have your grade tomorrow. You could drown there. At least you would be worn out. You have to save your strength. Let Kim go." She replied hastily, stepping in front of him.
"No" he replied, "I have to go. Kim's birthday is next week. It wouldn't be nice to let her catch a cold" and he pushed past her and ran into the rain. As he was a fading figure in the distance he shouted over his shoulder "Don't wake Kim."
And was gone.
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