Chapter II
The door to the adventurer's guild creaked open with a long whining
noise as the hinges squeaked in protest. Geno stepped through with a
careful foot, and then poked his head inside. After quickly surveying the
room, he discovered the only occupant was a very old, very asleep man.
Stuffed trophies of monsters and other various fauna decorated the
fireplace and the entire area around it. Geno recognized the cheetaur,
saurus, gryphon and amazingly, the impressive green dragon at the head of
the mantle. He stepped inside the room and closed the door. For as old as
the building was, it seemed cheerful in a lazy, old fashioned way. The fire
crackled, joined by the sound of the old man's constant snoring. He
appeared in his late sixties, with an equally old sword across his lap. A
large book lay open on the desk in the middle of the room. Geno made his
way over to it to discover it was a logbook. He glanced through the pages,
most of them being stories recorded by one "Wolfgang" and one "Schultz
Meistersson."
Geno gingerly picked up the quill and dipped it in the octopus ink
near the book, then signed his name in the book with a flourish. He
replaced the quill and smiled, realizing that this was his first step
toward becoming a real hero. He turned to face the sleeping man, wondering
how to engage in a conversation with him. He settled for the oh-so-common-
clear-your-throat-routine.
"Err-hem." Geno said loudly.
"Huh...uh, what? As I was saying, uh, there was this.."
The old man blinked awake and started reciting an old story when he
suddenly noticed Geno.
"Oh, hello. Haven't seen a new face around here in a long time. I'm
Wolfgang."
Geno performed a magnificent bow and drew his sword attached at his left
hip.
"I am Geno Star, son of Laurence Star."
With that he spun his broadsword around in a wheel motion around his body,
finishing by holding it high over his head.
"I have come to be you're hero!"
There was a brief silence.
"...okay. Nice to meet you Geno."
Geno sheathed his sword and struck a heroic stance, hands on hips as he
regarded Wolfgang.
"So I suppose you understand the situation we are in?"
Geno blinked.
"Uh..not really."
Wolfgang's head slumped. He picked it up and began polishing his sword as
he spoke.
"Several years ago, an ogress named Baba Yaga came here to Spielburg to
make it her new home. Well, the Baron didn't take to kindly to this, so he
was going to make her leave when she put a curse on him."
Geno nodded.
"The curse was not a physical curse, but he did lose his entire family. The
Baronet, Barnard, disappeared one day on a hunting expedition. The
Baroness, Elsa, was captured by a large, black, flying creature that
swooped into the castle and stole her away."
Geno nodded.
"Well, the Baron went into such grief that he has let his lands fall into
despair along with him. A large group of brigands has come together under
some new leader, and they are terrorizing the land and everyone in it."
Geno nodded.
"So we need someone to stop these brigands and drive that damn ogress out
of here."
Geno nodded.
"So what's you're problem?"
Wolfgang blinked.
"Are you..serious? I just told you."
"Oh, right, right. Great. Brigands, curse, ogress. Gotcha."
Wolfgang shook his head. This kid had the attention span of a two year old.
"So where should I go first?"
"Well, you should probably get a feel for the land. Go and explore. The
Baron's castle is just up the road from here. On the way there is the
Healer. She's a strange old woman, yet worth visiting. There is a wizard
who lives somewhere to the east of here, but I've never been there. To the
north lies a place called Erana's Peace. There are other things to see, but
you'll probably have to find them on your own."
Geno nodded.
"Okay. I'll go and explore. This will be easy."
Geno spun on his heel and made way for the door.
"Take care old man; I'll be sure to remember you when I'm famous."
Wolfgang waved his hand as Geno exited the building.
"I give the kid a week."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A hush fell over the tavern as the young man stepped in. There wasn't
much noise to begin with, but whatever noise there was stopped. Dante cased
the room and searched for an empty seat. He found one next to a sleeping
man at the bar. He placed his hands on the bar as a tough looking man
polishing a glass approached him.
"What'll' it be, kid?"
"Do you serve bourbon?"
"Nope."
"Whiskey?"
"Nope."
"Brandy?"
"Nope."
"Rum?"
"Nope."
"Scotch?"
"Nope."
"Wine?"
"Nope."
"Well what the hell do you have?"
"Ale, Troll's sweat and da house specialty, dragon's breathe."
Dante stroked his hairless chin.
"I'll take ale."
The bartender filled up a mug and slid it across the table to him.
"One silva."
Dante flicked the small coin to him and picked up his glass. The amber
color of the beer did not prepare him for the watered down salty taste that
followed. Obviously, they did not get good brews around here. As he sipped,
he decided that this was not a very friendly place to be. A large goon
stood solitary in a corner, glaring at Dante whenever he looked that way.
Two men were playing cards at a table. Everything was messy or dirty. After
finishing his glass, Dante discovered it to be very unhealthy as well. He
tapped the bar and the bartender returned.
"Now whaddya want?"
"You seem to have fallen on hard times."
"Yeah, so what?"
"Well, I was just wondering if you've been having any trouble with thieves
lately."
The bartender raised an eyebrow.
"Why do ya ask about thieves?"
"Just curious."
"Ya, we got our share of thieves."
Dante nodded.
"Thank you very much."
As he stood, he noticed a crumpled up piece of paper next to his stool. His
curious nature forced him to pick up the parchment. He smoothed it out and
read.
B- He's getting suspicious. Hold off our meetings for awhile, but
I'll keep you posted with these notes. -B
Dante crumpled up the paper and shoved it in his pocket. This must be a
note from one thief to another. He decided that he needed to find some
local thieves and discover the Thieves Guild in town. He left the tavern
and headed for the local inn. The best time to look for thieves was at
night.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Alright Darion! Here we are!"
Jester gestured with his hands.
"We're at Spielburg?" Darion asked.
"No, we're at the next clearing."
Darion hung his head.
"Where is Spielburg?"
Jester pointed forward.
"It's just a little farther. I'm sure of it."
Just as Jester started walking forward again, Darion grabbed him and threw
him back.
"DARION! WHAT..."
A spear flew into the ground where Jester had been standing. Another spear
flew out of the trees, but Darion drew his hand-and-a-half sword and sliced
it in two in mid air. He spun it around in his right hand and held it up in
an aggressive stance. Three brigands stepped out of the foliage.
"Throw down your weapons and money and you can go!" The first one yelled.
Darion rushed in response and swung horizontally at the first one, forcing
him to block with his shield and knocking him back. The second one thrust
with his spear, but Darion parried, his gray cloak flowing, knocking the
spear away. He raised his sword in a powerful downward thrust as the
brigand lifted his shield to defend. But when the sword descended, a bright
blue flash enveloped the blade and as it connected with the shield, there
was a bright flash and the sound of lighting cracking as the sword smashed
the shield to pieces. The blade went all the way through the shield and
sliced of the brigand's left hand. The third brigand thrust at Darion, but
he spun and brought his sword down into the right shoulder of his attacker.
He brought his sword back and swung from the opposite side, slicing his
left shoulder. He heard the first one coming up behind him, and he crouched
and jumped, flipping over the brigand completely. As he landed, he raised
his sword with both hands. But as he brought it down, the blue light
returned and the sword sliced right through the brigand, cutting him in two
equal pieces. Blood gushed from the dead body and Darion had to jump back
to avoid getting drenched.
The second brigand was still on the ground, grasping his arm where
his hand used to be, screaming in pain. Darion walked over to him and
raised his blade. The brigand's eyes met with Darion's for moment. Then the
point of his sword descended into the brigand's throat. He pulled it out
and removed a black cloth from one of his pockets. He wiped the blood off
the blade and knelt, pushing his sword into the ground.
"Thank you Lord, for keeping me safe in battle."
He stood and examined his sword. The blue light had made his sword much
more powerful, but he had no idea where it came from. Suddenly he
remembered Jester. He spun around and there he was, leaning against a tree,
smiling.
"Did you...do that?"
Jester just grinned.
"Told you I'd come in handy."
"Are you a wizard?"
Jester shook his head and sighed.
"No, not yet. I'm not even a magician. In fact, I only know one spell, and
that is it. It's called zap. It powers up any weapon to do extra damage in
battle. In fact, you could classify me as just a magic user. But I'm going
to be a wizard some day."
Darion sheathed his sword and nodded.
"Well, that spell came in very handy. We better get going before their
friends discover they are missing."
"Hold on." Jester said.
He rummaged through the dead bodies trying not to get any blood or gore on
him.
"What are you doing?" Darion asked.
Jester held up twenty-four silvers.
"Here, fifteen of it is yours, since you did most of the fighting."
Darion shook his head.
"You keep it. I don't desire it."
"Why not?"
Darion turned and started walking.
"It's...too bloody."
Jester pocketed the silvers and quickly followed him. Darion was a
complicated individual, Jester learned.