Chapter Two
Talim wandered around blindly for some while. It was still dark, and the fog was still settling. When she finally stumbled upon a large burly man loading cargo, she asked him about the fare for the boat ride.
Tailm didn't have much money, and hoped that the fare was reasonable. She walked cautiously to the strange foreign man and asked " Excuse me, sir.. But. how much is the fare for this boat"
The large man ignored her, and continued to stack barrels. Talim thought that the man didn't hear and walked closer and asked again.
The man grunted. He was trying to do his job, and tried to ignore the little girl, but she wouldn't let up. "What do you want?" he asked, turning around to face her.
Talim studied his face while she repeated her question for the third time. He was unshaven, and had a few scars across his face. He did not seem to care about his appearance and hygiene.
"Sorry little girl. I just load stock. You've got to speak with the men who work up there" the man said, pointing to another large man who waited at the front of the boat, standing by a large lantern.
Talim thanked the kind man, and skipped lightly to the man in charge of the boat fare.
This time, the man saw her coming, and looked at her strange clothing. The lantern revealed Talim, who stood barely as high as the man's elbows. She had large brown eyes, and had two large braids of solid black hair flowing down to her shoulders.
Talim was just about to speak when the man cut her off, saying "What do you want, little missy?". Talim felt a nice friendly tone in the man's voice, and replied less shyly than before
"I was wondering how much fare you charge for a boat ride to the mainland"
"Hmm?" the man raised a thick eyebrow, then smiled again and said "Well, that depends; little girl. Show me how much money you have" he said in an even nicer tone, and his smile showed his many missing teeth.
He was trying to scam her, but Talim was much to naïve and unexperienced. She drew open her sack, started to count out small coins.
While counting, Talim eyes widened and she gasped. She noticed something in her bag she did not plan on seeing.
There was a strange metal shard hiding with her coins. This metal piece however, was not unfamiliar to her.
-- -- --
She found the very same metal shard while playing in the grassy hills of her village a few days ago. She was just running up a large hill, when a strong light reflected into her eye. The sunlight was bouncing off a strange piece of metal, and before she could get close to examine it, she felt a terrible pain burning in her head.
She somehow knew that the little shard was responsible for her discomfort. She was a Wind Priestess, and had developed a sixth-sense.
Sensing a strange aura from this shard, Talim tried to run home to warn her village chieftans. Unfortunately, after taking just a few steps, she collapsed.
When she finally awoke, the village elders had a look of both relief and worry in their old eyes.
"We found you two days ago on the grassy hills" said a village elder. He took a deep breath and continued "You wouldn't wake from your slumber for so long, we started to worry. I gathered several elders and prayed to the wind god the whole time you were asleep"
The village elder smiled "Thank goodness our prayers were answered, and we have our special Talim back with us" "You mean so much to this community" he said quietly, resting his gnarled but firm hand on her shoulder.
Talim thanked him, but inside she felt a little uncomfortable. Here he was, the village elder feeding her lies again.
"I'm just an ordinary girl. Stop calling me a Wind Priestess. I don't want this life. I want to explore, I want to ride the seas with the foreign mariners" she thought to herself silently.
"Talim! You musn't leave us! Do not trust those foreigners!" The village elder replied suddenly and sternly. He couldn't get mad at her
Talim was surprised at what the village elder said. Had she spoken aloud? She remembered never having mentioned her secret desires openly. Talim was confused.
"There is something I need you to explain to me.." said the village elder, "You were found clutching this tightly in your hand" The village elder paused to see if Talim would respond, but Talim didn't remember anything.
The village elder drew out the tiny metal shard and said disappointedly "Here, look at this"
Talim had a sudden flashback, and drew back from the shard. She felt the very same head ache, but much less intensely. "Keep it away" she screamed, and for the first time, sensed a blossoming evil rooting from the shard.
The village elder quickly complied, and put the metal shard in a small box.
"Talim.." sighed the old man. Talim this time didn't want to hear the village elder talk. "I must go, I'm sorry." she said coldly, and ran off. The village elder let his head sink and prayed.
That night she was arguing with her parents and the village council. "I felt something very strange back then, and I am determined to find out what it is all about" yelled Talim.
This was the first time she was angry, and the whole council did not know what to do with an angry Wind Priestess. "Calm down Talim. Think this through." was all they could do to try and subdue her rebelliousness.
"I'm sick of being calmed down. You people don't understand. It's been bothering me the whole time, and you people just want me to sit in the old temple? You're out of your mind" exploded Talim.
"Please understand Talim. You cannot go. Our people depend on you" replied the village chieftan. "Talim, you belong here" her mother pleaded.
Talim looked away and decided that was all the argument was going to stop right then. She ran off to the her special throne-room in the temple, she was trying her best to weigh the situation.
Her village says that they needed her, but she does not believe that. "I have done nothing, and the village has run perfectly" she said to herself. "On the other hand, there is this strange shard, which is definitely going to be a problem."
Talim packed her things, and waited till dark to leave. Little did she know that the village elders knew of her planned departure, but they could do nothing to stop her.
-- -- --
"How did this get here?" wondered Talim, "I did not pack this!" She wondered why she didn't feel any discomfort when she held the shard, resting on many coins, on her tiny hand.
"What is this strange scrap?" asked the man, and reached a hairy hand towards Talim. The man eyed the scrap and his face changed. His eyes narrowed and his smile changed into a greedy smirk.
Talim felt a strange darkness emitting from the man, and took a step back. "What are you doing?!?!" she asked, frightened.
"Give that to me!" the man snarled and grabbed Talim's hand with one hand while trying to pry the shard from Talim's clenched fist. Talim screamed and pleaded for help, but she realized that the rest of the men had disappeared. It was just her and this crazy man, bent on taking away her shard.
Luckily for Talim, she packed more than just change. Inside her bag was a pair of elbow blades, and they were dropped to the ground in her struggle with the man.
The metal shard, still inside her hand, spoke to her. "He's trying to take me away! KILL HIM" ordered the shard.
Talim, for reasons unknown, submitted to the illusionary request of the shard, and felt an urge for bleed shed that she had never felt before.
Talim, using her free hand to grab an elbow blade, drove the bladed point into the man's exposed ribs. The pain caused the man to grunt, but he did not let go of her hand. Talim crouched down, trying to bring her center of gravity down, and proceeded to hack at the man's side.
Talim felt a bone shatter in the man, and he stumbled back, clutching his side, breathing slowly. Talim ignored the man, and picked up the matching elbow blade. She mercilessly attacked the man as he curled into a ball to protect himself. She tore into the man's neck, and yanked back, shredding his vital neck muscles. The man stopped struggling and shuddered one last time.
"What have I done!" cried Talim, as she looked at the corpse. The bloodlust had left her as quickly as it had entered her. She wanted to help the dead man, hoping he was still alive, but knew that she just killed him. Now she just wanted to leave.
Talim was about to return home, when she was attacked from behind.
The dead body grabbed her, and whispered "Give the shard to me" softly in Talim's ear. Talim shrieked and tried to break free of the zombie, but was not strong enough. She turned back to look at the zombie's head, which had multiple stab wounds all over its pale face. As it talked, blood splurted out all over her.
"Let go of me!" she cried again, and this time, she managed to slip away from the zombie. The zombie shambled after her, with an outstretched hand driven to take away the soul shard. "If I run, who knows what this monster will do to my village!" Talim thought to herself, trying her best to plan out her course of action. "It must be stopped now!" she decided almost suddenly, and she was ready for battle.
The zombie lurched forward and was met by Talim's elbow-blade. Knocking the zombie to the left, Talim spun to the right, facing the zombie's back. She jumped up into the air, a drove her heels into the back of the ghoul, hoping to smash him into the ground. The zombie just shrugged off the attack, and turned around with an unholy speed.
The ghoul tried to grab Talim again, but she rolled under the poorly aimed attack and drove her blades into the monster's belly. She watched as some visceral mass fall to the ground, making a messy splat. That disgusted Talim so much she lost focus, and the ghoul was upon her again.
The zombie picked her up with one hand, and a crooked smile was formed on his badly cut lips. "The shard! It will restore me!" lied the zombie. Talim, who momentarily was frozen by fear, snapped.
She shrieked and panicked, making even the zombie hesistate. Without thinking, she drove the elbow blade into the skull of the zombie, and he fell down, permanently.
"Dear gods, what just happened?" she asked out loud. Talim was just experiencing the adrealine level in her body plummet, and felt immensely tired. She however, knew that her journey was going to be tough in the first place, ever since she sensed the strange energies in that shard. Who was responsible for the zombie man ?
She was holding the shard, but it felt heavier, at the exact moment when she killed the zombie for the 2nd time.
There were so many questions in Talim's mind, that she decided to think about them during her voyage on the boat instead.
Wiping her blades clean of the dirty blood, she put back everything in her bag. She wanted to look at the dead body one more time, but she stopped herself, knowing that there can not be more delays. Almost all the cargo has been loaded, so the ship was about to set sail.
"You've got a lot of explaining to do" sighed Talim, talking to the shard as if it could hear her. She lept on the boat to look for a hiding spot.
The men had left crates and barrels in a neat formation, and Talim ,being less than 5 feet tall, managed to squeeze between the cargo to hide.
She grew tired, but decided to stay awake the whole trip should something else happen. And if something was going to happen, Talim and her trusty elbow blades were always prepared.
***
Summary : Talim encounters a giant ship, and meets the sailors. Talim remembers her arguments in her village, and wonders how she ended up with the soul shard piece she thought she tried to keep away. One man is transformed by the alluring energy of the soul shard, and attacks her. Talim, is also transformed into a blood thirsty warrior, and kills the man twice. She sneaks upon the ship as it is about to set sail.
Talim wandered around blindly for some while. It was still dark, and the fog was still settling. When she finally stumbled upon a large burly man loading cargo, she asked him about the fare for the boat ride.
Tailm didn't have much money, and hoped that the fare was reasonable. She walked cautiously to the strange foreign man and asked " Excuse me, sir.. But. how much is the fare for this boat"
The large man ignored her, and continued to stack barrels. Talim thought that the man didn't hear and walked closer and asked again.
The man grunted. He was trying to do his job, and tried to ignore the little girl, but she wouldn't let up. "What do you want?" he asked, turning around to face her.
Talim studied his face while she repeated her question for the third time. He was unshaven, and had a few scars across his face. He did not seem to care about his appearance and hygiene.
"Sorry little girl. I just load stock. You've got to speak with the men who work up there" the man said, pointing to another large man who waited at the front of the boat, standing by a large lantern.
Talim thanked the kind man, and skipped lightly to the man in charge of the boat fare.
This time, the man saw her coming, and looked at her strange clothing. The lantern revealed Talim, who stood barely as high as the man's elbows. She had large brown eyes, and had two large braids of solid black hair flowing down to her shoulders.
Talim was just about to speak when the man cut her off, saying "What do you want, little missy?". Talim felt a nice friendly tone in the man's voice, and replied less shyly than before
"I was wondering how much fare you charge for a boat ride to the mainland"
"Hmm?" the man raised a thick eyebrow, then smiled again and said "Well, that depends; little girl. Show me how much money you have" he said in an even nicer tone, and his smile showed his many missing teeth.
He was trying to scam her, but Talim was much to naïve and unexperienced. She drew open her sack, started to count out small coins.
While counting, Talim eyes widened and she gasped. She noticed something in her bag she did not plan on seeing.
There was a strange metal shard hiding with her coins. This metal piece however, was not unfamiliar to her.
-- -- --
She found the very same metal shard while playing in the grassy hills of her village a few days ago. She was just running up a large hill, when a strong light reflected into her eye. The sunlight was bouncing off a strange piece of metal, and before she could get close to examine it, she felt a terrible pain burning in her head.
She somehow knew that the little shard was responsible for her discomfort. She was a Wind Priestess, and had developed a sixth-sense.
Sensing a strange aura from this shard, Talim tried to run home to warn her village chieftans. Unfortunately, after taking just a few steps, she collapsed.
When she finally awoke, the village elders had a look of both relief and worry in their old eyes.
"We found you two days ago on the grassy hills" said a village elder. He took a deep breath and continued "You wouldn't wake from your slumber for so long, we started to worry. I gathered several elders and prayed to the wind god the whole time you were asleep"
The village elder smiled "Thank goodness our prayers were answered, and we have our special Talim back with us" "You mean so much to this community" he said quietly, resting his gnarled but firm hand on her shoulder.
Talim thanked him, but inside she felt a little uncomfortable. Here he was, the village elder feeding her lies again.
"I'm just an ordinary girl. Stop calling me a Wind Priestess. I don't want this life. I want to explore, I want to ride the seas with the foreign mariners" she thought to herself silently.
"Talim! You musn't leave us! Do not trust those foreigners!" The village elder replied suddenly and sternly. He couldn't get mad at her
Talim was surprised at what the village elder said. Had she spoken aloud? She remembered never having mentioned her secret desires openly. Talim was confused.
"There is something I need you to explain to me.." said the village elder, "You were found clutching this tightly in your hand" The village elder paused to see if Talim would respond, but Talim didn't remember anything.
The village elder drew out the tiny metal shard and said disappointedly "Here, look at this"
Talim had a sudden flashback, and drew back from the shard. She felt the very same head ache, but much less intensely. "Keep it away" she screamed, and for the first time, sensed a blossoming evil rooting from the shard.
The village elder quickly complied, and put the metal shard in a small box.
"Talim.." sighed the old man. Talim this time didn't want to hear the village elder talk. "I must go, I'm sorry." she said coldly, and ran off. The village elder let his head sink and prayed.
That night she was arguing with her parents and the village council. "I felt something very strange back then, and I am determined to find out what it is all about" yelled Talim.
This was the first time she was angry, and the whole council did not know what to do with an angry Wind Priestess. "Calm down Talim. Think this through." was all they could do to try and subdue her rebelliousness.
"I'm sick of being calmed down. You people don't understand. It's been bothering me the whole time, and you people just want me to sit in the old temple? You're out of your mind" exploded Talim.
"Please understand Talim. You cannot go. Our people depend on you" replied the village chieftan. "Talim, you belong here" her mother pleaded.
Talim looked away and decided that was all the argument was going to stop right then. She ran off to the her special throne-room in the temple, she was trying her best to weigh the situation.
Her village says that they needed her, but she does not believe that. "I have done nothing, and the village has run perfectly" she said to herself. "On the other hand, there is this strange shard, which is definitely going to be a problem."
Talim packed her things, and waited till dark to leave. Little did she know that the village elders knew of her planned departure, but they could do nothing to stop her.
-- -- --
"How did this get here?" wondered Talim, "I did not pack this!" She wondered why she didn't feel any discomfort when she held the shard, resting on many coins, on her tiny hand.
"What is this strange scrap?" asked the man, and reached a hairy hand towards Talim. The man eyed the scrap and his face changed. His eyes narrowed and his smile changed into a greedy smirk.
Talim felt a strange darkness emitting from the man, and took a step back. "What are you doing?!?!" she asked, frightened.
"Give that to me!" the man snarled and grabbed Talim's hand with one hand while trying to pry the shard from Talim's clenched fist. Talim screamed and pleaded for help, but she realized that the rest of the men had disappeared. It was just her and this crazy man, bent on taking away her shard.
Luckily for Talim, she packed more than just change. Inside her bag was a pair of elbow blades, and they were dropped to the ground in her struggle with the man.
The metal shard, still inside her hand, spoke to her. "He's trying to take me away! KILL HIM" ordered the shard.
Talim, for reasons unknown, submitted to the illusionary request of the shard, and felt an urge for bleed shed that she had never felt before.
Talim, using her free hand to grab an elbow blade, drove the bladed point into the man's exposed ribs. The pain caused the man to grunt, but he did not let go of her hand. Talim crouched down, trying to bring her center of gravity down, and proceeded to hack at the man's side.
Talim felt a bone shatter in the man, and he stumbled back, clutching his side, breathing slowly. Talim ignored the man, and picked up the matching elbow blade. She mercilessly attacked the man as he curled into a ball to protect himself. She tore into the man's neck, and yanked back, shredding his vital neck muscles. The man stopped struggling and shuddered one last time.
"What have I done!" cried Talim, as she looked at the corpse. The bloodlust had left her as quickly as it had entered her. She wanted to help the dead man, hoping he was still alive, but knew that she just killed him. Now she just wanted to leave.
Talim was about to return home, when she was attacked from behind.
The dead body grabbed her, and whispered "Give the shard to me" softly in Talim's ear. Talim shrieked and tried to break free of the zombie, but was not strong enough. She turned back to look at the zombie's head, which had multiple stab wounds all over its pale face. As it talked, blood splurted out all over her.
"Let go of me!" she cried again, and this time, she managed to slip away from the zombie. The zombie shambled after her, with an outstretched hand driven to take away the soul shard. "If I run, who knows what this monster will do to my village!" Talim thought to herself, trying her best to plan out her course of action. "It must be stopped now!" she decided almost suddenly, and she was ready for battle.
The zombie lurched forward and was met by Talim's elbow-blade. Knocking the zombie to the left, Talim spun to the right, facing the zombie's back. She jumped up into the air, a drove her heels into the back of the ghoul, hoping to smash him into the ground. The zombie just shrugged off the attack, and turned around with an unholy speed.
The ghoul tried to grab Talim again, but she rolled under the poorly aimed attack and drove her blades into the monster's belly. She watched as some visceral mass fall to the ground, making a messy splat. That disgusted Talim so much she lost focus, and the ghoul was upon her again.
The zombie picked her up with one hand, and a crooked smile was formed on his badly cut lips. "The shard! It will restore me!" lied the zombie. Talim, who momentarily was frozen by fear, snapped.
She shrieked and panicked, making even the zombie hesistate. Without thinking, she drove the elbow blade into the skull of the zombie, and he fell down, permanently.
"Dear gods, what just happened?" she asked out loud. Talim was just experiencing the adrealine level in her body plummet, and felt immensely tired. She however, knew that her journey was going to be tough in the first place, ever since she sensed the strange energies in that shard. Who was responsible for the zombie man ?
She was holding the shard, but it felt heavier, at the exact moment when she killed the zombie for the 2nd time.
There were so many questions in Talim's mind, that she decided to think about them during her voyage on the boat instead.
Wiping her blades clean of the dirty blood, she put back everything in her bag. She wanted to look at the dead body one more time, but she stopped herself, knowing that there can not be more delays. Almost all the cargo has been loaded, so the ship was about to set sail.
"You've got a lot of explaining to do" sighed Talim, talking to the shard as if it could hear her. She lept on the boat to look for a hiding spot.
The men had left crates and barrels in a neat formation, and Talim ,being less than 5 feet tall, managed to squeeze between the cargo to hide.
She grew tired, but decided to stay awake the whole trip should something else happen. And if something was going to happen, Talim and her trusty elbow blades were always prepared.
***
Summary : Talim encounters a giant ship, and meets the sailors. Talim remembers her arguments in her village, and wonders how she ended up with the soul shard piece she thought she tried to keep away. One man is transformed by the alluring energy of the soul shard, and attacks her. Talim, is also transformed into a blood thirsty warrior, and kills the man twice. She sneaks upon the ship as it is about to set sail.