Colours

Red: Brother Two
-Existence 1 of 2-

"Bobin! Hey Bobin! Stop for minute! I have to talk to you!" A huge half-orc in heavy, spike-studded metal armour lumbered onto the grassy field, watching his friend run laps. Bobin was sweating and panting by the time he reached Jeshin, the half-orc. Shaking his head, Bobin looked up at him and started walking towards the center of the yellowing meadow, hearing Jeshin's awkward footsteps as he followed behind.

"What is it, Jeshin? Usually you don't track me down in the Thigari forest unless it's important. Something must have happened. Share it." Bobin walked slowly, both to catch his breath and to allow time for explanations. He was surprised to hear Jeshin let out a rough snarl.

"Some wielder of magic has caused disaster on my people in the mountains! We have created peace and kept to ourselves so he has no reasoning to come and attack us like that! He calls the help of what were once our animal friends to come against us and tear down our villages and destroy our crops and pollute our river! I will not tolerate it, but I know he is too strong. I need your help, Bobin." Bobin stopped and stared at Jeshin: The half-orc. What help could an extremely lethal half-orc and his entire colony of skilled barbarians need from him? Bobin Ophenphlis: A dainty, half-elf ranger?

Bobin stood tall, a mere five foot three, and thought. It had to be a pretty formidable being to scare an entire half-orc community into asking a half-elf for help. And what with all the unexplained forest fires here in his own territory, Thigari Forest, there had to be a link between the two sudden outbursts of power. It was most likely the same person.

"Do you know what he calls himself?" Jeshin shook his head.

"We only see his red cape. We call him crimson…but we have no idea what his name is."

"Hmm…Well, it seems as if your sorcerer is causing some wide-spread destruction. I will help you, friend." Bobin looked up at Jeshin's ruddy face. A crudely-cut beard sprouted from his chin and his eyes shone with rage. Compared to having his human and animal hair-donned war helmet on, Bobin thought Jeshin's head looked oddly small and misshapen. The half-orc attempted a smile.

"Good. Let us travel together to Aurinave, my home. We start tomorrow. Meanwhile, we shall stay in the nearby town, Jonain. Is this acceptable?" Bobin nodded.

"Yes, fine. I may just sleep out here in the wilderness. I've never been very accepted within towns." And Jeshin had to agree. With his wild-lined tattoos and feathers knotted into his hair, Bobin did look very undomesticated and, to most humans, appearance made the attitude. Jeshin nodded his head.

"Come…" Bobin cut him off.

"Someone's coming."

"What? Who's coming where? Do we hide?" Jeshin stumbled over his words stupidly. Bobin held his hands up and silenced him before cresting the nearest hill. Beyond him, Bobin say plains stretching about six hundred yards before the forest overtook it. Driving his horse out of the forest was a short male. His back was hunched and he rode close to his white horse's body, as if he would gain speed by staying small. The horse wasn't working too hard, though the ride looked frantic.

"And short," Bobin murmured, noting this peculiarity as he saw it, "Very short." Jeshin stumbled up to the hilltop and accompanied Bobin.

They watched as the rider rode his horse over the plains and both ducked down as soon as he grew near. Bobin put an arrow at the ready in his bow and laid it flat on the ground, prepared to fire as quickly as he could, should the rider bear any harm to them. Jeshin grinned sadistically and ran his thumb lovingly over the tip of his huge battle-axe.

It seemed like time slowed, and both Jeshin and Bobin relished in this glorious adrenaline-high moment.

Without warning, Bobin sprang up from his hiding spot as he heard the hoof-clops thunder up the hill with his delicate ears. He notched the arrow properly and pulled back the string, prepared to shoot.

"STOP!" He roared, his voice thundering across the open space. The man looked up, astonished, and pulled the reigns of his horse backwards in a final attempt to stop his hasty progress. The white beast dragged its hooves and nearly stumbled backwards down the hill's face. Slowly, almost reluctantly, the small man leapt off his horse and approached Bobin with a thick air of caution.

He was about four and a half feet tall with bushy hair and three silver hoops in the top part of his left ear. Across his back rested a small bow and a quiver of arrows, and he wore a plain, brown over-shirt on top of what seemed, by the sound, to be chain-mail. Around his waist he carried a couple of daggers, but nothing more.

"I need to pass. It is of great urgency that I reach the Illithiad Swamps."

"And what is your business there?" Jeshin rose and growled his answer through his teeth. He looked quite dangerous and gruesome if you didn't know his nature. To get to Aurinave, you needed to cross the swamps, and Jeshin seemed very protective, within reason. Bobin cut off Jeshin's interrogations and the orc silenced himself. The half-elf stared at the half-orc, as if to pierce his soul, and shook his head, indicating how stressed the small being looked.

"You are a gnome?" Bobin inquired of him. In return, he received only silence and the curt nod of a head.

"Now, what has you so urgent, friend? Surely you can relate your tale to us?" The small one looked Bobin in the eyes and sighed, giving in to his words.

"I can, but I do not have time. I will tell you this; Someone, a monster of power, has threatened my family and I, kidnapped my child-bearing wife and young daughter, caused havoc with my fields, killed my live-stock! I was able to bear all those things, they happened so long ago, until my family became upon his hands. That I will not tolerate! If you meet anyone of the name White, tell him Chenkin will find him and gut him." Chenkin said, snarling, then turned on his heel back to his horse.

Bobin was intrigued, you could tell by the way his golden-yellow eyes traveled over Chenkin's small frame and the simple chain-mail armour he wore. He gazed at the bow and iron quiver with interest before exclaiming:

"My friend! Stop! We two are also heading towards the Illithiad Swamps. Perhaps it is within your interest to travel with us. We can offer you protection and we will help you defeat this menace. I fear that you may not be able to do this alone. What did you say his name again?"

Chenkin stopped mounting his horse. The half-orc's and the half-elf's eyes were on him: lasers burning into his back. With a sigh, Chenkin faced them, running his hands through his ear-length black hair.

"White, he calls himself White. We've no idea what his name is. He wears a black cloak and a wide-brimmed hat." Jeshin nodded.

"The sorcerer by my home wears a red cape like his. And his hat is the same way too. Is he aged?" Chenkin nodded again, interested in this revelation of similarities.

"You think they're connected somehow?" He pondered. Bobin shrugged.

"We'll find out, I guess. Well, if you refuse our proposal, then…" Chenkin cut him off.

"No, no…I'll travel with you. We may have stumbled upon something. But, if these two people were connected, what are they doing? Strength in numbers is worthy. And they're both so powerful. Wouldn't it be easier to just band together and destroy?" Chenkin asked.

"It does seem so. But for whatever reason they split up, it will be their downfall. We'll hunt both of them and take them down. We have allies in my homeland, and in the surrounding hills. And Bobin's animal friends will be useful too." Jeshin said confidently.

"I cannot provide allies. My home community was destroyed by blink dogs long ago and only I survived in my clan. And our town, Jonain, does not provide much enthusiasm to accept us within its borders. I'm sorry for that inconvenience." Bobin laughed.

"It's all right, friend. We will be triumphant, no matter what odds we are given! What say you we camp here tonight, under the stars? Does that appeal to the party?" Chenkin nodded eagerly, but Jeshin was a little slow on the uptake of the notion.

They set up camp and Jeshin went out and hunted a few rabbits, much to Bobin's distaste and they got into a brawl, arguing over which is better, being a carnivore or a vegetarian until Chenkin split them up and made them sit down and eat their separate meals. An uncomfortable silence weaved through the men until the moon had risen as high as the heaven's peak and smiled fondly at them. They quietly discussed who would take first, second, and third watch. It was settled as Bobin first, Chenkin second, and Jeshin last.

The watch passed smoothly for Bobin, only hearing the harmless wolves in the distance near the end of his round. He woke Chenkin, who batted his hand away and yawned broadly before looking Bobin blearily in the eyes and moaning his discontent. Within minutes, Chenkin had been…'coaxed'…out of bed and was on his watch.

The time flew for Chenkin, though he was a bit more peeved by the wolves than Bobin and soon it was time to wake Jeshin, who became immediately alert and went straight to his watch. Chenkin slept and dreamt of dead babies and men in cloaks…

Upon the next morning, as Chenkin awoke, he noticed two more empty bedrolls and sat up, staring at Bobin as he glared out over the plains, a small leather bag clutched in his left hand. He stumbled to his feet and went to stand next to him, squinting pathetically to see what he saw, but caught nothing out of the ordinary in his gaze.

"Uh….Bobin," He yawned broadly, "What're you doing? Where's Jeshin?" Bobin growled, a look of pure contempt flashing across his face. His hand threw the bag to the ground and its contents spilled; a dusty, sandy, red powder wove out and toyed with the breeze.

"That damn sorcerer took him in the night. Not a sound. An entire half-orc, gone without a goddamn sound! What the heck are we dealing with?"

"They're powerful. I admit, but they have many enemies, we'll find something to do. Jeshin will be alright, he's strong." Chenkin soothed. Bobin seemed a little ruffled, but put away his temper for the moment.

"Alright. We just need to keep a cool head and a sense of information. The next town is just before the Illithiad Swamps, Rendell. We can stop there and retrieve what information the people know of there. Is this alright?" Chenkin nodded.

"Let's go, travel will be easier in the morning than in late afternoon." Bobin nodded, his eyes distant. Chenkin mounted his horse, understanding what Bobin must feel, losing his friend so suddenly. It seemed patchy, like a poorly-written story, that Jeshin would disappear, that the plot thickened so fast without explanation. He held out his hand and tapped Bobin on the shoulder, indicating for him to get up on the horse.

Bobin stared through him, then shook his head, instead, turning his back on him, putting two fingers in his mouth, and letting out a sharp, shrill whistle that resonated through Chenkin's ears. The gnome watched in amazement as a large griffin soared from the treetops in the distance and flew at the pair, wings beating calmly, but allowing for swift movement. It landed with a dull thud and lowered its head to level with Bobin's.

Before a minute had passed, Bobin was soaring on the back of his familiar while Chenkin's mare struggled to keep up.

'I'm coming Jeshin…Just hold on!'

-Existence 2 of 2-

"…Mommy…" A little girl sat alone on a gray stone dais in the middle of a black-stone room. A few torches hinted shadows along the wall and cast a pitiful light upon the small party nestled around the circle. A line of gold weaved its way straight down the center of the room, cutting it neatly into two sections. Two marble columns with a picture of a pentacle on one and the picture of an eye on the other.

"Mommy…" The girl cried out again, pitifully. She was blindfolded and her hands and ankles and knees were tied together. She was laying on her side on the stone platform, unaware of her surroundings or even the people that watched her and waited. A wide, arching door with spells and thick iron beams protecting it opened slowly, and allowed entrance a man in traveler's uniform. Behind him, he drug a woman by her hair, ignoring her cries of pain.

The woman looked hardly older than thirty and she wore a simple dress with little but a leather necklace for jewelry. She looked up when she heard the child's cries, now louder in tone when the two adults had recently entered.

"Sar…" She was backhanded by the traveler.

"Quiet, or your daughter will bear your punishment." Silence thick as mud seeped in to the room. The man closed his eyes and immediately his guise melted away to reveal an aged man in flowing white robes. The gnome looked up in horror at empty, white eyes.

"Welcome, woman, to the home of the great sorcerer, White."

Everything went black.

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Okay…got the next one up finally. I don't know if this one is as good as the previous chapter, but it doesn't matter what I think, it's what all you readers think! So, read and review and tell me how I did: good or bad?