AUTHOR'S HOWLS
Chapter 5 is now up to those who still wanna read LGA! (Hope you guys are still out there...) The next update MIGHT take a little more time because I'm gonna put up a lot more effort in the next chapter. I just hope our team battle won't affect my writing... Oh and to Nimajneb, thanks so much for the kind words but I'm nowhere near an english master. I just try my damndest. Oh, and about that part where you say there might not be a singular plot, if you have some time please click on my profile, my writing style I used in this fic was explained there. Hope that enlightens you a bit. And about the wanderer? Let me just say that your current reaction is just proof that my plan is working smiles Chapter 5... Tangling Threads... Enjoy!
DRAMATIS PERSONAE:(Since Chapter 1)
Main Chars:
Damienus - Master Priest and High Counciler of the Pronteran Church High Council. The only living Grand Master who has perfected the Magnus Exorcisimus spell.
Rahne - Softspoken but aspiring swordsmaiden whose father was allegedly killed by a Wanderer. (See Prologue)
Roxanne/Roseanne - Feisty, conceited but fiercely loyal, this lady acolyte always seems to be getting in trouble.
Lilly Loran - Demure, Intelligent and strong, Lilly is one of the brightest students in Geffen's Academy of the arcane arts. She is also Roxanne's bestfriend.
Canaan - A lonely and pitiful figure. This blacksmith lives by his lonesome in the woods of Geffen. He has agreed to accompany Damienus's party and act as a guide to Payon.
Cloune - A handsome, mid-level swordsman who seems to have some craving to kill martins. He joined Damienus's party on the way to Fisherboughs Forest (Introduced in this Chapter!)
Supporting Cast:
Yukan - A Wizard Lord from Geffen's Supreme Council of Wizards. He has mastery over Fire-based spells
Origon - Belongs to one of the ruling nobilities of the land of Morroc, this Assassin is known throughout the land for helping bring peace between Prontera and Morroc during the Morrocan war
Shinbo - The self-proclaimed "Lucky thief" captured by Lilly and Roxy while he was stealing an apple
Staple Wire - A thief with a unique tool of weapons
Kiko - A Thief with quick hands and a short temper. He is the leader of a trio of poor bandits that continually steals the Blacksmith Canaan's wares every morning
G-sas - A swordsman in Kiko's party
Iya - A gentle acolyte forced to steal with Kiko and G-sas because of poverty
Grand Councilor Wepz - The youngest priest in history to recieve the title of Grand Councilor, which means the leader of the Pronteran Church
Dragonz - Supreme General of the Pronteran Knight Academy
Minos - Dragonz's XO
Kram-Z - Another high-ranking knight in the Pronteran Academy and a friend of Minos and Dragonz
Other characters:
Sister Matilda - One of the helpers in the Pronteran Church and appears to be a love interest of Damienus
Governor Xen-Lou - Governor of Payon City and close friend of Damienus
Ferdomear - Retired colonel of the Pronteran Army and an instructor from the Pronteran Knight Academy. Ferdomear lost his life protecting his daughter, Rahne, during the events that happened during the Prologue.
Prince Tam - Young King of Prontera forced to sit on the throne when his father, King Tristam the 1st, died.
CHAPTER 5 – Tangling Threads
Prontera city, Prontera
There was a spring in Iya's step as she walked the streets of Prontera. She hummed a light tune and kept on a huge smile as she skipped forward, glancing at a random merchant stall or two. She blushed a little when she saw a couple of youths giving her a lingering gaze. She insisted to herself that it was because of the sparkling new acolyte dress that Kiko bought for her and nothing else. What with her blue eyes and near flawless hair, humility was still always Iya's best trait.
She had the most delicious lunch courtesy of the supplies that they got from Damienus's party. And all this she knew was because of the Blacksmith, Canaan. If he had not been so kind as to offer them their food AND the weapons that he was selling for the day, she would be dizzy with hunger by now. She glanced down at her hand and observed the knife she was carrying. It was quite different from the ones they used to steal from Canaan everyday. This knife's sheathe was carved out with a tribal sort of design bearing the name of the maker. The blade's handle was covered with a soft material making it very easy to grasp by a woman without roughing up their usually delicate hands. She found it such a delight to hold although it was too bad they were going to sell it anyway. Kiko instructed his party to have a weapon each and split up to sell them. Iya found it a pity, if she had enough money she'd buy it from Kiko herself.
Her amusement has apparently attracted an audience. As fate would have it Staple Wire, the thief, was tossing his blade in the air, catching them with skill and throwing them again as he leaned against a wall. Being a self-proclaimed genius when it comes to dames, Staple tipped the hat of his "Western Grace" as the acolyte passed, putting on his most charming smile.
"G'afternoon, miss. That's a mighty fine knife there. I know a thing or two about them myself. What's a pretty little thing like you doing with such a weapon?" Staple asked trying not to sound too forward. But Iya wasn't one to scare easy since she had been living with bandits all her life.
"Well it IS a nice knife. These days, you never know when some rascal will try to take advantage of a defenseless, young lady. Better to be prepared." Was Iya's cool reply, stopping in front of the thief to observe him. "Are you interested enough to spend some money for it?"
Buying the knife was far from Staple's intentions as he took off his Western Grace to take a glance at the pretty acolyte before him. He and Shinbo had some time to wander around Prontera to look for supplies upon orders from their new mistress who was, shockingly enough, an assassin princess. Those kinds of things didn't happen everyday so he and Shinbo took the chance to aid the princess in her search for a particular swordsman. Although Staple found it odd for Princess Dukesa to search for a specific man —she could have any man she wanted—he thought that when the time comes that he would be an assassin, being in the princess's good side would help him in the future. It didn't hurt that his new mistress was quite a looker too.
"Sure, but my money isn't with me at a moment, its with my friends down at the inn. Would you wait here or---?"
"No, I'll come with you. The Happy Poring Inn, right? It's near, anyway." Iya smiled. Besides she was feeling pretty thirsty. It was turning out to be a pretty hot day.
Roughly 7 Kilometers off the outskirts of Fisherbough Forest
Now where the hell have those damned Martins gone???
Cloune the swordsman wiped a few beads of sweat off his brow as he continued searching for those small, gopher-like monsters that have been eluding him for the past few days. The sun was extraordinarily hot this afternoon but tolerable enough what with the wind blowing a steady gait. He shook a few pieces of flying grass that got stuck on the chinks of his shoulder's armor plating, cringing a bit when he saw a few cracks on it. Maybe he'd go into town the next day to have them replaced. Those damned, damned, DAMNED Martins will get it first, though…
He unsheathes his sword and swings it a bit in the air to loosen his muscles, stopping only to notice a group of people walking towards him. Nothing unusual about seeing a bunch of travellers walking around in these parts. But nothing for the life of Cloune, could there be a louder party than the one heading his way.
"Can't we just rest for a while? C'mon… my legs are gonna come off if we walk another step." An acolyte in the group whined. A blacksmith in the group who had silver hair and deep blue eyes frowned at the comment.
"No. We have to pass through Fisherbough forest before night. We're already behind as it is."
An old priest who was obviously the leader walked up to where the blacksmith was.
"We've walked quite a long way already, mister Canaan. Maybe we do need to rest a bit. Its high noon and the heat is eating up our energy."
"No. No time. We have to get across before night." Was the firm reply.
Cloune smiled and walked up to the small group, sheathing his sword to say he comes in peace.
"Well hey there, folks. Fancy seeing a bunch of travellers on the way to Fisherboughs. Could you by chance be heading to Payon? If so, it would honor me if you would invite me in your little party." Cloune said, his brown eyes sparkling with excitement and anticipation for adventure.
"Nothing doing. We can manage." The blacksmith shot back quickly, giving him a cold stare.
"Why Canaan! That's very rude of you!" Lilly, the mage of the group stepped forward, "Of course, you're welcome, Sir Swordsman. I'm Lilly Loran. The acolyte goes by the name of Roxy. The swordsmaiden is Rahne. Our teacher, Master Damienus is the priest and the rude blacksmith is Canaan." Lilly said, hoping the introductions would mean that they weren't all as distrusting as their blacksmith. But Cloune didn't seem concerned.
"Nice to meet you all. My name's Cloune. I'm a mid-level swordsman looking for adventure. Don't worry about supplies, I've got my own. And I don't need much to get through the journey, anyway." Cloune smiled, winking at Rahne who just blushed.
"Well it's settled then," Roxy suddenly blurted out, finding their newest party member cute as hell, "Cloune will accompany us through Fisherboughs. So it doesn't matter if we get there by nightfall, we will have protection from a noble warrior!"
All three girls giggled and Damienus welcomed their embarassed guest. But Canaan said nothing and went on in the front, praying that they indeed were correct.
Cloune's adventure stories, told from when he was just a novice till his swordsman days, were very entertaining and the group, but more particularly the girls, did not seem the least bit uncomfortable despite the dark and creepy surroundings of Fisherboughs forest. Because of a lot of stops along the way, they have entered the forest by nightfall much to Canaan's dismay. But the girls never seemed to mind, as long as Cloune was talking and walking along with them.
" ...and that was when I realized that the Pecopeco I killed was someone else's pet! I ran as fast as I could away from there. The next morning, there was a warrant out for a pet killer and the pet belonged to General Dragonz himself! Man, did I stay low after that one!" Cloune said with a laugh. The girls laughed with him. Damienus just smiled. He caught a long glance or two from Cloune in Rahne's direction and figured that their must be something brewing between the two young ones. Rahne was his charge and for a while he felt that he should be a little more protective, but these were the kinds of things that Damienus wished Rahne would get herself into. Maybe a little romance would help her forget her past. Canaan's gruff voice startled all of them.
"We should all pipe down. We're gonna attract trouble with all your blabberin'." Canaan harumphed. Cloune smiled apologetically but all the girls scowled at the blacksmith.
"All you attract are flies. Quit being such a coward." Roxy sneered. "Besides, no monster in their right mind would dare attack us right now."
"I DO BEG TO DIFFER, YOUNG LADY."
A booming voice bellowed out from the dark. Instantly, Cloune unsheathed his sword. Damienus fired up his sp force. Only Canaan didn't seem to move much. But his face was grim. To the amazement of everyone, he took a step forward.
"Mordekai, is that you and your band of idiots?" he asked. A small chuckle could be heard then some rustling.
"Why if it isn't Canaan, the cowardly blacksmith. Weren't the terms clear enough? Or did you need it to be pounded through your skull... literally?" The deep voice answered back. There was some rustling from the south as well.
"These people didn't know you were here. They aren't a scout patrol or anything. They're just passing through. I'm guiding them." Canaan talked back. If he felt any fear, it was not shown on his face or voice.
"Canaan, Canaan, Canaan... When will it occur to you that we couldn't care any less? And so what if they were a scout patrol? As if that would scare us off." A husky laugh followed. And what was one voice was joined by numerous others and soon the entire forest echoed with shrill laughter. It was impossible to estimate how many of them were hiding but Canaan figured it was the entire tribe.
"I don't like this..." Rahne whispered to herself. Lilly and Roxy huddled closer to Cloune, knowing that the noble warrior would protect them. Damienus fired his sp force a notch higher and took a step towards Canaan.
"Are these men aggressive?" Damienus asked, his eyes scanning the shadowy forest.
"They're not men." Canaan replied without looking back.
As if on cue, a figure emerged from the brushes ahead. Damienus frowned at the sight. A hulking figure bounded from the shadows. It was around 7 foot high with heavily muscular arms and legs. It wore torn pants of a light color but all filthy with dirt. The skin color was a light shade of blue and looked leathery and rough. It stood straight like a man and walked on two legs but the face had hideous irregularities. The ears were pointed and had numerous piercings and scars. The nostrils were large and flared up and the eyes glowered with hatred.
"Its an orc? A high orc?" Damienus gasped.
"That's a rather impolite term, my good priest. The correct label would be ELITE ORC. We're pretty much higher in the evolutionary journey than our dim-witted cousins." The orc said with a smile. He had a touch of aristocracy in his accent. Compared to his looks, it sounded eerie.
"I've never heard of the sort. And I've had my fair share of research on orcs. How did you stay unknown all this time?" Lilly bravely joined the conversation, cowering just a bit when the Mordekai glared at her then shook his head.
"Such confidence in today's generation. You read a book and you think you've learned everything. Judging that you're a mage, young miss, it's a pretty amusing thought that your obviously incorrect observation translates to Geffen being overrated as the center for learning in Midgard. Such a shame." Mordekai said with an evil grin.
"Well... I never..." Lilly started to protest but found it utterly ridiculous to be having such a conversation with a monster. The orc was talking like her instructors back in the Geffen academy. To be patronized by such a being...
"I'm telling you one last time Mordekai, these people were just passing through Fisherbough to get to Payon. In. Out. Isn't that idea fairly simple or do you have to make everything so complicated?" Canaan glanced a bit at Lilly and the others hinting to the group to shut up and let him do the talking.
The orc leaned on a tree, folded his arms together and put on a tired expression.
"Your incessant pleading is becoming tiresome, Blacksmith… the terms were we leave you alone and you make sure we were left alone as well, make sure no chance patrols would enter these parts--"
"And on what power would Canaan have on stopping travelers or patrols by himself? He's not any sort of authoritative figure!" Roxy burst out as she, like Lilly, could not believe that a dumb orc was talking them down.
"I don't know... By being his usual annoying self? By killing everyone who passes? Making up some old-wives tale? I don't care. The point is we had a deal, and this time I can't let it slide." The orc smiled with yellow teeth, glancing at his orc comrades who inched a little closer to Damienus's party.
The Master Priest and the others huddled back, looking warily at every side as more orcs moved into the clearing. Cloune gave a momentary look at Rahne and the two swordsmen put up positions on either side of the group, enclosing the magic users Lilly and Roxy. Damienus stood in the front as he started chanting phrases to aid the team with Divine magic. Only Canaan didn't budge from his spot as he stood between his partymates and Mordekai.
Mordekai motioned to another orc and he was handed a massive sword, as wide as a tree trunk and looked like it weighed as much as its owner. He held it in his right hand as his left motioned for some elite archers to take aim.
"Sometimes being so smart has its downsides. Subtlety was never in my family bloodline. Pity that. But I try. Once in a while though, I tend to let out my barbaric tendencies. It relieves me of pre-invasion stress..." The orc sighed and started walking forward. The archers tensed their bowstrings.
"Pre-invasion?" The Swordsman, Cloune, echoed, looking as dumbfounded as everybody.
"Everybody! Focus!" Damien shouted to the group as he turned his attention towards the Blacksmith to shower him with holy aura.
That was when Canaan suddenly disappeared from everyone's view.
The Happy Poring Inn, Prontera
"I will ask you one more time, acolyte... where did you get this knife?"
"I... I..."
Iya was getting pretty embarrassed. She had followed Staple Wire to the Happy Poring Inn to the second floor and into a private room where she met a curiously familiar-looking thief named Shinbo and a hooded figure seated at a table that Staple Wire referred to only as "Mistress." The lady was quiet enough as Staple explained that he thought the knife would make a nice weapon. It was when Iya showed the knife that all hell broke loose.
Iya looked around and saw surprised looks in the faces of both Staple and Shinbo. She didn't know what to say herself. The Mistress took one look at the knife and suddenly started asking questions aggressively. The hooded lady rose from the table and slammed her fist on the table, making the thieves feel thankful that they were in a private room.
"ANSWER ME IF YOU VALUE YOUR LIFE!!"
"Given... Blacksmith... wasn't..."
"A BLACKSMITH?? ARE YOU SURE YOU ARE NOT MISTAKEN ABOUT HIS JOB CLASS??!"
"I... jeans and axes and..."
Princess Dukesa sighed tiredly and snatched the knife from the table. The three other people in the room just stared blankly at each other as the princess walked towards a nearby window looking out at the night sky. She stared at the knife, noting the almost-imperceptible initials carved under the name "Canaan". The initials were two letters, D and W.
"A Blacksmith, then... Hmph... Very well... I will see you soon... Canaan..."
AUTHOR'S HOWLS
Yes, I know its kind of a bridge chapter but it did its job of progressing the story in the way I wanted it to. Chapter 6 might come up a bit late because... as you guessed it... ACTION!!! And since I believe this is my forte, I want to make sure I still have the magic, its been a while, really. Anyway, I sure do hope you readers are still out there to spare a few seconds for a review or two. It's the stuff that makes this tired old wolf continue telling more tales. See you in Chapter 6!