G'day! ...err, well g'eve! It's been quite awhile since I've last attempted to write, about four or five years. I've been struggling to find the wordsong again, that feeling when the story isn't forced but flows like a song from the fingertips. I'm quite rusty. But, after reading over some awesome works here, I'm feeling that hunger to tell a tale again and I hope my humble addition is enjoyable. ^.^ Wisps of steam snorted from flaring, equine nostrils as hooves thundered against the dirt of the road, sending clumps of earth to shower in their wake. The chill of the dawn's air bit at the grizzled visage of both man and beast; thick fog capitulated before their unfaltering gallop. The rider's face was stern, his lone eye attempting to pierce through the veil of mist that shrouded the road ahead and the wooded area around. Ominous, malformed silhouettes of lone trees dotted their peripherals, nearly indiscernible behind the white haze, though the haze did not thwart the faint aroma of honey suckle that drifted through the chill of the air. "Yah! Yah!" The rider yelled as those booted heels slapped against the muscled black flanks of the beast, spurring it to exertion. The horse sped up with a sharp shake of its mane, fervent to accept the rider's challenge by a retorting snort. The grizzled rider had a faint smirk under a gray goatee; the dark stallion's fiery attitude was one to be appreciated for it did not waver. With a quick glance over his shoulder, the aged rider took note to his lone companion; who trailed behind on his own mare, though she was not as quick, but her endurance had no known competition. Upon looking ahead once more, with one hand gripping the leather reins; the other rose to adjust the taunt clasp of a billowing maroon cloak from digging into his neck. That faint smirk vanished as troubled thoughts began to bubble once more. They could not tarry if what was spoken to him were to come true. As the beast raced down the twisting roads toward the town ahead, passing through an area with a single quiet house on one side and a large fog-hidden lake on the other, the rider mulled over the events that had transpired long before the morning sun had crest upon the horizon. "Do not be alarmed, elder human." a disembodied voice had rasped to the rider from within the dark cavern of the mines, where he had been patrolling long before the first light of dawn. The grizzled man had jerked in surprise, veteran warrior instincts snapped his hand to the hilt of the sword at his hip. He immediately turned to the source of the voice, his lone eye squinted in the low golden light of the scattered lanterns that hung upon the earthen walls; his other eye laid forever hidden and useless under a patch of black cloth. After a moment of searching, he could barely distinguish the black, inhuman form that stood within the shadows, avoiding the lanterns' glow. "You gave me a fright," the veteran gruffly replied, with a sigh of relief. His hand relaxed from his blade as he took a step forward, resisting the urge to raise up the portable lantern that his other hand held by its bronze handle. The creature before him was no enemy, though not particularly a friend of his either. Neither had qualms of the other, but both were reserved from ugly encounters from the other's people. "I do not wish to give you fright. I am wary of you humans too. Most of you humans. But, your peoples here has shown no ill will to me." the creature's coarse voice ominously echoed through the musty cavern. The veteran's eyebrow rose as it spoke, curious about what this creature had to tell him. Something didn't feel right to the old veteran, this one was never known to go out of its way to speak to one of them. Something was wrong, he could feel that knot in his gut. He listened intently as the creature continued to have its say, "I fear that our time has come to an end. The kindness of the human peoples here have compelled me to give you a warning: the new one has hurt my peoples, many of my peoples. New one has taken something that no one should take. My peoples' anger and thirst for vengeance will not let these actions go unpunished." The creature stepped forward, hollowed eyes squinted as the yellow glow met its black skin; skin that seemed ethereal, more made of shadows, than anything substantial. The veteran thoughtfully moved his lantern behind him, his brow furrowed in concern upon digesting what this creature was informing him of. His thoughts had begun to picture hundreds of battle-hardened creatures, like the one before him though much larger, spilling out from the mine's entrance to head toward town that wasn't but a stroll away. They were creatures that the veteran had fought before, but even just one had taken many blows to fell. He held no desire to test his skill against a handful, much less scores of them."Are you certain of this, Krobus? They will come to the surface?" "I fear it is so as I fear for the human peoples here. I plead for you to gather your peoples and leave this place." as Krobus spoke, he began to shift his weight from one foot to the other, then back again, showing obvious distress. The veteran instinctively knew the shadow brute was genuine, that he really did care for the inhabitants of Pelican Town."Please...M-M-Marlon?" The veteran nodded to affirm his name as his eye looked off into the darkness, his free hand rose to stroke the gray facial hair upon his chin. A great number of thoughts assaulted his mind and, for a moment, the cavern was in silence except for the seldom echo of a water droplet falling within the shadows. Marlon's hand stopped in mid-stroke upon his chin as his eye turned to Krobus, those whirlwind of thoughts dissipated as he came to a decision of what must first be done with such dire news. With a slight nod, he said, "I... no, we thank you, Krobus, for your great kindness and the lives that your warning may save. If you may excuse me, I must see to informing the one who will know what's best to be done." "Yes, of course, M-M-Marlon." Krobus replied in a relieved, though stammering voice that had some difficulty pronouncing the veteran's name. His shadowy head nodded eagerly, truly glad that this one had listened and took his words to heart. His bobbing head paused as he realized that he didn't know who the aged human was referring to. "Who knows best about what to do?" "The Wizard." Marlon answered matter-of-factly as he headed towards the lone ladder that would take him out of the mines. The veteran paused to look back at the friendly shadow brute,"I shall not tarry. You make sure to keep yourself safe, as well, Krobus. Let us know if we can do anything for you." "My thanks." Marlon could hear how touched the creature was by his words. A ghost of a smile touched his lips as he reached out to grasp an aged wooden rung of the ladder. The wood creaked in protest when the veteran hoisted himself up and began his ascent. The sharp sound of metallic horse shoes clanking off of stone jarred Marlon from his thoughts. He immediately focused on steering the beast with his heels and a tug on the reins to maneuver around the tight quarters of the cluttered town. When they neared the town's central general goods store, he leaned down and laid a calming hand on the side of the beast's neck as he pulled back the reins gently, though firmly to slow the stallion down to a canter. The steed was happy to comply, its massive chest heaved from its endeavored run, some of that fiery spirit was quelled by fatigue. "That's good," the veteran whispered soothingly, patting that muscled neck a few times before raising up in the saddle to survey the quiet little town. Not a soul was in sight, though it wasn't surprising with how early it still was. Especially with the fog hanging thick that morning, though spring was beginning to run in full swing, the lingering winter's chill still bit during the evenings and at dawn. Marlon continued to look about, pulling back the reins a bit more to slow the tired horse to an easy trot. A glance over his shoulder, at the clanking sound of another set of hooves upon the stone, revealed that his companion was catching up to their slowed pace. If their task wasn't so parlous, he would have found his bearded friend amusing. The slightly round man was more accustomed to a wooden rocking chair than on a tottering saddle. With one hand grasping the reins tightly, the other holding that wide-brimmed brown hat securely on his head; he was hunched forward with his lips curled back revealing slightly yellowed clenched teeth under an always blushed nose that made it seem as if he had the sniffles. His eyes were wide with anxiety, not from the task at hand, but from being tenderfoot on horseback. The poor mare looked extremely agitated, though most likely due to those thick thighs of her rider mercilessly squeezing like a vice, and she voiced a long neighing complaint to the sight of Marlon. As the amusing couple trotted past the wooden birch building of the general goods store, known as Pierre's, and coming to a matching pace with the veteran, the bearded man composed himself by sitting up straight and attempting to relax. His clenched teeth disappeared under the gray beard that seemed to fuse together, but those dark eyes remained wide and somewhat accusatory when they turned toward the veteran. "Ya know, I could still be sleepin' right now." "Indeed you could be, but you aren't." Marlon remarked, turning his head just slightly so his unveiled eye looked back at his companion. With a wink, though no one could ever tell if the old veteran was really just blinking, he let out a low chuckle. He gently dug his left heel into the beast's flanks and tugged on the reins, which the stallion complied without protest by turning past the dark brick building of the town's only saloon and into the open stone brick paved plaza. "Least we're by that fancy pants doc's house. This horse tryin' t'give me a heart a'tac." The bearded man huffed as his free hand adjusted the suspenders over a dark grey shirt. Marlon glanced over at the powdered blue building that stood next to Pierre's, which both were now behind them as they continued down the empty center of the plaza, toward two lone houses that stood ahead. "My dear Gil, are you saying that, out of all the trials we've been through, a ride on a docile mare will be your downfall? If so, tell me now and I'll make sure the undertaker marks that on your tombstone." the veteran replied mirthfully. He was pleasantly surprised that he found himself relaxing from the serious business. Though, Gil always had that affect on him by simply complaining about irrelevant problems that paled beyond comparison to the dilemmas that were on the horizon. "I ain't tellin' ya nothin' of the sorts! Just this darn horse be gettin' my hindquarters sore." Gil grumbled his complaint with a glare at the back of the mare's head. As if she could feel his eyes upon her or comprehend their words, she snorted loudly. Marlon's steed responded with a toss of his huge head and a snort of his own, much louder, and then gave the mare a friendly nip on her jaw. The mare shied away, obviously not in a playful mood. They passed a cream-colored home and followed the turning road ahead, which began to take them parallel next to the river that separated the town from the beach and sea beyond. A row of trees and heavy foliage blocked their view of the wide open blue waters, but the smell of saltwater was thick in the air as were the calls of seagulls and crashing waves. Making their way towards the outskirts of town, passing by a dark blue home, those calls from seagulls began to be accompanied by the drone of cattle, the two men nudged their horses from the easy trot to a canter when the stone road was replaced by a well-worn dirt road. "I ain't gonna sit easy for days after this," Gil moaned over the rushing wind from their quickened pace. A small farm and a lone cabin blurred by as they entered Cindersap Forest, where tall oak, maple, and pine trees crowded closely together. The stallion and mare kept near the river where it remained mostly clear of obstacles to avoid footslogging through the dense vegetation and trees. The river had grown much wider, where further south it eventually opened up to the sea. The fog had all but dissipated, save for the light blanket that floated across the waters, and the two riders could take in that medieval stone tower that stood proudly in the sky. The bank of the river began to curve, but the riders slowed their beasts as they continued straightforward, toward a line of foliage that obscured the base of the tower. As they neared, they slowed their horses to a halt and dismounted. Taking the reins and guiding the beasts, while on foot, they tied the leather around the nearest sturdy branch. Marlon gave his stallion a thankful pat on its strong jaw, who responded with a annoyed nudge of its muzzle that pushed the veteran back a step. He gave a small chuckle with the shake of his gray head then turned to make his way through the foliage. As he passed through the thicket, he took in the base of the tower that stood on a hill. Without being delayed by the sight, he continued onward to the incline of wooden steps that lead to a thick, iron-hinged door. His gut was knotting up once more, the reality setting in as the end to their short journey was just ahead. Those thick boots of his echoed off the finished wooden steps, somewhat deafening the low grumbles of Gil, who lagged behind and was walking rather bow-legged. "I ain't never understood what would compel someone to live in one of these towers. 'magine all those stairs ya gotta climb!" "And I'd imagine that if the town was being threatened by a legion of stairs that you'd have to climb, you'd take it much more seriously than you are now." Marlon called back over his shoulder as he reached the door of the tower. A faint, pungent odor assaulted his nose, making it crinkle up in slight disgust. The wizard must be up to his usual hobby of tossing strange things in that boiling cauldron of his. With a roll of his eye, he raised his hand to knock, but the door opened before his knuckles could rap on the surface. That sickly odor grew even stronger as the open portal revealed a dimly lit room inside. With a deep breath, for Marlon never cared to come here, he composed himself then stepped inside. Gil sped up his pace and hurried in after him, grunting at the smell. Once the two were inside, the door closed by some unseen force. Goosebumps covered the two riders' flesh, the hairs on the back of their necks stood, and their eyes darted about the room until they fell upon the dark robed man who stood over a black iron cauldron that was up to the brim with bubbling green liquid. "Greetings, old friends." The wizard welcomed without looking up from the liquid. The tone of his voice seemed to imply that he was expecting them. Marlon glanced around the dark room, most of it shrouded in shadows except for lit candles that stood on a worn-out wooden desk. The green liquid seemed to glow on its own accord, bathing the facial features of the magician in a sickly green hue. "And to you, as well, Rasmodius." the veteran responded, somewhat hesitantly as he eyed the man suspiciously. Not one to meddle or tarry from business, he posed his question as a demand, "What do you know?" "Know?" The wizard repeated, finally lifting his eyes from under an exaggerated black pointed hat to acknowledge Marlon with his thick, oddly purple, eyebrows raised. "My, Marlon, I know quite a lot of things. I am a wizard, after all. Knowing things is a requirement of our lot." Marlon responded by looking at him dully. Though the three of them had a lot of history together, and somewhat of a friendship, the wizard could be quite exasperating and Marlon wasn't one to hide his feelings. Rasmodius took a step back from the cauldron and let out a hearty laugh from the violet goatee on his face. He clapped his hands once as he strolled over to the old warrior, outstretching his hand in welcome. Marlon, pointedly, looked down at the waiting hand then back to meet the eyes of the wizard before clasping it with his own. The wizard laughed loudly again, smiling widely as he strolled over to Gil. "Ah, Gil, I am most surprised to see you walking. I was dearly afraid that we would have to fuse that old chair of yours with George's." "Why ain't you always been a riot!" Gil clapped his hands in amusement and let out his own laughter, which was more akin to the bray of a donkey. "Good t'see ya without actin' all secretive and wh'not." "To you, as well, dear friend." Rasmodius demeanor sobered up as he glanced between the two. "Though, I am to take it that the circumstances are not the best? Dark forces at work?" Marlon nodded and cleared his throat, "Earlier, before dawn, I was inspecting the mines to ensure that the slime infestation wasn't returning. Krobus showed up and I think he was returning from down within the deeper levels...where his kin are." "We are most fortunate that Krobus has taken a liking to this town of ours." The wizard bobbed his head, knowingly. "I'll spare you of words, dear friend. I am quite aware of the dark tidings you heard this day. It seems that the new youngling around here has caused quite a mess by venturing to places that are best left unexplored." The wizard walked over toward the worn desk to shuffle through some parchments. Marlon remained where he stood, though Gil seemed a bit bored and began to slowly drift about the room, like a child in a toy store. Without looking back, Rasmodius continued, "You're both aware that I have my...ways of knowing things. I've seen pieces of a possible and likely future crafted by the decisions of this rather curious farmer. But, this, most certainly, has never been one of them. Not even hinted at." Marlon raised his bushy gray eyebrows as the wizard glanced back at him, signalling for him to continue. Rasmodius held up a piece of parchment close to his face, mumbling as he read the writings upon it. He briskly walked back over to the cauldron, removed something from a pocket in his robes, and tossed it in the cauldron. The green liquid hissed as a puff of smoke rose and dissipated toward the ceiling. "It appears our fates are tied to the whims of that one, for what reason, I do not know." The wizard said, almost absently. Marlon slowly closed his eye, resisting the urge to let his frustration get the best of him. Rasmodius was a talker, and when given the chance, he milked every opportunity he could to talk a storm before getting to a point. The wizard glanced over at the veteran, seeming to sense his irritation. "But, to our current potential problem, we have a rather easy solution...which... I have already prepared for. Well, not exactly for this current issue, but for something similar in nature and to the same outcome." Marlon looked up, his frustration melted away in an instant. Gil continued his roam around the room, poking at odds and ends, not even pretending to listen to the words spoken. Marlon waited a moment for the wizard to go on, but he just stood there, staring back at the veteran expectantly. Marlon's facial expression soured again and with a roll of his eye, he asked, "Well? What is it?" "Who here has an ample supply of void and solar essences? Along with a significant amount of gold?" The wizard's eyes widened with excitement as a large, almost childish, smile appeared. Marlon looked to the side in thought as he pondered for a moment. Obviously ingredients to something the wizard was hinting at. The wizard was practically bouncing from foot to foot with excitement, his clenched fists held up to his shoulders. The veteran expected him to go into fits of giggles, but fortunately for him, the wizard did not. When Marlon looked back at the wizard, eyebrows raised in question, the wizard pointedly looked at one of his clenched fists as he twisted his wrist while opening his fingers slowly, his palm outstretched. Marlon still looked at him, confused. It was the wizard's turn to return an exasperated look. He dramatically turned his head to look at his other fist, which he turned so his knuckles faced upwards. Looking back at Marlon, he lifted his arm and fist up, opening his fingers and twisting his wrist back. Even more dramatically, he pressed his lips tightly together before parting them into the shape of an 'O' then slowly closing them to a pucker. "By the gods," Marlon whispered, finally realizing what the wizard had in mind. "Want to know something else, my dear Marlon?" The wizard finally did giggle. "It's in plural form, as well." A bomb. More specifically, a mega bomb. Mega bombs. "By the gods," Marlon whispered again with the shake of his head. He began to doubt what he told Krobus: about the wizard knowing what was best to do. I think I'm okay with this, though still a bit skeptical of the quality. I could feel the rust in forcing out the beginning paragraph, but the words eventually started to flow on their own accord. Thankfully I spent most of the day with my earbuds in and some good instrumental music playing to let my imagination go wild. Hope I captured the few characters well. The wizard, while seeming serious at times, always came across in a rather playful and odd way to me. A good odd. I hope you liked it and I appreciate that you took the time to read it. ^.^ Most write about their farmers and I want to approach a different angle: where the farmer is faceless and without a certain gender, but a key force/source to events that happen to the villagers of Pelican Town. Where the villagers are either grateful for what the farmer does or feel the consequences for his/her actions. Could be any of our farmers >.> The time the story takes place is kind of mid/late game. Bundles are almost complete, mine in Pelican Town fully explored, farmer is well-known and their farm is successful and built up. Marlon, out of all the characters, really interests me. He comes off as quite professional but loosens up at times to a chuckle or say a witty joke. He's been through shit, lost an eye, but doesn't let that keep him down. That and he has a lot of swords. I love swords. And I bet he's pretty goddam badass with a sword. Though hardly any development of characters in the first chapter, I am curious to see how my perspective of him will unfold. (I really never do plan what I write, lol, so it's always an adventure for me.) I need to hear "peoples" more. oO Within the grips of gigantic fingers, it stood in defiance. Its head held up high while a massive hammer loomed overhead; casting an ominous shadow that engulfed where the defier stood. And, then, the hammer plummeted down. Not once or twice, but three times before all that remained was just a tiny metal patch indented into the asphalt coating underneath. Never to defy again. The back of that massive hand, which held the hammer, rose up to wipe a sweating brow that was plastered with wisps of red locks and already showing a few spots of sun freckles. Dark emerald eyes surveyed her handiwork before glancing up at the spring sun that bore down its warmth and light in unadulterated rays. After muttered an indistinguishable curse, she rose up off her hunches, with her hands sliding around her slightly drenched yellow shirt, that clung to her muscled stomach like a second skin, to the small of her back. Her eyes were tightly closed as she leaned back into firm hands until a satisfying pop sounded within her lower vertebra, "Mm, now that's what I needed. These bones aren't what they use t'be." "Woo, I can definitely relate there, mom." Her daughter called out, rising to her own feet after hammering in another nail into a roofing shingle. Robin looked over at her daughter, who was adjusting her denim overalls that were soaking in a bit of sweat from the wet purple t-shirt underneath. Her dark, red-tinted hair was tied into a pony-tail to keep from having the same problem as her mother, those glasses over deep hazel eyes were splotched with sweat beads. She long since gave up on keeping them dry, but she wore a content smile on her almond face. "Gah, I can't get use to it being chilly in the morning and getting so hot midday." "Hun, it's only gonna get worse. Be glad we're bein' progressive on touchin' up the roof before summer comes around. Least we have a bit of a breeze." The ginger haired carpenter replied, somewhat distractedly, as her eyes caught movement towards the lake not too far east. The sounds of hurried clattering hooves upon compacted dirt came to her ears before her eyes caught sight of a small band of four figures riding on three horses, the last horse carrying two. She couldn't make out the individuals from that distance, even when she raised her hand over her eyes, "Huh. Wonder what kind o'trouble they're gettin' into." Maru kept her eyes to the roof as she slowly made her way to stand next to Robin on the steeped surface. She squinted her eyes, her hand also going over her brow as a makeshift visor, as she looked out at the entourage. For anyone that could have seen them, standing on top of the tall roof, shoulder to shoulder, in the same stance; they'd look more akin to sisters than mother and daughter. Maru leaned forward, her glasses giving her advantage over her mother's aging eyes, "Hm. Looks like three old guys kidnapped Alex to do some hard labor, judging from those big packs on the horses." "Who is it?" Robin asked, lowering her hand from her brow to grab the sweat rag bulging from the back pocket of her jeans. She buried her angular face into it before replacing it. With a deep breath, her fingertips pinched the bottom edges of her shirt and pulled the wet fabric outward from her skin, billowing it with fresh air in a futile attempt to dry the moisture. "Ah," Maru squinted her eyes and leaned forward even more. Robin instinctively reached her hand out onto her daughter's shoulder, ensuring she would tumble over and off the roof. She straightened up, glanced over at her mother, and shrugged as she seemed to become instantly uninterested. "Just Marlon and Gil. With that guy who thinks he's a wizard, but just smells really weird. Plus Alex, who looks like he's probably complaining." Robin's lips twisted to a pucker at the right side of her mouth as she wondered what they were up to. It was unusual to see those four together. A small town had its perks, but also its cons. One of those cons were overly nosy neighbors who hawk-eyed anything out of normal routine. "Hey, that pitcher of tea should be cold by now. Let's say we give ourselves a break and get us a glass, what d'ya think?" "You don't have to ask that twice!" Maru grinned and quickly shuffled down the incline, toward the ladder that peeked over the gutters. "You mean to go nosy around, don'tcha, mother?" "'Mom.' 'Mother' just sounds so...old." the ginger haired carpenter chuckled as she began to make her way after her daughter, who was already halfway down the metal creaking ladder. "Y'be careful on that thing, y'hear? Least I need y't'fall and break your neck. Then, I'd have t'be the one to always listen t'your father when he goes off on his science lectures until y'got well." "It's called 'zoology' and 'botany,' mother!" Her daughter called from below with a snicker. ----------- "So, after listening to you all go on since I, unfortunately, ran into you...I just have one question," the muscular young man exasperated from the back of a jarring horse's rump, behind the rounded Gil. Alex refused to hold onto the mothball-smelling man, instead he held on to the rear hump of the saddle with fingers that were beyond numb. His inner thighs and groin were taking a beating and he feared he wouldn't be able to walk well for the next week. Oh, he was sure Haley would have an innuendo or two to torture him with. Not that he was well-read enough to know what 'innuendo' meant. The trio of grizzled men had been making their way, back through town, when they came across Alex. He had been taking advantage of the warm, though comfortable with the breeze, day by performing his exercising routine outside by their empty dog pen in an extremely tight white tank top. Instead of impressing passing by women, which he had hoped, he had caught the eye of these three men who weren't hesitant to offer a few coins to put those muscles of his to work. At that passing thought, he ran a hand through his short, gelled brown hair and closed his eyes; attempting to erroneously empathize with the life of a prostitute. "Well, spit it out, m'boy." the grandiose wizard goaded with a friendly chuckle, peering back over his robed shoulder from his chestnut pony that was dotted with sporadic white splotches. The other two men glanced back at the younger man, their eyebrows raised. "Is it, like, an official requirement to become weird as hell once you get as old as you all are?" Alex chirped from over Gil's shoulder, inciting a thunderous laugh from the round man before him, which jarred the poor boy more than the horse ride. Alex instinctively grabbed a fist full of Gil's dark shirt as the man leaned back in his rolling laughter that almost pushed him from the horse's romp. Marlon cracked a smile as Rasmodius joined in Gil's laughter, which his odd pony attempted to imitate in an ear-piercing bray. As the laughter died down, from both men and beast, Marlon nudged his horse to follow the wizard's pony as they began to turn to cross the short, narrow wooden bridge ahead. His eye glanced over toward the west, where he could make out the pinnacle of Linus' yellow tent which stood on a hill above them. Ignoring the beads of sweat glistening upon his weathered forehead, his eye scanned across the mountain base before them, toward a small stream that was fed out from within the earthen base, under the bridge, and into the lake beyond. He countered Alex's question with his own, without a look back. "Let me ask you this, young man. What do your propose 'normal' to be? Wasting away in the same spot, griping about life and missed opportunities everyday? Or would you prefer to keep living as if your old, aching bones were nothing more than a minor inconvenience?" "I mean, that isn't what makes you three weird." Alex hesitantly replied after taking a moment to digest the older man's words. "You're all just so...what's the word? ...extravagant." "I reckon I'd be takin' that as a compliment, if y'don't mind!" Gil howled with a tip of his hat, almost knocking Alex off again, though that time, he would've splashed into a bitterly cold lake. "As will I," Rasmodius snickered from up ahead. He motioned with his hand for them to slow as they neared the dark opening within the base of the mountain. The mines. All of them, except Alex who was oblivious to the true nature of the task ahead, felt a cold shiver of dread go up their spine, sobering them up immediately. The wizard murmured while the horses came to a stop, "If you think we're extravagant, you should speak to the dwarf." "'Dwarf?'" Alex questionably echoed, "Isn't that, like, the wrong term to use? Isn't it less offensive to call them 'little people'?" As the grizzled men were dismounting, they paused to regard Alex in unison. They looked to each other and shared a smirk, while the wizard added with a shake of his head, "I imagine that you'll see soon enough." Marlon patted his stallion on its flanks as he turned his eye up toward the midday sky. The sun had begun its descent from its pinnacle, marking the afternoon fast approaching. "Let's not tarry, we don't have all that much time before dusk." ---------- As the two women meandered along the dirt path, that was lightly spotted with pine trees and blooming bushes, they talked back and forth, sharing giggles and laughter, while approaching the eastern bank of the lake ahead. The two had taken their time before going to nosy around to what those four were up to, having had a small lunch and enough tea to quench their thirst. Later, when they approached where the west-to-eastern road dead-ended to the road that traveled north (toward the mines and Adventure Guild) to south (toward town), they halted their step as they looked curiously at the three horses tied further south of where the two roads intersected. "Hun, I'll tell you a secret: if you think men, at your age, are strange and irrational, just you wait 'til you're m'age." Robin muttered as she turned her head to see the four men running across the wooden bridge near the mine and headed their way. Both her and her daughter's eyebrow rose and mouth stood agape as they took in the spectacle of Rasmodius and Gil, both lagging behind, but holding up one hand to secure their brimmed hats on their head, though Gil was jiggling a bit more than running. Alex outdistanced them both, his eyes wide in both panic and exhilaration, except for Marlon who was close behind him. The grizzled old veteran could move when he wanted to. Though his shape appeared somewhat of the average build, under those clothes were still finely honed muscles perfectly able to exert themselves to whatever challenge. "Run! Go!" Alex shouted between labored breathes, one hand waving frantically for them to turn tail and run. His eyes kept on the two women until he passed them, continuing his wild run without stopping to ensure that the two followed. Marlon came to a halt as he neared them, a bit winded, but not to the point where he couldn't voice his words. "Ladies, I highly recommend that you take shelter behind that r-" before the veteran could finish, his eye went wide as a massive explosion echoed from the direction of the mine. Robin and Maru gasped, their eyes suddenly wide like Alex's as the ground beneath them violently shook, threatening their balance. Marlon lurched ahead, his hand coming up to brace a nearby tree for support. Gil tumbled to the ground, still a ways from the three of them. The wizard had stopped to turn back, as if he knew exactly when the explosion would occur. As the tremors subsided, Marlon met the eyes of the two women, who seemed a bit shaken but otherwise all right. He rushed off to calm the panicking horses who were fighting against their tied reins. Robin put her hand on her daughter's shoulder, turning her to meet her own gaze, ensuring that she was okay. Maru seemed to almost have a smile on her face, the adrenaline was pumping through her as she nodded to her mother's unspoken question that she was okay. The ginger haired carpenter's visage clouded as she turned toward the wizard, who was the closest to her. As she began to tromp over to him, she roared, "Just w'the hell is goin' on here?! Y'all plannin' to blow up half t'damn town?!" Rasmodius leaped back, recoiling like the carpenter was a hot poker being thrust at him, his palms held out defensively. Quickly realizing she wasn't some foul red-headed demon from the Abyss, he quickly composed himself and cleared his throat, his eyes darting side to side as if looking to see if anyone would laugh at his comical display. "M'dear-" "Don'tcha 'm'dear' me, wizard! Ya ain't charmin' yourself outta this one! I ought to march down to the mayor right this minute and demand him to give a'call to the county sheriff!" Robin was unaware that she was using her motherly scolding voice while jabbing a finger at the Rasmodius' chest. Each syllable she uttered made the wizard's face flinch. "Though, I am to be sure that t'whole town heard that ruckus!" "Ma'am, Ras here can o'splain! Jus give 'em ah chance!" Gil huffed as he rose from the dirt and began to pat out the powdered earth on his clothes. He glanced up at the glowering scowl of the red-haired devil woman and almost squeaked. Robin's narrowed emerald eyes looked at the wizard from their corners, while not turning her face from Gil. It was enough of a threat for the wizard to bob his head, showing his compliance. "First off, m'd-" He coughed to catch himself, "Robin. First off, Robin, it had to be done for the safety of our beloved Pelican Town. I'm not sure if you are aware, or even have met some of the wretched creatures that dwell within those mines, but we've obtained a warning that quite a lot of them were going to ascend and emerge from their darkness." Maru ventured up to the edge of the lake, where the water had finally stopped rippling from the explosion. She was fascinated by seismology, which was the study of movement within the earth that caused quakes and tremors, and most fields of science in general. She had an apt for understanding how things worked and she had begun to suspect that the explosion was quite excessive, especially after hearing the wizard inform that they were thwarting access, to or from, the mines. She looked over her shoulder, toward the stuttering wizard, "What exactly did you use?" Rasmodius looked over at Maru, glanced back at the glower from Robin, then decided he'd prefer to speak to Maru. "Oh! A sprinkle of void essence, a dash of solar essence, and pinch of gold dust and WHAM!" he clapped his hands loudly once, making Maru and Gil jump. Robin continued to glower, which he continued to act as if she was invisible. "Mega bombs! Quite useful for demolition." "No offense, but the explosion seemed extremely unnecessary if you were trying to achieve a collapse that would seal it. Probably could have gotten away with using only half or a third of what you did use." Maru was watching the dust cloud that fogged the area where the mine entrance use to be. She begun murmuring to herself, much like her father when he became absorbed in his studies, "Considering the velocity of the tremors and their intensity, also taking into account the extreme amount of force that would cause this large volume of water to ripple for a significant amount of time...How many did you use?" "We used 'bout fifteen of them suckers!" Gil laughed with a slap to his knee and a huge grin on his face, a rather incompetent attempt to lighten up the current mood. The wizard smiled meekly, unable to ignore that heavy glower from the red-haired demon any longer. He turned to meet her glare, his face flinched, awaiting her retort. Fortunately, Marlon returned after settling the horse, with Alex, who had finally returned, on his heels. "My apologies, Robin and Maru. Time was of the essence and our top priority was to ensure that everyone remained safe. I saw it unwise to tarry furthermore by taking a good chunk of time to inform everyone, much less worry about interference from those that would be skeptical." The ginger haired carpenter's glare softened to his reason and she slowly nodded. She knew Marlon more than the others, with him being her closest neighbor beside Linus. He was a good man that could be trusted, but the others... "Well, d'ya even know if y'were successful or not?" "I intend to be thorough on my inspection, but I do believe so." Marlon answered as he looked to each and every one of them. "I'm sure we'll have the mayor and maybe a few other town's folk arriving soon from the clat-" "What?" The wizard interrupted. He glanced over at the others and held up a finger for them to hold on. He turned around towards a tree and stared at its base intently. "Speak up, you. I can't understand you when you're gibberin' so fast!" The others blinked in confused, shared a look and a shrug with each other, before regarding the wizard again. He seemed to be pausing as if listening to someone. "Man, I think he finally lost it." Alex muttered while shaking and scratching his head. "Don't you get rude with me, you ornery little jellybean!" Rasmodius huffed as he put his hands on his hips. He paused again, his head tilting to the side. Robin imaged a strange puppy with a purple goatee that cocked its head to the side when hearing a high pitched noise. "Um, Ras?" Marlon asked, somewhat hesitantly and full of concern, as he took a few steps to come to the wizard's side. Rasmodius held up an impatient hand before the grizzled veteran. "Wait, what did you just call me?!" Rasmodius roared, leaning down as one would to speak to a child who was in trouble. "'Buffoon?' I have you know that I am the most experienced magician within thousands of miles! How dare you insult me so! I swear, if I wasn't bounded by my oaths, I would melt you and stick you on the underside of a classroom desk like the piece of bubblegum that you are!" "Well, I'm just going to go over here, away from the lunatic...who talks to tre-" Alex began to mumbled as he started backpedaling away from the bewildered group. But to his, no their, amazement; a small rock floated in midair before sailing through the air to thump against the wizard's chest. With a very loud, dramatic inhale of breath and eyes wide with shock, the wizard yelled, "How dare you strike me!" Marlon roughly grabbed Rasmodius' shoulder and gave him a good shake, snapping the wizard's attention to the veteran. "Hey! Snap out of it! What's going on? What threw that rock at you? We can't see anything and you're making us fear that you've gone insane!" "What?" Rasmodius looked around at them, somewhat confusedly. He gestured towards the base of the tree. "You're telling me that you can't see this little green rotten creature before me?" Their dull expressions answered the wizard's question as he ignored another pebble sailing into his shoulder. Robin shook her head, snapping herself out of the daze. She glanced over at Maru, who was slowly making her way around the other side of the wizard, staring intently at the ground. Gil stood there, dumbfounded and completely lost on what to do. Alex had continued to back away and had made it over by the horses, both seemed to need each other's company. "Wait!" Maru hissed in a whisper. The group turned their attention to her. Her eyes widened in excitement and Marlon noticed her arms began to be covered in goosebumps as she pointed to an area that the wizard had been speaking to. "Watch the dirt!" The others came closer, staring intently for quite a few moments before they saw tiny footprints appearing in the powdered layer of dirt on top of the ground. In surprise, they took a few steps back, their arms covering in goosebumps like Maru. Except the wizard, who shook his head. He could see the little green creature jumping about on tiny legs while waving its little arms frantically. "Forgive me. I often forget that one must either be well-studied in the areas of magic, have traces of a medium in their blood, or taken a potent elixirs to see things that prefer to remain unseen." Rasmodius explained with a frown. His head tilted to the side, toward the invisible entity, to listen to words that no one else could hear. "Our little friend here is telling me that we made a terrible mistake." "What kind o'mistake?" Robin asked for clarification, feeling somewhat like she was intoxicated. This felt a bit too unreal to her. "I do not know. Junimos do not reveal everything. But, from how it is acting, I take it as a very grave mistake indeed." ---------- "Caroline!" He called from the front and only register of the store. He was hurriedly packing up a sack full of seeds for the farmer that had appeared in his doorway. As he placed the last package of seeds in the sack, he smiled his appreciation towards the almost always quiet young adult. "I really do appreciate your business. I've been having a harder and harder time turning a decent profit." As the farmer turned to leave, the general goods owner, Pierre, called from behind the counter, "You wouldn't happen to have seen Abigail, have you? I thought I saw her going in the same direction as you were, earlier this morning." He was only answered by an expressionless stare before the farmer disappeared without a word. Pierre sighed as he removed his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes. Fortunately, the time to close wasn't too far away and he could finally take a well-needed break. He replaced his glasses back onto his pale face with a finger brushing back a strand of sandy brown hair from getting caught. A frown appeared on his lips as he realized his wife never did answer him. Those keen eyes of his subconsciously took in inventory of the merchandise on the shelves, in the bins, and in some boxes around the mediocre store. His brown shoes echoed off the wood flooring as he made his way around the counter, toward the door that separated the shop from the residential part of the home, and into the corridor that turned to take him into the living room area. But, he went straight ahead, to the lone door ahead that contained his daughter's room. With a peek inside, he scanned the silent room, well silent except for that squeaking wheel from that darn rodent she had as a pet. Those keen eyes of his noticed something that most parents that didn't have the experience of keeping inventory of their own shop wouldn't have: not only was Abigail not in the room, but neither was her sword or lantern that usually laid against the wall; next to the window and her television near the far corner. With his lips twisting in fatherly concern, he closed the door and made his way to the kitchen, where he could smell the sweet aroma of steam boiled vegetables and hear the sizzling of oil long before entering. "Caroline?" He inquired to the back of her green haired head as she stood over the stove. "Oh, hey. Just went ahead and decided to get dinner started, even though it's still a couple hours away," She turned to him and let out a high pitched laugh that he, long ago, figured out to be her fake laugh. "Did you need something?" "I'm just curious if you've seen Abigail lately." "Hmm," She had turned back to the stove top, almost instantly becoming distracted. "Oh! I think she had mumbled, you know how she does, about going up around the mountains." "The mountains?" Pierre responded, one eyebrow raised, "Did you at least tell her to go with someone else? Mountains can be dangerous. Especially when she says 'mountains', but really means 'mines.'" "Abigail is entirely capable of taking care of herself, Pierre." She still had not bothered to glance his way, but did bother to make it obvious that he was irritating her. "She's not a little girl anymore. Maybe you should start trusting in her a little more." His eye twitched while he held back an angry retort. With a brisk shake of his head, he walked away with his teeth gritted. Sometimes, he wondered how the two of them made it this long together when they couldn't even hold a five minute conversation without one or the other getting annoyed. Not to mention some other concerns he had, which included his somewhat extravagant daughter. Needing a breath of fresh air, he stormed through the house, through the vacant shop, and into the warm spring day. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, regaining his composure. As his eyes opened, he glanced around the town plaza. Absently, he briefly watched the elderly lady water some flowers as a red haired young woman sat underneath a large oak tree to read a book. Just as he was about to return inside, he jumped and yelped in surprise as a thunderous explosion sounded from up north of town. His eyes went wide, as did all the other town's folk. The sound was quickly followed by the ground shaking, rather weakly that far out, but still noticeably. "They blew up the mines!" He heard someone repeatedly shouting in between labored breaths. "They blew up the mines!" Pierre's eyes filled with panic as his mind suddenly turned to Abigail, to the explosion, to what it could mean if she had been inside when the explosion happened. Without hesitating, he raced toward the owner of the warning shout, as they came around the corner of his shop and into the plaza. It was Alex, not the brightest kid in town, but a good kid nonetheless. The shop owner quickly halted Alex in his dead run and grabbed fistful of his white tank top, demanding his attention. "Was Abigail in there?!" "What? I dunno, man! I didn't see her! All I know is that they blew it up to close it off!" He let go of the young man, who had seemed to regain some sense after the minor confrontation with the shop owner. Pierre turned back to his shop and raced inside to get his wife as Alex looked around wildly before turning back to run to where Marlon and the others were. The shop owner stormed into the kitchen, startling Caroline with his labored breath and frantic look in his eyes. "Caroline! Did you not hear or feel that explosion?! They sealed the mines! The mines, Caroline! The one place Abigail likes to go when she's in the mountains!" Without thinking twice, the green haired mother tossed the hot skillet into the sink and flipped the stove top burner off before running after Pierre, who had disappeared and headed back outside and toward the mines. ----------- Ack, I didn't know I'd write this much. >.> Hope it's not too lengthy. Tossed in a couple new characters, minor ones, but ones with some life in them. Starting is a little weird, kind of the same action bit as the first, but I'll just keep it as that, for now, since it got the engine started to write. I dunno if it feels a bit rushed? Or what. I'm my own worst critic. I should type these as a rough draft, polish 'em up before posting 'em, but then I think I'd never be satisfied enough from critiquing it to post it lol.
Good to see more stories coming around, and you did a great job pulling out tales from the other folk we rarely mention of. I'm thought about starting my own story telling, but after seeing many of great ones flying around... Anyway, cheer, @zcsnightmare!
I meant to respond earlier, but got caught up. Anyway, you should definitely give it a shot ^.^ but I know how ya feel. I reread this over and over, for about an hour before getting up the nerve to post. Nothing to lose, though. We are our own worst critics, so I wouldn't let any doubt stop ya. I'd love to read the story ya got going through your head.
The master, the Wicked Writer, the veteran of the pen and sword. Man I've been waiting a month for you to post something. Worth every second This is a unique perspective with the farmer not only being a faceless entity but almost a force of chaos. I'm glad you're as interested in Marlon as I am. He was just begging for an adventurous tale and who better to write it? Seems like it might be your forte. This first chapter reads like the beginning of a good movie. You're eager to see the rest! I bet you're a busy dude but you def. got the skills to pay the creative bills with writing like this. I mean, not the actual bills, you would need legal tender but you get the idea lmao. Anyway dig-dawg, hope you got more coming!
Thanks, man. I really appreciate that. Glad ya liked it and that ya find Marlon intriguing as well. ^.^ I'm pretty eager to go on with it, see where it goes, so I'll probably be adding more to it at a rather decent pace, especially being bored of sprite work now, lol. Thanks again for reading
Delightful! You have a gift for pacing that I am slightly jealous of. >u> It makes me so happy to see writing with Rasmodius in it, aaaaah! I can't help but imagine he has some warmth underneath the grouchiness, as well. I also like your balance of narration and dialogue. Hit me up if you ever want somebody to bounce ideas off of! GIVE ME MORE WIZARD FOREVER
Thank you! Dialogue can be a little tough for me via getting personalities down so I tend to not rely on it so much. Glad to see some fans of Ras and Marlon ^.^ #oldgeezerclub! ...oh noes, I used hashtags More wizard to come soon ^.^ I enjoyed writing him, hehe, especially not his usual proper self but able to open up around folks he's comfortable with.
I love the elegant and epic narration. Not saying the other characters are bad, but I think Marlon is the one with the most potential here; reading this, it's easy to think of him as a great mercenary who has accomplished many many huge feats and has a backstory full of action. Looking forward to more!
It's amazing, honestly. He's wonderfully in-character. I also would not have thought you had any difficulty with dialogue, given how well-done it is here. ...I can't use my usual term of choice to describe my feelings for Ras... I haven't seen any profanity on these forums LOLOL
I asked a mod about it a while ago and they like to keep it PG-13. but we can say shit if we want to in moderation I guess It's hard to contain it when faced with fuckin' class A literature right here. Ey dawg when's chap 2 coming out
Lol, I've got sidetracked by dabbling in coding which I doubt I'll ever learn so screw that shit. Then, I got into working on adding a new small map to sell the new additional weapons mod I posted today...but only to find out that I need to know coding to make a SMAPI mod to call upon a new map...so I'll have to just extend another map...but I'm not gonna to since I need to know coding enough to have an NPC sell shit. -.- It looks kind of cool though ^.^ But, now, since my determination to learn code has been squashed by cold, cold reality, lololol, the wheels are turning for chapter two. ^.^ tl;dr soon... >.>
For real tho you should continue the coding route. Your spritework is already spot on and it'll benefit exponentially from that. I dunno just look up "how to call maps in SMAPI or .NET or whatever" and modify existing code. Who else is gonna do it? Me? Fat chance do you have any idea how lazy I am lol. You should try again when you're ready.
Ack, I didn't know I'd write this much. >.> Hope it's not too lengthy. Tossed in a couple new characters, minor ones, but ones with some life in them. Starting is a little weird, but I'll just keep it as that, for now, since it got the engine started. I dunno if it feels a bit rushed? Or Within the grips of gigantic fingers, it stood in defiance. Its head held up high while a massive hammer loomed overhead; casting an ominous shadow that engulfed where the defier stood. And, then, the hammer plummeted down. Not once or twice, but three times before all that remained was just a tiny metal patch indented into the asphalt coating underneath. Never to defy again. The back of that massive hand, which held the hammer, rose up to wipe a sweating brow that was plastered with wisps of red locks and already showing a few spots of sun freckles. Dark emerald eyes surveyed her handiwork before glancing up at the spring sun that bore down its warmth and light in unadulterated rays. After muttered an indistinguishable curse, she rose up off her hunches, with her hands sliding around her slightly drenched yellow shirt, that clung to her muscled stomach like a second skin, to the small of her back. Her eyes were tightly closed as she leaned back into firm hands until a satisfying pop sounded within her lower vertebra, "Mm, now that's what I needed. These bones aren't what they use t'be." "Woo, I can definitely relate there, mom." Her daughter called out, rising to her own feet after hammering in another nail into a roofing shingle. Robin looked over at her daughter, who was adjusting her denim overalls that were soaking in a bit of sweat from the wet purple t-shirt underneath. Her dark, red-tinted hair was tied into a pony-tail to keep from having the same problem as her mother, those glasses over deep hazel eyes were splotched with sweat beads. She long since gave up on keeping them dry, but she wore a content smile on her almond face. "Gah, I can't get use to it being chilly in the morning and getting so hot midday." "Hun, it's only gonna get worse. Be glad we're bein' progressive on touchin' up the roof before summer comes around. Least we have a bit of a breeze." The ginger haired carpenter replied, somewhat distractedly, as her eyes caught movement towards the lake not too far east. The sounds of hurried clattering hooves upon compacted dirt came to her ears before her eyes caught sight of a small band of four figures riding on three horses, the last horse carrying two. She couldn't make out the individuals from that distance, even when she raised her hand over her eyes, "Huh. Wonder what kind o'trouble they're gettin' into." Maru kept her eyes to the roof as she slowly made her way to stand next to Robin on the steeped surface. She squinted her eyes, her hand also going over her brow as a makeshift visor, as she looked out at the entourage. For anyone that could have seen them, standing on top of the tall roof, shoulder to shoulder, in the same stance; they'd look more akin to sisters than mother and daughter. Maru leaned forward, her glasses giving her advantage over her mother's aging eyes, "Hm. Looks like three old guys kidnapped Alex to do some hard labor, judging from those big packs on the horses." "Who is it?" Robin asked, lowering her hand from her brow to grab the sweat rag bulging from the back pocket of her jeans. She buried her angular face into it before replacing it. With a deep breath, her fingertips pinched the bottom edges of her shirt and pulled the wet fabric outward from her skin, billowing it with fresh air in a futile attempt to dry the moisture. "Ah," Maru squinted her eyes and leaned forward even more. Robin instinctively reached her hand out onto her daughter's shoulder, ensuring she would tumble over and off the roof. She straightened up, glanced over at her mother, and shrugged as she seemed to become instantly uninterested. "Just Marlon and Gil. With that guy who thinks he's a wizard, but just smells really weird. Plus Alex, who looks like he's probably complaining." Robin's lips twisted to a pucker at the right side of her mouth as she wondered what they were up to. It was unusual to see those four together. A small town had its perks, but also its cons. One of those cons were overly nosy neighbors who hawk-eyed anything out of normal routine. "Hey, that pitcher of tea should be cold by now. Let's say we give ourselves a break and get us a glass, what d'ya think?" "You don't have to ask that twice!" Maru grinned and quickly shuffled down the incline, toward the ladder that peeked over the gutters. "You mean to go nosy around, don'tcha, mother?" "'Mom.' 'Mother' just sounds so...old." the ginger haired carpenter chuckled as she began to make her way after her daughter, who was already halfway down the metal creaking ladder. "Y'be careful on that thing, y'hear? Least I need y't'fall and break your neck. Then, I'd have t'be the one to always listen t'your father when he goes off on his science lectures until y'got well." "It's called 'zoology' and 'botany,' mother!" Her daughter called from below with a snicker. ----------- "So, after listening to you all go on since I, unfortunately, ran into you...I just have one question," the muscular young man exasperated from the back of a jarring horse's rump, behind the rounded Gil. Alex refused to hold onto the mothball-smelling man, instead he held on to the rear hump of the saddle with fingers that were beyond numb. His inner thighs and groin were taking a beating and he feared he wouldn't be able to walk well for the next week. Oh, he was sure Haley would have an innuendo or two to torture him with. Not that he was well-read enough to know what 'innuendo' meant. The trio of grizzled men had been making their way, back through town, when they came across Alex. He had been taking advantage of the warm, though comfortable with the breeze, day by performing his exercising routine outside by their empty dog pen in an extremely tight white tank top. Instead of impressing passing by women, which he had hoped, he had caught the eye of these three men who weren't hesitant to offer a few coins to put those muscles of his to work. At that passing thought, he ran a hand through his short, gelled brown hair and closed his eyes; attempting to erroneously empathize with the life of a prostitute. "Well, spit it out, m'boy." the grandiose wizard goaded with a friendly chuckle, peering back over his robed shoulder from his chestnut pony that was dotted with sporadic white splotches. The other two men glanced back at the younger man, their eyebrows raised. "Is it, like, an official requirement to become weird as hell once you get as old as you all are?" Alex chirped from over Gil's shoulder, inciting a thunderous laugh from the round man before him, which jarred the poor boy more than the horse ride. Alex instinctively grabbed a fist full of Gil's dark shirt as the man leaned back in his rolling laughter that almost pushed him from the horse's romp. Marlon cracked a smile as Rasmodius joined in Gil's laughter, which his odd pony attempted to imitate in an ear-piercing bray. As the laughter died down, from both men and beast, Marlon nudged his horse to follow the wizard's pony as they began to turn to cross the short, narrow wooden bridge ahead. His eye glanced over toward the west, where he could make out the pinnacle of Linus' yellow tent which stood on a hill above them. Ignoring the beads of sweat glistening upon his weathered forehead, his eye scanned across the mountain base before them, toward a small stream that was fed out from within the earthen base, under the bridge, and into the lake beyond. He countered Alex's question with his own, without a look back. "Let me ask you this, young man. What do your propose 'normal' to be? Wasting away in the same spot, griping about life and missed opportunities everyday? Or would you prefer to keep living as if your old, aching bones were nothing more than a minor inconvenience?" "I mean, that isn't what makes you three weird." Alex hesitantly replied after taking a moment to digest the older man's words. "You're all just so...what's the word? ...extravagant." "I reckon I'd be takin' that as a compliment, if y'don't mind!" Gil howled with a tip of his hat, almost knocking Alex off again, though that time, he would've splashed into a bitterly cold lake. "As will I," Rasmodius snickered from up ahead. He motioned with his hand for them to slow as they neared the dark opening within the base of the mountain. The mines. All of them, except Alex who was oblivious to the true nature of the task ahead, felt a cold shiver of dread go up their spine, sobering them up immediately. The wizard murmured while the horses came to a stop, "If you think we're extravagant, you should speak to the dwarf." "'Dwarf?'" Alex questionably echoed, "Isn't that, like, the wrong term to use? Isn't it less offensive to call them 'little people'?" As the grizzled men were dismounting, they paused to regard Alex in unison. They looked to each other and shared a smirk, while the wizard added with a shake of his head, "I imagine that you'll see soon enough." Marlon patted his stallion on its flanks as he turned his eye up toward the midday sky. The sun had begun its descent from its pinnacle, marking the afternoon fast approaching. "Let's not tarry, we don't have all that much time before dusk." ---------- As the two women meandered along the dirt path, that was lightly spotted with pine trees and blooming bushes, they talked back and forth, sharing giggles and laughter, while approaching the eastern bank of the lake ahead. The two had taken their time before going to nosy around to what those four were up to, having had a small lunch and enough tea to quench their thirst. Later, when they approached where the west-to-eastern road dead-ended to the road that traveled north (toward the mines and Adventure Guild) to south (toward town), they halted their step as they looked curiously at the three horses tied further south of where the two roads intersected. "Hun, I'll tell you a secret: if you think men, at your age, are strange and irrational, just you wait 'til you're m'age." Robin muttered as she turned her head to see the four men running across the wooden bridge near the mine and headed their way. Both her and her daughter's eyebrow rose and mouth stood agape as they took in the spectacle of Rasmodius and Gil, both lagging behind, but holding up one hand to secure their brimmed hats on their head, though Gil was jiggling a bit more than running. Alex outdistanced them both, his eyes wide in both panic and exhilaration, except for Marlon who was close behind him. The grizzled old veteran could move when he wanted to. Though his shape appeared somewhat of the average build, under those clothes were still finely honed muscles perfectly able to exert themselves to whatever challenge. "Run! Go!" Alex shouted between labored breathes, one hand waving frantically for them to turn tail and run. His eyes kept on the two women until he passed them, continuing his wild run without stopping to ensure that the two followed. Marlon came to a halt as he neared them, a bit winded, but not to the point where he couldn't voice his words. "Ladies, I highly recommend that you take shelter behind that r-" before the veteran could finish, his eye went wide as a massive explosion echoed from the direction of the mine. Robin and Maru gasped, their eyes suddenly wide like Alex's as the ground beneath them violently shook, threatening their balance. Marlon lurched ahead, his hand coming up to brace a nearby tree for support. Gil tumbled to the ground, still a ways from the three of them. The wizard had stopped to turn back, as if he knew exactly when the explosion would occur. As the tremors subsided, Marlon met the eyes of the two women, who seemed a bit shaken but otherwise all right. He rushed off to calm the panicking horses who were fighting against their tied reins. Robin put her hand on her daughter's shoulder, turning her to meet her own gaze, ensuring that she was okay. Maru seemed to almost have a smile on her face, the adrenaline was pumping through her as she nodded to her mother's unspoken question that she was okay. The ginger haired carpenter's visage clouded as she turned toward the wizard, who was the closest to her. As she began to tromp over to him, she roared, "Just w'the hell is goin' on here?! Y'all plannin' to blow up half t'damn town?!" Rasmodius leaped back, recoiling like the carpenter was a hot poker being thrust at him, his palms held out defensively. Quickly realizing she wasn't some foul red-headed demon from the Abyss, he quickly composed himself and cleared his throat, his eyes darting side to side as if looking to see if anyone would laugh at his comical display. "M'dear-" "Don'tcha 'm'dear' me, wizard! Ya ain't charmin' yourself outta this one! I ought to march down to the mayor right this minute and demand him to give a'call to the county sheriff!" Robin was unaware that she was using her motherly scolding voice while jabbing a finger at the Rasmodius' chest. Each syllable she uttered made the wizard's face flinch. "Though, I am to be sure that t'whole town heard that ruckus!" "Ma'am, Ras here can o'splain! Jus give 'em ah chance!" Gil huffed as he rose from the dirt and began to pat out the powdered earth on his clothes. He glanced up at the glowering scowl of the red-haired devil woman and almost squeaked. Robin's narrowed emerald eyes looked at the wizard from their corners, while not turning her face from Gil. It was enough of a threat for the wizard to bob his head, showing his compliance. "First off, m'd-" He coughed to catch himself, "Robin. First off, Robin, it had to be done for the safety of our beloved Pelican Town. I'm not sure if you are aware, or even have met some of the wretched creatures that dwell within those mines, but we've obtained a warning that quite a lot of them were going to ascend and emerge from their darkness." Maru ventured up to the edge of the lake, where the water had finally stopped rippling from the explosion. She was fascinated by seismology, which was the study of movement within the earth that caused quakes and tremors, and most fields of science in general. She had an apt for understanding how things worked and she had begun to suspect that the explosion was quite excessive, especially after hearing the wizard inform that they were thwarting access, to or from, the mines. She looked over her shoulder, toward the stuttering wizard, "What exactly did you use?" Rasmodius looked over at Maru, glanced back at the glower from Robin, then decided he'd prefer to speak to Maru. "Oh! A sprinkle of void essence, a dash of solar essence, and pinch of gold dust and WHAM!" he clapped his hands loudly once, making Maru and Gil jump. Robin continued to glower, which he continued to act as if she was invisible. "Mega bombs! Quite useful for demolition." "No offense, but the explosion seemed extremely unnecessary if you were trying to achieve a collapse that would seal it. Probably could have gotten away with using only half or a third of what you did use." Maru was watching the dust cloud that fogged the area where the mine entrance use to be. She begun murmuring to herself, much like her father when he became absorbed in his studies, "Considering the velocity of the tremors and their intensity, also taking into account the extreme amount of force that would cause this large volume of water to ripple for a significant amount of time...How many did you use?" "We used 'bout fifteen of them suckers!" Gil laughed with a slap to his knee and a huge grin on his face, a rather incompetent attempt to lighten up the current mood. The wizard smiled meekly, unable to ignore that heavy glower from the red-haired demon any longer. He turned to meet her glare, his face flinched, awaiting her retort. Fortunately, Marlon returned after settling the horse, with Alex, who had finally returned, on his heels. "My apologies, Robin and Maru. Time was of the essence and our top priority was to ensure that everyone remained safe. I saw it unwise to tarry furthermore by taking a good chunk of time to inform everyone, much less worry about interference from those that would be skeptical." The ginger haired carpenter's glare softened to his reason and she slowly nodded. She knew Marlon more than the others, with him being her closest neighbor beside Linus. He was a good man that could be trusted, but the others... "Well, d'ya even know if y'were successful or not?" "I intend to be thorough on my inspection, but I do believe so." Marlon answered as he looked to each and every one of them. "I'm sure we'll have the mayor and maybe a few other town's folk arriving soon from the clat-" "What?" The wizard interrupted. He glanced over at the others and held up a finger for them to hold on. He turned around towards a tree and stared at its base intently. "Speak up, you. I can't understand you when you're gibberin' so fast!" The others blinked in confused, shared a look and a shrug with each other, before regarding the wizard again. He seemed to be pausing as if listening to someone. "Man, I think he finally lost it." Alex muttered while shaking and scratching his head. "Don't you get rude with me, you ornery little jellybean!" Rasmodius huffed as he put his hands on his hips. He paused again, his head tilting to the side. Robin imaged a strange puppy with a purple goatee that cocked its head to the side when hearing a high pitched noise. "Um, Ras?" Marlon asked, somewhat hesitantly and full of concern, as he took a few steps to come to the wizard's side. Rasmodius held up an impatient hand before the grizzled veteran. "Wait, what did you just call me?!" Rasmodius roared, leaning down as one would to speak to a child who was in trouble. "'Buffoon?' I have you know that I am the most experienced magician within thousands of miles! How dare you insult me so! I swear, if I wasn't bounded by my oaths, I would melt you and stick you on the underside of a classroom desk like the piece of bubblegum that you are!" "Well, I'm just going to go over here, away from the lunatic...who talks to tre-" Alex began to mumbled as he started backpedaling away from the bewildered group. But to his, no their, amazement; a small rock floated in midair before sailing through the air to thump against the wizard's chest. With a very loud, dramatic inhale of breath and eyes wide with shock, the wizard yelled, "How dare you strike me!" Marlon roughly grabbed Rasmodius' shoulder and gave him a good shake, snapping the wizard's attention to the veteran. "Hey! Snap out of it! What's going on? What threw that rock at you? We can't see anything and you're making us fear that you've gone insane!" "What?" Rasmodius looked around at them, somewhat confusedly. He gestured towards the base of the tree. "You're telling me that you can't see this little green rotten creature before me?" Their dull expressions answered the wizard's question as he ignored another pebble sailing into his shoulder. Robin shook her head, snapping herself out of the daze. She glanced over at Maru, who was slowly making her way around the other side of the wizard, staring intently at the ground. Gil stood there, dumbfounded and completely lost on what to do. Alex had continued to back away and had made it over by the horses, both seemed to need each other's company. "Wait!" Maru hissed in a whisper. The group turned their attention to her. Her eyes widened in excitement and Marlon noticed her arms began to be covered in goosebumps as she pointed to an area that the wizard had been speaking to. "Watch the dirt!" The others came closer, staring intently for quite a few moments before they saw tiny footprints appearing in the powdered layer of dirt on top of the ground. In surprise, they took a few steps back, their arms covering in goosebumps like Maru. Except the wizard, who shook his head. He could see the little green creature jumping about on tiny legs while waving its little arms frantically. "Forgive me. I often forget that one must either be well-studied in the areas of magic, have traces of a medium in their blood, or taken a potent elixirs to see things that prefer to remain unseen." Rasmodius explained with a frown. His head tilted to the side, toward the invisible entity, to listen to words that no one else could hear. "Our little friend here is telling me that we made a terrible mistake." "What kind o'mistake?" Robin asked for clarification, feeling somewhat like she was intoxicated. This felt a bit too unreal to her. "I do not know. Junimos do not reveal everything. But, from how it is acting, I take it as a very grave mistake indeed." ---------- "Caroline!" He called from the front and only register of the store. He was hurriedly packing up a sack full of seeds for the farmer that had appeared in his doorway. As he placed the last package of seeds in the sack, he smiled his appreciation towards the almost always quiet young adult. "I really do appreciate your business. I've been having a harder and harder time turning a decent profit." As the farmer turned to leave, the general goods owner, Pierre, called from behind the counter, "You wouldn't happen to have seen Abigail, have you? I thought I saw her going in the same direction as you were, earlier this morning." He was only answered by an expressionless stare before the farmer disappeared without a word. Pierre sighed as he removed his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes. Fortunately, the time to close wasn't too far away and he could finally take a well-needed break. He replaced his glasses back onto his pale face with a finger brushing back a strand of sandy brown hair from getting caught. A frown appeared on his lips as he realized his wife never did answer him. Those keen eyes of his subconsciously took in inventory of the merchandise on the shelves, in the bins, and in some boxes around the mediocre store. His brown shoes echoed off the wood flooring as he made his way around the counter, toward the door that separated the shop from the residential part of the home, and into the corridor that turned to take him into the living room area. But, he went straight ahead, to the lone door ahead that contained his daughter's room. With a peek inside, he scanned the silent room, well silent except for that squeaking wheel from that darn rodent she had as a pet. Those keen eyes of his noticed something that most parents that didn't have the experience of keeping inventory of their own shop wouldn't have: not only was Abigail not in the room, but neither was her sword or lantern that usually laid against the wall; next to the window and her television near the far corner. With his lips twisting in fatherly concern, he closed the door and made his way to the kitchen, where he could smell the sweet aroma of steam boiled vegetables and hear the sizzling of oil long before entering. "Caroline?" He inquired to the back of her green haired head as she stood over the stove. "Oh, hey. Just went ahead and decided to get dinner started, even though it's still a couple hours away," She turned to him and let out a high pitched laugh that he, long ago, figured out to be her fake laugh. "Did you need something?" "I'm just curious if you've seen Abigail lately." "Hmm," She had turned back to the stove top, almost instantly becoming distracted. "Oh! I think she had mumbled, you know how she does, about going up around the mountains." "The mountains?" Pierre responded, one eyebrow raised, "Did you at least tell her to go with someone else? Mountains can be dangerous. Especially when she says 'mountains', but really means 'mines.'" "Abigail is entirely capable of taking care of herself, Pierre." She still had not bothered to glance his way, but did bother to make it obvious that he was irritating her. "She's not a little girl anymore. Maybe you should start trusting in her a little more." His eye twitched while he held back an angry retort. With a brisk shake of his head, he walked away with his teeth gritted. Sometimes, he wondered how the two of them made it this long together when they couldn't even hold a five minute conversation without one or the other getting annoyed. Not to mention some other concerns he had, which included his somewhat extravagant daughter. Needing a breath of fresh air, he stormed through the house, through the vacant shop, and into the warm spring day. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, regaining his composure. As his eyes opened, he glanced around the town plaza. Absently, he briefly watched the elderly lady water some flowers as a red haired young woman sat underneath a large oak tree to read a book. Just as he was about to return inside, he jumped and yelped in surprise as a thunderous explosion sounded from up north of town. His eyes went wide, as did all the other town's folk. The sound was quickly followed by the ground shaking, rather weakly that far out, but still noticeably. "They blew up the mines!" He heard someone repeatedly shouting in between labored breaths. "They blew up the mines!" Pierre's eyes filled with panic as his mind suddenly turned to Abigail, to the explosion, to what it could mean if she had been inside when the explosion happened. Without hesitating, he raced toward the owner of the warning shout, as they came around the corner of his shop and into the plaza. It was Alex, not the brightest kid in town, but a good kid nonetheless. The shop owner quickly halted Alex in his dead run and grabbed a fistful of his white tank top, demanding his attention. "Was Abigail in there?!" "What? I dunno, man! I didn't see her! All I know is that they blew it up to close it off!" He let go of the young man, who had seemed to regain some sense after the minor confrontation with the shop owner. Pierre turned back to his shop and raced inside to get his wife as Alex looked around wildly before turning back to run to where Marlon and the others were. The shop owner stormed into the kitchen, startling Caroline with his labored breath and frantic look in his eyes. "Caroline! Did you not hear or feel that explosion?! They sealed the mines! The mines, Caroline! The one place Abigail likes to go when she's in the mountains!" Without thinking twice, the green haired mother tossed the hot skillet into the sink and flipped the stove top burner off before running after Pierre, who had disappeared and headed back outside and toward the mines. -----------
Yeah it definitely felt rushed. In the sense that I rushed over here to check this s**t out. I for one welcome these new developments. It's not an adventure without a bit of excitement. I'm thirstin' for more already. Can't wait to see where this goes!
I don't have the time to really buckle down and read everything yet, but I see some Robin fightin' goin on and all i gotta say is MAY THE MOST POWERFUL WIN
*eye twitch* ...must...not...listen...to...evil...voices...must...use...shatner...voice.. Ack! I failed! Time to perish, you-you...um...bad person you!
