A random story by Thea

[Thea]

I threw myself down beside Sally, and bit off the top of my flask. As I poured watery ale down my throat, I watched glumly as Lucius and Hunak tried to light a fire. I was soaked from the rain, but, from the scene before me, wasn’t likely to get dry any time soon.

‘Don’t suppose pyrokins can get rid of water, eh?’ I attempt to half-joke, half-pleaded with Sally beside me. She gave a cool smile, and turned away. ‘Thought not’ I mumbled.

Tav, who I had left behind in my need to get out of the rain, entered the cave at this moment, and glared briefly at me before addressing the cave. ‘I doubt we’ll get anymore confrontations tonight; Annis did a spell, checking there are no magic users around, and I’ve searched the woods. We’ll be safe until sunrise.’

Sally stood at this moment, her long slender body unfolding as she rose. ‘Why did Annis cast the spell, and not Lucius? Surely as the only true Mage here, his would be more effective?’

Lucius caught my eye after this, and gave me a look of sympathy as I slunk deeper into the shadows.

‘Because Annis is better at detecting magic than using it. Also, Lucius doesn’t do unnecessary damage to his appearance.’

Though I knew Tav was protecting from Sally’s cold, if impersonal, belittling, but his implicating I knew little real magic still felt like a poke in the stomach.

Sally shrugged, and finally went over to start the fire, and put the two men out of their misery.

Tav sat beside me, and patted my arm awkwardly. I gave him a sort-of smile, and crawled towards the fire.

Hunak was pouring rainwater into our cauldron and beginning to skin a rabbit he’d caught earlier. To me, who’d spent 2 hours wandering around the woods trying to remember spells I hadn’t done for years in the pouring rain, he looked like a God. He looked up, saw me drooling at the carcass in his hands and shook his head. ‘At least an hour until food, my lady.’ My heart sank, but I comforted myself by sitting close to the fire and helping chop the meagre vegetables we had left. While we silently prepared dinner, Sally started another fire to herself, Lucius went off to make beds for us and Tav left to stand guard again.

Although he joined our group mainly because Tav wafted a bag of money in front of him, Hunak was a surprisingly good companion. He was a mercenary, and had an interesting past that I liked to ask him frequently about, and he took pleasure from teasing me in a surly, mock annoyed way. He was also a greater mage than either I or Lucius to ever hope to be – he could actually make the rubbish we had to eat each night taste good.

We spooned the gorgeous-smelling, disgusting-looking broth into wooden bowls, and gathered together our group. Sally turned her lovely scarlet nose up at it, but she always did and ate it anyway. I gobbled mine down, then went out to relieve Tav. He never let us relax properly unless someone was outside keeping watch.

I found him about 3o feet away, leaning against a tree. He watched me approach, then smiled. ‘Dinner good?’

‘It’s great, but if you don’t get there soon, it’ll be cold’, I nagged.

He grinned and hurried away. I replaced him by the tree and sighed.

I was beginning to regret this trip

[Continued]

I had first met everyone 5 days ago, in a tavern at B’hark. As I sat, staring at the tankard of foam the innkeep had cheerfully slapped in front of me. I wondered how exactly you were meant to drink it, when a brawl broke out. I didn’t get involved, since it looked pretty nasty and was escalating alarmingly, until someone threw a curved blade in my direction and I got annoyed. I grabbed the blade and my sword and joined in. In due course it died down, due to people being unconscious, and by pure luck and devious dodging I found myself duelling seriously with the other remaining standing person in a room of broken furniture and bodies. We looked at one another, then at the wreckage of the room, and grinned at each other. He introduced himself - Tav – and bought me a drink that I could swallow without covering my face with bubbles. He was good-looking, tall and very well made, so I immediately forgot the first rule my mother had drilled into my head; don’t trust strangers.

He told me how he used to be in the army, and that since an Oracle had told him he needed to find a Globe, and then he would know why wars were fought, so he’d packed up and left the foreign war and come home to search for it.

It seemed a slightly odd story to me, but considering that I had never really met anyone off my father’s estate before, I reckoned that stories like his were normal outside Hash. In turn, I told him that I was the daughter of a rich lord, but he had died and left me his sword, so I’d decided to take it and travel the world awhile. He laughed a lot at that, and explained to me that people who do that either learn a hell of a lot on their first day, or get killed horribly. I asked him which he thought I was, and he looked thoughtful, and said I had learning potential, but if I keep accepting drinks from strange men I’d be dead before morning.

That made me blush and stammer and feel stupid, but Tav laughed and made me laugh too, and I felt better. Then, out of the blue, he asked if I wanted to join him on his quest. He was looking for companions, he said, and if I wanted to see some of the world he’d help me. Overcome with calf-love and the pride children get when slightly older children favour them with attention, I accepted. He quizzed me on my talents; I admitted to being a middling to fair fighter, a minor mage, and that I’d used to want to be a bard, and was very good at music. Or, at least, the lute.

Then we met Lucius. He tripped into the tavern, took one look at the floor, exclaimed ‘Dear me, what a mess!’ and headed over to us, as the only table with people who were a)conscious and b)hooded and cloaked and hiding in the corner. You can’t help getting on with Lucius – his eyes twinkle and you’re lost. We eventually, after much banter and chatting, told him about Tav’s quest, and invited him along. To my great surprise, he said yes. He said he was on the rebound, and needed to get out for a while.

This puzzled Tav and I for a while, but then Tav pulled out a map and we started to plan our route. We decided to travel through the woods to the city of Kinak, and there find another Seer, just to see if we could get anymore advice. After that we’d get more supplies and head North, because Tav thought North was the best way to go.

While Tav and Lucius argued over provisions to buy in the morning, I examined the knife thrown at me earlier. It was slightly curved, giving it a better edge and had indistinguishable markings down one side. It was the most beautiful and wicked thing I’d ever held in my hands, and I stared at it for a while, until a gruff voice said ‘Good blade there. Dwarfish I think, but possibly just a very good blacksmith.’ He took the knife from my surprised hands and examined it. ‘Nay, ‘tis dwarfish. The runes are too worn to read, but if you asked one he might translate for you. Or a spell might make them readable.’ He put it back on the table. ‘It’s not a weapon for a young girl though.’

At this I started, and snatched my knife back. ‘And what do you know about weapons for girls’, pray?’ I said in my most snobbish voice.

He merely chuckled.

Tav finally noticed my new acquaintance. Under the table I saw his hand go to his sword as he asked stiffly ‘Who are you, friend?’

‘My name is Hunak, friend. Yours?’

Tav’s eyes narrowed. ‘Tavin Bateman’

‘I am pleased to meet you, Tavin Bateman. Who are your companions?’

[goblingirl]

‘My name is Annis Hash,’ I said, piqued at being ignored. ‘Lady Annis Hash.’ I embellished.

Tav quirked an eyebrow at me as Lucius said breezily ‘And I am Lucius Philippe, a mage.’

‘Greetings to you both.’ He met Tav’s gaze. ‘And I advise you, friend, to leave before your previous victims fully recovered.’ He meant the groaning men on the floor, most of whom Tav had helped to prostrate state.

Tav pursed his lips, and took Hunak’s point. ‘C’mon Annis, Lucius. We’ll go to the Headless Goat for the night.’ As we rose, Hunak watched us sardonically. Unexpectedly, Tav turned and spoke to Hunak; ‘I take it you are a mercenary?’

He was a little taken aback. ‘Aye.’

Tav took a leather purse from his belt. ‘Then may I hire your services, friend? For a start, I’m not sure some of our friends from earlier won’t follow us, and it will be good to have another sword on the journey to Kinak.’

Hunak’s expression did not change. ‘You take the forest path?’

‘Aye.’

He reached for the purse, ‘I will come with you’, but Tav whisked it out his hand and took 3 shiny coins from it. ‘You will have the rest later.’ The mercenary nodded.

I glanced at Lucius, and he shrugged. Part of me was annoyed that Tav had take such a decision without discussion, but another part was glad that when we travelled in the woods, one more pair of eyes would be watching out for us.

It never occurred to me that Hunak might be less than trustworthy.


We met Sally outside the Headless Goat. She was about to go in, but paused to scorn my aghast reaction to her skin colour.

‘Forgive my friend,’ said Tav, ‘She is new to the real world.’

‘Where has she been living before then? Has the child been dreaming all her life?’ the fire elf asked lightly.

‘No, I’ve lived on an estate my whole life,’ I tried to explain, but was jabbed in the ribs by Tav – a reminder not to reveal too much of yourself to strangers.

Sally smiled. ‘Ah. A dream then. Your father, no doubt, tried to protect you from the outside world.’ I remained silent. ‘Very well, I shall not ask more.’ She took our group in with a long look. ‘As I remember, this Inn has only 2 rooms, and there are five of us wanting to sleep. Perhaps we could come to some arrangement…?’ Her voice indicated that no way in any of the hells was she going to back down and try another pub, but she wasn’t going to be unpleasant if there was a problem about the room.

‘I won’t need a room,’ replied Hunak.

‘And I don’t mind sharing,’ added Lucius.

‘Neither do I,’ I quickly added.

‘Good. Hunak can stand guard, Lucius and Annis can share the bed of one room and I shall sleep on the floor.’

Lucius winced in sympathy.

Sally graciously nodded her head. ‘Thank you.’

In the end, Tav slept in a padded chair, and we got blankets to make sure he wasn’t too uncomfortable. Over the breakfast the next morning (thick, scary porridge) Tav and Lucius quizzed Sally politely. She told us that she was on her way to join the rest of her family in the Jafe Woods.

‘Jafe? That’s just north of Kinak! Why not travel with us on the way?’

I winced inside at Tav’s suggestion. At least I half-liked Hunak.

Sally considered it for a moment, obviously weighing the pros of greater numbers versus the cons of travelling with humans. Greater numbers won, sadly. ‘I should be delighted,’ she told Tav.

‘Excellent,’ he said. ‘We’ll leave at noon – Lucius and Annis can get food supplies, and Hunak and I shall get weapons and other things. Sally can finish off her business in the town, and we’ll all meet in the square at half eleven. Agreed?’

‘Um, no, sorry,’ said Lucius, apologetically. ‘I’ve got things to intend to too – no time for shopping, sorry.’

‘I shall get food,’ spoke Hunak unpredictably. ‘Lady Annis can go with you.’

Blinking a little, Tav acquiesced and we scattered.

[goblingirl]

Tav and I got to the square to find Hunak leaning against the dead fountain. I was still smiling; I now had a small chainmail shirt, after much arguing with Tav. Hunak was hunched to protect from people banging against him in the market that had grown up in the open area, but he looked up when we approached. Tav asked him what food he’d brought, and reached for his pack, but Hunak moved it away from him and replied, ‘Enough for us to reach Kinak my friend.’

They glared at one another for a moment, Tav unsure of whether to trust him, and Hunak simply returning his gaze, until Lucius’ voice said close by, ‘Mmm, you can just taste the testosterone, can’t you?’, when they broke the stare and we all looked confused about what testosterone was. Lucius, however, started looking around for Sally.


Eventually, the five of us set off. Sally was late, and claimed it was her prerogative as a woman, until Tav pointed out I was a woman too, and she shut up. Tav decided we would head straight for the woods, and then simply press on to Kinak. The first day went well; we made good progress according to Tav’s mildewed map, and made camp underneath the biggest tree in sight. Hunak performed a miracle with some of the supplies he’d bought, and we settled down to sleep. Because of the necromancer activity that had been going on (this was news to me, but everything was), Hunak kept watch over us as we slept, and promised to wake Tav halfway through the night so they could share. This appeared to be caused by some male honour thing – despite the fact that Tav was paying Hunak, he insisted that Hunak be allowed to sleep.

I woke to grey light through the trees and the sound of muttering.

I half sat up, bleary eyed and only part awake, ‘Tav?’ I mumbled. ‘Hunak? Is it time to get up yet?’

They turned to me, and Tav asked, ‘When you said you were a fair fighter…did you really mean it?’

‘Yes. Well, middling to fair really…’

‘Then get up and grab your sword. We’ve got company.’ I blinked and looked around. I could see no one. ‘What?’

He grabbed my arm and pulled me standing. ‘They want us awake when they kill us.’

‘Huh?’

Hunak growled. ‘These are bandits, paid by a necromancer to kill us and give him the bodies to make into minions. Awake victims mean more alert zombies.’

The penny dropped, and I woke up properly. ‘Zombies? I don’t want to be a zombie!’
‘You won’t, as long as Lucius comes up with something good in the next few minutes.’ I glanced over to the mage, who was standing with his eyes closed, and swaying on the spot. Sally was staring at him sardonically.

A sharp rustling from the bushes to our left told us our time was up. Suddenly, about twenty revolting men erupted out of the undergrowth and surrounded us. All five of us drew together.

‘Got anything Lucius?’ asked Tav from the corner of his mouth.

‘Nothing that works on this many people.’

‘Well, could you take out a few of them then? That would be helpful…’

‘Oh, for Gods’ SAKE!’ Sally grabbed mine and Lucius’ hands, and yelled a spell in a strange tongue. I suddenly felt really weak, and would have fallen if Hunak hadn’t yanked me back up by the elbow. I heard Lucius land on the floor with a thump.

It took me a few seconds to recover from whatever Sally had done, and in that time, Hunak and Tav left my side to go and attack the bandits. When I looked up, I saw that something (presumably Sally) had set a load of them on fire, and all Tav and Hunak had to do was hack off the heads of the burning ones, and avoid the unburnt and angry ones. I looked around, saw one coming towards me and held my sword out in front of me, and discovered that a few one-man-bandit attacks are nothing compared to a big fight. I backed away as he ran towards me, and ended up bumping into Tav, who stabbed the bandit for me. He glared at me, and called ‘I thought you knew how to fight!’ as he sped off to stop another outlaw from killing the limp Lucius. I grimaced, and looked around. Sally had looted a sword from a dead bandit, and was happily hacking away like she was born to it, Lucius was propped up against a tree, and Tav and Hunak were finishing the last ones off. I stood in the middle, holding my sword uncertainly and shivering.

Tav glared at me, then sighed. ‘I suppose you’d never handled a sword before last week?’

I shook my head, shamefaced.

Hunak grinned. ‘Then I suppose we’d better teach you.’


Just for the record, being taught swordfighting is PAINFUL. Even when you’re only using sturdy sticks, instead of razor-sharp swords, and your tutors combined make up 75% of the world’s collective male attractiveness, bruises and bleeding are inevitable hazards.

After we packed up camp, and Sally had incinerated the bodies, and then walked for half the day, we broke for lunch. No sooner had I finished my rather meagre cheese and bread, when Tav grabbed my arm and hauled me to my feet. ‘Come on,’ he said, putting a long stick into my hand.

‘What?’

‘We’re going to teach you how to fight. You’ll be no good to us if you can’t wield a sword when we get attacked next.’

‘When we get attacked NEXT? How do you know we will be attacked again?!’

‘Annis, we’re a group of people, in a wood, on a quest. We are going be attacked again.’

I opened my mouth to argue more, but then Tav began to attack me with his own makeshift sword, and five seconds later I was on the floor with the slightly thinner end of his stick at my throat.

‘So, you haven’t really had any sword experience, have you?’

Swallowing carefully I answered ‘No’.

I was dragged up again.

‘Okay, start with basics. Best places to hit is head, obviously, though if you can hack a limp of easier, then do it. Of course, having two swords is best but…’

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

We entered the city of Kinak a week after we left B’hark. As the guards opened the gates for us, I gasped in delight at the sea of life before me.

Tav looked down at me with an incredulous expression. ‘Are you serious? Have you never been to the city before?’

‘Well…yes, but only in a sedan, with tightly closed curtains. I’ve never been allowed to explore before…’

‘Explore all you want, but don’t expect to come back.’

I blinked at him. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean, there was a reason your parents didn’t let you out. Kinak’s fine in the good bits, but only 30% is good bits. The rest is pretty dubious.’

‘Oh’ I said, and looked down.

[reasonably_crazy]

I like how I haven't noticed this for so long. I am ashamed.

I'm interested by the story, though! A quest... for a globe... Hmmmm...

Can you see me stroking my chin? I am.

[goblingirl]

It came from something Katie said. I lent her my Tough Guide to Fantasyland (a guide book through a generic fantasyland, that is HILARIOUS and indispensible), and she said it would be good for LARPing. SO I decided to write a story based roughly around the rules of the Toughguide and LARP, that I could express my deep desire to go LARPing again in.

It is possibly the most blatant Mary-sue/self insert I have ever written.

And don't worry. Soon as I go back upstair to my laptop, I shall post the next bits.

[goblingirl]

Hunak patted me on the shoulder. ‘Perhaps another time.’

We wandered though the streets, until we found a half-respectable looking tavern, where we ate lunch. It was one of the strangest foods I’d ever seen – lumps of meat and vegetables slid onto a thin piece of wood, and then appeared to have been cooked while on the stick. It looked and tasted odd, but I was too tired to quibble.

‘So, whats’s the plan?’ asked Hunak to Tav.

Tav blinked. ‘Uh…frankly, I’m not really sure.’

We all stared at him. ‘But…why’d you bring us here if you have no idea what to do?’ I asked incredulously.

‘It, well, it seemed like the place to go.’

Lucius shrugged. ‘Fair enough. But, really, we need a plan, rather than just wander around the city.’

‘Why don’t you head towards the Garn Tribe? They might be able to help with Tavin’s quest, and we would detour through Jafe Woods, so I could return home.’

Sally surprised us all into silence by actually being helpful, until Tav said, ‘Good plan. Okay, we’ll spend a day in Kinak, to restock and let Annis play around in the backstreets, then set the day after tomorrow. Yes?’

We all nodded agreement, then everyone got up, paid, and started to plan. It was decided that Lucius and Hunak should go and book 4 rooms in a respectable Inn (Hunak still insisted that he didn’t need sleep), while Tav and I went to the Temple for advice. Sally claimed to have a really important errand to run, so left us immediately outside the tavern.


The Temple was very disappointing. The great Benerine Sanctuary near the Hash estate was a magnificent, beautiful place, full of peace and serenity. The Kinak Temple was filthy, right next to the road, with noise and a busy atmosphere reeking from it. I hestitated before entering, but Tav tugged my elbow, and feeling disillusioned, I went in.

‘We need to see the Oracle. Over there, you see?’ He pointed, and I shuddered. A queue of equally grimy people stood in a large arched doorway, which led to a dark corridor. I was dragged over to end of the line, to wait our turn.


Our turn came over two hours later. I was wilting against Tav’s shoulder, completely unused to standing aimlessly around in hot, musky environments, and the heavy incense used to convey a sense of deep religion soon sent me drifting off. When the priestess came out to take us into the Oracle, I had to be shaken awake by Tav, and was incredibly glad of the lack of light to hide my blush. Tav put three coins into the acolyte’s hand, and we went forward. Once we were in the Inner Sanctum, I blinked at the even darker surroundings. As far as I could tell, we were in a largish circular room, at one point of which stood a large chair, and on it sat an old and hunched figure. I could not tell if it was man or woman. The incense was used so much here that it created a kind of fug in the room, making me cough. I was forcibly reminded yet again of our own Oracle at home; a sweet young woman named Kax, who had lived in the Sanctuary all her life, but was so unlike this hag it seemed like an eon away.

The hag, for I saw it now was a woman, with sunken eyes and a ghastly appearance, now spoke. ‘You come to me for aid?’

Well, duh.

‘Aye. I – we – seek help in a quest set to me by another Oracle. I was told to find the Globe.’

‘The Globe?’ The old woman laughed, a hacking, painful sound. ‘Then, soldier, walk down past the river, from the Northern Estuary, and ye shall find it.’

‘The Globe is in this city? But what must we look for, Voice of the Gods?’

‘You will know it when you see it. Now, the girl.’

I shrank behind Tav. ‘I don’t need any aid from you, thank you very much.’

She looked at me, with her dark, wrinkled eyes, then shrugged. ‘Very well.’

This seemed to end our consultation, so a priestess with a pinch face came for us.

Once outside, I gasped in the fresher, less smoky air. ‘Bloody hells’

‘What?’

‘That’s nothing like religion as I know it.’

Tav raised any eyebrow. ‘Are you religious?’

‘Yes. I lived close to the Benerine Sanctuary, and it was almost my home from home. All clean air, and a lake, and white marble. Nothing like this.’

‘Well, this is what you get. I’ve never been to Benerine, but I believe it’s the last Sanctuary of its kind. The rest are now Temples, like this. Much more cost-effective.’

‘It’s horrible.’
Tav shrugged, and we wandered to the agreed meeting point to meet the others. ‘It’ll be nightfall soon – let’s hope Hunak and Lucius managed to find a good Inn.’

They had. Surprisingly enough, they somehow had got entrance into the most respectable hotel in the city, The Tickled Trout, and from somewhere (I thought Lucius, because Hunak didn’t look as though he had any money) had got the cash together to hire us four rooms for two nights. I was absolutely delighted; I hadn’t expected to experience my former kind of luxury for a long while. After dinner, (proper hot food, with fresh vegetables and not cramped by a tree), I retreated to my room, and had my first bath for two and a half weeks. Tav laughed at this statistic when I informed him during supper, and told me not to be such a spoiled noble. I was affronted, and didn’t speak to him for the rest of the meal.

[goblingirl]

I lazed in bed the next morning, despite the efforts of Tavin, Hunak and Lucius to get me up, and only rose at around half past ten. I was more than slightly piqued to have to put my filthy, disgusting clothes back on, but somehow the staff of the Inn had laundered and dried them in the night (and morning). Tavin looked at me in disgust when I came downstairs, and called me an indulged brat.

To this I merely smiled beatifically, and asked him where the others were. When he said they had already left, I asked what we were going to do.

‘Since Hunak is in charge of supplies, I was going to take you ‘round the city.’

‘Was? Have you changed your mind?’

‘No, but you took so long this morning I wondered if you even wanted to go.’

At last I felt a bit self conscious at my lie-in. ‘Sorry Tav.’

He pulled a face. ‘I take that as a “No Tavin, I still want to go”?’

‘Yep.’

He sighed. ‘Come on then. We’ll head to the Northern Estuary first.’

I rasised my eyebrows ‘You actually believe what that false Oracle said?’

‘Of course. Now come on lazy bones. We have a quest to fulfil.’


Tav stared up at the sign of the theatre, while I read from a grubby poster tacked to the wall.

‘Bill Twistspear’s new play – a tale of war and of peace. The hero; Thomas Marvin is a soldier in the greatest war of all – and he is the only one able to end it, but at a terrible cost to himself. Here, exclusively, at the GLOBE.’ I pulled a face. ‘Well, from the look of the Oracle, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was it.’

Silently, Tav brought us groundling tickets, and we went in to watch it.


I was wrong about the play – it was quite marvellous. Not as good as any play performed for us at Hash, but a wonderful spectacle from the centre of the city. The main plot was that Marvin, the protagonist, as a soldier in the Great War was sick and tired of fighting for, he believed, senseless and obsolete causes, and found himself in a position to end the war by switching sides and pleading with the enemy side to help make his own country see sense.
But he knew that if he did so, his wife and children would be killed for his disobedience. This, as a setting for a play does not seem sound, but the subplots, and the acting, made it seem not just plausible, but absolutely realistic at all points. Tav and I came out starry eyed and grinning ear to ear.

‘So, did that play answer your question?’

Tav cocked his head. ‘I suppose so.’

My face falling, I said with a shock, ‘So…you don’t have a quest anymore?’

He blinked.

‘Remember? The only reason we call came along with you was to help you the Globe. And,’ I gestured, ‘Here it is.’

Tav was silent for a while. Then he turned to me and asked, ‘What do you think, Annis? Should we stop now?’

‘No. We should find another quest. I’m only just starting to see the world!’

‘It’s not just about you Annis.’

I blinked, but couldn’t see his point. ‘Anyway, let’s go and talk to the others about it.’

He nodded. ‘Yeah, that’s probably best.’

[goblingirl]

More, if anyone cares

As we trudged through the streets, I heard a voice, singing a strangely familiar song. It tickled my brain, until I couldn’t help but wheel around, ignoring Tav’s cry, and chase after it. The sound led me through the alleys and the backstreets, till I stood in a tiny, squalid square, staring up at a window above me. In it sat a girl, around my own age, but the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. Her long, shining golden hair fell down past the sill she was sitting on, glinting almost smugly in the sunlight. Her eyes were hooded as she gazed down at some sewing she had in her hand, but I could guess they were cornflower blue, and from her perfect red mouth came the nosie that had brought me to this place.

‘ANNIS! What in Bakura’s name are you doin-?’ Tav began to reproach me, but broke off when he saw the vision.

The girl looked up when Tav came in, and glanced around before seeing us. She gave an almost feigned start of surprise, and dropped her sewing onto the muddy road below.

‘My goodness,’ she exclaimed, in a voice that sounded like the sigh of a summery breeze through sunlit woods, ‘Look what I have done.’

‘Here, let me.’ Tav rushed forward, and retrieved it. It turned out, to my satisfaction, to be a sock, rather worn and old, and rather obviously darned, but my mentor brushed it and beheld it was if it were a tapestry of silver and gold. ‘It is not damaged.’

The girl smiled at him, showing alarmingly perfect teeth, then blushed. ‘My goodness,’ she said again. ‘I shall come down to greet you, friends.’

The moment she was out of sight, I turned to Tav and glared. He looked helplessly back. ‘Well, she is very pretty.’

I sniffed, and tucked a strand of yet again, completely filthy hair behind my ear. ‘And very clean.’

‘Oh, come on Annis…’

Before he could grovel properly, the girl appeared from the house, and what I had said struck me. She was VERY clean to be living in a place such as this, for apart from a few aesthetic smudges of dirt on her tiny nose and cheek, she was spotless. Her dress was raggedly, but not repulsive, and her hair was to die for, as it was shining and long and so very golden. I was highly suspicious.

‘Thank you sir,’ she mumbled, letting that yellow curtain hang over her face as she reached out for her sock. Tav stared, struck for a moment before handing it over. ‘My name is Tav. What is yours?’

She looked surprised, then answered, ‘Sharla.’

Annoyed by the way they kept staring into each other’s eyes, I broke in, ‘I am Lady Annis Hash.’

Sharla was shocked. ‘But what is a Lady doing in such apparel, in such a place as this?’

I opened my mouth, but could not think what to say. I had meant to try and overawe her, but the way she answered made me feel ashamed of myself. It annoyed me even more.

‘She is on a quest, with me. Out to seek her fortune.’ I winced at Tav’s description, which reminded me of the gauche, ignorant girl of B’hark.

‘Oh, how exciting. I have always wished to leave this place, and see the world, but…’ She turned from us to the house she had come from, ‘I could not leave my parents. They are both old and infirm, and need me to care for them.’

Tav went to stand beside her. ‘You should not keep yourself here, even if you have to take your parents with you.’

She looked up at him with her blue eyes. ‘What do you mean?’

Before Tav could get any more sickening, I interrupted theit interlude again. ‘Tav, I’m sorry, but the others…?

Tav blinked, as if coming out of a trance. ‘Of course,’ he said briskly, abruptly leaving Sharla and returning to me. ‘I am sorry, Sharla, but we have to go. Good luck.’

Sharla said goodbye, and we made to leave. But before we left the square, I remember something. ‘On moment’, I murmured to Tav. ‘Excuse me Miss!’

Sharla spun on the doorstep. ‘Yes, my lady?’

‘That song you were singing – it sounded very familiar to me.’

She blinked. ‘Sorry. It’s just something I always remember – my mother said she heard it on the night I was left on the doorstep.’

After a moment of suspension of belief, Tav and I exchanged one horrified glance.

‘You were…left on the doorstep?’

‘Yes.’

‘In a…wicker basket, by any chance?’

‘Why yes?’ Sharla’s eyes narrowed. ‘It’s a completely mystery. A week after my mother miscarried, I appeared on the doorstep.’

‘I bet it is,’ I muttered. ‘Was there a token in with you?’

Sharla was very surprised now. ‘Yes! How could you know that?’

‘We…know about these things. Could we see it? We might be able to help you.’

‘Of course. I shall fetch it.’

While she was gone, Tav and I argued heatedly about taking her along with us, if she did turn out to be another Lost Heir.

‘We should help her; if she’s a Princess she can’t stay here to rot.’

I nearly swore. ‘It’s none of our business!’

‘Come on Annie…it can be our new quest.’ Tav looked at me beseechingly. ‘You don’t want us all to have to break up so soon, do you?’

I began to weaken. ‘But…’

‘Here it is!’ she cried as she came out of the house, holding a small, thick coin. I looked at it, then sighed. ‘The insignia of Kolna.’

She looked at both of us. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Kolna is a small kingdom to the east of Kinak. The royal family is long dead, and the country is barely ruled by an ailing regent.’

My voice was equally doom laden. ‘However, there is a prophecy that a prodigal heir can save the country from the inevitable civil war that will break our when the steward dies.’

Sharla didn’t see it. ‘But what could this have to do with me? Why do I have a Kolnian token?’

‘Because, YOU are the lost heir. You should get back to the kingdom and claim your birthright.’
Sharla blinked. ‘What can you mean?’

I sighed. ‘Never mind, we haven’t got the time for this. Come on Tav.’

‘Wait! Are you saying I’m a Princess?’ Dryly, I noted that she grasped the point fast when we seemed about to leave.

‘Yes, we are.’

She then executed a rather florid swoon, and Tav caught her just before she hit the ground. I shrugged, and tried to fan her face.

‘Oh…oh…’ was all she said as Tav lowered her to the floor.

I glanced up at the sky, and was horrified to see the sun low in the sky. If we stayed much longer in this place, we’d still be here at dusk, and even I saw the danger in running around the backstreets in the dark.

‘Didn’t she say she had parents? Where are they? Tavin, we can’t stay here.’

‘We have to take her with us.’ He began to gather her up, to carry her.

‘WHAT?’ I almost yelled. A few birds squawked and fluttered their wings overhead.

‘Be honest Annis…her parents probably aren’t coming this late-‘ he stopped, and bent his head to hear whispered words.

‘Gone…to aunt’s…won’t be back for a few days…’

‘Well, that’s convenient’

Tav shushed me, then said quietly, ‘We’re taking you with us Sharla, back to our company. You can’t be alone in this neighbourhood.’

I bit my tongue on a retort that she’d grown up in this neighbourhood, but recognised defeat when I saw it. I led the way before Tav and the now unconscious girl all the way through the streets of the least salubrious district I had ever been to.


To add insult to injury, Hunak seemed to fall under the same spell as Tavin when we met up with the rest of our party. Tav briefly explained about the girl, and took her upstairs to rest.

When he returned, we ordered dinner and began to share our stories of the day. Of course, mine and Tav’s came first. Everyone wanted to hear about our newest addition. When I had finished reciting our day, from the Oracle to the Lost Heir, everyone stared at the table for a while.

‘We can’t leave her now.’ This was from Lucius. ‘We should take her to Kolna. It won’t take too long, and will probably save a lot of people from a bloody and empty death in the civil war that will happen if we don’t.’

Sally looked up. ‘What about me? I joined this party because it was on my way home; I have no wish to get sidetracked into some silly little girl’s quest.’

I pounced on this. ‘Exactly! We cannot break our word to Sally on behalf of someone we haven’t even known for a day.

Tav shook his head. ‘No, Lucius is right. I’m sorry if you are angry Sally, but it’s better to go to Jafe via Kolna than the other way.’

Sally stood, ‘Then I leave your band tonight. I am sorry also, for this means an end to my friendship with you all, at least for the time being.’

We all pushed back our chairs and tried to dissuade her, but the pyrokin was determined to go home. ‘Since this means I no longer have a part in your discussions, I bid you goodnight, clear skies, and happiness.’

With Sally gone, I was the only one against taking Sharla to fulfil her destiny, and finally gave in. I was mollified however, when Tav took my hand and said, ‘Thank you Annis. I know you don’t like Sharla, and I can guess why, but it is our responsibility to help her. I promise, when she’s home, we’ll find a better quest – one that finally means you’ll be able to see more of the world.’

With this, I went to bed, carefully leaving my hand out of the basin while washing.


Departure in the morning was heavily delayed by Sharla; we had to first wake her (I found out, to my horror, that Tav had given up his bed to her last night, and had slept on the floor of Lucius’ room), then explain the situation to her, then convince her it wasn’t too much of an imposition on us, then take her to say goodbye to her parents, then take her home to pack, then reassure her again, and then finally we set off at a little after noon, having had to eat lunch at the tavern. We didn’t see Sally, and I was strangely saddened by this – probably the prospect of spending days in Sharla’s company had unhinged me slightly.

[reasonably_crazy]

Tee hee... Ah, a fresh Mary Sue. Delicious.

"the heavy incense used to convey a sense of deep religion" *snrk* Ah, yes. I love those.

[goblingirl]

Ehee hee

The next episode of our adventures is not one I wish to recount. Suffice to say, we got the Princess to Kolna without too much trouble (couple of ambushes, one attempted assassination, but we dealt with the attacks quickly enough, and Hunak did got rid of the assassin we caught. I chose not to ask), and handed her over to a rebel group to use as a figurehead. By the end of the journey, even Tavin was so sick of her whining and overacting that he was the first to suggest we dumped her with the nearest group of sensible looking insurgents. Ignoring her insistence that we stay to see her coronation, we stayed one night with the Hallers (the group), then left before she even woke up.

Glad we had finally ditched Sharla, I tramped on through the woods in front of everyone, enjoying the morning sunshine through the trees.

I heard the sounds of plants being curshed behind me, and glanced around to see that Hunak had caught up.

‘What’s the rush?’ he asked.

Suddenly, I realised that the others were completely out of sight and that I had left them behind in my haste to get away from the Princess’s lands.

‘Sorry, just…wanting to get moving again.’

‘Do you even know where you’re headed?’

I thought about this, and replied, ‘No.’

Just as Tav and Lucius emerged from the undergrowth, Hunak said, ‘You can’t run in a direction and hope to find something. We haven’t got a quest anymore – so here should we go?’

‘The Garnian tribes hold a fabulous festival this time of year. Since none of us want to split up – I certainly don’t, and Hunak is paid up till the end of the month at least, so perhaps a trip North would find a more...I mean, less stressful quest for us.’

I nodded. ‘I have never been to the North.’

‘I have. The way to the festival is through very dangerous territory Lucius. I’m not sure we should take the risk.’ Hunak stared at Lucius.

‘Oh? But I thought we wanted adventure?’

Tav straightened from the tree he’d being leaning against. ‘Hunak is right, we really can’t risk travelling to the festival.’

I looked from Tav to Lucius, to Hunak and back to Tav. ‘You’re talking about me, aren’t you! You think…that I’d be afraid of a little danger-‘

‘It’s not that,’ sighed Tav. ‘You’re a Lady, and it’s not right for us to let you put yourself in danger.’

‘Since when? We were all set to travel to the Garn Tribes before…’

‘Of course, but Sharla was right – it is irresponsible of us to take you along with us. If anything were to happen…’

‘I don’t believe what I’m hearing! You’ve decided I’m not good enough, because of something that…that….oh! Something SHE said?’

Tavin began to look uncomfortable. ‘Annis, we don’t mean that. We just think you’re not quite experienced enough to do all the things you want to, because they’re very dangerous and you-‘

‘ENOUGH!’ I yelled. ‘You think I’m a pampered brat, who spent all her life in indolence, and now can’t stand on her own two feet.’ I glared at all them, then pulled my sword out of its baldric. With my other hand I grasped the mana stone around my neck. ‘I could take you all down now!’

Tav’s eyes lit up with laughter. ‘You really think so Annis?’ He drew his own sword. ‘Come on then!’

Lucius sighed, and spoke some magic words. I felt my limbs freeze up, and saw Tav similary affected.

‘You are all being ridiculous. Annis is perfectly capable, and is here of her own free will. You two are being too protective of her, with no good reason.’

Hunak moved around so that he and Tav could share a glance. ‘Alright. Garn it is. Tav?’

The short-lived spell wore off with a gesture from Lucius.
Avoiding my eye, Tav nodded. ‘Okay then. BUT,’ he swung around to look at me, ‘You must promise not to do anything stupid, either to try and prove your independence, or to prove anything else.’

I bristled. ‘And YOU have to promise not to try and protect me. Or at least…not to make out that I’m too pathetic to defend myself, ever again. Deal?’

We shook hands.

‘Right,’ said Lucius briskly. ‘Garn is North, obviously. Do you have your maps Tavin?’

We pored over them. Hunak pointed to a path marked out. ‘This is the best way.’

‘It’s too long,’ I complained. ‘Why not this,’ I indicated a shorter path, that went directly through the woods, rather than around it like the other one.

‘We don’t want to go through those woods Ann. This is not about you, but generally. The woods…are odd.’

Narrowed eyes, I asked, ‘How odd?’

‘Vampire odd?’

I snapped my finger to where Hunak’s had been. ‘Let’s take the scenic route then.’

~~~~~~~~~~~

Three days later, we lolled in a meadow by the edge of the woods, having just eaten lunch and enjoying what was probably the last of the year’s sunshine. I half dreamed against a tree stump, letting random thoughts cross my mind as I enjoyed the warmth of the light. Tav and Hunak wandered off to practise sword fighting without endangering the mage or me. Lucius himself was reading, a pair of strange spectacles perched on his nose.

As I dazed, I became aware of a noise other than the clashing of steel; the clopping of hooves. I tried to lift my head, but due to my half consciousness, I somehow ended up falling hard on the ground in an undignified position. I opened my eyes to see a young man with black hair grinning down at me.

‘ZAK!’ I scrambled up, and fell on him for a hug.

‘Oof.’ He dodged, and then helped pull me up again as I plummeted again.
‘What are YOU doing here?’

‘Questing. You?’

I nodded. ‘Same. But...wait, I thought you’d done all your travelling?’

‘Something came up.’ He suddenly looked dramatically saddened. The wind, previously calm, abruptly whipped at his hair, and his blue eyes darkened with sadness. I blinked.

‘Is it your sister?’

The angst did not go. ‘Yes. She’s been kidnapped. No one knows where she is, and I have to find her.’ He stared at me. ‘Everyone thought she might have gone with you. Is she here?’

‘No, I’m sorry. But-‘

‘Annis my lovely! Introduce me to this young man would you?’

Lucius had discarded his glasses and book to join us.

‘Of course. Lucius, this is Zak Tulip. Zak, Lucius Phillipe. Zak is one of my oldest friends, and Lucius is one of my newest.’

‘Please to meet you!’ Lucius shook hands with my pseudo-brother and smiled charmingly. Some of the sullen look left Zak’s face.

‘Hey!’ Tav and Hunak had ran over and stared at Zak. ‘Who…is this?’

‘Zak. He’s one of my friends from Hash. Zak, this is Tav, and Hunak.’

They all shook hands.

‘No offence, but what are you doing here?’

I quickly made slashing sounds over my throat, but Tav’s question sent Zak back into emo state.

‘My sister….she’s missing. She’s the Oracle of the Benerine Sanctuary, Annis knows her. She went missing last week, a few days after Annis left.’

‘So, now you’re out, looking for her? Have you actually got ANY IDEA where she is? How do you know she didn’t just leave, like Annis?’

Zak began to glower. ‘Because she’s my sister. Apart from the fact that she was perfectly happy where she was, she also would tell me if she was going somewhere. We’re very close.’

‘They are,’ I confirmed. ‘Like one person, spilt into two.’

‘Oh,’ said Lucius, darkly.

‘What?’

‘You know what THAT means.’

Zak turned to stare at the mage. ‘I beg your pardon?’

‘Well, very close twins means destiny, doesn’t it? Is there anything about you or your sister that might indicate a special destiny? It might help us work out where she is.’

It was taken as read that we would delay our trip to the Garn festival to save Kax.

‘Well?’ Lucius prompted Zak after he didn’t answer.

He met my eyes. ‘No.’ he lied firmly.

That evening, Zak and I sat a little way away from the others, and chatted. I wanted to know how my widowed mother was, and my older brother, who would now be Lord Hash. Zak informed me they were fine, and asked, in a slightly incredulous
voice, ‘What are you doing here?’

‘Seeking adventure and travelling the world.’

‘No, seriously.’

I felt a twinge of offence. ‘Seriously. I want to be free. At Hash, I was trapped, and when my father died, I could escape, and now I can be independent and…’ I trailed off when I saw the look on Zak’s face. The truth was that I had been spoilt rotten as a child. My parent had adored me, and as I was their only child at home, let me roam free on our lands, and stay more at the Sanctuary than I did at home. ‘Alright! My brother came home, and annoyed me with his saying I need a ‘firm hand’, and wasn’t growing up properly.’

Zak chuckled. ‘I can imagine that. I only met your brother once, when he came back from school, before leaving for…wherever he went-‘

‘Syran’

‘Thank you, Well, he seemed a little….uh…’
‘You can be honest’

[goblingirl]

And here we take a dramatic dive away from LARP rules, because we meet two characters (Kax & Zak) who can - well, you'll have to wait.

And plus, I attempt to parody Hades and Persephone again. But that comes later.

When I bother to type it up.

[goblingirl]

‘’Stick’, ‘up’ and ‘arse’ are the words that spring to mind. Let me guess, he tried to control you, and you, in a fit of pique stole and sword and ran off. You somehow met up with these three, and are now questing with them until you either die or get bored, yes?’

‘There were four before – a pyrokin named Sally. She left though, because we took Princess Irritating of Kolna back home – long, painful story.’

Zak didn’t reply to this, and we sat in silence for a while. Once the others had gone to bed, I leaned over to Zak and whispered, ‘Why didn’t you tell them? Don’t you think it would be REALLY HELPFUL CLUE THAT YOU AND KAX CAN-‘

‘Don’t talk so loudly. I didn’t tell them because, let’s face it, I have little to no idea where she is, and I can’t trust anyone.’

I bristled. ‘Of course you can trust them. They’re my friends.’

‘How long have you known them?’

‘Um…about….uh….two and a half weeks?’

‘See? You’re being very gullible, wandering around with a bunch of complete strangers.’

I stood and glared down at him. ‘You listen to me Zak, Tav and Hunak and Lucius are the best people in the world, and I trust them with my life.’

Zak rolled his eyes. ‘Calm down. Just trying to point out how gullible you are.’

‘Well, don’t.’ I sat next to him again. ‘Seriously though, do you have any idea where Kax is?’

‘No.’ he put his head in his hands. ‘I know it’s something really, really bad, but I can’t sense where she is at all. I just….I need help.’

I gave him a hug. ‘When was the last time anyone saw her?’

’17 days ago. She went for a walk, and never came back. No one even realised she was missing until nightfall.’

‘And no helpful clues? A handkerchief caught in the bush, or a dropped broach?’

‘Nothing.’

I exhaled slowly. ‘So, do you have a plan?’

‘Well…there was one thing, but it was so obvious it must be a trap. A crystal, presumably dropped from some jewellery or something, but it’s the only thing I could find.’

‘Let me see.’ He produced a small, oval crystal of brilliant violet hue, that glinted in the firelight. ‘How is that helpful exactly?’

‘It’s one of a special vein of amethysts found only in the North-Eastern mines. The only place you can get jewellery made with them is in that area. But, frankly, it was so blatant – on a tree stump placed directly so the sunlight shone on it! – that I’m kinda sceptical about trying to follow it up.’

‘I see your point. Well, we’ll talk about where to go in the morning, and see if anyone else has any ideas. But now, we really ought to sleep.’

Zak sighed, and began to creep towards where the beds had been laid. I found my own, and closed my eyes.

~~~~~~

For what seemed like the hundredth time, I was woken early by Hunak shaking me, and motioning for me to be quiet. I stood, and wearily reached for my sword. Tav shook his head, and mouthed ‘Run. On my signal.’ It took a few goes for me to comprehend his message, but when I understood I raised an eyebrow. I opened my mouth to ask, but Tav had already turned away to help Lucius stuff things into packs for us to carry.

It was still very dark, about an hour before sunrise, and I couldn’t see any danger. I peered around, and located Zak standing a little way away, turning his head rapidly.

‘What’s wrong?’ I whispered.

‘Vampires. About…5. From the forest.’ He gestured to the dark shape half a mile to the west.

‘I can’t see anything. How do you know?’

He gave me a Look, and I understood. I snuck back to the camp, and took my bag from Hunak. Zak also returned, and said. ‘Get ready to run.’

The absurdity of this hit me. ‘Look,’ I began, ‘We don’t need to run. We’re a group of experienced questers, why could we fight off a bunch of vampires? I’m sure they’re not THAT strong.’

‘Experienced?’ I heard Hunak said disbelievingly.

‘I am experienced! I have…all of a week’s worth of experience. I could kill a vampire.’

‘No Annis. You couldn’t.’

I glared at Tav. ‘I bet I could. And you defiantly could, and Hunak, and Zak-‘

He stood on my foot, and I changed tack. ‘I mean, I think we should stand and fight.’

Zak muttered ‘They’ll be on us in about a minute.’

‘This isn’t about me again, is it?’ I looked hard at Tav. ‘You promised not to treat me like a child – why won’t you let me try and defend myself?’

He looked confused. ‘What do you mean? Annis, this is not about you. This is about the fact that vampires are at higher levels than we can dream of at the moment, and if we try and fight them, we’ll be killed like lambs.’

I sniffed. ‘I don’t believe you.’

Zak pointed to several, previously undistinguishable dark shapes detaching themselves from the shadows nearby. ‘We need to run, now. One…two….three…GO!’

Everyone but me sped off away from the dark shapes, but I gripped my sword and stood firm. I had a short fantasy in my head of the look on their faces when I killed 5 vampires on my own, before I was tackled to the ground, and knocked my head on the hard earth.

If I seriously thought any was reading this, I would cackle at the cliffhangerness

[reasonably_crazy]

cackle away. Hey, I know all about stupid, so I'm kinda sure of how this is going to turn out.

You Annis isn't too bright.

[goblingirl]

More soon..I mean, I've got it written up, but it needs tweeking, and I can't be bothered at the moment.