Spoiler!
We have a sequel!
Check out our mini-stories for the Dividing War. You decide what we write!
Project Mech: The Path to the Lightstone
Chapters Complete:
1: The Drunkard's Tune, 2: Death to Peace, 3: Trails and Tribulations, 4: Mountain Song, 5: Gentle Grace, 6: First Blood, 7: Warmonger, 8: Unwanted Welcoming, 9: The Reunion, 10: That Goddamn Rock, 11: Ashes in the Wind, 12: One Last Prayer, 13: Missed Time, 14: A Beast in All, Epilogue
Statistics:
Word Count (5/23/15): 56,388
Pages (according to Google Docs; (5/23/15): 106
Date Started - Last Edit: 2/12/15 - 5/23/15
Anyway, without further ado, I present to you:
The Dividing War: the Twokinds Forum Addition!
[/u]Chapter 1 - Drunkard's Tune (Wrote by Austin Hostetter)
~Zander~
Rain poured relentlessly from the darkened evening sky, showering down on my back without mercy. More than ever I wished for an umbrella, as this rain would likely ruin my elegant bard outfit that I’d bought no more than a week ago. I was as nearly washed up and pathetic as the fox keidran I carried behind me.
“Bullocks…” I whispered to myself as I dragged the over-intoxicated body of the fox in a small wooden cart.
“Why do I have to be the one to carry this drunken fool off to the hospital?”
The question rang bitterly in my head, my slim frame attempting to drag this sorry sob off to someone who might be able to help him. There was no doubt about it, this guy was clearly about to tip over the edge into a permanent comatose. He had to be well over 15 years old, and he was reaching the end of his sorry life anyhow. Why should I even be trying to save him?
I shook my head in frustration and continued onwards to the doctor’s office, trying not to think too hard on my reasoning for what I was doing.
“You’re doing it because it’s right, Zander,” I thought as I trudged forwards through massive puddles dotting the cobblestone road ahead of me.
I sighed and looked up into the thick rainclouds shifting restlessly in the blackened sky. It was indeed the right thing to do, especially after the recent civil war… We were finally at peace with the Keidran, though racism and small skirmishes still regularly occurred.
“Heh,” I chuckled to myself, “Maybe this’ll start a trend for my fellow humans… Showing respect for even the lowest of Keidran.”
The fox stirred behind me, his sudden movements jolting the cart. I turned my head to glance back in his direction. It appeared as if he had sneezed, both a good and bad sign. It was the first time he’d shown any reaction to the outside influences, but it also meant he was at risk for getting hypothermia. I wheeled the cart under a small awning that offered some protection from the rain and set the wooden wheelbarrow down, speed walking to the fox to make sure the freezing rain hadn’t finished him off for good. Looking him up and down quickly, I figured that he was the same as before; cold and drunk beyond all belief.
Seeing as we were momentarily safe from the pelting rain, I took this chance to dry off as best as I could. As I wrung out my green striped barrette, my eyes couldn’t help but wander back to the disgruntled keidran. He was sprawled out carelessly on the pile of hay, his breathing shallow and uneven. He wore a red shawl around his shoulders, covering a portion of his dress length stunning white robes.
The robe itself was quite decorated, holding many different mana crystals strung carefully around the fabric. It appeared to be made of ordained silk, something I assumed that only the highest level mages would be able to afford. There were small openings at the bottom of the cloak that revealed a red under-layering of heavy fabric, likely to keep the wearer warm. I couldn’t get over how many bloody crystals were on his robes.
He wore several necklaces laced with the dormant blue gems, along with almost every opening and fold in the fabric having crystals hanging down from them. His tongue flopped lazily out of his mouth, his entire body overtaken by a drunken stupor. His hair was a dirty shade of orange, pulled back into a ponytail speckled faded gray. He wore deep maroon colored leather gloves, covering the only other exposed part of his body besides his head and bare feet.
As I picked up the cart to begin the rest of the journey off to the infirmary, a heavy sigh pushed from my lips. This guy is- or at least was- someone important and powerful.
“Didn’t take much for the mighty to fall, huh big guy?” I questioned at the lifeless body behind me.
I trudged along the dirty street, occasionally stopping to check on the drunken oaf. After what felt like a century of walking through the ocean spilling on us from the sky, I finally pulled up to the small infirmary at the other end of town. The rain had faded away into a cloudy sky, leaving me soaked. My heart leaped with joy when I saw the pale lights of the office streaming through the windows, signaling that I had made it just in time. I parked the cart as close to the door as possible, and began the daunting task of trying to remove the furry deadbeat from the back of it.
I tugged first at his exposed leg to try and move him off the cart, but that didn’t get me very far. With a powerful grunt, I took a hold of his arms and began to pull him upright, his body moving slowly until he released a short yip of pain. I felt something… strange when I pulled on his right arm, almost like it had dislocated from his socket. Worried, I quickly rolled up his sleeve and was greeted by a grisly sight.
“Oh God…” I whispered into the bitterly cold air, barely able to keep myself from vomiting.
His arm was hideously disfigured, tufts of discolored fur propping out from leathery, twisted flesh. The entire surface of his arm was gruesome, leaving only the basic shape of the arm to be recognized. As I stepped back and struggled to keep my dinner down, I heard the door to the infirmary open amid my gagging. A curious Basitin doctor stepped out from the open entryway, turning her head over to the direction of the commotion I was causing.
“Hello?” She called out in my direction, her vision obstructed by the traditional eyewraps worn by doctors of their kind. She held a red tipped cane in her hand, presumably to make sure she didn’t run into anything while she was blindfolded.
“What in the world is a Basitin doctor doing all the way out here?” I pondered to myself, straightening out my stance. I wouldn’t call myself an expert on Basitin society, but as far as I knew, most Basitins stayed secluded on their island. I’d also heard that their doctors weren’t the greatest among the other races, but maybe at least she would know how to cure this old fox of his alcohol coma.
“Um… Hi there.” I replied, her large cream colored ears twitching as she heard the sound of my voice and snapped her head in my direction.
“Are you in need medical assistance?” She asked as her furred, slim body made her way over to the cart, her cane tapping rhythmically against the ground as she approached.
“I was just filling out some medical records. If you’re sick or injured, I’d be more than happy to help you…” she trailed off as her hand reached out for me, gently touching my face as she attempted to examine me with her sense of touch as Basitin doctors do. Though her hand was rather soft, I politely lifted it away from my face with an uncomfortable shudder and directed her over to the cart where the keidran lay drunk and wet.
“I’m perfectly fine. It’s this alcoholic old fox over here that needs the help.”
She turned her head over to the direction that I had pointed her hand, cautiously tapping her cane to the ground as she progressed. As I walked up to the cart and watched her feel along the wooden interior for the keidran, I wondered why she hadn’t taken off her blindfolds yet. It was customary for Basitin doctors to wear special wraps over their eyes as not to break their decency laws, but as far as I knew, they only had to wear them if they were examining a patient. Getting a patient inside your hospital shouldn’t be against their decency laws.
“I don’t mean to intrude, but…”
Her long ears twitched as she checked the fox for a pulse, signifying that she was listening.
“Wouldn’t it be easier to check him, you know, with the blindfolds off? So you can see?”
She raised her back and looked towards the direction of my voice, a hand lifting up to timidly fiddle with the wraps around her hands.
“Oh… I’m actually blind. These wraps are only for show, my eyes don’t work either way.”
As she spoke, she went back to checking the keidran’s vital signs, leaving me feeling like an idiot for asking.
“Erm… Sorry, I didn’t realize you weren’t able to see.”
She stood up straight and gave a small smile in my direction, tucking her hands into the large pockets of her piercing white overcoat.
“Don’t worry about it, you didn’t know. Besides, I’ve been blind since the day I was born. That’s just the way it’s always been for me.”
“Well, that’s unfortunate…” I lamented to myself, walking back over to the other side of the cart. She gave a soft pat to the back of the fox and pointed over to him as she gave me her diagnosis.
“It looks like he should be okay. His vital signs are all there and working, albeit rather poorly. I’d say after some detoxification and rest, your friend here will be fine.”
She put a hand on his leg and turned to once more to address me.
“Now, let’s get him inside shall we?”
Picking up the heavy fox, we shuffled our way over to the entrance of the hospital. She lifted his legs and went in front of me, carrying him wheelbarrow style as I held my two arms under him for support. I followed behind her red baggy pants as we entered through the doors of the office, her wrapped tail swishing from side to side as she walked. As we entered, she flipped on the rest of the building lights as a courtesy to me, leaving the signal light from outside on as well.
The office itself was fairly spacious and cozy, an odd feeling for a medical building to have. I’d just recently moved into the town and had been lucky enough to avoid sickness or injury in my year at Farnfoss, so I’d never seen the infirmary until now. On the faded mocha walls hung different paintings of bright colored flowers and forests. There was a small secretary counter that housed paperwork spread out all around the desk, presumably from the doctor.
“How does she do paperwork if she’s blind?” I questioned to myself as we scuffled through the waiting room and into the hallway that led into the different examination rooms.
We walked through the open door of the small room and hefted the oversized fox unto the bed. I sighed and stretched out my body, grateful for the relief of not having to carry the drunk around anymore. The room was warm and inviting like the waiting room had been, with the same mocha color enveloping the room with serenity. A small set of cupboards and a counter built into the wall housed different sets of tools and a sink, as well as a few more miscellaneous medical records.
I sniffled miserably as she set to moving the keidran into a more relaxed position on the bed, becoming painfully aware of my less than perfect condition. I was soaking wet, and if I didn’t get out of these clothes soon, I’d end up just as bad as the fox. She quickly set to unwrapping the shawl around his face as she addressed me from the side of the bed, placing the wet garment on a coat hanger that was in the corner of the room.
“Your friend here won’t be able to go home tonight. We have a guest bed upstairs for visitors that you can spend the night in if you’d like to stay.”
I awkwardly scratched the side of my head, not sure how to address the issue.
“Well I uh… He’s not exactly my friend.” I explained to her back as she began unraveling the robes.
“I work at the tavern downtown as a freelance bard, and they had me take this drunk to see a doctor so the bloke didn’t end up drinking himself to death,” I said as she nodded her head.
“I honestly have no idea who he is. This is the first time I’ve seen him in the tavern since I started working there.”
The doctor continued to work relentlessly at trying to get the fox’s clothes off, her hands getting tangled in the mess of mana crystals wrapped around his body. She mumbled in frustration something about him trying to kill himself with hypothermia due to his complicated clothing that was now drenched in water. Seemingly having given up on the task for now, she swiveled on her foot wraps and looked in my general direction as she spoke.
“Ah, I see,” she commented as she slowly moved towards the counter to grab some towels to wipe her moistened hands off with.
“It’s still too late for you to travel all the way downtown, and if your shivering is any clue to me, it sounds like you could use a hot bath and a warm place to rest.”
“Dang,” I thought to myself as she spoke kindly to me, “I didn’t even realize I was shivering.”
“You can go ahead and stay the night in the guest room, there’s a bathing room just down the hall upstairs, first door to your right. The guest room is the one just past that.”
She turned back to attempting to free the fox from his freezing prison of soaked robes.
“If you need anything else, just come down to this room and ask me. I’ve gotta monitor him to make sure that he doesn’t slip into a permanent sleep in the middle of the night, so I’ll stay here to watch over him.”
“Thank you for your hospitality. I’ll try not to be too much of a bother while I’m here, I really appreciate it!” I declared as took off my barrette and smiled at the Basitin.
“Of course,” she replied blankly, seemingly absorbed in her task. I figured there wasn’t much sense in conversing any further, seeing as I was in a dire need of a change of clothes, and she was already engrossed with treating the old fox. As I turned to leave the door, I paused at the exit and flipped back around to her.
“Oh, and I don’t think I got the chance to introduce myself! I’m Zander!” I told her happily, her body turning back around to give me a curious furrow of her brow.
She promptly stood and walked up to me to stick out her hand. I stepped forwards and took it into mine and gave a firm handshake as she spoke.
“Liviana,” she stated with the trace of a smile printed on her stern looking face, her wild white-haired ponytail sprawling out in a strange contrast to her official manner of speaking. I released her hand from my grip as she spun around to return to the shallowly breathing fox behind her.
I made my way out of the room and headed to the end of the hallway, eager to get out of these wet rags that were once elegant pieces of artistic creativity.
“Hopefully the rain didn’t damage them too badly,” I thought to myself as I headed up the white washed stairs to the upper floor, starting to unbutton my tunic. Either way, it would be a relief to get them off.
“I can already feel the warm steam of the tub!” I sang in my head, a blissful smile spreading across my lips. This would surely be one of the most rewarding baths I’ve ever had.
<><><><><><>
~Liviana~
When I heard the door at the end of the hallway click shut, I sighed and ran my fingers through the thick tufts of my hair. At least now Zander was safe, but I was nowhere near at ease trying to care for this keidran. Though it was too early to make a snap judgment on either of these strangers, I felt certain that Zander was a decent person at the very least. His voice had sounded quite genuine when he talked to me, and I doubt he knew what kind of person he had just wheeled into the infirmary. This fox was not to be trusted.
The fact that he was a mage made me suspicious of him from the beginning. I’d never been fond of magic users, and their sheer amount of power that they could harness at any time was unsettling.
Magic was something that I couldn’t understand or control, and that made me feel cornered when it came to dealing with mages of any type. Be it either human Templars or keidran mana crystal mages, no magic users were trustworthy to me. Templars single handedly set in motion the long and grueling war that tore through the nation, and even though the keidran can’t syphon energy from the Templar’s towers, they can still resort to black magic as a last defense…
Which is precisely what this old keidran had done. When I propped him up on the bed, I felt the familiar feeling of corrupted flesh under my fingers from his right arm. Lifting up his sleeve and feeling along his arm now, it was plain to see that my suspicions were absolutely correct. His leathery skin pressed uncomfortably onto my hand as I felt the mass of twisted muscle and bone.
His arm lay in stark contrast with the rest of his body, the unpleasant corruption spread all the way up to his shoulder blade. Using dark magic is mostly forbidden in all practices, so this guy must’ve been extremely desperate to risk not only his life, but his sanity and the stability of his soul.
No matter the reason for resorting to the dangerous art, the fact that he had done so was more than unnerving. Using overpowered magic like that is bound to come with some negative consequences, and because he’s crippled with alcohol poisoning, there’s no telling how dangerous this keidran could truly be.
Even though he has obviously fallen into weakness due to his drinking habits, he was still avid about keeping enough mana crystals on him to blow up an entire city. As I unstrung some of the long strands of necklaces that carried the crystals, I couldn’t help but worry about the fox.
What if he was insane? A powerful mage with no sense of reality would be just as dangerous as inviting 20 dragons over for a lovely tea party. He could wreak havoc unlike anything ever seen before, and the fact that he’d nearly killed himself from drinking signified that at the very least, his mind is plagued with bad decisions.
Even if he wasn’t insane, there was no way that he managed to pull a black magic stunt like that without losing some of his soul in the process. He may just be a mere husk of the man he was before, leaving nothing left but a powerful body with no morality. Equally as dangerous as the insane variety, and twice and menacing because they would feel nothing while ruthlessly murdering innocents in cold blood.
I shuddered and removed my hands from the ghastly skin of the fox, a small whine of pain rising from his mouth as my hand bumped into his. Despite how much I wanted to toss him back out into the rain, there was still the slight chance that he wasn’t a threat, and I had to perform my duties as a doctor. I reluctantly rose from the bedside and felt along the wall until I reached the first cupboard by the door. I opened it and reached inside for a large nightgown that would fit the fox, all the while trying to convince myself that I was overreacting.
I leaned up against the wall and let out a heavy sigh. I took in a few deep breaths and pulled the wraps off from over my eyes, letting my hair and face breathe. I walked my way over to the table and set the wraps down, blinking my eyelids open a few times to refresh them after being covered for a majority of the day. Normally I would’ve kept them on until I went to bed, but it didn’t look like I’d be getting much sleep tonight anyhow, so I might as well get comfortable.
I returned to the bedside and felt along the breast of the fox in order to find a way to free him of his drenched sarcophagus. After finally deciphering the elaborate button pattern that trapped him, I set to freeing his body of his death sentence. It took a lot of effort and flinging around of his body, but I finally got him free of everything he had on earlier, save for his undergarments that had stayed dry under his heavy robes.
I gave myself a short break to recover some of the energy I’d expended on moving a body much larger than I was before. I groaned as I began the daunting task of redressing him.
With plenty of grunting, struggling effort, and nearly breaking my back from flipping him, I finally succeeded in slipping him into the scrubs. I gasped heavily and threw myself in one of the chairs along the wall. It was a small blessing that the office chairs were quite plush and comfortable, because I certainly wasn’t looking forward to the night ahead of me.
My eyes closed as I sat back in the chair, listening to the world around me. The building was mostly quiet, the sound the fox’s breathing making up most of the audible noise in the room. Beyond that, I could hear the gentle breeze of the wind blowing outside the window and the water draining from the bath upstairs. I figured that meant that Zander was finished cleaning up and was headed off to sleep, something I should do as well.
<><><><><><>
I must’ve drifted off into some sort of nap as I sat there in the chair, because the next thing I heard was a knocking at the door frame. Slightly startled by the noise, I snapped my head to the direction of the doorway. Fearing that the keidran had escaped without awaking me, I tensed up and prepared to be sentenced to death for releasing a murderer into the streets.
I heard a scuffling pair of feet enter the room and stumble around before I heard the startled voice of Zander addressing me.
“Oh, my bad! I didn’t realize you were asleep, Liviana,” he apologized as I relaxed back into my chair and tried to calm my racing heart.
“Do you mind if I turn the light on?”
I nodded and rubbed my eyes, letting a sleepy response rise from under my breath.
“Yeah it doesn’t bother me any…”
I heard him whisper under his breath, “Oh yeah, blind, I forgot…”
I smirked softly to myself and shuffled in the chair to face him as I gingerly spoke.
“Did you need something Zander?”
His fingers snapped in remembrance as he spoke.
“Ah, yes! Do you know where I can find some clothes to sleep in? Mine are still soaked, and I don’t quite think this towel will suffice,” he said with a chuckle.
As I sniffed softly into the air, his fresh washed scent filling my nose. At I hadn’t been asleep for too long since he just recently finished bathing. I pointed to the corner of the room with the cupboards as I directed him to the nightgowns.
“First cupboard, there should be a few nightgowns in there. I don’t know for sure what size you are, but I think that you’re probably something along the lines of a small or medium? Those are in the lower shelf, right in the front.”
I listened to the light patting of his feet against the polished floors as he reached in and picked out a suitable nightgown, heading back out to the door. As I leaned back into the chair and into the open arms of sleep, I heard his feathery footsteps stop before leaving.
“Thanks Liviana! I should be out of here by tomorrow. Sleep well!”
I laid back into the fluff of the chair and nodded sleepily, halfheartedly mumbling out something along the lines of ‘you too’ before slipping back into the restful trance of earlier. As he left, I heard him flick off the light and shut the door, leaving me alone again. If tomorrow was anything like I feared it would be, at least tonight was fairly relaxing.
Chapter 2 - Death to Peace (Wrote by Jacob Hostetter)
~Liviana~
~Liviana~
I woke up in my cushioned office chair, my head spinning. Standing in a daze, I stumbled around as I held my head.
“Ugh, my head hurts,” I moaned, guessing it was from the uncomfortable position. Sitting up and sleeping on a wall doesn’t do well on anyone.
Slowly, I approached the bed where the intoxicated fox lay. I had to see if the man was doing alright. If I was lucky, he would’ve lasted the night and would be doing fine. I genuinely hoped he stayed asleep until Zander came around. I didn’t want to deal with an angry old fox while the bard enjoys his snooze.
I stood silent, listening for breathing, something I had to do often with patients. Thankfully, I still heard the faint sound of his breath in the room. I had an advantage over my fellow doctors with my sensitive Basitin ears, allowing me to hear even the faintest of sounds.
I lightly shook the mage to wake him. In response, the keidran let out a light groan of both pain and the urge to stay asleep. I heard him slowly sit up, mumbling something. I stepped back to give him space. While his mind was waking, I walked over to the counter to put on my eye wraps. Although they were highly uncomfortable, I wanted to stay true to my traditions.
“Ow, my head…” he whined. This made me smile, thinking back to just moments ago where I said the same thing.
“Where am I?” he commented, his voice slow and hung over.
“You are at the Farnfoss Clinic, sir. If it weren’t for the bard at the tavern for carrying you here, you'd be dead from alcohol poisoning. You should be more cautious when you drin-…”
“Wait!” the keidran moaned slowly, cutting me off, “Farnfoss, the human village? How the hell did I end up here?” His voice was raspy and deep, worn over the years of his exceptionally short life.
I looked at him with confusion. “What’s wrong with humans?” I asked.
“Templars! I bet that bard poisoned me and sent me off to the insane Basitins to get my arm cut off!”
I heard him turn to me in fright. Quickly, he scrambled over to his robes to yank a mana crystal necklace off of it. I felt a blast of heat rise from one of his hands, a fire spell of some sort.
“Get back, Basitin! You won’t have my arm!”
“Hold on, hold on! I’m trying to help you!” I yelled to calm him down. He growled with rage in response.
“You’re working with the humans, aren’t you?” he shouted back. The door to the office slammed open, and Zander entered. We stopped as I turned my head to him.
“What’s with all the flippin’ ruckus?” he shouted.
“You must be the wretched human bard,” he said coldly.
Zander scoffed mockingly. “Yeah, I am the only person here without fur.”
“Shut it, you ugly [censored]! Why did you bring to this… this insane asylum?”
“Insane asylum? Mate, look around you! This is the bloody clinic, you idiot!”
Silence entered the room like vortex. I heard heavy sighing from the fox’s direction, and what sounded like pacing.
“Okay, maybe the Basitin isn’t insane. But I still don’t trust you, human,” the fox said.
“What’s wrong with me?” Zander asked, “I saved your hide! You should be thanking me, not bashing on me!”
“Look, it’s… difficult for me to trust humans.” He said with a frustrated sigh,“I fought in the war between the Forest Wolves and the Humans. Besides, The Templars made it clear that humans are never to be trusted as allies,” he said as I heard him whip his robes back on.
“Wait, why were you even involved in that war? You’re a fox keidran, not a wolf,” Zander questioned with a curious tone.
“Simple, it’s my homeland. You may or may not know, but the foxes have a territory smaller than my tolerance for humans. I represented them as a diplomat, negotiating between the people I grew up with and the land I technically belong to. I owe my heritage to the foxes, so I wanted to help forge a relationship between my family and my ancestors,” the fox stated as he noisily buttoned and restrung his robe.
More silence. My ears twitched a bit at the sudden lack of noise. I could tell this conversation was getting awkward. I stepped in to break the quiet standoff.
“Okay, sir,” I said, walking closer to the fox. “I still have to check on you. What’s your name?”
He sighed.
“Sayyaf. Look, I don’t need to be here, I just drank too much. I’ll take my leave,” he said as he tried to leave out the door. I stopped his tall body with my left hand, not moving my head or breaking my stance.
“Sayyaf, hold on. You can’t leave just yet. You just suffered alcohol poisoning, and I’m surprised you’re even awake right now. Do you feel sick at all?” I asked, curiously tilting my head as I spoke.
“No, ma’am. I just have a god-awful hangover, and these lights are frying into my brain.” Sayyaf sighed in a worn out tone.
“Alright, you may return to… erm, wherever you came from…” I said, laughing softly. I heard Zander chuckle as well.
“I don’t even know how I ended up here…” I heard Sayyaf mumble as he walked to the door and stumbled out of the room. Just as it opened, someone else entered the room.
“I have a letter for a… Zander Richfield? Looks urgent,” the boy said hastily. “Oh, hello Ms. Gorwin, are these your patients?”
I turned to the direction of the boy. I recognized the voice.
“Yes they are, Curtis. Would you mind delivering letters at after hours from now on?” I asked the child.
“Oh, of course, Ms. Gorwin! I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“Don’t worry about it, Curtis. Just remember my request.”
The boy walked off down the hallway of the clinic as I smirked at his youthful ignorance. I heard Zander gasp.
“Oh, no…” he whispered. I heard the letter shift in his hand. It must have truly been urgent.
“What the matter, Zander?” I asked him, curious of what happened.
Zander cleared his throat to read the out loud.
Hey, how’s it going, Zander? I know it’s been awhile since I last wrote, but with good reason! The caravan I’ve been guarding decided that they wanted to move up to the snow wolf territory to grab a piece of the chaotic action that’s been going on there for a while now. You may not remember, but there’s a small Basitin city on the outer borders called Castle Heywood, and if recent reports hold anything true, it sounds like it won’t be there for much longer.
The snow wolf tribes have been uneasy at the spread of outside influence within their country for the last few years now, and it sounds like they’re going to be burning the whole castle down, citizens and all. There’s some valuable musical knowledge held by the scholars in Heywood, so it might be worth your time to make a trip up there and salvage whatever you can find before the whole city turns to ash.
Also, if you choose to come, I want you to do it for the music, not for me. Even though I know you worry about my safety, you’re a horrible swordsman, and I always have to end up saving you.
If I find out that you came for my safety, I will throw you to the wolves. Literally.
Anyhow, come if you want to save the heritage of a city, but if the cold proves a bit too much for you, I won’t judge you (too much).
So, I bid you goodbye Zander! I’ll be in the city for a few days if you choose to come; my caravan will wait for your response.
Hope to see you soon,
Amelia
“She can’t go in there alone! The caravan will surely get ransacked and raided! I’ve gotta go and help Amelia!” Zander shouted with heroic zeal.
I heard Zander fly out of the room as I quickly grabbed my cane and started after him to see what he was doing.
“Sayyaf!” he shouted, “I need your help!”
“Dear gods, please lower your voice!” Sayyaf angrily growled as I heard him plop into one of the chairs dotting the waiting room.
“I know you hate humans, but I really need you to negotiate with those snow wolves so I won’t get killed. My sister is counting on me, and I am counting on you!” Zander exclaimed with desperate passion.
“Why should I even consider going with you? Especially when there’s going to be a human caravan involved! They are just as racist as the humans before the dumb treaties!” Sayyaf replied.
“I will tell you why you should come with me,” Zander offered, thoughtfully tapping his feet on the tiled flooring.
“You were in the forest wolf army, yeah? Well, if you come with me, you will gather some valuable intelligence from their northern neighbors to report to your higher ups,” he negotiated.
“I have no higher ups to report to. I was discharged after the treaties were signed,” Sayyaf said bitterly.
“’Too hateful to remain in the army’, they said. They wanted peaceful soldiers to represent their promise.” Sayyaf scoffed in angry disbelief.
“Have you ever heard of a peaceful soldier?” he grumbled before Zander continued.
“Even so, they can’t turn this offer down. You’ll get your position back, don’t worry,” Zander said, patting Sayyaf’s shoulder.
Sayyaf sat in silence, pondering the offer as Zander’s foot tapped nervously on the ground.
“Fine, I’ll go,” he sighed, pushing Zander’s hand off from him. “So long as you stop touching me.”
I heard him cheer in celebration.
I stepped forwards to get the boys’ attention. “I would like to join alongside you, if I could. I lived almost all of my childhood in Castle Heywood, so I could help you around there. Alongside that, I have to assist my family and my people in whatever is going on over there.
I smiled with pride, “Plus, you’ll need a translator.”
“Fine, you can accompany us. Who will take your place at the clinic, though?” Sayyaf asked me. I cracked a small smile.
“They already have plenty of other doctors here, one less won’t make much of a difference.”
“Right, then! Let’s venture forth, shall we?” Zander enthusiastically sang out, his feet already heading for the door.
~Sayyaf~
I shouldn’t even be going with this stupid human. Just a year ago, I would have killed any human, but now? I am travelling with one on a job that may be a trap or a hunch! I cleared my negative thoughts.
No, this has to be true, I thought, I’ve been drinking my life away after the war. This is my one chance at redemption.
Zander lead us down the inviting halls of the clinic and onto the streets of the town. The morning air helped clear away some of the headache that I had from earlier and I inspected the human with scrutiny in the rising sun.
Zander had fluffy, black bowl cut hair hidden under his green beret. His skin shimmered a light brown color. His eyes was a sky blue color, surrounded by the weird baby face he had. Thin lips and eyebrows made up his complexion, with an average looking human nose.
Those noses are nasty; I don’t understand how other humans can find that “attractive”. He wore a green silk bard’s outfit, and carried around faded yellow lute strapped onto his back for travel. Not to mention his stupid looking tights.
What have I gotten myself into? I thought.
“Anyone have a map?” he asked, glancing back while walking. Liviana shrugged.
“I don’t have a purpose for one. What about you, Sayyaf?” she asked me. I thought for a moment.
“I don’t have a physical map, but perhaps a guidance spell can help us?” I suggested.
“How does it work?” the bard asked.
“It’s like a mental compass. It’ll point me in the general direction of where we need to go since I haven’t been there before.”
“It’s better than nothing,” Liviana said. Both Zander and I shook our heads in agreement. We continued down the roads of the petty town to go round up supplies. Our first stop was the town market to stock up on food, and to get some knapsacks for the road. There were half a dozen or so vendors shouting advertisements for an assortment of different goods. We stopped at a food stand and got some meals for the road ahead.
“See anything you like?” he asked Liviana.
“Zander, I’m blind, remember?”
He rubbed his neck nervously and chuckled with his eyes closed.
“Right… I forgot, sorry. Do you have any preferences?.
“I’m a fan of fish.” She offered, Zander confirming her order to the tab.
“What about you, Sayyaf?”
I was surprised he asked. I crossed my black furred arms and gave him a dirty look. “I’m a keidran, what do you think I want?”
“I don’t know, a dog bone?” he casually mocked.
My expression quickly changed to an enraged one. “Take that back, you racist scumbag!” I growled.
He threw his arms out in front of him defensively. “Woah, woah! It was a joke! Seriously though, what do you want?” he airily questioned, looking mildly annoyed.
I looked down with my arms still crossed. “Get me any sort of meat. The only meat I don’t like is chicken. I’ve… had some bad experiences with it in my system.” Liviana looked in my direction with a look of slight disgust.
“Gross,” she said jokingly. I shook my head, slightly embarrassed. Zander let out a hearty laugh, his faded yellow lute jumbling around in time with his laughter. Zander opened up his pack and retrieved some gold coins. He offered it to the vendor, pointing at the food he wanted. The vendor agreed to the price Zander offered and wrapped up the food items in a paper wrapping. Zander scooped them up and placed them his rugged brown sack. After doing so, he swung it around his back and continued to another vendor.
At the market, we picked up two small tents, a week’s worth of supplies, some medical supplies, a string of mana crystals, a roughly drawn map of the surrounding area that looked just as useless as the buyer himself, and a compass. We headed out of the market and continued on the road to Whitefield that I assumed would be a long, cold, and treacherous one.
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) us, pop it in this thread then! Also, don't forget to go up on good ol' Wattpad and give our story a favorite! Eh, I'm sorry, you probably came here to read... Okay, without anymore hesitation:
), but I think it develops Zander as a character even more, because death tends to either shake or shape a person. Also, it's serves well in the planned sequel *hint hint*
