Chapter 5 - Day 2
Submitted October 21, 2006 Updated October 21, 2006 Status Incomplete | This is one of my slowest works to date, and I figured I'd put it up here. It's an original story with original characters. Main character is "Alexander", an elf rogue. I hope you enjoy this!
Category:
Fantasy |
Chapter 5 - Day 2
Chapter 5 - Day 2
As the sun rose over the eastern mountains, a red breasted skybird chirped merrily. It landed near Alexander, who was still asleep, and pecked at the ground. When it swallowed it's breakfast, a cheerful bout of song followed.
Suddenly a fox rushed out at the bird, and tried to pin it to the ground with a half leap. With a loud scream, the skybird fluttered up to the branch of a tree, and kept scolding the fox, which had only a mouthful of green and blue feathers.
Discouraged that it couldn't catch it's meal the fox trots off, muscles rippling under the greyish red fur—but wait a MINUTE! It sniffed the air, and tracked the ground. Well, WHO in the world would leave a bag sitting at the base of a bush like that? And more importantly...is that where that intriguing smell was coming from?
A quick once over sniff of this brownish leather bag affirmed the first thought...there is most definitely some breakfast in there. The fox pawed at the middle of the bag, trying to figure out how to get into it. That didn't work, so it stuck its nose in the fold of the flap closest to the back and nudged a little. Aha! There it went...now if only that cursed bird would quiet down!
Alexander covered his ears with his hands. First he'd had some uneasy sleep because of his dreams of memories that he'd much rather stayed buried, then that BIRD started! He muttered under his breath,
“Go sing somewhere else!”
This made the bird sing louder, if that could be possible. Sighing, Alexander opened his eyes—and was struck blind by the morning sunlight. Narrowing his eyes against that, he sat up, exasperated,
“Alright, alright! I'm awake, whatever that matters to you bird, shut up now!!”
The skybird just looked at him, and decided that elves were ungrateful creatures. But that fox had tried to kill her, so...she started singing an alarm again.
“Can't ya see that I'm awake?? Sheez!!” Alexander rubbed his eyes to get the sun glare out of them, and after his vision cleared, “Hey! Get out of my bag, you cursed fox!!” he leaped up from his sitting position and grabbed his staff.
Uh oh, time's up, free breakfast is over! The fox darted away, still carrying a mouthful of grapes that Alexander had stored, the elf chasing after a few steps.
He knelt down by his bag and checked the damage. “I didn't say I'd share this with anyone! It was folded down, how did that thing get into this!” Rubbing his eyes again, he scowled, “Bird, why didn't you tell me instead of letting him get into my supplies!”
This drew an insulted warble from the sunbird. How nasty was this kid? She HAD told him that something was in his bag! Puffing her feathers to the point of looking like a ball of fluff, she just flew off.
Alexander cursed the morning. He cursed the moon and stars and all their children. He cursed the bird, and the fox. He cursed the bag for not being fox proof!
Nature breathed a sigh of relief; the elf had just gotten up so his magical blood didn't have time to warm up. But he needed calmed down someway, so the goddesses and gods of the land did what they always did—reminded him that it was his fault for not remembering lessons past in the form of something said by Shey.
This made him even more furious. Not only was his own fault, the past WOULD NOT stay in the past! So he lit a tiny ball of flame in his hand to watch the erratic flare outs. A not so common trick he'd learned, if he was angry at something he could control his temper and have a visible measure of how calm he was becoming if he took the time to watch his fire. Besides, he thought, eyeing the stream nearby, no danger of losing control of it here. Don't matter how uncontrolled it gets, it's still fire and it STILL has to obey the laws of nature.
As he watched the flame, it occurred to him that a game would be more worth his time and concentrated on that. First, that craziest flare would have to go.
***
Leaning against his tree after a sketchy wash off that could be called a bath, Alexander looked outward at the village he was in the day before and examined it. He watched the guards at the outside of the wall checking people's backgrounds and making sure they didn't carry too much of a certain product in.
This brought a weary sigh from the elf, as he glanced over the wall at the tavern. The tavern was also the inn at Cha'rik, and they looked like they were already getting set for the day's business as they accepted certain drinks and foods through their doors, while turning away others.
Not many other places seemed open, other than the baker's and that wouldn't be open to the public for a few hours yet...definitely not the gambling den, which he could just about pick out behind the church building. Alexander wasn't about to go poke his nose around there until he got his money delivered this afternoon to the riverbank that he could conveniently see from his uphill camp.
And well, if Mac decided to not pay him again, he got half the payment anyway and could just disappear. Though that would be a pity, a part of him really wanted to go on that adventure—no telling what all he could get from the unsuspecting people on THAT trip!
It suddenly occurred to him to wonder if Cha'rik was a village or a town. Villages didn't usually have gambling dens, and the farming areas were a bit out of the main cluster of buildings...though he had to question the intelligence of building a town in a valley, didn't it flood?
Before he got too far into that line of thought, tiny figures at the mouth of the stream caught his eye. A wiry fellow with grey hair took a few steps to the left of the water, and then started walking heel-to-toe as if he was measuring, under instruction from another dusky haired guy that was looking at a tattered paper.
The wiry one stopped after a few steps and, if his body language was any indication, he looked like he was questioning. An irritated hiss reached Alexander's ears,
“Tellin'...not...side!”
“Elcerth said...” a calm voice came from the brown haired one, “...wrong and astray?”
Well, that's an interesting response! Alexander thought, surprised at the reaction from the wiry guy. The poor thing had gone so far as to step backward and openly cower, closing his eyes from some unseen fright, And here I thought that he could fight his way out of a tavern with both hands behind him! Who's Elcerth? And what about him brings so much terror?
That glance toward the dusty haired man required a second look. The man didn't look much older than himself—and Alexander knew that he himself didn't look too intimidating but this guy, he looked like someone you'd see at home with kids, not standing there looking like he was about to kill the other.
After a few minute stare down, the wiry fellow shook his head and located a cleverly hidden shovel.
“Here?” at a nod from his companion, he began digging. Watching this intently, his cat's pupils dilated wide, the elf drew himself a small knife...if they were digging up some kind of money or something that this “Elcerth” had hidden, he had all intentions of causing trouble.
He idly considered a few spells to use in case he needed to escape, as he eyed the area. Let's see...there's the stream I could run down if I failed and if I had the nettles in the area shoot out their spines in my wake, I don't think they could follow me well enough. Then there's the hill. Could stay uphill the whole time. Hmm...don't want to lead them here, Mr. “Elcerth” would be more than happy to send them after me.
His eyes lit up a bit as the two he watched lifted a box from the ground...then he scowled disappointed as they lifted out a book from the box. Why such a giant box for that little thing! It couldn't be more than a little journal—if that! What a waste of effort on their part!
“This can't be right!” the wiry one exclaimed, loud enough to be heard clearly, “We were told to find his...” here, the brown haired one smiled calmly,
“It is, it is. Why would he bury something as unimportant as his monies? He has GUARDS to take care of THAT! No. This is far more important than anything that glimmers...” his voice became too quiet for Alexander to hear.
The elf didn't mind though. After all, a book wasn't anything for him to waste his time on. And it'll be my luck that it's just a cookbook for Elcerth's wife. Women are possessive of the oddest things!
Just then, the brown haired fellow opened the book in his left hand and traced a circle in the air with his right.
WOW! Alexander couldn't help but stare at the pink and green flare that sparked to life from the guy's hand, and that faded while dancing to its own silent and slow tune, That's a spell! Book ain't no cookbook, it's a spellbook! Is this Elcerth a MAGE??
Human magic always had intrigued Alexander. How was it that a creature with no magic in its blood could learn spells like they do? A faint memory remembered asking his parents how humans did something like that, but the only answer he'd gotten was a gruff mutter about filthy half breeds.
Which didn't make any sense to his seven year old mind, and it still didn't make any sense to his twenty year old mind now.
Those humans began burying the empty box again, and the quiet ssshhhhing of the dirt over the wood brought Alexander back from thought. He sighed, too bad he was waiting on that pay from Mac...he'd go check out this Elcerth person.
Ol' brown hair was showing off for the benefit of the wiry guy, Alexander noticed when he glanced back down toward them. Currently it was a rushing “stream” of gold threads that carried a brilliantly colored and slightly translucent ship. The ship delicately took wing while sprouting thin, pearly wings as the stream coiled into itself and disappeared.
The ship had other plans, however, and it gently lengthened out until it was the width of a tiny, new twig. As it stood itself upright, roots began growing from the bottom of it. Faint green color took over the brilliance of before and pushed upward until the tip, where a pink blossom opened.
As the blossom rewound time back until it was a seed and faded, both the wiry guy and Alexander gave a satisfied sigh. That one had wound down perfectly, and the brown haired guy didn't even know he'd captivated an elf with his spell. If he had, surely his ego would have been full to the bursting point; elves were the bringers of the magics that humans used and to impress one of those was to be akin to a master of the art!
With a grin, he asked his partner a question. Said partner just nodded, with a bright smile.
“Worth...digging,” he had spoken decisively, and a lot more cheerfully than he'd been when they had begun searching, “...take it...Elcerth now?”
The elf watched as the sandy haired guy nodded, and as the two walked off. Well! What a show! And to think he was about to steal something from them! Not that THAT makes any difference, I'd have done it anyway...he amended quickly, with a cheerful tone to his thoughts, That little magic show didn't make no difference at all, no it didn't!
...I wonder how long it took him to learn to be that good?
Suddenly a fox rushed out at the bird, and tried to pin it to the ground with a half leap. With a loud scream, the skybird fluttered up to the branch of a tree, and kept scolding the fox, which had only a mouthful of green and blue feathers.
Discouraged that it couldn't catch it's meal the fox trots off, muscles rippling under the greyish red fur—but wait a MINUTE! It sniffed the air, and tracked the ground. Well, WHO in the world would leave a bag sitting at the base of a bush like that? And more importantly...is that where that intriguing smell was coming from?
A quick once over sniff of this brownish leather bag affirmed the first thought...there is most definitely some breakfast in there. The fox pawed at the middle of the bag, trying to figure out how to get into it. That didn't work, so it stuck its nose in the fold of the flap closest to the back and nudged a little. Aha! There it went...now if only that cursed bird would quiet down!
Alexander covered his ears with his hands. First he'd had some uneasy sleep because of his dreams of memories that he'd much rather stayed buried, then that BIRD started! He muttered under his breath,
“Go sing somewhere else!”
This made the bird sing louder, if that could be possible. Sighing, Alexander opened his eyes—and was struck blind by the morning sunlight. Narrowing his eyes against that, he sat up, exasperated,
“Alright, alright! I'm awake, whatever that matters to you bird, shut up now!!”
The skybird just looked at him, and decided that elves were ungrateful creatures. But that fox had tried to kill her, so...she started singing an alarm again.
“Can't ya see that I'm awake?? Sheez!!” Alexander rubbed his eyes to get the sun glare out of them, and after his vision cleared, “Hey! Get out of my bag, you cursed fox!!” he leaped up from his sitting position and grabbed his staff.
Uh oh, time's up, free breakfast is over! The fox darted away, still carrying a mouthful of grapes that Alexander had stored, the elf chasing after a few steps.
He knelt down by his bag and checked the damage. “I didn't say I'd share this with anyone! It was folded down, how did that thing get into this!” Rubbing his eyes again, he scowled, “Bird, why didn't you tell me instead of letting him get into my supplies!”
This drew an insulted warble from the sunbird. How nasty was this kid? She HAD told him that something was in his bag! Puffing her feathers to the point of looking like a ball of fluff, she just flew off.
Alexander cursed the morning. He cursed the moon and stars and all their children. He cursed the bird, and the fox. He cursed the bag for not being fox proof!
Nature breathed a sigh of relief; the elf had just gotten up so his magical blood didn't have time to warm up. But he needed calmed down someway, so the goddesses and gods of the land did what they always did—reminded him that it was his fault for not remembering lessons past in the form of something said by Shey.
This made him even more furious. Not only was his own fault, the past WOULD NOT stay in the past! So he lit a tiny ball of flame in his hand to watch the erratic flare outs. A not so common trick he'd learned, if he was angry at something he could control his temper and have a visible measure of how calm he was becoming if he took the time to watch his fire. Besides, he thought, eyeing the stream nearby, no danger of losing control of it here. Don't matter how uncontrolled it gets, it's still fire and it STILL has to obey the laws of nature.
As he watched the flame, it occurred to him that a game would be more worth his time and concentrated on that. First, that craziest flare would have to go.
***
Leaning against his tree after a sketchy wash off that could be called a bath, Alexander looked outward at the village he was in the day before and examined it. He watched the guards at the outside of the wall checking people's backgrounds and making sure they didn't carry too much of a certain product in.
This brought a weary sigh from the elf, as he glanced over the wall at the tavern. The tavern was also the inn at Cha'rik, and they looked like they were already getting set for the day's business as they accepted certain drinks and foods through their doors, while turning away others.
Not many other places seemed open, other than the baker's and that wouldn't be open to the public for a few hours yet...definitely not the gambling den, which he could just about pick out behind the church building. Alexander wasn't about to go poke his nose around there until he got his money delivered this afternoon to the riverbank that he could conveniently see from his uphill camp.
And well, if Mac decided to not pay him again, he got half the payment anyway and could just disappear. Though that would be a pity, a part of him really wanted to go on that adventure—no telling what all he could get from the unsuspecting people on THAT trip!
It suddenly occurred to him to wonder if Cha'rik was a village or a town. Villages didn't usually have gambling dens, and the farming areas were a bit out of the main cluster of buildings...though he had to question the intelligence of building a town in a valley, didn't it flood?
Before he got too far into that line of thought, tiny figures at the mouth of the stream caught his eye. A wiry fellow with grey hair took a few steps to the left of the water, and then started walking heel-to-toe as if he was measuring, under instruction from another dusky haired guy that was looking at a tattered paper.
The wiry one stopped after a few steps and, if his body language was any indication, he looked like he was questioning. An irritated hiss reached Alexander's ears,
“Tellin'...not...side!”
“Elcerth said...” a calm voice came from the brown haired one, “...wrong and astray?”
Well, that's an interesting response! Alexander thought, surprised at the reaction from the wiry guy. The poor thing had gone so far as to step backward and openly cower, closing his eyes from some unseen fright, And here I thought that he could fight his way out of a tavern with both hands behind him! Who's Elcerth? And what about him brings so much terror?
That glance toward the dusty haired man required a second look. The man didn't look much older than himself—and Alexander knew that he himself didn't look too intimidating but this guy, he looked like someone you'd see at home with kids, not standing there looking like he was about to kill the other.
After a few minute stare down, the wiry fellow shook his head and located a cleverly hidden shovel.
“Here?” at a nod from his companion, he began digging. Watching this intently, his cat's pupils dilated wide, the elf drew himself a small knife...if they were digging up some kind of money or something that this “Elcerth” had hidden, he had all intentions of causing trouble.
He idly considered a few spells to use in case he needed to escape, as he eyed the area. Let's see...there's the stream I could run down if I failed and if I had the nettles in the area shoot out their spines in my wake, I don't think they could follow me well enough. Then there's the hill. Could stay uphill the whole time. Hmm...don't want to lead them here, Mr. “Elcerth” would be more than happy to send them after me.
His eyes lit up a bit as the two he watched lifted a box from the ground...then he scowled disappointed as they lifted out a book from the box. Why such a giant box for that little thing! It couldn't be more than a little journal—if that! What a waste of effort on their part!
“This can't be right!” the wiry one exclaimed, loud enough to be heard clearly, “We were told to find his...” here, the brown haired one smiled calmly,
“It is, it is. Why would he bury something as unimportant as his monies? He has GUARDS to take care of THAT! No. This is far more important than anything that glimmers...” his voice became too quiet for Alexander to hear.
The elf didn't mind though. After all, a book wasn't anything for him to waste his time on. And it'll be my luck that it's just a cookbook for Elcerth's wife. Women are possessive of the oddest things!
Just then, the brown haired fellow opened the book in his left hand and traced a circle in the air with his right.
WOW! Alexander couldn't help but stare at the pink and green flare that sparked to life from the guy's hand, and that faded while dancing to its own silent and slow tune, That's a spell! Book ain't no cookbook, it's a spellbook! Is this Elcerth a MAGE??
Human magic always had intrigued Alexander. How was it that a creature with no magic in its blood could learn spells like they do? A faint memory remembered asking his parents how humans did something like that, but the only answer he'd gotten was a gruff mutter about filthy half breeds.
Which didn't make any sense to his seven year old mind, and it still didn't make any sense to his twenty year old mind now.
Those humans began burying the empty box again, and the quiet ssshhhhing of the dirt over the wood brought Alexander back from thought. He sighed, too bad he was waiting on that pay from Mac...he'd go check out this Elcerth person.
Ol' brown hair was showing off for the benefit of the wiry guy, Alexander noticed when he glanced back down toward them. Currently it was a rushing “stream” of gold threads that carried a brilliantly colored and slightly translucent ship. The ship delicately took wing while sprouting thin, pearly wings as the stream coiled into itself and disappeared.
The ship had other plans, however, and it gently lengthened out until it was the width of a tiny, new twig. As it stood itself upright, roots began growing from the bottom of it. Faint green color took over the brilliance of before and pushed upward until the tip, where a pink blossom opened.
As the blossom rewound time back until it was a seed and faded, both the wiry guy and Alexander gave a satisfied sigh. That one had wound down perfectly, and the brown haired guy didn't even know he'd captivated an elf with his spell. If he had, surely his ego would have been full to the bursting point; elves were the bringers of the magics that humans used and to impress one of those was to be akin to a master of the art!
With a grin, he asked his partner a question. Said partner just nodded, with a bright smile.
“Worth...digging,” he had spoken decisively, and a lot more cheerfully than he'd been when they had begun searching, “...take it...Elcerth now?”
The elf watched as the sandy haired guy nodded, and as the two walked off. Well! What a show! And to think he was about to steal something from them! Not that THAT makes any difference, I'd have done it anyway...he amended quickly, with a cheerful tone to his thoughts, That little magic show didn't make no difference at all, no it didn't!
...I wonder how long it took him to learn to be that good?
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