A Fable Tale: This being an account of one James Hunter...

[Black Dahlia]

Re: A Fable Tale: This being an account of one James Hunter...

Here's part 1 of chapter 6...enjoy!

Chapter 6

Maze knocked firmly on the wizened door, sighing with impatience. The Guildmaster clearly wasn’t the quickest chap in the world. Finally, however, the old man opened his study door, peering out into the gloomy hallway.

“Oh, it’s you, Maze,” he exclaimed, “I thought for a moment you might have been another one of those annoying guards complaining about the apprentices again.”

“No, I finally cleared up that problem today…at any rate, that’s not why I’m here. We have two new students waiting in the map room for you. I thought it best if you saw them before we except them into the Guild.”

The Guildmaster raised his eyebrows, but said no more. He silently followed Maze down the broad hallway, until the map room was in view. The two young people standing in it, arms crossed, turn away from each other, were the picture of sadness. They bore looks of loss upon their faces, yet spoke not a word, nor even looked up when the two men entered. Only when Maze cleared his throat to speak did they acknowledge their presence.

“This is the Guildmaster,” Maze announced, motioning to the aged man standing beside him. “He will be your guide when I’m not around or unable to help you.” He spoke as though Briar and James were already being inducted into the Heroes Guild, yet all he was doing was giving the Guildmaster time to get a good look at the youths and decide if they were worthy or not.

Finally, the Guildmaster gave a surreptitious nod to Maze.

“They both look a little too thin, if you ask me, but I suppose they’ll do,” he sighed.

Briar’s face darkened at his words. She clearly did not like being called too skinny, yet she didn’t utter a word. James, on the other hand, looked completely unconcerned. He had known he was to scrawny all his life, yet it he did nothing to fix it. He had simply grown to except that fact.

“Maze, why don’t you get these two settled in the dormitories upstairs?” the Guildmaster suggested, “I believe we have two beds left.”

“Very well,” said Maze, dipping his tattooed head. He turned towards the two youths, “Follow me, and we’ll make you two comfortable.”

He made his way up a set of graceful, curving stairs, a flight on each side of the massive map. Without hesitating, Briar and James followed, trudging up the steps after him. James looked back just in time to see the Guildmaster disappear down a side hallway, back to his study.

Once at the top, Maze directed them into a side room, set apart from the other dormitories. Two beds were positioned beside the walls; one just inside the door, the other across the room, underneath a fine-looking stained glass window. Huge bookshelves, crammed with heavy volumes, occupied the rest of the empty wall space. Briar’s face seemed to lighten a bit at the sight of the books, but it didn’t entirely replace her sorrow.

“This is where you will be sleeping,” Maze explained, gesturing around the room, “I understand that right now, you two probably don’t want to be in close proximity with each other, but you’ll get over that.” He paused, and then spoke again. “Has either of you had anything to eat lately?”
They both shook their heads. Neither had even given any thought to food, James because of the raid and Briar because of her recent displacement from home.

“Very well, then. Follow me down to the dining hall, and we’ll get you something to eat.”

They followed Maze back down the stairs, past the topographical map and into the dining hall. Immediately, the smells of warm bread baking and fresh herbs floated up to greet them. Now it was James’ turn to feel somewhat better. The scents reminded him so much of home that it almost hurt. Maze strode up to the bar and spoke to a rotund man with a bald head and moustache.

“Alistair, it wouldn’t be too much trouble to get these two something to eat, would it?” Maze inquired. “They haven’t had anything all evening.”

“No, no problem at all!” Alistair beamed, setting down a tankard he had just been cleaning with a rag. “I’ll be glad to feed ‘em.”

“Excellent,” Maze sighed, looking grateful, “I have a few things to attend to, but I’ll come and check on them in a little while.” And with that, he paced away, leaving Briar and James with Alistair.

“So wha’ will you kids be wantin’ this evenin’?” Alistair asked cheerfully in a thick accent.

They both shrugged, and James spoke up.

“Anything will be fine sir,” he said, sounding somewhat weary.

“Could we possibly have something warm to drink?” Briar ventured, sounding equally tired herself.

Alistair nodded, motioning for them to sit down. “Just relax you two. I’ll have something ready in a bit.”

They each took seats as far away from each other as possible, silent as ever. After a while, James began rapping the ends of his fingers on the rough grained wood of the long table, but ceased when Briar shot him a venomous look. He sighed and contented himself with looking around, noting another odd statue, this one of a woman with both arms extended, as if ready to embrace someone. He came back to his thoughts when Alistair set a plate and mug in front of him.

“Eat up, lad,” he said, smiling gently, “You look like you really need it.”

James nodded and wordlessly began eating. It tasted delicious; again, just like home. He glanced over at Briar, who had just received her meal as well, yet she wasn’t touching it. James wrinkled his brow in worry. Why wasn’t she eating? Surely she’d be hungry enough to do so…Yet James shrugged away the thought, and continued with his meal until he was finished. He then picked up the mug and peered inside it. Hot spiced apple cider, which he knew was only made in Oakvale. He wrapped his hands around the mug and sipped some of the warm, spicy liquid, and let it run down his throat. Yet it somehow didn’t feel right. Every other time he had had this drink, it was with his father, laughing, having a good time. Now however, he wasn’t there…James was once again filled with an empty feeling.

* * * ​

​

Maze looked up from his journal and set his quill down, gazing out through the window at the dancing snow and the large, luminous moon. He sighed and decided to go check on Briar and James, hoping the two weren’t fighting. Maze got up from his desk, and stowed the journal safely away in one of its drawers. He strode to the door, pulled it open, and continued on towards the dining hall. He was about to step out into the open, but held back, wanting to observe Briar and James for a moment.

He watched the boy, who was clutching his mug in his hands, a grim expression on his face. He shivered as though cold, but Maze knew better than that. It wasn’t a physical cold, not even close. It was a spirit numbing cold, one that pierced the soul and was only brought on by the loss of a loved one. Maze had felt it himself, many times before. He wanted to comfort the boy, but couldn’t seem to find the words to do so. Maze sighed, turning away from the painful sight.

Instead, he turned to Briar Rose, who was sitting as far away from James as she possibly could. She simply sat there, ignoring her drink and food, staring down at her feet with a look of anger, agony and misery on her face. Briar had barely uttered a word since she had gotten there. Neither of them had, when Maze thought about it. He paused, knowing now was not the time to have any important discussions with them. Probably best just to send them to bed and talk with them when they felt better. He stepped out of the shadows, calling out theirs names to get their attention…

 

[black.]

Re: A Fable Tale: This being an account of one James Hunter...

wow this is amazing...totally blows mine out of the water...and I've only finished the second chapter! +++rep!

 

[Black Dahlia]

Re: A Fable Tale: This being an account of one James Hunter...

Second chapter of yours or mine? Lol, sorry, but I'm really tired, so my thinking skills suck right now...+rep for the support though!

 

[black.]

Re: A Fable Tale: This being an account of one James Hunter...

the second chapter of yours

 

[Black Dahlia]

Re: A Fable Tale: This being an account of one James Hunter...

Lol, oh, okay.

 

[Black Dahlia]

Re: A Fable Tale: This being an account of one James Hunter...

Here's part 2 of chapter 6...I'll post the next part in a little while. Enjoy!

James sat on his comfortable bed beneath the stained glass window, patting the rust red comforter with the palm of his hand. He looked around the dormitory, his eyes finally resting on Briar Rose. She was scanning the book shelves, running her fingers along the spines of the books until her hand fell upon one that appealed to her. She tugged it off the shelf, returning to her bed and sitting down cross legged with the book in her lap, settling down to read under the guttering candle attached to the wall. James took the opportunity to observe his new fellow apprentice properly. Briar had short, black hair and wind burnt skin, tanned from too much exposure to the sun. Her dark blue eyes were somewhat hidden behind a pair of round, wire rimmed glasses. Briar’s slim frame was bent over her book, so absorbed was she in it.

“Look, James, or whatever your name is, would you mind keeping your eyes on something other than myself? I really dislike it when people stare at me, you know,” Briar said angrily and unexpectedly, without even looking up from her book.

James was taken aback. How did she even know that he was watching her? She had had her nose buried in the book the whole time…

“You know, most girls don’t mind getting stared at,” James ventured carefully, “They welcome the attention.”

“Well, I’m not like most girls, now am I?” she snapped, finally looking up from her book.

“I suppose not,” James said, starting to feel a little annoyed. He was trying to be nice, and all she could do was get mad. “Look, I know you’ve been through a hard time, but so have I, so we should try and get through this together.”

Briar looked back up at him, pulling off her glasses and giving him a pitying look.

“You really are as stupid as you look, aren’t you?” she inquired, as if they were having a casual conversation. “In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t feel like talking. I’m almost certain that anything you’ve been through is nowhere near as bad as what I have, so leave me alone, and go back to staring something, so long as it’s not me.”

James clenched his fists, furious at her words. She really was just as arrogant as all the other people that came from Bowerstone North.

“I hardly doubt you just had your village destroyed, your father killed in front of you, and then, on top of that, having to get dragged away from your home without any say!” he yelled, not being able to control himself anymore. “You snobs from Bowerstone North just don’t get what it’s like! It must be so terrible to have to come from a life of luxury to stay with us mortals! What was it, hmm? Daddy dearest didn’t feel like wasting precious gold on his child? Or was it that your parents couldn’t stand your bad attitude any more?” He took a few deep, furious breaths, trying to steady himself.

“My mother’s dead, and my father kicked me out because it was his belief that it was my fault, actually,” Briar whispered hoarsely, tears glittering in the corners of her eyes. She blinked them back, slamming her book shut. “But it’s obvious that you’re not going to believe me, seeing as I’m just a snob from Bowerstone North, and you country folk don’t seem to think that we’re capable of suffering too.”

With that, Briar got up angrily, letting the book drop to the floor with a thud. She disappeared through the doorway at a brisk pace before James could do or say anything. He strode over to the doorway, poking his head through. The other apprentices, woken by their fight, were sitting up in bed, rubbing their eyes and looking around blearily, some demanding in angry voices as to what was going on. Briar was nowhere to be seen. James ran back to the window, figuring that she might have gone outside, but she wasn’t there. He sat back down on his bed, feeling worse than ever. He didn’t mean any of what he had said. James had let his emotions get the better of him, and had hurt Briar because of it. What would his father say? At the thought of that, James felt even more ashamed. How would he fix this? James walked over to Briar’s bed and picked up the book she had been reading, entitled “Rigging and Other Sailor Skills”. It seemed an odd choice of book for a fourteen year old girl. James sighed. His first night here and he was already causing trouble…

 

[Black Dahlia]

Re: A Fable Tale: This being an account of one James Hunter...

Here's the final part of chapter 6...enjoy!

Briar sat curled at the base of an ancient oak, the branches overhead shadowing her from the rest of the world. She was all alone in the silent forest, not a soul to be seen or heard. Thinking back on the row with James, and how it would have never happened if she had simply not followed Maze, she vowed to never put her trust in someone like that again. It had only caused her trouble thus far. Briar groaned, burying her head in her hands. She needed to think straight. Running away like that, without thinking, was stupid, and unlike her.

Briar sat there for a while, trying to collect her thoughts, when a strange feeling crept over her. She had been here before…or, more truthfully, she had seen herself in this very place, thinking these very thoughts, yet it had been in a dream, conceived so long ago that the reverie had become blurred, reduced now to nothing but obscure wisps of thought lurking in the darkest corners of her mind…and with a cold realization, Briar become conscious of the fact that it had been no dream. It had been a vision, and she had seen something that was to be, and now was occurring. But that meant that she…Briar pushed the thought from her mind. It was nothing but a coincidence, sheer luck that it had happened. Only witches and mages possessed the power to see into the future, and she certainly wasn’t either of those. Briar clutched at her hair, panic flooding through her. What would happen if she had more dreams like this, yet they were terrible events? A chill shot through Briar that had nothing to do with the frigid night air. Somewhere nearby, a warbler sang its bubbly song, momentarily distracting Briar from her dark thoughts. She took a deep breath in, calming herself down. She was overreacting, and that was all. Briar had to stop, to control her emotions. Closing her eyes, she leant back against the ancient oak. Slowly, in the gloom of the forest, Briar became drowsy, her head nodding as she drifted asleep. Her thoughts and feelings became cloudy and hazy as her tiredness overtook her, and finally, Briar fell unconscious, slumping to the ground with a soft thud.

* * *​

​

Everything was eerily quiet all around, the snow swirling and shimmering, falling gracefully onto the already snow filled landscape. Here and there, patches of dark, glimmering ice dotted the ground and hung from dead trees in the form of elegant icicles. Somewhere in the distance, the steady rhythm of waves lapping up onto the shore could be heard. In the middle of the barren landscape stood Briar Rose. She looked around, taking in the scenery, not knowing where she was. She took a few hesitant steps forward, wary of this strange and alien place. Something wasn’t right about the stillness, about the stifling silence. She continued to walk forward slowly, keeping her eyes trained on the land, watching for any dangers. Briar wandered on, until she came to a wide space before the dark mouth of an immense cavern. In the middle of the space was a pile of what appeared to be huge ice crystals. She took another step towards it, and, with a deafening roar, the pile erupted, and a huge ice troll grew up out of the frozen ground. Briar shrieked, stumbling backwards-

Briar abruptly pushed herself off the floor of the forest, suddenly realizing the she was screaming out loud. She stopped, arms wrapped around herself, gasping for air. With eyes shut tight, her mind reeled. That surely had to be another vision…although she hoped dearly that it was just a dream, and nothing else. Then Briar realized that someone was lurking in the bushes behind her, for she heard a faint sound of dry branches rustling. She twisted around, bewildered, and saw James step out from behind the shrubbery. Her face immediately darkened, and Briar opened her mouth to tell him to go away, but before she could, he spoke up.

“I know you probably don’t want to talk to me, or even be near me right now, but it just didn’t seem right, leaving you out here all alone because of my loud mouth,” James said carefully, clearly trying to choose the right words. He paused, and then continued, “I’m really sorry about what I said. I didn’t mean any of it; I was just so angry and confused. But that’s no excuse though; it hardly gives me the right to vent my emotions on you. I’m not surprised you reacted the way you did.” He stopped, waiting for her response.

Briar turned her back to James, silently observing the newly risen moon, its ghostly face staring down at them. She didn’t say a word for a long while. Then she spoke, her voice so soft that James could barely hear it.

“How did you know where to find me?” After such a long pause, James had expected a longer answer, but he answered the query nonetheless.

“Maze told me. He hadn’t seen you leave the Guild; he just seemed to know.” James didn’t bother to ask Briar how she knew where to go; he sensed he wouldn’t have gotten a response anyway.

“Did he send you?” she asked, still refusing to face him.

“No, I came of my own accord. I just asked him if he knew where you were.”

There was an awkward silence following James’ response. Then, with a sigh, Briar stood up, turning around to face James full on. She appraised him with her blue eyes, tipping her head slightly, causing the moonlight to glance off her glasses.

“Well, I suppose you can’t be all that bad if you came all the way out here just to say sorry. Very few would bother to do so,” Briar said, although she still eyed him somewhat distrustfully.

James relaxed a bit. At least this time she had given him a fairly kind response, without a raised voice.

“We should head back,” James suggested, trying to find a more comfortable subject, “We need our rest, since we’ll have to be up early in the morning to begin our training.”

Briar nodded wearily, stepping past him and padding quietly down the narrow, winding trail that led back to the Guild. The trees’ shadows cast by the pearly moonlight seemed to claw at the pair like crooked hands, and as they progressed, a light breeze arose, sending dead leaves whispering over their feet.

Soon, Briar and James emerged from the forest, striding across the dark lawns of the Guild, over the stone bridge that spanned the chalk stream, and past the four solemn graves of the brave Heroes that had died long ago. In no time, they were back up in their warm dorm room. The pair collapsed onto their beds, not even bothering to change into the night clothes the Guild had supplied for them. With a heavy sigh, Briar let sleep claim her for a second time that night, drifting into a dreamless slumber, as far above, the stars and moon kept watch over the land, the ethereal sentinels in the infinite, ink black sky.




The only reason I had Briar see the future was because it was something interesting to add, and I had seen something about that on the Fable France website. They obviously got their information mixed up with Theresa's though. Don't worry, this won't be a big thing in the story. She'll probably not even have any more visions.

 

[Shadow Knight]

Re: A Fable Tale: This being an account of one James Hunter...

How come I haven't seen this before :lol: very nice describing words I can learn something from you! as I am secretly writing a huge story all together. anyway nice job and +rep!

 

[Black Dahlia]

Re: A Fable Tale: This being an account of one James Hunter...

Here's part 1 of Chapter 7...Enjoy!



Chapter 7

James awoke, slowly forcing his eyes open. A thousand jewel bright colours danced across him, cast by the weak winter light of dawn as it shone through the stained glass window. He pushed himself up, looking around blearily as he stretched his arms skyward. Briar was already up, reading another book, this one bigger than the last.

“The Guildmaster will be expecting us down by the melee ring soon, so I suggest you make yourself look halfway presentable,” she said by way of greeting, without looking up at him.

James grunted a barely comprehensible “fine” and heaved himself out of bed, running his hands through his hair. Noticing that Briar already seemed to be cleaned up and tidied, he inquired as to where the bathhouse was, figuring she’d know.

“Down the stairs and to your right, past the Guild dining hall,” was all she said, this time briefly flicking her eyes up to his face. She paused, “And I suggest you hurry. It wouldn’t make a very good impression to show up late.”

James nodded and trudged past her, heading down the stairs and coming out into the map room. He noticed many of the other apprentices were already up, most of them heading to the library for some early morning studying. They barely acknowledged him, only momentarily glancing at him before looking away. James continued on, past the dining hall with its delicious smells, and soon found himself at the bathhouse. He entered, realizing that it would probably do him some good to clean himself up. At least it would make him feel better.

* * *​

​

Finally all clean, with a fresh change of clothes, James returned to his dorm room, fully awake and ready to begin training. Briar glanced up from her book, closing it and laying it on her bed.

“We’d better get going if you’re all ready. We can have breakfast after, as I don’t think the Guildmaster will keep us for terribly long.”

James noticed that, although Briar spoke to him more often now, it always seemed to be in a very brusque way. He didn’t expect any different though. Briar was still wary of him, and, he sensed, still hurt, and he wasn’t about to try and force her to change her ways. He followed her out of their dorms, through the rest of the Guild, and into the courtyard. Overnight, it had snowed again, leaving a dazzling blanket of soft snow over everything. It looked like a picture straight out of a fairy tale book. They crunched through it, leaving two sets of tracks, until they arrived at the melee ring, where the Guildmaster was patiently waiting. He smiled at the pair as they approached, clearly glad to see they were no longer fighting. He mentioned nothing of the previous night’s fight, however, when he spoke.

“I hope you two are both well rested. The test I am about to put each of you through may well determine whether or not you are accepted into the training regime. Your task is quite simple. All you must do is take the stick I will give you, and hit the dummy as hard as you can. However, being as old and strong as you both are, your true goal is to knock it right out of the ground.”

With those words, he bent down and picked up two of the most plain and unremarkable sticks James had ever laid eyes on, presenting one to each of them. Briar and James took hold of their respective sticks, the disbelief plain on their faces.

“Ladies first,” James said to Briar, grinning and motioning to the ring. She glared at him, but pushed open the wooden gate and entered nonetheless.

Briar walked up to the dummy. She dropped into a slight crouch, shifting her stick to a readier grip. Then, without warning, she sprang at the dummy, slamming her weapon into it with such a force that she not only ripped it from the ground, but burst apart its burlap exterior, causing hay to fly everywhere. With a slightly smug smile, Briar turned back to face the two, James with a slightly annoyed look about his face, the Guildmaster with a look of delight.

“Excellently done Briar! I can tell you will have absolutely no problem at all with your melee training!” he exclaimed enthusiastically, beaming. “Now James, it is your turn. Let’s see if you can do better than Briar.”

James clenched his jaw and strode into the ring. No way would he let a girl beat him. A second dummy had been placed next to the first, and James readied himself in front of it. He twirled the stick beside himself, and then slashed at the dummy, ripping apart the burlap. With that momentum, he spun around, kicking out his leg and felling the dummy. James exited the ring, pleased with his accomplishment.

“Brilliantly done yourself James!” the Guildmaster said, “It seems that we have two very promising apprentices on our hands now. Well, that’s all for today. We won’t be doing any more training until spring comes around. For the rest of the winter, you, along with the other apprentices, will focus on your studies and book learning. We will get your apprentice garments to you as soon as we can. For the time being, I suggest you two get something to eat, and then take the day to rest and learn your way around the Guild.” With a final smile, he departed, leaving the two of them behind.

“Book learning,” James said with disgust, “I thought this was the Heroes Guild, not the Scholar’s Guild!”

Briar looked aghast. “How can you say that?” she demanded, sounding annoyed, “Knowledge is one of the best weapons you could possibly have! It’s vital that you know as much as you can about this land, about the creatures living in it and the history of this country! If you don’t, you’re no more than a barbarian welding a weapon. Maybe you don’t care about learning, but I do. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to get a head start on my studies. If you actually have something intelligent to say to me, I’ll be in the library.” Briar departed hurriedly, head held high. James sighed. It seemed like he had just gone another step back from the progress he had made with her…

 

[Zquad]

Re: A Fable Tale: This being an account of one James Hunter...

Good writing there. +rep

 

[Black Dahlia]

Re: A Fable Tale: This being an account of one James Hunter...

Here's the last part of chapter 7...enjoy!

Everything seemed hushed in the Guild library. People spoke in whispers, as book pages rustled softly in the cavernous room. Huge wooden shelves lined the walls, crammed to bursting with heavy volumes of books, some in long dead languages. All around, apprentices and acolytes sat at polished desks, reading in the flickering, warm light of lamps. James felt small in the library, and somewhat out of place. Although his father had taught him to read, he had never really done much of it, so to have to battle his way through these books, with all their complex knowledge and languages, would be a difficult task indeed. He wandered over to the desk that Briar was sitting at, leaning slightly over her shoulder to see what she was reading. It was a book written in a tongue James did not recognize.

“Can you please not read over my shoulder? I really dislike it when people do that. Not that you can probably read it anyway. Most people can’t.”

“You really dislike a lot of things, don’t you?” James inquired.

Briar paused for a moment before responding. “Yes, I do. Is that a problem?”

“No, not at all,” James said hurriedly, “It’s just an observation.”

James took a seat next to her, selecting a book from a pile in front of him. It was entitled “A History of Albion”. James sighed. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately, yet thinking back on what Briar had said, he resigned himself to reading the book. Knowledge is power, after all, James thought. He flipped open the volume, and began reading. Despite himself, James found he actually enjoyed it, the more he read, although he’d never admit that to Briar.

After what seemed to be a very short period of time, Briar stood up, stretching. James looked up at her, surprised.

“You’re leaving already?” he asked her incredulously. “We haven’t even been here that long!”

“James,” she said, a slight hint of laughter in her voice, “we’ve been here for hours. It’s nearly time for supper.” Briar paused, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were actually enjoying yourself.”

“No, no, I just lost track of time is all,” James lied, although Briar had been right. If he told her that though, he knew that he’d never live it down. “Well, let’s go then.”

They picked up their books and returned to their dorm, looking forward to a good meal and a long night’s rest. Reflecting back on the day, James felt that maybe his time here wouldn’t be so bad. He figured that he’d probably even enjoy himself immensely.

His thoughts, however, were interrupted by a familiar deep voice.

“Could I have a quick word, James?” Maze inquired, standing in the entrance of the dorm room.

James nodded, glancing back at Briar momentarily. She looked a little uneasy, but he couldn’t understand why. Nonetheless, she nodded, encouraging him on. James turned and followed him all the way to his quarters on the other side of the Guild. Already, the sun had set, leaving the glowing moon to haunt the night sky.

James felt uneasy, however. He had a feeling that somehow, this would be more than just a quick word. He traipsed up the stairs of Maze’s tower, winding round and round until they reached the top. Once at the landing, James stopped to marvel at Maze’s quarters. The room was large and circular, with bookshelves pushed up against a large portion of the walls. A roaring fire was blazing in the fireplace, casting a warm glow over the room, and all the odd furniture and artefacts in it. Maze motioned to one of the two comfortable looking chairs in front of the fire, indicating that James should sit down. He did so, seating himself across from Maze. There was a long silence, during which time James assumed Maze was thinking about what to say, but then he spoke.

“How has your time here been, James?” You haven’t found anything too challenging?” He posed the questions casually enough, but James couldn’t help but feel there was an important reason why Maze was asking him these things.

“I have really enjoyed my time here,” James responded, smiling slightly, “So far, nothing has been too difficult. Then again, I haven’t trained much.”

Maze nodded, a pensive look on his face. “And what of Briar? How is she faring?”

James paused, thinking it over. He heaved a great sigh, passing his hands over his face. “Briar is…suffering, I think. More than me, at least. As far as training goes, she’s brilliant, but she seems to have distance herself from everyone, and she’s still hurt.” James had no idea why he as saying all this to someone who was almost a complete stranger, but who else could he talk to?

Maze sat there for a moment, gazing into the fire, deep in thought. “I think, he said slowly, as if still piecing together his thoughts, “that Briar will remain like this for a while. Wounds to the soul do heal in time, but always, the scars will remain, no matter what. She needs someone to be there for her, who she can trust. I think it is up to you to be that person, James. Be kind to her, treat her respectfully, and slowly gain her trust. It will help ease the pain for both of you.”

“The thing is, we got off to a bad start,” James began, “We’ve reconciled a little, but I still don’t think she has quite forgiven me for what has happened. Maybe she will in time.”

Maze nodded again. “And what of you, James? How have you been since the raid?”

Once more, James paused. “I’m not quite sure…Confused, I think, hurt, angry, sad…lost. There are too many thoughts and emotions to express. I’ll get over it though…It might take a long while, it might take a short while; I honestly can’t say.”

Maze steepled his fingers, looking over them at James. “That is true. However, you have shown remarkable strength in the face of such a horrible event; both of you have. That is a character trait that many of the greatest Heroes possess. Maybe that’s something that will encourage you during your training.”

James smiled a cold, haunted smile. “The only thing encouraging me right now, sir, is the thought of training hard, graduating from the Guild, and then getting revenge upon the person who tore my family apart.”

And with that, James pushed himself up from the chair, disappearing down the stairs and into the night. Maze sighed. If only he knew, he thought, if only he knew…

 

[Black Dahlia]

Re: A Fable Tale: This being an account of one James Hunter...

I'll just go ahead and post the next chapter...so here's number 8.

Chapter 8

The next summer…

James awoke to the now familiar shimmer of colourful light falling across his bed. He and Briar had been at the Guild for several months now, spending their short winter days in the library, studying, while in the evening, they spent time in their dorms, doing whatever caught their fancy, although it usually turned to studying.

James crawled out of bed, listening to an energetic wren singing its bubbly song right outside the window. With a jolt, James realized that today was the first day of real training, now that summer had arrived. After dragging himself into his apprentice’s robes, he trudged down to the library, were he knew Briar would be. Over the past few months, the two had gotten to know each other better. Briar’s trust was slow coming, but James knew he’d get it sometime.

Arriving at the entrance to the library, James looked over to the desk that Briar always sat at, and was surprised to find that she wasn’t there. That was unusual…she always came down to the library to get a bit of studying in before breakfast. Concerned, James continued on to the dining hall, but she wasn’t there either. He glanced out one of the windows, and noticed a small knot of people standing on the bridge leading to the Will training ground, marvelling at whoever was practising. His curiosity overtook his concern, and he quickly jogged over to them to see what was going on. Gently pushing his way to the front, he was met with a surprising sight. Standing in the middle of the training ground was Briar, skilfully blasting the burlap dummies with bright blue lightning, the Guild Master standing next to her, beaming. All around him, James heard whispers and mutters as people stood in awe of her. Beside him, one apprentice was whispering excitedly to his partner.

“I’ve never seen any apprentice catch on to the Will so fast, and I’ve been here a long time, mind you! I won’t be surprised to see this one turn out to be a legendary Heroine!” The man turned back to watch Briar, the admiration plain to see in his eyes.

James stood there, in the midst of all the people, observing Briar as she continued to excel in using the Will. The more he watched, the more envious he grew. His jealousy was like a painful knot in his stomach, overpowering his thoughts. How would he ever be able to live up to what she was doing? No longer being able to take it, James turned away and departed, slipping away unnoticed while the others continued to stare in awe at Briar. Clenching his fists, he stalked away to his dorm room, where he fell on to his bed, fuming. Why was this bothering him so much? It was just one thing that she was better at than him…and it was so unlike James to be jealous of someone. It doesn’t matter, he thought to himself, I’m sure there’s something that I’ll excel in…A distraction from his thoughts came in the form of Briar, who had wandered back up to their dorms.

“The Guild Master wants us to begin our melee training together,” she said glancing over him, “And what’s up with you? You’re looking a little ticked off.”

“Oh no, I’m fine,” James fibbed, sliding off the bed. “Just thinking is all.”

Briar eyed him, clearly sensing that he wasn’t being entirely truthful. She didn’t say a word however, and simply followed him out to the melee training ring. The Guild Master was, once again, there to greet them with a smile.

“Today, as I’m sure you’re both aware,” he said, once they had arrived, “is the day that we begin your melee training. All I want to do is see you two up against each other, so that we can see how you both react to a real target, not just a dummy. I’d like for each of you to take an Iron Longsword, and then we’ll commence.”

They did so, entering the ring one after the other. This is my chance to out shine Briar, James thought, although he immediately felt guilty for thinking such a thing. They stood several feet apart, facing each other. Shifting his sword to a readier grip, James cleared his mind, thinking only of the fight ahead. It seemed Briar was doing the same.

“Now,” the Guild Master exclaimed, “I want you two to put up a good fight, but don’t harm each other. There are few Heroes as is, so we don’t need you two tearing each other to shreds. When I say go, you may start, and I’ll decide when the fight is over. Are you ready?” Briar and James nodded, muscles tensing, preparing themselves for the on coming fight. “Very well then…GO!”

Without hesitation, James sprang at Briar, swinging his sword upward, preparing to bring it down. She anticipated his move, and dodged skilfully to the side, sweeping her sword around and catching his boots. James tumbled to the ground, swiftly rolling out of the way before she could land another strike. He leaped to his feet, whipping around to face her again. Briar grinned tauntingly, egging him on. James however, forced himself to stay calm. With a flourish of his sword to the side of him, he charged at her, faking to the right. She lunged to the right as well, but realized too late that James had changed direction, suddenly turning to the left. With one deft stroke, he hacked at her sword, sending her stumbling against the ring wall, and causing her to drop her sword. James smirked, knowing he had gained the upper hand. Lazily, he pointed his sword at her throat.

“I win,” he whispered, so that the Guild Master couldn’t hear, “Looks like you may need to stick with your Will skills, because your melee skills are clearly not up to scratch.

Briar glared at him venomously. “What’s wrong with you?” she hissed angrily, “It’s just one fight! Besides, I’m drained from practising Will this morning. I didn’t see you out there at all.”

Their argument was cut short by the Guild Master, who had entered the ring and was pulling James away from Briar, sensing that all was not well.

“Now you two, there’s no need to be like this. It’ll do you no good to have the pair of you as rivals.” He turned to Briar, “You may go rest. For now, I’d like to work with James on the Will.”

She nodded, turning away and walking back to the Guild, but not before shooting James another venomous glance. When she was gone, the Guild Master spoke to James.

“I’m going to pretend that you did not just say those things to Briar, because believe me, I could hear them. I trust it will not happen again.” The Guild Master did not look or sound angry, but James felt guilty anyway. “Now, let’s go and get you started on the Will. We won’t do anything fancy today, just some basic training is all. Follow me.”

James said nothing, simply sheathing his sword on his back and trailing the Guild Master to the Will training grounds.

Once there, James stopped for a moment to admire the rushing waterfalls. It took him a while before he noticed a strange, crude looking face carved into the cliff wall. Suddenly, he realized that the face was breathing. Taking a step backwards, James gasped.

“What is it?” the Guild Master inquired, looking concerned.

“Wha-what is that?” James asked in a slightly shaky voice, pointing to the face.

The Guild Master laughed. “Oh, that’s just a Demon Door. Don’t worry, my boy, you won’t have to worry about him. You wouldn’t even be able to open him up at this point. Now, back to the matter at hand. Stand in the middle of the training ground please.”

James did as he was told, deliberately averting his eyes from the Demon Door. Instead, he faced the dummies, waiting for his next set of instructions.

“The first thing that you must understand about the Will is that it takes great mental power to control it, although physically you must control it too, to a certain extent. However, it all starts with your mind. What I want you to do first is try a simple lightning spell. Choose one of the dummies as your target. Good, now, what I want you to do is concentrate hard on trying to tap into the power of the Will. Do not let any other thought enter your mind. You’ll notice, if you’re doing it right, that you’ll seem to open up a hidden reserve of energy in your mind. Try and harness this energy, or power, and don’t let go of it. If you do, it could be fatal. Excellent, I can tell you’re concentrating properly. Now that you’ve harnessed this energy, try and focus it into the spell you wish to cast, in this case, lightning. Let the energy build up, always keeping it in control.”

James stood there, concentrating on the energy that was now building up. Curiously enough, instead of it being bright blue, it was a brilliant yellow, and instead of building up all around his hands, like it had with Briar, it gathered into an orb between them, slowly growing bigger, buzzing and snapping with energy.

“Now you’ll notice that it’s becoming harder to control,” the Guild Master continued. “When it becomes impossible to do so, I want you to release the energy, or Will, towards the dummy, all the while concentrating the power towards it. If all goes well, you’ll strike the dummy with enough force to do damage.”

James took a deep breath, readying himself. The orb of energy was now of a decent size, and James could no longer keep it under his power. With all his might, he tossed it towards the dummy, and it struck it right on the target, blasting it with a continual stream of bright lightning. After a while, James began to feel fatigued, and wearily, cut short the supply of Will, reverting back to his normal frame of mind.

“Excellent!” the Guild Master exclaimed, “You will find that the more you practice the Will, the more natural it becomes to tap into that reserve of energy, until it becomes second nature to you. Those who are more introverted and tend to think plenty generally have an easier time with the Will, as it’s a mental skill. Such is the case with Briar. But I think with a little practice, you will have no trouble with catching up to her. Now, I think you deserve a good rest. Tomorrow, you and Briar will begin your archery training, and after that, we will set a regular schedule for the both of you. That is all. You may go.”

James was about to leave, when he remembered something he had wanted to ask. He turned back to the Guild Master. “Sir, why is it that my lightning spell was yellow, and not blue, like Briar’s? It also seemed to…power up differently.”

The Guild Master smiled gently. “That, my boy, is something that the greatest scholars have yet to figure out. Why some seem to have a different version of that particular spell, we do not know. But do not worry, it does not seem to have an effect on how powerful your spell is. It will be just as strong as the others.”

The Guild Master left James to reflect on what he had just learned, serenely walking back towards the Guild. Feeling slightly less troubled now, James returned to his dorm room, politely ignoring Briar, who, yet again, sat reading on her bed. For the rest of the night, the two of them did not talk to each other.

* * *​

​

All was quiet. It was now evening, and the twilight sky was lightly dusted with sparkling stars. James gazed at them from his perch atop the Guild, seated on one of the rooftops, thinking. His fight with Briar was still fresh in his mind, and he had the terrible feeling that somehow, she would never forgive him, or trust him again. James hoped sincerely though, that his thoughts were wrong. He continued to stare bitterly into the sky, not caring that the light was rapidly disappearing, meaning his decent from the roof would be dangerous. So absorbed in his thoughts was he that he failed to notice Briar surreptitiously clamber onto the roof and settle herself down next to him. It wasn’t until a few seconds later that he realized she was there.

“Look, I don’t know what happened today,” she began, trying not to sound irate, “but I think it would be best for the both of us if you would bother to tell me.”

“I’m not really quite sure what happened,” James muttered, frowning slightly, “I just…lost it, is all.”

“Lost it? James, if looks could kill, you would have been pushing up the daisies. Something’s wrong. I won’t get mad at you this time if you tell me.”

James felt uncomfortable, but he knew it would do no good not to say anything to Briar. Carefully choosing the right words, he began.

“I suppose I was…jealous,” James sighed. It pained him to admit it, but he wanted to be truthful.

Briar looked surprised. “What of?” she asked.

“Well…your obvious superiority at Will, I suppose. I just wanted so badly to be superior at something too.” He turned away from her, feeling ashamed. James braced himself for the cruel comment he was sure he’d get, but it didn’t come. Instead, Briar smiled.

“You don’t need to feel bad about it. I’ll admit, I was jealous of your abilities in melee training.”

James was taken aback. “You were?”

Briar nodded, but said nothing. Neither of them said anything for the rest of the night, but they didn’t need to. The both of them knew that they had reconciled…oh, there would be fights and arguments to come, and they knew it, but all that didn’t matter. Suddenly, it seemed, their future at the Guild was much brighter…

 

[Black Dahlia]

Re: A Fable Tale: This being an account of one James Hunter...

Just realized I had the wrong chapter up...silly me...lol, that's what you get for trying to keep track of too many sites...so here's the right chapter.

Chapter 9

“Concentrate boy! It’ll do you no good during a fight to lose your focus like that!”

James glared at Maze, who stood in front of him, staff raised, prepared to fight. He was about to yell back a snide remark, but thought better of it, recalling who he was up against. Instead, he gripped his sword tighter, planning his next move. James knew he had to be careful about what he did during this short test, as it determined whether or not he would graduate from the Heroes Guild. Taking a deep, steadying breath, he readied himself. Then, without warning, James launched himself at Maze, raising his sword. At the last second, James dropped to the ground, rolling behind the old wizard, catching him unawares. He swung at Maze’s back, only to be blocked by his Physical Shield. The shimmering blue force field prevented his weapon from coming anymore than a few inches from Maze’s body. Shrugging it off, the Mage whipped around, ready to confront James head on. Now he had to prove his skill in close contact combat. Maze made the first move, slashing at James with his staff, forcing the young man to block with his sword. The hit jarred him, but he pushed back with all his might, forcing Maze backwards. Pulling back slightly, he swept his sword down and back and then brought it back up, hitting the old man’s staff from underneath and knocking it upwards, leaving him defenceless. Taking advantage of Maze’s weak moment, James stabbed at his heart, already knowing he’d meet the Physical Shield. It didn’t matter to him though; he knew that he had broken through Maze’s defences, and that was good enough for him. The Mage stepped back, smiling.

“An excellent job done, James,” he said proudly, “you managed to breach my guard, something few apprentices accomplish.”

James grinned, but said nothing. He felt a warm glow of pride, but quickly ignored it, knowing that the next part of his test was coming.

Sheathing his staff, Maze explained to James the following part. “Next, you must attempt to hit me using nothing but your bow and arrow. No Will is allowed to be used during this portion of the test.” With that, he teleported away, only to appear on the other side of the clearing the two were in. “Ready yourself!” he called, his Physical Shield appearing around him, flickering in the sunlight.

James drew his bow and selected an arrow from his quiver, carefully choosing one of his best. He nocked it, drawing the string back to his chin. Narrowing his eyes, he focussed on Maze. James was about to let the arrow loose when something caught the corner of his eye…a tree branch was blowing in the wind, just a few feet away from the old mage, indicating that the breeze was wafting crossways. James knew that if he didn’t take this into account, he could potentially miss his shot, seriously damaging his chances of graduating. Adjusting his aim accordingly, he tensed the string again, and let the arrow fly. It whistled through the air, striking Maze straight in the chest, or at least hitting the part of his shield directly over it. Maze teleported away, setting himself up in a different location. As before, James picked another arrow, and prepared his shot, striking the old man yet again. They continued doing this for a while, Maze occasionally attempting to dodge James shots, or constantly moving around to keep the young man on his toes. Finally, the Mage held up a hand, signalling that it was finished.

“Again, excellent job, James. Your archery skills are almost as well developed as your melee combat skills. Now, it’s time for you to demonstrate your Will power.”

James gulped. Although he had admirable proficiency with the Will, it worried him to have to show Maze, a great mage, what he could do. Nonetheless, he calmed himself, ready to accept whatever happened. Without even having to think about it, he let his mind tap into his hidden reserve of Will energy, letting the power fill him. James raised his hands, level with his stomach, one over the other, and allowed the bright yellow orb of force to gather there. It grew ever larger, illuminating James’ face with an unearthly glow. Then, with a roar, he released it, sending it blazing towards Maze. It slammed into him, knocking him forcefully back against a tree. He heaved himself back up, brushing dirt of his cloak. Slowly, almost deliberately, he walked towards James, looking him straight in the eye.

“You boy, will do remarkable things in your lifetime, I can tell you that. Very few ever manage to produce a spell as powerful as that.” He smirked, clearly remembering something funny. “And you seemed to think that you would do terrible at the Will, if I remember well. Clearly you were wrong. Congratulations James, I am very pleased to tell you that you have earned the right to graduate from the Heroes Guild. You may go rest, and don’t forget that the ceremony is this evening in the Chamber of Fate.”

James nodded and left, passing through the gates that marked the entrance to the Guild Woods. He felt slightly worried by what Maze had said, yet he didn’t know why. Glancing around, he spied Briar, sitting on a large rock near the gateway. Noticing him, she leapt down lithely, striding towards him.

“How was it?” she inquired, scrutinizing his face, “Was it hard at all?”

“No, not particularly. As far as archery goes, you just have to hit Maze a few times while he moves around. With the Will all you have to do is strike him hard enough with whichever spell you choose until he’s satisfied. And with melee you simply must break through his defences. Nothing you can’t handle, trust me. If I could do it, you certainly will be able to.”

Briar nodded, peering through to the Guild Woods. “Well then, wish me luck,” she said boldly, a determined look on her face.

James smiled at her, “Good luck then. I’ll wait out here for you.” He jumped up onto the rock, watching Briar as she strode into the woods, readying herself for the turning point that was to come.

* * *​

​

James glanced up, shaking his head and clearing his mind of the day dream he was having. Briar was coming out of the Guild Woods, looking immensely pleased with herself.

“Maze said that I did brilliantly,” she called up to him. “He also said that you and I have to be the two strongest Will users he’s ever seen pass through the Guild since he’s been head.”

James slid down from the rock, grinning. “Well then, I suppose all those evil villains out there will have to fear us once we get out of this place, now won’t they? Come; let’s go get a drink at the Guild tavern, to celebrate our success.”

Briar grinned too, and followed him back to the Guild. James greeted Alistair, who responded warmly.

“What can I do ye for, James?” he asked, noticing Briar standing behind him, “And ye too, Briar.”

“Just two pints of ale is good, Alistair,” she said, as James nodded.

“Comin’ right up!” he said cheerfully, pulling two tankards from beneath the counter and filling them with the amber coloured drink from the taps. “So, how did your tests go, eh? Well, I’m assumin’.”

“They did, actually,” James said enthusiastically, “for the both of us too. The graduation ceremony is tonight, and then we’re off.”

“Kickin’ ye out into the wide world already, are they?” Alistair commented as he passed them their drinks. “You two be careful ou’ there. Rumour has it tha’ dark forces are gatherin’ tha’ even the greatest minds can’ explain.” He nodded darkly. “I’m telling ye, this world’s changed, it has, an’ not for the better.” Alistair left them with these thoughts, going back to wiping down the counter. Briar and James picked up their tankards, suddenly not feeling as eager to leave the Guild. Once seated, Briar spoke up in a hushed, urgent whisper.

“Do you think what he was saying is true? That dark forces are gathering?”

“It could be,” James said, mulling it over in his mind, “After all, neither of us has had any outside news for four years. Things will have definitely changed since. I wonder where these forces are coming from…”

Briar shrugged. “Who knows? I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough.” She paused, thinking something over. “You do realize that once we leave, we’ll be considered rivals? People will expect us to be competing with each other for their attention and such.” It sounded as if she did not fancy that fact much.

“Yes, I’m well aware of it,” James responded, not looking pleased either, “I suppose it’s just one of the many sacrifices we’ll have to pay as Heroes. So long as we make it a friendly rivalry, I’m sure all will be fine.”

Briar inclined her head, acknowledging what he said. For a while, the two of them sat in mutual silence, drinking their ale. Finally, James drained the last of his drink and stood up. “Well, I’m off,” he announced, “I have to go wash up before the ceremony.”

“That reminds me, so do I,” Briar said, leaving for the girls’ bathhouse. “I’ll catch you later!” she called over her shoulder to James. He smiled and nodded, leaving the dining hall.

* * *​

​

​

All were silent in the Chamber of Fate. No one dared make a sound, nor whisper a single word, for fear that it would be heard by anyone standing in the great hall. All the apprentices stood around the slightly raised dais, facing the two people who stood on it. Foremost was the Guild Master, who stood with an uncharacteristically serious look upon his face. Next to him was Maze, who bore his usual look of graveness. James glanced around at every one else, all the other apprentices, who looked extraordinarily nervous. Briar, standing next to him however, looked perfectly calm, with a slightly thoughtful look on her face. Tired of watching the others, and of waiting for the ceremony to start, James took a good look at the chamber they were in, knowing it would probably be a very long time before he saw it again. The walls, like so many others in the Guild, were made of stone, but they looked much more worn. Near the top of the roof, which was shaped like a dome, were intricate stained glass windows, the light shining through them creating vivid designs on the floor of the hall. At equal intervals along the wall, statues of fierce looking angels had been carved, and in between them were elaborately painted murals. James admired each one of them for a while, and soon noticed that a lot of spaces were missing the frescoes. The first few that did, however, featured a boy who looked remarkably like-

“James!” Briar hissed, nudging him in the ribs with her elbow, “pay attention! The ceremony is about to start!”

And sure enough, she was right. The Guild Master had taken a step forward, preparing to speak.

“You will listen carefully, all of you. What I am about to say is not to be taken lightly. Today is the day that you shall leave the safety of the Heroes Guild and find your way out in the world. However, I must give you all a warning, something I have not needed to do for so long. A darkness is gathering that you must heed. Be wary of it, for if not, you shall regret it. If you still don’t understand, you either did not listen or do not need to know. Now, on the subject of your future as Heroes. It will be your burden to protect all those who cannot protect themselves. Follow the path that you wish, whether it be for the greater good, or the greater evil. You shall start your journey like so many others, yet end it drastically different, this much I can say. Now, let the graduation commence.”

Everyone stood there for a moment, tense, worried. The Guild Master had never sounded so grim, and it worried them. However, Maze stepped forward as if the speech that the Guild Master had given was normal, and began calling out names. One by one, apprentices stepped forward to accept their Guild Seals, returning back to their friends as official Heroes. Briar was called up, second to last. Her face was straight, serious, as she received her seal. When she came back down to where James stood, he smiled at her, and she returned it. Then, his name was called. James’ heart raced. Now is the time when I leave my old life behind, and emerge as a Hero, he thought. He walked towards Maze purposefully, solemnly accepting his Guild Seal. Maze looked him straight in the eyes, nodding quietly to him. Stepping down from the dais, James felt different. He knew now that the carefree life was behind him. Now, the fate of many lives rested in his hands, and that knowledge was like a heavy weight on his shoulders. James turned to face the Guild Master again, who was about to say one final thing to them all. Once more, the unsettling silence fell over them all as they stared at the old man intently. He said only one thing to them, in a voice so soft they could scarcely hear it.

“Choose wisely in this world, for in the end, there will be no second chance.”

​

 

[Black Dahlia]

Re: A Fable Tale: This being an account of one James Hunter...

Chapter 10

The sun was already sinking beneath the horizon when James joined Briar Rose on the sandy shore. The surf lapped gently against the beach, while the sea glittered with the brilliant colours of the glowing sun. A gentle breeze was blowing, carrying the salty smell that the two new Heroes remembered so well from child hood. For a long time, neither of them spoke. Instead, they simply stood there, staring out over the water, thinking back upon the years gone by, and what now lay ahead. There was a sadness in the air that James had not expected, yet it was there all the same. But there was another feeling that James sensed, but couldn’t quite place, until he spotted the tall ship being prepared for departure. Loss. It was the terrible sense of loss he was feeling again.

“Why do you have to leave so soon?” he asked, turning with sad eyes to Briar. “We only got out of the Guild today, and already, you’re leaving. Do you not want to stay and explore Albion for a bit? We could go together…”

Briar heaved a pained, despaired sigh. “No James, I can’t to that…I must go away…not for long, but I must go all the same. There are things I have to do, things I must see, before I can return and carry on with my life. Even I’m not quite sure why…but it must be done. Don’t worry…I will return, and when I do, you’ll be the first person I’ll find.”

James nodded and looked up at the sky, which was slowly growing dark. Already, a few sparkling stars were beginning to appear, twinkling sadly. Brightest of all was the Evening Star, marking the North. “I know you’ll come back…it just seems strange that you’re leaving so soon…most Heroes at least do a few quests before they travel.”

Briar smiled, a hint of laughter in her eyes “But I’m not like most Heroes, am I?”

Despite himself, James couldn’t help but grin, “No, you’re not.” He grew serious again, however. “Still, it seems wrong to let you go alone, especially since you’ll be going so far from home.”

Briar hesitated, clearly struggling. “It’s a lonely road some of us must walk…I don’t think I’d have it any other way. My burdens are not yours, and I don’t want them to be. Carry on with your life James, and don’t let my departure ruin it. This trip is part of my healing…it’s necessary. I promise I’ll come back. I promise.”

Again, all James could do was nod, not being able to find the right words to respond. The silence stretched on, broken only by the comforting sound of the sea. Soon, the sun and its light had disappeared, leaving nothing but the stars and the moon shining in the ink black sky. It seemed odd to James that Briar had to leave at night, but the captain of the ship had said it was necessary if they wanted to arrive at their destination on time. Maybe it was better that way too. That way, Briar wouldn’t have to see the heart broken expression on his face when she finally departed. James would be alone in the world again, and that was something he was struggling with. He and Briar had become close friends, and to watch her leave him would hurt. But like she had said, it was needed, if it meant that she would find a small bit of peace of mind and comfort.

All to soon, it seemed to James, the captain was calling to Briar to board the ship. She turned to face James, looking him straight in the eyes. “I suppose this is goodbye, then,” she whispered, with the same expression on her face he had seen the day that she had come to the Guild.

“Yes, I suppose it is. But before you go, I have something,” he said, reaching down beside himself and gathering up a small bundle. He pulled out two books, and presented them to a surprised and touched looking Briar. James smiled, “Go on, take them.”

She did so, staring at the covers. The first one was bound with deep red leather, and had the word “Journal” printed on the front in golden lettering. The second book was bound with emerald green material and bore the title “Tales of Albion”.

“My father always told me that every explorer needs a good journal and a decent book of tales when travelling, to pass the many lonely nights,” James explained, his smile ever present.

Briar looked back up at him, the gratefulness plain to see in her eyes. “Thank you James. Thank you so much.” The captain began calling impatiently, urging her to hurry up. She sighed, looking hesitant. “I suppose this is it then. No turning back…”

“Don’t worry, Briar,” James said, “Everything will be all right. I know you’ll be fine. Do what you need to do, and when you return, I’ll be waiting.” He approached Briar and gave her a quick hug, and then she left, without another word, taking her things and boarding the tall ship. With a few quick commands from the captain, it began pulling away from the shore, setting off for lands unknown to James. And standing there, at the railing, was Briar, waving sadly, until James could see her no more, and the night swallowed her up.

* * *​

​

​

“Are you there lad? You’re needed back at the Guild.”

James sighed and pulled out his newly acquired Guild seal, from which the Guild Master’s voice was echoing. He had only been a Hero for a day, and already it seemed, he’d have work to do. Briar had left hours ago, but James had decided to stay on the beach and enjoy the sounds and smells of the sea for a little longer, before he had to begin his life long responsibilities of being a Hero. Heaving himself up off the ground, James paused a moment to admire the sun rising above the water, painting soft, pastel colours across the land. Bringing himself back to reality, he gripped his seal tighter, and slowly became wrapped with the blue mist and gentle ringing that always accompanied each of his teleportations.

When James arrived at the Guild, he was greeted by the Guild Master’s cheerful smile. “Good day James! Glad you could make it so quickly. We’re having a little problem down at the Picnic Area that I’m sure you’ll have no problem clearing up. I’ll hand you the quest card and you can be off.”

“But-I-wait-what is it that I’m supposed to be doing? Can you at least tell me that?” James demanded, feeling bewildered.

“Oh, nothing much dear boy. Just a few wasps is all. Like I said, it’s nothing you can’t handle!” And with that, he shoved the quest card into James’ hand and steered him towards the teleporting pad. “Good luck!” he cried, before James disappeared in the blue haze.

Disgruntled, he reappeared at the Lookout Point, and was just reading over his quest card when a panic stricken man rushed up to him.

“You’ve got to help! Please!” he beseeched, waving his hands madly in the air, “You must to hurry! I have no time to explain. Quick, follow me!” He turned around and sprinted back the way he had come, leaving James no choice but to follow him. They didn’t have far to go; in no time, the gates to the Picnic Area appeared in front of them. The man stopped, panting. “Well, I guess my part’s done. I’ll leave you to deal with the wasps. Good luck!” And with that, he scuttled away, not even so much as glancing back. With a terrible sense of trepidation, James marched through the gates, his whole body tense. This time, it wouldn’t be a safe, guarded training session. The threat of death was real.

Suddenly, an unfamiliar sound came to his ears. The low hum of many wings filled the air, and when he rounded the corner, he was met with the sight of a dozen gigantic wasps, some buzzing around madly, others gorging on the bloody corpses of picnickers. For a moment, James gazed in horror, forgetting about the task at hand. He shook himself when he heard the voice of a woman behind him.

“Oh, so they sent you to help us, did they? Well, I suppose a Chicken Chaser will do for this sort of thing.” Before he could respond, she ran away, her footfalls making crunching sounds on the gravel. James gulped, turning back towards the angry buzzing and drawing his sword, then thinking better of it. He wanted to stay as far away from the creatures as possible…at least for now. Instead, he sheathed his blade and drew his bow. Selecting an arrow, he nocked it, pulling the string taunt. Taking careful aim, he let the arrow fly, and it found its target. The wasp tumbled to the ground, squealing and twitching, before falling still. James allowed himself a satisfied smile, but it quickly died. Noticing that one of their own had fallen, the wasps had gathered together and were flying rapidly towards him, their stingers held ready. Quick as he could, James dove for the ground, drawing his sword and throwing his bow aside as he did so. Pushing himself back up, James had just enough time to take a mighty swing as the wasps came his way again, successfully slicing several of them in two, and watching as they fell, writhing, to the ground. James took another swipe, murdering the remaining insects. Well, that was easy, James thought.

He turned around and was about to leave when all of the sudden he noticed a shadow fall across him. James slowly spun around, and gasped with dismay. Hovering there, pincers snapping menacingly was the Wasp Queen. With a terrible pang of fear, James realized that his sword wouldn’t be able to help him now, and his bow had been discarded and was out of reach. There was only one option left for him now. Without thinking, James quickly tapped into his Will power, letting it build up between his hands in the form of lightning. He knew that by this time, he should be doing more advanced magic, but he didn’t want to take a chance the first time around. James concentrated on the Will, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Then, without warning, he unleashed it with a mighty roar, striking the beast with a strong blast of pure energy. It shrieked in pain, trying to fight it back, but to no avail. James’ spell was too powerful for it, and it plummeted to the ground, seemingly still.

With a grunt of satisfaction, James strode over to his bow, picked it up, and stowed it away, turning to leave. He had only taken a few steps when he heard a terrifying, high pitched screech behind him and the swift buzz of giant wings. Without warning, the Wasp Queen dove at his head, and he only managed to duck in time. Drawing his sword, he prepared himself for her next attack. She swooped low again, and this time felt the sharp blade of James’ weapon. For a second time, the Wasp Queen collapsed, this time black blood pouring from the huge gash running down her abdomen. James stared in wonder at what he had done, watching as the giant insect convulsed a few more times before falling still. Wary that she might still be alive, he approached her, gently prodding the insect with one of his booted feet. The Wasp Queen did not stir, and so, still feeling numb, James proceeding to saw her head from her body, deciding to take it as a trophy.

His task done, he turned, once and for all, his back to the fallen beast, and headed for the gates. A small group of men and women approached him apprehensively, noticing that the angry buzzing had stopped.

“Did…did you kill them?” one woman stammered, cowering slightly.

“I did, ma’am. They’re all dead. Even the Wasp Queen.” He held up the bloody, severed head, as if to prove that he had done it. The small group stared in at it, and then at him, in awe. One man grinned, while next to him another exclaimed, “Brilliant! I’m going to tell all my friends about you! Thanks mate!” He turned around and ran away, obviously back to Bowerstone. The others followed, occasionally looking back to flash him a wide grin or wave cheerily. James smiled, looking down at the wasp’s head. So this is what it felt like to be a Hero. To be admired by others, and praised for your deeds. Maybe he’d enjoy this new life. Despite the hardships, the respect acquired from it would be worth it. Well worth it…

​

 

[Black Dahlia]

Re: A Fable Tale: This being an account of one James Hunter...

Sorry for the multiple posting...it doesn't all fit on one post, lol.

Chapter 11

The snow drifted and tumbled softly from the sky, blanketing the land in startling whiteness. A hushed silence had fallen over the little town of Knothole Glade, as everyone had disappeared into their warm lodges to escape the unexpected snow fall. They had all retreated to windowless rooms, hoping to evade the cold, save for one wide eyed little boy, who sat at a large window in his house, gazing out at the unfamiliar snow on the ground.

“What’s it called?” he asked his mother as she entered the room, pointing out the window.

“That,” she started, kneeling down beside her son and laying a hand on his head, “is snow, Maze. It’s rare here in Knothole Glade; we almost never get it.”

“Oh.” Maze lapsed into silence, contemplating this “snow” that he would have to get used to. For a long while, they sat in silence, doing nothing but watch the snow float gently to the ground, pilling ever higher.

“Did you know,” his mother began, drawing him onto her lap and cradling him in her arms, “that you were born on a snowy day? It hadn’t snowed in over a hundred years in Knothole Glade, and yet the day it did, you were born. Your father and I knew right then and there that you would be a very special child.”

“Does that mean something special will happen again, because the snow’s here?” Maze asked.

“Oh, who knows, love? But I’d imagine so. We’ll just have to be patient and see.” Again, there was a long stretch of silence while the two sat there comfortably, enjoying each other’s company. Suddenly, a thought came to Maze’s mind.

“I want to go see what it’s like,” he declared, scrambling off her lap and running for the door.

“That might not be such a good idea Maze!” she called, but he ignored her. Laughing, Maze tore out of the door and tumbled into the glittering snow. With a yelp of shock, he leapt up, hopping from foot to foot.

“It’s freezing!” he cried plaintively to his mother, who stood laughing in the doorframe.

“Of course it is, love! That’s what keeps the snow from melting into water. Now, if you want to play in it, you’ll have to put your boots on. A cloak wouldn’t hurt either.” She lifted Maze into her arms, carrying him into the warm cabin and setting him on the soft rug in front of the blazing fire. She turned away and proceeded to search through a large chest, shifting things out of the way, until she extracted a pair of little brown leather boots and a thick, dark green cloak. She set them down beside Maze.

“There you go. Put those on, and then you can play outside for a while. I’ll be watching at the window, so don’t wander too far.” Smiling at him lovingly, she straightened up, and then left the room.

Maze watched his mother leave, and then began pulling on his new boots, admiring the sheen of the polish as he did so. He stood and picked up his cloak, throwing it over his shoulders and fastening the clasp. Finally ready, he stepped outside into the soft snow, glancing around. Stooping, he brushed it with his fingers, his skin once again stinging from the cold of it. But no gloves had he, and so Maze carried on, shuffling through the thick layer of snow. He contented himself with simply walking around his cabin and occasionally prodding at patches of ice and snow drifts.

Suddenly, he heard soft footsteps behind him and turned around, slipping slightly on an icy patch. He was met with the smiling face of his mother. She was wrapped in light brown furs-he didn’t know from which animal they came-and wore boots similar to his own.

“I decided I’d come outside instead of staying indoors. Snow comes rare enough, so I figured I’d enjoy it while I can.”

Maze nodded, reaching out to grab her hand and walk beside her. They strolled around the village hand in hand, Maze occasionally pointing a small hand towards something and asking what it was. So enthralled was he by the drastic and beautiful change to the landscape that he did not notice the chill in the air, or the cool breeze that whispered through the evergreens. He and his mothered wandered a little farther, until they came out into a clearing, completely cut off from Knothole Glade. A peaceful silence fell upon them, muffled by the dense pines and the freshly fallen snow. Here and there, animal footprints traced delicate patterns across the clearing, but otherwise, the shimmering whiteness lay untouched.

Suddenly, a clear, bubbly whistle rang out through the clearing, and Maze looked around, startled. He spotted the source of the song quickly; sitting on an evergreen branch, its chest puffed out proudly, beak open wide, was a cardinal. Its bright red plumage created a stark contrast against the crisp greens and whites of the landscape. Noticing his bemused look, Maze’s mother began to explain.

“That’s a cardinal, Maze. Folk tales have always said that if you see a cardinal, expect a bloody near future.” She paused, and then burst in to merry laughter, startling the cardinal from its perch and sending it flapping frantically into the dense wood. “My, between the coming of snow and this little cardinal, we could have quite an interesting time! But these are just folk tales, nothing to be taken seriously,” she added, noting the panic stricken look on her son’s face. She glanced up at the sky, noting that the weak winter sun had sunken beneath the tree line. “It’s getting late, love. Let’s head home and tomorrow, when your father returns, we’ll go for a walk in the woods.”

Maze nodded, and they returned home, to the warmth and comfort of the cabin. That night, he barely slept, so excited was he for the next day. Little did he know that his day would turn out to be much more interesting than he thought…

* * *​

​

Maze crunched through the freshly fallen snow, laughing as the soft flakes fell upon his nose. On either side of him his parents walked, smiling down at their son, pleased to know he was enjoying himself. Today, no cold breeze blew, although the chill air still lingered. But in his childish joy, Maze did not notice. He simple continued to wander through the new and enchanting landscape, caught up in the moment. He stopped for a moment, a thought suddenly coming to his mind.

“What does snow taste like?” Maze inquired, looking up at his father’s kindly face.

“I can’t quite remember, son. Haven’t tasted it in a while, but,” he said, scratching the sparse stubble on his chin, “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to try again.”

Before his father had even finished his words, Maze stooped, reaching out his hands to grasp a handful of snow, but stopped abruptly when he heard the hearty laughter of his father. “Oh, no son, that’s not how you do it. Here, I’ll show you the way. You tip your head back, like this. That’s the ticket. Then, you stick out your tongue, like so.” Maze couldn’t help but giggle when his father did this. It made his voice come out funny. “And then you let the snowflakes fall upon your tongue!”

Maze grinned with delight as several of the flakes fell upon his tongue, melting as soon as they did so. And yet he tasted nothing.

“They don’t have a taste,” he said, looking utterly confused and disappointed.

“Of course they don’t, love,” his mother said gently, “They are, after all, just frozen water. Let’s continue on, shall we?” Maze and his father nodded, and they continued along the path. For a long while, no one spoke, not wanting to disturb the peaceful calm of the forest. But finally, he father stopped, forcing the others to do the same.

“I think we’ve been out long enough. Best be getting back, else we’ll be walking in the dark. If you’d really like to, we can come out again tomorrow.”

Maze sighed, not wanting to go, but consenting nevertheless. Taking his mother’s hand yet again, they turned back the way they came and began the long trip home. They walked, as before, in silence, not making, nor hearing, a sound.

Suddenly, the silence was shattered by an unearthly howl that raised the hairs on the back of Maze’s neck. It was like nothing he had ever heard, piercing through the thick forest and echoing between the trees.

“Balverines!” his father whispered hoarsely, tensing up suddenly. They’re…”

But whatever they were, Maze would never know, for at that moment, a huge, ferocious beast leapt from the dense wood and threw itself at his father, pinning him to a tree. He yelled in pain, trying without much success to push the creature away. It held him there for a moment, watching him struggle, and then, with a mighty swipe of its fearsomely clawed hands, the Balverine slashed at the poor man’s chest, tearing both clothes and skin apart. Maze’s father collapsed into a pool of his own blood, doomed to never rise again.

The Balverine stood over its prey, chest heaving, sleek, pointed claws dripping with blood. It threw its head back, and gave another hair raising yowl. Maze stumbled back in horror as the sound of several Balverines crashing through the forest became clear. They burst through the impenetrable forest, rushing to the site of the fallen, bloodied man. Yet one thing soon became apparent to them. There was not enough meat to feed the whole pack. Slowly, they turned their yellow, murderous eyes upon the two people naught but a few paces away from them. Mother and son cowered, knowing there was no way out. Slowly, the Balverines advanced towards their prey, mouths dripping with saliva, gleaming, serrated teeth bared. In a desperate attempt to save her son, Maze’s mother pushed him behind her, whispering frantically.

“Run Maze! Run as fast as you can, and don’t look back. Just run!” She pushed him along, and he did as he was told, running until he felt a terribly painful stitch in his side. Yet his blood ran cold when he heard the horrifying, pained shriek of his mother as the Balverines fell upon her. Her cries were cut short almost as soon as they started. Maze closed his eyes, suppressing tears. Gone, they were both gone, just like that, it seemed. Despite those dreadful thoughts, he forced himself to turn around and open his eyes, taking in the scene before him. Laying spread eagle on her back was his mother, her dark hair fanned out around her head. Choking back his tears now, Maze stumbled backwards as the Balverines stalked towards him, jaws agape and claws raised menacingly. Now, they were just killing for fun, not for food.

In his haste to get away, Maze tripped over his own feet, crashing to the ground. Frantically, he tried to pull him self up, and feared he was too late, just as one of the sleek, dark creatures dove towards him. He squeezed his eyes shut, preparing himself for the pain, and yet it didn’t come. All he heard was the aggrieved scream of the Balverine and a thud as it dropped to the frozen ground. Cracking an eye open, Maze saw the Balverine, only a hand’s breadth away, stone dead, a silver long sword protruding from its side. A formidable looking man in shining plate armor strode up to the beast and ripped his sword from its side, ignoring Maze and turning towards the two other Balverines who remained. He was joined by an equally powerful looking man, this one sporting a silvery chain mail suit. The two raised their weapons, prepared to fight, when a third man came crashing into the clearing. This one was different from the other two. True, he did wear plate armor like the other, but over top of that he wore a jagged, bright red cape, the hood thrown over his head. No face could Maze discern, for it was covered by a pure white mask decorated elaborately with many intricate designs. In the blink of an eye, he slashed at the two fearsome beasts, felling them as if simply swatting flies away. Maze stared in awe at this formidable show of strength, but his look of awe turned to one of horror as he watched the stranger turn his attention to the two Heroes, slaying them before they could even raise their defenses. Wiping off his sword on one of the unfortunate men, he turned his burning, cruel gaze towards Maze, who sat huddled on the ground, terrified for his life.

“You shall come with me, boy. This is your life no longer. You belong to me.” He turned back, preparing to take the boy away. Somewhere in the distance, a cardinal sang its clear, bubbly whistle.

And for the first time, Maze felt the cold.

​

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[Black Dahlia]

Re: A Fable Tale: This being an account of one James Hunter...

Chapter 12

Briar held the dying child in her arms, humming a gentle lullaby to him as he drew in raspy breaths, the life slowly ebbing from him. His wounds were beyond healing, the arrow in his stomach too firmly lodged in for Briar to remove. All she could do for him now was comfort him in his final moments.

Briar and the rest of the crew had been stranded at Hook Coast for a few days now, their ship having run aground a few leagues away from the desolate village. Because of the terrible weather, they hadn’t been able to charter a new ship for sailing, and Briar didn’t feel comfortable using the Cullis Gates when the others couldn’t. During their stay, the village had been raided by rogue militants in the middle of the night, and before anyone could organize a proper defense, they had slaughtered half the village, leaving the rest injured, and had pillaged all they could. Now, Briar and the crew, the only one’s who knew how to fight and hence to make it out unscathed, were left to clean up the terrible mess.

Suddenly, the little boy in her arms gave a slight tremor, and then he fell limp, the life now gone from him. Briar sighed woefully and laid him down gently upon the ground, despaired that she couldn’t help him. She rose to her feet, passing a hand over her face. Her trip was not going as she expected. Looking around, she spotted one of the shipmates and hollered, waving him over.

“We’ve lost another one, Pedro. Young boy. If I could get you to bring him around to the graveyard, I’ll try and find out who he was so that we can get his name on a gravestone.”

“You’re pretty adamant on making sure there are no unmarked graves, aren’t you?” he observed, gently picking up the little body of the dead boy.

“Yes, I am, as a matter of fact,” Briar snapped, still feeling on edge. She turned her back to the sailor, and carried on, searching for more victims. Treading carefully, she wandered around the village, but found no one, and so returned to the front of the tavern, where the others were waiting for her.

“Well, that’s all of them,” the Captain announced as Briar approached. “Only a handful of people survived, the rest are dead or dying.”

Briar nodded slowly, still in a slight daze. Was this what she’d have to continue to put up with as a Hero? If it was, she wasn’t so sure she could handle it…or could, if only she’d harden her soul. At least, more than it was already.

“Right then. I’ll get started on identifying the bodies, and they’ll well figure out what to do from there,” Briar said, keeping her voice steady. The Captain inclined his head, and offered to accompany her back to her rooms, but she declined, wanting nothing more than to be alone for a while.

Briar trudged into the tavern and into her room, ignoring everything around her. Once in her room, she firmly shut the door and collapsed onto her bed, dreading the task ahead of her. Why did this have to happen to her? Why was it that all the bad things happened to her? Briar didn’t deserve it, had never deserved it, and yet was burdened with all these problems.

Sadly, she stared up at the full moon through her window, reflecting for a few moments. Then, she reached out for one of the books on her bedside table. Pulling it towards herself, she glanced at the title. Tales of Albion. The book James had given to her. Maybe a few fairytales would do her some good. Help her escape from the real world for a while…

And with a small smile, she flipped the book open, humming a, soft, sad lullaby to herself.

* * *​

The busy bustle greeted James as soon as he entered the large oaken gates of Bowerstone South. All around him stood great stone and timber houses and shops, bigger than anything he had ever seen in Oakvale. Beneath his feet, a cobbled road wound its way through the city, worn slightly from the hundreds of feet that had passed over it. The constant, cheerful chatter of many voices surrounded him, and here and there James could hear people bartering, friends calling out pleasant greetings and traders boasting about their wares. Occasionally, a laughing child would meander across his path, only to take off, screaming with delight, when another would come running for one more game of tag.

People wandered in and out of shops, the door chimes tinkling briefly as they did so, and the occasional cow bell could be heard. The sound of a ringing anvil was just barely audible over the babble of the crowd, as was the smith’s cries of “Swords, axes, shields, armor! We got it!” repeated every so often. Even the animals made sure their noise was heard-dogs barked loudly, tied back with thin chains, birds whistled cheerily above the lively city, and a lone rooster crowed at the top of its lungs, perched on one of the watch towers. All around James, people went about their daily work, some men carrying crates of apples, others manning their stalls, as it was market day, and the rest carrying out various little tasks. Even, it seemed, all the women had something to be doing.

James stood there for a long while, trying to take it all in. All the sounds and sights were so unfamiliar to him. So this is what the outside world is like, James thought. Although it was overwhelming at first, James knew he’d get used to it, and enjoy it very much.

Suddenly, he was disturbed from his reverie by a very loud and indignant chicken, which happened to stray across his path. It clucked stridently, scratching around James’ feet. He was clearly in its way, and hastily moved, knowing from experience what it was like to deal with an angry chicken. He glanced around, hoping to find Maze, the person he had come for. Upon returning to the Guild after his quest, he had been told by the Guild Master that Maze had been waiting for him here, somewhere near the Bowerstone Tavern. James was about to continue farther into the bustling city, when he was stopped abruptly by a broad shouldered guard, his blue and red cap pulled down low over his eyes.

“Oi, you! You’re new here, aren’t you?” he asked in a rough voice, clasping his hands in front of himself. James nodded, figuring it best not to talk. “Well, then, I have a few rules for you. First one, seeing as Bowerstone is a peaceful, non-violent town, there are no weapons allowed, so I’m going to have to ask you to hand over all your weapons.” James nearly gasped out loud in shock. Hand over his weapons? Was he mad? James didn’t much fancy entrusting his arms to a complete stranger, even if he was a guard. But he knew that creating a scene would not be a good way to start out his new life, and so he consented, grudgingly handing over his sword, bow and quiver. “Good. Now that that’s done with, I’ll tell you the rest of the rules. They’re pretty basic. No causing disruptions, no acts of violence…” And he carried on, outlining in detail the laws to James, whose mind started to wander. “And,” the guard said finally, bringing James back to reality, “never, on any accounts, disrupt the mayor, Lady Grey. That’s a sign of disrespect, that.” He stopped his rant, and then smiled. “Well sir, you have yourself a good day. Be seeing you!” he said cheerily, before turning away to continue his patrol.

James stared after him, slightly bemused. He shook his head, smiling faintly. Yes, he’d like this world, he was sure of it. Now, if only he could find Maze…

He pushed his way gently through the crowd, twisting his head this way and that, trying to find the old wizard. Finally, he spotted him, standing in front of the Bowerstone Tavern. Maze waved to James, clearly trying to attract as little attention as possible. Weaving his way through the people, James finally reached the entrance of the tavern, but before he could say a word, Maze beckoned to him, and led him into the tavern and towards a more secluded table. Despite the busy crowds outside, the tavern was almost completely deserted. Just like in Oakvale, as James remembered, the tavern only really filled up come the evening tide.

He took a seat a cross from Maze, gazing momentarily at the old man’s face, which look slightly haggard. What had happened since James’ departure from the Guild to make Maze look so worn out? James didn’t know, and had a feeling he wouldn’t be finding out right away.

“So, James, how have you been?” Maze asked, leaning in so they wouldn’t be heard. “I hear you’ve completed your first quest. Without getting injured too.”

“Yes, you heard right,” James replied, feeling a warm glow of pride. “It wasn’t that hard, actually. I thought it would be.”

Maze frowned slightly. “Be wary of that, James. This was only your first quest; it was meant to be easy and relatively safe. Never let your pride get in the way of your better judgment; few quests after this will be easy or even close to safe. Remember that.”

James nodded, feeling humbled. Maze sounded like his father had when James was a child, always giving James lessons on pride and ego.

“In any case, that’s not why I asked you to come,” Maze continued, folding his hands in front of his face and contemplating James seriously. “Now, I don’t want you to get too excited right away, as it’s only a rumor but” the old mage leaned in even closer, “the Guild received word of the whereabouts of your mother and sister. Now,” he said, holding up his hand to silence James, “We don’t have exact details, nor can we even confirm if this is real, but I thought you might want to know.”

For a long while, James sat in stunned silence, not able to say a word. Then finally, he found his voice. “But…I thought they had died…years ago...My father told me so!”

“Obviously, your father was lying. He probably thought that if you knew they were still alive, you’d go chasing after them. And I don’t blame him. I probably would have too if it was me.”

“But what do you wish for me to do with this information?” James asked, struggling with all this new knowledge.

“Do what you wish with it,” answered Maze, “But be careful. I wouldn’t just go wandering around the whole of Albion, trying to find them. It might come off as suspicious. Besides, you have your duties as a Hero to attend to.”

James nodded again, still nearly speechless. He thought the conversation was over, but Maze had more to say. “And one other thing, James. Be careful out there. Albion is not what it used to be. The raid on your village so many years ago was but a small sample of what Albion is really like…we live in a dark age, one that won’t be leaving us for a long while, I fear. Watch out for yourself, and watch out for your fellow humans. The fact that we still have a unified country is the only comfort we have left.” And with that, he got up, not saying anything more, acknowledging no one, simply departing from the tavern and leaving James staring after him. With a grunt, James pushed himself up, his chair scraping against the flagstones, and left the tavern as well.

He began weaving his way back through the crowd, but in his mind, James was not in Bowerstone South. He was back in Oakvale, sitting on a grassy hill one balmy evening catching fireflies with his father.


“Dad, what really happened to mom and Theresa?” he inquired, hoping to get more than a vague answer this time around.

 

[Black Dahlia]

Re: A Fable Tale: This being an account of one James Hunter...

His father sighed, then said in an exasperated tone,

“James, I thought we had been over this before; that subject is not to be brought up. But if you must know, they died years ago, you know that. Now, it’s getting late, and you should be in bed. Let those fireflies go and come along.”

Suddenly, James was jarred from his thoughts, and brought abruptly back to there and then when he collided with a large, darkly clad man.

“Sorry mate,” James muttered, trying to move away from the man, although the crowd was so thick that his task was made hard.

“Sorry? Maybe you should watch where you’re going next time, Chicken Chaser,” the man snarled at him from beneath his dark hood. “How would you like it if I pushed you?” With these words, he shoved James firmly in the chest, causing him to stumble against a young woman who was carrying a delicate clay pot. It fell to the ground and shattered into a thousand pieces. The woman gave a cry of despair, but stopped and quailed when she saw the two men, who looked close to blows.

“Look, I didn’t mean to bump into you, alright? It was an accident. It could’ve happened to anyone,” James hissed, trying not to make too much of a scene.

“Well, I don’t care. You made the mistake of bumping into me, and I’ll make you pay for it.” Without warning, he swung at James, but he dodged it, being smaller and more agile than the other man. Taking a deep breath, he tried to access his Will power, but found himself unable to. Then, with dawning horror, he realized that it was impossible to do Will in this city. Of course! If no weapons were allowed, then why should Will? James braced himself, realizing he’d have to fist fight his way out of it. The stranger swung at him again, but James blocked him with his arms, grunting slightly in pain. The man swung again, and James caught his arm, wrenching it downward. The stranger’s defenses weakened, James took the chance to slam his fist into his stomach, and the man doubled up in pain, clutching his belly. Before he could recover, the young Hero smashed a fist into the side of strange man’s head with a satisfying crunch, and he fell, motionless. James stopped, waiting for the man to get up, but he didn’t rise. He simply laid there, a corpse, blood slowly pooling around his prone body. With a feeling of dread, James realized that he had just killed a man with his bare hands.

Soon, the crowd became aware of the dead man laying in their midst, and saw James, and the blood on his hand. They screamed and pointed, crying out that James was a brutal murderer. The guards caught the sound of their screams, and came rushing in, sword’s drawn and caps pulled down.

“Over there!” one of them shouted, pointing a gloved finger at James, “there’s the murderer!”

They began running towards them, their weapons gleaming, and James panicked. Defenseless against their swords, he bolted, heading into an alleyway without even thinking of where he was going. A low wall came up ahead of him, but he vaulted it easily, carrying on. The guards, however, were having more trouble. They weren’t agile enough to get over the wall, and so had to take a different route to get to James, thus losing his trail.

Figuring he had successfully lost them, James turned around and doubled back on himself, vaulting over the wall once more. The crowd had calmed down considerable, as the bloody body had been removed. With his head down, James melted back into the crowd, making his way towards the oaken gates without anyone even recognizing him.

* * *​

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The darkness fell upon the land, pressing into every crevice and crack. It muffled any sound that arose and blinded those traders foolish enough to wander at night. In the silence that ensued, not a creature stirred, for it was late, when most were sleeping. For the young man sitting crouched in the shadow of Bowerstone’s great stone wall, the conditions couldn’t have been anymore perfect. He would not be heard, not be seen, in this pressing darkness.

For him, the obscurity was not a problem. Many nightly training sessions at the Guild had improved James’ vision in the dark. It was not perfect, but it was enough for him to pick out faint details. He ran a hand over the rough stones of the wall, glancing up to the top of it. Although it was a vast wall, the pride of Bowerstone City, it was crudely fashioned, stones jutting out all over the place, making it easy for anyone who wished to climb. And that’s exactly what James planned on doing. There was no getting back into the city through the gates; the guards would recognize him straightaway if he were to try and enter alone. It was also out of the question to wait until the morning to get into the city with the rest of the early rising crowd. No, James had planned on stealing his weapons back in the dead of night, when he could use the darkness to his advantage. He couldn’t go without them; the Will and fist fighting would only get him so far. James would simply steal back his weapons and think of what to do later. At these thoughts, his stomach gave an uncomfortable lurch. What had happened to him that he now needed to steal and skulk in the shadows? His stomach gave another guilty lurch when he thought of what his father would think of this…Enough! James thought. Getting my weapons is what’s important now. I can worry about ethics later! He shook his head to clear his mind, and then stood up cautiously, his legs slightly cramped after crouching for so long.

James bent his knees, and then leapt at the wall, grasping onto one of the jutting stones with both hands, and hauling his body up until his feet were level with his them. He continued scaling the wall in this manner until he was halfway up. James paused for a moment, looking back down at the ground. From here, it seemed a long way off, but James knew better than to let his fear overcome him. He pressed on, continuing to ascend the wall until he reached the top, where he crouched again, his back hunched and his clothes gently fluttering in the breeze. The excitement of what he was about to do coursed through his veins, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

A few feet below him, the murky outline of a shingled roof could be seen. James took a deep breath, and leapt, landing catlike and silently upon it. Keeping his belly down, he crawled along the top, until he came to the edge of the roof. James stood up warily, and then jumped to the next roof, making a mad dash to the other side, and then leaping again. Another three times he did this, until he came to the wall that divided Bowerstone South and North. Once again, he clambered up the wall until he was perched on top, looking out over the whole city. All he knew was that he needed to get into the Sheriff’s office, which was just below him. He jumped down onto the roof, landing silently, as before contemplating his next move. Fine, I’m on the roof, James thought, but how do I get in without a sound?

He settled himself into a more comfortable position, all the while shrinking back into the shadows. It would not do to be caught now, not when he was so close to his goal. Looking out across the street, he caught sight of a young maid closing a window, but noticed that she didn’t lock it. James sneered. The fools. They thought that they were so safe here in Bowerstone North, with their high wall and their guards. Never once did they think that maybe someone would be able to breach these defenses, someone with a more cunning mind than theirs. James grinned, knowing now what he would do to get his weapons back. Making one last check to see that no one was watching, he swung down from the roof, grasping the awning firmly with his hands. Just as he had suspected, the window was right in front of him. He swung himself forward gently, pushing at the window. It sighed open, a great, gaping mouth, ready to swallow him. With little effort, he swung himself into the room, and landed softly, not making a sound. Now, all that was left was to get the weapons and sneak back out.

The most obvious place they could be was in the Sheriff’s bed chamber; hence, James would not look there. The Sheriff may not have been the sharpest man out there, but he’d have enough sense not to put them exactly where they were expected. According to the bandits James had eavesdropped on, the Sheriff kept them somewhere in the basement. With this knowledge in mind, James crept down the broad hallway, padding as silently as possible. The floors were made of the finest wood, and yet they did not creak. At various intervals along the whitewashed walls, pictures hung in gilt frames, clearly paintings of the Sheriff’s deceased relatives.

Finally, James came to the head of the stairs, where they led into the gloom at the bottom. He could not see the base, but he was sure that it led to the main floor. Tentatively, he placed a foot on the first step, hoping that it wouldn’t creak. Thankfully, it didn’t make a sound. He took another careful step, checking that it didn’t squeal before putting his full weight on it. He continued down the stairs in this fashion, until he was at the bottom. He let out the breath he had been holding. James had made it down without incident. Now, to get to the basement…creeping across the floor, he rounded a corner and came into the kitchen. There, right across the room, was the door leading to the basement. Dashing silently across the floor, James came up to the door and gave it a gentle push, and it swung inward without a sound. He almost sighed out loud with wonderment. The Sheriff really must have been either very trusting, or very stupid to leave the basement unlocked like this. James wouldn’t have been surprised if the front door wasn’t locked. But he would not risk trying to find out. Instead, he slinked down the stairs, and, as before, they did not squeak. James stepped down onto the cold, stone floor of the basement and looked around, squinting in the near obscurity. A few candles flickered and guttered in their brackets, casting an eerie glow and throwing shadows up onto the wall. There was very little in the basement, which surprised James. Of all people, he figured the Sheriff would have more things in here. James shrugged off these distracting thoughts, and continued his search for the confiscated weapons.

He spotted them, tossed carelessly into a corner, shining dully in the weak light. By the looks of things, his weapons weren’t the only that were sequestered. With quick steps, James stole over to them, casting a quick glance over the pile and spotting his weapons. Picking them out with swift fingers, he gathered them under his arm and skulked back to the stairway, making his was cautiously back up them. He crossed the kitchen again, and began his wary trek up the stairs.

James was almost at the top when the step gave a terrible groan. It almost seemed to echo off the walls, and James was sure that the Sheriff would have heard him. He tensed up, his heart jumping into his throat, panic flooding through him. Without even thinking, he bolted for the window and threw himself out of it, landing hard in a wagon of hay. Climbing out ungracefully and strapping his sword, bow and quiver to his back, he began the laborious ascent up the wall, praying to the gods that the Sheriff would not peer out his window.

After hauling himself and the weapons up the wall, James settled on it, raking his gaze over the rooftops. There was no one about, no one leaning out of their windows. James heaved a great sigh of relief. He had made it. By some wild, miraculous chance, he had made it out of there without being caught, although it was close. James scuttled down the other side, and jumped down once he was close to the ground, landing with a slight thud. Taking off at a furious sprint, he ran until he reached the river that surrounded Bowerstone, and stopped, looking around. To his great relief, a small copse of dense trees stood next to the lazily flowing river. It would be the perfect place to hide out until he could escape to the Guild with one of the large crowds to shield him. Wandering over to the grove, James pushed his was through the thick undergrowth until he came to the oldest looking tree there. He slumped to the ground, pulling off his weapons. Settling between the knotty roots, James hung his head in shame, the full realization of what he had just done crashing down on him like a cold, harsh wave. He felt no more glory, no more pride. Not only had he killed a man in plain view, but he had skulked around in the middle of the night like a filthy thief, stealing back his things instead of simply paying the fine, as he should have. It would have made things a lot less bad. If he didn’t make amends soon, his career as a noble Hero would be ruined. At the thought of nobility, he cringed. If his father knew…

He leaned his head back against the tree, feeling the rough bark on his scalp, and the cool air on his face. James would have to find a way to make things right. He’d just have to.

 

[Negabin]

Re: A Fable Tale: This being an account of one James Hunter...

uh,bro,hate to rain on ur parade magazine,but its not lighted..just lit.very nice tho.+rep

 

[Black Dahlia]

Re: A Fable Tale: This being an account of one James Hunter...

Ah, I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you're getting at mate...care to explain?

 

[andythegill]

Re: A Fable Tale: This being an account of one James Hunter...

I fail see where he wrote "lighted" please quote said ungrammatical phrase,
bro.