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Velkyn

Velkyn

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The day had been uneventful. Not only had Velkyn been picking vegetables for most of the hour, but he felt he was getting quite good at it. It did help that the tavernkeeper across the street was paying him one gold for every two vegetables he was able to bring from the field.

 

"What exactly are you going to do with this tidy sum you have been earning?" the barkeep asked him as Velkyn emptied the contents of his pack on the counter.

 

"I... I don't know," Velkyn responded after being taken aback by the question.

 

"Well," The tavernkeeper offered in a nearly matronly tone. "I have bought vegetables from most all of the heroes of the realm."

 

"And all of the local farmers like myself," Velkyn added, chuckling and enjoying the break from the heat of the day.

 

"They were no different than yourself when I saw them," she offered, pushing the vegetables into the bin and fetching a handful of gold coins from under the counter.

 

"Then what is the difference now?" Velkyn asked, taking the meager gold coins and adding them to the pile.

 

"The difference between farmers like yourself and the heroes of the realm is they decided to put down the vegetables, take the gold, and start arming themselves," The barkeep offered.

 

Velkyn thanked her and turned around, heading towards the door outlined by the bright daylight outside pouring in from around the edges.

 

"It's up to you to decide when it is time to stop picking tomatoes and start buying arms and armor," She offered as the opening door began to flood the interior of the tavern with additional lighting. "It won't hurt my feelings if you decide to not see me so often here, you know? Either way, good luck to you."

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Quite a good start to the story. :P I like how you've managed to merge your in-game experiences into the narrative fairly well. Hope to see more of your writing in the days to come.

 

-Lyn-

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Section 2 - Call to Arms... Kinda

 

Velkyn had made up his mind as he left the tavern on that fateful day. Gone were the endless days of sitting around picking vegetables. He would ask around and begin the journey onward to grab his place in history. The barkeep had made it seem as simple as just making up his mind to be a hero, but as Velkyn looked out towards the buildings, vegetable patch and a firepit, he could feel the flood of questions forming in his brain just searching for an experienced ear to pour into.

 

Of the three choices, the firepit seemed the most logical place to try. As he approached, he could see all manner of seasoned warriors, tradespeople and mages assembled in a tight circle.

 

"Hello, My name is Velkyn and I'm interested in ascending to heroic ranks," He offered to the crowd assembled.

 

"Well, you can start by descending to your seat," Offered a battle hardened maiden from the near side of the ring. "Don't you know it is impolite to stand when everyone else is seated like so?"

 

"Of course," Velkyn said, taking up a small piece of land as his temporary home.

 

"If you really want to be a hero around here, you probably want to see the man by the coast to the east of here," another figure offered. "Consult your map, everyone has one when they arrive here. If you hold a finger over a position on the map, it will tell you where you are as relaible as a sextant. If you actually touch the map, you will be compelled to travel to the spot you touched."

 

Velkyn unrolled the map, which was marked with the name of the guide and a ghostly figure. He also noted the firepit marked with a "Beam" marking and a place that looked like the docks. He touched the spot marked by the guide's name and, remarkably, began to walk there without much thought.

 

"So you want to be a hero, eh?" the man looked at Velkyn and sized him up. "You are kind of lanky, don't appear to be the brightest of the group, and have no charm that I can see... ever consider farming?"

 

"I have been farming, I think it is time to contribute in other ways," Velkyn responded.

 

"Fine, you desire the thrill of combat, first of all, you need to visit taverns to prove you can get around, you need to gather and store flowers to familiarize yourself with the storage areas, then we will talk about combat."

 

"And will I be issued a weapon for this?" Velkyn asked.

 

"No, but you can grab a stick from the ground over there or pick up a discarded bone," the guide offered.

 

"This is my heroic journey, eh?" Velkyn asked as he began to walk back to the tavern, as directed by the guide.

Edited by Velkyn

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Section 3 - The Journey

 

The aroma of salt water assailed his nostrils as the ship Velkyn rode on pulled into harbor. He had been carefully protecting the flowers the guoide asked him to harvest and store. The moonlight bounced of the water between the ship and the dock. Several small torches lit the landing area. As the ship neared, voices in the night directed the tossing of ropes between the ship and the dock. Moments later, the ship was secure.

 

"Welcome to Lakeside Village," greeted a man standing a bit off the docks. "Would you happen to have any arms or armor to sell?"

 

Velkyn considered carefully what the guide had told him and asked, "Would you like to by sticks and discarded bones?"

 

The man laughed and offered, "Certainly you don't think I'm going to equip an army with sticks?"

 

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Velkyn replied. "The guide sent me to put these in storage. I have been here before but never remembered seeing a storage area."

 

"It is over here, just north of us," the man responded. "He surely didn't send you to store these things now, did he?"

 

"Ummm, I think so," Velkyn replied hesitantly, "Why do you ask?"

 

"It is the middle of the night," the man returned. "If you don't have but sticks and bones to offer me for a weapon, you are going to be in real trouble when you come face to face with a gargoyle."

 

"Gargoyle?!? I don't recall seeing one before," Velkyn responded excitedly.

 

"As I don't recall seeing you before," the man said. "They only come out at night. Your first trip here you must have seen my mate. He buys things during the daytime, I get the night and the gargoyles."

 

"Ok, any suggestions?" Velkyn asked.

 

"Wait til a little after sunrise, or stick close to the road," the man began. "The gargoyles might still find you on the roads, but it will be easier to see them coming. If you do, ask to be brought back by using the encantation the guide taught you and you will get to the fire ring on Isla Prima."

 

Velkyn thanked the man and began the walk north, keeping a watchful eye on the woods for signs of the gargoyles. The further away from town he got, the more his fear magnified mundane noises into incredibly terrifying roars and growls. Having nearly ran from even a few bunnies, Velkyn soon neared the storage area on the road as the fear dissapated into the satisfaction of making a perilous journey without conflict.

 

"Good evening, sir," The attendant offered, "I'm here to help you with your storage account. I'll just need your name and I'll get your things for you, or from you if you are here to store your goods."

 

"Velkyn," he responded. "And I'm here to store things. This is my first time here."

 

"No worries," the attendant replied, "Simply leave your items with me and I'll make sure the other storage areas know what is in your account."

 

As Velkyn laid out his flowers carefully, a shriek and a yell of "Run!" pierced the evening air. Turning towards the noise, Velkyn could see a tall creature and warrior tied up in battle.

 

"Go on," the attendant said. "Your items will be safe now. Use your encantation the guide taught you and get out of here."

 

As Velkyn muttered the words, a beam of light pulled him off the ground in tuny particles. He couldn't feel pain, or motion, all he felt was peace. In moments, his particles restacked by the campfire. He checked himself and found he was completely unharmed.

 

"Well, that was...Handy," Velkyn mused as he unrolled the map and touched the area near the guide.

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(Thanks everyone for the support! Had to get that out of the way before I forgot. Kind of inspiring to get compliments in game and here, especially when I'm just me. So, as I've been ask about.. here is the latest installment. I hope it lives up to whatever it is you all saw in the previous episodes. Enjoy!)

 

Section 4 - Prima Hunting

 

"Ok, Velkyn, You have proven your ability to get around the area. I know you know how to harvest items and store them. I suppose it is time to move on to proving your prowess in combat," the guide said.

 

Velkyn's eyes lit up enthusiastically. Finally! The time had come for him to take on a mighty bear... or a wolf... or maybe even a snake he had seen ready to strike at the unprepared. Whatever it was, he made up his mind, exquisite sword or pointy stick, he was prepared to step up to the challenge and prove himself.

 

"So, if you are prepared... ," The guide began "...I need you to hunt the rabbits and beavers. Then return to me with proof of your conquests."

 

"That is it?" Velkyn thought. "I went all over White Stone doing menial quests and the point was working up to hunting beavers and bunnies?"

 

"If, during your fighting, you need healing," the guide continued. "Return to me, I will heal you until I deem you are capable of fighting for yourself."

 

Velkyn laughed and took a nearby bone as a weapon. "I would think fighting beavers with wood might be ill-advised."

 

Velkyn searched for his prey near the coast. A few fallen trees seemed to be the best place to look for a beaver or two. Stepping carefully over a few logs, he noticed a beaver walking a few feet away. Velkyn raised the bone high over his head and brought it down with a satisfying thud.

 

He felt more than a little sorry for the creature. He had slain it just because the guide had told him. What was more, he had to slay many more. The damage was done to this one, so Velkyn thought it best to skin the creature and move on. He reached down to grab it, as he touched it, it wheeled around and snapped at him.

 

"So, that is how you want to do this?" Velkyn asked.

 

He hopped back and began to lay into the beaver with blows from his blunt weapon. Each of his blows were met with a gnash or an attempted one by the beaver. Suddenly, he realized, he was getting hurt. Perhaps the guide wasn't so daft after all. The beaver wasn't as easy to slay as he had previously imagined.

 

Finally, the beaver lay motionless at Velkyn's feet, which were also a bloody mess in themselves. Quite a few more beavers and a bit of rabbits and Velkyn was done. But he wasn't getting anywhere in his current condition. He unrolled his map and touched on the location where the guide was.

 

"Well, you look like a battle hardened champion," The guide noted, looking at Velkyn's crimson coated feet. "Now I'll just take all the furs from you and we're all done."

 

"Erm... I have one," Velkyn admitted hesitantly, "Will that do?"

 

The guide laughed and offered, "I'm terribly sorry, but I need them all."

 

Velkyn fought inside to work up the courage to admit defeat, of sorts, then sheepishly said, "I am in need of healing."

 

The guide laughed and waved his hand at Velkyn, mending his wounds instantly, "I must say, I have seen a lot in my time," he laughed and looked Velkyn over. "Trust me, thought. They all thought they could slay the mighties of beast. Some took a trip to the underworld instead of having the courage to swallow thier pride as you have. Well done."

 

"Does that mean I have finished this task?" Velkyn asked.

 

"No, not at all," The guide returned. "It simply means you have already learned from it."

 

"Then, if you will excuse me, I have some more beavers to kill," Velkyn said. "I'll see you sooner or later."

 

"I bet on sooner," the guide said partially under his breath and smiling and waving at Velkyn.

 

As Velkyn passed the vegetable patch on the way back to the beavers, he waived at his old friends. The ones, as the tavernkeeper said, had just not yet decided to stop picking vegetables and start buying arms. A twitch amongst the crowd drew his attention. A rabbit!

 

Velkyn rushed towards the rabbit. As he neared and attempted to swing at the rabbit, it had happily hopped off to another area. Velkyn slipped quietly towards the rabbit and began to swing, only to have it dart off somewhere else. Frustration sat in as the rabbit sat under the bottom runner on the fence surrounding the vegetable patch. Velkyn charged angrily and dove at the rabbit, only to have it bounce away again, leaving him face down in the dirt near his old friends.

 

"Well, that certainly looks like fun," offered one of the harvesters.

 

"Indeed," agreed a second one, "Glad you found your niche in society."

 

Velkyn stood up, all his frustration was gone, or at least covered by a liberal coating of humiliation and topsoil. The topsoil was easily taken care of.

Edited by Velkyn

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Good story so far.I cant wait to read the the rest.

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