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« on: September 22, 2013, 06:07:09 PM »
Virmir wanted me to post this here. It's been a year since I first posted this on my FA page, and chapter 2 is half finished. It's my first major story with all original characters and plot. I hope you guys enjoy it.
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Chapter 1: Seeing Blue
The storm had come in out of nowhere. A traveler, covered in a cloak, was running as fast as possible through the forest trying to avoid the rain. The materials on his backpack when clanking together as the wind began to pick up. *I need to find shelter, now.*. As the lightning was flashing, the traveler was able to see the rocky edge of the mountain he was traveling along; with another flash of lightning he spotted the outline of a cave. *Hope it’s not occupied*. He stopped just in front of the entrance and did his best to see inside.
“Hello?” he shouted, making sure the cave was empty. When no one replied he walked in and set his bag down. “Wow, I’m glad to be out of that.”
“Indeed.” Said a male voice from behind the traveler.
The traveler looked behind him but couldn’t see anyone, but it was too dark to see anything at all. “I’m sorry if I’m intruding, I’m just trying to get out of the storm.”
“I couldn’t stop you anyway, so go ahead.” The voice faintly replied.
“Thank you” the traveler said as he was going through his bag. “Just a moment and I can get a fire going.” He was unbundling a group of twigs and twine on the ground.
“What about smoke?” the voice asked.
“Don’t worry; the wood is magically enhanced so it won’t produce any.” The traveler has set the wood into a pile and began striking a flint to light it, but the wood wouldn’t catch. “Ugh, doesn’t do any good if these twigs don’t light.”
“Move your hands.” From the shadows, the second person slowly lowered his finger and touched the wood. Within seconds the wood caught fire. The cave was illuminated revealing both occupants inside.
“Nice, wasn’t expecting a mage here.” The traveler pulled the hood of his cloak down, he was raccoon. Brown furred with black rings, but what he was looking at took him by surprise. The second person was fox species, but his fur was light blue, he had white on his chest and a white pattern on the forehead area going over his dark blue eyes. That’s when the traveler noticed the fox didn’t have any rain gear only basic pants and a vest with a silver pendant around his neck and he was dripping wet. “My gosh, your completely soaked.” He reached into his back and pulled out a blanket. “Here, get those wet clothes off and wrap this around you.”
“Thank you.” The fox took the blanket and began to undress under it.
“You are quite welcome, and forgive me if I stare a little; it’s just that I’ve never seen a blue furred fox before. My name is Nigel, expert traveling merchant.”
The fox remained silent and he placed his clothing near the fire.
“Not much for conversation?” asked Nigel as he got more supplies out of his bag.
“Sorry, but I don’t have a name. Or rather, I can’t remember it.” The fox replied.
“Oh my, I’ve only heard of that, never actually met anyone who actually couldn’t remember. I’m sorry to hear that. But if you don’t mind, how did you end up out here with almost no supplies?” Nigel asked.
“Thank you for the concern, but it’s ok and as for my supplies I got lost and ran out yesterday.” As the fox said that his stomach rumbled loud enough to be heard by Nigel, who promptly laughed.
“Well, my canine friend I recently left Timberland and I have some to spare. Don’t worry about paying me; I don’t take advantage of those in need.” Nigel had pulled out his food supply and was starting to cook. Outside, the storm was getting worse. “Doesn’t seem like this is going to let up anytime soon, best set up for the night. In the mean time if you don’t mind I ask, how long have you had amnesia?”
“It has been about six days now I think, I’ve lost track. The first thing I remember is waking up in the forest, on a night just like tonight….”
He found himself laying face first on the ground, his body was in pain and his vision was blurry. His fur and clothing were already wet from the rain hitting him. Even the slighted bit of movement caused him to ache, but he had no idea from what or why. The fox crawled his way to a nearby tree and use it to pull himself to his feet, every muscle in pain as he did. When he tried to call out for anyone, the fox found his voice was weak as well. Alone in the dark, all he could do was pick a direction.
After a few minutes of stumbling through the forest, the fox suddenly slipped on the wet ground and found himself sliding down a hill. Next thing he knew he was completely under water, rushing down the rapids of the river he just landed in. With his body in so much pain, it took all his focus to stay above water but just barely. In mere seconds, his body gave out and all the fox could do was float on his back down the river.
The glare in his eyes let him know that the sun had risen; the fox had washed up along a rocky bank. Still too weak to move, the fox began to pass out again when he heard in the distance. “Marcus!”
The fox awoke in what appeared to be some kind of covered wagon. “Welcome back, we were afraid we were going to lose you.” The male voice came from the foxes right, he tried to get up, but he was stopped by someone’s hand. “Easy, you’ve been through quite the ordeal. You’re lucky to be alive.” The one speaking came into the foxes view. He was feline species, but the fox couldn’t tell exactly which. “We found you at the edge of the river, barely alive you’ve been out cold for over two hours. I’ve done my best to patch you up, but I’m afraid our medical talents are limited. I’m Marcus by the way, what’s your name?”
The fox paused for a long time. “I, don’t know.” He found the strength to slowly sit up. When he looked down at himself he saw the most of his body was wrapped in bandages. He also had on a strange silver pendant that he knew he didn’t have on last night. Light was glaring in from near his feet that is when he realized he was in some kind of covered wagon.
“Oh my, I’m so sorry to hear that. Can you remember anything? Where you’re from or what you were doing out here?’
The fox sat and thought for a moment. “No, nothing. Only waking up in pain.” The fox looked down at the pendant around his neck again. It was mostly silver but decorated with some small red jewels. “Where did I get this?”
“The one who found you put it on. It’s called a “Zeo”, and it is a token of good fortune. It brings good luck and protection to those in need.” Marcus came back into the foxes view with a wooden bowl containing a hot liquid. It was then the fox noticed Marcus was lynx species. “Here, drink this.”
“Thank you.” The fox took the bowl and slowly drank the liquid. He almost chocked with how bad it tasted. “I hope that was some kind of medicine.”
“It was. It tastes terrible I know, but it helps the healing process go faster and after the way we found you, you need it.” Marcus made his way to the wagon entrance. “If you think you can manage, feel free to join us for a late mid-day meal. If we don’t see you, I’ll make sure something is brought to you.” With that Marcus left.
The fox laid alone in silence for a few minutes then decided he’d try to get up. His body was still sore, but nowhere near as bad as last night. As he managed to make his way out of the wagon, he got his first look around at where he was. He was picked up by a small convoy of travelers, four wagons and about a dozen or more people, each of different species.
“Oh you’re up.” A young female voice spoke up as the fox came out of the wagon. When he looked around he saw a young rabbit girl, her species were called “hoppers”. “I’m glad you’re ok, we we’re all worried.”
“Thank you. Were you the one who found me?” The fox got down on one knee to make eye contact.
“Yes, I saw you first. My name is Connie.”
“Then you have my thanks, and I guess I should give this back to you.” The fox began to take off the pendant when Connie put her hand up.
“No, you keep it. It brings good luck.” She said with a smile.
The fox smiled and nodded his head. Connie then took him by the hand and led him to where everyone was gathering for mid day meal. Everyone began to eat, sharing stories; someone even got out a simple instrument and began playing. It wasn’t until everyone was finished that the fox spoke to Marcus again. “What is this and where are you headed?”
“We’re a small group of simple travelers heading to Timberland to start a new life. We are about five days out, but we aren’t in any hurry. With your condition, I invite you to come with us. Timberland is the closest kingdom and I’m sure someone there will know you. Worst case scenario; you can find more information on where your species comes from in their library.”
“That is a good idea. I accept your offer.” Everyone finished packing and the caravan continued on down the road. The rest of the day went without incident.
Travelling by night was never a good idea so when the sun went down the caravan stopped for the night near another creek. It wasn’t until the middle of the night; the fox suddenly awoke to the sound of screaming and shouting. When he came out of the wagon he was quickly grabbed from behind and thrown to the ground. It was by two people by the multiple hands he felt. “Oh this one looks like a winner. His coloring alone will fetch a fair price.” They bound the fox’s hands with rope and lifted him up. The fox finally got a look at who was attacking them. It was a group of lizards and they were rounding everyone up for the slave trade. The fox was thrown in a group of the travelers; Marcus and Connie were among them. After everyone was captured the leader made himself known. He stood much taller and more muscled than the others.
“We got ourselves a good batch this time boys.” His group began to cheer. The fox sat in silence and took notice of the slavers locations; there were four of them total, each one had lit up a lantern.
Suddenly one of the travelers spoke up. “You lousy cold-bloods! We haven’t done anything to you!”
The leader quickly smacked him with his back hand and pulled out a small crossbow. “Do you want to die tonight? Call me that again and see if I don’t make a coat out of you.”
The fox was angered by this and clichéd his fists. But suddenly he felt his bonds getting loose. When he looked over his shoulder to get a better look, the fox noticed his ropes had a small fire on them, but he felt no heat. Even more strange was that his body was no longer in pain. *I have to do something, I can’t let this happen to these good beings.* He leaned over towards Marcus and began to whisper. “Marcus, when I give the word, get everyone onto a wagon and get them as far away as fast as you can. Don’t stop until daylight.”
“What are you planning? They will kill you.”
“Just trust me. Just make sure you get everyone, and don’t wait for me.” The fox’s bonds were now burnt completely through and he was free. He looked up at the nearest slaver and began to plan how to attack. *Knife on the belt, left side at an angle. He’s right handed, wait for turn around to strike.* When the slaver did turn around the fox quickly jumped up to him. The slaver saw him and tried to draw his knife, but the fox had grabbed his arm, stopping the full draw. At the same time the fox struck the slaver in the throat with a chop. The pain caused the slaver to loosen his arm letting the fox grab the knife and stab the slaver in the chest with it.
“Hey!” The other slavers had spotted this happening. The fox wasted no time; he let the first slaver fall and took off running into the dark, keeping a wagon between him and the slavers to avoid any shots from the leader. He didn’t get very far when he heard “Kill him!” He looked back and saw all three were following him; he had to get as much distance from the caravan as possible. Open field was a bad idea, so when the fox spotted the edge of a forest he went straight for it. The chase went on for several minutes with both groups running at full sprint. The fox didn’t care which direction he went as long as the caravan was safe. After about 10 minutes the fox felt they were far enough and the slavers were catching up.
To save what was left of his breath the fox stopped running and took cover behind a tree. When the slavery caught up they spotted him easy with the lanterns. The fox could see two were armed with wooden spears while the leader hadn’t drawn his crossbow yet. One slaver charged immediately and tried to stab the fox. The fox quickly side stepped and grabbed the spear with both hands. As the two began to tug on the spear, it suddenly began to smoke and caught fire. The slaver let go in surprise letting the fox quickly hit the slaver across the face with the back end of the spear. It shattered into splinters from the impact, but the slaver was only dazed. The fox threw what was left down as the leader spoke up. “You worthless mutt! Normally I don’t bother chasing someone this far, but since you killed my brother; I’ll have your tail as a trophy! Kill him!!”
The fox got into a defensive pose but then he started to feel strange. His head began to hurt and from his point of view, things seem to slow down. For a second he closed his eyes to shake it off but when he did he saw the entire fight play out in his mind:
*First one will draw a hidden knife from his back, charge with blade down. Side step attack and catch wrist. Dislocate elbow.*
The first slaver pulled a knife from a hidden holster on his back and charged. The fox grabbed the slavers wrist from the side and punched up at the elbow with his free hand while pulling down with the other hand.
*Use body to block charging attacker*
He shoved the first slaver in front him and into the spear of the now charging second.
*Body shield the crossbow bolt.*
The second slaver had over reached his thrust so the fox grabbed the spear and pulled backwards pulling the second slavery into the path of the leader’s crossbow which he had pulled after the first slaver’s attack failed. The second slaver was hit in the head killing him instantly.
*Deliver headache*
The fox picked up the knife from the first slaver and threw it at the leader hitting him in the head before he could reload.
*Finish the fight.* The fox breaks the neck of the first slaver.
When he opened his eyes he was back at the start and everything happened exactly as he saw it. When it was over, the fox stood there for a moment to catch his breath. He then looked down at his hands. “How did I do that? How did I know?” Then he looked around at where he was. He knew he’d never be able to get back in the dark and with the chase going so long he wasn’t even sure which direction he came from. He checked the bodies of the slavers for any supplies or map, but only found a few tiny bags of gold and a little bit of food. He took what he could carry and attempted to retrace his steps…
“And that’s my story. I spent a few days trying to make my way back but I never found the road or any kind of markers.” The fox and Nigel had just finished the meal that Nigel prepared.
“What an incredible tale. Well I wish I could tell you what happened to the caravan, but I’m afraid I took shortcuts and didn’t encounter them. But if it makes you feel better, you’re actually closer to Timberland than you think. I’d say you’re about a day and a half away. I’ll point you in the right direction in the morning.”
“I’d be very grateful.” The fox handed the food bowel back to Nigel who was packing his stuff away. The storm was still going strong as the two settled in for the night.
The next morning the storm had finally passed. Nigel and the Fox were outside preparing to go their separate ways. “Remember, follow the path I showed you and you will eventually come to a clearing. Timberland will be right there, you can’t miss it.”
“Thank you again, you’ve been most kind. Do you happen to have another cloak on you? Just in case I run into anymore bad weather.” The fox offered Nigel all the gold he got off the slavers.
“My friend, for that much gold I’d give you the cloak off my back. But I do have something you’ll like. Nigel reached into his supplies and pulled out a black cloak. “Here, one of my finest pieces.”
The fox took the cloak and wrapped it around himself. He buckled it around his neck and pulled the built in hood up. His ears poked through the top. “Thank you again. I hope to see you again someday.”
The two shook hands. “As do I, and I hope your memory returns. Safe travels.”
The two parted ways, Nigel heading off for business and the fox towards the kingdom of Timberland. “At the very least, I hope to find some answers.”
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