Fan Fiction ❯ Possession ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

Chapter 1

All was quiet in Fildie Wood. A warm wind blew through the thick branches of the old, tall trees and tickled the dark green leaves. The sunset's fading colors that painted the sky could be seen through gaps in the thick canopy of boughs.

A worn dirt road wound its way through the forest, leading the way to the next town. It wasn't unusual for dozens of travelers to be journeying on that road at the same time, but tonight there was only two.

An old, gray, bow-backed donkey pulled a small wooden wagon down the rocky path. In the wagon were sacks of food, water bags and bundles of clothing. A lit lantern hung on a stick by the wagon bench. A short, stout figure sat on the seat, the leather lines held loosely in thick fingers.

Luic Emer was a halfling. His short dark hair was hidden beneath his ever-present brown leather, wide-brimmed hat. It was pulled low to shade his large hazel eyes and allow big round ears to poke out from underneath. His broad nose wrinkled in aggravation and his short, stubby legs dangled above the footrest as he was bounced around on the hard seat. A short sword was belted to his waist.

Riding close to the wagon on a red roan mare was a girl of about eighteen. Her shoulder-length hair was the color of glowing embers, drawn back with a thin shred of cloth. Slanted gray-green eyes watched the surrounding forest with naive interest. Her features were plain with nothing especially beautiful about her. A small knife was tucked into the top of her calf-high boots and a wooden staff was lashed to the worn leather saddle. Kylise Laville.

"How much farther to Seardion, Kylise?" Luic asked wearily, sliding down in his seat.

"Two leagues, I'd guess," She replied. "Shouldn't take us long at all."

"Thank the Spirits for that," The halfling muttered.

"Oh, come now Luic, we're about to embark on a grand adventure! Show a little excitement!"

Luic snorted. "I'll be excited when I can get some ale in me stomach and a soft pillow under me head."

Kylise turned in the saddle to glare at him. "Why did you agree to come with me, if you're not interested in going on quests?"

Luic glared back from beneath the brim of his hat. "When you were a little girl, barely as big as a nix, your old granddaddy made me promise that I'd keep an eye on you. I'll be beaten if I'll go back on me word now."

Kylise's glare softened and she smiled. "Really? You promised Granddaddy that you'd take care of me?"

"No, I promised I'd keep an eye on you. That's what I'm doing. You wanted to go on an adventure, so I'm still keeping me eyes on you. Now, if you want to go off and get eaten by a dragon, I'll keep me eyes on you then, too…as you're going down the beast's throat."

Kylise chuckled at that. She'd been friends with Luic long enough to know his grumbling didn't mean anything at all.

They traveled a while in silence; the only sounds were the rattle of the wagon and the animals' clopping hooves.

Kylise drummed the fingers of her free hand anxiously on the saddle. She never could sit still, always fidgeting from fear, anger, excitement, or all three, and as if to prove a point, her feet tapped impatiently in the stirrups.

A little more than an hour later, the companions arrived at the fairly large town of Seardion. The sun had set, so Seardion was dark except for the lanterns that shone brightly from nearly every window. Tall, two- and three-story buildings towered over the cobblestone streets. People on foot and some on horseback went about their business, barely sparing a glance at Kylise and Luic; adventurers were commonplace in the town.

Kylise scanned the flat board signs that hung above the shop doors, looking for the right one. They passed several taverns, lights still glowing in the windows, and darkened shops of all kinds. Finally, Kylise spotted what she was looking for. The large wooden sign was painted with a knight on a mail-clad horse and the curved words "Adventurer's Guild and Tavern."

The building was three stories tall with light brown sideboard planks. The large, navy curtained windows were alight with shadows of people moving about inside. The muffled, mingled sounds of shouts, flute and fiddle music, and drunken singing drifted out into the street.

Luic pulled on the lines to stop the donkey and the wagon lurched to a stop.

"Are you sure about this, Kylise? The doesn't look like the type of place a young lady should be venturing into."

Kylise dismounted her mare and tossed the reins to the halfling.

"Of course I'm sure," She replied. "Would you mind taking the animals to the stable? I'm going to get us some rooms. Then we can talk to the innkeeper about a quest."

Luic sighed heavily and nodded. "Alright, then. I'll find you when the wagon's secure. Oh, and just get one room; I'll sleep on the floor so I know you're safe."

Kylise nodded as she turned and ran up the short steps that lead up to the door. She grabbed the worn handle and pushed the door open, losing her breath as the boisterous roar of merriment washed over her.

After a moment she was able to regain her composure and take in the sight.

The common room was filled with people, mostly men, packed in wall booths or squeezed onto long benches at short tables. They were all yelling at someone or other, downing their fifths of ale or heckling the serving girls that rushed from table to table, picking up and delivering orders.

By the far wall, a long bar was set up with tall stools, and the more reserved drinkers sat there. In the corner, two men sat in chairs playing a bouncy tune with a fiddle and a flute. Beside the musicians, a young singer stood on a table, unusually short red skirts flying as she danced on high-heeled boots and sang.

Kylise blinked a few times in surprise; this was not what she had expected adventurers to look or act like. She had envisioned heroic, honorable gentlemen like the stories told. What she found were crude, dirty, drunk men with shaggy beards and torn clothes.

Walking in and shutting the door behind her, Kylise started toward the bar, hoping to find the innkeeper. She received a number of indecent glances that made her shy away from the crowd. Making her way to the bar, she slid onto an empty stool and looked around.

A large, muscular, hairless man was behind the bar, serving drinks, giving orders to the serving girls, and shouting at the cooks in the kitchen behind him.

When he turned, his harsh brown eyes fell on Kylise. A bushy eyebrow arched suspiciously at her, before its bulky companion walked leisurely over. "And what can I do for you, lass?" He asked, his voice coarse like sandpaper.

Kylise hesitated before she answered. "I'd like a room please."

He scribbled her request on a scrap of parchment. "Aye, anything else?"

"Well…ah…my companion and I are looking for a quest. Would you happen to know of one that's open? One that pays good."

He eyed her skeptically for a moment. "I've never seen you around here before. You're a new adventurer, aren't you?"

"Y-yes, I am."

"Well then, have you ever been on a quest before?"

Kylise felt her face begin to burn. "No, sir. I'm wanting to take on my first one."

"Do you fight?" The innkeeper asked.

"A little. I have a wooden staff that I know how to use…on a basic level."

"That's what I thought," He said with a nod. "Can your companion fight?"

Kylise glanced around. Where IS Luic, anyway? "A bit, with a short sword and a bow. He's also a spellcaster."

"Is that so? Well then, you'll be perfectly safe," Sarcasm dripped off every word, and he leaned forward to speak in a soft, mocking tone. "A girl and one spellcaster are far from sufficient company to go on a quest. You'd be better off getting yourselves back to wherever you came from."

Kylise's foot began to tap on the floor in annoyance. "I'm not going anywhere unless it's on a quest. A real one. I've come a very long way for some excitement and I'm not leaving until I get it. Now, assign a quest for me."

Grumbling, the innkeeper turned away to find the list of possible missions.

While he was gone, Luic appeared at Kylise's side, their bundles strapped to his back.

"Sorry, Kylise, I had a little trouble finding a place for the wagon," He said.

"It's okay, Luic. The innkeeper's finding a quest for us now," Kylise replied, taking her bundle from him and draping it across her shoulder.

A few minutes later, the burly innkeeper came back with a piece of fresh parchment and a tattered quill. "I have one open that's suitable for your current status," He told them. "It's a job in the village of Geridan, about ten leagues north east of here. A farmer has an infestation of jarah boars that keep killing his livestock. He needs somebody to eradicate the boars; it pays 18 silver pieces."

Kylise looked at the innkeeper scornfully. "Jarah boars? Surely you joke. That's hardly worth traveling twenty leagues."

"Lass," the innkeeper replied hotly, "you're a novice. This is a novice-rated quest. When you've gone on ten novice quests, then you become a middling. Then, after twenty middling quests, you become a master. Understand?"

Kylise ducked her head and nodded. "Yes sir."

"Good. Now, do you want to take this job or not?"

Glancing at Luic, who shrugged, Kylise answered, "Yes."

"Then give me your names so I can record this."

Kylise did as he said, and when he was finished, ordered meals for herself and Luic.

As they ate, Luic kept looking up. "Kylise…do you know why that man is watching you?"

Kylise followed her companion's gaze. The man was sitting not far down the bar, bent over his mug of ale. Shaggy light brown hair hung almost to his shoulders and coarse stubble covered his lower face, barely concealing the scars on the left side. His eyes bored into her; one was intensely dark, and one was completely clouded by gray.

"I…don't know why he's looking at me," Kylise replied softly, "but it's somewhat unnerving."

Luic reached down to grasp the small hilt of his sword, but Kylise stopped him.

"No, there's no need for that. Just ignore him; I'm sure he means no harm."

"You're too trusting, Kylise," Luic snorted. "Any one of these men would cut your throat and take your money without a second thought."

"Nonsense. They may be a rough-looking bunch, but they're not thieves!"

"You don't know that. They…" Luic sighed, seeing the set look of Kylise's jaw. He knew there was no arguing with her now.

They finished their meal in silence and Kylise paid the tab. She got the key for their room and started for the inconspicuous stairway in the corner. "I think I'm going to turn in for the night. All that traveling made me sleepy."

She didn't even get to the stairs when a paunchy man stepped in front of her. The smell of beer poured off of him like a rolling fog as he breathed down on her. His yellow, rotten teeth made his smile absolutely grotesque.

"Hello little lass, would you care to…dance with me?" His voice grated like slate against slate and his words slurred together from having too many drinks.

"Ah, nay good master," Kylise replied cautiously, trying to be polite. "I'm afraid I'm a bit tired and I'm heading up to my room."

The man laughed heartily for no apparent reason and persisted. "Well, in that case, what if I came up and…tucked you in?"

Kylise stepped back, half-horrified by his bluntness and half disgusted by the offer. "Get out of my way you fat, babbling drunk," She ordered sharply and tried to slide around his bulk.

Now angry, the man grabbed her arm roughly; his portly fingers could have snapped her like a twig. Kylise froze, looking up into the drunk's round, irate face. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Luic jumping up and drawing his sword.

But before the halfling could cross the distance, a quick moving shadow appeared behind the drunk and landed a blow to the back of his head. The man let go of Kylise and spun around to face his attacker, but no one was there. The shadow was suddenly between Kylise and the drunk.

In her bewilderment, Kylise couldn't quite focus on the shadow. She was more worried about what the drunk was going to do.

The shadow picked up a barstool and smashed it over the man's head. The drunk swooned for a moment before falling forward, unconscious.

Luic grabbed Kylise by the shoulders and looked up at her, eyes wide with concern. "Kylise? Are you alright?"

Nodding slowly, Kylise answered, "Y-yes, I'm fine. Just a little shaken, that's all."

She looked around and finally was able to focus on the shadow. To her shock, it was the man at the bar who had been watching her so closely.

She took a few steps away from him and Luic held out his sword warningly.

Clearing her throat, Kylise managed, "Thank you for your help, sir."

The man didn't answer, just kept his eyes on Luic's sword.

"What do you want? What's your interest in Kylise?" Luic demanded when the stranger wouldn't speak.

A dark eyebrow raised at the obvious challenge in the halfling's question. "I have no interest in the girl," His voice was a masculine baritone with a hint of an unidentifiable accent. "Not anymore, in any case."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Luic persisted.

"I thought she was…someone else," the stranger replied. "But I realized she wasn't who I thought when she didn't defend herself." Smirking in contempt, he added, "You're no adventurer, m'lady. I suggest running back to wherever you sprouted from."

Kylise crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. "And who are you to be telling me what I should and shouldn't do? You're not my keeper, and you're certainly not my father."

"No, but if I was your father, I'd make sure you were locked away somewhere so your own ignorance wouldn't get you, or someone else, killed."

Sputtering for a reply, Kylise glared at the stranger as he turned to walk away. She growled under her breath and looked at Luic. "Come on, let's go upstairs. We've got a long ride tomorrow if we're going to get to Geridan before sundown."

The stranger stopped in mid-stride. He spun to look at the two companions as they started up the stairs.

"Wait a moment!" He called to them. When they turned, he said, "You're going to Geridan?"

Luic nodded. "Aye, our quest is in Geridan. Why?"

The stranger's eyes seemed troubled. "What quest?"

"What concern is it to you? Do you want to insult me some more?" Sighing, Kylise answered him. "We're going to eradicate a horde of jarah boars."

Chewing his bottom lip, the stranger replied, "Alright…good night, then." With that, he spun on his heel and retreated to the bar.

"What a mangy mongrel of a man." Kylise muttered to herself as she continued up the stairs to her bedroom.