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Fable : Fall of the Guild	By : Samson Category: +A through F > Fable Views: 8222 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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Chapter List
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First Kills. First Quest.
Fable : Fall of the Guild

Part I - "In Your Blood"

By: Jesse Racine AKA Samson

Original Date Written: April 4, 2011

To start the fight, Timoteo cast Physical Shield, a white aura surrounding his form. Gripping his sword, he cast "Battle Charge," a spell he only knew how to use with amateur skill. He suddenly found himself racing forwards at a speed he knew was physically impossible for him to normally reach, his legs moving as blurs. A long trail of orange light shone behind him as he moved towards Weaver. Raising his sword, his Battle Charge ended just as he reached Weaver, Timoteo shouting out as he swung his sword down diagonally towards Weaver's torso. Before Timoteo could hit him, Weaver cast "Assassin's Rush," a spell that was somewhat similar to Battle Charge. Weaver's form became quite blurred, but only for a second; what Timoteo had seen his blade cut through had only been an afterimage. Timoteo remembered seeing Bianca use the same spell during training as a child; it almost gave her the same advantage as Timoteo's Physical Shield. While he could absorb almost any blow his sparring partners gave him, Bianca could avoid almost any attack that had come her way.
If Timoteo had never seen the spell being used before, if he had never studied it, he would've been confused as to the location of Weaver. Spinning around, he jumped back, seeing Weaver to be standing rather close behind him. Weaver cast Ghost Sword, but he was much more skilled in the spell than Timoteo was; instead of creating just a single sword, like Timoteo had previously done, Weaver produced three. Timoteo's eyes darted along the three ethereal blades as they began to rapidly hover towards him. An idea came to Timoteo. Raising a hand, he cast Force Push, hitting the middle sword of the three. Knocked back, it twirled in the air, heading straight for Weaver. Weaver quickly jumped to the side, the sword stabbing into the ground he had been standing over just a second after he had gotten out of the way. Although the sword wasn't vanquished, it seemed to have trouble pulling itself from the ground, and so was disabled for the time being.
Timoteo created his own Ghost Sword, sending it forth. His sword began to preoccupy one of Weaver's, but before the second could get involved and help Weaver's other sword against Timoteo's, Timoteo jumped forwards, crashing blades against Weaver's second. The four swords, three magical, clashed against one another rapidly, Weaver watching with a pleased smile on his face. The sword fighting against Timoteo's eventually got the upper hand, doing a quick horizontal slash, shattering Timoteo's ghost sword. Just then, the ghost sword Timoteo had disabled wrenched itself from the ground, spinning around in the air as it rapidly came towards him. Acting fast, Timoteo twisted his body and leaned to the side, the spinning sword flying past him, coming to a stop a meter away from him. He took the opportunity to powerfully slash his sword down against the back of the ghost sword, shattering it.
He felt a powerful burst of pain flood through him as the other two ghost swords slashed along his back, Timoteo doing a roll forwards to get away from the ethereal blades. Getting up and facing the blades, Timoteo felt his mana energy to be running low. Deciding on one more quick spell, he waited until the two ghost swords were close to him before he cast a powerful spell. A large fireball rippled into life in the palm of his right hand, and Timoteo dropped to a knee, clenching his fiery hand. His fist coated in flames, he struck the ground as hard as he could, a large burst of flames appearing around his body in a sphere, protecting him. A nova of flames ripped out around the sphere, striking the ghost swords, shattering them entirely. As a result of his spell, quite a large patch of grass around him was reduced to blackness, the grass destroyed. He had cast "Enflame," a powerful fire spell. The flames around Timoteo died a second later, Timoteo panting slightly as he looked to Weaver. He felt quite sleepy; he wasn't sure if he could go on fighting, but he'd force himself to if whether he graduated or not was on the line. Weaver could sense Timoteo's lack of Will energy, and so smiled more, nodding at Timoteo. "You did well, Tim. I'm impressed. You've passed." Timoteo let out a sigh, still panting gently, a broad smile coming to him.
Weaver and Timoteo emerged from the Guild Woods, his friends all standing around still, looking to the two of them. "Tim passed." Weaver said proudly. The others were pleased, smiling and congratulating Timoteo, giving him pats on his back. When Timoteo winced at Darrah's pat, as her hand had gone over one of his wounds, she profusely apologized, quickly racing off to get the sack of potions from the nearby pen. Running back over, she handed Timoteo a health potion, which he quickly downed. He grabbed a mana potion as well, drinking it all down, feeling more energized as his Will energy was replenished. "Ah, yes, the potions, I almost forgot. Good thinking, Darrah." Weaver said. Darrah smiled a little, resting the sack down by her feet. Weaver asked "So, have you children decided on who will be next?" Brute raised a hand, saying "Yeah, it'll be me." Weaver nodded. "Very well Brute, let's see if you have what it takes."
The two passed through the gate to the Guild Woods, walking off together. Immediately, Darrah, Calvin, and Gibbons all set upon Timoteo, asking him rapidly what the test was like. "I heard there's balverines in the woods, and for your test, you have to go out and kill one!" Gibbons said. Timoteo smirked. "No, there wasn't any balverines. I don't know if I should tell you guys, though." The three of them continued to pester him, and Timoteo said "Okay, alright, but on one condition only!" Calvin said "Anything!" Darrah and Gibbons nodded rapidly. Timoteo raised his eyebrows as he said "You have to pretend like you don't know what the test is about. When Weaver asks you about it or tells you what the test is, you have to act surprised and all that." The three of them nodded, saying "Yeah, of course!" Timoteo waited for a few seconds, building the dramatic tension. Finally, he said "You have to fight Weaver, himself." The three of them looked quite surprised for a few moments before Gibbons said "Ehhh, it makes sense."
Calvin nodded, and so did Darrah. "Yeah, it kind of does, hmm?" Timoteo raised an eyebrow, saying "It's not easy..." Darrah smirked and said "Another mage, only an old one. I think I've gotten enough training against Will users to know how to handle them." Timoteo gave Darrah a look, raising an eyebrow. Darrah grinned at him. The group waited for several minutes before they heard the gates to the Guild Woods open again. When Brute emerged, he had several wounds along his arms. Weaver appeared with a smile. "Brute passed!" He said. Brute was panting as he grabbed a health potion from the sack by Darrah's feet. Darrah seemed a little surprised to see Brute so winded. "Brute? You okay?" She asked. Brute nodded, doing his best to down the health potion despite his panting. Weaver smiled and asked "So? Who's next?"
Darrah, Gibbons, and Calvin all glanced at one another. Gibbons took in a short breath before adopting a heroic pose, putting his fists to his hips, raising his chin with his legs just slightly spread. "I will go next!" Ending his pose a moment later, he playfully muttered "...'Cause Calvin's a sissy and Darrah doesn't have any guts..." Calvin and Darrah both heard him, Calvin calling out "Hey!", Darrah's face going a little red with annoyance. Gibbons raced through the gateway and into the Guild Woods before Darrah could grab him, Weaver following after him, the gates shutting behind them both. Darrah let out an annoyed sigh, but she otherwise said nothing.
In the end, everyone passed their final test, Weaver deeming all of them at an acceptable level of skill. When they were all finished, Weaver smiled and said "Well, that's all finished. All of you, leave your swords here and go to your room for at least an hour, that'll give us time to prepare the Chamber of Fate for your graduation ceremony." They all nodded, dropping their swords before rushing off to the main Guild building. Racing up to their room, they relaxed on their beds for a few minutes before Darrah said "It's finally happening!...We're going to leave the Guild, soon!..." As Timoteo got up to grab a book from the shelf by Bianca's old bed, Darrah looked over to everyone, asking "Hey, what're you guys going to do once the ceremony's finished and we're official Heroes?" Calvin said "Straight to Quest Cards, for me." Gibbons grinned and said "I'll try my luck thieving around Bowerstone for a while. All those rich snobs in Bowerstone North are sure to have some goodies. Then I guess I'll do some Quest Cards."
Brute said "I'm gonna head home for a bit...See my folks for a while. Then I'm coming back for Quest Cards, obviously." Timoteo remained silent. After a few seconds, Darrah said "Tim?" Timoteo blinked, raising an eyebrow, looking up from his book. He hadn't thought much on what he'd be doing after his time at the Guild was finished. "Oh, um...Quest Cards, I guess." Darrah smiled a little and said "I'll be doing Quest Cards, too. No plans other than that, really." The lot of them chatted for a while, Timoteo mostly remaining quiet and just reading the book he had pulled out of the bookshelf, only speaking when his opinion was asked for. Eventually, the time came. Weaver came up to their room, saying "It's time, everyone. Come on, everyone's waiting." Some of them suddenly felt nervous, but Timoteo remained calm. Weaver led the group down into the library of the Guild, leading them down to the locked door at the back of the library.
Timoteo had never seen the door open, and was curious like all the others as Weaver pulled the door open. Up ahead, there was a large stone bridge of sorts, a cool breeze blowing over them all. Stepping out through the doorway, Timoteo was amazed to find that the bridge spanned what appeared to be an endless chasm down into the earth, with nothing but cave walls leading upwards to a rocky ceiling. Across the chasm, there was another set of large wooden doors, typical of the Guild. Walking across the short bridge, they approached the wooden doors. Weaver pushed open both doors, and the apprentices were surprised by what they saw. The room up ahead was massive. It was circular in shape, and up on the ceiling, there were stained glass windows that had been done in every colour of the rainbow, starting with purple at the top and moving down to red. The walls were made of a calm gray stone, light and gentle, while the floor was done in a square pattern that alternated between gray and gold.
At various sections of the walls, there were large tapestries, all depicting various scenes. None of the apprentices were close enough to truly make out what the tapestries showed, however. At several intervals along the floor in a circular manner, there were a few steps that led upwards, the floor eventually leading up to a small circular section. The room was filled with people, aside from a path leading up to the very highest portion of the room from the front of the door. Timoteo counted five small sets of steps, which meant there were six levels to the room altogether. On the lowest two levels, including the one the group stood upon at that moment in time, there was nothing but apprentices. On the third level, there were fledgling Heroes. On the fourth level, there were expert Heroes, Briar Rose among them. The fifth level was empty, and on the sixth and final level, there stood only Merlin, the Guildmaster. Cheers rose up as Weaver led the group along the cleared path, leading them up to the fifth level of elevation in the room.
Timoteo looked to Merlin. He was a man of regular height, and he looked quite old. He seemed even older than Weaver, but that couldn't have been the case, he must've simply aged a little more harshly than Weaver had. He was dressed in a long dark purple robe, black stars done all along his sleeves, silver threads vertically reaching from his waist to the lower portions of his robe. He had long grey hair, and an equally bushy grey beard. There were prominent dark circles around his eyes, as well as a smile on his face. Several rings were on his fingers, some jewelled, some plain. When Timoteo and his friends reached the fifth level of elevation in the room, Merlin raised his hands, the huge grouping of people in the room falling silent. Timoteo subtly looked along the third level of elevation in the room, trying to spot Marst, but try as he might, he wasn't able to. Merlin took his attention a few seconds after he had started looking, however, so Timoteo hadn't been able to look along all of the fledgling Heroes.
Weaver stood with Timoteo and his friends on the fifth level of elevation as Merlin spoke. His voice had more strength to it than would be usual for a man of his apparent age. "We are here today...To congratulate a small group of apprentices. They've completed their training, and as such, are now Heroes." At this, more cheers rose up among those present, especially the apprentices, but Merlin raised his hands after a few seconds, quieting everybody down. Merlin spoke slowly and purposefully as he said "Heroes...Are capable of great things. It's in our blood. It's in every single one of us. Whether we use our abilities for good or for evil, whether we selflessly help all or selfishly help ourselves, it is our choice, we are free to make it ourselves and live with the consequences. Personal beliefs aside, this is the reality of being a Hero." The Chamber of Fate was deathly quiet at Merlin's words.
Merlin continued, saying "Whatever you may personally believe...Whatever you think a Hero should stand for...The reality is, we all have our choices to make. Just as some may look down on particular Heroes for murdering innocents and stealing their gold, others may look down on certain Heroes for giving all they have to the poor, for putting themselves in harm's way for someone they've never met. Remember!...In the days before Nostro, founder of the Guild...There was nothing to stop those with Heroic blood from doing whatever they may please with their abilities, and they often did just that." Merlin paused for a moment before he calmly said "Nostro created this Guild to try and help Heroes learn of their abilities, to try and steer them upon the right path, the path of enlightenment. In times of great war, such as between Albion and another country, we Heroes have an obligation to fight for our land...But that is all! There are no lessons on morality at the Guild, because we openly encourage all to simply do what feels right. I think...That's the best way to do the Guild proud. Do as you would, and live your life without regrets...That should be the Hero way."
There was a round of applause that rose up then, the clapping echoing strongly around the large room. Merlin nodded after a few moments and raised his hands, smiling a little as he said "But I digress...We're here to congratulate these young adults, who can now be safely named as Heroes!" Raucous applause and clapping rose up, and this time, Merlin didn't stop the crowd. He held his hands out in front of himself, and amid a soft blue glow, an object appeared in each of his hands, both shaped slightly like disks. Timoteo had seen the items before; the objects were one that all Guild Heroes had, bearing the same symbol as that of the Guild, itself. It looked like a circular hunk of some sort of pale blueish metal, a ring of gold going around it. In the center of the light blue metal, there was a full circle of gold. Within that circle, there was the unusual "S" shape that Timoteo knew to be the symbol of the Guild.
At each of the symbol's four points, a long and thin pointer of sorts stuck out from the center of the object, golden like most of the object. The back of the objects were all entirely black. Timoteo had sometimes seen Heroes wear these objects on their chest, like badges. He sometimes saw them simply carrying it around with them amid their other possessions. Others still had even more creative uses for them. The crowd continued cheering while Merlin said "These are Guild Seals, proof of your completion of your Guild training. Every Hero has one; it allows me, the Guildmaster, to communicate with you whenever I need to. It can also, with certain restrictions, allow you to communicate with other Heroes. It can activate Cullis Gates, and can instantly teleport you to any Gate you've already activated for yourself. As well, some places have been known to only open to those who have a Guild Seal, so by extension, will only open to Heroes. Two of you, step forward, and take a Seal each."
Gibbons and Brute stepped forwards, reaching up and taking one of the Guild Seals each. As they stepped back, another blue glow shone in the palms of Merlin's hands, another two Guild Seals appearing in his hands. Darrah and Timoteo glanced at one another for a moment before stepping forwards together, taking their Guild Seals. Merlin summoned just one more Guild Seal, Calvin taking it. The cheering began to subside just as Merlin said "Five more Heroes will enter the world! Let us see what destiny has in store for them!" The cheers grew even stronger than they had before, to the point where anyone present could barely hear themselves think. Weaver was smiling as he began to lead Timoteo and his friends out of the Chamber of Fate. As they proceeded along, they all received pats on the back from various apprentices, hearing congratulations from any Hero nearby. When they finally exited the Chamber of Fate, Calvin gave off a slight sigh. "Damn, it was loud in there." He said. Weaver smiled more and held back a chuckle. "Come on, let's head up to your room. I have some more things I must inform you of before all the ceremony is finished."
When they went up to their room, Weaver turned to them and said "Now, since your apprentice days are over, this room will eventually be used by other apprentices. The Guild can always be considered a home for you, however. We have quarters made specifically for grown Heroes, and should you ever find yourself in need of a bed, you're always welcome to come. Did any of you think you'd be coming back here, tonight?" Calvin said "I was hoping on it. I don't have any other place to sleep." Weaver nodded, saying "Okay, collect all your things from under your bed. We'll move your stuff to the other section in the Guild. Anyone else?" Timoteo said "I might, but...I don't really have anything to move, just some spare clothes I should probably keep with me, anyway. I think I might sleep out under the stars for my first night out." Weaver nodded, smiling, saying "Okay, well, if you should find yourself in need of a bed tonight or any other night, the Guild is always open to you. Anyone else?"
Brute shook his head. "No, I'll be going to see my family for a bit...Maybe after I get back. I'll be taking all my stuff with me." Gibbons had a sly smile, an eyebrow raised. "I plan on raising enough money in just today to be able to pay for enough inn beds to last me a year. I'll be fine." Darrah looked to Gibbons with a touch of disdain for a moment before saying "I'll be raising enough money for an inn bed as well, but I'll do it the proper way...By cleaving off the heads of bandits and taking their loot." Gibbons rolled his eyes, his sly smile growing a touch stronger as he muttered "...Thievin's plenty proper, take from the rich and give to myself, what's not proper 'bout it..." Darrah heard Gibbons, but since his words weren't really an insult, she didn't say anything to him. Weaver said "Okay, well, let's get things moving, Calvin." As Calvin began to pack up his stuff from under the bed, Gibbons said "I can't believe this is finally ending...Eight years, guys. Eight years..."
He began to smile widely. "I think I'll take some of my extra gold and get some wench at an inn nice and drunk. When her...Inhibitions...Have been lowered, I'll-" Darrah cut him off, saying "That's quite enough, Gibbons...We don't all need to hear your fantasies." Gibbons grinned, continuing, saying "I'll grab her by her hips, and just-" Darrah cut him off again, raising her eyebrows and smiling a little, saying "Gibbons, quit it! We don't need to hear that!" Gibbons chuckled darkly, all the other boys, including Timoteo, just smiling and shaking their heads a little at Gibbons' antics. When Calvin was finished packing his stuff, Weaver was just about to head off with him when Darrah asked "So, we're free to leave, now?" Weaver nodded with a smile, saying "Yes, of course. You have your Guild Seals, you're all Heroes, now. You can come and go as you please. But just wait here, there is a pack of supplies we give to young Heroes just before they leave the Guild. Someone should be up with them soon."
They all grinned a little with excitement, Weaver leaving with Calvin. Timoteo and the rest all rested their belongings on their beds, ready to fit them into the supply packs. Several nondescript apprentices with their hoods pulled up came up into their room about fifteen minutes later, each carrying a large backpack of sorts in their arms. They brought a pack to the each of them, and when Timoteo was handed his, the apprentice whispered "It's good to see you again, Tim...Congratulations on finishing your training!..." Timoteo was confused, but after a moment, the apprentice giggled, raising her hands and pulling back her hood a little. It was the girl Timoteo had kissed a few years before, the girl that had passed him a note and subsequently been his first kiss. He hadn't spoken to her in quite a while, she had always ran away whenever he had tried. He was surprised, smiling, asking "How are you?..." The girl glanced over to her left, to all the others of the room.
"I'm good, but I can't stay and talk...I want to, but...I've gotta go, maybe I'll see you around, Tim..." The girl pulled her hood forwards all the way once more, casting her face in shadow. She left with the other apprentices, and Timoteo and his friends all turned their attention to their packs. Inside each and every pack, there were two health potions, as well as two mana potions. There were two small potions inside every pack that none of the young Heroes had seen before, not with their own eyes. Timoteo examined his, holding one up. The bottle was golden, having a thick top and a narrow bottom that ended in a point. The top of the bottle was screwed shut quite tightly with a golden cap. The inside of the bottles seemed to have a sort of clear fluid within, bright swirling tendrils of sorts going down into the bottle from the bottom of the cap, the tendrils seemingly made of actual gold. Interestingly enough, each bottle had a small pair of golden wings that stretched out from either side of it, giving it a divine appearance.
"Anybody know what these are?" Brute asked. Darrah pouted out her bottom lip as she shook her head, saying "No, never seen these before. Ah well." They all put the mysterious potions back into their packs, looking around for what else there could be. They each had a lamp, as well as a wrapped-up apple pie. There were a few corked bottles of water, as well. Pushing their spare clothes and Guild Seals into their packs, the apprentices suddenly returned. They had weapons in their arms, this time. They each handed an iron longsword to the new Heroes, as well as a yew longbow. Because the girl Timoteo had kissed was handing her weapons to another of his friends, he wasn't able to talk to her. "Why am I getting a bow? I'm a Hero of Strength, I don't do ranged combat." Brute said. The apprentice that had been handing him the weapons said "Don't ask me, man. I'm just doing my job. I guess the bow is just a part of the starting gear."
Darrah raised an eyebrow, speaking in a bit of an unimpressed voice as she said "Explains why I've got mana potions in my pack." Looking over to Timoteo, she called out "Hey, Tim! Want my mana potions? If you don't take them, I'm just going to sell them the first chance I get." Timoteo raised his eyebrows, saying "Okay, sure." Darrah walked over, handing him her two potions. Brute came over then, giving his mana potions to Timoteo as well, saying "I'm not gonna need them, either." Although Gibbons wouldn't need the potions any more than Darrah or Brute would, he decided to hang on to his to sell them. Timoteo slipped the four mana potions into his pack before the apprentices started to leave. Just before the last one left, he looked over his shoulder, saying "Oh, by the way...That's it. You guys can go or do whatever, now." Brute chuckled, the apprentices all leaving. Darrah pulled up the mattress of her bed, muttering "I'm not gonna leave this for some random apprentice to find..."
Darrah pulled out the steel longsword Gibbons had stolen for her on her seventeenth birthday. The blade was of a keener shine than an iron longsword, and runes in the Albion written language were inscribed all along the blade near it's two edges. The cross-guard was a deep yellow, similar to gold, yet Darrah knew it couldn't have been, gold was much too valuable a metal to use on a simple steel sword. The handle was carefully wrapped in black leather, so one could keep their grip easier. The pommel was unadorned with anything fancy, simply being made of the same dark yellowish metal of the cross-guard. Darrah's face was thoughtful as she said "Now, how am I gonna hide this thing until I get out of the Guild?..." Gibbons grinned, saying "Pass it to me, I have the perfect plan." Darrah looked at him disbelievingly, but Gibbons insisted, saying "No really, I have the perfect idea! It can't fail, trust me!" Darrah sighed inwardly before handing him the sword, Gibbons pulling his pack up on his back.
The packs had special loops and sections for weapons, Gibbons hanging his bow from some of these sections. Holding his sword in his left hand and Darrah's steel longsword in his right, he looked around, saying "Well...I don't know when we'll bump into each other again, but it'll hopefully be soon. I'm gonna miss you guys." Everyone said something similar in return, and within a minute, everyone was ready. As they began to leave their room, Darrah asked "Now, you're sure that-" Gibbons smirked, playfully saying "Noooo worries, Darrah. I've got this aaaall under control." As they headed down into the main room of the Guild Building, where the Map Table resided, people were still slowly emptying out of the Chamber of Fate, but the flow of people was just starting to subside.
As they began to walk past the Map Table and head towards the large wooden gates that started the path out of the Guild, they all heard someone call out "Hey, where'd you get the steel sword?" Darrah's eyes widened. "Crap." She muttered. Gibbons' eyes went wide, and he swung his arms around like mad, kicking his legs out comically as he whooped and cried out, making a sound similar to "Whoooo dubba-dubba-dubba-dubba!" as he ran to the large wooden doors up ahead. Timoteo and the others just stood still, caught off-guard by Gibbons' silly display. He fled through the gates, Timoteo and the others not even looking back, just leaving the Guild after a few moments, as well.
Timoteo took in a deep breath as he exited the Guild for the first time in eight years, walking out into the sunshine. He felt like a noose had been taken from around his neck, he felt a sense of freedom, of captivity ending. Although he liked the Guild in some aspects, he had disliked others, especially the loneliness...Maybe now he could find like-minded mages to converse with? Gibbons handed Darrah her steel longsword, Darrah fastening her yew longbow and iron longsword to her pack, just holding her steel sword, then. Gibbons said "Well, I'm off to Bowerstone. Gonna pawn off my stuff and maybe get some daggers, I always did prefer them over swords. I'm gonna try stealing some stuff just about all day, too." Brute said "I'm off. My family's all the way in Knothole Glade, so I've got some travelling to do, as in, I need to get on a boat. Maybe my family can set me up with a greatsword, who knows?" Timoteo asked "Should we wait for Calvin?"
The others shook their heads. "Nah, he'll be fine." Gibbons said. Darrah said "Greatwood is close to here, and I heard it's got bandits all over the place. I'll head into there, kill a bunch, get some gold, rinse and repeat. Tim? Do you even really have any plans?" Timoteo raised an eyebrow slightly, shaking his head a little, saying "No...Not really. To tell you guys the truth, I hadn't really thought much about this day...I was too busy just dealing with the day to day, you know?" They all nodded. "I understand." Gibbons said. It took her a moment, but Darrah eventually asked "...Well, if you really don't have any plans...Want to come with me? A mage might be nice to have for support." Timoteo narrowed his eyes a little, raising his eyebrows, repeating "Support?" Darrah smiled broadly, giving him a wink, saying "I'd split the loot with you equally, of course..." Timoteo smiled then, but his eyes were still a little narrow, his eyebrows were still raised.
"Well...Sure. I don't have anything else planned, so...Why not?" Darrah grinned, saying "Okay then, it's settled. Let's head out." The group began to walk along the path that trailed away from the Guild, but when they reached Bowerstone, Brute and Gibbons had to part from Timoteo and Darrah. "I'll see about getting on a boat to Knothole Glade from Bowerstone Quay." Brute said casually. Gibbons jokingly said "There be treasure about!" Timoteo and Darrah chuckled, Darrah hugging Brute and Gibbons in turn, Timoteo and the other two boys giving each other a pat on the shoulder in farewell. "See you guys around." Brute said. Gibbons raised a hand in farewell, the two groups splitting up. Brute and Gibbons headed down a path that led down a hill, Darrah leading Timoteo along a path that trailed exactly opposite to Brute and Gibbons'. Heading down a wooded path in silence, they eventually began to enter the thickness that was Greatwood...
Darrah tread along with her steel longsword in her right hand, Timoteo not holding either of his weapons. They walked deeper and deeper into the massive forest, the sounds of nature buzzing around them, the fresh air filling their lungs. They spoke little as they walked along, something Timoteo wasn't uncomfortable with. Darrah didn't seem to be uncomfortable with it either, but Timoteo couldn't be sure. Eventually, after walking for at least three hours, Darrah stopped, saying "Avo, I'm starving! Let's bust out our apple pies, huh?" Timoteo smiled a little. He was feeling hungry, too. "Sure." He said. They found a pair of rocks nearby, taking a seat on them, unshouldering their packs. Sitting close together, they reaching into their packs, fishing around for their wrapped-up pies. Just as Timoteo's hand found his pie, Darrah said "Tim...You know, you're being awfully quiet..." Timoteo raised an eyebrow, looking to her. Her face was calm as she looked to his eyes.
Timoteo coolly said "You know me, Darrah...I don't talk much." Darrah looked down to her pack, her face still calm as she quietly said "You used to talk a lot...When we were kids. What happened?" Timoteo paused for a few moments, eventually saying "...I got lonely." Darrah looked to him, raising an eyebrow curiously. Timoteo didn't look at her as he softly said "With Bianca gone and Travis dead, I was the only mage among us...All those days of training on my own...Not having somebody to really connect with...I don't know, I guess it just made me quiet." Darrah pulled out her pie as she gently said "What do you mean, you didn't have anyone to connect with? You had us." Timoteo pulled out his pie, saying "Yeah, but...I mean, you talked to Brute about Strength stuff. Marst talked to Gibbons and Calvin about Skill stuff. With Bianca and Travis gone, I didn't have another mage I could really connect with, you know?...I wasn't alone, I had you guys, but...At the same time, I was lonely..."
Darrah was quiet for a few seconds, cutting herself a slice of pie with the small knife included with the food. "I guess I understand what you mean..." She eventually said. They both took a bite of their slices of pie, Darrah swallowing her's before he did, saying "But, c'mon, look around us, Tim. We're finally out of the Guild, we're finally Heroes, we're out in Greatwood...We're alone, we're hunting bandits, we're armed and dangerous!" Darrah grinned a little, but she quickly relaxed once she saw that Timoteo hadn't smiled at her words. Darrah lightly bumped him with her left shoulder, saying "Are you still feeling lonely?...Don't you have anything to say about our situation?..." Timoteo took another bite of his pie. With his left elbow on his left knee, his eyebrows raised, and his eyes lazily half-closed, he struck a rather lethargic pose. He shook his head a little. "I don't..." He sighed softly around his mouthful of apple pie. "Hard to explain." He finally said.
Darrah blinked once or twice, looking to her piece of pie. They were silent from then on, the two of them finishing up their slices of pie. They were just about to wrap up their pies when they heard several sets of footsteps approaching them. Quickly wrapping up their pies, they pushed them into their bags, standing up. Darrah grabbed her steel longsword, glancing towards her right, where the footsteps were coming from. They heard a gruff man's voice speak mid-sentence, saying "...Is this spider-woman, anyway? Isn't she usually in forests and such?" Another voice said "Yeah, but there's no guarantee that it's Greatwood, and besides, whaddya think, she's just gonna appear to anyone? Pfft!" Darrah stepped out into the path fully, revealing herself. She saw a group of four men, all dressed in rather ratty clothing, none of their clothing pieces matching with one another, almost as if their outfits had been pieced together from scraps.
None of them were really wearing armour, just outfits that, at best, had the protection of leather and, at worst, no protection at all, with just skin showing. "Oh, what do we have here? A little girl who thinks she knows how to use a sword, har har!" Darrah's face went annoyed. Timoteo walked out into full view, as well. Because their Guild Seals were in their packs, Timoteo didn't find it unusual for the men to not realize that the two of them were Heroes. Timoteo saw that the four of them were armed with iron longswords, one of them having a leather bag slung over his right shoulder. Darrah, in a rather polite voice, asked "Excuse me, good sirs...But would any of you happen to be bandits?" The men all broke into laughter. One of them nodded, saying "Aye, that we are. That's a nice sword, girl. Why don't you toss it to the ground, and we won't carve up that pretty face of your's?" Another one of the bandits suddenly shouted in a furious voice, commandingly crying out "Drop your goodies or I'll gut ye myself!!"
It hardly took Timoteo a second to react. Shooting an arm up, he blasted the one that had shouted with a strong beam of electricity, the bandit's eyes going wide as he was thrown into the air. The energy had hit him so hard that he flew back a few feet, crashing down to the ground on his back. The other bandits fell silent, gasping a little, looking over their shoulders in surprise. "They're Heroes!" One of them said. Darrah dashed towards the nearest bandit, swinging her sword at his throat, nearly beheading him in a single blow. Darrah froze for a moment, looking at the blood coating a portion of her blade. She seemed surprised at the realization that she had just killed someone. Because of her pause, the second nearest bandit attempted to swing his blade into her stomach, but Timoteo saved her, blasting that bandit with a powerful jolt of Lightning, as well. He was thrown back to the first bandit Timoteo had attacked, who was just getting up to his feet then.
Racing towards Timoteo, he raised his sword, letting out a fearsome shout. Timoteo launched a fireball straight into the man's chest, the man bursting into flames, screaming and shouting in pain as he fell to the ground. Timoteo hit him with another ball of fire, killing him. The last standing bandit swung his sword at Darrah just as she overcame her shock, swinging her sword over and crashing her metal against the bandit's own. They hit their blades against one another a few times, trying to find an opening to strike one another safely. Eventually, Darrah grew angry, unleashing a Flourish. Very quickly, she spun around to her left, ducking low slightly as she did so. Diagonally swinging her sword incredibly powerfully, she struck the bandit in his right elbow. She severed the limb entirely, sending it, as well as the bandit's sword, off to the side. The man's eyes went wide, a scream of pain coming from him, blood squirting out of his wound.
Still angry, she spun to her right, letting out a light shout as her blade hit the right side of the bandit's neck. She decapitated him, the slain bandit's severed head and body collapsing to the ground. Darrah didn't seem as surprised with this man's death as she had with the previous one, and she turned her eyes to the last bandit, the one Timoteo had knocked away from her with Lightning. He was lying on the ground, temporarily stunned, too dazed to move anywhere. Darrah marched over to him, raising her sword with the point aimed down at the man's chest. Plunging her sword down, the bandit gave a shriek of surprise and pain, the sword piercing right through his torso. A moment after, he sighed in death, going limp. Darrah pulled her sword from him, panting gently as she turned and looked back to Timoteo. He looked back at her quietly. "We...Killed them..." Darrah breathed out. Timoteo nodded. "Sounds like they wanted to do the same to us." Timoteo said calmly. Darrah knelt down by the man she had just killed, cleaning her sword, wiping her blade against his clothing. Standing back up, she said "Was us or them..." "You okay?" Timoteo asked, compassionately. Darrah nodded. "Yeah...I'm fine." She was silent for a few seconds before saying "Let's grab their stuff, hmm? Check their bodies, let's see what we earned..."
In the end, the bandits had seventy-six gold pieces on their body, as well as a health potion. They had various hunks of wrapped-up meat, all cooked. Other than that, they had their swords and clothing. Everything was taken from them except for their clothes. The gold pieces were small and flat, circular in shape, shining delightfully. Darrah let Timoteo keep the gold in his pack, while she kept the health potion and meat. Timoteo carried three of the swords, Darrah carrying the fourth one. Darrah glanced up to the sky as she said "Let's just leave them here. It's already late in the afternoon...If we head back to Bowerstone, we can reach the place by night. We can sell this stuff at a blacksmith, then get some beds at the inn, there's a cheap one in Bowerstone South that I know of. Come on." Timoteo nodded. As they began to head back along the way they had come from, Darrah said "It was nice having you there to fight with me, Tim...A mage is handy to have around, I suppose."
Timoteo raised an eyebrow, looking over to her. She didn't look at him, her eyebrows raised, a little a smile on her face. He smiled a little, looking forwards, saying "A fighter isn't too bad either, even if all you can do is use a sword." Darrah smiled more, looking over to him, narrowing her eyes a little. She bumped him with her left hip, saying "I can do more than use a sword...I could use a mace, a morning star, an axe..." She trailed off, and the both of them ended up laughing. They spoke a little more while exiting the forest than they had when entering it, but there were still long stretches of silence. When they finally left the forest, true to Darrah's words, it was already dark out. Walking down the path that Brute and Gibbons had set down earlier in the day, the two only walked for a few minutes before finding a large stone bridge that spanned over a thick river. On the other side, they could see the high walls of Bowerstone South.
Along the bridge, there were several armed guards, all dressed in blue uniforms with black swords in their hands. Walking along the bridge to the large wooden gate, they pushed the massive doors open, walking into Bowerstone South. Since it was already practically night, the streets were almost entirely empty, and the vendors at their various stalls were already getting ready to close down. Tall houses made of light brown wood stood on either side of the road the two of them were on, the two of them looking around for a few moments. Darrah turned to Timoteo and said "Pass me the swords, I'll go sell them really quick. Just wait here for me in the meantime." Timoteo said nothing, handing Darrah the swords, Darrah rushing off with them shortly afterwards. Timoteo waited for nearly twenty minutes, but when Darrah returned, she had a sack of gold pieces in her hands, a big smile on her face. "I sold the swords for a hundred and thirty-eight gold each. We've got five hundred and fifty-two gold pieces now, not including the gold we got from the bandits. C'mon, let's get some beds for the night. This way."
Darrah led Timoteo off towards a large building nearby, a building that had it's door wide open with light pouring out from it. Stepping into the building, the strong heady scent of alcohol wafted out around them. The floors were made of brown wood, while the walls had a sort of white paint along them. A large fireplace to the right was lit up, casting a cheerful glow around the building's large single room on the first floor, as well as providing warmth. There were tables everywhere, each one having multiple chairs set at them. Candles were on every table, lit up and providing additional light and warmth. There were multiple people seated at most of the tables. To the left, there was a large staircase leading upwards, but past that, there was a long counter with a bartender behind it, several large kegs of what must have been ale set up behind him. Timoteo and Darrah walked deeper into the building, approaching the bartender. "How much for a bed upstairs?" Darrah asked.
The bartender put his hands palms-down on the counter, saying "Fifteen gold per bed." Darrah started to fish around in her bag, pulling out fifteen gold coins, handing them to the bartender. A moment later, she pulled out another fifteen, handing them to the bartender, as well. "Alright, let's go." Darrah said, Timoteo walking after her. She led him up the nearby flight of stairs. The second floor was similar to the first, having nothing but a single large room, no walls separating anything. Filled throughout the room were beds, the beds all having similar green sheets. There had to have been at least two dozen of them, by Timoteo's reckoning. Only two or three had people sleeping in them, leaving almost all of them free.
Darrah walked across the room until she reached the far corner of the room, resting her bag down, pushing it under her bed. She rested her sword under her bed, just then realizing that she hadn't sold the iron longsword she had gotten as a part of her supply pack from the Guild. She decided to sell it in the morning as Timoteo headed over to the bed beside her. Like her, he pushed his belongings underneath his bed. A moment later, the two began to undress, folding up their clothes neatly once they were finished and tucking them under their beds, as well. Feeling rather tired by then, Timoteo plopped down on his bed, getting under the covers. He heard Darrah silently crawl into her bed, Timoteo falling asleep hardly a few minutes later...
As he slept, Timoteo's Guild Seal shone within his pack, unknown to him. Giving off a gentle blue glow, it illuminated the interior of his pack. This was being caused by someone reaching out to him, trying to establish a connection with him. Timoteo would recall later on that he had a strange dream his first night out of the Guild, a dream which would be largely forgotten in the morning. The most he could remember were flashing images of frightening trees, all tall, dark, and almost gnarled, lacking any and all foliage. Darkness was everywhere. Frightening creatures prowled about, particularly tall humanoid beasts with sharp fangs and claws as well as bloodthirsty eyes, their bodies covered in dark fur. He heard a soft voice, reaching out to him, asking him to, strangely enough, find the person that owned the voice. He saw frightening images of what looked like red balls of light, rapidly zooming around what looked like a hut made of dark rock, the hut sitting in the middle of the dark forest that he had been seeing constantly moments before.
He saw flashes of a Guild Seal, but it didn't look like the ones he and his friends had gotten; this one looked a little more crude, made of black stone and gold, the Guild's symbol on the front being only partially formed, made of red gemstones. He saw several flashes of a large eyeball, always staring at him, the iris of the eye totally red. The gentle voice asked him to find the owner of the voice once more. Timoteo wasn't sure about the next part, as he says it might be his mind playing tricks on him; just before he awoke, he thought he had seen skeletal hands reaching out of the grounds, pulling themselves out of the dirt, the bones of arms reaching out of the dirt rapidly. He awoke in the night then, having been rolling around in his bed in a cold sweat. He lay awake for a minute or two before he fell back asleep. In the morning, he tried to make sense of what he could remember, but he didn't recognize the voice from his dream, nor did he recognize the dark forest with withered trees.
He held off on explaining his dream to Darrah until after she had sold her spare sword as well as her bow, leaving her with only her steel sword. "Sounds like Darkwood, to me." She remarked when he was finished. "Darkwood...Where's that?" He asked. "To the south, far to the south. Past Greatwood, through some caves. Probably the most dangerous place in Albion. Filled with balverines and trolls. Wisps, too." She said calmly. Timoteo thought for several seconds before saying "...Feel up to making the trip down there?" Darrah raised an eyebrow at him, looking as if she were going to say something before she stopped herself. The two standing outside in a street of Bowerstone South, their belongings with them, they stood still while some villagers walked around them. Darrah waited for a few seconds before saying "...Look, if we're going to go down to Darkwood, we're going to want to prepare properly." Timoteo nodded.
Darrah spoke seriously as she said "We're going to want to pack quite a bit of food; it's a long trip, and we don't want to eat any of the crap that grows in Darkwood. We're going to want to get some armour too, and some potions." Darrah put her hands on her hips as she said "We don't have nearly enough gold for a proper suit of armour or two, and just killing bandits in Greatwood will take forever. I say it's time we did a Quest Card or two. Skorm's teeth, we might even find someone willing to offer some armour as a reward, though I doubt it. What do you say?" Timoteo grinned. His first Quest Card! "Sure! I hope there's some still kicking at the Guild when we get there..." Darrah smiled, pleased with his enthusiasm. "Should be. It's early in the morning, after all. Come on, let's get going." The two headed off to the gates of Bowerstone South, exiting back out to the bridge, heading on their way to the Guild. It hardly took them half an hour to reach the Guild, walking into it through it's massive front gates.
Walking up to the Map Table, they saw the large front room to be empty. While Weaver, as Guildmaster, had almost always stood by the Map Table to greet visitors, Merlin was often in his study, pouring over grimoires of old. Walking up to the Map Table, they peered down at it. The Map Table was round in shape, and down upon it, a large and detailed map of Albion was sculpted, with the mountains sticking higher than land, the ocean resting lower than land. At various points around the map, there were red dots, marking towns or otherwise important locations. Resting at several of these red dots were small tan-coloured cards. On each one, there was a prominent Guild symbol, but there were three variations: the regular symbol for neutral or otherwise morality-free quests, a dark version of the Guild Seal with red and black colours marking blatantly evil quests, and a more heavenly version of the Guild Seal with yellow and blue colours for obviously pure quests. Looking near the Guild for any quests they could undertake, they found one quite close to the Guild as well as Greatwood. Picking up the Quest Card, Darrah read the writing on the card, beneath it's heavenly Guild symbol.
"Bandits have taken residence in the picnic area! They chased everyone off, killed several, and are now just sitting around and stuffing their faces on the food everyone left behind! If there are any morally upstanding Heroes that wish to free the popular picnicking zone, there's six hundred gold in it for you!"
Darrah smiled, saying "There, that sounds good, don't you think?" Timoteo said "Sure, only thing is, it doesn't mention how many bandits there are...There could be twenty, for all we know." Darrah winked at him. "We can handle it. Let's take it, alright?" Timoteo shrugged. "Sure." He said. Darrah found the quill and small pot of ink nearby on the table, signing both her name as well as Timoteo's on the back of the Quest Card. Flipping it over so the signatures were showing face-up, she placed the Quest Card back where she had found it on the map. "Alright, let's kill some bandits!" She said with a broad smile, the two exiting the Guild once more, heading out after their destination...
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Fable : Fall of the Guild