Post by Gwydion Nefarine on Oct 8, 2009 22:27:12 GMT -5
((I know this isn't exactly 10 pages yet. More to come. By the way, can someone let me know how to indent? And if you see any mistakes, let me know.))
Thunder crashed again in the distance. Rain fell heavily on the thick forest that no light could penetrate. A man in a black hooded cloak walked amidst the chaos. Heedless of the weather, he walked on. Though he could barely see in the black night, he navigated his way through the wood with ease. He knew the way.
He walked about a mile further in, and then stopped at a small clearing. He brushed his wet, black hair out of his eyes with a gloved hand. Someone had taken advantage of the security this place promised. In the middle of the clearing was a small cabin.
No one could have found it if they did not know where it was already. The forest was a maze. It was considered cursed by the townspeople that dwelled on the borders of the forest. No one had ever come back after going in. At least, that’s what they thought. One could easily get lost in the labyrinth. And there were diverse types of dangerous creatures and great beasts, many of which the man that now walked through the wood had seen and fought. But he had been in and out of the forest several times. He knew a path that was relatively safe, more so when it was pouring rain as it was now doing.
The man stopped momentarily and frowned - more than usual, anyway. Something didn’t feel right. And his instincts were usually right. He patted his left thigh with his hand, to assure himself that he still had his scimitars if anything went wrong. Satisfied, and ready for anything, he approached the cabin.
The cabin was made of wood from the surrounding trees. There was a single window, near the door. Light emanated from it. The hooded man approached the dwelling.
He knocked on the door.
Once…
Twice…
Thrice…
After a series of locks being undone on the inside, the door opened. A bald head popped out. “Ah! You’re back. Did you find what you were looking for?” The man in the cabin never opened the door more than enough to poke his head out. The hooded man replied. “I believe you already know the answer to that.” The man in the cabin simply laughed. “Come in, come in, lad.”
He opened the door a little wider. He was probably in his middle or late fifties and had seen his fair share of life already. He was shorter than the hooded man and a little overweight, but was still muscular, and also had a fairly long beard. The hooded man walked through the small opening after being in the rain and put his hood down, revealing a man with tan skin and shoulder-length hair as black as night, in his late twenties. “Hagan, I want to know why you fed me false information.” The other man, Hagan, chuckled, “Of course, of course. I knew you’d be back.”
Hagan went on. “So, what did you find exactly?” The visitor shook his head, a disgusted expression on his face. “Nothing. Nothing at all.” Hagan looked at him quizzically, as if he didn’t believe him. “Now, don’t ye be unreasonable. You never find nothing. Something is always there, is it not?”
The man withdrew two helms of steel from his cloak and threw them at the Hagan’s feet. “You knew he would be there, didn’t you?” Hagan chuckled again. “So you did find something?” After a long silence, Hagan grew serious. “What was it, Eithusela? What did you really find?”
Eithusela sighed. “He was there.” Hagan looked at him gravely. “And what happened?”
“He escaped. The guards tried to bring me in. I took care of them.” He motioned to the two steel helms.
“Anything else of any importance?”
“There was one there who tried to protect him. What became of him, I do not know.”
“You’ll have to kill him eventually.”
“I know. But how can I kill someone I can’t catch? I might have skill, but he has luck. Luck that has saved him time and time again. I don’t know what to do.
“It doesn’t matter how you do it. You have to kill him for you and me.”
“I know.” A long silence passed. “But, anyway, that’s not who I was after. What about my original target?”
“It’s simple. You kill him, you find your original target.”
“What? What do you mean?”
Hagan chuckled his chuckle of insanity again. “You’ll find out eventually.”
Eithusela gave up trying to reason with the lunatic. “So, do you have any idea where he is?”
“I’m afraid your guess is as good as mine,” he said through tears of laughter.
“Well then, if you’re not going to help me, I’ll be going.”
Hagan suddenly stopped laughing and grew stern. “What?! With this rain? You’re a loony. At least stay until it dies down.”
Eithusela shook his head in disbelief. The old man had never told him how he had lost his mind, most likely because Hagan was not aware that he had lost his mind. “I have to go. I’ll come back after I’ve completed my mission.”
As Eithusela put his hood back up and opened the door to leave, he heard Hagan mumble something about the day’s younger generation and how they did not have any sense. He closed the door behind him, going back into the heavy downpour of rain for the long return journey.
When he got to the end of the clearing, he got the same bad feeling he had before. It’s nothing, he thought. It’s only my imagination. Very few can come this far into the forest and fewer still that could find this place. Hagan is safe. He can defend himself. With that, he stepped into the forest, into the tree-infested abyss that lay before him.
Thunder crashed again in the distance. Rain fell heavily on the thick forest that no light could penetrate. A man in a black hooded cloak walked amidst the chaos. Heedless of the weather, he walked on. Though he could barely see in the black night, he navigated his way through the wood with ease. He knew the way.
He walked about a mile further in, and then stopped at a small clearing. He brushed his wet, black hair out of his eyes with a gloved hand. Someone had taken advantage of the security this place promised. In the middle of the clearing was a small cabin.
No one could have found it if they did not know where it was already. The forest was a maze. It was considered cursed by the townspeople that dwelled on the borders of the forest. No one had ever come back after going in. At least, that’s what they thought. One could easily get lost in the labyrinth. And there were diverse types of dangerous creatures and great beasts, many of which the man that now walked through the wood had seen and fought. But he had been in and out of the forest several times. He knew a path that was relatively safe, more so when it was pouring rain as it was now doing.
The man stopped momentarily and frowned - more than usual, anyway. Something didn’t feel right. And his instincts were usually right. He patted his left thigh with his hand, to assure himself that he still had his scimitars if anything went wrong. Satisfied, and ready for anything, he approached the cabin.
The cabin was made of wood from the surrounding trees. There was a single window, near the door. Light emanated from it. The hooded man approached the dwelling.
He knocked on the door.
Once…
Twice…
Thrice…
After a series of locks being undone on the inside, the door opened. A bald head popped out. “Ah! You’re back. Did you find what you were looking for?” The man in the cabin never opened the door more than enough to poke his head out. The hooded man replied. “I believe you already know the answer to that.” The man in the cabin simply laughed. “Come in, come in, lad.”
He opened the door a little wider. He was probably in his middle or late fifties and had seen his fair share of life already. He was shorter than the hooded man and a little overweight, but was still muscular, and also had a fairly long beard. The hooded man walked through the small opening after being in the rain and put his hood down, revealing a man with tan skin and shoulder-length hair as black as night, in his late twenties. “Hagan, I want to know why you fed me false information.” The other man, Hagan, chuckled, “Of course, of course. I knew you’d be back.”
Hagan went on. “So, what did you find exactly?” The visitor shook his head, a disgusted expression on his face. “Nothing. Nothing at all.” Hagan looked at him quizzically, as if he didn’t believe him. “Now, don’t ye be unreasonable. You never find nothing. Something is always there, is it not?”
The man withdrew two helms of steel from his cloak and threw them at the Hagan’s feet. “You knew he would be there, didn’t you?” Hagan chuckled again. “So you did find something?” After a long silence, Hagan grew serious. “What was it, Eithusela? What did you really find?”
Eithusela sighed. “He was there.” Hagan looked at him gravely. “And what happened?”
“He escaped. The guards tried to bring me in. I took care of them.” He motioned to the two steel helms.
“Anything else of any importance?”
“There was one there who tried to protect him. What became of him, I do not know.”
“You’ll have to kill him eventually.”
“I know. But how can I kill someone I can’t catch? I might have skill, but he has luck. Luck that has saved him time and time again. I don’t know what to do.
“It doesn’t matter how you do it. You have to kill him for you and me.”
“I know.” A long silence passed. “But, anyway, that’s not who I was after. What about my original target?”
“It’s simple. You kill him, you find your original target.”
“What? What do you mean?”
Hagan chuckled his chuckle of insanity again. “You’ll find out eventually.”
Eithusela gave up trying to reason with the lunatic. “So, do you have any idea where he is?”
“I’m afraid your guess is as good as mine,” he said through tears of laughter.
“Well then, if you’re not going to help me, I’ll be going.”
Hagan suddenly stopped laughing and grew stern. “What?! With this rain? You’re a loony. At least stay until it dies down.”
Eithusela shook his head in disbelief. The old man had never told him how he had lost his mind, most likely because Hagan was not aware that he had lost his mind. “I have to go. I’ll come back after I’ve completed my mission.”
As Eithusela put his hood back up and opened the door to leave, he heard Hagan mumble something about the day’s younger generation and how they did not have any sense. He closed the door behind him, going back into the heavy downpour of rain for the long return journey.
When he got to the end of the clearing, he got the same bad feeling he had before. It’s nothing, he thought. It’s only my imagination. Very few can come this far into the forest and fewer still that could find this place. Hagan is safe. He can defend himself. With that, he stepped into the forest, into the tree-infested abyss that lay before him.