Here is a Book I have started (Jades Peak, Chapter One)

[Zazzul]

Chapter One

The village was a small and quite one. There were small grazing animals roaming around the village houses slowly eating the grasses and weeds that tried so hard to spring forth from the ground only a week before. You could hear kids not too far away playing and giggling. The sun was just starting to make its way behind the mountains that were only a week’s horse ride to the northwest, giving away to shadows and a cool breeze coming from its snowy caps. You could see people slowly closing their shutters and starting fires in homes, as a thin middle aged man slowly walked the village paths, stopping at corners to light a street lantern to prepare for the coming night. The village of Milladine was a typical village in these parts of the Voyagers Valley and was started like most as a rest point and trade route between the City of Twilights Sea and the Kingdom City of Jades Peak. It was very common to see unusual travelers in these parts. Until tonight…

As Brandon finished lighting the last lantern on his favorite corner, he sighed with relief as he looked over at his favorite late night hangout, The Red Griffon Tavern and Inn. As he walked in he saw the person that drew him here every night. He smiled to Darla as she finished serving a table of travelers at the center long table. She saw him in a glance and smiled back to him and started to make her way to his table. She wore a simple tavern maids dress with blues and whites with white and blue ribbons in her hair pulling her long brown curly hair away from her face. She had a very pleasant face and a figure of a girl that worked hard and did her justice. Her curves and lushes breast made her appear more like lady then a tavern maid. “One Ale for our hard working man of the streets?” she said as she reached Brandon’s table.

“Yes please Darla, and a bit of chicken would be excellent this evening.” He replied.

Darla smiled and made her way to the back, and disappeared into the kitchen, where pots and pans raddled with a subtle song of cooking in progress.

Brandon looked around at the travelers eating at the center long table to notice one that stood out more than the others. A man in worn and battle weathered armor and a large broad sword strapped to is back. His helm was placed on the table next to his plate and had a look of a demonic face with a thick set of braided hair that made their way off the edge of the table top. His face was that of a seasoned warrior filled with grit and old scares. His eyes showed a depth that gave Brandon a cold shiver to even think of the things this man had seen in his life journeys. The braided salt and pepper hair flowing down his back to just below his shoulders showed he had been traveling for sometime without access to bathing. But something told Brandon that the man probably had no cares of this matter. Brandon jumped as Darla suppressed him by placing his ale and plate of chicken down in front of him, just as the warrior made eye contact with him.

“They came in just an hour ago from Twilight Sea. The one you were looking at, I think he is a Reaper,” whispered Darla.

“A Reaper? What would make you think that?” he replied as he looked back over to the warrior again. He was in the company of three kingdom officials to which he did not recognize their station heralds. “He hardly seems the type to be a Reaper.”

“None the less, I saw his arm; he has the tattoo and wears the medallion of such.”

Brandon’s eyes widened. He had never seen a real Reaper before. They were more of a myth now that the Necromancers of Narda were all hunted down buy them almost 30 years ago via the Kings request. After the Necromancers started taking over the East and threatening the Kings rule there. All of the old tales of such powerful warriors started rushing back to the front of his mind from their stored areas of his childhood in Milladine. He didn’t even realize he was staring rudely at the warrior or that Darla had been called back to the kitchen. Then his concentration was broken when he saw the mans reaction to something one of the officials had said to him just moments ago as another seem to produce something from a pocket within his robes and placed it on the table next to the warrior. His warn brow tightened as his face got tense and his eyes almost appeared to glow with anger and hate as he looked at the item placed before him. “It is not possible! I refuse to believe such stories! Who would do such a thing much less be capable of such horror to one of the order!?!” yelled the warrior in disgust.

“Calm yourself, these are private matters not to be announced in such surroundings” said one of the officials.

“Calm myself you say? How dare you!” as he lifted his hand as if to strike him, then with reluctance, slowly lowered his arm. “I would have you know I have just lost a close friend and trusted partner to the likes of a sadistic and obviously twisted person or persons unknown and no one knows a thing about how or who and you expect me to remain CALM! You’re the ones that should have been dead, not him! He gave his life for you to keep living and I am staring to thing it was a poor choice.”

“He told us to run, Marcus! It was his decision that we did so, the information is very valuable to the king and he saw that. Do you dare question his judgment?” said the middle official as he stood to add infuses to his words.

The warrior seemed to not even flinch at the actions of the official as he stood his ground and drew his fist back read to strike the official down, as a stream of Lightning flew into the tavern doorway and lashed out at the warrior throwing him back against the far way and then slowly slamming him down to the ground. Brandon quickly turned his head to see a dark figure standing in the doorway, as he jumped to the floor for safety, just in time to see the figure raise his other hand and another stream of lightning flashed from his fingers and struck the officials in the same manner as the officials as they screamed in agony as they flew across the room. Quickly Brandon kicked over his table to shield him from an such attacks. He turned to look as Darla came running out of the kitchen to see, what was the matter along with the cook. Just as she entered the room a familiar stream of lighting lashed out at her and the cook and his stomach turn as he saw her flung in to the depths of the kitchen along with the cook and her screams echoing in his head. Brandon’s heart started to pound and a fright and anger both started to fill his chest. Now he heard a whispery voice from the figure at the door, “Shattu!”

As he peered around his table he saw four scaly humanoid figured enter the room from behind the figure. They appeared to have scaly muscular human bodies with heads of that of a snake. They wore strange armor and similarly strange jagged swords in their hands. They seem to rush the long table as the largest of the four grabbed the amulet from the long table in a haste and held it up for the figure to see. Then it ran back over to the figure with the amulet in hand. The other three had spotted Brandon on the floor and rushed over to him. He tried to use his legs to make haste along the floor to back up only to be stopped by the wall to his back. The closest thing reached out and grabbed Brandon by the neck and raised him up off the floor with the greatest of ease and held him pinned to the wall with the floor a good foot below his feet. He pried at its clawed, scaled hand trying to fight for a breath as his throat was being crushed from the strength of the creature. As he struggled to breath the world started to go black around him, all he could see was this thing holding him like he was a toy to be played with, then he felt the burning sensation in his shoulder as this thing sank its fangs deep into his flesh and he could feel something more had followed and burned all through his side as it spread through his blood. Then just as fast as it had grabbed him it dropped him and he could breath, but the burning continued to spread. As he gasped to try and catch his breath the world slowly cam back into view as he jumped slightly back to see two of the three that had come after him, laying on the floor in front of him, headless and their blood quickly pouring around their corpses. Brandon looked up to see the third one that had attacked him, with a large Broadsword blade being displayed from his chest as it opened its mouth to scream but seemed to have no breath. Blood flowed from the wound as it slowly lowered to its knees and he saw the warrior behind it, twisting his sword in its backside. The warrior quickly removed the blade from the now dead corpse and rotated to engage the forth creature as it charged the warrior from the doorway. Brandon noticed the figure had left to the street but apparently not before starting a fire that engulfed the doorway and front wall of the building. The creature tackled the warrior and they rolled along the floor. Brandon got up to shaky legs but forced him self to stay up as he rushed to the kitchen to check on Darla. He collapsed as he entered the kitchen and realized he was having troubles breathing. The burning was starting to take over his entire body now; he laid there looking around as he saw his beloved Darla, with a chard burn in her chest and her eyes wide open. He almost managed a scream as he realized she was not breathing, and then the world went black to him as he drew his last conscious breath.
_________________
Zazzul Hammerfists - 63 Iksar Monk
Daggun Wildfire - 52 Assling Druid

[Zazzul]

Marcus gasped as the scourge tackled him, almost knocking the wind from him. They landed along the top of a sturdy table and rolled off the top to the floor. His sword slid from his hand and fell just out of reach. “Damn you foul beast, you will not have me as you had Lucas!” he shouted into the beasts face, and moved his head just in time to dodge the quick bite attempt the scourge made at his face. Scourge was a foul magically created race. A twisted form of their once human selves, once long ago a village of humans were tricked into following a false god thinking her to be all powerful. Once the Necromancers raided and killed all of their priests, they twisted their bodies and removed their minds to make servants of Narda, the Queen of the Dead and the Wicked. They fought out of instinct and obeyed only the darkest of hearts. They has small amounts of intellect that let them function as slaves and lackeys to do their masters bidding. They loved the taste of flesh and killed anything they can sink their poisonous fangs into. But the last time Marcus had seen one was almost 30 years ago, when he helped slaughter the Necromancers of Narda. It seems the foul creatures have found a new master, and this was a bad thing he knew deep in his heart.

The fire started to spread rapidly along the wood and paneling causing the ceiling to fill with a thick and dark gathering of smoke. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the stumbling figure of the young man that he just helped make his way to the kitchen. He looked again into the face of the beast and began to realize his shoulder was burning. He had been scratched by the fangs of the scourge and was starting to feel the powerful poison making its way into his body. He knew he had to act fast. He twisted his leg around the leg of the monster and managed to get leverage enough to flip the creature off of him and into the table they were just on. He then rolled to get a hand on to his sword and the blade again danced with powerful magic and started to laminate with a soft blue light. He rose to his feet just in time to get body checked by the foul creature yet again and this time his sword lodged it self into the stone beam that supported the ceiling and he was unable to remove it from his back. Again he tried to twist his leg with that of the beasts but the beast knew this maneuver already and quickly pulled itself up to sit on his waist, pinning the hero to the ground and it reared back ready to strike at his face once again with its venom dripping fangs. He rolled his arms out of the creatures grip and grabbed it by the waist and shoved its head and torso, slamming it into the stone support, dazing it. He again rolled this time straight to his feet and he was ready. The scourge rose and drew its blade from its hanger from its waist and again charged the warrior. Marcus was ready this time and quickly raised his left arm to block the blow. The sword bit deep into his bracer and found his flesh underneath. Without even the slightest concern, the man reached out with his right arm and grabbed the beast’s shoulder, blocking it from its attempt to punch him with its free hand. He then quickly placed his foot into the creature’s chest and shoved it from him with one strong shove of his leg. The creature flew back and rolled over the top of a table behind it. It was now that Marcus noticed the flames around him and the smoke building in the room. He glanced around the room and saw that the flames had engulfed the room’s exits, except one, the kitchen. He quickly ran to the door and opened it just as he remembered, HIS SWORD! He turned around and ran back just as the beast rose again. Now very angry with the warrior, it leapt at him. He almost managed to dodge this act, but was caught by the scourge’s left arm and again was dragged to the ground by its strength. “Funny I don’t remember your kind being this strong, or intelligent.” Then Marcus backhanded the scourge square in the back of the head smashing its face into the floor and he rolled onto the scourge’s back. He then began to grab the sides of the snakelike head and started to smash it into the floor again. After the creature seemed dazed enough, he then reached around and grab the creatures lower jaw and with a quick jerk and a satisfying loud snap the creature lay motionless. Now the burning in his neck spread to most of his body and he knew he would be to weak to move soon. Now he was fighting the venom and the smoke to breath and he was loosing. He crawled to the pillar and made a reach for the sword handle and found that his arms were getting heavier. He tried several times to pull the sword free but to no avail. As the room started to darken around him he laid on the floor excepting his fate. As he glanced once more to his sword, he smiled, the sword was glowing white and in this he found comfort.

Marcus came conscious just long enough to see a familiar Elven face, Sanabeth. With Marcus draped over the dwarven shoulder of Namkis, and Marcus’s sword being drug in his powerful dwarven hand, the three of them made way to the opening in the flame that Amethyst was making with her magic staff.

“There is another one in here! He is alive, but fading fast!” announced a large human male from the kitchen doorway.

“Grab him quick Jake, this place is about to collapse!” shouted Sanabeth.

Jake scooped up the young man, and made haste to the opening in the fire. Once outside in the street, he rejoined his friends. There laid Marcus and Brandon on the ground, facing up. There was an elvish woman kneeling between them with her hands glowing with a dark blue hue as she placed her magical touch upon their chests and they begin to breath easily again. She was dressed in very shiny plate mail with a religious symbol of a Phoenix displayed largely upon her chest plate and bracers. Joelyn started to mumble, “With Arrun’s blessing, please allow me to heal these brave fallen soldiers so that they may fight evil once more…” and as if her prayers were answered, the wounds closed and she removed her now normal hands from their bodies.

“Nice work Joe. They seem much better now,” said Sanabeth as she stood up revealing her finely woven chain mail shirt and bracers, wearing a bright green tunic underneath. The chain mail glistened with the firelight as it reflected off the silver and white gold shine of her armor. She carried a similar designed long sword as Marcus’s on her side in a sheath. “Wonder who this lad is?”

Jake straightened his black studded leather tunic and looked down at the two lying on the ground. “I am just glad we made it in time to save Marcus. Something told me he would start without us,” chuckled Jake.

“Did you see the Scourge, Jake?” asked Namkis. “Who would release such foul creatures upon this land?” Jake nodded to the dwarf.

“That is what we intend to find out my friend,” announced Sanabeth.

“Who ever they are, they have to wield powerful magic’s to control them. I hope the Necromancers are not trying a come back.” Calmly stated Amethyst. They all nodded in agreement and knew only their recovering comrade could answer this.
_________________
Zazzul Hammerfists - 63 Iksar Monk
Daggun Wildfire - 52 Assling Druid