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Date Posted: 10:00:51 03/11/01 Sun
Author: Elric
Author Host/IP: ip134.hutchison.ks.pub-ip.psi.net / 38.27.1.134
Subject: ACC parts one through six
I only have a general idea of how much I've already posted, so here are the last few parts and most of what I've written but haven't posted. Anyway, in case you don't remember what's going on, it's right after Alia recovers and Venric takes her to meet Darrev and Erin.
I led her back to the inn we had been staying at. Darrev was in the front room, working on a flagon of ale. He looked up as we entered.
"You Alia?"
"Yeah, me Alia. Who you?"
"Darrev. His partner." He indicated me.
"Oh." She turned to me. "You said 'partners' before. I take it there's another somewhere?"
"Yeah, Erin." I looked at Darrev. "Where is she?"
"Went out for a while. Said she had something she needed to pick up."
"Oh." Alia and I went over to the table he was at and sat down. "Did she say when she'd be back?"
"No, but she said it wouldn't take long."
The front door opened and closed. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Erin. She was carrying a quarterstaff that had some sort of metallic inlay. After a moment, I realized it was copper. I made a mental note to ask about it later.
She sat down at our table. "You must be Alia." She said to the halfling.
"Yeah, and you must be Erin."
"Since Hiro took off, Alia's stuck here. She needs a job." I explained to Erin.
"Oh."
"I think she means a job like ours." Darrev put in.
"Yeah, I know who you are." Alia said, looking at him. "You're Darrev, the clown hater. And I know about the organization and your partner here too." She glanced at Erin. "I'm sorry, but I don't remember hearing anything about a half-elf wizard. Anyway, I'm a member of the organization back on Oerth, so it shouldn't be too much trouble getting me set up here."
"Wait a second!" Darrev exclaimed, slamming his fist down on the table, making the glasses rattle. "How do all these stories keep getting out about us?"
"Good question." I leaned back in my chair. "You see, most people don't know that the clowns are evil. So when one turns up dead for no apparent reason, stories start circulating and people get things penned on them, whether they had anything to do with it or not." I turned to Alia. "What have you heard about us?"
She thought for a moment. "I heard that you guys blew up an entire circus once, at night, when nobody other than the clowns were there."
I shook my head. "I heard that one too, but that was someone else. None of us has the power to do that." I glanced at Erin. "Yet."
"So we have a reputation that's not only bad, it's mostly undeserved." Darrev said sourly.
"Yeah."
"So, what do you say, will you help me get set up with the organization here?" Alia interjected.
I glanced at my partners, who just shrugged. I noticed that I was becoming the unofficial leader of this mission. "It's not really our call. Besides which, we don't know what sort of skills you have."
"I can fight."
"Everybody can fight. We don't know if you're any good at it though."
"Okay, let's fight." She said, hopping down from the chair.
"What?"
"You and me. Let's fight. I'll show you what I can do."
"Uh, no that's okay. I'm sure we could find a place for you."
"Okay." She said. " But I'll need a few days rest before I'm back at full strength."
I glanced at my partners. "I don't have any problems with staying here for a few days. Do you?"
Darrev shook his head. "No."
"I don't have any problems." Erin said.
"Good." Alia said. She glanced at me. "Um, not that it's any of my business, but is there something wrong with your arm?"
"I got hit on the shoulder a few days ago, while we were distracting the clowns so Hiro could get in and find you."
"Oh, well don't you think you should get it looked at?"
"Yeah, I probably should." I stood up. "I'm going to see the midwife. I'll be back in a while."
"Okay. See you later." Erin said.
I left the midwifes' hut an hour later, my shoulder feeling fine, and headed back to the inn. Darrev and Erin were sitting at a table in the front room. He was drinking, and she was studying her spellbook. I headed over and pulled up a chair. "Where's Alia?"
"Back in the room." Erin said without looking up. "Said she needed sleep."
"Ah."
"So what are we supposed to do about Alia?" Darrev asked.
"We're going to take her back to the organization ."
"Is that a good idea?" Erin asked.
"Well, she already knows about it, so I don't see how it could hurt."
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
Darrev finished his ale and set the tankard on the table. "We'll head to the nearest base and see what they have to say."
"You know where that is?" I asked.
He thought for a moment. "Ten minutes north-northeast of here."
"Okay. We'll go tomorrow."
As it turned out, Alia was already an agent of the organization on Oerth. After a little paperwork, it was decided that she would be working with the three of us on the next assignment.
We were to head north, into the mountains. There was supposed to be some sort of castle or stronghold there that had some sort of connection to the appearance of the clowns. We were told to go there and see what we could find.
We set out a few weeks later. It was getting to be late October, and the leaves on the trees had long since changed color and started falling off. As we walked through the woods, I noticed that nobody said much. The sky was almost perpetually overcast, and the short amounts of time that it did clear up, it was either late at night or toward dusk, and the clouds moved in again soon.
The cloudcover grew heavier with each passing day. I kept finding myself staring up at the sky, wondering when it would rain. From the dark gray color of the clouds, it was going to be nine hells of a storm when it finally let loose.
Ten days had passed, and still, nobody spoke except when necessary. I could only guess about the others, but being in the dying woods, with the perpetually overcast gray sky, was really bringing my spirits down.
We started on the road again early on the eleventh day. By my calculations, we would reach the castle sometime today. Somehow, the silence seemed appropriate to the situation. That was fine with me. Silence often said more than words ever could, in any language.
The tips of the castles' battlements appeared on the horizon toward dusk. Shortly afterward, it began to rain. It began with just a few drops, but it didn't take long for it to grow heavy enough to all but completely obscure almost any vision.
We were soaked long before we reached the front gate. Fortunately, the drawbridge was down and the portcullis was up, so we had no trouble getting in.
We passed the portcullis and entered into the main hall. It had a dust-covered black and white tile floor, and there was a large stairway near the back of the room.
There were three large windows in the walls, one on either side of the front door, and one on the west wall. Each one was in a niche in the wall, and had some sort of padding on the deep windowsill. The east wall was closer to the door than the west wall, and had a door that led to the dining area and kitchen.
On either side of the door were three torch-like objects, but instead of the customary pitch soaked rag on the end, there was some sort of gem or crystal. The crystal lit up as I reached for the handle of the torch. I removed it from its fastening to the wall and turned to the others. "We can look around tomorrow. Right now we should rest. Everyone take one of these." Despite my natural tendencies to stay away from the leader position, I found myself slipping into the mantle of a leader easily.
My partners each removed a torch from the wall. The crystals lit up as they touched them, and we started toward the large staircase at the back of the room.
The stairs led to a hall with several rooms on either side. The first six doors led to extravagant bedrooms, and the two beyond that were washrooms.
We each took a room for the night, Darrev and Alia on one side of the hall, while Erin and I took rooms next to each other on the other side of the hall.
I headed onto my room and took off my wet cloak, shirt, and hardened leather armor. I hung them in the closet, which held several regal, though dusty, outfits.
I drew my sword and dried it off on one of the outfits hanging in the closet. I leaned it up against the wall next to the closet, and removed the scabbard from my belt and leaned it next to the sword.
I slipped off my boots and lay down on the large bed in the center of the room, crossing my arms behind my head. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep, but I had trouble doing so. Eventually I surmised that it was because the bed was too soft, lay on the floor, and was asleep in minutes.
I awoke a short time later to the sound of a door opening and closing. I had learned, out of necessity, how to sleep lightly in an unfamiliar or unsafe place. I silently got up and grabbed my sword. Not drawing it yet, I moved to the door and placed my ear against it.
I heard footsteps pass my door, quick and light. I guessed that the person was either a small human or an elf, as the steps were too light for a dwarf, and too far apart to be a halfling or gnome.
I cracked the door open and looked down the hall. I couldn't see anyone, but I could hear the person going down the stairs. From the pace, they were either carrying something heavy, or they were unconcerned about being discovered. As I noted before, the footfalls were light, so I decided it must be the latter.
I darted back to the closet and slipped on my shirt. It would take too long to get into my armor, and it was easier to be quiet when I wasn't wearing my boots.
I left the room and followed the person down the stairs. I couldn't hear anything, and for a second I was afraid I had lost them. My apprehensions were put to rest when I saw Erin sitting on the windowsill, staring out at the rain.
"What's on your mind?" I asked as I neared her.
She glanced at me, then looked back out the window and sighed. "I don't know. I just feel bad."
"What do you mean? Bad how?"
She sighed. "I just feel…." She paused for a moment, then shook her head. "It's hard to explain."
"Depressed?" I asked, sitting down next to her.
She sighed again, and nodded slightly. "Yeah, I guess so."
"It's just the environment we've been in recently. You'll feel better when we leave."
She nodded again, still staring out the window. I started to get up to leave, when I noticed she still had her wet dress on.
"You should really get changed into something dry. Before you get sick."
She glanced down at her dress, and sighed again. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
She stood up, and we walked upstairs together. I walked with her to her room, and she motioned for me to come in. She sat down on the bed and looked up at me, her eyes reflecting the pale light given off by the torch on the wall. There was something odd about her, almost a tangible aura of ethereal sadness surrounding her being.
"Venric, come sit with me."
I sat next to her on the bed and took her hand in mine, noticing how cold she was. "Cheer up."
She sighed again and stared at the floor. "I'm sorry. I just don't know what to do. I've never felt like this before."
"Don't be sorry. You can't help feeling like this. It's just that the rain and being in this deserted old castle has affected you. A lot of people would feel depressed too."
"Mm." She continued staring at the floor.
"Erin, I know what it's like to feel like that. I used to be the same way. We're probably going to be here for a while, so you can't let it get to you."
"I'm sorry…" She began, but I cut her off.
"Don't be, it's not your fault."
"I know, I know, it's just…" She trailed off and sighed silently.
After a few minutes, she looked up at me. "Venric…"
"Yes?"
"Venric… just…hold me."
I had been half expecting this. I put my arms around her shoulders, and she wrapped her arms around my chest. She squeezed me close to her, burying her face in the crook of my shoulder. We held each other like that for a while, until I realized she was crying. I could feel her tears soaking through my shirt. I rubbed her shoulder through her still damp robe. "Erin, relax. It'll be alright."
She continued crying quietly. I kept talking to her in a low voice, trying to calm her down. We sat there for what seemed like a long time.
Eventually she calmed down and stopped crying. We sat there for a while longer, neither one of us saying anything. Eventually she let go and pulled back. There was a damp spot on my shirt from her tears.
"You okay now?" I asked.
She nodded. "Yes, thank you." She wiped at her face with her hands. "You're a really good friend." She dropped her hands in her lap.
"I understand. Sometimes you just need a shoulder to cry on." I said. "If you need anything, you come see me, okay?"
I stood up to leave, but she grabbed my hand. "Venric, please, don't go just yet."
I sat down again. She relaxed her grip, but still kept her hand on mine. She lowered her eyes to the floor and took a deep breath.
"Venric…" She began hesitantly. "I… I don't know what this is… but I think it's…"
"I think I know what you mean." I said.
She looked up at me again, and squeezed my hand. "Venric…" There was something odd about her eyes, though it was hard to tell in the pale light.
"I know."
She moved closer to me. "Venric, please, don't… reject me."
I put my arm around her shoulders again. She took my right hand in her own and leaned her head against my shoulder. We just sat there, my arms around her, her head on my shoulder, hand in hand.
After a while, she looked up at me again. This time I realized what was different about her eyes. They were violet.
"Your eyes…"
She pulled back slightly, and let go of me. "What? What about them?"
"They're violet."
"That's strange. They've always been brown before."
"Maybe because… the way you feel."
"I don't know. Maybe."
We sat there for a while longer. Eventually I looked down at her. "Erin, we should get some rest."
"Please, just a while longer… I feel warm… safe."
"Alright…"
We sat there, not saying anything. After what seemed like a long time, I looked down at her again. She was breathing deeply and steadily, and her grip on my hand had grown loose.
"Erin?" I asked quietly. No response.
I sighed silently to myself. Now I knew why she had asked me about my past and insisted on bandaging my shoulder. I had tended to think of her as sort of a little sister in the three short months we had known each other, but it had never occurred to me that she felt this way about me.
I sighed silently. I was glad she trusted me enough to fall asleep in my arms, but my back was starting to hurt from the position I was in. Slowly, so as not to wake her, I leaned back until I was laying flat on the bed, her head still on my shoulder, and her hand still in mine.
Eventually I allowed myself to be lulled to sleep by the constant drumming of rain on the roof and the steady rhythm of her breathing.
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:b) -- Phoenix The Rebirth A.K.A. Selphielover, 14:42:08 03/12/01 Mon (p3ee33fe2.dip0.t-ipconnect.de/62.227.63.226)
* sings jookeingly * Venric and Erin sitting in the tree,
K I S S I N G,
first comes love,
then come mariage,
here comes the baby in the baby cariage,
thats not all here comes the baby drinking alchol,
thats not all here comes the baby playing basket ball...
:b)
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Okay, hold on a second... -- Elric, 22:24:43 03/12/01 Mon (ip92.hutchison.ks.pub-ip.psi.net/38.27.1.92)
Okay, here's the thing, I wrote it like that because I thought it would add a sense a realism ot the story; to show that the characters are people, in addition to being crusaders against the evil bastardry known as clown. While I like Erin and consider her a friend, I don't actually feel that way about her. Even if I did, it would be pointless because we live nine time zones apart and the chances of me ever moving to Scotland are next to nonexistant. But remember; it's a story, a complete fabrication. None of this ever really happened.
I'm going to try to bring out the personalities of all the main characters throughout the course of the story. This is simply the one that happened to come up first, and it is the kind of situation that I imagine happening with the characters. The motivations and desires of the other characters (including Phoenix, who, on a side note, will be renamed) will also be revealed during the course of the story. Since the characters are based on actual people, and I am the one writing the story, the tned to take on a bit of my own personality. I know you were just joking, and I'm sorry if that sounded defensive or like rambling, I just wanted to make my point.
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Phoenix, you still can't spell. -- DJ Inky, 21:54:32 03/14/01 Wed (webcacheh10a.cache.pol.co.uk/195.92.67.74)
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I was only yokeing with you!!!!!!!! -- Phoenix The Rebirth, 06:29:24 03/13/01 Tue (p3ee33fc3.dip0.t-ipconnect.de/62.227.63.195)
Don't worry buddy i was only jokeing with you!!!! I just wanted to spice up some stuff!!!!!!
P.S. Don't you all LOVE Maddona!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?
" A heart can be broken but it still keeps a beating just the same... " Mrs. Ninny Threadgood.
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That's the funniest story I've ever read! Even beats the Bible for laughs!!! -- DJ Inky, 22:07:28 03/13/01 Tue (webcachem05b.cache.pol.co.uk/195.92.194.15)
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Hehe... -- Selphie, 23:30:53 03/13/01 Tue (host213-122-192-14.btinternet.com/213.122.192.14)
Wow, your writing style still amazes me Elric!
And hey, calm calm calm, he's only joking with you! ;) It's only a story, right? And I think that's a nice little development!
Oh, and Inky: SHUT IT! You haven't even read the rest of the story, so don't say stuff like that. >: (
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Hmm... -- Elric, 00:40:55 03/14/01 Wed (ip56.hutchison.ks.pub-ip.psi.net/38.27.1.56)
My writing style amazes you, huh? Gee, thanks, but I just write it the way I would want to read it. Anyway, I was wondering what you would think about it, and I'm glad you like it. And like I said, I know Phoenix was joking, I just wanted to make a point.
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WHAT?! -- DJ Inky, 21:50:47 03/14/01 Wed (webcacheh10a.cache.pol.co.uk/195.92.67.74)
I just think it's a very funny story, that's all. Keep yer minge on.
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dee-didle-ee... -- Selphie, 21:27:05 03/16/01 Fri (host213-122-179-14.btinternet.com/213.122.179.14)
Lol, I see you're definitely still the same wee Inky o' mine! ;) My minge is quite firmly on, thank you! And it intends to stay that way till it finds a better home! :P How's the DJing going anyway?
Luv 'n' Hugz,
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Fine, thanks for asking. -- DJ Inky, 21:11:50 03/17/01 Sat (webcacheh10a.cache.pol.co.uk/195.92.67.74)
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