RPGBloggers NaNoWriMo – Short Story (Part 1)
Last month, I posted a call for RPGBloggers to create a short story as part of NaNoWriMo. We are now in the process of writing the story and here’s the schedule:
November 9th – Part 1 (posted here)
November 16th – Part 2 (posted on The Geek Gazette)
November 23rd – Part 3 (written by my friend Tom Martin and will be posted here)
November 30th – Part 4 (posted on Exchange of Realities)
Once all the parts are posted, I will make the complete story available for download after giving it a title. So, without further adieu, here’s part one!
1
“What do ye mean ‘we lost it’?!” the dwarf asked as he stared at the elf. “It’s an ogre, for crying out loud!”
The elf looked at his surroundings. “Something is wrong. The footprints simply stop. It has been easy enough to track the clumsy oaf up to this point; deep prints, broken branches, signs that anyone with enough sense could easily follow. But those signs are no more. The ogre has seemingly vanished into thin air.”
“Go get Morgril,” he told the dwarf as he knelt close to the ground. “Quickly.”
“Morgril? Are ye sure?” the dwarf asked suspiciously.
The elf looked up. “Go get Morgril, Durgin. We haven’t much time.” The elf continued to survey the area.
“Hmpf,” the dwarf grunted as he started to run back to town. “Ye better be here when I get back, Collin. I’ll not be saving ye this time.”
2
The frantic knocking at the door jarred Morgril from his studies. He shook his head, muttering something about ogres and research, and shuffled towards the door. He opened it just enough to see the panting dwarf standing there, his hands on his knees as he doubled-over.
“Yes, Durgin?” Morgril asked dismissively.
Durgin tried his hardest to catch his breath. “Collin…. forest…. ogre…. disappeared…”
Morgril raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying the ogre disappeared?”
Rather than try to answer verbally, Durgin just nodded.
“Wait one minute,” Morgril said as he slammed the door shut. He dashed about the room, grabbing potions, books, and materials. He had a feeling he would need as much as he could carry. He opened the door again, the dwarf still breathing heavily but not looking as if he were about to fall over. He was surveying the village sadly. Morgril followed his gaze.
The ogre had come out of nowhere, bent on nothing but destruction. He had decimated over half the village before Collin and the others had been able to drive him back into the forest. Only Collin and Durgin were brave enough to follow.
Morgril placed a hand on Durgin’s shoulder. “Let’s go,” he said softly. They quickly made their way into the forest, hoping to find the brute before he could get too far away.
3
Collin looked up as the branches snapped behind him. In a flash he was at the ready, bow in hand and arrow nocked. As he saw her, he lowered his weapon.
“You have done well, Collin,” she said in a voice that dripped sex. “Do you think they suspect anything?”
“I doubt it. Durgin is too stupid to think about anything other than the task at hand and Morgril is too senile to realize what he’s about to get in to.”
The woman smiled. “Good,” she said as she slinked closer to Collin. “Once we have sanctuary, I will make sure you are properly… rewarded for your efforts.” As she said this, she moved one slender hand down the side of Collin’s face.
Collin trembled slightly at her touch. She had always scared him a bit but that only made him want her more. “I look forward to it,” he said as he turned to the new sound coming towards them. “But now I think you had better get out of…” He turned around to see no one standing there.
“How the hell does she do that?” he asked himself before yelling to the noise. “Durgin! Over here!”
Durgin came bursting out of the brush first, his dwarven legs almost buckling under his own weight. “I… brought…. Morgril….” he managed to get out before vomiting into a pile of leaves.
Morgril walked out of the brush, throwing Durgin a disdainful glance before he proceeded to address Collin. “I hear our ogre vanished.”
Collin nodded. “Yes. The tracks lead to this spot and simply disappear. He didn’t go up into the trees, he didn’t go underground, and he didn’t get on a mount or a vehicle of some form. The only reason I can think this would happen is because of magic. Either he managed to make himself disappear or someone did it for him. I need you to find out what happened.”
Morgril nodded. “Sound reasoning, Captain. I shall do my best to find to where the beast went.”
Morgril put his bag down and pulled out a large, leather-bound tome. He turned the pages quickly and, when he found what he was looking for, started to gather supplies. After a few minutes, he had everything ready. He first outlined the area in question with silver dust and then drew symbols into the dirt with his staff. He stood in the middle of the outlined area, chanting ancient words which caused the symbols to glow and his eyes to turn milky-white in color. Collin and Durgin watched silently from the other side of the symbols.
Morgril began to speak. “The ogre was indeed here. He stopped, looked around to make sure no one was near, and pulled out a scroll. Odd, I didn’t know ogres could read. Regardless, he started to say the words on the scroll and immediately vanished.”
Morgril stopped. His skin went white and he started to tremble slightly. His dead-eyes turned to Collin and he spoke again, his voice full of venom.
“You! You have done this? Durgin, it’s a trap! Leave at once!”
Durgin couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “What? Ye old fool, take those words back lest I cut ye down!” He drew his axe and took a few steps towards Morgril.
For a second, Durgin could make out two distinct sounds; Morgril’s shouting “You fool! You broke the boundary!” and Collin’s laughter. That’s when the world went black.
![[Valid RSS]](../wp-content/uploads/banners/valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed")
