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[Shadowhawke]

Righto, folks. Due to general demand, we've decided to start up a new Community Fanfic. Basically, a Community Fanfic is a story that writers take turns to continue, following on from the last chapter and posting your own. If you want an example, you can find the old one here. Remember, everyone is welcome to participate if they adhere to the general fanfiction guidelines, which is mainly to treat everyone and everything such as issues of race and gender with the utmost respect.

Now, Kellen has kindly offered to post the first part, but after that, it's fair game for anyone to jump in and add a chapter. That said, let the writing begin!

[Kellen]

Dawn. The sun crept over the horizon inch by slow inch.

And it found Alrian abed in his chambers, where he would be for a few more hours if today were a usual day. However this day was no such thing as usual. As the first glance of light drifted through his window he threw off the covers and bounded for the door, a book lying forgotten upon his bed.

He fairly flew down the stairs, and barely avoided a collision with the chef, who merely rolled her eyes and took a quick sidestep to avoid the youngest of the Bennens. A swat followed the boy taking him on the rear with her large wooden spoon, though the touch was light.

The cook continued to the kitchen smiling. Alrian Bennen had seven summers to his name and four brothers and sisters. Marian was the oldest, nearly ten minutes separating her and her brother, Sareth. Not as different as night and day, they still had few similarities. Where Sareth enjoyed his studies in the realms of literature and history, Marian found her studies drawn to other subjects.

But neither?s studies had prepared them for the war they were dragged into. But that was all over. Today they were both returning home, and Alrian had been up all night to ensure he was ready for them.

They would have the best welcoming party they could imagine. No, it would be better.

[Shadowhawke]

With his backside still stinging slightly from the cook's swat, Alrian skidded out into the courtyard. Seeing only his mother and father there, standing quietly against the rising sun, he felt a mixture of disappointment and relief wash over him. Relief that he had not missed their arrival, and yet disappointment that they were not there yet.

Seeing his parents standing silently, linked only by their hands, he trotted up to them and raised his hopeful face. His mother, noticing the tug on her skirt, let a tiny smile creep across her worn face. Heavy bruises lay under her eyes; Countess Bennen had been near sleepless ever since her two eldest had been called for war, and that had been almost three months ago. She smoothed his hair back with her fingers.

"You are up early," she said gently.

Count Bennen laughed approvingly, although it was quieter than his normal boom. "It is good to watch the sun rise, isn't it lad?" At Alrian's nod, he continued. "And even better that this rise might give us back Marian and Sareth."

"Hopefully," the Countess responded, before her eyes were drawn once again to the horizon. "Although I... wait! Dust is coming from the road."

"Horses!" squealed Alrian, and he would have run to meet them had the Count not suddenly grasped him firmly by the arm. Eagle eyes swept across the distance separating the three and the dust cloud, and he frowned. "It looks like a lone horseman. Surely..."

His words died away, and they waited tensely, frozen against their will as the horseman drew ever closer. Soon, they could see the early sun reflecting off steel as the man materialised. He pounded up to the open gates and entered at a trot. Wide-eyed, Alrian saw the sweat beading off the horse's flanks and wondered how far they'd come.

"Count? Countess?" the man dismounted and walked towards them, not noticing Alrian's small figure behind his mother's dress. "I bring news."

[Jarno Mikkola]

"The King's men cannot protect this village," and there was more, but as Alrian's mother had turned to face Alrian, he could not hear more than these words.

With tears begining to dropping from her eyes, she encouraged him to return to their home and warn his siblings to pack what they had for a hurried escape. The only words he could recognize from the speeches after, as he rushed towards his home, was "goblins". But a clear sign that this was more than just a random goblin attack came, as a huge boulder grashed into the villages granary, a few seconds later.

As Alrian came to the house, he did as he was asked, took the few weapons they had and began to command the rest of the flock for the departure. Then Alrian runned upstairs to his room. Few minutes later when he came down, most of the movable objects they had in the small house were already packed to a cart.

As a house nearby grashed under a boulder simular to the one that fell the granary, it was time to move. When Alrian and the others came to the main street few houses were on fire, and the people on the street were on chaos. He saw Marian commanding a few soldiers at putting the fires out. When they came to her, she said, "This is futile, we need to save these people. Ah, Alrian, I need you to scout us a safe way out." "Yes I will." He Said.

It went well, at first. But then another boulder came down to where Alrian was just a few seconds ago, and the resulting dust cloud blinded him for a quite long time. In it Alrian lost the track where his siblings were, and after there was no sign of the soldiers nor Marian or his other siblings.

Then he came to the villages main and only gate where he saw Sareth, his elder brother. He came to Alrian and gave him their fathers short sword, with the words, "Keep this for protection. Another goblin wave will come soon."

There was a massive humanoid form about a fifty meters away. And the goblings attacked again.

Edited by Jarno Mikkola, 15 July 2007 - 07:34 AM.

[Erephine]

He barely remembered the insanity that ensued.

All he knew was that somehow, between the screams, the billowing pillars of smoke, he lived.

He was faintly aware of chanting in the distance, and then the first flakes of snow falling silently. With the snow growing heavier and obscuring the world from him behind a white veil, he realised he was hopelessly lost. He only remembered the snow, the snow falling, and turning red.

It was not much of a fight. Walls and houses alike fell under the massive boulders still raining down, and the few men of the village could not stand against the horde swarming over them. He didn't know how long he had been running, the sword heavy and useless in his hand. Silently grateful that no one seemed to notice him in the fray.

He had not seen his brother again since they had been separated. The worst thing was how utterly helpless he felt. He knew he could not go back, it wasn't as if there was anything left to go back to, and he didn't even know where to turn. Couldn't tell whether the shapes he saw moving beyond the snow were friend or foe. He was blind, alone, and lost. And yet, he felt strangely empty.

The next thing he knew was the world exploding in a bright red flare, and it was only when his head painfully hit the rock that he realised something had struck him. With his head throbbing he looked up, dazed, and as the red mists cleared from his eyes he could see the pale girl leaning over him, barely able to hold the heavy mace in her hands, and shock written on her face.

Edited by Erephine, 15 July 2007 - 10:59 AM.

[Celestine]

"Hey, I'm not a goblin." Alrian managed to yell as he struggled with the bump on his head and the dizziness that resulted from the blow.

The girl's grip on the weapon tightened. She gritted her teeth and held the weapon closer to her small body, raising it in an attempt to strike again.

"Hold it!" Alrian struggles to stand, both hands went to rub his throbbing head, dropping the short sword he had been holding. The girl's gaze shifts to the sword on the ground and then back at him again.

He managed to withdraw a few steps from his attacker and looked at the girl. Her face was white with fear, her hair in disarray, and her eyes - they were wide-opened, staring intently at him.

Alrian swallowed hard and tried again, in a more confident tone. "I'm not with the goblins."

His words seemed to work somehow, as the girl lowers her mace and drops it on the ground. Tears flowed from her eyes, her soft sobs became hysterical cries. Despite the pain, Alrian felt sorry for the girl. Gathering his courage, he approaches the girl, and risks stretching a hand and pats her head. "It's alright now."

[Shadowhawke]

Alrian was surprised when she pushed his hand away angrily. "Get off me!" she snapped, tears still running down her face. He stumbled back a little, shocked, as she gradually began to get herself under control. He studied her, both wary and curious. Obviously she was not with the goblins. Yet he had not seen her around the village before, he knew that. He would have recognised her otherwise; her pale golden hair was smudged with dirt, but it was still distinctive. He'd thought at first that she must have been only a little older than he, but as she wiped away the last of her weeping, he realised that she was much older. Possibly even Marian's age! Although she was small, her face looked like she was at least a decade older than him.

"Give me the sword," she suddenly said.

"I... I can't," he stuttered, scared now. Sareth had said to keep it for protection, hadn't he? "My... my brother gave it to me to protect myself. It's... it's our father's."

She wrinkled up her nose, and then slumped, dejected. "I can't believe this," he heard her mutter to herself. Then she went over to where she had dropped the mace and gave it a kick. "Stupid thing," she grumbled. "Why couldn't that goblin have had a sword like the others? Why did I have to lose mine to escape one of those cursed boulders?"

Alrian moved his head to follow her movements, and then winced as it throbbed dully in reminder of the whack she had given him. It still hurt, badly. He was lucky that she seemed to have been as uncomfortable wielding it as he had been; a seven year old caught in a battlefield! "Um... sorry," he said quietly. "But I... I ran from the village. But I don't think that there's anything to go back to."

He seemed to have startled her out of her thoughts. "What?"

Steeling himself, Alrian walked over to where she was. He came up to her chin; he had never seen such a short almost-adult person. "I don't have anywhere to go. Could you help me?"

She gazed at him inscrutably, and then laughed shortly. Some of her pale gold hair escaped its bindings and wisped past her ear. "I should be finding a horse and reporting back to the main garrison."

His heart sunk. "Oh, okay then." Now what? Was he going to wander out here in this awful place until he died?

She laughed again, bending over to pick up the short sword and giving it hilt first to him. "I hope you can use that," she said grimly. "Because if we get ambushed finding the refugees from the village to dump you with, then I'm not going to be much help unless I get the chance to rest and regain my spells."

[Celestine]

"Spells?" Alrian was confused, perhaps he had not heard the girl correctly due to the pain in his head but he accepted the offered sword. The girl did not look like someone capable of casting spells; spells were reserved for wrinkled people with pointy hats and white hair. He shook his head fervently, hoping to clear the haze surrounding his senses.

The girl rolled her eyes at his reaction and replied wryly. "I'm a wizard. Is that so hard to understand?" She looked at herself and then gazed back at the boy, finally realising the reason for the boy's confusion. "I'm a halfling, haven't you seen one before?"

Alrian blinked in surprise. "Halfling..." he repeated the words until sudden realisation dawn on him. "Of course..." He nods in understanding and smiled, the first smile he flashed since the attack.

"Stop wasting time." The halfling started walking towards the garrison without turning back.

"Wait... I haven't got your name." Alrian rushed to follow the girl.

Edited by Celestine, 24 July 2007 - 09:14 PM.

[Erephine]

?Well I don't know your name either.? she turned to look at him.

?Oh... um...? he faltered, ?I'm Alrian.?

?Ah.?

?My mother is the Countess Bennen.?

?Well, that's nice.? she said icily and continued walking.

He struggled to keep up with her. How could she walk so swiftly for someone barely taller than he was?

?So what's your name??

When she didn't answer, he gave up and glared angrily at the ground instead. She didn't seem impressed that he was the son of the Countess. He thought that maybe she was upset, but couldn't figure out what he had done wrong to deserve it. She had been the one to almost knock him out hadn't she?

She was supposed to know what to do, right? But she didn't act at all like the grown-ups he knew. Maybe she wasn't really a grown-up yet? He struggled to remember something his mother had told him once about growing up, but his head still throbbed and he couldn't.

?And since when are halflings wizards anyway??

It was only when she stopped dead and her fists clenched that he realised he'd spoken that thought out loud.

She looked almost as furious as his sister when he had spilled that grape juice on her white gown. Well, almost.

[Kellen]

"What?! Should Halflings all be entertainers or spies? Are all humans warriors? Are only Aldarar the masters of magic? Elves the only defenders of nature? Dwarves all smiths? Gnomes all masters of mechanics and alchemy? Your world is very small, Alrian Bennen."

The Halfling turned around and started moving again, while questions spun in Alrian's head. Dwarves, and Gnomes, and Elves, and Halflings? All races that he had not once met. He had thought they were myths. Their house had one of the Aldarar, as she called them. He'd always called them ogres.

But if Halflings weren't myths what about the other races? And how had the goblins made it here? He'd been told he could handle a goblin on his own, but now...

Now they were destroying his entire home.

[Celestine]

The halfling ignored the boy and started walking again, her steps light and quick. In a short while, she had managed to set a small distance between them. "How do you walk so fast?" Alrian grumbled behind, trying his best to match the halfling's pace but his fatique was slowing him down.

Unfortunately, the halfling heard his words and hissed at him. "Just because we halflings are shorter, doesn't mean our legs are any less effective than human's!"

Alrian blinked in surprise, noting to himself not to speak his thoughts out aloud, now that he had learnt of the halfling's good hearing. He coughed awkwardly and smiled sheepishly at her. "Sorry, just thinking out loud... er, Lady ..."

The halfling's expression remained hard and scowled at him. "Mirabella... Mirabella Quickfeet." She replied wryly.

[Jarno Mikkola]

"And don't you give me any of that crap about my feet, they are delicate beings, that can surprice even the most tallest men." Then she became more angry, she quickly closed the cap between them and pushed Alrian to the ground. "I know what you are thinking, and I don't appreciate to be called 'Rabbit foot' just because they are hairy and fast. And remember they are the only reason you are still alive!"

It was strange, it was as she had heared his thoughts! Yes that must have been it, how else would she have quessed him calling her 'Rabbit foot' and again as he thought those words inside, her face distorted for a second, no more, just a second. Yes, that must have been it. But then it vent back to the normal halfling half-smile, as she lifted her hand to help Alrian back to his feet.

Then she said. "Now, we must find a shelter from the night, as the goblins will be coming back and I can't carry you back to the castle." The last part of the sentice came with a handful of salt. "You have got any good suggestions, as I do not have very accurate map from this area?"

[Shadowhawke]

He quickly cast his mind over what he knew of the land, before sadly shaking his head. "I'm... I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I... I never was let out of home much without someone taking me somewhere to town, so I don't really know much about outside of the town."

It really didn't help that all he could think of now was the image of his house, left scattered in ruins.

Mirabella pursed her lips. "Very well then," she said a little sourly. "We'll have to just make do with what we find, I guess."

Alrian fell into step behind her, marvelling at how quickly and softly she seemed to move. He tried to mimic her gait, after a while, but gave up when his feet twisted under him and he fell headfirst into a pile of leaves. She snorted and helped him up, before moving on.

They seemed to walk for at least an hour before the halfling finally paused. "This should do," she said. And then a weary smile crossed her lips. "What do you think?"

Alrian peered curiously aorund at the place. The clearing ahead of them was white with seemingly untouched snow, surrounded by a ring of hoary, ice-ridden trees that slumbered underneath their coverings. As they stepped into the protected circle, the chill wind that had been biting at them for so long seemed to lessen. He found, to his surprise, a smile on his lips.

"This looks beautiful. Like it were made for us."

Mirabella laughed, before striding ahead and examining the rest of the clearing. "We'll have to do something about covering our heads," she remarked. "Otherwise we'll be frozen the entire night. Here... go collect some of those slab stones. They'll do."

He turned to where she was pointing, and saw a large pile of rock between the trees. He frowned as he stepped towards them. As he got closer, he realised that the stone was piled neatly in regular chunks. Slowly, a memory began to dawn.

"There's a quarry around here somewhere," he said hesitantly. "I remember Sareth mentioning it once."

Mirabella paused. "Did you hear whether the quarry was well-defended?"

He shook his head helplessly. "No, I'm sorry."

She chewed her lip. "This quarry may be something we should investigate tomorrow. Perhaps the refugees were sent there."

At the thought of him seeing his family again, Alrian's face lightened up and the halfling laughed. "That's for tomorrow, though, " she said firmly. "For now, move those stones over to the middle of the clearing, and then I'll see what I can do to make us a serviceable shelter."

Alrian grinned, nodded, and then turned back to the pile of rock.

[Jarno Mikkola]

The rocks were heavy, the distance was great, for a young Alrian, as he began to move a stone. Sweat began to pour from his pores. It took a long time for him to drag even one stone, and he would need at least twenty of them.

The minutes felt like days. And as he began to watch what Mirabella did, they didn't feel any shorter, she was mixing some herbs, he felt like he would have to drag the stones forever.

When he had brought the fifth, his body desited, it was enought, he fell on his knees, and then to the ground. The sweet cold of the ground, felt fantastic. For the few seconds it lasted. But then the words "We need more of them." of her voice, bought the the bad fealings of failure. And as he climbed back up, Mirabella sayed. "What you need to do, is to bring more of them at the same time, so you'll be quiker." The stare at the eyes, comfirmed what the her voice told. She wasn't kidding.

And even in the unbelief, he toke two of the heavy rocks with him, and as they soon fell back to the ground, they had moved to where they were intended. In the shock, he saw Mirabellas smirk, and he know he had been betrayed, some how! But a few minutes later the rock circle was complited, and Alrian's face was at aw.

But soon, his tired mind and body began to yearned for sleep, and he layed himself on the ground in the circle and began to sleep.
----
But the sleep didn't last long, and as he opened his eyes, he saw a mans face! The mans finger was on his lips, and he sayed, "Sshh, they are coming."

[Celestine]

"What?" Alrian scrambled onto his feet and looked at the man who woke him. His face was dirty and dried blood covered his chin. The man smiled and Alrian saw that he was missing two of his front teeth. He motioned for the boy to follow him.

"Who's coming?" Alrian asked the man wryly, his eyes searching for the halfling and found her missing.

The man did not reply, his only response was his quickened footsteps. Alrian hesistated, his instincts warning him against following the stranger. Instead, the boy called out. "Mirabella... Where are you?"

The man turned around and quickly caught Alrian in his scawny arms, one filthy hand covered the boy's mouth. "Shh, quiet now."

[Choo Choo]

Alrian struggled at first, but then realized that his attempts were futile and while he did not relax - how could he, carried along by a none-too-trustworthy stranger, his home in shambles and Mirabella mysteriously gone - he stopped wasting away his energy.

When they reached a dead-end ravine, the man muttered "Almost there.." and put the boy down on the ground. "And now we have to climb, lad, so I can't carry you - but don't even think about running away on me, or you'll regret it."

Alrian nodded vigorously, but couldn't help but open his mouth - there was too many questions buzzing about in his head. "W-who are you? Where are you taking me, where is Mirabella, do you know anything about my village, just wh--"

"Quiet, boy!" the man snorted. "All in due time. Now, time to start climbing."

[Jarno Mikkola]

There was an old rope climping down the ravine, it seamed as it had been there forever, it was badly damaged and could hardly stand Alrians weight. "I came up from that, so it will hold your weight." The stranger said. "Now, go!" And as Alrian turned to face him, there was nothing there just trees and bushes, the stranger was gone. But something said in Alrian that he needed to clime down. So he did.

And after a few feet of climing down the ravine, Alrian notesed something moving in the bushes near, he began to give more his weight to the rope so he could climb down more rabbitly. A few seconds later he saw a something in the shape of a wolf coming to the edge of the ravine. As it did, it notesed Alrian easily and began to bark. "They are here!" A man called. Then Alrian slipped and fell a few feet down the rocky hill. Fortunatly for him there was a cliff that he fell onto, or he would have been a goner.

Then Alrian felt like there was lightning in his skin as a lightning bolt flashed the 12 feet above him, at the edge of the ravine. After with he saw a man in a steel armor and the dog falling down, too far away from the wall of the ravine. And as they landed, Alrian didn't need to look, he knew. They were both dead. Another two dead bodies because of him, this didn't bother him now, but it would, eventually.

Mirabella came to Alrians view, "What are you staring, we need to go." As Alrian crabbed the rope to climp up, Mirabella said, "Thank you, but it will probably only hold me, so let go that I can come down and go on already. Yes, we need to go down, not up here. There are too many enemies, but don't worry, Ragamon will keep a guard for us. Yes, the man you just met."

[Celestine]

As Alrian let go of the rope, Mirabella slid down easily. She gave the boy a side glance and shook her head. "What am I doing with a boy tagging behind me?" She asked no one in particular, not expecting the boy to answer her.

"What are you still standing there for, fool? We need to get out of here." The feisty halfling pulled the boy's hand and dragged him along. She moved quickly, without waiting. It was only after a moment when she no longer felt the boy's weight pulling at her arm that she let go of his hand and looked at him.

Alrian had somehow managed to keep up with the halfling, walking quickly behind her. Mirabella gave him a look of approval and continued onwards.

Several hours after entering a dense forest, they heard the sounds of people talking and discovered the aroma of roasted meat in the air. Their stomachs groaned in response to the delicious smell and they looked at each other.

Alrian had a silly grin on his face, embarrassed at his stomach's reaction. Mirabella spared him a wink and rubbed her own belly. "It may be a camp, but we had best be careful. It could be an enemy's camp... Quiet that belly of yours as we approached."

The boy nodded profusely and followed the halfling.

[Shadowhawke]

As they approached, it seemed to Alrian that not only did Mirabella have ridiculously quick feet, they were also incredibly silent. The forest floor was covered with sticks and leaves and undergrowth, and it seemed that he couldn't move an inch without making something rustle. A few times, the halfling paused to glare at him in semi-exasperation, semi-understanding, but she did eventually slow her pace to allow him to step as carefully as he could. It was at this careful, cautious speed that finally took them to the edge of the camp, where Mirabella took his hand and pulled him down behind a cover of bushes.

From between the leaves, Alrian could vaguely make out the picture of people gathered around a campfire, eating. The appetising smells were incredibly strong from here, and he tried in vain to stop his stomach from rumbling again. The Halfling next to him turned her face to meet his.

"Shhh!"

"I can't help it," he whispered agonisingly.

She was about to make a cutting retort when a echoing response from her own belly sounded, and then she shook her head and tried not to smile. "Alright then," she murmured back. "We'll just have to..."

"Well, what do we have here?"

The two froze in place as a man's voice came from above them, and a hiss of naked steel hovered inches above them. It seemed to hang there for ages, while Alrian didn't know whether to speak or to even breathe. Finally, the voice came again.

"You look familiar... turn around, both of you."

Silently, they obeyed, even though Alrian could feel Mirabella's anger coiled up in her body next to him. The man surveyed the two closely. "Refugees?" he asked after a pause, and as Alrian's heart began to beat slower, he realised there was kindness in that voice.

Mirabella was about to reply to the question, when the man suddenly looked closer at the pair. Using his empty hand, he crouched down and swept aside some of the dirt on Alrian's face, and then uttered a sharp exclamation. "By the Gods! Hang on a minute!"

He withdrew the sword and almost ran back into the camp. Mirabella and Alrian exchanged mute glances, frozen to their positions by indecision. And then the man was back again, tugging an all-too-familiar woman by her hand.

Her black hair fell in ringlets down her tunic. She was bloodied and gashed and covered with dust and soot. But he recognised her.

"Marian!"

"Alrian!"

He collapsed into her strong and loving arms and burst into tears, letting the reality of the situation fall in on him. He had been attacked, seen his house destroyed and his village smashed all in the space of a few hours. He had seen blood, he had run, he had subsisted in a state of fear and anxiety. But now, for the first time in what seemed like years, Alrian was safe.

[Jarno Mikkola]

After the pleasantries had been said, Marian excused herself for there was thing she had to do, so that Alrian and Mirabella could stay. But before that she pointed out a nearby fire that the campers were trying to setup and asked them, to join the campers.

A little later, when Alrian and Mirabella had settled themselves down near the fire , Marian came to see them.
"Sorry it took some time for me to get the man to listen, but now that that's taken care of you can stay."
"But why are you still here?" Mirradella said.
"Well a-ah, of course I needed to see my brother on his way back to us." Marian said and smiled.
"But, uh-." (Mirrabella)
Marians reaction on what Mirrabella would be saying next, made Mirrabella to stop.
"Uh, yeah tomorrow I'll be personally taking you two with me, back to the quarry. But do you Mirrabella know where Ragamon is as I haven't seen him for a while now? (Marian)
"Yes, he should be here in a few minutes. But isn't this whole camp going to go back to the quarry?(Mirrabella)
"Ah" Marian hesitated a little, but then she continued. "No, there was another attack on other side of the ridge, and they need go there. So we need Ragamon..."
"So you do need ME!" Ragamon interrupted Marian and continued. "Isn't it wonderful thing how things change, a few days ago you said 'I'll never again need or want your help, never!' and today you already doo." And while Ragamon played his little impersonation, like the bard he had always wanted to be, Marian's gloves burned and she proceeded right next to Ragamon and tripped him on to the fire.
"Darn woman, I know you might like it hot and heavy, but playing with fire is a little out of my league." Ragamon said as he got up unharmed with the exceptions of a few of his hairs burned.

Marian just turned and walked away.