Post by SuibuOgami on Jun 15, 2005 22:19:44 GMT
There once was a knight named Kale. Kale had proven himself the strongest, bravest, kindest, and handsomest knight of knights everywhere and had yet to be proven wrong. He lived in a castle with trusted soldiers and servants, all the gold he could want and was a confirmed bachelor. His life was set. All he had to do was sit back and enjoy life as it passed by. Nothing could go wrong for him; which was exactly what was wrong. He was going insane with boredom! He had lived a life of adventure, constantly living life on the edge. That was then; now, he was living it one foot in the grave. So on some nights, he took up the habit of dressing in black and sneaking out of the castle. And then, under the cloak of darkness, he would ride out into the countryside and search out the bandits plaguing this region of late, saving fair maidens and staving off dastardly deeds. On one of these such excursions, he was riding along the highway when he heard a scream.
The bandits laughed as they shoved the lone wagon rider down. The traveler was about to say something nasty when a rhythmic thumping reached the bandits’ ears. Suddenly, over the ridge came galloping Kale. The bandits, no strangers to this mysterious hero, contemplated running or fighting. The bandits scattered as he bore down on them, leaving the wagon driver kneeling in the middle of the road. He reined in his horse and dismounted. The wagon driver stumbled to its feet and threw back its cape, revealing a young woman. “Are you all… right?” A woman? Out here? Alone?! “Oh, I’m fine,” she said, annoyed. Kale stared at her; she was beautiful. She had brown skin and green eyes that fairly glowed in the moonlight, long brown hair that curved to fit her face and full, ripe lips. She, was in turn, studying him. With his black cloak covering most of his body, there was a lot to leave to the imagination, but then again there was a lot that wasn‘t. Even though there was a black sash covering the lower half of his face and head, she could still see his bright blue eyes, shadowed by locks of straight black hair that fell down over them. The cloak looked to house broad shoulders, and a thin middle. “I’d offer you a place to stay for the night but,” she glanced around, “I’m not even sure I have one to offer at the moment.”
“There‘s no need, Lady. Is your cart still able to move?”
“My name is Diana, not Lady, and no, my horse seems to have run off.”
“Perhaps I can offer you a ride then. I‘m Kale.” He offered her a hand.
“No, thank you. I’d rather stay with my wagon.”
“Well then my Lady Diana, I’ll stay with you until I can escort you to the nearest village for repairs to your wagon.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that Kale, but thank you,” Diana said.
“But I must. The laws of Chivalry demand it.” He pulled off his sash. She noticed how chiseled his features were. “As you wish.“ She shrugged, and walked around to the front. A few minutes later, Kale had hitched his horse to the front of the wagon in place of hers and he now stood next to it expectantly. “Are you ready to go Milady?” She looked at his horse. “Sure.” She took his proffered hand and climbed up onto the bench, and he climbed up next to her, taking the reins. Then they were moving down the road toward the nearest village. After a while, Kale started a conversation between the two, talking of mutual interests, places far off, things unknown. Then, out of nowhere, suddenly an arrow thudded into Kale’s side and he tumbled back over Diana off the wagon. She screamed and clutched at him as he fell, but to no avail. The last thing he heard was Diana’s screams before light and sound faded away to muted blackness.
Consciousness came back slowly for Kale. He was first aware of the creaking; back and forth, back and forth. He was in what appeared to be a one room hut. A window showed that it was daylight out. A pile of scrolls rose up in the middle of it and on the other side… He leaned over and peeked around the scrolls until he spotted an incredibly long straight white beard that curled at the end, split ends and all. He followed it all the way to a pale, wrinkly, kind old face with a pair of spectacles perched on a large beak of a nose. Then he fell off the cot he was lying on. He braced for the pain to go shooting up his side - but none came. He looked down to his side and indeed found only smooth skin. Magic. “Welcome back to the world of the conscious my lord,” the old man said dryly. “Who are you?” The man stood up - Kale could tell because the top of the man’s pointy blue hat just poked up over the pile of scrolls. He came around and with a wave of his hand took a royal bow. “Phyladimus Fenticus; Master Mage of the High Arts. Phyl for short.” He proffered a hand to the fallen knight. Kale took it and nearly had his arm yanked off as the mage jerked him up to his feet. It was then Kale realized exactly how tall this guy was. He was towering at least half a foot taller then him, and Kale was of a considerable height. “Uh, thank you for uh… what happened?”
“You were shot with an arrow,” he said bluntly.
“Yeah, but what about Diana?”
“Who?”
“The girl I was with? We were attacked by bandits.” The old man seemed taken aback. “Oh, well… Attacked by bandits you say? Oh dear.”
“What? What is it?!” The old man looked at him gravely.
“I’m afraid there’s only one band of outlaws in this area, and they don’t keep prisoners for long. They either kill them or sell them into slavery. And the women…”
“We have to save her!”
“Hmm, let me think about that. Ah - no.”
“What? Why not?”
“Halloo? Bandits? Knives? Swords? Bad hygiene? Is any of this ringing a bell?”
“So? You’re a wizard! You and I together can handle them!” The Wizard sighed and gave up the theatrics for a moment.
“And how exactly do you plan for me to do that? You’re lost and I’m old.”
“I can find my way, and you’ve got magic.”
“I’m old, not stupid.” Kale was tired of arguing with the old man. He was grateful he’d saved his life, but Diana was in danger! “Fine. You stay here. But ‘m not going to abandon her when she needs me.” His stuff was piled at the end of the cot. He gathered it up and walked out the door. He got about six paces from the cottage when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned. It was the Phyl. “All right! All right! You talked me into it,” he said just before the winked out of the area. The next thing Kale knew, they were standing on a small ridge overlooking an encampment. “Is that the-”
“-The bandit camp, yes. Get down.” They both dropped to the ground. “So what’s the plan, hero?” Kale reluctantly clapped Phyl on the shoulder. “Well, I need you to send a message.”
Phyl strolled into the camp as if he owned it. “Hey boys, How ’ya doing?” Within seconds, he was ringed by men with swords. He laughed nervously and shuffled his feet. “Interested in seeing some tricks?”
Kale ducked from tent to tent, peeking his head out every now and then to make sure the mage was still distracting all the men. The mage was busy juggling fireballs to the bandits awe. Finally, he came to the most recently well guarded one. He peeked under the back flap. There, tied to a pole in the middle of the tent with a bag over her head, was Diana. No one else was in the tent. Quiet as the grave, he slipped over to her and took off the bag only to find a gag in her mouth.
“Grt thrs thrg herf mr!” He shushed her and moved around to untie her hands. She suddenly started struggling. “Ghrt hrt! Ghrt hrt! Hrz hr!”
“Shhhhh! Quiet! They’ll hear y-” Kale cut off the moment he felt the blade press lightly into his back. “Very clever knight. Stand up. Slowly.” Kale did so and moved toward the entrance when the blade pushed him toward it. More men stood there. With one swift motion, the leader of the band bent down and cut Diana’s bonds. More men grabbed her and pushed them out of the tent into the middle of the square camp where they joined Phyl. “So what’s your plan now, oh great leader?” Phyl asked. Diana looked at him expectantly. “Well… give me a minute.” He didn’t have a minute. Suddenly an arrow pierced the chest of the bandit leader. Another bandit fell, then another. They looked around. Kale’s captain of his guards stood on the Northern ridge shouting something, a platoon of men lined along it. Every archer pulled back their bow and released. The bandits scattered, Kale, Diana, and Phyl standing in one place, so as not to get shot. It seemed that they had been completely forgotten by the bandit gang. “It seems, my lord, your message got through,” the mage said. Dian turned to Kale. “My lord?”
To my readers: Okay, okay, I know there are TONS of mistakes in here but I was in a hurry when writing it and had to modify it to fit within a six-page double-space parameter for the (b*tchy!!!) teacher and unfortunately didn't have enough time to go back through and correct everything because when I do that I add and change and make longer and get new ideas and and and ... I'll just stop now.
The bandits laughed as they shoved the lone wagon rider down. The traveler was about to say something nasty when a rhythmic thumping reached the bandits’ ears. Suddenly, over the ridge came galloping Kale. The bandits, no strangers to this mysterious hero, contemplated running or fighting. The bandits scattered as he bore down on them, leaving the wagon driver kneeling in the middle of the road. He reined in his horse and dismounted. The wagon driver stumbled to its feet and threw back its cape, revealing a young woman. “Are you all… right?” A woman? Out here? Alone?! “Oh, I’m fine,” she said, annoyed. Kale stared at her; she was beautiful. She had brown skin and green eyes that fairly glowed in the moonlight, long brown hair that curved to fit her face and full, ripe lips. She, was in turn, studying him. With his black cloak covering most of his body, there was a lot to leave to the imagination, but then again there was a lot that wasn‘t. Even though there was a black sash covering the lower half of his face and head, she could still see his bright blue eyes, shadowed by locks of straight black hair that fell down over them. The cloak looked to house broad shoulders, and a thin middle. “I’d offer you a place to stay for the night but,” she glanced around, “I’m not even sure I have one to offer at the moment.”
“There‘s no need, Lady. Is your cart still able to move?”
“My name is Diana, not Lady, and no, my horse seems to have run off.”
“Perhaps I can offer you a ride then. I‘m Kale.” He offered her a hand.
“No, thank you. I’d rather stay with my wagon.”
“Well then my Lady Diana, I’ll stay with you until I can escort you to the nearest village for repairs to your wagon.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that Kale, but thank you,” Diana said.
“But I must. The laws of Chivalry demand it.” He pulled off his sash. She noticed how chiseled his features were. “As you wish.“ She shrugged, and walked around to the front. A few minutes later, Kale had hitched his horse to the front of the wagon in place of hers and he now stood next to it expectantly. “Are you ready to go Milady?” She looked at his horse. “Sure.” She took his proffered hand and climbed up onto the bench, and he climbed up next to her, taking the reins. Then they were moving down the road toward the nearest village. After a while, Kale started a conversation between the two, talking of mutual interests, places far off, things unknown. Then, out of nowhere, suddenly an arrow thudded into Kale’s side and he tumbled back over Diana off the wagon. She screamed and clutched at him as he fell, but to no avail. The last thing he heard was Diana’s screams before light and sound faded away to muted blackness.
Consciousness came back slowly for Kale. He was first aware of the creaking; back and forth, back and forth. He was in what appeared to be a one room hut. A window showed that it was daylight out. A pile of scrolls rose up in the middle of it and on the other side… He leaned over and peeked around the scrolls until he spotted an incredibly long straight white beard that curled at the end, split ends and all. He followed it all the way to a pale, wrinkly, kind old face with a pair of spectacles perched on a large beak of a nose. Then he fell off the cot he was lying on. He braced for the pain to go shooting up his side - but none came. He looked down to his side and indeed found only smooth skin. Magic. “Welcome back to the world of the conscious my lord,” the old man said dryly. “Who are you?” The man stood up - Kale could tell because the top of the man’s pointy blue hat just poked up over the pile of scrolls. He came around and with a wave of his hand took a royal bow. “Phyladimus Fenticus; Master Mage of the High Arts. Phyl for short.” He proffered a hand to the fallen knight. Kale took it and nearly had his arm yanked off as the mage jerked him up to his feet. It was then Kale realized exactly how tall this guy was. He was towering at least half a foot taller then him, and Kale was of a considerable height. “Uh, thank you for uh… what happened?”
“You were shot with an arrow,” he said bluntly.
“Yeah, but what about Diana?”
“Who?”
“The girl I was with? We were attacked by bandits.” The old man seemed taken aback. “Oh, well… Attacked by bandits you say? Oh dear.”
“What? What is it?!” The old man looked at him gravely.
“I’m afraid there’s only one band of outlaws in this area, and they don’t keep prisoners for long. They either kill them or sell them into slavery. And the women…”
“We have to save her!”
“Hmm, let me think about that. Ah - no.”
“What? Why not?”
“Halloo? Bandits? Knives? Swords? Bad hygiene? Is any of this ringing a bell?”
“So? You’re a wizard! You and I together can handle them!” The Wizard sighed and gave up the theatrics for a moment.
“And how exactly do you plan for me to do that? You’re lost and I’m old.”
“I can find my way, and you’ve got magic.”
“I’m old, not stupid.” Kale was tired of arguing with the old man. He was grateful he’d saved his life, but Diana was in danger! “Fine. You stay here. But ‘m not going to abandon her when she needs me.” His stuff was piled at the end of the cot. He gathered it up and walked out the door. He got about six paces from the cottage when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned. It was the Phyl. “All right! All right! You talked me into it,” he said just before the winked out of the area. The next thing Kale knew, they were standing on a small ridge overlooking an encampment. “Is that the-”
“-The bandit camp, yes. Get down.” They both dropped to the ground. “So what’s the plan, hero?” Kale reluctantly clapped Phyl on the shoulder. “Well, I need you to send a message.”
Phyl strolled into the camp as if he owned it. “Hey boys, How ’ya doing?” Within seconds, he was ringed by men with swords. He laughed nervously and shuffled his feet. “Interested in seeing some tricks?”
Kale ducked from tent to tent, peeking his head out every now and then to make sure the mage was still distracting all the men. The mage was busy juggling fireballs to the bandits awe. Finally, he came to the most recently well guarded one. He peeked under the back flap. There, tied to a pole in the middle of the tent with a bag over her head, was Diana. No one else was in the tent. Quiet as the grave, he slipped over to her and took off the bag only to find a gag in her mouth.
“Grt thrs thrg herf mr!” He shushed her and moved around to untie her hands. She suddenly started struggling. “Ghrt hrt! Ghrt hrt! Hrz hr!”
“Shhhhh! Quiet! They’ll hear y-” Kale cut off the moment he felt the blade press lightly into his back. “Very clever knight. Stand up. Slowly.” Kale did so and moved toward the entrance when the blade pushed him toward it. More men stood there. With one swift motion, the leader of the band bent down and cut Diana’s bonds. More men grabbed her and pushed them out of the tent into the middle of the square camp where they joined Phyl. “So what’s your plan now, oh great leader?” Phyl asked. Diana looked at him expectantly. “Well… give me a minute.” He didn’t have a minute. Suddenly an arrow pierced the chest of the bandit leader. Another bandit fell, then another. They looked around. Kale’s captain of his guards stood on the Northern ridge shouting something, a platoon of men lined along it. Every archer pulled back their bow and released. The bandits scattered, Kale, Diana, and Phyl standing in one place, so as not to get shot. It seemed that they had been completely forgotten by the bandit gang. “It seems, my lord, your message got through,” the mage said. Dian turned to Kale. “My lord?”
To my readers: Okay, okay, I know there are TONS of mistakes in here but I was in a hurry when writing it and had to modify it to fit within a six-page double-space parameter for the (b*tchy!!!) teacher and unfortunately didn't have enough time to go back through and correct everything because when I do that I add and change and make longer and get new ideas and and and ... I'll just stop now.