| Fantasy Fiction posted January 15, 2024 | Chapters: |
...4 5 -6- 7... 
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A forgotten foe reemerges when our heroes least expect it
A chapter in the book Campfire Fantasy
Surprise Guests
by T.A. Walk
| Background A 1000 word or less flash fantasy fiction collection! Each chapter is meant to both stand alone and connect into the overall story. |
Prologue: A Chance Meeting Summary
Dwarven fighter Orin Shieldbearer and Elven ranger Vortex Varian meet unconventionally in a dark forest. One on a trek alone, the other alone and starving, the pair choose conversation over battle. While wary, the travelers find solace in company.
Chapter 1: The Necromancer
Ulric the Paladin, Serene the Ranger, Valerie the Mage, and Yagami the Ninja are hired to assist a town with a frightening problem. A necromancer has moved in and begun killing their lands. However, there’s a twist!
Chapter 2: Dwarves For Dinner
Ulric the Paladin, Serene the Ranger, Valerie the Mage, and Yagami the Ninja arrive at an inn and bar for a welcomed night of rest. Interrupted and once again rising to the need of others, they must face a gruesome foe to avenge the fallen.
Chapter 3: An Unsavory Encounter
Ulric the Paladin, Serene the Ranger, Valerie the Mage, and Yagami the Ninja hope to barter when they come across a wagon along a dirt road. Unfortunately, the thugs tending the wagon aren’t inclined to host guests.
Chapter 4: Rude Awakening
Dwarven fighter Orin Shieldbearer and Elven ranger Vortex Varian are awoken early in the morning to face off against a feral pack of wolves. They quickly realize they can work together better than either had thought.
Chapter 5: Advance And Retreat
Valerie the Mage and Yagami the Ninja split from their friends to attend a meeting. Before they can get to their destination, chaos erupts in the town square. Religiously fanatical Orcs assault the square, leaving destruction in their wake. Our heroes take aim on their Commander.
Ulric and Serene paced back and forth in the room. The city alarms had gone off hours ago, and their comrades had not yet returned. City guards patrolled the streets as doctors and mages helped move the wounded. Recently, the streets had emptied and quieted as night fell over the small city.
Their friends should have been back with their contact by now. Ulric and Serene had no idea whether the alarm had anything to do with their allies. The lack of information was slowly driving them mad. The night had been stressful enough with a dozen Drow children and an Elf baby in tow.
“What do we do?” Ulric asked Serene.
“I suppose we just care for the children and wait, my love.”
“I am not a very patient man.”
“That’s okay, I can be patient for us both,” Serene said as she leaned forward to kiss him.
Ulric grabbed her and pulled her close to him. She was like a feather in his strong hands. He lifted her and whirled her around in a circle before pressing his lips against hers.
A barely audible giggle and a gasp distracted the couple. Three little Drow girls leaned against the crack in the barely open bedroom door. More laughter followed as Ulric and Serene watched their three tiny eyes widen before they disappeared back into the bedroom.
“Love you,” Serene said.
“I know,” Ulric responded, and they both laughed, too. “Hey are you hungry? I could walk down to the kitchen?”
“I could eat,” Serene responded. “I’m certain the kids could!”
They both laughed again, “Do they ever stop?”
Serene shook her head back and forth, “Not if they can help it.”
“Be right back,” Ulric said.
He kissed her forehead and then her lips. She smiled as he left the room. Only a few minutes had passed when someone knocked on the door to their room. Serene thought perhaps Ulric forgot something, so she hurried to the door. She opened it with a grin that quickly fell as a club hit her across the side of her head. Barely aware of her surroundings, Serene toppled to the hardwood floor.
***
Serene blinked her eyes. Overwhelming pain in her head forced her to vomit. Slowly, the fog in her mind cleared somewhat, and she could hear voices. Her arms were secured tightly behind her, and the shackles were bound to her neck with rope. The more she pulled down attempting to free her hands, the more she choked herself. Her ankles were bound and chained to a heavy wooden writing desk in the main room. Serene focused on what the intruders were saying in order to determine who they were.
“Hurry up, bind the children and get them moving!” a rough masculine voice commanded.
This was answered by strange sounds Serene could not identify. It sounded almost like a child whimpering mixed with the sound a dog makes when it begs to please its angry master.
“I don’t care to hear you complain! Stupid Kenku! Hurry before the woman’s ally’s return!”
Now I got it! Serene thought. Kenku communicated via sounds and calls mimicked from other things. Like a mockingbird, only much more talented, they copied the things they heard for use in their speech later. They could speak humanoid languages, but only by repeating something in the exact way it was heard.
The voice she heard giving orders must be the Dwarf that escaped them. As if the universe wanted her to know for certain, the Dwarf entered the main room from the bedroom. She could hear the children whimpering and crying out of fear. The Dwarf crossed the room and crouched next to her.
“Hello, hello,” was all he said.
As she glared at him with hatred, his skin and clothing seemed to ripple. Slowly, the Dwarven visage melted away until an almost featureless humanoid creature crouched before her. Serene recognized the doppelganger from old stories. Its bluish-purple skin began to ripple and change colors.
The doppelganger stood and looked down at Serene from her own eyes. She was paralyzed with horror at the sight of her evil twin.
“Kill this, I’m done reading its mind,” the doppelganger said nonchalantly.
The door opened and Ulric backed in pulling a cart full of food. Everyone in the room fell silent, and for a moment no one even breathed. Ulric slammed the door, grabbed a large circular dish full of fruits, and spun around.
“Food for the la…” he started.
Ulric dropped the plate and stared at the twin Serenes.
“I… I…” he stuttered, dumbfounded.
Whistles and chirps drew his attention toward the bedroom.
“Save the children!” Serene screamed.
Ulric turned and moved as he was instructed. A Kenku attempted to slam the door too late, and Ulric slung it across the room as he pushed through.
The doppelganger picked up a dagger from the coffee table.
“Can’t leave you lying about,” the doppelganger whispered to her.
Serene screamed for Ulric. Three Kenku tackled him as he turned to look at her. As he fell backwards, the doppelganger impaled Serene through the heart and sprinted for the window.
Ulric’s muscles tensed and flexed. He cried out in agony as he threw the Kenku off him one by one. He felt the sting of several wounds, but he continued to swing his fists at his enemies. At some point he recognized the food platter in his hands as he beat the life from a Kenku slaver.
When Ulric regained his senses, the Kenku combatants were bloody and lifeless. The oldest Drow girl sat beside Serene. Ulric watched her hands begin to glow over Serene’s wound. The glowing energy seeped into Serene until finally she opened her eyes and looked at him.
Ulric sighed and jumped at the sound of the doorknob. As fast as he could manage, he stood and raised his fists. Yagami and Valerie entered with two elegant looking Drow females.
“What happened in here?” Yagami asked.
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Post Number 50 A Milestone Post |
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