diamond launching coming out on this blog! and guess what I made diamond launching. (s636156 is me)Diamond Launching!
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Monday, July 19, 2010
Camp
Camp st.croix was very fun. the funnest thing was capure the flag and piano keys. piano keys is were you run a cros the tip of kayaks.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
the mr.t stickers
when my friend jon ott came to you'r house he hid mr.t stickers in the office, my bedroom,diningroom,livingroom,kitchen.read my bolg for more
chapter 1
this is eli book
kRAKOOM! Thunder rolled.
I stared out my window at a business man who, despite the weather, was pacing back and forth in front of our house. I had been watching him since ten when I was supposed to go to bed. It was close to eleven thirty now and he finally looked up at the window. I glanced at his face and saw that he had rat-like features and glowing red eyes. You must be hallucinating, I told myself. You just need some rest. I climbed into bed and closed my eyes but could not seem to forget the man with the red eyes. Soon however, tiredness overcame me and I was taken into the peaceful oblivion of sleep.
I stretched and rolled over in my bed, yawned and finally cracked open my eyes. After blinking a few times I got out of bed and rubbed my eyes. As I stretched one last time I realized I had slept in my clothes. I then grabbed a sweatshirt and jogged through my small house to the kitchen.
I grabbed a jug of milk and poured myself a bowl of cereal then sat down at the table. A hastily scribbled Happy birthday note propped up against the salt shaker reminded me that I was turning thirteen today and I felt a stab of regret that my parents would have to work all day, but I quickly reminded myself that Urgent Care was the only place that had offered to hire them. I grabbed the newspaper and began to read, a somewhat unusual (compared to the kids at my school) habit I had acquired several years ago.
I scanned the page, looking from bad news to bad news, car crashes, wars, recessions, and munched my cereal until the newspaper became too depressing and I put it down. I went to pour myself some more milk and realized the bottle was empty. I grabbed it and hurried down the basement stairs to the recycling bin. I tossed the bottle in and was about turn when suddenly I smelt smoke.
I looked around the corner into the basement and saw a small blaze in one of the corners. I instinctively ripped off my sweatshirt and began trying to smother the flame but after a minute the fire did not seem to be getting any smaller and the sweatshirt was in tatters.
I scanned the area for clues of how a fire had started in our basement until I saw a broken window and the remains of a torch below it. That could only mean one thing. Arson. A small flame of anger and fear burned in my chest and suddenly I burst into a fit of coughing. I quickly covered my mouth with my arm and charged up the stairs into the kitchen. I then sprinted through the living room and out the front door.
A cold breeze ruffled my hair and I shivered, then turned around to face the fiery inferno that had once been my house. Flames danced in and out of the windows and the roof was sagging as though under a great weight. I looked around hoping to see a police man or a fire fighter who I could tell about the torch. I heard clicking sounds behind me as someone approached and then before I could react a knife was pressed to my neck.
“Don’t move,” someone hissed.
I whirled around and saw that it was the man who had been pacing in front of our house. I stared at his face and saw that my suspicions from the other night had been confirmed. The man’s eyes glowed with an eerie red light.
“I told you not to move,” he hissed as he shoved me forward. Suddenly a man wearing a light grey coat rounded the corner. Something seemed to be wrong about him but I couldn’t put a finger on it. The creature that was holding me said some words that I didn’t recognize but I dare not put them in print in case somebody does.
“Forward,” the creature hissed into my ear. He pushed me down an alley and made a few turns until quite suddenly we popped out on the main road and he pushed me into a waiting limousine. There were two more of the men in the limo and as soon as we got in, one of them put their foot down on the gas pedal. As we sped away I looked back and saw that the man in the grey jacket had just come out of the alley way. Then he began to run after the limo.
He’s never going to be able to keep up, I thought, but I was proven very wrong. He easily jogged about fifty feet behind us. Suddenly we pulled on to an empty freeway and doubled our speed. Even the man could not keep up.
He stopped running and pulled out a bow. As he did so his coat fell away slightly and I saw two sword hilts in his belt. His first shot missed and smashed on the road. His second shot however, was much more successful as it smashed through the window and buried itself in the neck of the man beside me. He slumped forward and I felt sick to my stomach. I then stared at the hole in the “bullet proof” glass and wondered what kind of supernatural war I had gotten myself in the middle of. Then the limo kicked into high gear and the man became a speck in the distance.
We drove in silence for what seemed like hours but was probably only about twenty minutes, until we came to an obscure looking exit. The limo pulled off the highway and began driving through a seedy neighborhood. We stopped at an abandoned house. I was shoved inside and the door shut behind me. The building was falling apart and I guessed it must have been unoccupied for at least five years. One of the men reached down and pulled up three floor boards. Underneath them, instead of the dirt I was expecting to see there was a six foot drop to a wooden platform. Each corner of the platform was attached to a leather string. The strings each led up to a pulley that was attached to the inside of the pit.
“You first,” I said moving out of the way so the men could jump down. They hissed and suddenly I heard a crack and a second later felt a red hot needle of pain in my neck. I turned around and saw that one of them had drawn a stick from inside his suit. He raised it to strike again and I covered my face with my arms. This time it did not hurt nearly as much but the force of the blow knocked me backwards and I toppled into the pit. The platform was hard and I lay there, winded. Suddenly I heard a clicking sound and realized that the pulleys were being released. The platform shot downwards with surprising speed and I closed my eyes. After almost a whole minute it jerked to a stop.
When I opened my eyes I saw that I was in a cave. I heard a creaking sound as the platform started to rise and I hurriedly jumped off. Soon the crude elevator was at the top and I heard dull thumping sounds as men jumped on. Then the platform shot down again and my captors got off. They both stood there for a second and suddenly fur began to spread over their skin and the shape of their head began to change. After a few moments they had transformed into giant, bipedal rats. Each of them grabbed one of my arms and pulled me to the mouth of the cave. I looked out and saw that we were in a vast underground cavern that stretched out farther than the eye could see. All of it appeared to be covered with desert except for an imposing forest that stretched in a large semi circle. The only sign of civilization was a small group of black tents about five hundred feet from the bottom of the hill the cave was on.
We made our way down the hill and began in the direction of the camp. After a five minute walk through the blistering desert we had made it to the tents farthest away from the rest. There were many of the rat creatures wandering around or sharpening weapons. All of them wore black armor.
I was shoved into a cage in the center of the camp and one of the creatures stepped forward to guard me. I stared through the wooden bars of my prison as the cage was lifted up by a pulley system. As I looked downwards I realized there seemed to be a conflict.
“I tell you, we should kill him. We’re too deep in ranger territory. They’ve probably already heard he’s here,” one of the rats whispered to what seemed to be their leader.
“No, Koll, Karnaff wants him alive, do you hear me, alive” he hissed at Koll as he smacked him in the chest. Koll lowered his head but as soon as the leader had turned around he whipped out a black knife and stabbed him in the back.
“I’m the captain now,” he told the rest of the creatures, “and as my first order of business, he dies.” About a dozen of the creatures lifted cross-bows and pointed them at me. The rest were slightly hesitant to follow their new leader but he viciously kicked out at them and they got moving. In all there were about a score of bows aiming at me. As I scrambled to the back of my cage I felt it give way slightly beneath my feet and looked down. I saw that at the very back of the cage there was a point where a rusty nail had broken so the solid oak wood floor did not quite meet the metal bars. I began jumping on the spot and soon more nails broke. Suddenly the whole floor gave way and I fell down onto a tent. As I untangled myself I noticed quite a few swords and maces lying around and realized this must have been the armory.
Suddenly a dart zipped by and I turned my attention back to the rats. One of them was advancing on me with a naked sword. I reached franticly behind me and my fingers found a curving scimitar. I jumped up. The rat sliced at me but I dodged and the heavy sword thudded into the ground. I slashed upwards and my blade hit home. The rat fell down. I stared at my blade, sickened by what I had just done. Just then Koll’s harsh voice cut into my thoughts.
“Well that sword play was all very nice, but I have you surrounded. Drop the weapon and no harm will come to you.” I looked around and saw that he was telling the truth about being surrounded so I dropped my blade and kicked it away. He stepped forward and drew his sword. I realized he had no intention of keeping his promise. He smiled evilly. His smile lasted five seconds…ten seconds. Then he thudded to the ground with an arrow in his back.
What seemed to be a bipedal wolf in a leather body suit stepped out of the woods. Over the body suit it had buckled a leather breast plate and bracers. It was carrying a drawn bow and two swords were stuck in its belt.
“Pick up your sword and begin backing away,” it told me. It then turned to the rats.
“The first one of you who moves gets an arrow in the chest,” it warned them.
“We outnumber you. If you surrender peacefully and hand over the child we will not harm you,” one of the rats said as he took a step forward. The wolf’s arrow passed clean through the rat’s body. The creature stared at the wound for a few seconds and then he toppled over backwards. I looked back and saw that the wolf had already re-loaded its bow. It suddenly grabbed me and sprinted into the woods. It ran about fifty feet in, checked we were not being followed and stretched out its arms in front of it. I watched as its snow white fur began to recede and the shape of its head changed. In a few seconds I was facing a normal looking human. I recognized him as the man who had run after the limo.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“You may call me Aust. I am a Lupen, or Were-wolf,” he told me. I started to introduce myself. “No need Samuel,” he interrupted me. “Now, I expect you would like to know where you are.” I nodded.
“You are in Shademoor,” Aust told me. “It is a planet inside the earth. In some places where the crust is thin we have built lifts so we can occasionally visit the world above.” I winced at the reminder of my terrifying free-fall.
“What were those things?” I asked.
“There are the Kätor or were-rats.”
“Why did they want to kill me?” I said.
“Your parents were great Paladins until they received sidelining injuries. Many think you will become a great warrior too. The Paladins’ enemies wish to kill you before you can defend yourself.”
“Who are the Paladins?”
“They are noble human warriors who help us and the rest of the lawful Were-clans to fight the chaotic clans like the Kätor.” I thought about it for a second and realized that I still wasn’t sure if I believed any of this. The fighting did look pretty realistic though and I loved fantasy books and had always wanted to discover another world. I decided to believe Aust.
“Where are you going to take me?” I asked him.
“The Lupen city of Okäm,” Aust told me. “Come now, there’s no time to waste,” he motioned for me to follow him and headed off deeper into the forest. The woods were beautiful but occasionally I got the feeling that I was being watched. I gripped the handle of the scimitar tightly. After about an hour’s slow walk Aust abruptly stopped and held out his hand to stop me also.
“Anità,” he yelled. Aust waited a few seconds and when nothing happened began walking again.
“Why did you do that?” I asked him.
“If I did not you would be dead right now,” he told me “It means; I bring a guest.” I looked back and saw that there were two sentries in wolf form with drawn bows crouching down in ditches on either side of the road.
After about ten minutes more walking the path came to an end. Two more Lupen soldiers stood with double ended spears barring the way. Aust nodded at them and they raised their spears, allowing us to pass. We kept walking when the path gave out and when we had gone only about five hundred feet into the forest Aust kicked aside a screen of leaves and I was staring at a great expanse of stone wall.
Aust walked up to a section of the wall that must have been the front gate and pounded his fist against it. A small flap on the door opened and someone peered out. The flap shut and after a few moments the door creaked open. Aust pulled me inside and I looked around. We were standing on a huge field. Lupens were shooting bows at targets or sharpening swords. A few of them were in human form but most had transformed into wolves. A constant stream of merry noise bombarded us as we stood at the door. But the most amazing thing about the city was the platforms - there was a great many of them being lowered or raised from a series of spindly walk ways crisscrossing the sky.
Aust motioned for me to follow him and stepped on to one of the platforms. I followed him warily and the platform began to rise. When we reached the walkway it was suspended from, Aust thanked the wolf who had pulled us up. He was wearing full armor and was heavily armed so I figured he must be a guard. Aust turned and began walking in the direction of what seemed to be a command tent. Because the walkways were almost deserted we reached the tent in about five minutes.
“Stay here,” Aust told me.
He stepped inside the tent. About ten minutes later he came out. His face looked slightly gray and he was frowning.
“Something important has come to my attention. I’ll tell you more tomorrow. Our spies should have reported back by then,” he told me grimly.
“What should I do until then?” I asked him.
“First you should eat dinner, I expect you’re famished,” he said. “Then we can see about your training.” We were lowered down by platform. Aust began leading me across the field. After about a minute I could tell we were getting close. I could smell delicious aromas from straight ahead. After about another minute we arrived. There were fifteen Lupens almost completely surrounded by a huge brick oven.
The oven was about four feet high and stretched in a circle around them. The ends did not quite meet however, leaving a small walkway. Whenever something was done baking the Lupens would set it on the counter where the heat from below would keep it warm.
Aust walked up and grabbed an earthen wear plate from a pile on the counter. He inclined his head at the plates and I followed suit. We walked along the counter and I chose a pastry that looked slightly like apple pie. Aust then led me over to several large barrels that were leaning on the oven.
“That one’s a fruit cordial,” he said pointing to a barrel with pink splatters around the top. “And that one’s I guess what you’d call lemonade.” I chose the latter and Aust poured me some.
Aust scanned the field with his bright green eyes and then nodded.
“Let’s eat over there. You can meet my friend,” he said pointing to a solitary figure sitting on the field. We walked over and I noticed that he was not a Lupen. His skin was a grayish pink color and his face resembled that of a boar, except for the eyes which were clearly human. He was munching happily on a slice of potato pasty.
“Hello Aust,” he said while moving a large battle ax so we had room to sit down.
“Oscar this is Samuel, Samuel this is Oscar,” Aust said. “He is a Scrofa or Were-Boar and my very good friend.” Oscar nodded politely to me.
“Hello, Samuel,” he said while shaking[E.S.M1] my hand with such strength that I was sure something broke. I sat down next to Oscar and looked at him curiously.
“If you’re a Scrofa and not a Lupen, what are you doing here?” I asked him.
“I came to supervise the building of several new catapults…,” he said. I had the feeling there was another reason he wasn’t telling me. He glanced at Aust. Aust shook his head slightly and Oscar looked at the ground. I turned back to my pastry. It was filled with a delicious apple sauce. After about twenty minutes of eating in silence I finished. Aust, who had finished several minutes earlier turned to face me.
“We should start your training,” he said as he stood up. As me and Oscar followed suit Aust began to walk across the field. After a few minutes we came to about twenty iron paddocks. Most were being used for dueling or archery practice but Aust found and empty one and went inside and motioned for me to face him. He drew one of his rapiers and went into a crouch. I lifted my scimitar and waited for his attack. Aust stepped forward and made a feint at my legs. I lowered my blade to block but the rapier was already slicing at my head. I brought my scimitar up just in time but it was at a bad angle and it was knocked sideways in my hand. Aust’s blade deftly hit my cross-guard and sent my sword spinning through the air.
“Not bad for the first time,” Aust said. I sat down on the ground and laid back, completely exhausted from our match. After a few minutes I stood up and faced Aust again, determined to be the first to attack this time. We circled around each other; each of us hoping the other would make a mistake and lower his guard. Suddenly I leaped forward and slashed at Aust’s sword hand. He jumped out of the way easily and his sword slammed into my hilt. I managed to hang on and I whirled around and brought my sword in a gleaming arch toward Aust’s head. His sword danced up to block and he held it at such an angle that when my sword hit it, it glided off the side and diverted all the power behind my blow. Aust’s blade was suddenly coming at my face. I held my scimitar in a block at the same angle I had seen Aust use. Most of the power behind his cut was dispersed but the force was still staggering. Aust’s rapier slid down my blade. As it came off the end I expected Aust to swing it back and prepare for another attack but instead he whipped it around the tip of my blade, holding it backwards. His hilt slammed into my wrist and my hand opened reflexively. As my sword clattered to the ground Aust grinned and lifted his blade to my neck, tapped me lightly and lowered the rapier. Suddenly I was overcome by a wave of sleepiness and I yawned.
“Oscar can show you where you’ll sleep,” Aust yelled over his shoulder as he jogged out of the paddock, “I’ve got to go; Ivellios wanted to see me.”
“Who’s Ivellios?” I asked Oscar.
“He’s one of the lupen’s top tactical commanders,” he told me.
“Why would he want to see Aust?”
“I’m not sure,” Oscar said, but he quickly looked at the ground and I could tell he was lying. “Come on,” he said as he started off across the field. After a few minutes we came to five wooden buildings.
“That one’s where the spear fighters live,” Oscar said, pointing to a building that had a double ended spear painted with red paint on the lintel. “That one’s where swordsmen live,” he said pointing to one that had two crossed swords painted in yellow paint, “and that one is where the archers live,” he told me pointing to a building that had a bow painted in green paint. “That one’s for Special Forces,” he said, pointing to a slightly smaller building with a blue star on the door frame. “And that’s where we’re going to stay,” he said proudly pointing to a small building with a travelers cloak on the lintel. He led me inside. A desk ran from one side of the room to the other, blocking the only other exit; a wooden stair case. A burly Lupen sat behind the desk with a sheaf of papers spread in front of him.
“Who are you?” he asked us as we walked inside.
“Oscar Torren,” Oscar told him. The Lupen checked one of his papers and then nodded. He reached out and pulled on a hidden handle on the desk beside him. The desk swung inward and he ushered us through. At the top of the stairs there was a long hallway. Oscar led me down it until we came to a door marked 56. He pushed the door open and we stepped inside. There were two beds, one on either side of the room. In the middle of the room there was a large pot. “There’s your bed,” Oscar said, pointing to the bed on the right side of the room. “If you have to go to the bathroom you have a chamber pot,” he told me, moving his finger to point at the pot I had noticed earlier. I groaned inwardly at the lack of indoor plumbing but decided not to say anything. “See you in the morning Samuel,” he called as he leaped into his bed. I lay down and soon I was asleep.
I
Chapter 2
Yawned blearily and stretched my back as I sat up in bed. I looked around and realized that Oscar had already left. As I got out of bed I saw that Oscar had left a note. It said:
Meet me by the ovens.
-Oscar
I stuck my scimitar through my belt and jogged down the hallway and the stair case. I nodded to the Lupen manning the desk and he let me through. As soon as I was outside I broke into a run and I made it to the ovens in a few minutes. As I walked up to the counter I noticed Aust and Oscar in human form. I grabbed a berry scone and a mug of fruit cordial and made my way over to them.
“Good morning Samuel,” Oscar called to me as I approached. I sat down with them and turned to Aust.
“What where you going to tell me about?" I asked.
“What you mean?” Aust said with a fake look of confusion.
“You know, after you came out of the tent you said you’d tell me something important today.” Aust swallowed nervously.
“A few days ago one of our spies reported that the Kätor were trying to find Rathar.” I must have looked confused because Aust continued, “Rathar is a legendary sword that gives the bearer great power. We think it is somewhere on the western steppes, which is only about a week from here but there is one complication. The wizard who enchanted it was afraid one of the other races would capture him and take the sword before the Paladins arrived to protect him so he laid one last spell on it. Only an earth born human can touch the sword and live.” I looked at him and felt a sinking in the pit of my stomach.
“I’m not going to be able to go home, am I?” I asked, already knowing what the answer would be.
“Samuel, if you don’t help us with this you’re not going to have a home to go back to. The Kätor can’t sneak a large enough force through the streets unnoticed to attack your parents, but if they get the sword they wouldn’t have to go unnoticed. They could take over both planets.”
“Why can’t someone else do it?” I asked.
“A normal person would have been killed by the pressure down here. Your grand parents were born in Shademoor and their descendants have a pressure resistance.” I sighed.
“I guess I don’t have a choice. I’ll go with whoever they choose to go after the sword.”
“They already have been chosen,” Aust told me.
“Who?” I asked them. They both stared back at me. “It’s you guys, isn’t it,” I asked. They both nodded.
“Each clan is sending a representative,” Aust told me.
“Are any other representatives?” I asked.
“There is another representative. He is a Buteo or Were-Hawk. He’ll meet up with us outside the forest, as he prefers open places.” Aust stood up and stretched his back. “Be prepared to leave tomorrow morning,” he said as he strode away. I turned to face Oscar.
“He doesn’t stand around much, does he?” I asked him.
“No,” Oscar agreed.
“I should probably train some more,” I told him.
“Can I train with you?” Oscar asked. I nodded, happy to have some company. We walked to the paddock and I went into a crouch. Oscar simply stood, axe on shoulder. Suddenly he stepped forward and with blinding speed brought the axe toward my head. I jumped out of the way and the axe bit deeply into the dirt floor of the paddock. I swung at his head, using the same move I had used on the Kätor. As I prepared to stop the path of my blade and tap him lightly on the neck I realized that I had made a serious miscalculation. Oscar was much faster than the simple solider I had been fighting. His axe was already there, blocking my blade like an iron wall. My scimitar bounced off the axe and I raised it in a block, just in time to defend my face against the attack that Oscar launched almost immediately after my sword had bounced off his axe. I was sent staggering backwards and lowered my guard. Oscar seized the chance, bringing his axe in a scythe of cold steel toward my ribs. An instant before the weapon hit Oscar used all of his considerable strength to bring it to a stop. He then tapped me roughly on the spot where I would have been hit.
“You’re getting better,” he told me, wiping sweat off his near bald head. I grunted in agreement as I sat down and leaned on the fence at the edge of the paddock. After about five minutes of resting I stood up and turned to Oscar.
“I’m going to explore,” I told him.
“Can I show you around?” Oscar asked. I nodded and he took off over the field. I followed him and after walking for less than a minute I saw the back wall of the city and noticed that something seemed to be protruding out of it. As we got closer I saw that the protruding thing was some sort of platform and that there were a lot of large bumps on it. After walking another minute we came to a hill that was overlooking the platform and I realized that the bumps I had spotted earlier were a great many catapults, battering rams, and ballistae all in various stages of construction. The platform itself stretched for perhaps half a mile and seemed to be raised ten feet off the ground. Hundreds of Lupens were working on the platform and I noticed several Scrofas mixed in. I watched the workers in amazement until I turned and discovered that Oscar was already half-way down the hill.
“Come Samuel,” he called, “There are many other things to see.” I hurried to catch up as he jogged off across the field. As we jogged I began to notice a rise in the number of younger Lupens. Soon we came to a large depression in the field. There was a wooden fence around it and many Lupens had gathered around the edge. Oscar pushed his way through the crowd and I followed him. We came to the fence and I looked down to see what everybody was looking at. There seemed to be some sort of martial arts lesson going on. One of the Lupens was in human form and I guessed he was about ten. Oscar turned to me “This is the children’s hand to hand combat lesson,” he said.
Suddenly a piercing whistle sounded and the Lupens lined up, half on one side of the pit and half on the other. The instructor produced two large buckets of paint, one green, and one yellow. He then handed one to the first person in each line. They immersed there leather clad feet and hands and then passed them down the line. After each Lupen had completed the ritual a runner brought buckets back to the instructor and the lines (which I now realized were teams) began to spread out on their sides.
“The point of the game is for your team to have the least amount of successful kicks and punches against it. At the end they count the paint marks on each team’s armor,” Oscar said. The whistle was blown again and a Lupen from the yellow team began to sprint up a small hill to the other side. Just as he reached the top another Lupen’s leg caught him in the kneecap, creating a green blotch and sending him sliding down the hill. The Lupen who had just kicked turned and signaled with his hand. Just then a yellow team Lupen appeared at the top of the hill. He twisted, preparing to punch. Suddenly his target whipped around, raising his foot in a perfect kick. His boot slammed in to the other Lupens shoulder, forcing him into a barrel roll down the hill. I watched in amazement as the Lupen then jumped after him and grabbed a yellow team guard and threw him to ground. As he sprinted off he brought his leg back in a graceful last move, connecting with the guard’s chest.
He ran a few more yards and then dropped into a fighting stance but there did not seem to seem to be any enemies around. His eyes opened in understanding and he whirled around to warn his teammates who stood at the top of the hill. He realized he was too late as he watched feet and hands collide with his team’s armor. I grimaced as I saw green team Lupens sliding downwards.
“Don’t worry,” Oscar said. “There armor protects them.” The instructor scanned the field and blew the whistle for the third time. The Lupens picked themselves up and quickly lined up on their sides. The instructor counted the paint marks on each team and then returned to the middle of the depression.
“Yellow team wins,” he declared. The crowd around a five foot stretch of fence began to clear as the exhausted teams jogged up. One Lupen flipped a latch and the section of fence slid smoothly outward. As they trudged past, Oscar reached out and thumped the green team Lupen whose skills I had been so impressed at on the back. I had a sudden pang as I realized Oscar probably wished the Lupen was coming along instead of me. After a few moments a bell rung somewhere across the field.
“Time for lunch,” Oscar called “I’ll race you there.” We both took off at a sprint, dodging Lupens. Just then Oscar transformed into boar form and put on an extra burst of speed. The kitchen came into view on the horizon and I continued to run, my lungs burning. I felt my scimitar banging against my leg. Our destination was only about ten yards away when suddenly Aust flashed by us. He sprinted to the ovens and then turned to look at us. He grinned and we all grabbed a bowl of soup. We sat down some distance away.
I heard the sound of wheels and marching feet. Aust motioned with his head and I saw a procession of five catapults and ten ballistae, which were surrounded by a battalion of Lupens.
“Company halt,” the captain, marked by the star on his helmet, commanded. A large platform was lowered and four wolves slightly bigger than horses jumped off. Each was being ridden by a Lupen with a long lance. The riders took up position on either side of the battalion and procession began again.
“What are those things?” I asked when the giant wolves had disappeared in the distance.
“There called Latar,” Aust told me “They are wolfs mutated by the pressure.” I looked around and saw that Oscar had gotten up.
“There are more things to see,” he said. I stood and we began walking across the field. After a few minutes I saw a large wooden building. As we got closer I began to smell the strong odor of herbs. We soon reached it and Oscar strode up to the large double doors. He knocked and I heard clicking sounds as the doors were unlocked. A Lupen opened them and waved us inside. “This is the sick ward,” Oscar said. We were in a large reception area. There was a desk on one side of the room with a staircase next to it. On the other side of the room there was a circle of comfortable looking chairs. The Lupen led us up the stairs to a smaller room. There was a rack of herbs on the wall opposite the door.
“I will get you some medicine for the journey,” the Lupen said. He began selecting herbs and placing them in a leather satchel. After a few minutes he came over to us. “This one is for poison, this one is for sickness, and this one stops bleeding,” he said, pointing to each one respectively. I nodded and took the satchel. The Lupen turned and began gingerly fastening the tops on the bottles of herbs and I realized how important they were underground where only a few plants would grow. Oscar led me back down the stairs and as we left I spotted a small garden off to the side of the sick ward.
Oscar began walking in the direction of another wooden building only fifty yards away. I followed him and we soon reached it. Oscar pushed the door open and we stepped inside. We were in a large room. Swords, axes, bows, armor, and shields hung on the walls. Several Lupens were looking around. Oscar walked over to a leather body suit and lifted it off its hooks. He then grabbed a breast plate and bracers.
“See if these fit,” he told me. I quickly pulled the body suit over my clothes and Oscar helped me buckle the armor. I stretched my arms and legs.
“It fits,” I said.
“Hand me the scimitar,” Oscar said. I gave it to him and he grabbed several scabbards. He tried to sheath my blade in each one until he found one that worked. He nodded and as he was putting the rest back on the rack he grabbed a sword belt. He handed my sheathed blade and sword belt and I buckled them at my side.
“Come on,” Oscar said. He led me out of the building and began jogging across the field. After about a minute I saw a dark shape on the horizon. As we got closer I realized that it was a gigantic arena. “This is Talfaer stadium,” Oscar told me. Suddenly the dinner bell rang and Oscar turned toward it. “Come on,” he said. We both walked off in the direction of the kitchens. After about five minutes they became visible on the horizon and it only took two more minutes to reach them. Oscar and I both grabbed a pastry and mug of lemonade, then walked over to where Aust was sitting. Oscar sat down and began eating hurriedly. After he had finished eating he downed the lemonade in one gulp and jogged off across the field.
“Why did he leave?” I asked.
“He is playing in a Haer game tonight and he had to warm up,” Aust explained “We can go and watch him if you want.”
I nodded and said “Let’s go.” We turned back to are pastries and ate in silence. After a few minutes we finished and stood up.
Aust began to jog in the direction of Talfaer stadium and I followed. We soon reached it and we were swept up in the wave of people going in. We walked through the double doors and down a winding passage with hallways branching off. Aust entered one of the hallways along with several other Lupens and we followed it to a large hanging gallery. I looked around and saw that the stadium consisted of a huge playing field. The field had several large puddles, about ten yards across randomly scattered around it. There was a large hole on each end of the field.
A Lupen emerged through a set of double doors. He carried a ball in one hand and a horn in the other. He walked to the center of the field and blew a sharp note on the horn. Doors opened on either side of the field and the teams walked out. One side’s breast plates had a blue dot on them and the others had a green dot. I spotted Oscar among the blue team.
“Choose captains,” the Lupen with the ball called. A representative from each team stepped forward and stood about five feet away from him.
“The point of Haer is to get five points. You get a point when you put it in the other goal,” Aust said, pointing to the holes. I returned my attention the field and watched as the Lupen in the middle tossed the ball in the air and blew his horn again. The two captains rushed for the ball. The green team Lupen was almost to it when the other captain elbowed him in the chest, sending him crashing downwards. The captain then grabbed the ball and charged across the field. He sprinted quickly past the rest of the green team and tossed it in their goal.
“One-Zero,” the Lupen in the middle proclaimed. He handed the ball to the green team captain as the players returned to their starting positions. The horn was blown a third time and the captain sprinted toward the goal. He was almost to it when Oscar tackled him, grabbing the ball in the process. Oscar then threw the ball to another blue team player who took off across the field. The Lupen weaved around defense and quickly made a goal.
“Two-Zero,” the Lupen standing in the middle said. He again handed the ball to the green team and blew his horn. The green team captain ran around one of the puddles and began to close in on the goal. Several Lupens attempted tackles but the captain kept running. He scored from ten feet away and raised his arms in victory.
“Two-One,” the announcer said as he handed the ball to the blue team and blew his horn. The blue team captain punted it over the green team’s heads and the ball landed next to the goal, then rolled in.
“Three-One,” the announcer declared. He handed the green team the ball and blew his horn to start the game. The green team captain motioned with his hand and ran forward. The rest of his team followed and when the blue team tackled the captain the rest of them began to pull attackers off. A large group of struggling Lupens formed around the captain. I watched as the ball was flung out of the group and a green team player who had hung back saw his chance and grabbed it. Suddenly Oscar burst out of the wild mass and flipped the Lupen on his back. He grabbed the ball and quickly made a goal.
“Four-One,” the announcer said. He tossed the ball to the green team captain and blew his horn. The blue team surged toward the captain who looked around anxiously and then attempted a pass. The throw fell short and the ball landed in one of the puddles. Instantly a Lupen from either team dived into the water. After about half a minute the blue team Lupen surfaced with the ball. He tossed it to another player who scared the final goal.
“Game,” the announcer cried. The players gave each other handshakes and then jogged off to their respective doors as the stadium began to empty. Me and Aust stood up and stretched, then walked down the hallway. It seemed like it was taking forever to get out of the arena as we tried to maneuver through the crush of Lupens. Aust led me down a hallway I hadn’t noticed on the way in and suddenly we popped outside. I looked up at the sky, expecting to see stars then realized with a jolt that I was underground. Just then a red faced Oscar burst out of the building.
“Well played,” Aust told him. We began walking toward the visitor’s lodge. When we were about half-way there when a guard member ran up. He spoke in Aust’s ear and then left.
“I must go,” Aust said as he sprinted to the nearest platform “Meet me at the ovens tomorrow.” Then the platform was pulled up and I lost sight of him. Oscar and I continued walking. We reached the visitors lodge in about five minutes and Oscar gave his name to the guard. He waved us through and we jogged up the stairs to are room. I found that someone had left a pair of cotton night clothes next to my bed. I went behind a screen and quickly changed, then collapsed into bed. I soon fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.
[E.S.M1]
kRAKOOM! Thunder rolled.
I stared out my window at a business man who, despite the weather, was pacing back and forth in front of our house. I had been watching him since ten when I was supposed to go to bed. It was close to eleven thirty now and he finally looked up at the window. I glanced at his face and saw that he had rat-like features and glowing red eyes. You must be hallucinating, I told myself. You just need some rest. I climbed into bed and closed my eyes but could not seem to forget the man with the red eyes. Soon however, tiredness overcame me and I was taken into the peaceful oblivion of sleep.
I stretched and rolled over in my bed, yawned and finally cracked open my eyes. After blinking a few times I got out of bed and rubbed my eyes. As I stretched one last time I realized I had slept in my clothes. I then grabbed a sweatshirt and jogged through my small house to the kitchen.
I grabbed a jug of milk and poured myself a bowl of cereal then sat down at the table. A hastily scribbled Happy birthday note propped up against the salt shaker reminded me that I was turning thirteen today and I felt a stab of regret that my parents would have to work all day, but I quickly reminded myself that Urgent Care was the only place that had offered to hire them. I grabbed the newspaper and began to read, a somewhat unusual (compared to the kids at my school) habit I had acquired several years ago.
I scanned the page, looking from bad news to bad news, car crashes, wars, recessions, and munched my cereal until the newspaper became too depressing and I put it down. I went to pour myself some more milk and realized the bottle was empty. I grabbed it and hurried down the basement stairs to the recycling bin. I tossed the bottle in and was about turn when suddenly I smelt smoke.
I looked around the corner into the basement and saw a small blaze in one of the corners. I instinctively ripped off my sweatshirt and began trying to smother the flame but after a minute the fire did not seem to be getting any smaller and the sweatshirt was in tatters.
I scanned the area for clues of how a fire had started in our basement until I saw a broken window and the remains of a torch below it. That could only mean one thing. Arson. A small flame of anger and fear burned in my chest and suddenly I burst into a fit of coughing. I quickly covered my mouth with my arm and charged up the stairs into the kitchen. I then sprinted through the living room and out the front door.
A cold breeze ruffled my hair and I shivered, then turned around to face the fiery inferno that had once been my house. Flames danced in and out of the windows and the roof was sagging as though under a great weight. I looked around hoping to see a police man or a fire fighter who I could tell about the torch. I heard clicking sounds behind me as someone approached and then before I could react a knife was pressed to my neck.
“Don’t move,” someone hissed.
I whirled around and saw that it was the man who had been pacing in front of our house. I stared at his face and saw that my suspicions from the other night had been confirmed. The man’s eyes glowed with an eerie red light.
“I told you not to move,” he hissed as he shoved me forward. Suddenly a man wearing a light grey coat rounded the corner. Something seemed to be wrong about him but I couldn’t put a finger on it. The creature that was holding me said some words that I didn’t recognize but I dare not put them in print in case somebody does.
“Forward,” the creature hissed into my ear. He pushed me down an alley and made a few turns until quite suddenly we popped out on the main road and he pushed me into a waiting limousine. There were two more of the men in the limo and as soon as we got in, one of them put their foot down on the gas pedal. As we sped away I looked back and saw that the man in the grey jacket had just come out of the alley way. Then he began to run after the limo.
He’s never going to be able to keep up, I thought, but I was proven very wrong. He easily jogged about fifty feet behind us. Suddenly we pulled on to an empty freeway and doubled our speed. Even the man could not keep up.
He stopped running and pulled out a bow. As he did so his coat fell away slightly and I saw two sword hilts in his belt. His first shot missed and smashed on the road. His second shot however, was much more successful as it smashed through the window and buried itself in the neck of the man beside me. He slumped forward and I felt sick to my stomach. I then stared at the hole in the “bullet proof” glass and wondered what kind of supernatural war I had gotten myself in the middle of. Then the limo kicked into high gear and the man became a speck in the distance.
We drove in silence for what seemed like hours but was probably only about twenty minutes, until we came to an obscure looking exit. The limo pulled off the highway and began driving through a seedy neighborhood. We stopped at an abandoned house. I was shoved inside and the door shut behind me. The building was falling apart and I guessed it must have been unoccupied for at least five years. One of the men reached down and pulled up three floor boards. Underneath them, instead of the dirt I was expecting to see there was a six foot drop to a wooden platform. Each corner of the platform was attached to a leather string. The strings each led up to a pulley that was attached to the inside of the pit.
“You first,” I said moving out of the way so the men could jump down. They hissed and suddenly I heard a crack and a second later felt a red hot needle of pain in my neck. I turned around and saw that one of them had drawn a stick from inside his suit. He raised it to strike again and I covered my face with my arms. This time it did not hurt nearly as much but the force of the blow knocked me backwards and I toppled into the pit. The platform was hard and I lay there, winded. Suddenly I heard a clicking sound and realized that the pulleys were being released. The platform shot downwards with surprising speed and I closed my eyes. After almost a whole minute it jerked to a stop.
When I opened my eyes I saw that I was in a cave. I heard a creaking sound as the platform started to rise and I hurriedly jumped off. Soon the crude elevator was at the top and I heard dull thumping sounds as men jumped on. Then the platform shot down again and my captors got off. They both stood there for a second and suddenly fur began to spread over their skin and the shape of their head began to change. After a few moments they had transformed into giant, bipedal rats. Each of them grabbed one of my arms and pulled me to the mouth of the cave. I looked out and saw that we were in a vast underground cavern that stretched out farther than the eye could see. All of it appeared to be covered with desert except for an imposing forest that stretched in a large semi circle. The only sign of civilization was a small group of black tents about five hundred feet from the bottom of the hill the cave was on.
We made our way down the hill and began in the direction of the camp. After a five minute walk through the blistering desert we had made it to the tents farthest away from the rest. There were many of the rat creatures wandering around or sharpening weapons. All of them wore black armor.
I was shoved into a cage in the center of the camp and one of the creatures stepped forward to guard me. I stared through the wooden bars of my prison as the cage was lifted up by a pulley system. As I looked downwards I realized there seemed to be a conflict.
“I tell you, we should kill him. We’re too deep in ranger territory. They’ve probably already heard he’s here,” one of the rats whispered to what seemed to be their leader.
“No, Koll, Karnaff wants him alive, do you hear me, alive” he hissed at Koll as he smacked him in the chest. Koll lowered his head but as soon as the leader had turned around he whipped out a black knife and stabbed him in the back.
“I’m the captain now,” he told the rest of the creatures, “and as my first order of business, he dies.” About a dozen of the creatures lifted cross-bows and pointed them at me. The rest were slightly hesitant to follow their new leader but he viciously kicked out at them and they got moving. In all there were about a score of bows aiming at me. As I scrambled to the back of my cage I felt it give way slightly beneath my feet and looked down. I saw that at the very back of the cage there was a point where a rusty nail had broken so the solid oak wood floor did not quite meet the metal bars. I began jumping on the spot and soon more nails broke. Suddenly the whole floor gave way and I fell down onto a tent. As I untangled myself I noticed quite a few swords and maces lying around and realized this must have been the armory.
Suddenly a dart zipped by and I turned my attention back to the rats. One of them was advancing on me with a naked sword. I reached franticly behind me and my fingers found a curving scimitar. I jumped up. The rat sliced at me but I dodged and the heavy sword thudded into the ground. I slashed upwards and my blade hit home. The rat fell down. I stared at my blade, sickened by what I had just done. Just then Koll’s harsh voice cut into my thoughts.
“Well that sword play was all very nice, but I have you surrounded. Drop the weapon and no harm will come to you.” I looked around and saw that he was telling the truth about being surrounded so I dropped my blade and kicked it away. He stepped forward and drew his sword. I realized he had no intention of keeping his promise. He smiled evilly. His smile lasted five seconds…ten seconds. Then he thudded to the ground with an arrow in his back.
What seemed to be a bipedal wolf in a leather body suit stepped out of the woods. Over the body suit it had buckled a leather breast plate and bracers. It was carrying a drawn bow and two swords were stuck in its belt.
“Pick up your sword and begin backing away,” it told me. It then turned to the rats.
“The first one of you who moves gets an arrow in the chest,” it warned them.
“We outnumber you. If you surrender peacefully and hand over the child we will not harm you,” one of the rats said as he took a step forward. The wolf’s arrow passed clean through the rat’s body. The creature stared at the wound for a few seconds and then he toppled over backwards. I looked back and saw that the wolf had already re-loaded its bow. It suddenly grabbed me and sprinted into the woods. It ran about fifty feet in, checked we were not being followed and stretched out its arms in front of it. I watched as its snow white fur began to recede and the shape of its head changed. In a few seconds I was facing a normal looking human. I recognized him as the man who had run after the limo.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“You may call me Aust. I am a Lupen, or Were-wolf,” he told me. I started to introduce myself. “No need Samuel,” he interrupted me. “Now, I expect you would like to know where you are.” I nodded.
“You are in Shademoor,” Aust told me. “It is a planet inside the earth. In some places where the crust is thin we have built lifts so we can occasionally visit the world above.” I winced at the reminder of my terrifying free-fall.
“What were those things?” I asked.
“There are the Kätor or were-rats.”
“Why did they want to kill me?” I said.
“Your parents were great Paladins until they received sidelining injuries. Many think you will become a great warrior too. The Paladins’ enemies wish to kill you before you can defend yourself.”
“Who are the Paladins?”
“They are noble human warriors who help us and the rest of the lawful Were-clans to fight the chaotic clans like the Kätor.” I thought about it for a second and realized that I still wasn’t sure if I believed any of this. The fighting did look pretty realistic though and I loved fantasy books and had always wanted to discover another world. I decided to believe Aust.
“Where are you going to take me?” I asked him.
“The Lupen city of Okäm,” Aust told me. “Come now, there’s no time to waste,” he motioned for me to follow him and headed off deeper into the forest. The woods were beautiful but occasionally I got the feeling that I was being watched. I gripped the handle of the scimitar tightly. After about an hour’s slow walk Aust abruptly stopped and held out his hand to stop me also.
“Anità,” he yelled. Aust waited a few seconds and when nothing happened began walking again.
“Why did you do that?” I asked him.
“If I did not you would be dead right now,” he told me “It means; I bring a guest.” I looked back and saw that there were two sentries in wolf form with drawn bows crouching down in ditches on either side of the road.
After about ten minutes more walking the path came to an end. Two more Lupen soldiers stood with double ended spears barring the way. Aust nodded at them and they raised their spears, allowing us to pass. We kept walking when the path gave out and when we had gone only about five hundred feet into the forest Aust kicked aside a screen of leaves and I was staring at a great expanse of stone wall.
Aust walked up to a section of the wall that must have been the front gate and pounded his fist against it. A small flap on the door opened and someone peered out. The flap shut and after a few moments the door creaked open. Aust pulled me inside and I looked around. We were standing on a huge field. Lupens were shooting bows at targets or sharpening swords. A few of them were in human form but most had transformed into wolves. A constant stream of merry noise bombarded us as we stood at the door. But the most amazing thing about the city was the platforms - there was a great many of them being lowered or raised from a series of spindly walk ways crisscrossing the sky.
Aust motioned for me to follow him and stepped on to one of the platforms. I followed him warily and the platform began to rise. When we reached the walkway it was suspended from, Aust thanked the wolf who had pulled us up. He was wearing full armor and was heavily armed so I figured he must be a guard. Aust turned and began walking in the direction of what seemed to be a command tent. Because the walkways were almost deserted we reached the tent in about five minutes.
“Stay here,” Aust told me.
He stepped inside the tent. About ten minutes later he came out. His face looked slightly gray and he was frowning.
“Something important has come to my attention. I’ll tell you more tomorrow. Our spies should have reported back by then,” he told me grimly.
“What should I do until then?” I asked him.
“First you should eat dinner, I expect you’re famished,” he said. “Then we can see about your training.” We were lowered down by platform. Aust began leading me across the field. After about a minute I could tell we were getting close. I could smell delicious aromas from straight ahead. After about another minute we arrived. There were fifteen Lupens almost completely surrounded by a huge brick oven.
The oven was about four feet high and stretched in a circle around them. The ends did not quite meet however, leaving a small walkway. Whenever something was done baking the Lupens would set it on the counter where the heat from below would keep it warm.
Aust walked up and grabbed an earthen wear plate from a pile on the counter. He inclined his head at the plates and I followed suit. We walked along the counter and I chose a pastry that looked slightly like apple pie. Aust then led me over to several large barrels that were leaning on the oven.
“That one’s a fruit cordial,” he said pointing to a barrel with pink splatters around the top. “And that one’s I guess what you’d call lemonade.” I chose the latter and Aust poured me some.
Aust scanned the field with his bright green eyes and then nodded.
“Let’s eat over there. You can meet my friend,” he said pointing to a solitary figure sitting on the field. We walked over and I noticed that he was not a Lupen. His skin was a grayish pink color and his face resembled that of a boar, except for the eyes which were clearly human. He was munching happily on a slice of potato pasty.
“Hello Aust,” he said while moving a large battle ax so we had room to sit down.
“Oscar this is Samuel, Samuel this is Oscar,” Aust said. “He is a Scrofa or Were-Boar and my very good friend.” Oscar nodded politely to me.
“Hello, Samuel,” he said while shaking[E.S.M1] my hand with such strength that I was sure something broke. I sat down next to Oscar and looked at him curiously.
“If you’re a Scrofa and not a Lupen, what are you doing here?” I asked him.
“I came to supervise the building of several new catapults…,” he said. I had the feeling there was another reason he wasn’t telling me. He glanced at Aust. Aust shook his head slightly and Oscar looked at the ground. I turned back to my pastry. It was filled with a delicious apple sauce. After about twenty minutes of eating in silence I finished. Aust, who had finished several minutes earlier turned to face me.
“We should start your training,” he said as he stood up. As me and Oscar followed suit Aust began to walk across the field. After a few minutes we came to about twenty iron paddocks. Most were being used for dueling or archery practice but Aust found and empty one and went inside and motioned for me to face him. He drew one of his rapiers and went into a crouch. I lifted my scimitar and waited for his attack. Aust stepped forward and made a feint at my legs. I lowered my blade to block but the rapier was already slicing at my head. I brought my scimitar up just in time but it was at a bad angle and it was knocked sideways in my hand. Aust’s blade deftly hit my cross-guard and sent my sword spinning through the air.
“Not bad for the first time,” Aust said. I sat down on the ground and laid back, completely exhausted from our match. After a few minutes I stood up and faced Aust again, determined to be the first to attack this time. We circled around each other; each of us hoping the other would make a mistake and lower his guard. Suddenly I leaped forward and slashed at Aust’s sword hand. He jumped out of the way easily and his sword slammed into my hilt. I managed to hang on and I whirled around and brought my sword in a gleaming arch toward Aust’s head. His sword danced up to block and he held it at such an angle that when my sword hit it, it glided off the side and diverted all the power behind my blow. Aust’s blade was suddenly coming at my face. I held my scimitar in a block at the same angle I had seen Aust use. Most of the power behind his cut was dispersed but the force was still staggering. Aust’s rapier slid down my blade. As it came off the end I expected Aust to swing it back and prepare for another attack but instead he whipped it around the tip of my blade, holding it backwards. His hilt slammed into my wrist and my hand opened reflexively. As my sword clattered to the ground Aust grinned and lifted his blade to my neck, tapped me lightly and lowered the rapier. Suddenly I was overcome by a wave of sleepiness and I yawned.
“Oscar can show you where you’ll sleep,” Aust yelled over his shoulder as he jogged out of the paddock, “I’ve got to go; Ivellios wanted to see me.”
“Who’s Ivellios?” I asked Oscar.
“He’s one of the lupen’s top tactical commanders,” he told me.
“Why would he want to see Aust?”
“I’m not sure,” Oscar said, but he quickly looked at the ground and I could tell he was lying. “Come on,” he said as he started off across the field. After a few minutes we came to five wooden buildings.
“That one’s where the spear fighters live,” Oscar said, pointing to a building that had a double ended spear painted with red paint on the lintel. “That one’s where swordsmen live,” he said pointing to one that had two crossed swords painted in yellow paint, “and that one is where the archers live,” he told me pointing to a building that had a bow painted in green paint. “That one’s for Special Forces,” he said, pointing to a slightly smaller building with a blue star on the door frame. “And that’s where we’re going to stay,” he said proudly pointing to a small building with a travelers cloak on the lintel. He led me inside. A desk ran from one side of the room to the other, blocking the only other exit; a wooden stair case. A burly Lupen sat behind the desk with a sheaf of papers spread in front of him.
“Who are you?” he asked us as we walked inside.
“Oscar Torren,” Oscar told him. The Lupen checked one of his papers and then nodded. He reached out and pulled on a hidden handle on the desk beside him. The desk swung inward and he ushered us through. At the top of the stairs there was a long hallway. Oscar led me down it until we came to a door marked 56. He pushed the door open and we stepped inside. There were two beds, one on either side of the room. In the middle of the room there was a large pot. “There’s your bed,” Oscar said, pointing to the bed on the right side of the room. “If you have to go to the bathroom you have a chamber pot,” he told me, moving his finger to point at the pot I had noticed earlier. I groaned inwardly at the lack of indoor plumbing but decided not to say anything. “See you in the morning Samuel,” he called as he leaped into his bed. I lay down and soon I was asleep.
I
Chapter 2
Yawned blearily and stretched my back as I sat up in bed. I looked around and realized that Oscar had already left. As I got out of bed I saw that Oscar had left a note. It said:
Meet me by the ovens.
-Oscar
I stuck my scimitar through my belt and jogged down the hallway and the stair case. I nodded to the Lupen manning the desk and he let me through. As soon as I was outside I broke into a run and I made it to the ovens in a few minutes. As I walked up to the counter I noticed Aust and Oscar in human form. I grabbed a berry scone and a mug of fruit cordial and made my way over to them.
“Good morning Samuel,” Oscar called to me as I approached. I sat down with them and turned to Aust.
“What where you going to tell me about?" I asked.
“What you mean?” Aust said with a fake look of confusion.
“You know, after you came out of the tent you said you’d tell me something important today.” Aust swallowed nervously.
“A few days ago one of our spies reported that the Kätor were trying to find Rathar.” I must have looked confused because Aust continued, “Rathar is a legendary sword that gives the bearer great power. We think it is somewhere on the western steppes, which is only about a week from here but there is one complication. The wizard who enchanted it was afraid one of the other races would capture him and take the sword before the Paladins arrived to protect him so he laid one last spell on it. Only an earth born human can touch the sword and live.” I looked at him and felt a sinking in the pit of my stomach.
“I’m not going to be able to go home, am I?” I asked, already knowing what the answer would be.
“Samuel, if you don’t help us with this you’re not going to have a home to go back to. The Kätor can’t sneak a large enough force through the streets unnoticed to attack your parents, but if they get the sword they wouldn’t have to go unnoticed. They could take over both planets.”
“Why can’t someone else do it?” I asked.
“A normal person would have been killed by the pressure down here. Your grand parents were born in Shademoor and their descendants have a pressure resistance.” I sighed.
“I guess I don’t have a choice. I’ll go with whoever they choose to go after the sword.”
“They already have been chosen,” Aust told me.
“Who?” I asked them. They both stared back at me. “It’s you guys, isn’t it,” I asked. They both nodded.
“Each clan is sending a representative,” Aust told me.
“Are any other representatives?” I asked.
“There is another representative. He is a Buteo or Were-Hawk. He’ll meet up with us outside the forest, as he prefers open places.” Aust stood up and stretched his back. “Be prepared to leave tomorrow morning,” he said as he strode away. I turned to face Oscar.
“He doesn’t stand around much, does he?” I asked him.
“No,” Oscar agreed.
“I should probably train some more,” I told him.
“Can I train with you?” Oscar asked. I nodded, happy to have some company. We walked to the paddock and I went into a crouch. Oscar simply stood, axe on shoulder. Suddenly he stepped forward and with blinding speed brought the axe toward my head. I jumped out of the way and the axe bit deeply into the dirt floor of the paddock. I swung at his head, using the same move I had used on the Kätor. As I prepared to stop the path of my blade and tap him lightly on the neck I realized that I had made a serious miscalculation. Oscar was much faster than the simple solider I had been fighting. His axe was already there, blocking my blade like an iron wall. My scimitar bounced off the axe and I raised it in a block, just in time to defend my face against the attack that Oscar launched almost immediately after my sword had bounced off his axe. I was sent staggering backwards and lowered my guard. Oscar seized the chance, bringing his axe in a scythe of cold steel toward my ribs. An instant before the weapon hit Oscar used all of his considerable strength to bring it to a stop. He then tapped me roughly on the spot where I would have been hit.
“You’re getting better,” he told me, wiping sweat off his near bald head. I grunted in agreement as I sat down and leaned on the fence at the edge of the paddock. After about five minutes of resting I stood up and turned to Oscar.
“I’m going to explore,” I told him.
“Can I show you around?” Oscar asked. I nodded and he took off over the field. I followed him and after walking for less than a minute I saw the back wall of the city and noticed that something seemed to be protruding out of it. As we got closer I saw that the protruding thing was some sort of platform and that there were a lot of large bumps on it. After walking another minute we came to a hill that was overlooking the platform and I realized that the bumps I had spotted earlier were a great many catapults, battering rams, and ballistae all in various stages of construction. The platform itself stretched for perhaps half a mile and seemed to be raised ten feet off the ground. Hundreds of Lupens were working on the platform and I noticed several Scrofas mixed in. I watched the workers in amazement until I turned and discovered that Oscar was already half-way down the hill.
“Come Samuel,” he called, “There are many other things to see.” I hurried to catch up as he jogged off across the field. As we jogged I began to notice a rise in the number of younger Lupens. Soon we came to a large depression in the field. There was a wooden fence around it and many Lupens had gathered around the edge. Oscar pushed his way through the crowd and I followed him. We came to the fence and I looked down to see what everybody was looking at. There seemed to be some sort of martial arts lesson going on. One of the Lupens was in human form and I guessed he was about ten. Oscar turned to me “This is the children’s hand to hand combat lesson,” he said.
Suddenly a piercing whistle sounded and the Lupens lined up, half on one side of the pit and half on the other. The instructor produced two large buckets of paint, one green, and one yellow. He then handed one to the first person in each line. They immersed there leather clad feet and hands and then passed them down the line. After each Lupen had completed the ritual a runner brought buckets back to the instructor and the lines (which I now realized were teams) began to spread out on their sides.
“The point of the game is for your team to have the least amount of successful kicks and punches against it. At the end they count the paint marks on each team’s armor,” Oscar said. The whistle was blown again and a Lupen from the yellow team began to sprint up a small hill to the other side. Just as he reached the top another Lupen’s leg caught him in the kneecap, creating a green blotch and sending him sliding down the hill. The Lupen who had just kicked turned and signaled with his hand. Just then a yellow team Lupen appeared at the top of the hill. He twisted, preparing to punch. Suddenly his target whipped around, raising his foot in a perfect kick. His boot slammed in to the other Lupens shoulder, forcing him into a barrel roll down the hill. I watched in amazement as the Lupen then jumped after him and grabbed a yellow team guard and threw him to ground. As he sprinted off he brought his leg back in a graceful last move, connecting with the guard’s chest.
He ran a few more yards and then dropped into a fighting stance but there did not seem to seem to be any enemies around. His eyes opened in understanding and he whirled around to warn his teammates who stood at the top of the hill. He realized he was too late as he watched feet and hands collide with his team’s armor. I grimaced as I saw green team Lupens sliding downwards.
“Don’t worry,” Oscar said. “There armor protects them.” The instructor scanned the field and blew the whistle for the third time. The Lupens picked themselves up and quickly lined up on their sides. The instructor counted the paint marks on each team and then returned to the middle of the depression.
“Yellow team wins,” he declared. The crowd around a five foot stretch of fence began to clear as the exhausted teams jogged up. One Lupen flipped a latch and the section of fence slid smoothly outward. As they trudged past, Oscar reached out and thumped the green team Lupen whose skills I had been so impressed at on the back. I had a sudden pang as I realized Oscar probably wished the Lupen was coming along instead of me. After a few moments a bell rung somewhere across the field.
“Time for lunch,” Oscar called “I’ll race you there.” We both took off at a sprint, dodging Lupens. Just then Oscar transformed into boar form and put on an extra burst of speed. The kitchen came into view on the horizon and I continued to run, my lungs burning. I felt my scimitar banging against my leg. Our destination was only about ten yards away when suddenly Aust flashed by us. He sprinted to the ovens and then turned to look at us. He grinned and we all grabbed a bowl of soup. We sat down some distance away.
I heard the sound of wheels and marching feet. Aust motioned with his head and I saw a procession of five catapults and ten ballistae, which were surrounded by a battalion of Lupens.
“Company halt,” the captain, marked by the star on his helmet, commanded. A large platform was lowered and four wolves slightly bigger than horses jumped off. Each was being ridden by a Lupen with a long lance. The riders took up position on either side of the battalion and procession began again.
“What are those things?” I asked when the giant wolves had disappeared in the distance.
“There called Latar,” Aust told me “They are wolfs mutated by the pressure.” I looked around and saw that Oscar had gotten up.
“There are more things to see,” he said. I stood and we began walking across the field. After a few minutes I saw a large wooden building. As we got closer I began to smell the strong odor of herbs. We soon reached it and Oscar strode up to the large double doors. He knocked and I heard clicking sounds as the doors were unlocked. A Lupen opened them and waved us inside. “This is the sick ward,” Oscar said. We were in a large reception area. There was a desk on one side of the room with a staircase next to it. On the other side of the room there was a circle of comfortable looking chairs. The Lupen led us up the stairs to a smaller room. There was a rack of herbs on the wall opposite the door.
“I will get you some medicine for the journey,” the Lupen said. He began selecting herbs and placing them in a leather satchel. After a few minutes he came over to us. “This one is for poison, this one is for sickness, and this one stops bleeding,” he said, pointing to each one respectively. I nodded and took the satchel. The Lupen turned and began gingerly fastening the tops on the bottles of herbs and I realized how important they were underground where only a few plants would grow. Oscar led me back down the stairs and as we left I spotted a small garden off to the side of the sick ward.
Oscar began walking in the direction of another wooden building only fifty yards away. I followed him and we soon reached it. Oscar pushed the door open and we stepped inside. We were in a large room. Swords, axes, bows, armor, and shields hung on the walls. Several Lupens were looking around. Oscar walked over to a leather body suit and lifted it off its hooks. He then grabbed a breast plate and bracers.
“See if these fit,” he told me. I quickly pulled the body suit over my clothes and Oscar helped me buckle the armor. I stretched my arms and legs.
“It fits,” I said.
“Hand me the scimitar,” Oscar said. I gave it to him and he grabbed several scabbards. He tried to sheath my blade in each one until he found one that worked. He nodded and as he was putting the rest back on the rack he grabbed a sword belt. He handed my sheathed blade and sword belt and I buckled them at my side.
“Come on,” Oscar said. He led me out of the building and began jogging across the field. After about a minute I saw a dark shape on the horizon. As we got closer I realized that it was a gigantic arena. “This is Talfaer stadium,” Oscar told me. Suddenly the dinner bell rang and Oscar turned toward it. “Come on,” he said. We both walked off in the direction of the kitchens. After about five minutes they became visible on the horizon and it only took two more minutes to reach them. Oscar and I both grabbed a pastry and mug of lemonade, then walked over to where Aust was sitting. Oscar sat down and began eating hurriedly. After he had finished eating he downed the lemonade in one gulp and jogged off across the field.
“Why did he leave?” I asked.
“He is playing in a Haer game tonight and he had to warm up,” Aust explained “We can go and watch him if you want.”
I nodded and said “Let’s go.” We turned back to are pastries and ate in silence. After a few minutes we finished and stood up.
Aust began to jog in the direction of Talfaer stadium and I followed. We soon reached it and we were swept up in the wave of people going in. We walked through the double doors and down a winding passage with hallways branching off. Aust entered one of the hallways along with several other Lupens and we followed it to a large hanging gallery. I looked around and saw that the stadium consisted of a huge playing field. The field had several large puddles, about ten yards across randomly scattered around it. There was a large hole on each end of the field.
A Lupen emerged through a set of double doors. He carried a ball in one hand and a horn in the other. He walked to the center of the field and blew a sharp note on the horn. Doors opened on either side of the field and the teams walked out. One side’s breast plates had a blue dot on them and the others had a green dot. I spotted Oscar among the blue team.
“Choose captains,” the Lupen with the ball called. A representative from each team stepped forward and stood about five feet away from him.
“The point of Haer is to get five points. You get a point when you put it in the other goal,” Aust said, pointing to the holes. I returned my attention the field and watched as the Lupen in the middle tossed the ball in the air and blew his horn again. The two captains rushed for the ball. The green team Lupen was almost to it when the other captain elbowed him in the chest, sending him crashing downwards. The captain then grabbed the ball and charged across the field. He sprinted quickly past the rest of the green team and tossed it in their goal.
“One-Zero,” the Lupen in the middle proclaimed. He handed the ball to the green team captain as the players returned to their starting positions. The horn was blown a third time and the captain sprinted toward the goal. He was almost to it when Oscar tackled him, grabbing the ball in the process. Oscar then threw the ball to another blue team player who took off across the field. The Lupen weaved around defense and quickly made a goal.
“Two-Zero,” the Lupen standing in the middle said. He again handed the ball to the green team and blew his horn. The green team captain ran around one of the puddles and began to close in on the goal. Several Lupens attempted tackles but the captain kept running. He scored from ten feet away and raised his arms in victory.
“Two-One,” the announcer said as he handed the ball to the blue team and blew his horn. The blue team captain punted it over the green team’s heads and the ball landed next to the goal, then rolled in.
“Three-One,” the announcer declared. He handed the green team the ball and blew his horn to start the game. The green team captain motioned with his hand and ran forward. The rest of his team followed and when the blue team tackled the captain the rest of them began to pull attackers off. A large group of struggling Lupens formed around the captain. I watched as the ball was flung out of the group and a green team player who had hung back saw his chance and grabbed it. Suddenly Oscar burst out of the wild mass and flipped the Lupen on his back. He grabbed the ball and quickly made a goal.
“Four-One,” the announcer said. He tossed the ball to the green team captain and blew his horn. The blue team surged toward the captain who looked around anxiously and then attempted a pass. The throw fell short and the ball landed in one of the puddles. Instantly a Lupen from either team dived into the water. After about half a minute the blue team Lupen surfaced with the ball. He tossed it to another player who scared the final goal.
“Game,” the announcer cried. The players gave each other handshakes and then jogged off to their respective doors as the stadium began to empty. Me and Aust stood up and stretched, then walked down the hallway. It seemed like it was taking forever to get out of the arena as we tried to maneuver through the crush of Lupens. Aust led me down a hallway I hadn’t noticed on the way in and suddenly we popped outside. I looked up at the sky, expecting to see stars then realized with a jolt that I was underground. Just then a red faced Oscar burst out of the building.
“Well played,” Aust told him. We began walking toward the visitor’s lodge. When we were about half-way there when a guard member ran up. He spoke in Aust’s ear and then left.
“I must go,” Aust said as he sprinted to the nearest platform “Meet me at the ovens tomorrow.” Then the platform was pulled up and I lost sight of him. Oscar and I continued walking. We reached the visitors lodge in about five minutes and Oscar gave his name to the guard. He waved us through and we jogged up the stairs to are room. I found that someone had left a pair of cotton night clothes next to my bed. I went behind a screen and quickly changed, then collapsed into bed. I soon fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.
[E.S.M1]
Reading Eli's Book
go to his bolg to read it and get up date's on it. or e-mail me at theosagemart@g-mail.com. so I can tell him to send it to you.
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