literature

Before The Storm

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The dwarven halls echoed with the sound of the day, miners off to work, merchants hawking their wares in the underground bazaar, foragers filing outside to bring back goods from the outside world. A typical day lit by lantern, and the daylight that trickled in through the entrances. In a far off corner a young dwarf maid sat on her favored stone bench and read the leatherbound book she had been given by the missionary.



She had long red hair cascading over her shoulder, her pale face dotted with freckles below her blue eyes. She wore a simple dress her little legs kicking absentmindedly as she read the book of the cat goddess.



She quite liked what she read, it appealed to her charitable nature, and she’d always had a love for cats. She was smiling when her thoughts were interrupted.



“There she is, Eilwen the beardless. Elly the freak!”



Angrily Eilwen shut her volume and stood up to face her tormentors, dwarves about her own age stood leering at her, all her life she had been mocked for her lack of facial hair.



“I ain’t in the mood for y’all!” She shouted angrily.



There were more jeers as she stormed away. Away to the one refuge she had. Through the throng of dwarves she moved until she came to a particular tent with a cat emblem. Eilwen pushed the cloth aside as she stormed in.



An elderly human woman stood within dressed in robes.



“Elly, my child. Did you read the book all the way through already?”



The dwarf maiden shook her head, “No, I was interrupted by my tormentors.”



The human woman nodded her head, “I see. I shall pray for you on the road, and when I get back to Westhills.”



Eilwen looked shocked, “You’re leaving?”



The woman nodded, “Afraid so, I’m being recalled by the church.”



The dwarf maid pouted before she spoke, “Can I come with you?”



The woman looked shocked, “You wish to come with me?”



Eilwen smiled, “Yes! I want to learn the ways of your order, to become a cleric of the cat goddess!”



The human woman regarded her kindly, “You’re sure this is what you want? A cleric's life is hard, and you’ll have to study vigorously.”



“I’m ready, I want to see Westhills and learn more about the people and culture there. This is my calling, I can feel it in mah bones.”



The cleric patted Elly on the head, “I cannot turn those who wish to seek knowledge away. Very well, I’ll take you to our church where you will be apprenticed. Take whatever you need and we shall set out the day after tomorrow.”



**



In that very city of WestHills among the dirty streets a young man was trying to survive. He was undoubtedly handsome with dark hair, and a roguish smile, despite his tattered clothes and dirty bare feet.



He stuck to the shadows as the sun began to set he spotted his target and grinned. His name was Fen Brathi and he had been living on his own for as long as he could remember. So long that he could tell just by looking at someone if they were wealthy or not; a target in short. He spotted his victim, a man with a flashy coat over a silk shirt.



“A few alms sir?” Fen grinned at the man trying his best to charm him.



The man snarled and shoved Fen away.



“Off with you beggar! Back to your slum!”



The man gave Fen a kick to the buttocks for good measure.



“My apologies sir.” Fen stammered as he scuttled away.



Fen got a few more feet away before he heard the man cry out.



“My coinpurse! You wretched thief! I’m going to thrash you!”



Fen grinned guiltily before putting his prize away and running as the enraged gentry started in pursuit. Deftly Fen weaved his way through the city dwellers as his foe kept up the pursuit. There were loud protests as the game of cat and mouse continued and the bystanders were none too happy about being shoved aside.



Finally Fen ducked into an alley and flattened against the wall, the angered gent ran right past the alleyway without noticing it. Shrugging Fen walked down the alley at a leisurely pace until he was on the other side.



Fen made it a few more blocks before he was halted by a pair of spear wielding guards.



“Well, well, up to no good as usual are we Fen?”



Fen cracked a grin, “Nikola, Andrej, my friends. Surely you’re not accusing me of something, are you?”



“Some minor gent said he had his purse stolen. Know anything about that?” Nikola asked.



Fen shrugged, “There’s a lot of crime around here. A pity neither of you were around, I’m sure the thief would have been caught.”



“No doubt,” Andrej grunted.



Fen waved at them, “I’ll be seeing you around, think I owe you guys both some odd jobs, yeah?”



Working odd jobs was the legitimate side of Fen’s income, and usually he did favors for the guards, kept him from being high on the list of suspects whenever there was some form of robbery.



As Fen parted ways with the guards he gave the coin purse a shake, pocket change for a noble, but for him a rich bounty. Fen definitely deserved to treat himself at the local tavern. A stout drink, some seasoned food, and maybe if he was especially lucky; a companion of the female sort.



The thief wound his way through the streets of WestHills until he came upon his most favored tavern, ‘The Hanged Patriot’ so called from WestHills bloody history and the brutal occupation of the neighboring Talosians. Once a server refused to speak the tongue of the occupiers, and he paid with his life. After liberation the tavern was renamed in his honor.



The tavern was one of WestHill’s finest, and Fen was on relatively good terms with the current proprietor.



The inn was alive with revelry as the piano played and the patrons sang, the good old songs of merrymaking with a few innuendos laced into the lyrics. Pipe smoke, alcohol, and cooking food all mingled together as Fen found a seat that was thankfully unoccupied.



“What can I get ya?” A dark haired tavern girl asked with a wry smile.



“Bottle of wine, and your evening stew.” Fen replied with a charming smile, he jingled his coinpurse to show he meant business.



“Certainly.” The taverngirl smiled as she left. Fen watched her walk away focusing on her shapely rear.



“I love this place.” He chuckled.



**



Deep in the woods a lone figure huddled in the brush hunting bow at the ready, as he watched his prey, a young buck. The hunter took a few steps forward testing his weight and the ground, wary of breaking a twig underfoot.



The buck lifted his head and sniffed. After deciding things were safe the deer went back to grazing. The hunter drew his bow back and sighted down his arrow before letting fly. The arrow struck the buck in the neck, the beast snorted and twisted its head back and forth as it thrashed about before falling to the ground.



The hunter stepped forward pulling the tattered cloak down to reveal dirty blonde hair. He was thin but fit, with weathered skin and green eyes. His name was Egeus, and he had been alone in the woods for some time. He had no family now, an outcast.



Sighing, Egeus put away his bow and drew his hunting knife, he said a short prayer of thanks to Jaeger God of hunters and fishermen before he set to work skinning and butchering his kill. Enough to keep him fed for sometime. He could sell the rest.



Selling meat, fur, and bones to those incapable of hunting for themselves was how Egeus made a living, as tempted as he often was to live out the rest of his lives alone in the woods, part of him insisted he try to live amongst civilization. Truthfully Egeus liked being away from people though, people were all selfish and greedy. Even family couldn’t be trusted as his exile had taught him.



He was better off without them. Or so he told himself on the lone nights in the dark when he only had, his regrets, strange dreams, and the howls of wolves for company. Truthfully even one as introverted as Egeus could long for companionship. But he never knew how to win people over. Friends seemed something far from his grasp, and a lover an impossible dream.



Who would ever want him anyway? He was just a grumpy woodsman.



Egeus picked his way through the woods, he knew exactly where he was going, WestHills. Largest city in this particular area of Talos. He had been many times before, the butchers were quick to accept whatever he could bring them. One last sweep of the woods to see if his snares caught anything and then he would go to the city.



As Egeus plodded along he stopped dead in his tracks as he heard something, crouching down and readying his bow he slinked forward like a wild cat. Perring over the bushes he spotted just what he thought he’d heard.



A large feral hog.



Egeus huddled back down as he debated with himself, feral hogs were dangerous, with a tough hide. On the other hand a feral hog was worth a lot of money. Far more than venison. Making a decision Egeus drew a bead on the feral hog that was rooting around in the dirt, just a good shot through the eye would do it. He couldn’t afford to miss, if he missed the pig would be out for blood.



Egeus drew his breath and let fly as the hog looked up, it was a fantastic shot, or it would have been if the hog hadn’t turned its head at the last second, instead of the eye the arrow grazed the side of the pigs snout.



Loud pig squeals filled the air.



“Gods dammit!” Egeus cursed.



He went for another arrow as the hog caught sight of him and charged for him, the pigs eyes were bloodshot with pain, fear, and anger.



**



Eilwen was gathering herbs in the forest, the low level cleric had been living in WestHills for some time now and worked in an apothecary shop on the side. She had been given many opportunities to help others as a cleric and apothecary, and had read much in books. She worked hard, but she was content with her hard work.



A mace hung from her belt, never hurt to have some form of defense when in the woods, and blunt weapons were the preferred armament of a cleric. As she worked in gathering the proper herbs she heard a loud squeal followed by a yell of anguish that was undoubtedly human, followed by another ear piercing squeal.



“My Gods!” Eilwen exclaimed as she ran towards the source of the noise mace in hand.



She came across an odd sight, a human hunter bandaging his leg with bits of cloth and the corpse of a large wild pig. The hunter’s arm was also bleeding from a large gash. A bow and a few arrows lay nearby while the hilt of a large hunting knife stuck out from the pig’s corpse.



“Howdy there!” Eilwen called.



Egeus turned sharply and noticed her for the first time, he frowned unsure if she was a dwarf or a stunted human woman. Didn’t all dwarves have beards? He noted her vibrant red hair and her freckled face, also the mace in hand.



The huntsman mulled his words over unsure of what to say before finally, blurting out. “Who are you?”



“Names Eilwen, or just Elly.” She put her mace away. “I’m a cleric.”



“Egeus, hunter, or ranger whatever you prefer.”



Eilwen drew a bit closer looking at the boar.



“Quite a brute.”



She looked at Egeus, “You’re hurt pretty badly.”



“I’m fine.” Egeus grunted as he hobbled towards the pig corpse to retrieve his hunting knife.



“Uh, huh.” Eilwen grunted. “No, you’re not.”



Grabbing the ranger’s uninjured arm she tugged him down roughly to a stump.



“I said I’m fine!” Egeus grumbled. “I already bandaged them!”



“I’ll believe you’re fine after I have taken a look at them and properly dressed them.”

Ignoring his continued protests she rolled his trouser leg up and unwrapped the wound.



“Amateur work here!”



Egeus muttered something under his breath before crying out as she put something to his leg. Eiwen then said the healing words, the wound being soothed before she applied fresh bandages.



“Arm now.”



Egeus sullenly obeyed feeling like a scolded child the entire time.



“You done?” Egeus asked.



“You’re welcome.” Eilwen sniffed offended.



Egeus looked off before muttering, “Thank, you.”



Now that he was healed he set about carving the boar up and retrieving his weapons.



“You shouldn’t be out here on your own.” Egeus grunted.



“I can handle myself.” Eilwen replied patting her mace. “But it’s sweet of you to escort me.”



Egeus started, he never said… oh what the hells.



“Sure,”



**



A few days had passed since Egeus and Eilwen met, and even fewer days since Egeus had met Fen. The ranger wasn’t overly fond of Fen, he was far too eager trying to be his friend. That always made Egeus clam up even more.



Fen didn’t seem to notice the indifference, or acted like he didn’t notice at least.

For his part though Egeus seemed to have made a rare thing, friends, he didn’t do what he usually did of parting ways with them immediately. Instead he made a point of seeking Eilwen out, even if Fen was sure to pop up to.



On a particular day all three met up for what Fen said was a golden opportunity.



“Don’t be grumpy and serious all the time you’ll age faster!” Fen chuckled at Egeus.



“I didn’t ask for advice.” Egeus snapped back.



Eilwen cleared her throat, “Boys! Focus.”



“Right, I recently did a job making new shutters for a house, and I found a spot we can call home. Spacious, hardly any competition for the property. Better than overpaying at taverns, sleeping out in the woods or in that barracks of religious folk.”



Fen of course referred to each of them.



Eilwen touched her broach, “I shall miss my fellow clerics company, but moving out would help me continue my charitable work.”



Fen knew of Elly and her volunteer work with the poor houses and assisting with the apothecaries. Charity was part of a cleric’s duty and Eilwen only took payment from those that she knew could afford to part with coins, and only took what she needed.

Fen led the way through the city streets into the poorer parts of Westhills, finally at a lone rundown house Fen paused and threw his arms up.



“Tadah!”



Egeus blinked, Eilwen gasped.



“Fen,” Eilwen stated, “That’s The Witch House.”



Egeus shuddered. “The Witch House?”



They had all heard the stories, some time ago a woman said to be a witch resided in that home. She was eventually put to death by burning. Her spirit was said to still roam WestHills, particularly her old house.



“I know, I know. But that’s the beauty of it, no one wants this place. No one will dare rob it either, and I should know how thieves think.” Fen winked.



The cleric and ranger still looked uncertain.



“It’s just an old house, we’ll get it fixed up and it will be a proper place to live.”



Egeus' mind drifted to a moment long ago, a dark ritual invoked as a joke by those that were once his family, the cold touch of something he did not like, the feeling of something missing, a small part, but a part nonetheless.



“Scared ya didn’t I boy?”



Egeus shook the memory off as he looked back at the house.



Eilwen was meanwhile considering the house, it was closer to her work places, and to those she ministered to. She could see herself residing there among those she yearned to help, not plodding all the way from the temple.



“Alright, you’ve convinced me Fen.” Elly nodded.



“Fine,” Egeus grumbled.



“Great you won't regret this, it’ll be a great idea mark my words!” Fen grinned. “With all three of us pitching in, we can make the best of this.”



Elly smiled, “Yes about that, you two get your belongings, we’ll meet back here and then we are getting to work cleaning this place out! No dawdling.”



“I don’t dawdle.” Egeus grumbled as he skulked off.



Settling into their new home took a lot of work, spiders were swept out rotted wood was a frequent problem, but thankfully old furniture held up for the most part. The worst part about their new home though, was it was definitely haunted.



Items would move, usually Fen would be blamed for nabbing something, he’d protest and then the object would reappear. Furniture stacked itself overnight, or would drag across the room. Many a time Egeus would stumble from his bed knife in hand as he thought thieves had come to murder them in their sleep, only to find the resident ghost had knocked something down again.



Eilwen said prayers and burned sage to keep spirits appeased, it seemed to be somewhat effective, the paranormal events happened less frequently than they did. But they still happened. Or perhaps the three were just getting used to the strangeness of their new home.



Despite the haunted home, all three went about their lives normally. Egeus left for hunts. Fen made ‘acquisitions’ and worked odd jobs. Eilwen went about her clerical duties. For his part Egeus seemed to be comfortable around Fen and Elly, whenever he wasn’t out in the wilds, but the man was hard to read.



Despite their jobs there were still many repairs to make, and expenses. That’s when Elly had a brilliant idea, she broke the news to the others one morning as she cooked up some porridge.



“Boys! Get in here, I’ve got porridge and good news.”



The two shuffled in as they sat, the dwarven lady serving up the breakfast as she grinned.



“What’s this good news, eh Elly?” Fen asked taking a clump of porridge in his mouth as Egeus silently gazed on.



“Well you know we need to make some extra gold around here.”



“Mmmhmm,” Egeus mumbled.



“Well I registered us for the adventurers guild.” She declared.



Fen started coughing nearly choking on his porridge.



“You did what?” Egeus asked.



“We’re registered, which means we can take on those odd requests people make.”



“Adventuring is dangerous work!” Egeus said.



“I know it is, but it can pay well and I’m pretty confident with our abilities.”



“Pays well?” Fen questioned. “I like the sound of that! Let’s start small though.”



Eilwen nodded, “Oh of course, we’re going to meet the guildmaster for details about some missing grain. That is if you’re both coming.”



Fen shrugged, “Chance of coins? Count me in.”



“Egeus, what of you?” Eilwen asked, her blue eyes rested on him.



The ranger felt his face warm up for some reason as he slowly nodded.



“Yeah,”



Eilwen beamed, “I knew I could count on my boys to have my back.”



After their briefing the three found themselves on the outskirts of town, Eilwen still wore a dress, though sensibly she opted for muted colors and a cloak, her mace was of course through her belt. Fen wore his leathers and had armed himself with a dagger. Egeus was dressed and armed as he usually was for a hunt, bow, arrows, and hunting knife on his person.



They were at the mill that had recently been ransacked.



“Think someone was hungry?” Fen asked as he poked his head into the dilapidated mill. Only bits of loose grain lay upon the floor, the entire content of bagged grain had been snatched away.



“The entire mill?” Eilwen frowned, “I’d say more like someone wanting to turn a profit selling grain back at double the price. Or maybe a rival miller?”



Egeus frowned as he uncovered wagon tracks and hooves. “Found some tracks.”



Eilwen drew closer to him, “Well done! Think you can follow them?”



“Of course I can follow them.” Egeus puffed.



“Lead on.” Fen smiled.



Egeus led the way as Eilwen followed behind, and then Fen brought up the rear. The trail had been hidden but Egeus called the attempts amateurish. The sun went down and with it conversations died down as the woods became a scary place rife with ambush locations.



Eventually Egeus held a hand up and the three adventurers knelt on the ground as he pointed

ahead, there the faint glow of a fire burned among several carts.



“Travelling merchants?” Fen asked.



Egeus shook his head.



As their eyes adjusted Eilwen spotted a man standing by a cart with a crossbow in hand dressed in dark clothing. The fire had revellers laughing and making merry. At least three of the merrymakers.



“If they aren’t bandits, I’m not a dwarf.” Eilwen muttered.



“You got a plan?” Fen asked.



Egeus was aiming his bow, “I could probably drop crossy before he can even aim.”



Being a traditional archer Egeus had nothing but contempt for crossbows.



“Not just yet, Fen you sneak around the left, I’ll take the right and Egeus will cover us from the woods. Hopefully the sentry is the only one sober right now, we’ll catch them off guard.”



“Hope you’re right about that.” Fen muttered.



“Got a better plan?” She asked.



“No,” Fen shrugged before he drew his dagger and slipped away into the shadows. Eilwen started to make her advance when Egeus stopped her.



“Wait, Eilwen.”



“What?” She asked.



“Uhhh… be careful… yeah.”



The dwarf lady nodded with a frown before hefting her mace and setting out.



Fen moved silently through the forest though he was used to the city he adapted to the rural area. The thieves' eyes never strayed too far from the crossbowman. Perhaps Fen was a bit too wary of the bandit as he stumbled over a man wrapped in a blanket.



The man cursed and stumbled to his feet the short choice expletive was of Redinia the neighboring country that had occupied parts of Talos, in the past, in particularly WestHills.



The man swapped back to Talos when he spoke.



“Who the hell are you?” His bleary voice demanded.



Fen held up a hand as his dagger hand hid behind his back. “It’s alright, it’s just me.”



“What?” The man asked in a confused stupor as he waved a large club about. The commotion had gotten the crossbowman’s attention as he turned to see what was going on. Fen kept trying to convince the roused sleeper that he belonged there.



Egeus had seen enough. The huntsman let fly.



The arrow stuck the crossbowman between the shoulderblades and there was a loud scream of pain. The awakened man looked over in shock, momentarily forgetting Fen. It was a mistake. With the distraction the thief struck with his dagger slashing the bandit across the cheek. The Redinian howled in pain and struck blindly for Fen who was already scampering away.



The revelers were looking confused as they began to realize the loud noises they were hearing weren’t celebratory in nature. Eilwen plodded along as Egeus fired an arrow into the main encampment, the arrow didn’t hit anything but it sent the drunken bandits running amuck colliding with one another, as they couldn’t decide between arming themselves or finding cover.



Eilwen found herself with a large man with an axe in her path.



“What you… tiny…” The drunk rambled as he raised his axe up high.



The cleric struck and she struck for what was easy for her to hit, her mace smashed into the brigand’s kneecap. There was a sickening crunch and a loud wail and the man was doubled over on the ground. Eilwen kicked his face as she moved on. Another arrow buried itself in the ground as the remaining bandits hid behind cover clutching their axes.



There was a short scream as one of the bandits vanished into the shadows. In reality Fen had gotten lucky enough to hit one over the head and pull his unconscious form away.



Eilwen could see the chaotic scene before her, thinking quickly she decided to take advantage of it.



“We got them surrounded bring the second platoon up!”



It had the intended effect, the bandits couldn’t see how many they were fighting.



“Two platoons?”



“We’re not getting paid enough for this, run for it boys!”



The remaining bandits fled into the night sure that two platoons were closing in on them, when in reality it was just three plucky adventurers. The three met in the middle of the camp Egeus watching the woods in case the bandits doubled back.



“Nice bluff Elly.” Egeus complimented. Fen was already trying to loot everything except the raw grain in the sacks; which he liberally nibbled on.



“It was a thought, scare em off. Tie up whoever’s alive,”



Egeus grumbled as he did so.



“So obviously these guys are bandits, by why are they stealing grain?” Elly asked aloud.



“Maybe Ridania hired them. Trying to hit our food stores?” Fen hypothesized.



“Why do you say that?” The dwarf asked.



“Because one of them spoke Ridanian.”



Fen went to find the man he had confronted but he had fled. “Damn. Hey Egeus, think you can track a wounded man down?”



Eilwen shook her head, “We ain’t going to waste time, we’re getting this grain back and taking care of these ruffians.”



Egeus grunted. “Sloppy bandits this lot. Very little effort to hide.”



Eilwen frowned, as Fen scrutinized Egeus.



“Sounds like you’ve had experience.” Fen said.



“What, no. Stop looking too much into things.”



Some time after they handed the captured brigands over and the grain reclaimed the group had a small tidy sum to split between themselves, each knew it would sadly be gone all too quickly. Such was life. But now the three were registered adventurers guild members, odd jobs were sure to open up for them.



As life went on as usual no citizen of Westhills was none the wiser as to what was on the horizon, nor the three odd adventurers the horrors and personal struggles that lay ahead of them, a path through darkness and madness. Old secrets long buried. A fight for the very city's survival. An uncertain future, a tale to unfold but would it end in triumph, tragedy, or in a bittersweetness?



Time would tell.

A somewhat lengthy short story, my apologies in advance but I just didn't feel like breaking this one up into smaller parts like I usually do. 

These characters are all from a Dungeon World RP that was played recently, something of a prequel/origin story for the three characters. Before the events of the main RP, before the fantasy equivalent of the black plague. (This was not inspired by the current pandemic but we were definitely all thinking Jumanji) 

Eilwen was played by my wife :iconinherownworld88: The sweet but bossy dwarf cleric, who became the leader. Also dwarves apparently talk southern as her character let a 'Y'all' slip out. We just rolled with it, I'm fine with southern belle dwarves not every fantasy has to have English accents. 

Fen Brathi was :iconzara-arletis: character a thief but not a very good thief. In fact the dice rolls were particularly cruel to poor Fen. He fancies himself a ladies man. 

Egeus: Is my character an extremely introverted ranger who spends more time in the wild than in the city. He has trouble making friends due to his introverted nature. He an Eilwen sort of developed a romance and it was quite adorable. 

Not sure if we'll ever see these three in a story again but here for your reading pleasure is their adventures before the plague. 
© 2020 - 2025 MercenaryBlade

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Zara-Arletis's avatar

Yay! You posted it! It's always interesting to see how other people write characters from rp games ^_^ I adore what you did with Fen hear, and getting to see how Elly and Egs met was great!