[Broken Contract] Chapter One (part 1): Berry

[Broken Contract] 

Chapter One: Berry (part 1)

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Expressionlessly, Vaen looked at the cliff in front of him, then back at the map in his hands.

Five days, the man had told him helpfully. Five days north through the Spine and you’ll reach Lyar. On my honor.

Yet, it was already two weeks past, and Vaen had only just barely made it through the Spine. With the sun hanging high in the cloudless blue sky, he could see for leagues around the heavily forested valley. Jagged peaks of the mountains known as the Spine of Giants surrounded the valley on three sides. Not far east of where he stood a waterfall crashed down a rocky bluff and into a river that wound gently deep into the woods. However, there was no sign of any buildings, not to mention an entire city. He looked back at the trail that ended in front of him.


And this cliff was definitely not on the map.


 “Damn that old man and his honor!” Vaen cursed loudly, tearing the map into pieces. Glaring in the direction the pieces had scattered, he suddenly had an urge to turn back and spend another two months traveling through the Spine just to give the cheat a good beating. And take back his money. Reaching inside his black woolen coat, he took out a small leather pouch that clinked feebly as he shook it.


My four silver dales!


Tearfully, he returned the light pouch back to the inner pocket of his coat and turned away from the cliff. As much as he wanted to teach the swindler a lesson, he did not have enough provisions or money to last the trip back; there was no choice but to find his own way, now. Pulling up the fur-lined hood of his sable cloak, he strode back into the thick forest behind him, heading east. He remembered there had been a trail down into the valley not far down.

[Watchers of the Shadow] Chapter One (part 1)

            The bells tolled.

            Deep reverberating peals and the soft tinkle of chimes intertwined into a lament that could be heard for leagues around: from the towering spires and sprawling buildings of the city, to the terraced fields of the low hills surrounding, and to the thick forests far north. For a moment, the bellsong was all that could be heard. Birds quieted. The wailing wind  paused, as if holding its breath. There was only the song of bells, a song of mourning and tragedy.

            Avaris pulled back on his reins, turning back to look towards the south where the bellsong came, and where the city of Nessa stood. They were already half a day away, having set off at first light, yet they could still hear every sorrowful note clearly. Absently, he fingered the blue sapphire drop studded in his right earlobe as he did when worried. It had been his mother’s once, and usually her memory was enough to comfort him when he was troubled. But, this time, his unease only grew.

            I’ve never heard the bells sing so sorrowfully, he thought worriedly. It was a bad omen, on the first day of his journey. The bells were relics from an age of magic centuries past, found in the old abandoned buildings that have now become the thriving city of Nessa. Untouched, the bells would ring at precisely midday: every song different, but each, Avaris knew, a foretelling. Perhaps not many believed in the magic of the bells—or magic at all, for that matter—but Avaris believed,  and the bellsong worried him. What could it mean?