» Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:32 am
Alright here is the very first part of the first chapter of the story, if you like it please follow the link i posted in my first message. It's completely safe guys, it's an official site. If you are still thinking it is risky, just search for 'booksie' on google, go to the site, then search for 'shadows' to find my story.
Note that the poem and quote before the actual story is just to accompany the tale. Read it- it's quite a nice poem, referring to the desolate setting of my tale.
SHADOWS: The Gray Fox
-----------------------------
A tale based on an oblivion character and guild.
A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,
And the dry stone no sound of water. Only
There is shadow under this red rock,
(Come in under the shadow of this red rock),
And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear, in a handful of dust.
- The Waste Land, T.S. Eliot
“Go then, there are other worlds than these.”
- The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger, Stephen King
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Part One -- The Gardens of Dareloth
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 1- The Man with the Cowl
I
Shadows hid the man with the cowl, and he crept behind the man in white.
They were beside the lonely and poor Village of Glen, a settlement where all wanderers reside for no more than a few sun sets, and where the residents share short days and unpleasant nights. A river flowed windingly from beside the village gate outwards like a snake escaping a cage. Unhealthy trees, bushes, and uncut weeds littered the area beside the river, and white cobble stones seemed to form a path that stood out in the dark, dominating night like snow scattered over a blood red roof top. This path, if we imagine it a proper path, stretched long and followed the river through to the west side of the immense Cantus Mountains. And it was beside this so called cobbled path that the two men advanced towards their objective.
The man in white was a tall figure, a contrast with the desolate night sky but a match with the beaming, cream white moon. His long, smooth white robe seemed to reflect the moonlight.
He was making his way to The Hut, the place where he kept his provisions- or tools of murder.
Or are they tools of justice, he thought.
His pace quickened as he strolled through the grassy lands, as if something was amiss. His hazel eyes never left his target, staring soulless but surely into the dark patch of trees ahead of them. Yes them. The man with the cowl was behind, he followed, spied, waited. His pace was swift as well, only slightly shy of the man in white’s but only because he had to be slower. Or he would be caught. Or the shadows couldn’t catch him, and keep him from being caught.
The man in white was usually a careful fellow, but not quite cautious enough this time. His determination of reaching The Hut hastily only opened a small doorway that allowed the man with the cowl to seep in. Now he had the upper hand. He kept hunched and pursued professionally, making sure he was always ready to strike. Ready to pounce- like a black panther preparing to catch his ill-fated prey.
This man with the cowl was a mysterious fellow; with a medium build and neat, powerful brown hair. His cowl was dark brown, covered half his face from his nose up and had a smooth curve at the top which pressed some of his hair down.
The breeze was chilly and blew forth from the echoing ravines beyond the Cantus Mountains. But aside from the whispering sound of the wind, utter silence enclosed both figures in the dark. Soon the man in white reached his Hut, paused to look left and right for a moment, then opened the ancient and filthy door covered in moss. The door unbolted with a high-pitched screech, the sound of a witch with cancer in her belly. The man with the cowl speedily made his way to a suitable hideout next to a set of protruded rocks that shot out of the earth like daggers stuck in sand. The door was then shut. And so the man with the cowl waited.
A minute passed by, two minutes, three. Beads of sweat were trickling down his forehead, and onto the cowl which hid his features; as if the slight darkness of the night did not disguise him enough. Not to mention the shadows that the rocks created. During these events, the shadows were always his companion.
After another minute or two, he rose up and sprinted in silence towards the door. Then it creaked open. He had heard his footsteps- the man in white’s footsteps. He pressed his back tightly against the wall to the right side of the door, his chest heaving up and down. But the breaths which he released from his lungs were still and as quiet as he could have them be. They had to be. Or he would get him.
The man in white had not detected his presence, no; he did not suspect anything at all. He had what he needed, his ‘justice tools’, or his murdering instruments. He took a few steps out of The Hut with the door falling back to fill the emptiness of the sizable, rotten shed located in this no-where land. He took a second to glance back when there was a voice-
“Halt rogue... Man in white.”
The man in white heard the voice loud and clear- it was slightly gruff but deep and sure. He spun around almost immediately, but there was no one behind him. A thousand thoughts sped through his mind. He’s here? Where is-
But he did not have time to finish that thought, and perhaps no one will ever know what he would have thought then. The man with the cowl had advanced and took him in his arms, cupped a hand over his mouth and pulled his head back. His knee pushed against his back firmly, and the man in white struggled for one second, fell over, and was unconscious. The man with the cowl caught him and slowly laid him on the dirty ground beneath, where the wild grass below seemed to swallow him. He took what he had held in his hands upon leaving the shed- a red dagger-like blade with jagged, rusted edges, and a silver key.
The man with the cowl left in silence. As fast as a grey fox, he went dashing through the most disturbing part of night- a time when midnight approaches and the forest creatures come begging for blood. He needed to escape fast, before the man in white regained consciousness.
The man with the cowl fled across the nightmare landscape, and his shadow followed.
So if you enjoyed it, and want to read more, follow the link:
http://www.booksie.com/action_and_adventur...s:-the-gray-fox
And btw, the man with the cowl is obviously the gray fox. And the story does get better, as I wished the intro to be simple in the beginning. Many characters join and a lot of quests ensue.
