Colaborative Story - Fantasy

DamaNegra

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Ok, I'm going to try and make this work. The rules of this are simple:
- Post the next two or three paragraphs in this story.
- Every post has to be coherent with the last post.
- Please, no posting anything that is not story
- Keep it clean.
- Remember, the genre is fantasy.

So I'll start:

~o~​

Gwen knew that if she didn't make a desicion quickly, she could lose her life. She could either run out of the inn and expose herself to the night creatures, or stay and fight the six weapon-laden thugs single-handed. With no prior experience in fighthing, either choice would be suicidal.

The thugs approached her, trying to corner her against a wall. She clutched the bottle of sweet beer- the only weapon she had.

"¡Janis!" she yelled.

"The inn-keeper is dead, lady," the chief thug said. "And soon, you will be dead too. That's what happens for not paying due tribute to the Governor."
 

sacredmime

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The pendulum movements of the thug's amulet caught her attention. Jade encased in cold iron -- proof against the night creatures. Only those who served the governer were sanctioned to wear the amulets.

She looked the thug in the eye. "Th-thank you."
Before he could voice his confusion, she continued. "Janis was a brute, a fiend who treated me like his slave."

"Sounds like our kind of man," the thug said, and the others laughed. "Too bad I had to open his throat."
 

victoria.goddard

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She fumbled behind her back, hesitating between opening the door and breaking the beer bottle on the door-knob. There were rumours that the most recent wave of night creatures were not stopped by iron and jade. She didn't know whether that was true or not; but the thugs had come before full dark, in any case.

"I don't think you want to do that, dearie," said the thug who had spoken before.

If there was one thing Gwen hated, it was being patronised.
 

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Still, she kept her cool. If you lose control of yourself, you're dead, she told herself. The thugs were crazed with blood-lust: physically they were unstoppable. The only effective weapon against them was brains.

Gwen allowed herself to droop, her body taking on a defeated attitude. She looked at the leader of the thugs appealingly.

"Do you really want to kill me?" She asked. Her voice was plaintive and seductive at the same time.
 

DamaNegra

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Her question had the desired effect.

"Huh...? What?" the thug asked, stopping.

"It would be a waste to kill me," Gwen said. "You could take me to the Governor. I'm sure he wouldn't be happy with you if you kill me. That idiot, Janis... the Governor will probably reward you for his death." She looked at Janis's body, spralwed on the floor, and closed her eyes for a moment, begging for him to forgive her.

The thugs would never do anything that might displease the governor, Gwen coul see it in the way their little bloodshot eyes opened wide as she spoke. She prayed for a miracle as the thugs considered her. She would be a worthy prize for the governor, she was exactly the type of girls he liked: slim, petite and redhead. Gwen saw the realization dawn on the thugs' faces.

"Fine then," the thug leader said. "I'll take you to the governor. But I'll tie you up first." Gwen extended her wrists, wincing as the thick piece of bendable metal dug into her skin.

What have I done? she thought as she exited the inn, escorted by the thugs.
 

sacredmime

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"Wait," Gwen said, keeping her voice as steady as she could. "Did you find his treasure?"

The thugs' postures changed immediately. "What treasure?" one of them asked.

Gwen's mind raced. "The tribute he never paid. He still has it here, hidden." She looked at Janis' body for what she knew would be the last time.
Alorah, give me strength for what comes next, she prayed.

The moment the thug leader followed her gaze to the body, her hands shot out and ripped the amulet off his neck.

Her heart in her throat, she ran out into the night.
 

janetbellinger

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Gwen drank down the sweet beer for courage as she encountered a dark shape, with glowing eyes.

"What have we here?" the night creature asked, in a throaty voice. "Methinks this pretty belongs to me."

Gwen shoved the amulet into the creatures face, just as it reached out for her neck with its clawlike hands.

"Ack. My eyes. I'm injured," the thing cried, covering its eyes with its fingers and backing away from Gwen.
 

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It worked! Gwen was weak with relief. But she knew her respite was short-lived. Her hands were still tied, and the thugs would be out in a moment. She could not hope to outrun them.

Don't strike out for the open. Hide in the alleys. It's the only way.

Holding the amulet in front of her like a shield, Gwen ducked down into the nearest alley, just as the inn door burst open and the thugs ran out.
 

Godfather

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Suddenly a hand clasped her shoulder, but before she had time to scream, something hit her on the head. She blacked out.

She woke up, and about to open her eyes, she thought better of it. Those thugs must have caught me... but why haven't they killed me yet? She thought. Then it dawned on her, she was going to be raped and tortured, to satisfy the barbaric thugs.

"How is she?" asked a familiar voice.
"Been awake a minute or so now, M'lord" said a voice she didn't recognise.
"You can open your eyes now" said the first voice.

She did, and to her surprise she saw her son standing in front of her. Panic and joy struck her at once. He had long hair now, was dressed finely in a black coat, with a sword and an expensive looking leather scabbard at his side, his gauntlets were tucked into his belt. He looked just like he did, just older and with longer hair.

Except for the scar running from his forehead down to his left cheek. Although, it didn't mar his handsomeness.

"I knew you were alive, boy. Nothing can kill you, can it?" She said.
 
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DamaNegra

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Dannel smiled at his mother, nodding his head. His tough appearance did not match his eyes, which shook with restrained emotion. Only Gwen could see that. She stood up and hugged her son.

"Where have you been?" she asked.

"Trying to return home in a better state that I left," Dannel replied.

"I see so now. What happened?"

"I sent someone to look for you when I knew the Inn had been attacked." Dannel shot an angry look at his bat-faced servant. "Gero wasn't gentle about it, but he has recieved punishment enough."
 

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Gero cringed in the corner, and put on an ingratiating smile. Gwen could see the red welt across his cheek where he had been lashed. My boy has grown up, she thought. So authoritative. Just like his father... Suddenly she felt a lump in her throat.

"Are you all right, Mother? We have to move fast. Since Janis has been betrayed, we are no longer safe." He assisted her up. "The Governor's arm is longer than we thought."

"But how do we escape?" Gwen asked. "The place is overrun with the minions of the Evil One."

Dannel smiled and scratched his scar.
 

Shweta

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"Oh, Mother," Dannel said with a small smile. "Have you ever really thought about this 'Evil One'? About what he fights?"

Gwen stared at him, her pulse starting to thud in her throat, her temples. "He fights us all," she replied. She swallowed, horrified at how faint her voice had become. Just like his father, indeed. "What do you mean?"

"Has it never occurred to you," he smiled, "that while people must stay indoors at night, they are safer from the Governor's men than they used to be? Before he came up with the jade-and-iron, the Governor could not prey at night. And soon, the amulets too will fail, ridding us of a good portion of his men."

"But the night creatures are evil!"

"Surely. But that doesn't mean their master is." His voice was coaxing, and looking again, Gwen could see the light of fanaticism in his eyes.
 
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Forbidden Snowflake

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Fear started to crawl through her body, an unpleasant, cold feeling. She knew she wasn't in immediate danger. Her son wouldn't harm her. At least she was pretty certain he wouldn't.

But still, the situation looked even more hopeless than before. The thugs were still in the area, probably just waiting for a movement to betray them their location and the night creatures wouldn't be so deadly if they hadn't already surounded them, waiting for a moment of weakness.

And now her son. Her own flesh and blood.

Maybe I'm paranoid, she thought, trying to calm herself somehow as she struggled to find her voice.

"You do remember what he did to your sister, don't you?" she finally managed to say.
 

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"Of course I remember," Dannel hissed. So long ago, but wicked enough to sear the memory into his mind forever. "And he has explained."

"What explanation can there be?" Gwen wanted to demand an answer, but she spoke gently, hoping to calm him now as she had calmed his childhood rages.

"It was not he," Dannel said, meeting her gaze with his. "And the Evil One is not the evil one. There is an imposter."

An imposter! That was nothing but an excuse, she thought, as lame as the miller's mule in her home village. And yet, she could not dismiss the idea, for if she herself could have an evil twin, so could ... the Evil One. Her head began to spin, surprise, confusion, and concussion conspiring against her.
 

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"But we don't have time for explanations, Mother," Dannel extended his hand and helped his mother to her feet. "Things are coming to a head...as has been predicted. Maybe the final battle is at hand." He licked his lips, and suddenly Gwen was afraid of this stranger who inhabited her son's body.

"Out, Gero!" The young man barked. "See if the coast is clear!"

The servant obediently slipped outside.

"But he'll be killed!" Gwen wailed.

"Oh no," Dannel smiled. "Those who follow the...Eternal One...are never touched by the night creatures. See, we wear the mark of the Master!"

He ripped open his shirt. At first, Gwen couldn't believe her eyes. Tattoed on his chest was the symbol she had hoped never again to see in her life: a snake coiled around a rampaging boar...
 

DamaNegra

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Gwen closed her eyes, hoping the gesture would erase the tattoo from her son's chest. She opened them again, the tattoo still tainted Dannel's skin, unnaturally alive for a drawing.

"Dannel... what have you done?" Gwen asked. Dannel frowned.

"I thought you, of all people, would understand, mother," Dannel said. "I came back, disobeying my master's orders and exposing myself to punishment just so I could save you. I thought you would understand that."

"Sir, there's no one outside," Gero said, popping his head back in. Dannel sighed and looked at his mother.

"Are you coming?" he asked. Gwen looked down to the floor. No, she did not like what her son had become. But underneath that tattooed body and confused ideas, he was still her son. The same hopeful fire burned in his eyes, and the same dimples formed in his cheeks when he smiled at her, and only at her. Besides, he had saved her, hadn't he?

"Very well," Gwen said. "Let us go... with your master." Dannel's face broke into a huge smile, and he hugged his mother. The hilt of his sword dug into Gwen's side, but she did not want to stop hugging her son. That bear hug was one of the only things that reminded her that it was still Dannel under that servant's mask.
 

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Outside, it was deserted.

Gwen could sense the night-creatures as they moved in the background. But none came near them. They knew their master, all right. The thugs seemed to have disappeared. Or maybe...their amulets just stopped working...Gwen didn't want to think any more, at least on those lines.

"We travel on foot for some time, Mother," Dannel said. "We shall move in the direction of the Northern Forest. Don't worry, nothing will touch a single hair on your head. If my calculations are correct, we shall reach there before daybreak. There are friends waiting for us there." He smiled. "If you feel tired, Gero will carry you. He can make up for his misbehaviour."

"Who are these friends who will be wating for us at the edge of the forest?" Gwen asked.

Dannel's eye burned with a strange light. "Servants of the Eternal One, Mother," he said.
 

MadScientistMatt

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Seeing no other choice, Gwen set off after her son. The road he took led them through the barley fields to the north of the town. Dannel withdrew a small amythyst crystal from his cloak that shed a faint purple glow to light their way. The crystal's light only illuminated a small radius, but beyond that, Gwen could see it reflected in moving eyes of the gods only knew what.

The sky was subtly brighter as they reached the Basalt Bridge that crossed over the Northern River.

"We stop here," Dannel said. "I'm afraid my calculations were not correct. We will hide under the bridge until nightfall. Our friends will not appreciate waiting in the daylight."

Gwen breathed a sigh of relief under her breath.

"But before we get some rest," Dannel said, "I'm going to have to make sure you don't decide to abandon our cause."
 

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Before Gwen could realise what was happening, Dannel's hand flashed out, and suddenly she found her wrists securely manacled. "What th...?" She started to react angrily, but her son had already pushed her down on the soft earth and bound her feet also. He stood back and looked at her with a bemused smile.

Gwen was speechless. Her mind was seething with a multitude of emotions: anger, fear, despair...but at the top was sorrow for her lost son. Oh Dannel, she thought. How much better it would have been had you died that day. What have you become? What lives inside that body?

Aloud she said (trying to keep her voice level): "This is foolish, my boy. I am your mother, and not some prisoner to be taken in chains before your master. Unfetter me at once!"

Dannel didn't move.
 

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Gwen tries to persuade Dannel using her maternal charms and reminds him of the days when he was the size of a geranium and cherub-faced but Dannel only glanced at her with a stare Gwen realises does not belong to him.

"If you love me, mother, then abide with me...I am your son and I will never hurt you, that is a promise." Dannel replied with a calming tone and looks down, regretfully "I have been seduced..." his voice trailed off to meet his haunting thoughts of icicles. White and blue.
 

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"Don't worry, mother," Dannel finally said after a period of introspection. "No one's going to hurt you. I need some sleep...and I'm not sure you'll not rush away the moment I close my eyes. Gero's too stupid to keep an eye on you...you're a second degree Mage, after all."

Gwen's heart sank. Dannel seemed determined to treat her as a prisoner. What shall I do now? She thought. Authority had failed, so had appeasement. What had come over her son? He was acting more and more strangely...

...of course!

The answer came to her in a flash.

He thinks he's doing it himself, Gwen said to herself. But that trick was an old one, wasn't it? You thought you were doing it on your own motivation. But all the while, he was in control of your mind, making you do things he wanted...

Gwen knew with sudden terrifying certainty that the Evil One wanted her. Wanted her very badly indeed...
 

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Gwen probed the manacles with her mind and found them secured by a very strong magic. She knew for sure then that they were not the work of Dannel. He never did have the talent needed for advancing much past her as a mage.


She looked at her son again, a mother's pride in her grown child warring with fear of what might be his downfall. She could work all night at trying to unlock the manacles, but she decided that her fate lie with her son after all these years. Sleep would serve her better. She would regain her strength overnight and be able to combat what was to come.

"Do we have anything to eat, Dannel?" she said.

He looked at her in surprise, probably at her seemingly swift acquiescence. She never was one to give in to another's will easily.

"Yes, mother. I will get you something."


He looked back quickly after turning away to rummage in a pack.

"Don't worry, OK?"
 

DamaNegra

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Gwen shook her head. A long trail of black smoke protruded from the fire Dannel had just started.

"I'll be right back, mother. I need to hunt down some food," Dannel said. Gwen watched him walk, leaning to the left side. How could an imitator possibly copy Dannel's limping yet elegant walk so perfectly?

Her head started to hurt and swirl around as if she were drunk. Shivers ran down her spine, filling her skin with goosebumps. She looked at the fire, wondering if it had gone out. Then she saw it; the bright red herbs burning in the center of the fire. Poisonous herbs.
 

DamaNegra

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Gwen screamed, struggling against her bindings. In the few seconds it had taken her to realize what was happening, the smoke had filled the ambience, trapped by the thick foliage of the trees.

Gwen started twisting around, trying to get her hands to the front. All her years as a ballerina finally served a useful purpose, Gwen contorted into such a position her legs passed between her arms, leaving her hands on the front of her body. Gwen bit at her bindings, tearing bits of rope and splintering her gums. She did not care, she had to get out of there alive.
 

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It was useless. Gwen suddenly realised that she'd be overcome long before she succeeded in freeing herself: if she succeeded at all, that is. She began to sink into quiet despair.

My girl...The voice of her Guru suddenly spoke inside her head. Have you forgotten all I taught you? When you can't push aside an obstacle, what do you do?

Gwen tried desperately to go back to her days at the magic school. When you can't push aside an obstacle, what do you do? Suddenly it dawned on her in a flash. Of course! Bow to it!

Gwen suddenly relaxed, every muscle in her body going limp. She submitted to her bonds, aligning her muscles to the contours of the ropes. The total relaxation that is possible only for a mage.

The bonds slid free.

Gwen jumped up. The fumes were really intense now. Flight across the ground was impossible. She did the only possible thing.

Gwen dived into the river.