a story told by night

[Irick]

the crystal shines tonight.
images flicker in my mind.
thoughts pool in a shimmering pond behind the sanctum of my conscienceness.
shall i tell you a story?
it begins like all great things, at the beginning.

a man says "welcome" and i wonder why, the room dose not look welcoming. The floors are hard dirt, the walls of clay, dirt, straw and something that smells suspiciously of dung. then he continues "won't you please come in?" he asks, a false smile appearing from the shadows of his hooded cape and i think: should i come in? do i still want to come in... am i really here?

Before these questions could be answered i heard myself say "i would love to come in, if you would so kindly disarm the traps... there" i pointed to the entrance, a gossamer thin strand barely seeable in the low light " there" i pointed to the table, a spring loaded dagger's tip just visable on the guest's side "and of corse, here." i said, as i pointed to the man.

the man smirked "I will in due time, you understand we must always test our applicants, to make sure they are up to our standards." at this i quickly replied "i am not one for testing, i came to learn, not to be evaluated." The man let a hiss escape from his teeth, clearly annoyed at my impatience. "Good," i thought, "they picked an easy man to read." His response came naturaly "in due time, in due time, but first we must see how good you really are, neh?" I let my eyes show a slight flash of anger, maintaining my facade "if it is necessary. tell me, what are these tests, and how soon can i take them?" he smiled, truly enjoying the moment "In due time" he replied.

the man then stepped aside, and pulled a lever, somewhere in under the house the sound of cogs could be heard and a small section of the earthen wall dissintegrated before my eyes, a shadowed path behind it. "Now," he said "won't you please come in, and we will  have a drink."

[this is just the start, i wrote this in around 30 minutes, i am posting this to see if i should continue writing the story on the planeshift forums, give me your feed back on what you think!]

[Duraza]

Its an intresting start. I'm kinda wondering what and who this story is about? I say keep writting. I want to know more

[shorty13]

I like I like! It's very interesting.  I vote keep writing!

[Sahra]

Oi Irick-kun! It's very nice! Keep up teh good work on ur black enki dude whose name i can't remember ^^

[Irick]

Oi Irick-kun! It's very nice! Keep up teh good work on ur black enki dude whose name i can't remember ^^

that's Irick-sama to you! naww, just joking. i might have to ask you to illustrate a few scenes later on so i have to be nice, would you like a cookie?

[Irick]

"You successfully decoded the flyer, so we know you have advanced cryptology experience," the old man commented around half way through the shadowy passage. "however, cryptology is only one of the qualities we desire..." i started observing the surroundings, normally people in this field do not make small talk. i naturally assumed he was trying to distract me, as part of a test. though he kept talking "you have probably found out a few things about our clan, and i assume you know for the past twenty generations we have been strictly family based. no outsider has ever come this far into our sanctum and lived."

He was correct, i had researched this group as far back as their beginnings. a group of Clamod Enki had decided to start a family business, training themselves extensively, and selling their services as assassins, spys, body guards, in general swords for hire.

"as of resent years, the family line has become... depleted. so we have decided to recruit a few people into the clan. you have passed a few basic tests. oh, by the way, you can drop the act, i know you are no hot headed amateur." i nodded slightly, wandering how he figured it out.. "you have extensive combat experience, judging by the wear on that knife, and you have it in a position that appears sloppily done, but we both know you could draw just as fast from that position as a perfectly seated sheath." he winked slightly.

Just around that time he stopped and pushed aside a leather curtain, i had to blink a few times. I had expected a dimly lit hovel, this entrance way looked as brightly lit as it would be outside. as my eyes adjusted to the light, i saw the source of the light, large crystal spires, much like the azure sun, jutted out of the ceiling of the obviously magically carved cavern. a small village of round framed, parchment walled houses stood before me. the old man smirked at my gaze "welcome to hell kid, the next three days will be a life or death test of your natural skill. but first, how about that drink?"

to be continued...

[Irick]

we walked into one of the strange houses. the interior was simplistic and utilitarian, the house obviously was cost efficient. the main structure of the house consisted of a frame work of highly oiled beams, cut into an almost round structure with a semi-opaque covering of a paper like material. the house needed no windows, thus simplifying the building process.

the furnishings were simple and to the point, there were two oiled wooden blocks, cut low to the ground with a reed mat on top held in place with a cloth band. the wooden blocks served as seating or a surface. in the center of the room was a table made of several of the oiled wooden blocks without reed mats. spare wood blocks and mats lay stacked neatly nearby. what struck me about the room was the lack of living necessities, there was no bed in sight, nor any storage. perhaps this was a dedicated drink room... or a test..

"what will you have to drink?" the words broke into my pondering and i looked at the source. the old man stood by one of the large wooden beams that made up the support system. his face and actions did not betray any sign of emotion or thoughts. he was hiding something... "Tea," came my response "i do not know the varieties here so if you would be so kind, pick your favorite." the man bowed and put his thumb in a crevasse in the neatly polished wood support, flipping back a door to reveal a compartment holding two cups and tea. "clever" i thought "of corse the actual house would not require that thick of a support system so they could use the extra to.."

at that time i heard a small sound and whipped around to find three people sneaking up from under the stacks of reed mats. they were still a way off, but i was unarmed, i had left my knife with the old man as a sign of faith. i looked around  for anything nearby to use to give me an advantage and saw a strip of cloth, one of those used to keep the mats in place on the wood blocks. i quickly made a cloth bracer for my primary arm by wrapping the cloth around my wrist and knuckles. now i had an advantage over my attackers, i turned to face them with a grin on my face...

[to be continued]

[on a personal note, i think i am doing better work at night on 'a story told by night'. coincidental, or am i just a night person, only time will tell. well, time or several physiologic exams. but im lazy and not rich, so it will have to be time.]

[Irick]

the first blow was not mine. one of the assailants had gotten to me before i was ready and landed a punch squarely on the side of my head, slightly behind the ears. i staggered back for a moment and the other two rushed forward as the first swept at my legs.

i recovered just in time to jump over the sweep, but the other two were pressing down on me so i had no chance to counter the first attacker. i leapt back out of range an began the fight anew, taking a stance low to the ground, i waited for the next attack. the two running men came at me with full force.

"they are over confident" the thought came as a passive observation as i dropped down, and launched into a hand-spring, propelling both my heels into their chins on my way back up to my feet. the remaining opponent stood still for a while, observing me, as did i. in my observations i noticed that the Enki who had landed a blow on me, was in fact a Fenki.

we squared off again, both dropping into a low defensive stance. after a minuet or two i took the initiative and struck out at her, a simple jab at which she bobbed out of the way and tried to ridge hand to the throat as a counter. i ducked and we broke off from close quarters, then started circling. at this point our eyes started darting across each-other's guard, trying to find an opening.

after ten minuets of just standing there we both slowly lowered our guard and bowed. we were evenly matched, there would be no end if one of us did not yield, all that remained was who was to show the white.. "STOP!" the old man shouted. we stood motionless. "Good, you fight well" came the old man's voice, a under lying purr just noticeable in his voice. i simply nodded, not taking my eyes off the Fenki. "You have passed this test" he said, clearly expecting a reaction on which i was not forthcoming. all that mattered was the Fenki not but ten feet from me. she had beautiful...

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!"

[to be continued]