An Unexpected Surprise (closed)

[brickshoemaster]

Franklin had left home in hopes of fame and fortune, but he wanted to see sights first. So he left to Scara brae to watch the water fall. After he disembarked the ship at the docks, he had a tough time going through the crowd. “Excuse me,” he apologized, “sorry, coming through.” You know, you don't have to be so kind to them, said Dargon,they care about as much as I do. "I kind of do, it's what I'm good at," Franklin joked. A woman passing him looked at him strangely as he seemed to talk to himself and she quickly walked away.

He finally had gotten to the gates a half an hour later. He didn't stay long, just long enough to ask for directions and take in the towns beautiful surroundings. He exited the gate closest to the waterfall so he could get there before night, which is until he saw the giant forest in his way.

Well, that's uneventful, Dargon said disappointed. Franklin hit his bag with his elbow and made a loud chink noise. "Stop your whining, we can camp out tonight and go around the forest tomorrow." It was a great idea until he noticed that he had very little supplies, let alone anything to sleep in.

Just then, he saw smoke in the distance. "Hey, there's a fire!" Franklin ran as fast as he could to put out the fire, just to notice that it was the back of a cabin. It seemed nice enough to sleep in. Feeling a bit exhausted from running, he walked to the front of the cabin.

You really need to work out more, Dargon said as they went around the right side of the house,Franklin, get to the left. Franklin was looking down and was out of breath so he wasn't paying attention, Dargon then pushed the chain in his pack into the side of the house with Franklin attached to it. As his left side of face was rammed into a window, Franklin noticed a little girl cowering near the door. "What's going on?" Franklin said worryingly.

He raced to the corner to see a muscular middle-aged man with a blacksmiths outfit on his knees and bloody face. In front of him seemed to be three robbers of some kind. One was a large animal-like man and had a large axe with a rusty dull edge, another was small rat-like man and had two daggers with jewels in the handles, and the last one was a 6' broad man with a chipped long sword and had it at the neck of the man on his knees. "I really don't think they're there for a new sword." Franklin took Dargon out and readied for battle.

[brickshoemaster]

Franklin was very scared but he knew he had to save him, it's what he did. I really don't think is a good idea, but I'm behind you one hundred percent , said Dargon. "You say that like you have a choice." The bandit with the long sword had put it on its edge on the man's shoulder.

"Now," Franklin said as he shot Dargon into the sword's side taking it off the man's shoulder and out of the bandit's hand. He then pulled it back and accidentally hit the man in the side of the head, thus knocking him out onto the ground. Nice going smart one. Franklin ran close to the big one as he started to raise his axe and lassoed it with Dargon. He then pulled it to the ground. Before he brought Dargon back, the ratty one stuck a dagger in a link hole. Being stuck, he ran out until the chain stopped. He ran around the dagger tripping the ratty one and the big one. The leader then stabbed at him, but then Franklin grabbed the chain and wrapped around the sword once, sending the handle out of the leader’s hand and into the hand of Franklin. He put it right next to the broad mans throat. Franklin yelled, “Stop!”

“I want you and your ‘friends’ to leave or I’ll get medieval on you!” After a long silence, the broad one spoke, “Leave guy’s, he isn’t worth it.” The big one had gotten up as the ratty one pulled the dagger out of the chain, and then both disappeared into the woods. “Now you,” Franklin said exasperated. “It’s Crason,” the broad man scoffed, “I hope you know I’ll see you again.” Crason ran off into the forest and out of sight. “Well that wasn’t too-,“ he tried to finish, but he fainted just as he realized how tired he was. Before everything blacked out, Dargon said, I saw this coming.

[Anila]

Sorry about the wait

Since she had begun her job as Warrior of the Dajas Pagoda, Sakurazuka Anila had been making a weekly visit to the blacksmith at the edge of town. He was one of the best steel-smiths in the city, and had agreed to do regular maintenance work on her fans in exchange for the prestige it brought him to serve a successful Warrior of the Pagoda.

It kept her fans in repair and let her get out of the arena that she called her home for a little while, and let her get some news. The Scara Scourge hadn't been acting up much lately, the wars in Raiaera and Salvar were tearing up the two lands, and the price of tea in Akashima was rising.

It was an average day. People milled about the busy streets buying and selling their wares, the sun shone brightly on the mid-afternoon crowd, and nothing was out of the ordinary at all. Not until she got into the smithy and saw an unconscious youth and the family bound.

She felt an expression of shock cross her face briefly before she regained her normal composure, and grabbed a dagger to help free the family.

"Yare yare, mister blacksmith, you've quite a mess here today. What happened?"

The blacksmith rubbed his wrists as Anila freed his crying daughter from her binds and propped her up.

"A small group of bandits came to demand money of us, Lady Sakurazuka. If not for that young man there, I have the feeling that we'd have been killed."

Anila was already looking over the young boy. He didn't appear to be injured, just exhausted, but she had the feeling it was better to make sure.

"He doesn't appear to be too badly off, blacksmith-san. Maybe a little mal-nourished and exhausted. I'll bring in my maidservant and see what she thinks."

The smith nodded. "Shall I take your fans and work on them in the meantime, Lady Sakurazuka?"

His query was met with a slight smile as the noblewoman slid the silk coverings off her fan. "They've seen a little use this week, blacksmith-san, but nothing your skills cannot repair."

With that, she left to find her servant, who was a little versed in the arts of medicine.

When she saw Franklin and saw that he wasn't in any serious danger, she dunked a rag into cold water and started dabbing it over the boy's face to wake him. She hoped that would work, other than some of her more extreme tactics.

[brickshoemaster]

Franklin woke up to nice cool water, he felt a little disappointed because he liked his dream of kittens. "Oh, ow, my head," He said in pain. He looked out with fuzzy eyesight towards a woman holding a rag on his head. “Judging by the headache I’m in, I’m still alive huh?”

Well, well, Dargon said, look who finally woke up. “Dargon, I really don’t want to talk to you, and who’s the pretty lady?” You know you just said that out loud, didn’t you? Franklin’s eyesight finally straightened and he not only saw the woman, but also saw he was inside the cabin. Franklin shot up to check on the family, hitting the woman in the head. This made his headache feel worse. It also made him feel guilty, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

[Anila]

Hissomi, quite unaccustomed to being called a "pretty lady," flushed a gentle shade of crimson. She was always one step behind her mistress, acted according to her whims and wishes. She'd been Anila's handmaiden since the young lady had been three and she herself had been a mere fifteen years of age. She'd been chosen for her silent tongue, responsibility, and the fact that she was not as attractive as her young mistress. She'd never thought about it before.

She'd heard whispers of her quiet beauty among the other servants when she was younger, but now, at thirty one, she hadn't expected a young boy to notice anything about her. She stood up, made a slight bow, and backed away, letting her mistress take over.

"My servant is named Kato Hissomi. I am Sakurazuka Anila. The blacksmith said you defended him and his family from some bandits before you passed out."

Anila was a great beauty, like her mother and grandmother before her, but unlike them she carried herself with an air of authority. She'd always been very much her father's daughter. The floor of the smithy was naturally too dirty for her to kneel upon herself, so she extended a hand down to the strange boy that spoke to himself.

"Your name is Dargon?"

[brickshoemaster]

When his head hurt less, he noticed he hit the board above his head, not the woman. "Dargon?" Franklin seemed a bit dazed, of course anyone else would be if they had a headache. Me doofus, Dargon said. "Oh, umm, no, I'm Franklin Link," Franklin said stuttering. "Dargon's my pet, sort of, in the chain." Even Franklin thought that sounded crazy. “I mean that there’s a protector demon in the chain.”

He sat up and looked at the even more beautiful woman in front of him, he quickly snapped out of his daze. “Is the people alright, is anyone hurt?” Franklin stood up and almost fell over again, he was still a bit light headed. You know, if you pass out again, I’ll hurt you, Dargon threatened. “Sorry, I’m just a bit worried about them,” Franklin said worryingly, “and may I please have some water?”

[Taskmienster]

This thread has been sitting for a full year. Since no response has been made to create activity I am going to be moving this. If you would like it to be reopened please feel free to PM myself or another staff member and they will be able to move it for you back to Scara Brae.