Chapter 1.1 - Start of a Legend
Sorry, my computer was a tad slow, it took me a few minutes to post.
Let the story begin!
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Quest
Chapter 1.1 [Start of a Legend]
Sometimes...the friends you make become your life long companions.
Sometimes it feels like you've known them for as long as you've been alive.
Sometimes your bonds become thicker than blood, unshakable, unbreakable, forever.
George found himself panting heavily as he stumbled through the crumbling debris around him. He tripped over loose rubble and fell scraping the skin on his palms--a sharp pain shot through his foot. He grimaced; he needed to hurry. He could see his friends racing towards the blown out balcony just up ahead.
Without pausing to check his injury he forced himself up and continued running, each step was like lightning coursing through him, but everyone was counting on him.
"Dreaaaam!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, "Catch!" with every bit of strength he could muster he swung his arms and tossed his shield into the air. George once again fell as he lost his balance. He could just barely see Dream turn his head in his direction.
Even if he was given the chance by some god, he wouldn't trade the life he had now for any other.
Even if he died now he would still cherish every memory, every hardship, and every second spent.
Dream leaped into the air while running after Sapnap who was further ahead; his fingers just narrowly missing the rim of George's shield. Without missing a beat, his feet landed on the ground and he dove for the shield. He caught it and stumbled to remain on his feet as he kept running after Sapnap.
"Dream, are you sure about this?" Just a few feet in front of him, Sapnap skidded to a halt at the edge of the crumbling balcony; he was shouting to Dream. Sweat was dripping down his face as intense magical energy emanated from him in waves. Dream could feel the pressure from here as the ball of fiery energy in Sapnap's outstretched hands grew larger with each passing second. Sapnap had been running while casting the spell in his hands.
Dream faltered in his words; even he wasn't sure if he could pull it off. Down below he could hear the ongoing battle. It was only him, Sapnap, and George who managed to force their way into the castle with their half thought out plan. One wrong move and it would be over--for all of them...but...
His grip tightened around George's shield and he shouldered his doubts. He trusted them, George and Sapnap, and all the friends below fighting to give him a chance. He knew they would all have his back, "Don't worry, trust me!"
"Then get ready, I'll release the spell in 10 seconds...but I've never casted a spell this strong so I don't know how safe it will be." Dream nodded, he sucked in a tense breath. The rippling pressure in the air made it almost suffocating to breathe.
10
He straightened his back, bent his knees, and took off to the left. He would need to time this perfectly to minimize the damage.
9
8
7
Dream leapt over a fallen statue and began to build up his momentum.
6
5
4
He parkored higher into the air as he neared the balcony. He used the surrounding furniture and rubble as his stepping stones.
3
Dream leapt straight past Sapnap and over the edge, he sucked in a breath, his brows furrowed.
2
He gripped the strap of George's shield and brought the shield below his feet. He felt like he was floating in mid air. He tucked in his body.
1
The force was sudden, the heat was blazing. Sapnap yelled as he released the spell and was blown backwards by the force. Dream was launched forward high into the sky as the spell hit George's shield and sent him soaring. He held back a hiss as the heat intensified, even the rubber on the soles of his shoes were not spared from the spell.
Not yet. Not yet! Dream continued to hold out. He continued to grip the shield's strap ensuring it remained under his feet even as the wood began to burn and the metal began to melt.
Dream took a deep breath, he soaked in the sounds and the smells. This was the moment, the moment that fate has been leading him to. As the spell began to slow down and flicker out, he reached his free hand for the axe on his back.
Dream opened his eyes, let go of the shield and brought out his axe. He was hundreds of feet into the air, but below him was the beast.
"You can do it!" George screamed. Dream could hear him and all his friends cheering him on.
He would win for sure. The future was resting on him.
~~~~~
1 Year Earlier
"Ahh! Darnit!" George slumped down in his chair and sighed. The girl across from him took a sip of her drink before she set it down to speak.
"So are you going to explain what happened or am I supposed to assume the world is ending?"
"If only it were just that!" George cried out, he winced at the fleeting pain in his shoulder, "Catching rabbits shouldn't be this hard! Em, please tell me what I'm doing wrong," he sighed and hung his head.
"There isn't much I can say that I haven't already told you before, you need to form a party with someone. You aren't going to get far as an amatuer adventurer by yourself with your stats."
George frowned, "Look, I'm a friendly guy, but if it were that easy to make or join parties I'd already be in one," Em didn't look convinced. She took another sip from her drink.
"Well that's the only advice I can give you, if even after forming a party and you're still not progressing then come back to me, otherwise you might have to rethink your current career choice," she stood up and downed the last of her drink, "I'm going to head back to work now, order some food, it's on me," his friend slapped down a few bronze coins and waved goodbye. George half heartedly returned the gesture. As soon as she was out of earshot and eyeshot George groaned, he should've known that was about the only advice he was going to be given.
George looked around, it was still early morning so not many patrons or adventurers were here in the spacious guild lobby. George himself sat off to the side at a little table. It was near the many counters used to submit quest requests and receive rewards, along with inquiries into guild matters. On the opposite side of George's table, past the other tables was a small bar. The bar served many of the workers, adventurers and regular folk meals, and was a popular place to take a break and relax before taking on a new Quest.
George got up and took the change left by Em, he might as well order something so that the money didn't go to waste. As soon as the thought crossed his mind he felt his stomach rumble beneath his clothes, he clutched his stomach. Unfortunately, he's been living quite frugally due to the lack of reward money from quests.
George was a member of the Adventurer's guild, he belonged to the kingdom of Articia's division of the guild, however the guild was an organization sponsored by many nobles and royals from across the continent. It was one big organization but each country had its own division. As a citizen of Articia, it was only natural that he joined Articia's Adventurers guild.
But...George's stomach rumbled again--he hasn't been performing very well and he's made very little progress in ranking up.
"Excuse me," George called out to someone behind the counter at the bar.
"Hm?"
"You think I can order some of your hot porridge and a glass of juice?"
"Don't know, can you?" the woman raised her brow and looked at him.
"Right...uh, yes? I can?" George didn't mean for that to come out like a question. He placed the coins on the counter. She took one look at it and sighed before snatching up the money.
"It'll be a few minutes, go ahead and take a seat. We'll bring it right out."
"Thanks," George turned around and made his way back to his table. He looked over to the guild's counters, they would be opening up for the day soon. And then the early rising adventurers would be rushing to get their first pick of new daily quests from the board.
Normally he would too, but he needed to eat first and rethink all his plans. He saw Em come out in uniform. and get behind the counter. George tossed her a small wave. She frowned and mouthed something to George.
Join. A. Party.
George sighed, she was really insistent on that.
Fine.
Couldn't Em see it wasn't that easy for him to just 'join a party'. At this time, most people were spoken for and already teamed up, and it'd be difficult for him to just barge into another team's functioning dynamic. Think about it this way, people that have been teamed up together for even a week now would find it difficult to adjust to suddenly having a new teammate. The only other option that came to George's mind was that new adventurers tended to flock to the capital looking to make it big so finding party members there seems like a good idea, but he didn't actually have the funds to journey to the capital, so that was a no-go.
"Haaaah," George let out a deep sigh. Even with all this brainstorming, he was still having no luck coming up with a plausible answer. Dammit. Regardless of what path he tried to take in his head, he was left at square one, no friends and no money. And unfortunately for him, it's not like new, party-less adventurers just showed up out of nowhere. With every road blocked, he really was out of luck and thinking, maybe he wasn't cut out for adventuring..
"'Ere's your order," a waiter came by and delivered him his porridge and juice and left before George could thank him; the morning shift must be rough. Really would be nice if a party member could just materialize before him.
He started to eat absentmindedly as he continued to think, but before long George sighed in defeat. He'd have better luck looking for a stable job as an apprentice elsewhere 0ver trying to find a party member.
"Excuse me, is this the Adventurer's Guild?" George turned his head to look over at the counter where Em was working. He saw the strangest guy at the counter and that's saying something since the guild attracted a lot of weirdos.
At the counter was a guy wearing regular hunters apparel, a quiver and bow slung on his back and an axe hanging at his hip. But the strangest part was the mask adorned on his face, covering everything but his mouth. George didn't like to judge so he shrugged it off and carried on with his meal. Whatever it was, his friend at the counter could deal with it.
~~~~~
"Excuse me, is this the Adventurer's Guild?" Dream placed his hand on the counter, the surface was rough, it was just begging to stick his hand with splinters, but his hands were calloused and too tough for measly twigs to hurt him.
"Yep, what can I do for you?" Dream turned his head into the direction of the voice. There was a moment of relief in his heart when he realized he managed to find the right building, (finally). He let out a sigh of relief and took in the strong smell of stale bread, cured ham, and overly ripe, but freshly squeezed apple juice. There were muffled footsteps just above him, but he chose to ignore it.
"I want to find information about a quest my parents worked on 20 years ago. They left me this TeleGem with a message about it," Dream reached into his pocket and pulled out a smooth, round gem. He squeezed the gem gently and a moment later it started to radiate with warmth.
Happy Birthday! Sorry, this is out of the blue sweetie, but your father and I decided to leave home and travel for a bit!
A cheerful voice rang out from the gem. Dream was playing the message left to him by his parents. About a month ago he woke up one morning and found this gem left behind. It was certainly a shock to find his warmth filled home with the savory smell of freshly cooked breakfast empty.
We know this may seem sudden, but since you've just turned 21 we thought it was time to give you room to make your own choices.
20 years ago, when your father and I were still employed as adventurers, we were given a quest that took us into the northern part of the continent. It was a simple quest that quickly turned into something much more, it was the quest that lead us to you.
Surprise, you are adopted kiddo!
Another voice sounded from the gem in Dream's hand. It was his father's. The familiar booming voice that carried brazen confidence and a playful tone at the end of each sentence brought a small smile to Dream's lips.
"Did you not know you were adopted beforehand?" the woman asked Dream. He shook his head in response, "D*mn, that's rough buddy, what a way to find out."
Dream could only nervously chuckle in response. His ears burned. A month ago, he was just as taken aback and spent the morning fumbling to wipe the breakfast he dropped as he played his parent's message. It was one hell of a birthday surprise to wake up to, but after the initial shock, he was hardly upset and found it quite characteristic of his parents who were riddled with mysteries and poorly-timed surprises.
But it wasn't as bad as the time when he turned 6 years old and his father took him out on his first proper hunting trip only to turn around and leave just as a wild boar came charging out of the underbrush. The last thing he heard was "Good luck!" Needless to say, he came home late into the evening covered in light cuts and bruises only after the boar tuckered itself out and abandoned the tree he had to climb in a panic.
It was not a successful hunting trip. And his dad got scolded by his mom for attempting such a stupid tactic. Dream remembered his dad trying to defend himself, but in the end it didn't matter, his mom could be quite scary when she was mad.
His dad had to take a "different" approach to teaching him about how to "expect the unexpected." He would still run but this time he would hide and watch Dream to make sure no more "scuffles with boars" occurred.
And just 2 years later, Dream managed to finally prepare a successful hunting trap; he caught not the game but his father. No more spontaneously running from him during hunting trips. He'd managed to figure out his dad's hiding spots and used that to his advantage.
You are more than welcome to stay home but if you wish to explore the world and discover where you came from, travel south to the country of Articia. Their division of the Adventurer's guild holds the file on our quest from 20 years ago.
Request to see Quest file A - 12080, and safe travels! We love you!
There was a quiet ding to signal the message ended. Dream pocketed his TeleGem and cleared his throat, "So that was the message they left me and I've only recently arrived here in this town. I was told Fulton town was home to the 2nd biggest Articia guild headquarters."
"Well, you're certainly at the right place, could you answer a few questions for me?" Dream nodded. He heard the woman pull open a drawer and rummage around. The soft noise of a pen scratching on paper could be heard just a moment later.
"Alright, can I have your name, age, and home of origin, to the best of your knowledge."
"Uhm, Dream, 21, and the Forked-Tongue Mountains of the Loem region."
"And can I see your guild pass?"
Dream faltered with his words, "Sorry? A guild pass?"
The woman stopped writing, "Yeah, you're trying to access an A-ranked quest file, so I need your guild pass. Only B rank and above can look at A-ranked quest files...don't tell me you don't have a guild pass."
"I didn't know it required a pass, my parents never mentioned it in their message and I've never previously joined a guild before so..." he shifted uncomfortably where he stood.
She sighed, "Unfortunately sir I won't be able to let you see the files without proper credentials. All quest B-ranked and above are classified." Her pen clattered and rolled along the wooden counter, evident only by the barely audible noise of the pen's movement. She tapped the counter softly, as if in thought. The silence was unbearable. Dream opened his mouth to say something several times but stopped himself each time.
With his parents' sudden decision to travel the continent he was left with boring days and nights fulfilling the same routine. Leaving home was his only option, and he's spent just barely a month traveling down his mountainous home trekking the unfamiliar terrain and crossing through 3 different borders just to reach Artician land.
He's never been far outside the mountain ranges and he thought this would be a valid excuse to leave and experience the wide world before him. But from here...what should he do?
"Here's a suggestion pal, I have a friend just over there. He's a mopey fool struggling to rank up past G. Why don't you register as an adventurer and form a party with him. The two of you can complete quests and when you finally reach rank B you can come back look at those files whenever you want."
"I can do that?"
"Yep."
Dream smiled, this sounded easy enough. It was a better plan than what he was considering, "Alright, how do I sign up?"
His question was answered when he heard the sound of a drawer being pulled open again and papers being flipped through. He felt the light brush of air against his skin as what sounded like a stack of paper being set in front of him and pushed in his direction. "Just fill out these forms and pay a small fee of 50 bronze."
Dream grabbed the papers, "Ok...just one problem...I can't read or write."
There was a pause after he spoke. He couldn't tell what she was thinking but he was sure the awkward silence and muttered swears were evidence of agitation and a hint of bewilderment.
Dream jumped as she suddenly shouted, "George! Quit your moping, and mosey on over here!" A little warning would have been nice before she blew out his eardrums!
~~~~~
Word Count: 3206
So glad to finally post these chapters! Please leave any feedback yu have below, I want this to be something you guys will enjoy! I put a lot of work into this story and I cant wait for the journey to continue!
Vote, comment, follow! ❤
~CATtheDrawer
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