Curse

Starcraft Ghost · Feb 12, 2006, 09:52 PM // 21:52

Note from Author:
I'm working on becoming a better writer and I felt that a story with short chapters on a subject I enjoyed would be best. So here are the results, I will try to continue posting more chapters if people enjoy them. Sorry for any grammer/spelling mistakes (still practicing).

BTW, I can't think of a title so I left it as "A Guild Wars Story", if you can think of one, feel free to tell me and I might just use it.

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Chapter 1: The Dull and the Brave

Zelse sighed in relief as he stepped forth from the doorway of the academy and gazed upwards at the early morning sky. He had finally become a full fledged Warrior. Unfortunately, his gifts upon graduation were barely durable armor which reeked of sweat, a rusty short sword that wouldn’t dent butter and an empty wallet to survive on. Yet regardless of all this, he now had the freedom of traveling wherever he felt and fighting whatever monsters he wished. With that thought in mind, he ventured to exit of Ascalon City's walls.

As Zelse headed outside into the vast greenery of Ascalon’s fields, he was immediately approached by a little girl. She smiled sweetly and began to speak "Hi! Could you get me my fl-". After careful eyeing of the Warrior’s appearance, the little girl raised a brow before turning and skipping away, shouting out “Oh never mind, I probably have a better chance”. Zelse blinked to this but shrugged his shoulder before jogging towards the nearby stream, noticing a few Skales he could test his weapon upon.

Concealing himself behind a tree, he spied on their movements, noticing one Skale helping itself to a drink while a patrol of three others began to move away, signaling a good opportunity to strike. Emerging from where he was hidden, the Warrior bravely charged into battle, wielding his weapon of choice and upon reaching the destination, he spinned, delivering a firm strike to the Skale’s back. All that was heard was a loud “clank” like noise, causing the Warrior to blink. A short cessation in activity from the Skale as it turned to look at Zelse before once again helping itself to the fresh water. Zelse gritted his teeth, narrowing his eyes as he began to enter a stance of pure Fury, rapidly hitting the Skale over and over as loud “clanks” was heard upon each contact.

The sun was high above, shining the afternoon glory upon the land. Beautiful chirping of birds as they perched upon the branches of trees, the soft slapping of water as it caressed itself down the length of the stream and of course, a loud “clank” that continued to be heard every second. The Warrior began to tire out, deep breaths heaving from his chest as though he was being strangled and each strike of his blunt blade upon the creatures ‘impenetrable’ body began to have a longer delay in-between intervals. Giving a final hit, the warrior dropped his sword and felt directly on his rump, now resting from his six hour devotion to killing a single monster. The Skale was long finished of drinking its fill and but stood its ground in pure enjoyment of watching the Warrior’s struggle.

Suddenly, a dark aura began to surround the Skale, immediately catching the Warrior’s attention. The Skale shrieked out in pain and immediately dropped dead, revealing a red sphere of life residue which began to float quickly away from the stream and to a shrouded figure in the shadows of a tree cluster. Standing up, Zelse raised a clenched fist and growled loudly “That was mine, show yourself you kill thief!” Immediately, a single green boot was seen, followed by another and lastly, the entire body of a silver spiky-headed Necromancer. “Kill thief? I like, totally thought you were just, like, sitting there and I thought it would be rad if I killed that Skale standing next to you, you know?” He was a creepy looking fellow even though he didn’t sound too tough, but then again all Necromancers were like that in appearance. Zelse shook his head and sighed “I can’t kill anything with this here blade…it’s not even customized for me.” The Necromancer blinked at this and tilted his head “Dude, didn’t you like, talk to Tydus? He’s like totally giving away starting gold for like, graduates of the academy. I can’t believe you like, didn’t see him, that’s like…so not cool.” Wincing at this news, Zelse sighed and shrugged before looking down at his feet and noticing a Skale Fin that had been dropped.

An idea hit him then, causing him to smirk as he glanced to the Necromancer. “Hey! How about we join forces? I can use your help for a bit of income and a future comrade against the Charr.” Necromancer returned the smirk “Like, totally rad. The name’s Kawfee.” Nodding, the warrior made a slight bow before speaking “Zelse, it’s a pleasure to meet- Oh crap!” The Necromancer shook his head “No dude, that’s like, totally wrong, it’s Kawfee”. Then, loud thuds as beams of light ruptured from the sky were heard, one striking a nearby wall and causing large pieces of rubble to fly off and now begin to fall just above the two. The Warrior rushed the remaining distance between himself and the Necromancer, pointing at the fellow Ascalonian, “Crap Crap Crap!” The Necromancer growled and shouted “Kawfee! Kawfee! Kawf-!” And then, a single loud thud as a massive piece of rubble just landed on them both.

Starcraft Ghost · Feb 12, 2006, 09:57 PM // 21:57

Chapter 2: Survival of the Dumbest

The skies were now dark, filled with smoke clouds that dimmed out sunlight and the rich fields were now charred and covered with rubble. Zelse’s eyes weakly opened but what he saw was pitch black and a massive amount of weight pressing down upon him with just enough slack to allow easy breathing. Just then, a small fragment of rubble that was covering his eyes and forehead was kicked off by a passerby who wielded a fiery sword. It was Prince Rurik! Zelse immediately tried to yell, yet found his mouth clamped shut by a layer of rock pressing down. “Mrff! Mrff Mrf!” Was what he managed to release before a plated greave of a well armored warrior smashed down on his forehead which was immediately followed by several more from the rookie followers of Rurik who had returned from a recent counter to Charr invasions.

After recovering from a short blackout, Zelse reopened his eyes, this time to find he was lying down outstretched beside Kawfee, and free from the rubble. His vision trailed across, and locked onto a blurred figure. As eyes focused, it was a female ranger with neon blonde hair, sapphire eyes and a wide smile. She chuckled softly before speaking out in a strikingly loud voice “’ello there mates! What be two fellows like yerselves doin’ with yer heads in the rocks like Striders?” At this point, Kawfee came to his senses as well, groaning and sitting up as an alabaster hand extended behind his neck, gently rubbing a sore area “Like…dude and dudette, what happened?” Groaning, Zelse tried to speak and ignore any pain from the sore spots that were now kicking in “Last thing I remember was the city wall falling on top of us.”

The Ranger giggled to this and nodded, “Aye mate, de Charr be sendin’ magical attacks that are destroyin’ our cities. Lucky fer ye, yer one of the few survivors.” Zelse and Kawfee both widened their eyes and stood immediately, yelling loudly “Ascalon is destroyed?!” The Ranger winced and responded in an even louder voice “Aye mate! It be blown te pieces now quit yer yellin’!” Zelse closed his eyes and lowered his head with a sigh “Damn Charr…” Then, he quickly looked to the Ranger “We need to report to Tydus and let him know we’re alive!” The Ranger nodded and smiled sweetly “Sure thing mate, but what be yer names? I’m Alexis.” The Warrior gave his usual bows while using an arm to gesture to himself “Zelse”. The Necromancer looked to the Warrior then to the Ranger “Kawfee”. The Ranger nodded and approached the Necromancer “Sure”. Kawfee blinked and tilted his head, the Warrior doing the same right after. Kawfee glanced over to Zelse and then back to the Ranger “Like…what do you mean by Sure?” Alexis tilted her own head then “Ye offered me coffee, mate.”

Zelse looked between Alexis and Kawfee and slapped his own forehead before shaking it in a sigh. “Let’s just get going”. The other two looked to the Warrior and nodded turning and moving towards him before pausing. Confused, Zelse looked to the two of them “What…?” Kawfee smirked and made a gesture to Ascalon City. “Like, Warriors totally lead the way, man.” Wincing after hearing this, Zelse sighed and began to lead the way, resting a hand to his empty hilt where his blunt blade once used to be. “Ok, but this is a first for me…hope I don’t get lost” Alexis pointed to a piece of town wall with a massive rupture in it “It’s sorta hard te miss a sight like that, mate.”

Starcraft Ghost · Feb 12, 2006, 09:59 PM // 21:59

Chapter 3: Reportin' fer duty sir!

Tydus looked over the three surviving recruits that had reported to him, clearing his throat before speaking in a saddened tone “So you three have managed to survive the Charr attack, I find that amazing to be honest.” Just then, an Ascalonian Guard approached the group, alongside a Monk who had an Asian characteristic, similar to those from the nearby continent off the coast of Lions Arch. The guard reached Tydus and saluted before speaking in a loud and clear voice “Sir! We have found another survivor who fits the same category as these three!” With that, the guard saluted once more, and stood at attention beside Tydus.

Zelse whispered to Alexis then, “What category do we fall into?” Alexis shrugged then, and instead of responding in a whisper, she responded in her usual loud voice “Notta clue, mate. Must be meanin’ we be Ascalon’s only hope.” Zelse winced instantly at her loud response and quickly lowered his head, not even wanting to ask another question. Tydus glanced over to Alexis’ and shook his head “No, thankfully we are not that desperate yet. What he meant was that you fall in a fresh recruit category.” Tydus reached into a pouch attached to his belt, withdrawing a roll of parchment along with a quill. In another pouch, he opened a small container of ink, dipped the quill and began writing.

Kawfee looked to the Monk then, eyeing him carefully as the Monk did the same for the Necromancer. Obviously the two professions were exact opposites and each attracted the curiosity of the other. Tydus had finished writing and approached Zelse, handing him the parchment. “We have lost contact with the Duke at Piken Square and he must receive this urgent message. Take it to him and he will give you further orders.” Tydus nodded to this before turning and walking off with the Guard. Zelse looked at the folded parchment for a moment and placed it away safely before looking to the others. “Well, we should get going…but first…” He glanced over to the Monk and raised his head slightly in a gesture to catch the individual’s attention. “Hey you, what’s your name?”

The Monk would give a bow in respect before speaking “I am one who serves Dwayna with every ounce of his blood, one who protects those who stand in justice and smite those who oppose good will. The name is Sum Wun and I am at your service.” Zelse grinned at this, a Monk would be perfect to round-out this party. “Great! I am Zelse” He gestured to the Ranger “This loud-mouthed one is Alexis”. Alexis gave a glare to the warrior for that remark in warning “I best be watchin’ me tongue, mate.” The Warrior ignored the response and simply made a head gesture to the Necromancer “This is Kawfee.”

The Monk’s eyes widened as he quickly stepped towards the Necromancer, bowing immediately. “Oh praise be to Dwayna, I have finally found Coffee. My land has heard the wonderful stories of how you have helped many people stay awake during their long nights in patrol. Though I must say, it is hard to think anyone would drink the warm water you bathe in to discover your miracle attribute.” The Warrior gritted his teeth then and with a groan he slapped his forehead.

The guard who was watching quickly turned and caught up with Tydus, speaking to him in a low voice. “Sir, you had sent a group of powerful Ascalonians earlier with a message for the Duke, asking him about his situation. Why would you entrust these barely seasoned recruits with such an important task?” Tydus glanced over to the guard, responding in a similar style of voice “Why would I entrust a message to a Warrior who can’t fight, a Ranger who thinks she’s a Pirate, a Necromancer who says he will invent rolls and rock music, and a Monk who can’t cast correct spells, if I knew it was important? The guard tilted his head then in question “Then what exactly did you write on the parchment?”

Starcraft Ghost · Feb 12, 2006, 09:59 PM // 21:59

Chapter 4: Save Charrs, Kill Dukes, Got it!

“Dear Duke, if these four idiots actually make it to you with this message, it must mean that Goddess Dwayna doesn’t want them in her kingdom either. Please respect her wishes and keep them alive as best as possible with simple tasks. Signed, Tydus.” Zelse growled loudly as he stopped just outside The Breach, crumbling the parchment and throwing it aside “Four idiots?! Didn’t he notice that I was actually smart among the rest of you?” Alexis’ narrowed her eyes and immediately introduced the palm of her hand to the back of the warrior’s head “What te bloody hell ye mean by that?!” Rubbing the slapped location, Zelse glared at the Ranger. “Don’t be hitting me woman. Because of your mouth, Tydus didn’t notice my strengths.” Alexis rolled her eyes to this and simply waved Zelse off. “Strengths me arse, me mate Kawfee be tellin’ me he saved yer rear end from a single Skale.” The Necromancer bit his bottom lip after hearing this, speaking in a low, nervous voice. “Dudette, that’s like, totally uncool to get me into this.” Zelse gave Kawfee a dirty look, still speaking to the Ranger “He didn’t save me, I could have handled it.” Sum Wun looked between the three of them, sighing softly before speaking “Please now, as sons and daughters of Dwayna, it is imperative and crucial we focus on maintaining peace and perfection in our lives and that we do not cause harm to one another or anyone in nature for that matter. We must all live in complete harmon-.” The three others quickly glared at the Monk all at once “Shut it!” and resumed arguing.

The four traveled into the breach, their loud bickering making any No Entrance words from Hollis fall on deaf ears. The once silent, swamp infested valleys were now echoing the voices of the three who couldn’t come to any peace and an occasional sigh from a Monk who had no real choice but to walk and listen to them. It was when they reached a clearing, that the four had finally ceased their personal feud and stared across at a well sized Charr patrol party. They were well armed and were about eight in number, including their own Martyr. Alexis immediately pointed them out, forgetting of course that the ranger needs to spot them sooner. Worst of all, she used her regular loud tone “Mates! Look! It’s a Charr party!” The Charr were known for sensitive hearing and they of course all turned and glared at the humans.

Kawfee tilted his head at this. “That’s like, a totally boring party, man.” Zelse looked to his comrades “They have spotted us, and we are outnumbered, we have to do something.” The Monk thought for a moment and with a snap of his fingers, “I got it! You three, try to scare them off by sounding tougher than they are!” The three of them shrugged before offering a nod of their heads in agreement. They clenched their fists, narrowed their eyes and yelled out as loudly as they could. “Raaahhh!” “Arrrrr, mate! Arrrr!” “Like, Grrrr dudes, Grrrr!” The Charr didn’t seem to flinch or show any signs of fear and the Monk lowered his head. “It seems they are braver than we thought, all is lost.”

It wasn’t long before the Charr group began to run towards the outnumbered human party. Zelse growled and took the leather hilt of his long lost sword, waving it in the air as he rushed towards the Charr patrol group. “Charge!” and with that word escaping his mouth, the others immediately ran after him, all screaming loudly in valor and arming themselves with their weapons. “For honor and glory!” “Fer the hunt!” “Like, for the Death to our foes!” “For the chance to spread Dwayna’s words on these poor creatures so that they may drop their ways of war and fire and instead join mankind in making the beauty of nature and good will prosper throughout the lands and the hope that humans and Charr can one day live in complete harmony farming the fields so that we may feed those hungry in our lands!”

Suddenly, both the Charr and the human party immediately came to a screeching halt, all turning and facing the Monk then. There was an eerie silence, the only sounds being that of the wind as it howled through the valley and into the clearing. Sum Wun looked at the Charr nervously, then to his comrades in question, “What?” Zelse, Alexis, Kawfee and the Charr all slapped their foreheads at the same time. The Monk had enough, he immediately threw his wand and focus item on the ground and placed his arms on his hips. “Ok, what do you all have against the great Dwayna and ways of Light?” Alexis muttered, but loud enough to be heard “What be happenin’ te the ways of silence?” Zelse sighed and shook his head “Now I am stuck with a ranger who talks too loud and a monk who talks too much.” Kawfee nodded “Like, totally true dude.” The Ranger and Monk then stood side by side and yelled simultaneously “What?!” And the four of them began bickering away.

The Char all looked from one person to the other as they spoke their mind and argued with one another. Eventually the furry race looked at one another and howled in pain, not from any wounds but the constant attack on their ears from these humans. They shook their heads, simply turning and walking off to resume their patrol, knowing for sure these humans wouldn’t be getting anywhere anytime soon.

longboringname · Feb 12, 2006, 10:55 PM // 22:55

Keep it comin'

Mustache Mayhem · Feb 13, 2006, 01:59 AM // 01:59

hey this reminds me of the char horn story I wrote.. only you used the word alabaster

Starcraft Ghost · Feb 13, 2006, 07:41 PM // 19:41

Chapter 5: Hazards of Duke

The four had lined up in front of Duke Barradin, watching this well armored warrior pace in front of them in thought. “I must say, it is a miracle that the four of you even made it this far, we have been under siege by the Charr for many days now.” The Duke then paused, facing them before nodding. “Aye, I know what the four of you can do. I have a pet Strider here that needs to be transported to a ranger at Grendwich Courthouse, just follow the beaten road and beware of the Charr. Also, I had received grave news earlier that my daughter has been burned to death by the good-for-nothing Charr. If you come across the Charr sacrificial alter, please bring back her ashes so that we can give her a proper burial.”

The Duke had then eyed Zelse’s hilt, noticing no sword present. “How can one be a warrior without a weapon?” The ranger chuckled to this, but immediately quieted herself after a quick glare from Zelse. Barradin shook his head and moved to a small weapon stand, taking a massive maul and handing it to other warrior. “Here, this should serve you well.” Zelse winced, knowing he was trained in sword mastery, not hammer and the weight itself of this specific one was meant for someone of very high skill. Regardless, he kept quiet, not wanting to lower himself more. The Duke then stepped away, deciding to handle his other affairs, speaking out to them one last time “Be careful of the stone elementals you will encounter farther ahead, they have decimated even those that were strong enough to fight off the Charr.”

The four headed out of Piken square and began their journey to Grendwich. Their heads were down and no words were said between them as they walked onwards. It wasn’t because they had nothing to share; the blame would fall on the endless eye-twitching scraping noise of the warrior dragging his heavy maul behind him. The sound was unbearable, and filled the entire valley. In fact, whenever they neared a Charr party, the furry beasts immediately scurried away to escape the sounds tormenting their sensitive ears. After one hour of this torture, Kawfee wiped the dusty remains from grinding his teeth and quickly lowered his staff onto his knee, snapping it in half. “Like, I can’t take it anymore dude! Even Grenth himself would like, cower in fear from this noise!”

Sum Wun nodded in agreement, stopping temporarily and pointing to the hammer “He is correct, dear sir. A noise like that should be forsaken by Dwayna to be heard by any mortal ears. Can you not just carry it in your arms like all the others of your class?” Zelse paused, lowering his head and sighing as he glanced over the maul “I cannot, it is far too heavy for me to wield, and it is also a gift from the Duke so it cannot be thrown away.” It was at that moment that a Charr patrol of two warriors and a ranger had emerged from behind small hill, no longer needing to worry of the noise that maul produced earlier. Unfortunately Alexis was far too occupied to even notice their approach just yet “Oh yer such a wimp fer a warrior, mate. Ye need te stop cryin’ and just pick that bloody junk of yer’s”.

Zelse growled at this, immediately picking up the maul with all his strength “That’s it! I going to kick your arse so hard you’ll kiss Dwayna!” At this point, the Charr had reached the party and began to attack. Zelse would swing his mighty maul like a bat at Alexis, who immediately spinned in a whirling defense to dodge the incoming weapon. In turn, Zelse missed and in the momentum, did a full 360 spin before falling flat on his rear end as the maul went flying out of his hands and embedded itself into the mouth of one of the Charr warriors. That furry warrior went down but was immediately replaced by the second who was charging directly at Kawfee. Kawfee began to focus, concentrating on the Charr ranger in the distance and soon enough, unleashing a massive swarm of insects to eat away at the foe. The Charr ranger did die, but not before an arrow was let flight, aimed towards Kawfee’s forehead.

The Monk chanted and pointed his wand at the fellow Necromancer, shouting out “May Balthazar shine upon you! Shielding Hands!” Yet the poor Monk called upon the wrong god for assistance and Kawfee was instead hit by a Bane Signet, causing him to fall flat on his face. Luckily, the arrow had then missed, instead striking the Charr warrior in the throat that had just barely missed cutting Kawfee in two. With a howl, the furry beast fell down to its death. Zelse sat up, looking over the Charr bodies as he took in a deep breath and glanced over to Alexis with a nod. “Sorry…” Alexis nodded back to him, extending a hand and pulling the Warrior to his feet. “Notta problem, mate. But didja ever show that Charr who’s boss…” She pointed over to the Charr who was on it’s back with the metallic handle of the maul poking out of it’s mouth like a flag pole.

Kawfee stood up, dusting his clothing before he looked to the Monk. “Like, do me a favor and learn yer gods, eh?” He winked to the follower of Dwayna before glancing to Zelse. “Like, dude…I just remembered something. Weren’t we supposed to be like… escorting a pet? I think we forgot to take it with us.” Just then a loud ‘wark’ was heard a short distance behind them. Turning around at once, all four looked at the Strider, pecking away at a Charr Martyr who was far too busy fending off the pet to have helped heal the patrol that attacked. Zelse smirked and took his maul from the mouth of the fallen Charr warrior. “So… how much do Charr hides go for nowadays?”