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| >> Book >> Fantasy >> ID #1554675 |   |
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I joined the 500 Word a Day Group to keep me motivated in my writing. 500 words a day is normally two double-spaced type written pages. Imagine how many pages I can write in a year. Maybe I will be able to get a novel and a bunch of short stories written each year.
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| 1. 10/10-10/14/09 Word Count 2000 My Nano Novel Day 1 | ID #674151 |
| Posted: 11-1-2009 @ 10:34 am EST | |
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In the first adventure
Bard knows what he must do; he must prove himself in the Catacombs, to fight monsters and find treasures. However, many people who venture into this mysterious place never return. While going there may prove his courage, it may also mean his death. Whether Bard is very foolish or brave by venturing into the Catacombs, it is uncertain. After saving money for a year, Bard has what he will need. This includes rope, food, torches, oil, weapons and chain mail. Now he is ready to go on his quest. Even after seeing the warning at the entrance to the Catacombs that says: "To all those who enter the Catacombs, Beware! Many of you will never see the light of day again, But will walk with the creatures and guard the Monster's treasures!" Bard decides to continue with his quest. Shortly after he enters, he encounters a goblin. Bard easily slays it. The next encounter is not so easy. He encounters a snake and even though he slays it, the snake bites him twice. Bard has no choice to continue in the Catacombs. The snake is venomous and he will not make it back to the village alive. He continues, hoping to find a potion. Shortly after the encounter with the snake, Bard runs into Johanna, a cleric. She is meditating in another chamber. She is alone, working on her own separate quest in the Catacombs; she is working to make her magic stronger. She heals Bard of his snake bite. Bard decides to have Johanna as a companion while they explore the Catacombs. They encounter ghouls, which Johanna turns away with her magic. Johanna is very useful and shows Bard how to look for traps. After finding a locked door, she explains how a thief would be valuable to him if he ever decided to return to the Catacombs. Johanna and Bard run into Trent, an evil magic-user. He kills Johanna with his magic and leaves Bard for dead. Bard brings Johanna’s body to a church that is near the cleric camp. While one person accuses Bard of killing Johanna, Balon, a magic-user knows that he is telling the truth. The clerics are thankful for what he did and offer to give him something to eat. While he is telling Johanna’s companions about what had happened, she sits next to him. She is alive because she used a Death Protection Spell on both herself and Bard. After a while, Bard decides to head back to his village. He is given a healing potion as a gift. While in the catacombs, Bard found enough coins and gems, so he can move from the village to Antares, a bigger town to the west. He gets a room at the Stoneville Inn, a cozy place to live, where the meals are free. He decides that he will be returning to the Catacombs and wants to get better armor and other supplies. He replaces his chain mail with plate armor. Even though it is heavier, it offers better protection. After returning to the Stoneville Inn, he notices three people sitting at a table. Knowing them to be travelers, he notices that one of them is a dwarf and the other is an elf. He does not recognize the lad, who has a hood pulled over the head at first. Then when he takes a knife from the dwarf, he knows that he is a thief. The elf and the dwarf are in an angry conversation. A fighter was to meet up with them, but had a change of plans. Bard introduces himself. He finds out that the dwarf is Britt Stonewall, the elf is Massacharamar and the thief is George. They are on a mission that will take them into the forest of Kildun Aalda. However, they are reluctant to tell Bard more. If he returns to the Catacombs, they may tell him more and maybe even consider allowing him to join them. Once again Bard returns to the Catacombs, using another entrance Massacharamar tells him about. He was hoping Johanna would join him, however, the camp has been cleaned up and the group has moved on. He first encounters giant rats. Even though he kills them, he almost loses his life because they attack him in a group. He appears in the game room. If he answers the riddle correctly, his coins will double. However, he will lose his money if he is wrong. Since he is in the room he must play the game; a large bottomless trench has appeared by the door. It is a riddle he knew from when he was a child and he answers correctly. Bard continues to build his riches by defeating more goblins. One poisons him with a ball bearing. However, he is fully healed by the healing potion the clerics gave him. They plea for his life and offer him a bag of gold coins. He defeats two skeletons and finds his way into a room that has a chest. Aft5er opening the chest, he finds it full of coins. His bag is now so heavy that his business is done in the catacombs. He has enough riches to live a long fruitful life in Antares. However, that is not enough. As he is heading back to Antares, he is hoping that hoping that a certain group of individuals in town will accept him in their group. Chapter One The Adventurers Gather The hustle and bustle of Antares was dying down. People were finishing up their business in town for the night. Joe Smith closed up his armor shop and walked back to his home. The owners of the markets did the same thing. The people from the villages, both the ones selling and buying merchandise were getting ready to leave the town. The gates of the town were locked and the night guards replaced the day ones. Once in a while a person would be let in or out of Antares. The last two entering the town were a man and woman, traveling from the west. They had a room at the Stoneville Inn. "Britt Stonewall said that you would be here tonight," said one guard. "Enjoy your stay at Antares." The Stoneville Inn was quite. A few of the patrons were in the ale room drinking beer. The two visitors saw the three individuals they were seeking-a dwarf, an elf and a thief. The dwarf recognized them and walked over to the man and woman. "I knew you would come," Britt Stonewall said shaking the tall man’s hand and giving the female a hug. The female spoke, "I thought there was to be a fighter." "Jeff had other plans. Hopefully, they are permanent this time. However, we are testing a fighter in the Catacombs. If he returns, we may consider using him. Come, sit by the fire; it is a cold night. They joined the elf and the thief. Rubbing his hands to warm them up by the fire, the tall man asked, "When do we leave?" "We will give it three days. That way Bard can rest before we set out. He has been gone since yesterday morning." "You met Bard," the female said. "I think he will be a major asset to this quest. I hope he did not fall victim in the Catacombs." "Johanna?" a voice came from the doorway of the ale room. The woman jumped up from the chair and saw Bard. She ran to him and threw her arms around his and embraced him. "When did you get back?" "I got back a couple of hours ago. After I got out of the Catacombs, I was too tired to make it back to town. So I camped by the church and headed back in the morning." "It was nice of you to tell us,” Britt grunted. "I am sorry but I wanted to take a bath first and get cleaned up." "If you travel with us," laughed the thief, "You will not have the time to be a pretty boy." Britt and the elf laughed. "He is right. We may spend many days outside. However, our helmets serve a second purpose. They hold water and serve as good wash basins." Bard noticed the tall man in the chair. "It is good to see you again, Balon." The man stood up and shook Bard's hand. "I hope you will be joining us. I am sure Johanna and I can convince them." "Bard," the elf said, "we have not eaten dinner yet. I am sure Johanna and Balon are hungry too. We can eat and then you can tell us about the catacombs." "I am impressed," Britt said over the meal of mutton. Bard had just finished telling the group about his recent adventures in the catacombs. "It was wise not to tangle more than you did with the rust monster," said Johanna. "It is not worth to lose all your armor. Besides, the rust monster is not an evil beast. It only attacks you for your metal. That is all that it eats. If you walked up to one with no armor on and no steel weapons, it will leave you alone." "You may think the catacombs are dangerous," Britt said, "and believe me, they are. However, where we are going has even more monsters. While we may see giant rats and goblins, we may encounter giant centipedes, kabolds and troglodytes to name a few. The amount of rooms and caverns you explored in the catacombs is few compared to where we are going." "If this place exists," mumbled George to himself. "When I want your opinion, I will ask somebody else instead," the dwarf thundered at the thief. He continued, "Do not think that this will be a one day adventure. Plan to travel for many days. I will give you a list of what you will need." "Are you telling me that I can join your group?" "Yes," said the elf. "I think we had decided when we first met you. While you almost came to an end the first time in the Catacombs, you were not afraid to return. This shows that you have the courage to be a fighter." "Call it bravery if you want," said George. "I think it is just plain foolishness. Traveling in the Catacombs alone," he muttered, shaking his head, "how stupid can you be?" "Relax," Britt said as Bard's hand clasped the handle of his knife. "He is just expressing his opinion. He is not a bad lad. He can be a bit of a prankster and a bit annoying. Yet he does care and was worried that you would not return." "I would not mind if he got lost in the Catacombs," Bard thought to himself. "I think we can tell Bard what our mission is," the elf said. Since we have decided to allow him to join us, he should have an idea of what we do." "What we do is fairly simple," Britt said. "We are on a goodwill mission. We explore different parts of the world. What treasures we find, we get to keep except for ten percent." "Why ten percent?" "It is used to help rebuild different areas in this world. Just like the village you came from, the houses is deteriorating, people live in poverty and education is non-existent. While people in towns, such as Antares, have everything they need, the ones in the villages usually go without. The money we give is used to rebuild houses and provide food for the residents. We do not just give the food; we educate the people how to live off the land. While we are helping the people, we are teaching them how to help themselves." George laughed, "I know all about helping myself." |
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