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Red Dragon

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Chapter 1-The Red Dragon/Prologue

   The bartender Delilah had just served up a fresh ale as she usually did. Always with the ale came the smile and the price. As soon as the man had paid the copper she as usual slipped it into her pocket. She smiled and faked putting it in the box. This was the usual routine at the Red Dragon. Though it would all change soon enough. The smiles would fade as would the cheer.

   Katerin the other barmaiden was smiling. She would be the first to meet the tortured soul. The first to smile and shake his hand. As the man walked the room began to turn cold, she flashed him a smile and beckoned towards an empty seat. He looked up to her though his face was shrouded in a veil of shadow. She took no notice and offered a greeting. "Hello sir." She would say in her optimistic tone.

     He gently looked her over. Seeing the blonde locks falling over her face. Her gown of purest white. Her pond green optics. He smiled very much liking what he was seeing. He extended his hand. "The name's Slaid, Slaid Craven." His hood having gone down and his locks of oceanic blue hair cascaded down towards his shoulders.

   She took the hand and grasped it lightly, before giving it a hearty shake. "It's a pleasure Slaid. My name is Katerin. Though most call me Cat." She kept the smile playing upon her face throughout the whole time.

Nodded his head once again, "Tis a pleasure Katerin." He took her hand towards his face and gently kissed her knuckles. "Though I would like very much to talk to you all day. I am quite parched. Perhaps I could get some tea?" He would smile lightly, his fangs glistening from the light of the many torches around the tavern bar. Then his hand would snake away from her hand and find its way inside his robes. He then finally withdrew it from the cloak. Two golden coins held in his hands.

   Katerin rushed towards the back. Emerging a few minutes later holding a steaming kettle of tea and a single saucer and tea cup. She placed them both on the counter,Katerin then gently tilted the kettle to let the tea pour into the cup. Once she had finished she extended her hand palm up and open."2 cop..." She was interrupted by the sound of the two golden coins hitting the counter top. She then swiftly scooped them up and put them in the cash box. "Wait one seco..." She was once again interrupted. This time by the grunt of Slaid, "Keep the change." He smiled lightly.

   Katerin then gently shrugged her shoulders.” As you say...but two gold is quite a bit." She placed one of the gold coins into the cash box and pocketed the other. She then handed him the saucer and cup. The steam wafted upwards into Slaid's nostrils. He took the cup and brought it to his lips and was about to take a sip, though Katerin already had a scolding look on her face. He lowered the glass. "What?" Katerin quickly retorted, "You're going to kill yourself by drinking it before letting it cool. That has to be scolding hot!" Katerin stopped talking. She looked at the seat where Slaid had once been. The tea spilled over the counter. She looked toward the curtains used for entrance only to see them rippling having been used just seconds before. She shook her head. "You try to help someone and they treat you with a disappearing act..." She's trail off muttering as she grabbed a wet rag and began wiping the tea off of the counter. Little did Katerin know that Slaid Craven would soon return.
  
The bar had closed for the night. Slaid was sitting out on the streets cleaning his weapons by the light of the moon and fireflies. Though dawn was ready to break through Slaid sat there not yet getting a wink of sleep. Slaid had just finished putting on his belt of throwing knives when a rooster crowed. He looked up into the sun and hissed lightly. "Bloody daybreak already..." He traveled up and down the street twisting and winding his way through along the cobblestone walk way. He stopped dead in his tracks having run into a man twice his size to say the least. "Sorry" Slaid muttered under his breathe before attempting to walk away.

The man took a hold of Slaid's shoulder pulling him back.” I deserve a better apology then that don't I?" the man had questioned in an emotionless tone. Slaid quirked one of his brows but before too long, the mans fist had collided with his face. Knocking him out. The man looked down upon Slaid. "Worthless scumbag..." As the brute finished these words he trailed off not giving enough care to look back. Slaid laid there sprawled upon the cobblestone. He woke up after a few hours of being there. Only to find himself inside what looked to be a hospital ward. Though it was none other then a room in the Red Dragon Tavern.                           
                     
                                                 Chapter 2-Eternal Gratitude

Slaid woke up to see none other then Delilah Silverstone over him. She smiled down at him and placed a cold rag over his forehead. A bag of ice was placed on his jaw with one of her hands. He peered up to her. This was the first time he had actually seen her. Her beautiful black locks fell down past her shoulders. Her attire fitted her well. Then he peered around the room spotting a man with a tinge of a tan. It was one of the blacksmiths of the place. The man who was engaged to the owner. It was none other then Luther Thaneblade. Luther stood up upon seeing Slaid awake. Luther then gently strode to the side of the bed. He looked to Delilah and motioned towards the door. Delilah nodded and left the two alone. Luther looked down upon Slaid a bit of pity in his eyes. "I see someone seems to have gotten into a bit of a brawl." He held up one of Slaid's long fanglike teeth, chuckling lightly. Slaid looked at the fang. Though his vision was blurred he could see it was one of his own. "Nah. It was nothing. A lucky shot is all." Luther shook his head still chuckling. "That "shot" almost broke your jaw." Slaid opened his eyes wide astonished by this. "Well I believe I owe you something for this act." Luther shook his head. "Nah this was nothing." Slaid shook his head once again. "No I owe it to you and your tavern. I want a job here. I could be a bouncer." Luther pondered this again. Though Slaid did not see it. He felt a sudden burning sensation in his jaw and was once again out cold.

Slaid woke up just an hour later. He woke up to see no other then Luther once again. Luther looked down upon Slaid once again. Before stating in a bit of a sing song tone. "I have given thought to your offer for a job. And well I think we could use a hand around here."   Slaid looked up at him. He was in a state of utter confusion, not yet remembering what had happened three hours ago. "You have given thought to my what?"  He quirked a brow and opened his mouth, but Luther was too quick and had already begun talking. "You offered to be a bouncer. That is correct. I have decided I could use your help. So that means you're hired." He nodded and walked out of the room. Closing the door behind him gently. Slaid, laid there for about an hour. His mind racing, thinking about this. Who was the man who had given him the punch? Where was he? These questions buzzed around his head until he heard the clicking of the door opening. He looked up to see the angelic form of Delilah walk in. Still wearing the same thing. Still as beautiful as ever. He smiled and nodded to her. "Hi. I'm Slaid." What a moron he thought to himself. She giggled lightly. "I'm Delilah Silverstone. Now get up it's time to work." She threw a pillow at him to wake him up. She then left the room also. Slaid had jolted to his feet already and threw on his shirt. He pushed some of the blue locks out of his hair and walked to the door. Emerging into the light and buzz of the Red Dragon Tavern and Inn.

As he walked out the door and peered around the tavern his eyes widened. He had never seen so many people in the tavern at one time. There was one strange fellow who caught his attention. The man was for some reason sober. That was a rare in a tavern. Though what caught Slaid's eye the most was the long shoulder length hair that was the colour of purple haze. He walked over to the entrance to the counter and as soon as he stepped there it opened. He shrugged and went and sat down. He sat down in front of the man with the purple hair. "Can I get you anything?" He asked with a quirked brow. The man did no more then shake his head. "Now come on the least you can do is answer me!" Slaid's voice had a tinge of anger in it. He placed his hand under the man's chin and pushed his head upwards so he was looking him in the eyes. "What the...." Slaid trailed off surprised by the colour of the man's eyes. They were a blood red and they flamed with anger. "Don't touch me!" The man had yelled he appeared to be demonic or at least vampiric. Though the man wasn't Slaid got a good look at his teeth. And they were normal unlike his. Slaid then stammered up an apology. "Sorry." The man then shook his head and extended one of his hands. "The name's Maykai. Maykai Hiroshima." Slaid took a hold of the man's hand giving it a hearty shake. Though Maykai gave him a bone crushing grip. "The names Slaid Craven. And if you call me by my whole name I'll have to hurt you." Maykai did nothing more then a grin. "Pleasure to meet you Slaid Craven." Slaid muttered something under his breath as his hand throbbed. "Quite the grip you got there Maykai." He grinned and reached under the bar grabbing some ale and taking a swig before depositing the copper in the box. He finished off the bottle then looked to the empty space where Maykai was sitting just moments before. He raised then lowered one shoulder and threw the bottle out of the tavern.

Slaid then looked around for his new acquaintance, wondering where he could have gone. He quickly found him though. Maykai and Delilah were talking in a deep whispered conversation. Slaid then walked up to the two. His hand cupping his elbow, his hand on his chin. He was wondering when the conversation would finish, but his question was soon answered. Delilah looked up to Slaid then back to Maykai, the whispers had stopped. "Can I help you Slaid?" She asked him a bit annoyed by his presence. Slaid shook his head. "Then what are you here for?" She asked once again. Slaid smiled. "Just looking for Maykai." Delilah then nodded. "If you couldn't tell we were," She put an emphasis on the word were, "having a conversation. You know? When to people talk to each other?" She finished the statement a look of self-approval was on her face. Slaid snorted. "Of course I know what a conversation is. Do you think I'm some incompetent moron?" He had asked although he knew the answer. Delilah had done no more then nod before Maykai stood up. "Give some thought to what I asked." Maykai had whispered to her before attempting to stride off. Delilah smiled. "Oh I have. You fight me for a chance at the job." She then got up and headed towards the arena door. Maykai's jaw had dropped. He would not show himself a brute by beating on a girl. Nor did he want to lose to her. "Y-you're on." He stammered and walked to the arena door. Slaid shrugged and walked along with them too.

Slaid watched the two. He hoped for both of them to win, though he would rather see Delilah walk out of there. He didn't want to see his employer injured on the first day of the job nor did he want to see Maykai go down either. Though they had just met they were sure to be quick friends he thought to himself. "Oh God please let them both leave this fight unharmed." Slaid muttered to himself. He then shook his head and looked to them both. Delilah had just stood there for the past while doing nothing, not even taking on a pose. Though Maykai had already but on his black iron gauntlets. A very strong metal back in the day of magic and sorcery. He then muttered a few words in a language that Slaid could not understand, he then looked to Delilah who was wearing a puzzled look on her face. Delilah then smirked. "Now don't give me any of that ladies first cock and bull. I'll give you a chance then you're mine." she had said this not once did seriousness leave her tone. Maykai did not give her time to breath after the statement. He was already running towards her his hand curled into a fist, ready to strike. When he reached her though he let it go as it sliced through the air and air was all it hit. Delilah had ducked under the fist, smiling also. She then jumped back into a standing position wiping the stray obsidian locks out of her face. "Very good Maykai. Now it's my turn!" She had yelled, before she had leapt into the air once more. She had barely been in the air before she tried to hit him with a two footed kick. Maykai was caught offguard and was hit in the chest. He stumbled backwards a bit and took one heavy breathe before letting out a roar. "No one hurts me!" Delilah smiled and nodded. She then stated in a simple tone. "I believe I just did." She smiled then landed like a feather back on the ground. Maykai took another mighty swing, then another, then another and another and another. Delilah bobbed and weaved through them. If she were to try and block her bones would break. Maykai then took control of the fight raising one of his feet and bringing it into her chest with a mighty force, smiling as he did so. He knocked her to the ground then held her down using the same foot. He then brought out a dagger and drove it into her thigh. She screamed out in agony and writhed in pain on the ground. "Y-y-you win!" she screamed at him, a single tear staining her cheek. She then stood up and limped out of the room. Slaid then glared at Maykai a look of disgust on his face. He then ran to Delilah's side and helped her out of the arena.

Slaid then helped her into the room where she would be able to get some help for her injury. Inside waiting was one of her friends, Blankshadow. The man wore a long wore long white robes with stripes of black covering it. His face was covered in a veil of shadow his body giving off a slight aura. He smiled and beckoned Delilah forward. Slaid brought her to him and sat her down. "Well what happened?" Blankshadow questioned. "Oh you know. She only has a dagger in the thigh!" Slaid said with a quite a big helping of sarcasm. Blankshadow shrugged and placed his hands on the rip in her attire. He muttered a few words the wound slowly healing. He then lifted his hand; it had Delilah's blood all over it. He wiped it off on a fabric and looked to Slaid. "You can leave now sir." Blankshadow said, smiling lightly and motioning towards the door.  Slaid nodded and stated a growl emitting from his throat afterwards. "If something’s the matter with her it'll be your head!" He then thundered out of the room. His face, white with anger how could Maykai do this? He thought to himself. He walked out into the nearly deserted bar to find Maykai sitting at the bar jeering and chugging down tankard after tankard of ale. Not even seeming to take the slightest twinge of the alcoholic beverage.

Slaid walked up to Maykai. His fists were clenched at his sides. "How could you?!" He belted out the tavern giving a slight rumble at the tone. Maykai looked up to him. "What'd I do?" Slaid snorted. "You injured her and over what? A job!" The tavern gave another rumble an empty tankard slipped off the bar and landed on the ground. "I'm not lookin' for trouble Slaid. I needed the job. I needed to forget!" Slaid chuckled lightly, though it was nothing more then a chuckle at Maykai's statement. "Forget what. You beat your wife did you? What'd you do kill some damsel for not doing what you wanted?" Maykai clenched and unclenched his fist. "Slaid I don't want to fight you." His voice made a few stray strands of hair fall into his face. Slaid couldn't take it, he was about to swing but Maykai swung first. He spit onto the ground his spit had a slight tinge of red. He then completed his swing and it connected with Maykai's jaw. "Have a nice sleep Maykai." He gave him a swift kick to his ribs and staggered out of the tavern, into the cobblestone walkway once again. This night he looked for some shelter sleeping under a great elm tree. He woke up the next day and looked around, his money bag gone and someone had attempted to steal his sword. "Someone's back for seconds I see." Slaid looked around trying to find the voice. His ears were waiting for the next noise. "What's the matter, scared?" This was all Slaid needed his wailed one of his throwing knives into a bush. Hearing a rather loud yelp as he heard the gentle sound of blood dripping.  Slaid smiled, "It's my turn now." Slaid walked over to the bush to find the man huddled into a small ball. He wasn't used to pain Slaid could tell. He pulled out his sword and finished the job with one thrust. He then cleaned off his sword and sheathed it. He smiled as he walked back into the populated area of this village. Only to find himself staring at the statue of the dragon once more, he smiled and walked into the tavern. He found Delilah, smiling towards her. "Thanks..." He had said in a sing-song tone as Delilah arched a brow. "For letting me work here. I get to beat up people and get paid for it." His smile never faded as he went around the bar and sat down on the chair waiting for a customer.

                              Chapter 3- Zuka and Lokida Haikio


One of Slaids old friends then entered the bar. It was the captain of the ship ZoSo, the man who had asked Slaid to be the best man at his wedding; it was none other than Lokida Haikio. Standing at the Lokida's side was one of Slaid's best friends it was Zuka, though no one knew his last name so they just called him Zuka. Slaid walked out from around the bar and greeted the two then ushered them to a table and sat down himself, he then looked to his two friends, a questioning look on his face. "What brings you here Lokida, Zuka?" Slaid asked calmly, all they did was shrug. "Oh business." They replied in unison. "What kind of business?" "Oh you know plundering and looting." Slaid's face turned pitch red. "Well you best be doing it someplace else." Lokida shook his head. "We need you. An enemies ship has started war with Jakioda. We of the ZoSo have to fend them off since we are the only vessels there." Slaid shook his head. "But why me cap'n?" Lokida chuckled," 'Cause you're the first mate, the second in command. We need you to help us." Slaid then shook his head. "Come on now. What'd you get into this time? I really am getting used to this new job." Slaid then said in a bit of an undertone. He would love nothing more then to feel another mans blood on his hands. Lokida chuckled and smiled half-heartedly before putting a pipe to his mouth. He then took a nice smoke on it befor emitting the smoke, it was in the shape of a sailing ship. Lokida then smiled again as he thrust his fist through the ship. "Explain enough for you?" Lokida said between chuckles. Zuka had not said a word the whole time, he was more of a figure standing in the corner then a person. Slaid pulled out a throwing knife and threw it over his shoulder. He then the shattering of glass and then heard someone hit the floor in cover. "I guess I'll go then." He said paying no attention to the man beside the glass. He then chuckled and escorted the two men out of the bar.



Later on that evening Slaid was walking through the woods on his way out of the bar, only to find himself confronted by Syagous Silverous. He gripped Slaid around the throat, "What are you going to do to our ship?" He'd say through his clenched teeth. His free hand curled up into a fist ready to strike. Slaid being the sarcastic type shrugged. "What are you talking about?" He'd ask smiling ever so curtly. Syagous tightened the grip around his throat. "You know damn well what I'm talking about! Now tell me what's going to happen?!" Slaid did no more then shrug. "So is this what it's going to come down to? Me having to kill you?" Slaid tilted his head to the side, eyeing Syagous' hand. "You won't kill me I know tha'. But you better hope the first one knocks me out." With that Syagous had punched Slaid square on the nose, Slaid was out only seeing darkness. Thoughts of his childhood flashing before his eyes, he had tried to get rid of these memories, but when you're out like that you can't stop them. He'd see his mother smiling holding up his brother’s unconscious form by the scruff of his neck. That memory passed and he seen a man with an odd coloured hair beating him other. The man was no older then seventeen as his brother sat by and quivered in fear not wanting to get hurt. Then he was about to see the mans face but he had woken up to see that his nose had stopped bleeding and he was looking up into the sky. Slaid sat bolt up in a sitting position clutching his head. "Owwww." he moaned. He pushed himself up of the ground and staggered along the cobblestone walkway once more. He hobbled along the way till he met up with Maykai. Maykai offered him a hand and helped him walk to the tavern. Once Slaid was inside he got a moist rag and was off to work.

After Slaid sorted out a fight between two drunks, neither of which landed a punch, he sat down behind the bar.  He had never actually been behind there. He could see all sorts of bottles and glasses.  He looked up and down the bar seeing only a few people he seen Suz, a usual here. He seen Blank and Delilah deep in conversation and he seen Aiwren.  He looked to Aiwren and smiled wryly no one knew who she was or why she came. So Slaid stood up and slowly strided towards her. He tapped her on the shoulder, almost immediately Aiwren had started to hit the floor writhing. Slaid was now crouched over her. "Miss are you okay? Miss?" But Aiwren wouldn't answer. Slaid would try to comfort her but it seemed as though she couldn't hear him. After a few minutes were the only sounds were of her screams she got up and dusted her cloak off, then sat back down as if nothing had happened. "I'm sorry miss but what just happened?" Slaid asked, a brow quirked. Aiwren shrugged. "Oh it was nothing." She then used a piece of cloth to stout the blood that was flowing out of her nose. Slaid tilted his head, his mouth open but if he was going to say anything he thought better of it. He then started mouthing aimlessly before words came out. "Can I get you anything? Free of charge." Aiwren looked up at him and nodded. "I'll have tea please." She said as she smiled awkwardly. Slaid not and went into the back room and emerged with a steaming cup of tea. He handed it to her and smiled. "Anything else miss?" Slaid asked, his head tilted to the side. Aiwren sipped her tea and shook her head. Slaid shrugged and jumped onto then the bar then stepped back down and faced the crowd. He felt very awkward with all of the eyes in the bar on him. Except of course Delilah's and Blank's eyes, which were focused on gazing into each others.


Noon came quiet slowly that day. The hours did nothing more then drag on, Aiwren left when the bells outside chimed five times. She nodded a farewell to the tavern and was off.  Slaid's eyes followed her out the door, when she left he breathed a sigh of relief. "What is up with her?!" He thought aloud then clamped his hands shut over his mouth, though it was too late all the eyes were once again on him. He shook his head and placed one hand on the bar. He smiled and jumped over the bar and dashed out through the veil to the forest. He found a tree and sat underneath it, he dozed lightly. The next thing he knew a sling stone flew by his ear and knocked the bark off the tree. Slaid jolted bolt up and looked around. There was no person who could have shot that around him. Slaid shook his head and went back to sleep. He was awoken at once by a grip around his throat. “Time to die filth.” The man shouted at Slaid, who’s vision was blurring. Slaid spat at the man and then hissed, “I wouldn’t be to sure about that.” Slaid had given the man a sucker punch to the gut. Knocking the wind out of him Slaid then pushed him off. “Who sent you?” Slaid belted at the man. “That is strictly classified info-“ He trailed off having a dagger edge put to his throat. “Now tell me who sent you.” Slaid hissed. The man nodded and pointed to the tattoo on his arm. It was the insignia of the mad man, the captain of the Lady Of Arms. It was the insignia of John Wolf. Slaid smiled. “G’night boy.” He then plunged the dagger into the mans throat. He smiled, rubbing his hands together, he then stalked off into the night. As the moon had disappeared Slaid jumped at every little twitch in the woods, every snapping twig. His ears more keen then others, his fangs were sharp and gleamed in the light. He rubbed his stomach, oh how he hungered for the taste of the warm blood running down the back of his throat, the shrill scream and final twitch of the victims. To him it was sheer delight. He shook his head and wondered off to find someone to talk to, that someone was Delilah.

***

Delilah screamed, having found Slaid once again covered in blood. She shook her head and covered her eyes. "Are you always like this?" Here voice was soft and quivering, Slaid just looked at her with a quizzical expression. "Oh, but what do you mean?" He'd smile, his voice sounded innocent, though she could see through it. "You know damn well what I'm talking about! What are you? An animal, feral or just a plain beast?"  Slaid smiled, "Well, I prefer to think of myself a bit of all three." He then ducked; Delilah had sent a shot glass hurtling across the room at his head. "Alright, alright. I'll clean up." He hissed at her before walking off. Delilah shook her head, "I just seem to be hiring anything now a day." She smiled slightly, oh how she loved to shun Slaid. Her ears perked up slightly. "Who's there?" Her voice once again quivered. "Oh, I do believe I'm your worst nightmare." Delilah's vision went black; she was hit in the head with the pommel of a sword. As she fell, a strange high pitched voice rang out.

    ***

Slaid aroused from his trance at the sound of a high pitched voice. He threw on his clothes and rushed downstairs, his hand strayed to the hilt of his sword. His steps came gently and silently, eyes glancing around in the dark. He heard the scrabbling of feet and threw a glass from a near by table at the spot where he had heard it, only to hear the high pitched chatter of a rat. He sighed and shook his head, clutching the hilt rather tightly. His eye lingered on the bar, half expecting to see a beast jump out, but all he found was Delilah's unconscious body. He shook his head, "Damn bandits." He muttered to himself, he then felt the pommel of a sword smack off his head. His jaw dropped as he fell to the ground.

He awoke the next day, feeling hung over from the blow. "Where the hell am I?" His words were slurred and barely audible. He shook his head and tried to stand, his limbs felt like lead, he shook his head and tried again. Getting up only to fall flat on his face. He crawled out the door into the bar, he sighed and pulled himself into a seat, he rubbed his head. "What happened?" He yawned, Maykai sat opposite him, and all he did was shake his head. "You were attacked, as was Delilah." He smiled slightly, "Though it was nothing fatal, it put you out for a day."  Slaid tilted his head to the side, "What do you mean?" Maykai did nothing but laugh.Slaid shook his head and reached behind the bar, pulling out a goblet containing a bright red liquid. He took a sip and looked at Maykai over the brim. "Whatever." Slaid smiled and swigged it down, before placing his hand on the bar and hopping over. "That's what I call anti-aftershock." The smile still played on his lips as bright stars clouded his vision. "Alright, nevermind." His speech was slurred and overly loud. Yet, Maykai didn't care, nor would he. Maykai had already left the bar and headed out the door, the cloth left billowing like a flag on a windy day. Snapping and cracking. "Incompetence isn't too hard to find..." He trailed off and snorted. Taking another sip of the hot mulled wine. Slaid shuddered slightly as his eyes lingered around the tavern, a few creatures were huddled in a corner. He kept his eye on them; a few laughs and the sound of coins chinking were all that met him. He shook his head and stood up; he nodded his head to Katerina and walked on out the door. To once again find himself on the road, only to return during the night. This time, he was without a scratch.

Slaid shook his head, still hung over from last night, his thoughts a blur. He smiled and walked out of his room and yawned, he then licked his lips. His eyes lingered around the tavern and he walked over to the bar, jumping over it and sitting down, still quite groggy. Delilah came up behind him and scared him. Slaid shook his head. "What was tha' for?" He yawned once more. Delilah smiled. "I don't know, I was bored." She smacked him upside head and sat down next to him, every once and a while she picked up a bottle and inspect it, or shine a tankard, but that was it. He felt somewhat edgy after the things that had happened over the past fortnight. Nobody liked a sword pommel smacking their skull, unless of course they were odd like Maykai. So he shook his head, pulled out a goblet, and then pulled out a bottle of wine. Only to find a hand swat at his wrist, it was Delilah's her eyes were leering at him. "First you get hit, then you get drunk, now you just want to drive a stake into yourself don't you?" She quirked a brow before grabbing the bottle. "Lay of the alcohol Slaid, it'll do you good." Slaid looked and found Maykai staring at him. "I thought you were on my side." Slaid's tone was intertwined with sarcasm, and somewhat anger though playful. She simply shook her head, looking him over. "Oh, I'm on your side. It's just that your sorry carcass seems to keep finding its way into my infirmary on my bill. So unless you feel like slipping gold under the counter I'm going to be looking out for your health, seems someone should." With that, Slaid merely shook his head and pushed himself up. He had once been one to strike any against him, now he settled on making scenes. "Well, I'd give you gold if my wages were worth more than a slave's feelings!" He slammed his fist down on the table and walked out.

***

Delilah shook her head, falling with a huff back into her seat. The wine having spilled on her brand new bodice, red wine on the beautiful silk that was coming out of Slaid's pay. "Damn brutes, drink your wine, smoke your smoke, and ruin your silk." She lifted her head up and gave a rather silent prayer to any god listening. She saw Blankshadow enter the bar, heart giving a mix match of signals. She seemed to enjoy being in the man's company but she also didn't want him to see her in the stained bodice. She stood up and broke into a sprint towards her room. Slamming into the door and slipping off the bodice and had just finished when Blankshadow entered the room. "Hello, Deli.." He was cut off by a rather high pitched scream and a flying object that resembled a shoe. He averted his eyes, rather reluctantly before walking out of the room.

Delilah once again found herself in the bar, now she was stuck with a simple commoners shirt, two sizes to large and two shades dirtier then a lady should find herself wearing. With that Jade entered the tavern, offering a silent greeting to Delilah before busting out laughing. She then went to her room, rather quickly and stealthily followed by Luther. The sound of a school girlish giggle was heard before the ruckus of what would later be identified as a pillow fight, she shook her head. "Love birds." Was muttered to herself as she folded her hands on the counter, toying with the shirt to make it a bit less, repulsive. Eyes wandered about; there were two men in the bar at the time. Both drunks not even worth the time, now that she didn't want to see Blankshadow he simply disappeared. She brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them, resting her chin in the crook between her knees. "How I envy them." A rather odd thing to see, this strong willed femme talking to herself. Her ears perked at the ruckus of the two drunks brawling. She buried her face into her knees. "Just make it go away." A silent prayer to a God that most likely wasn't listening.

***

"Am I the only one in here with the smarts to outwit to drunken idiots?" Slaid was holding the two drunks by the collars before throwing them out. Jaw having then dropped as he seen a femme walking up the road. This girl was eye candy, for simpler words. Her form was hugged by white silk, eyes a rather haunting white pupiless yet they held warmth. Long flowing black curls fell to her mid-back, the cream on the cake. Yet, there was one thing odd about this girl, the fact that her whole body was encased by white flame. As she passed by him, he realized they gave no heat and did nothing more then crack. A sigh escaped his lips as he looked to her hands, no ring a plus but there was also blackened burn marks. Protesting otherwise to the harmless aura given off by the flames. "A burning beauty, I've got to get myself in on the suitors list for this one." He smirked to himself, thumbing the corner of his lips before sitting himself down opposite of her. "This seat taken?" A bit late, but he couldn't skip the courtesy.

The girl merely looked up to him, those haunting eyes meeting his before her voice rang out, one that could make a siren fall to her knees. "Well, I'm guessing it is now." A banner of cusses followed suit, but Slaid paid them no mind. "I work here, you know." He puffed his chest out, not the best smooth talker to be seen. "I'm the bouncer." The girl shook her head. "And I'm not impressed." The flames gave a rather violent crackle as she spoke. Sighs some, giving a false shudder. "Oh, is it cold in here? Or is it just your shoulder." With that he walked off, sighing some and kicking a barstool straight across the room. He banged his fist on the wall; all the while the femme's eyes followed him. With that he disappeared around a corner.

"Oh heavens! Sorry, m'lord." A female's voice rang out, seeing as Slaid had walked straight into her arm which knocked him over. She reached a hand out towards him, a small golden ring dazzled on the middle finger of her right hand. "L-let me help you up." She stuttered, Slaid took her hand and pulled himself up finding himself standing toe to toe with a beauty. "A-are you an angel?" His voice quivered, barely able to stand seeing as knees had been reduced to mere gelatin. "No. I'm just not from around here." She placed a hand to her lips to stifle a giggle. Hair was mostly straight except for the tips which were oddly formed like corkscrews. Face was that of royalty, pale white skin, unblemished, with high cheek bones. Body was covered in a simple bar hopper uniform, a leather vest over a blouse and a pair of baggy trousers. "Oh, I'm sorry. That probably sounded like a horrible come on." He looked to the ground as he spoke, muttering as he was quite nervous and foot kicking at the ground. She placed a hand upon his shoulder. "No, need, sir. I'm used to be treated as such." And with that, she was off. Slaid's eyes followed her as his mind raced, would he ever see the beautiful female again? He silently thought to himself, only time will tell.

With that Slaid settled himself down behind the bar, watching an odd man from the corner of his eyes. The entire area were he was sitting was shrouded with what appeared to be cigar smoke. Though, Slaid's eyes could see more. He witness a few golden rings, set as bangles, in a head of thick hair. Dreadlocked and all. They fell curved around a face, seemingly made from scar tissue and black ash. Though, his face was also stained by a few red marks, all along his body although Slaid couldn't see it all. He was garbed in nothing but rags, seemed he spent all his money on what was hanging off his back. A rather long, nearly six foot long sheith made of fine leather lead up to a black hilt with a rubied pommel.
Slaid didn't have to wait all to long to get a closer look, seeing as the demonic being settled himself down now at the bar. He looked the tender, square in the eye. He found himself looking back into obsidian pits, no emotion, just awe inspiring pain. "Vodka." A voice gruff enough to match the appearance rang out from the hunk of muscle infront of him. Slaid nodded his head, reaching under the bar and grabbing a bottle and glass. Placing both infront of the man, he stuttered out. "Two gold." The demon produced the coinage, but threw the glass over his shoulders. "Glasses, are for those who can't take the whole drink." With that, the demon broke the neck of the vodka bottles off. Placed the broken glass between his lips and swigged the alcohol down as if it were water. With that, he took his cigar and threw it into his mouth. Chomping on it like chewing tobacco.
This, is the first few pages of a book I'm writing. Please! This is my piece of work, so do not steal it. Or use for other things without my permission first.
© 2006 - 2024 SupressedAuthority
Comments3
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lunastar's avatar
That's pretty good, though I must admit there are some issues I have with it.

First thing I'd like to address are the sizes of the paragraphs. First thing that comes to mind when I see them is "holy crap, those are long" and unnecessarily so, as I discovered after reading. For the most part, you just need to separate the dialogue. While on Furcadia (I noted that you go on there), one cannot really, to my knowledge, separate the dialogue from the paragraphs (without making separate posts), with an actual story, it's quite necessary. Each person speaking has their own paragraph when it's their turn to speak.

Another thing that I think is probably the influence of the world of Furcadia (I say this because I know a few people who roleplay this way) was nearer to the beginning of the story. As you progressed it went away, but at first there were many things like "he would say" or "he would do", yada, yada, etc. While it's not wrong, to me it sounded foreign and out of place. In my opinion, it would be better to say "he said" or "he did", depending on the context of the sentense of course.

I also noticed many "and then"s. Again, it's not wrong, but the repetitaveness can grow to irritate. There were many cases in which I would have just eliminated it entirely.

Again on the subject of "then", there were several times when you did use it incorrectly. Several places in which you said "then" it needed to be "than". "Than" is the comparative, while "then"... well... I don't know how to explain "then", but there are places where "than" needs to be switched with "then".

As for grammatical punctuation, much of it is lacking. Apostrophes, commas and the likes need to be inserted into quite a few places.

There are many sentences I saw which kind of confused me. They confused me because you'd suddenly stop the sentence, but then start it again as a new sentence. Sometimes it can be done and it's fine, but you have some instances where I don't think it works all too well at all.

One thing I would suggest is posting each chapter separately. As it is now, I think it may be driving people away from reading it. They could honestly be thinking "Jeez, that's way too long! I'm not reading that!" It looks really lengthy not only because it's three chapters on the same post, but also because of the size of the paragraphs (which I mentioned before).

The story itself was pretty decent, however there are some parts that confused me. I don't know if it was just because of the length and my brain refused to focus, or whether it was the story itself. It just seemed to me that in some instances one thing would be happening and then, bam, something completely different's happening.

What I did like about this were your descriptions. You did well along those lines, describing everything clearly and without too much nonsense. (I find that people who roleplay on Furc tend to go towards using pointless words to say the easiest of things, just to look like better roleplayers. Or they use words that don't even make sense with the character/contex/etc. Judging from your descriptive ability, I'm guessing that you don't roleplay like that.) Some parts (scenery mostly) could have used a bit more description, but for the most part, well done.

And while I did say that the story confused me a bit, it intrigues me as well. There's just that desire to find out what's going on or what's going to happen next, which is always good in a story as that's what usually reels in the audience.

I implore you, don't take this all as I'm trying to insult you or your story. It's just my way of offering help. I know this comment is probably so tedious to read due to its length, however I wanted to cover everything.