Forgotten Ties

[This story was meant to take place a week or so after Outpost 7 and a month before the current story Day of the Dragons. This is merely meant for character progression and I will update it when I have the time/am bored. So I ask kindly that no one add unto it except for myself. If you find an error in story plot or such, however, then you can just post ''Hey, I'm really a bad-ass Hercules kind of guy Templar!'' etc. etc.]


An awkward silence lingered in the cool air. James lay awake, looking up at the blank ceiling. After waking up in a feverous sweat, he couldn't even drift back to dreamland. With a heavy sigh he sat up, rubbing his neck. He swung his long baggy pants, one leg red, the other white, out of the comforts of his sheets and on the bedside.
Things didn't feel right to James ever since he and the rest of the Royal Army returned from the mountains. Spending more than a month traveling through zombie-filled towns, giant cliffs, narrowly escaped the jaws of both a gigantic badger and a viper, and somehow gotten away unscathed from the Keovahls that lived inside outpost seven, it seemed even more of a miracle that they were able to defend themselves from raiders just as they found their way out of the caves.
Not even a week had passed by since their little adventure, yet something was off. Though they had both found, and discarded the cursed red gold, James felt that he was still looking for something....
As he once again tried to think of what could have been bothering him, a sound broke the silence. Something, or someone, had knocked against the massive wooden doors to the chapel. His father being the priest, James was allowed to live in the spare quarters in the farthest part of the building.

"Wha?" He said in a harsh voice, his throat awkwardly dry. "Who would be here so early......" With the grace of a pelican, he jumped out of his bed and immediately fell to the floor. Turning red with embarrassment, he gathered himself as he opened his door.
Small streaks of light fell through the entrance windows, the torches just barely alive. The darkness outside seemed to swallow them whole as he could only just make a faint outline near the door. Rushing forward, he put his hand on the door. He went to pull it, but it barely gave way.
The sound of a heavy chain immediately followed. Looking up, he noticed what had stopped the door. A thick chain, covered in bits of rust, was wrapped around to large hooks, locked in place by a menacing metal stake.

"Who locked the....." He said softly, feeling a bit uneasy. His father never locked the doors to the church, in case a lost soul wandered in for guidance. Why he had gone through so much effort to keep it locked confused him.
Before he could ponder any further, the figure began to knock softly, sensing James behind the door. With abrupt swiftness, he pulled out the stake and shook the chain off the hooks. They made a cackling noise as they rattled against the stone floor. Pushing them with his feet, he slowly opened the door, just enough to get his face out.

"Hello?" he said to the figure. It wore a black cloak, the hood covering its face.

"Are you....closed?" Said a soft voice. James looked wide eyed at the figure. From the tone of its voice, he could tell it was a woman.

"Uhh...oh. No, we are usually open to whoever comes to seek guidance, or advice."

"Then why was the door locked?" She said coolly.

"I don't know....anyway. How can I help you?"
Lifting her arms, she removed the cloak, revealing a large mane of fiery crimson. She had a small round face, complete with a pair of emerald green eyes. Her slight puffy lips seemed to quiver in the low light.

"I....I...need a place..." She said quietly.

"A place?....if it’s a room, the inn is just over-"

"N-no!" She yelled, cutting him off. she stared at him for a second, then gathered herself before she continued. "...I already went there. There was no more room....someone said I could come here..."

"Someone? Who?"

"He was a....large man. He was playing cards while a group of women surrounded him." She said with a slight blush. 'Group of women?....Oddvar.' James thought to himself. The heavyset man was known to prowl the card tables, and the harem didn't surprise James. But even he would be asleep at this time.
".....you just came from there?"

"Hmmm?"

"...From the inn?"
"O-oh, yes." she said quickly, startled by the question.
He gave her a quick once-over. Her thick black cloak covered most of her body, making anything else she wore undistinguished. James peered at her, then sighed as he opened the door.

“Well he was right. We do allow people to come here…to pray.’’ He added.

‘’So that means I can’t….?”

“Technically, no. However…’’ he paused, looking back inside to make sure that his father wasn’t there. ‘’I can allow you to sleep here, if you need to.’’

‘’Oh bless you!’’ the woman said as she broke into a smile. James was taken aback as she suddenly lifted her arms and hugged him.

He was still blushing when he led her inside, past the pews and into the small living quarters. She looked around curiously, especially at the large hammer which rested near the old fireplace.

‘’That’s a powerful weapon.’’ She said.

‘’Hmm? Oh, my hammer.” James said bluntly, yawning a bit. ‘’It belonged to my father before he gave it to me.’’

‘’wow…have you…used it?’’

“Excuse me?’’

‘’Well I mean…have you fought anyone with it.’’ She added quickly, looking at the side.

‘’Oh…in a way.’’ He eyed her as she leaned her head forward.

‘’I imagine it’s very heavy….’’ She went to it and admired the engravings on the side, her smooth fingers running down the handle.

‘’You’re right. Especially when you are in a cramped tunnel….’’

‘’What?’’ she turned around, obviously interested.

‘’Oh…..I recently came back from a….adventure of sorts.’’ He said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. ‘’I’m not much of a story teller…Konradr Greywolf would just love to tell you the tale if you want to.’’

‘’Konradr Greywolf…’’ she said slowly, as though memorizing each letter. ‘’He lives here too…?’’

‘’Yes…he is the shipmaster and leader of the Warwolves. He kinda has to live here.’’ She looked at him coldly with slit eyes.
‘’Sorry….I’ve been plagued by restless nights and my attitude towards cute girls is slightly off.’’ He didn’t mean to say ‘cute’ but either because he was tired or that he didn’t care he just blurted it out.

''Cute?" she said, slightly startled. ''I have been wearing this cloak this whole time....what says I'm cute?''

''What?....I'm sorry if I offended you somehow, but you have eyes as emerald, hair bright as fire, I could go on with such details but I'm tired....'' He walked over to his chair and slowly sat on it, favoring his right leg.

''......Whats wrong?'' she said softly, looking at his leg.

''I got speared by a mercenary.....Thank the Gods that it missed my bone entirely. I can't walk if I'm careful, that's why it you had to wait so long outside.....''

''Oh.....so is this your bed?'' she motioned to the makeshift bed on the other side of the room.

''Usually is. But tonight it is yours.''

''.....What do you mean?'' she said, looking around the room then back into the main hall. ''Isn't there a guest quarters or something more....private?'' she had the faintest sound of innocence in her voice as she looked back at him.

''Like I said, this isn't an inn. I shall sleep on the floor while you have the luxury of the finest bed made by dwarven hands.''

She looked at him, at the floor, then at the bed. Silence filled the room as she just stood there, staring.

''....Adara Verity'' she said in a cold voice.

''Excuse me?'' James looked up at her. ''What did you say?''

''That's my name....Adara Verity.''

''.....Nice to meet you Adara. My name is James Stoneheart....'' he said in a odd voice, giving her a confused look.

''Now that we know each other's names it would no longer be as.....odd.....if we were to sleep in the same bed.''

''WHAT?!?!'' he exclaimed. He moved so fast out of his chair that he literally fell over, crashing on the floor. ''Have you gone mad???''

''Well even though dwarves like to sleep in dirty caves doesn't mean you like to sleep on the floor.'' Adara said in quick fashion. ''It only makes sense for....a strong dwarf like you to want someone as....cute....as me in your bed, no?'' With that she disrobed her cloak, throwing it on the chair. James literally couldn't think of anything to say.

She wore a tight fitted green tunic, the string opening much lower then that of a common outfit for a women, Complete with a black corset. The ties were loose, the strings dangling over her large busom. Wearing a matching green skirt and dark green leather shoes, it was as though she came from an elven forest. He looked at her eyes to make sure she was indeed human.

''Do you have a small blanket?'' Adara said in a calm voice, as she turned around to undo the strings to her corset.

''uhh....y....yes!'' With that he hurried to his small closet, immediatly grabbing a wool blanket. Without turning around, he walked backwords until he threw it over his shoulder, hearing the material hit his bed.

''Why so shy Templar?'' she said in a not so innocent tone.

''Because....you are a lady and I cannot see you naked....''

''Well we know each others names....it shouldn't be as uncomfortable as you think it.'' she put her small hand on his shoulder, forcing him to turn around. She had drapped the blanket around her naked form, so that only her legs and arms were visible.

''Come....let us sleep....and put worries behind us......'' As though under a trance, he obeyed her. They went under the covers and just before he blew out the candle in his room, she removed the blanket. The last thing he saw before the darkness was the face of a scaled beast on her shoulder.......

The sounds of chains dangling against stone aroused the small dwarf. His hand felt oddly wet as he rubbed his forehead. Upon inspection he saw that it was covered in blood. looking up he realized that he was no longer in his room, but in a dark chamber of sorts. A low light was approaching the entrance. Stoneheart tried to move but found that he was chained to the wall, only able to move a few feet before he was stopped.

''Hello?! Who's there?!'' he called out to the light. It swung slowly, back and forth, as though dancing. The sound of grunts echoed into the room as the light appeared. The lantern swung left and right as the group of small humanoids began to fill the room. Bright red skinned-things glared up at him, sharp yellow teeth glistening in the light. They made odd sounds to one another, each looking at the poor poor boy. The one that carried the lantern stopped in front of him, planting the pole into the ground.

''You prisoner.'' it said with a raspy voice. This creature wore a tattered robe, much to large for it's small size. The hood nearly touched the ground as he began to walk back and forth.

''You dig with others. Not dig, we kill you. Yes?''

''What?!'' cried Stoneheart as he struggled to get out of the cuffs. They creatures laughed at his attempt, clearly finding this humorous. The hooded one snapped his fingers, and they all fell silent.

''Bring others here. Wipple, you take him.'' he said. One of the creatures hurried to him, with a slight limp in his step. He wore only a small loincloth with several belts about his waist as he presented himself. The hooded one protruded a small key and handed it to Wipple. With glee he took the key and huddled to Stoneheart. With one hand hovering over the handle of a dagger, he unlocked the cuffs around James legs and hands. Before James could react, however, the tiny creature whipped his dagger upright, the tip just inches from Stoneheart's throat. With his hands up, James knew that he wouldn't be escaping anytime soon.

After what seemed like days James was escorted down a maze of tunnels into a rather large cavern. Inside the cavern were numerous groups of prisoners. Each group had about 8 people, some of them tall, but most of them short. After a few minutes he realized that most of the captives were Dwarves. James was grouped with 7 burly looking dwarves, each with some kind of disfigurement. One had a huge white slash down his left eye, while another only had one leg. They gave James no regard as they chained him to the group.

After they left, James lent in and whispered, ''.....What are they??''

They whole group gawked at him unbelievably. ''......You've never seen goblins before?'' the one with the scar said.

''Only one....but he's at least 3 times as tall these ones are. And nowhere as mean.''

Tick......Tack......Tick......Tack.....

The somber echo of picks filled the large cavern, leading up into the maze of tunnels, far away from where our dear Templar lay. Chained to 7 other Dwarves, with small groups of goblin wardens watching their every move, James had no choice but to pick up the nearest pickaxe and start winging. The pick was obviously too small for even a dwarf, like a childs' toy. Judging from the rotting wood handle and the rust stained head it had been a long time since it had been touched, let alone used. With a broad stroke, he took a mighty swing and took a big chunk off the cavern wall, revealing a small copper vein in the wall.
Nearby the sound of squeaky wheels made it's way towards James. A frail monster was pushing a cart with what appeared to be bits of ore. The creature has deep teal skin, it's flesh tight against it's bones from hunger. The thing made a constant moaning sound as a goblin walked behind it, whipping it fiercely if it stopped for even a moment. Another creature beside it would take any ores that would fall unto the ground and haul it unto the cart before the goblin would have a chance to whip it. The smaller monster had purple skin and was surprisingly light on it's feet for only having one leg.
The half-dwarf couldn't believe his eyes at all the different creatures around him. Some appeared to be goblins of different colors, some animals that walked upright, and even a few elves were seen swinging picks or using broken shovels. He bent down towards the dwarf with the scar and asked ''Why are the goblins treating their own kind like this?''

''Hmmpft'' he scoffed. ''If they ain't red, they ain't pure. To them red's is best, and anything else is not worthy. They others work for the reds because they know if they don't they'll be sacrificed or sent to the pit.'

'the Pit?'' James asked curiously.

''Shhhh.' A dwarf had hushed down the line. A minute later a band of Goblin Whippers moved past their group, eyeing them lustfully, ready to whip them at a moment's notice. They soon left disappointed, angered their whips had not tasted blood.

"'F yoo tolk anye lowder yew'll hauve they howle breegade on us!'' Templar looked down the line to see a scruffy red beared dwarf peering at him and the one with the scar. With his one arm he took fast strokes, quickly breaking away the copper vein, ores dropping onto the ground. James barely could make out his thick accent, giving him a shifty glance.

''The Brigade?'' he whispered.

''Nuthin boot wheepers and scorcheers, weelding white hawt peekers, reedy to brand anewon nawt weeling to wark''

It was survival of the fitest down in the mines. If you stopped working you would die. If you kept working you would die. If you resisted you would die. James wondered if would ever see the light of day, feel the warmth of the suns rays, or ever smile with his friends on a clear moon night. Home seemed far away, almost a distant memory now.

After awhile, with sore arms and a sweaty brow, a few goblins with jangling keys hopped over the the chained groups. Using an extended chain, they would guide the groups out of the tunnels and into small cavities in the rock, just large enough to fit all 8 workers. The jangler would then swing a rusty bar unto the group, locking then up for what James assumed sleep. When James's group finally reached their hole, the jangler assigned to them kicked James in the shin, forcing him to fall the ground as the damned creature shrieked with laughter, swinging the gate on him.