Another AD Barncord snippet
Title: A Meeting in the Desert
Fandom: Original Fantasy
Pairing: Wendon Copperthorn/Ashevid
Rating: G
Prompt: Betrayal
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: All the characters are my creations.
Word count: 1285
Summary: Part of Wendon's trip to the South Desert. Better than the last snippet.
The winds of the South Desert blew hot and hard across the sands. In the lee of a stone cropping, Wendon and his donkey huddled under a canvas tarp. It was strange to look out across the wide expanse of land and still feel trapped. He looked up at the sky. The sand storm promised to get worse before it got better. Sighing, Wendon created a wizard's barrier to ensure their protection from the wind and muted the roar of the winds. He then used witchcraft to call forth some water for the donkey. Punching his bed roll a few times, he settled down into sleep.
The air was stifling when Wendon woke up. Casting a wizard light, he saw that the storm had covered his barrier with sand. Fighting back the temptation to just explode the barrier to escape, he remembered the advice one wizard had given him back in Delgreg. He pushed his barrier upwards until it was above the sand. It took about ten feet until Wendon could see the orange of sunset above him. Then he widened the barrier as much as he could.
"Sorry, Jack," he muttered to the donkey. "Looks like we're in a sand dune. We're going to have to climb out." Wendon considered his options. It was a shame he wasn't earth mage talented. Water was too sparse to do major witchcraft. And Jack had already expressed his donkey terror towards walking on solid air. The heat be damned, sorcery it would have to be. But not completely. As Wendon created glass steps, he used a wizadry spell to keep he and the donkey relatively cool from the heat from the melting sand. They ate as the glass stairway cooled. Then under a full moon, they climbed out of the dune.
"It's going to make a queer artifact when the dune moves," Wendon said to himself as he continued their journey to the Backlands. He wanted to see some of the monsters that roamed the region with his own eyes and study them. Melcar thought he was insane to risk his life for the sake of research. Belac made him promise to have great stories to come back home with. Morfred, the Mage of the South Desert, warned him to not display his magical abilities unless necessary. The Backland bandits were ruthless and the advantage of surprise was one that you could count on at the start of a conflict.
Just after dawn, Wendon found a dark haired youth at a well for travellers. The gaunt teenager seemed a bit nervous, but approached him in a friendly manner. "Can I help you water your donkey, sir?" he asked.
Wendon smiled at the young man and said, "If you wouldn't mind," as he handed the reins to him. In his own mind, Wendon's greatest defense was to charm people with an air of friendliness and apparently harmlessness. Not that he was a fool. Instead of grabbing drink for himself, he stretched his back as he watched the youth care for his donkey. Even if the teen did manage to steal the beast, it would merely be an inconvenience. Like many travelling wizards, Wendon used his connection to the astral plans to store the valuables he might need during his trip. After tending to the donkey, the youth brought over a tin cup of water to Wendon.
"You needn't have done that," Wendon said as he pulled a gold coin from his pouch, "but I thank you for your thoughtfulness."
"And I thank you for your generosity, sir," he said.
"What is your name, may I ask?"
"Ashevid, sir."
"Well, greetings, Ashevid. My name is Wendon."
"It is a blessing to meet you, Master Wendon," the youth said. Wendon felt his blood go cold a moment, until he realized that the youth was using it as a title of respect, without knowledge of Wendon's magical skills.
"So, Ashevid, do you live around here?"
"No, sir, I am from Delgreg."
"Why are you so far from civilization?" Wendon asked.
"I'm trying to find my brother," he answered. "He didn't come back from his trade route."
"All by yourself? Isn't that dangerous?"
Ashevid shrugged. "I'm familiar with the area," he said. "Where are you going?"
"I'm just doing some sight-seeing," Wendon said.
Ashevid looked at him for a moment as if he grew a second head. Then he shrugged again. "I suppose we could travel together for a while."
"I suppose we could," Wendon answered. Neither of them spoke much. Mostly to conserve energy, but Ashevid seemed tense. Better to let the youth get used to him, before Wendon began asking for information to help his research. However, the longer they walked, the more tense Ashevid became. Sitting under some tall brush to escape the most brutal heat of the day, he wouldn't even share a meal with Wendon. Surreptitiously, Wendon cast a mental alarm spell to alert him to anything dangerous, before taking a nap.
Wendon woke before Ashevid did. He studied the lines of angst in the face of the sleeping youth. Whatever haunted Ashevid didn't seem to have anything to do with Wendon from the looks of it. Wendon retrieved a cool wineskin from the astral plane and sipped it as the sun dipped lower in the sky. When it was half-empty, he nudged Ashevid awake and handed the skin to him. It took a few minutes before Ashevid was awake enough to noticed the coolness of the wine. Wendon changed the subject when he asked about it.
As they began their journey again, Ashevid's tension returned. Wendon couldn't detect anything around them to worry about and any question he asked Ashevid on the subject was met with forced cheerfulness and denial. Still he relied on the youth's goodwill, until a group of bandits ambushed them at sunset.
"I did as you said!" Ashevid cried out. "Now release my brother!" The men laughed rudely and shoved each of them into coarse sacks. Wendon didn't fight them as they draped him over his own donkey. After a long period of jostling, Wendon was carried into a cave and Ashevid was dumped next to him. Their belongings were stripped and their hands chained. Ashevid was fit to be tied.
"They lied!" he hissed under his breath. "They told me if I followed their orders, they would left my brother go!" He twisted and pulled at his shackles.
"Save your energy, Ashevid," Wendon said calmly. "You will need it later tonight."
Once again, Ashevid looked at Wendon as if he was insane. But he stopped struggling and waited. In the dark, they listened to the bandits bragging about how they now had Ashevid to use against his brother, who had apparently made his own escape while Ashevid was with Wendon. Slowly the fires died down and the men stumbled to their bedrolls. Wendon reached his chained hand into the astral plane and removed a steel writting pen. He hoped using it as a lock pick wouldn't damage the nib, but in the end safety was more important than luxury. He knelt next to Ashevid and released him too. Then he put a finger to his lips.
"I am going to use wizardry to get us out," he whispered. "I am going to create an illusion spell to cover us as we get away."
Creating the illusion of flickering shadows, Wendon lead Ashevid away from the bandit camp. Then in the darkness, Ashevid lead him to where his brother's caravans usually rested. The reunion between brothers was a warm one. And Wendon travelled with the caravan for a few days as a guest, before continuing his exploration of the South Desert.
Fandom: Original Fantasy
Pairing: Wendon Copperthorn/Ashevid
Rating: G
Prompt: Betrayal
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: All the characters are my creations.
Word count: 1285
Summary: Part of Wendon's trip to the South Desert. Better than the last snippet.
The winds of the South Desert blew hot and hard across the sands. In the lee of a stone cropping, Wendon and his donkey huddled under a canvas tarp. It was strange to look out across the wide expanse of land and still feel trapped. He looked up at the sky. The sand storm promised to get worse before it got better. Sighing, Wendon created a wizard's barrier to ensure their protection from the wind and muted the roar of the winds. He then used witchcraft to call forth some water for the donkey. Punching his bed roll a few times, he settled down into sleep.
The air was stifling when Wendon woke up. Casting a wizard light, he saw that the storm had covered his barrier with sand. Fighting back the temptation to just explode the barrier to escape, he remembered the advice one wizard had given him back in Delgreg. He pushed his barrier upwards until it was above the sand. It took about ten feet until Wendon could see the orange of sunset above him. Then he widened the barrier as much as he could.
"Sorry, Jack," he muttered to the donkey. "Looks like we're in a sand dune. We're going to have to climb out." Wendon considered his options. It was a shame he wasn't earth mage talented. Water was too sparse to do major witchcraft. And Jack had already expressed his donkey terror towards walking on solid air. The heat be damned, sorcery it would have to be. But not completely. As Wendon created glass steps, he used a wizadry spell to keep he and the donkey relatively cool from the heat from the melting sand. They ate as the glass stairway cooled. Then under a full moon, they climbed out of the dune.
"It's going to make a queer artifact when the dune moves," Wendon said to himself as he continued their journey to the Backlands. He wanted to see some of the monsters that roamed the region with his own eyes and study them. Melcar thought he was insane to risk his life for the sake of research. Belac made him promise to have great stories to come back home with. Morfred, the Mage of the South Desert, warned him to not display his magical abilities unless necessary. The Backland bandits were ruthless and the advantage of surprise was one that you could count on at the start of a conflict.
Just after dawn, Wendon found a dark haired youth at a well for travellers. The gaunt teenager seemed a bit nervous, but approached him in a friendly manner. "Can I help you water your donkey, sir?" he asked.
Wendon smiled at the young man and said, "If you wouldn't mind," as he handed the reins to him. In his own mind, Wendon's greatest defense was to charm people with an air of friendliness and apparently harmlessness. Not that he was a fool. Instead of grabbing drink for himself, he stretched his back as he watched the youth care for his donkey. Even if the teen did manage to steal the beast, it would merely be an inconvenience. Like many travelling wizards, Wendon used his connection to the astral plans to store the valuables he might need during his trip. After tending to the donkey, the youth brought over a tin cup of water to Wendon.
"You needn't have done that," Wendon said as he pulled a gold coin from his pouch, "but I thank you for your thoughtfulness."
"And I thank you for your generosity, sir," he said.
"What is your name, may I ask?"
"Ashevid, sir."
"Well, greetings, Ashevid. My name is Wendon."
"It is a blessing to meet you, Master Wendon," the youth said. Wendon felt his blood go cold a moment, until he realized that the youth was using it as a title of respect, without knowledge of Wendon's magical skills.
"So, Ashevid, do you live around here?"
"No, sir, I am from Delgreg."
"Why are you so far from civilization?" Wendon asked.
"I'm trying to find my brother," he answered. "He didn't come back from his trade route."
"All by yourself? Isn't that dangerous?"
Ashevid shrugged. "I'm familiar with the area," he said. "Where are you going?"
"I'm just doing some sight-seeing," Wendon said.
Ashevid looked at him for a moment as if he grew a second head. Then he shrugged again. "I suppose we could travel together for a while."
"I suppose we could," Wendon answered. Neither of them spoke much. Mostly to conserve energy, but Ashevid seemed tense. Better to let the youth get used to him, before Wendon began asking for information to help his research. However, the longer they walked, the more tense Ashevid became. Sitting under some tall brush to escape the most brutal heat of the day, he wouldn't even share a meal with Wendon. Surreptitiously, Wendon cast a mental alarm spell to alert him to anything dangerous, before taking a nap.
Wendon woke before Ashevid did. He studied the lines of angst in the face of the sleeping youth. Whatever haunted Ashevid didn't seem to have anything to do with Wendon from the looks of it. Wendon retrieved a cool wineskin from the astral plane and sipped it as the sun dipped lower in the sky. When it was half-empty, he nudged Ashevid awake and handed the skin to him. It took a few minutes before Ashevid was awake enough to noticed the coolness of the wine. Wendon changed the subject when he asked about it.
As they began their journey again, Ashevid's tension returned. Wendon couldn't detect anything around them to worry about and any question he asked Ashevid on the subject was met with forced cheerfulness and denial. Still he relied on the youth's goodwill, until a group of bandits ambushed them at sunset.
"I did as you said!" Ashevid cried out. "Now release my brother!" The men laughed rudely and shoved each of them into coarse sacks. Wendon didn't fight them as they draped him over his own donkey. After a long period of jostling, Wendon was carried into a cave and Ashevid was dumped next to him. Their belongings were stripped and their hands chained. Ashevid was fit to be tied.
"They lied!" he hissed under his breath. "They told me if I followed their orders, they would left my brother go!" He twisted and pulled at his shackles.
"Save your energy, Ashevid," Wendon said calmly. "You will need it later tonight."
Once again, Ashevid looked at Wendon as if he was insane. But he stopped struggling and waited. In the dark, they listened to the bandits bragging about how they now had Ashevid to use against his brother, who had apparently made his own escape while Ashevid was with Wendon. Slowly the fires died down and the men stumbled to their bedrolls. Wendon reached his chained hand into the astral plane and removed a steel writting pen. He hoped using it as a lock pick wouldn't damage the nib, but in the end safety was more important than luxury. He knelt next to Ashevid and released him too. Then he put a finger to his lips.
"I am going to use wizardry to get us out," he whispered. "I am going to create an illusion spell to cover us as we get away."
Creating the illusion of flickering shadows, Wendon lead Ashevid away from the bandit camp. Then in the darkness, Ashevid lead him to where his brother's caravans usually rested. The reunion between brothers was a warm one. And Wendon travelled with the caravan for a few days as a guest, before continuing his exploration of the South Desert.