《A Merchants Tale》 Map Of The Continent here''s some random text because I need it to post. yeah im just gonna be talking about nothing. absolutely nothing. this is purely here to fill the space. la la la la la. space fillers are so much fun. 500 characters is a lot as well. I mean, I understand that you need soemething to read and stop all the spam, but wow, sure makes doing these a pain. I would have put it in a normal chapter, but I dont want to ruin anything by having to delete a chapter so its here, meh. Am I at 500 characters yet? one day maybe. my grammers probably really bad for this bit as well, im not checing it at all just using words to fill space. feels like my old english lessons back at school. writting fot the sake of writting. oh how fun those days where.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Prologue - The Village of GoldHearth A lone carriage rolled down a gentle hill towards a small village, pulled by a sturdy black mare, the gentle breeze of this spring day rustling her mane. There was nothing remarkable about this lone village, located just south of Tyrnel in the free republic. It was average in every way. Farmers were out toiling in the fields, wives washed laundry and chattered about the latest gossip, and children ran about freely ignorant of the woes of the world. The village of GoldHearth was a farming village. Every day was spent toiling in the fields to meet the yearly wheat quota. It was a simple life the people lived. Rarely anything of note would happen in this small village, so when a merchant was spotted heading down the gentle hill it drew more attention than it normally should. As the people watched the figure on the cart roll into their small town they couldn¡¯t help but be apprehensive towards this man. Merchants could bring either great fortune or disaster upon a town, based solely on that merchants will and connections. The great Merchant Union of Isteroth to the east, was a new power that had risen to glory swiftly after the fall of the Raekyth Empire. Seizing the opportunity to exploit the now broken empire and build its own power, it was now one of the four major powers of the continent, using its overwhelming wealth to hire mercenary¡¯s and pirates from the Eleryn sea. The Kingdom of Erenon to the south had managed to rally their legendary horsemen to hold the Seridrome, building the great fortress city of Veir to defend their kingdom from the power-hungry Union. It is said that they had the aid of the elves of legend, situated in the Ragneron Forest at the eastern portion of their lands. But none have seen them for decades, and this was passed down as myth by many of the common folk. Regardless, this myth has made Erenon to value the woodlands greatly, resulting in some of the best archers of the time. Combined with their cavalry and the nigh impenetrable mountain to the north, they are a force to be reckoned with. To the north the Kingdom of Theikon was established by the rebel factions that sought to overthrow Raekyth. After a long and bitter revolt, they managed to destroy the old empire, but at the cost of the capital and most of the forests surrounding it where now inhabit by vicious monsters, drawn in by the blood of millions and the flames of war.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. The west had also become a wasteland haunted by the ghosts of those that fell in battle. They had however build a hardened army from the years of fighting, their heavy shock troops were the elite. Capable of besting numbers 10 times their own in open combat. They had a tentative peace with the Union due to the raiders of the great desert of the northeast keeping their lands separate. And finally, there was the Free Republic of Amerys in the west. Know by all as The Freelands. The Freelands were a collection of many small kingdoms coming together to face the threat of the larger nations surrounding them. They were isolated by land due to the ruins of Raekyth to the north, so despite the lack of a military advantage, they managed to hold their own with their sizable navy and skilled seamen. Thus, a merchant turning up in their village could mean many things. Especially considering his appearance. He was dressed in long black flowing robes, covering his entire body. Supple leather boots peaked out from the hem of his robe, and black silk gloves could be seen adorning his hands. And the most peculiar thing about this merchant was the dark obsidian mask he wore underneath his deep hood, allowing only his eyes, which seemed to glow earily, to show, despite the pleasant weather. Mother¡¯s soon ushered their children back into their homes, swiftly following them, as the men came together to see what this strange merchant wanted. His carriage ambled on heedless of the attention he was garnering. Closer and closer he drew, the rattle of his cart, the jangle of glasses hitting each other got louder the closer he approached. However, to the relief of the men he merely pulled up his cart in an abandoned corner and began to unfold his cart to resemble a storefront. Long after the man had finished setting his stall up, the men began to approach. Wary of the price he would charge, for what coin would a farmer have? Slowly they approached, and they marvelled at the prices, bolt of cotton, cheeses, tools, each useful item, and each was extremely cheap. Ranging from 1 copper coin to 1 silver coin. And average farmer was lucky if he drew in more than 5 silver a year, with a farmer being able to support his family on 40 copper a month. But one by one, each man approached and bought an item that was of use to them. Maybe it was the price, or maybe it was the mysterious stranger, but none could resist purchasing an item from his stall. Many hours later when the sun was near the horizon, the man packed up his wares and began to set out after another successful day. He hitched his mare back up and then set of at a slow trundle away from the village and a knowing smile on his face underneath his mask. Although he may not have made any coin, he had a very successful day indeed. And nobody but him noticed a small boy running away carrying a small velvet pouch clutched tightly to his chest. He felt glee seeing the boy, covered in dirt, run away thinking he had pilfered an object of great worth. And an object of great worth it was. But he would only find this out much later. Chapter 1 - Daniel

Bright smiles, a loving family, everyone sitting around a table in front of a warm hearth. It ended as soon as it began as Daniel awoke with a start to the loud noises coming from outside his small rundown hut. ¡°Shit, I overslept again¡± ¨C said Daniel in frustration. The noises grew louder as Daniel continued to curse his bad luck. It was obvious to Daniel who was approaching his humble abode ¡®I bet it¡¯s Cale again come to amuse himself, I have to get away fast¡¯ Before he could even get himself fully dressed the front door to his hut flew open and a large boy no older than 16 summers walked in, followed by him 2 lackeys. His broad shoulders and large body built from years of field work since he was young easily filled Daniels small doorway. With an impressive height for a 16-year-oldof 5¡¯9, Cale was easily one of the biggest youth in the village. Taller than Daniel''s modest 5¡¯4 by a large margin. Although he thought it was above average for his young 14 summers. ¡°Well if the little shit isn¡¯t still sleeping all cosy in bed while the rest of the village works¡± ¨C Said Cale with an ugly sneer on his face as he proceeded to harass Daniel. Cale had a modest face, sharp chin, high cheekbones, but a crooked nose and a nasty scare covered his face and squinty eyes from a kick by a mule when he was younger, and light brown hair slicked back over his head to keep it out of his eyes. ¡®Serves the bastard right¡¯ Just as Daniel thought that Cale¡¯s two lackeys added their two cents, ¡°Well if his father¡¯s anything to go by then it¡¯s a miracle he hasn¡¯t stolen all our gold and skipped town, sure was strange he never came back from that hunting accident¡± - ??? Said a fat little boy, a year older than Daniel, but he only stood at a pathetic 5¡¯1. He looked like a pig on a hot summers day, with rolls of fat hanging everywhere, and a mop of greasy black hair upon his head. It was a miracle if you could get any features off his face with the amount of fat he held. ¡®I bet he¡¯d last the whole village a week or two in winter, twig there could probably live off him all year¡¯ As Daniel finished his thoughts the taller of the two lackeys chimed in, ¡°He¡¯s already getting his sleeping practice in just like his whore of a mother!¡± - ??? Yelled a boy who stood at 6¡¯1, but without an ounce of muscle or fat on him, if Daniel had to envision a human broom, this boy would fit perfectly, he even had bristly yellow hair sticking out of his headband. ¡°Hey Twig, Blob, leave the poor kid alone, I¡¯m sure even he knows he¡¯s not going to amount to anything in this life, he¡¯ll probably die in a ditch somewhere with no one to care about him!¡±- Laughed Cale as he referred to Marcus and Rake by their nicknames.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Amusingly enough Rake lived up to his namesake. Throughout this Daniels rage had slowly been building, he¡¯d learnt to ignore them most of the time, but the one thing he couldn¡¯t stand was people slandering his mother. She¡¯d worked hard to feed and clothe him when his father had died. He refused to believe he¡¯d just left them and taken everyone¡¯s money. His mother had passed away a year ago due to poor health, and Daniel at the time had no money to afford medicine even though he worked like a dog for the village. Often replacing horses whilst ploughing the fields. ¡°AAAAAAARGG!!¡± ¨C Yelled Daniel as he leapt forward with a scream and unleashed a punch to Cale¡¯s already broken nose. He was rewarded by a satisfying crunch and a howl of pain from Cale. ¡°OOOOoWWWW! NGHET DAT BASHTERD!¡± ¨C Raged Cale as he fell backwards clutching his nose. Daniel knew he¡¯d messed up when both twig and blob ran around Cale and slammed into him. Blobs larger body knocked him down despite his shorter height, and twigs arms held a surprising amount of strength, more than enough to hold him down. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t have done that you little twerp¡± ¨C Twig said with an ugly sneer on his face as he shifted his grip on Daniels legs to keep them steady. ¡°Ooo youre in for a beating now boy¡± ¨C Echoed Blob as he all but lay on Daniels outstretched hand to keep them still. Daniel struggled for all he was worth, wriggling back and forth but to no avail, there was just no way to shift the two older boy¡¯s grips, or in blobs case his considerable weight. It was at this point that Cale had recovered enough to stand, he had a look on his face that screamed murder. ¡°haven¡¯t I told you before to respect your betters you whoreson¡± ¨C Growled Cale as he picked up a two by four. Daniel was well and truly fucked now. At least it was nothing he hadn¡¯t encountered before, he just had to tough his way through it. ¡°Hold him still boys, this brat is about to get what¡¯s coming to him¡± ¨C commanded Cale as he lined up his shot. The stick came hard and fast straight into Daniels stomach, winding him and making the next hit much worse. Cale continued to beat on him as he lay there grunting through the pain. Every time the plank hit his body it would show a nasty purple bruise, and some especially hard hits even split the skin and started bleeding. His face was a mask of purple and yellow, leaking blood from most places. ¡°ugh boss, I think this is enough¡± ¨C Voiced a tentative twig, looking at the damage done to Daniel. ¡°yeah boss, you¡¯ve made your point, he won¡¯t be able to move for a while anyway¡± ¨C Agreed a pale faced blob, they¡¯d never seen Cale get this worked up before. Had something happened, or was he truly enjoying himself as he hit Daniel? ¡°Let that be a lesson to you, you little pisstain, I better not see that attitude from you again¡± ¨C Remarked Cale as he dropped his plank and marched out ¨C ¡°Come on, lets go!¡± Blob and twig hastily left a groaning Daniel on the floor. ¡®Fuck, they got me good this time. I don¡¯t think anything broken but I can¡¯t move a muscle¡¯ Daniel was in too much pain to speak. He could only talk to himself inside his head and try to rationalize a way out of this. Daniel had always had a calm mind, and he prided himself on his ability to keep his thoughts clear. This was why he was so mad at himself for losing his cool and breaking Cale¡¯s nose. ¡®At least it felt good¡¯ Daniel tried to smirk but it just hurt his already split lip. ¡®guess I¡¯ll just have to make do with my emergency rations and hope I can move by tomorrow¡¯ With that morbid though, Daniel managed to crawl over to a loose floorboard where he¡¯d hidden some jerky, hard bread, a water canteen and even some chees he¡¯d managed to steal one time. ¡®only got enough to last 2 maybe 3 days, I better be ready by then or I¡¯m in a real tight spot, well, no use thinking about it now, better try and get some sleep in¡¯ With that Daniel crawled the rest of the way into bed, leaving the door open and hanging slightly off its hinge. He didn¡¯t have the strength to close it today. Chapter 2 - A Day In The Forest Daniel woke up the next day with his body aching all over, again cursing his stupidity at attacking the older boy. Why couldn¡¯t he just keep his damn mouth shut. ¡°Urgggh, I feel like death¡± ¨C Exclaimed Daniel as he sat up on his bed, just a pile of straw covered with a holey blanket, to look around his small hut. The walls were spartan at best, with a small wooden chest he kept most of his possessions in propped up against the wall. It wasn¡¯t much against theft, but then, what did he have to steal? The villagers had already taken the small amount of comfort he had. He was lucky he still had a roof over his head, and he still had a few possessions hidden where none would find them. Daniel made an effort to stand on wobbly legs. He looked towards the broken door, and with a sigh went to the bucket of water he kept in his hut to wash up. After cleaning most of the blood of, the cool water making his bruises feel much better, he proceeded to get dressed and head out of his hut whilst propping his door closed. Giving him some semblance of privacy. The sight that greeted him was a small village of 20 or so huts, the only contrast to the boring village houses where the bakery, a slightly larger house made of solid stone with a massive chimney protruding out of one side, the village heads house, also made of stone and a size larger than the average peasants house, a close imitation of a manor, and the ever-present church of Thalassa, primordial goddess of the sea one of the main deities of the Freelands, who have always valued the sea. Daniel set off towards the Lake Nevikk to the north, heading towards a stretch of woodland that ran around the lake. The people of the village avoided the woods due to the monster population. It had died down in recent years, but wolves still ran rampant in deeper parts of the forest, and there had even been reports of goblins being sighted along the west side of the lake. ¡®Must have come down from the mountain¡¯ ¨C Thought Daniel as he navigated his way to a small copse of trees. Daniel had taken this route many times before in the years since his mother died. Having little to no money, and no possession he was willing to part with, he¡¯d had to get his food another way, or risk starving to death from the generosity of the villagers. Of course, he could always go to the church. But who¡¯d want to join that bunch of fanatics. He continued to head to a certain tree at the centre of the copse, a large oak older than the village. It stood towering well over 30 meters in height, its thick branches towering over most men. Defiant in the face of time, a constant in this ever-changing forest. Underneath its thick, gnarly roots Daniel went towards a small crevasse, where he¡¯d hidden some of his most prized possessions. Within an overturned barrel were a supple fishing rod gifted to him by a kind stranger, and a strong hunting bow he¡¯d found on a corpse nearby, he¡¯d also managed to get a decent knife from the man. Shame, the owner must have gotten on the wrong side of the wolves. Feeling much too stiff and painful to go hunting with the bow Daniel picked up his trusty rod and the old knife, and head towards the lake for a spot of fishing. Although relaxing you could never be too carful even in the fringes of this forest. So Daniel kept an ear tuned in to the woods around him. After a short walk Daniel arrived at his favourite fishing spot, an outcropping of rocks that lay pleasantly in the shade of some trees, overlooking a deep section of the lake. After a quick dig about in the mud to find some worms for bait, Daniel set his rod up, and started to think about his life in the village, whilst gazing into the water below him. A boy that many would call handsome stared back at him, a lean body built form years of hard work and poor food, long hair pulled back by a leather strip, a blue so dark it was almost black glinted in the sun, and deep penetrating black eyes that sucked the light inside of them. He had sharp features he was proud of, and thanked his parents for his good looks. Daniel knew there were people far worse off than him, mainly the slaves of the Merchant union were treated the worst, truly poor souls that had been captured from all over the continent. Treated worse than beasts, they struggled every day just for enough food to stave of starvation. He lamented the fact that no one would do anything to help this people. At least Daniel had access to food, a way to train his skills, and a roof over his head. But this wasn¡¯t how he wanted to spend his life. Struggling for food, beaten for others amusement, looked down upon by the world.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Daniel felt a heat rising from his chest, a familiar companion that arose and departed seemingly on a whim. He tried to hold on to this feeling, a feeling he felt would change his destiny, but then he lost all focus as his rod tugged harshly in his hands. ¡°WOAH!¡± ¨C Exclaimed Daniel as the rod was almost pulled from his hands ¨C ¡°How big is this fish? It must weigh half an much as me!¡± ¨C Excitedly said Daniel as he gave a rod a quick tug to let the hook catch. He could barely contain his enjoyment, if he managed to catch this fish he¡¯d have enough to eat for the rest of the week, and he could smoke some for emergency rations. He was patient though, not wanting to lose his catch. Slowly he reeled it in, and was rewarded when a fish a meter and a half long, came struggling out of the water towards Daniel. This truly was a magnificent catch, the biggest fish Daniel had ever caught in fact ¨C ¡°It must be my lucky day, I deserve it after what that prick Cale and his lackeys did to me¡± ¨C He happily said as he proceeded to skin and fillet the fish. Only once he¡¯d wrapped the fresh fish up in large ferns, and had started smoking the remainder did he notice how late it had gotten. ¡°I must have been distracted by that weird feeling, it feels like I¡¯ve only been out here for a few hours, but the suns already setting, got to get back to the village quickly¡± ¨C Daniel knew what sort of monster roamed the forest late at night, and he wanted no part of it. He finished smoking the fish as soon as he could, and wished again that he had some salt to keep it preserved, but alas, salt was worth its weight in silver, and there was no way anyone in this rural village would be able to afford it. He collected all his possessions and headed back to the oak to store them, his pains of the previous day forgotten. The wind had picked up, and black cloud seemed to be gathering. He quickly put everything back in its place, covering the barrel with a layer of moss. As he went to leave, the great oak tree seemed to shiver and let out a long moan, almost as if it were afraid. Daniel stopped in confusion, but sensing nothing nearby, quickly made his way back to the village, unnerved by the quick change in weather. Upon approaching the village Daniel noticed a lack of activity, the farmers weren¡¯t in their fields, and no children could be seen running around. Even the animals seemed to be eerily silent. Hearing a small noise Daniel headed to the centre of the village, worried about what he might find. He turned the corner to find most of the menfolk of the village surrounding a small cart that had been turned into a storefront. Daniel couldn¡¯t see the man at the counter, but he deduced that it must be a traveling merchant or alchemist or sorts. Intrigued by this unusual occurrence, Daniel decided to get a closer look at his strange man. He inched his way around the crowd, used to staying out of sight and making his presence unnoticed. As he got close he managed to get a good look at the merchant. He was dressed head to toe in black and had a dark obsidian mask on. He swept his gaze across the crowd and Daniel found himself locked within the man¡¯s gaze, unable to look away from the twin orbs of darkness that sucked him in. The world seemed to slow down and Daniel could swear he saw the man smile under that mask. As quickly as the feeling came it left, and the world returned to normal. The man¡¯s gaze no longer locked on Daniel. ¡°What the hell was that!¡± ¨C Yelled Daniel, a few people turned to look at him curiously, but quickly lost attention when they realised who it was that had shouted, returning to the small gaggle that was left browsing the merchant¡¯s wears. Daniel felt like he had to know more about his man, but he also had some deep, primal fear that if he got too close he¡¯d be in great danger. Steeling himself, Daniel made his way to the back of the wagon to try and get a closer look. Once in position his eyes were drawn to a small bag or forest green, blending in almost seamlessly to the green of the wagon. It lay loosely on a nail that hadn¡¯t quite been driven in. something about this bag drew Daniel in with a strange fascination. ¡®I wanted it.¡¯ ¡®I have to have it¡¯ ¡®I need it.¡¯ Drawn in by these strange unexplainable thoughts, Daniel stealthily made his way close, and closer towards the beautiful bag. He felt his chest begin to heat up, but ignored it as to get closer to the bag. By know the crowd had all but disappeared, and the merchant must surely be getting ready to move on. Quickly, so as not to let his chance fade, Daniel rushed forward and grabbed the bag. Retreating to a stack of crates and hiding amongst them. Determined not to leave until the merchant was well on his way. He watched as the strange man¡¯s stall seemed to almost magically revert to a cart. And then trundle away, pulled by a black mare down the road towards the setting sun. Seemingly feeling safe Daniel ran as fast as he could back to his hut, hearing what he thought was laughter on the wind. Reaching his hut, he bolted inside, propping his chest against the door to keep it closed. Now he was drawn by an almost inhuman fascination and only one question was on his mind, ¡®What¡¯s in the bag?¡¯ Chapter 3 - Whats In The Bag? The sky had darkened, and a chilling wind slipped through the cracks in Daniels hut, the moonlight streaming in from the cracks in the roof illuminated the room. He sat on the floor in the middle of the hut, staring at the bag. The strange sense of want was still on him, but greatly diminished now he had the bag in front of him, it¡¯s deep green seemed to blend in with the shadows, making it difficult to see even with its proximity to him. ¡°Stupid, why did I have to go and take this, if I¡¯d been caught I doubt they¡¯d let me off with just a beating¡± ¨C Daniel sat there berating himself ¨C ¡°Especially in my current state, I could barely move yesterday, and I¡¯m still bruised and battered.¡± ¡®What was that weird feeling I felt when I saw the bag though¡¯ Daniel continued to think about that strange sensation he felt when he first looked at the bag. It was like the sensation he feels whenever he had a strong desire, that hot feeling rising from his chest. He could feel it now, the desire to open the bag, to get at its contents. Confused by this feeling Daniel again tried to focus on the heat rising from his chest, as he had many times before, sitting cross-legged on the floor he let his perceptions of his surrounding disappear. The hear came from just below his heart, seeping outwards through his blood, warming him with its constant pulse. The tingle of desire was still there in the back of his mind, urging him forward to open the bag, he focused on this feeling and tried to encompass all his desires into one. His desire for more. He wanted more than this small hut in some backwater village. He wanted more than to be some nobody peasant without a copper to his name. He wanted more than to be looked down upon by some farmers son. He wanted power. These feeling grew inside of him, the slow pulse of heat growing, until it felt like fire in his veins. Scorching him for the inside. He felt the something within the bag respond to his wants, drawing him towards it. It wanted out of the bag, it wanted to help him. It wanted freedom. These feeling resonated strongly with Daniel, he felt himself lost, as he reached towards the bag. His fingers toying with the straps keeping whatever was within contained. Slowly, ever so slowly, his fingers loosened the straps, freeing whatever was trapped within. A strong glow emerged from within, lighting up Daniels hut as though a small sun had been trapped within. Blinded by the contents within, Daniels mind raced, what could glow so brightly, Gold? Gems? Could he finally leave this village behind and start somewhere better?Stolen novel; please report. He opened his eyes to peer within, and contrary to his expectations there was what appeared to be a small dragon, no longer than Daniels smallest finger, curled up within the bag. It was a deep red and radiated enough light to make Daniels eyes water when he looked directly at it. Awed by this seemingly legendary creature, Daniel thought back on the merchant who came to visit. ¡®No way was he an ordinary merchant, who¡¯d leave something so valuable in plain sight!¡¯ ¨C Daniels mind was in constant turmoil. Part of him wanted to reach down and take the small creature, the tug on his mind compelling him to do so, and another part of him, the blazing heat in his chest, called out to him to seal up the bag and make for Tyrnel, the nearest city, to sell this thing. He knew if he found the right buyer he¡¯d get more gold than he could dream of. ¡®But what if he finds me? With items this valuable he¡¯d defiantly kill me if he tracked me down, or worse yet sell me to the union¡¯ ¨C As these conflicting thoughts swam around Daniels head, he unconsciously reached down, drawn by the strange tug on his mind, and caressed the small dragons head. Daniel only realized what he¡¯d when a sharp pain came from his middle finger, looking down he saw twin orbs of fire, like two miniature suns staring back at him. Before he could fully realise what had happened the small dragon wrapped itself tightly around Daniels finger, and all the light seemed to condense and fly directly into Daniel¡¯s eyes. Momentarily blinded yet again Daniel could only sit there, in stunned shock, before the pain started to assail him. It was such an instant and deep pain he did the only thing he could. He screamed. Tormented wails left his throat as he thrashed on the floor, his hand clutched tightly to his chest in a futile attempt to stop whatever pain was assailing his whole body. He had to bite down on his hand to stop the cry¡¯s calling the village¡¯s wrath down upon him. He tasted the iron of his blood fill his mouth as he bit hard enough to cut flesh. He felt himself hit the bones in his hand, but couldn¡¯t release himself in fear of others coming to investigate. Especially with this thing on his finger. Convincing himself that it was a demon or cursed artefact in his lucid moments of pain, Daniel struggled onwards through the hell his own body had become. On and on the pain seemed to go, without and end in sight. And then as suddenly as it had come, the pain stopped. His hand still hurt like high hell, but at least his mind wasn¡¯t tearing itself apart. With one last look down at his hand, Daniel saw the dragon had turned into a ring, circling his middle finger from base to the first knuckle. Its eyes closed, hiding the burning rubies contained below, with its feet and mouth firmly clamped on to his finger he had no way to remove it. ¡®And here I was thinking today was lucky¡¯ ¨C With that final though Daniel passed into the sweet abyss that was sleep. Hoping that no one would come to find him in his hut tonight. Chapter 4 - Fire Daniel awoke feeling none of last night¡¯s pain. He sat up groggily and looked around, everything appeared to be the same in his little hut. Casting his gaze down towards his hand he spotted the ring on his finger. Looking over his hand he felt a dull throb of pain from where he bit himself to stop himself from screaming. The wound had scabbed over, but his hand was still covered in dry blood. He could barely close his hand from the pain he felt when he tried to move it. Looking at the ring on his finger he was amazed at how it seemed to be an even deeper red than when he first saw it, almost as if it had absorbed the blood that had flown over it. Daniel made a futile effort to remove the ring, remembering the pain it brought him. Although no matter how hard he pulled, it had his finger locked firmly in place by its maw and sharp claws, which had dug into the flesh of his finger. The only way it would come off would be if the finger itself came off. ¡°Damn, well there goes my chance to strike it rich, guess I¡¯m stuck with this cursed thing.¡± ¨C Muttered Daniel under his breath. Now he had to find a solution to this new problem, what the hell was he supposed to do with this ring, and probably most importantly, what exactly is it. He seriously considered chopping his finger off to get rid of it. For now, he decided to hide it. He ripped a long strip from his blanket, and rinsed both the cloth and his hand in the now slightly bloody water bucket. ¨C ¡°Really time to change this.¡± ¨C Voiced Daniel as he proceeded to wrap the cloth securely around his hand, hiding the ring and covering up the wound. Luckily for him, no one had heard his muffled screams last night, of if they had then they hadn¡¯t bothered to come and investigate. Even better the idiot trio hadn¡¯t decided to visit him today. Probably thinking he was still too disabled by his wounds to be a bother. That meant that he luckily had today free from the bother of other people. He went over to where his chest normally was, and pulled up the loose floorboards that were usually hidden below. This hidden space contained some of his most prized possessions. He shifted through the items, moving aside his father¡¯s journal, a pair of sturdy leather gloves, one of the last gifts his father had given him, and pulled out an old locket in the shape of a lantern. Within was a small, ink drawn picture of his father and mother together with him as a babe, and the inscription ¨C ¡®Light of my life, may your fire burn strong and eternal¡¯. His parents never talked about their past much when they were together with him, and he never got and he never got a chance to delve into it due to their untimely demise. From the small amount he could garner from his father¡¯s journal, he had fought for the old empire near the end of the war, and had met his mother whilst fleeing from the destruction that had followed. He assumed they must have had some form of education, maybe his mother had even been minor nobility. They¡¯d taught him to read and write, and some arithmetic, and his father had planned to show him how to use a sword before he disappeared. He managed to learn how to hunt at least from the few lessons his father had been able to pass on. His mother had taught him some basic herbology, and tried to help him find suitable plants to stave off her illness. He cherished these memory¡¯s some more before finally putting the pendant back in its hidden spot, and moving the chest back to cover it up. ¡®First things first, I have to fix that door, then I¡¯ll head down to the river to refill this bucket¡¯ ¨C Thought Daniel as he mentally prepared himself for the day. His hand would stop him from any strenuous tasks, but he could manage as long as he used his off hand and was careful. He went to inspect the damage done, and saw that one hinge had been bent and the nails knocked out, luckily, they were still nearby, and hadn¡¯t damaged the wooden frame. All he¡¯d have to do was straighten the hinge and then nail it back in. He quickly got to work, using a flat stone as an improvised hammer to bend the hinge back into place and to hit the nails deeply into the door. Again, he was thankful that no one had taken the nails, as iron was a precious commodity and even nails could be sold for a copper or two. It took him more effort than it should off, as using his offhand turned this 5-minute job into a gruelling 30 minutes. Every time Daniel struck a nail with the rock, he felt a jolt of pain lance through his wounded hand.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. He stepped back to look at his finished work. he was no carpenter or blacksmith, so the nails were slightly bent, and the door sat wonky in its frame. As long as it wasn¡¯t subject to another one of Cale¡¯s entrances then it would do fine. Feeling satisfied with his work Daniel picked up his water bucket and headed towards the lake. Intent on getting some fresh water, and getting rid of the bloody mess that his bucket contained. He had to be careful not to empty it out near his hut, least he draws in wild animals. Daniel again noticed that the warm feeling in his chest hadn¡¯t vanished like it normally did. It now sat there, pulsing along with his heartbeat. ¨C ¡®I have so many questions that need answers, what is this ring, dragon?, thing, and what¡¯s this heat I¡¯ve been feeling in my chest since I woke up¡¯ ¨C Daniels mind was working over these thoughts, trying to come up with any explanations to these phenomenon. Before he knew it he¡¯d already made his way to the lake, a small distance outside the town. He spotted a few fish swimming along, but didn¡¯t have it in him to get his rod. Emptying out his bucket and getting some fresh water, he started to head back towards his hut. The walk back was quite, and Daniel was silent, enjoying the sound of nature around him. About halfway back to his home, Daniel noticed some muffled voiced coming from the direction of his hut, he was too far away to make anything out, but as he got closer be started to make out the conversation. ¡°It''s not right this, I know you don''t like the twerp, but this is taking it too far¡± ¡°O shut up you fat lump of lard, he deserves everything he''s got coming, now help me shift this out the way¡± ¡°He''s got a point Cale, I mean, brats done nothing to us, we should just leave him alone¡± ¡°I don''t give a shit if he''s done nothing to you, I don''t like him, so shut up and help me would you¡± It didn''t take long for Daniel to work out what was going on, Cale and his two lackeys had broken into his house. Daniel set off at a run, desperate to get back. As he rounded the corner the sight of his newly fixed front door hanging off its hinges greeted him, with three figures moving about inside his hut. ¡°What the hell are you doing!¡± - Yelled Daniel as he burst through the door. The sight of his chest overturned and Cale standing up from his hidden place, his mother''s pendant in his hands, greeted him. ¡°Well if it isn''t Daniel, we heard you''d been hiding things from us¡± - With a disgusting grin on his face, morphed by his scar to make it even more foul, stood Cale, with a slightly regretful looking Markus and Rake stood next to him. ¡°Couldn¡¯t help but notice you¡¯ve been keeping this junk a secret Danny boy¡± ¨C Mocked Cale, as he continued to dangle the pendant in front of Daniel. Daniel rushed at him to try and snatch the pendant back, but was knocked down by Cale¡¯s larger bulk. He hit the ground hard and felt blood in his mouth. ¡°who knew you had something so good, I bet I could sell this for a couple of silvers at the right place.¡± ¨C As Cale continued his gloating, Daniel could feel the rage building inside of him, hotter than ever before. ¡°I wonder who your mother had to sleep with to get something as good as this?¡± ¨C This was enough for the rage within Daniel to boil over. The fire in his chest boiled over, and with a roar his ring¡¯s eyes snapped open. A torrential wave of fire spilled out with Daniel as the origin, it engulfed Cale and the duo completely. Daniel launched himself forward towards the already aflame youths, ripping the amulet out of Cale¡¯s hands and incinerating him further. The fire had engulfed everything in his hut, but he only had his sights on the burning Cale. He straddled him and repeatedly pounded his face over and over again. They trio had long since been turned to a crisp by the time Cale came to his senses. The rage had lasted far longer than ever before, and his hut had already fallen around him. Quickly opening his hand, he checked the pendant within, miraculously it has survived the onslaught of fire unscathed. He then quickly went to his hidden stash to see if his other possessions had survived. His father book had been burnt, with only a few of the centremost pages surviving, but his gloves seemed to be fine. Quickly snatching up his few possessions he ran towards the woods. He could already hear the villagers running towards his hut. If they found him they¡¯d surely claim him to be a demon of some kind. He made his way towards the copse of trees he¡¯d hidden his bow and hunting supplies at. Approaching the tree, he collected all the items of use and did a quick survey of what he had on him. He had his trusty bow, with 20 arrows, the hunting knife, a cloak and spare leathers he¡¯d kept for hunting, and a small bag to store it all in. He also had some of the smoked fish he¡¯d left here along with a waterskin. His mind racing, he thought of the one person who could explain this all to him. The shady merchant. Deciding on a plan for the immediate moment Daniel set off, keeping to the woodland along the road in case he was spotted. He had no idea how far he had to walk before he¡¯d find the merchant, but he was prepared to go to any length for answers. Chapter 5 - The Man in Black Afraid that the village would send a mob after him, Daniel decided to stay in the woods. He kept a respectable distance from the road, close enough that he could still find his way, but no one passing by would be able to spot him. The merchant had headed west when he left the village, so unless he planned to go south to the Arbrel Islands, Daniel was confident his destination was Alisar, the capitol of the Freelands. ¡°The merchant has a day and a half¡¯s head start, and with his wagon would set a fast pace.¡± Mused Daniel as he trod through the forest, a thoughtful expression on his face. He¡¯d left the village in the evening, and the sky had already darkened. ¡°I should find somewhere to rest up for the night, I¡¯ve already been travelling for too long, any later and I won¡¯t be able to find somewhere safe in time.¡± Deciding on a course of action, he observed his surroundings. He hoped to find a tree to scale to avoid the forests floor, where he¡¯d be easy prey for any wolves that roamed the dark. Much to his dismay, this part of the forest was devoid of the large oaks surrounding his village. And was instead populated by tall, lonely pine trees. Who¡¯s lowest branches where easily out of Daniels reach. He quickened his pace hoping to find somewhere to rest for the night. The sun was shining the last of its rays onto the forest, which by now was filled with long shadows with the occasional streak of light penetrating the canopy above. Daniel weighed up his options. He could stop and hope nothing found him, or he could keep going and weight his luck in finding somewhere he could stop for the night. ¡°My luck hasn¡¯t been the best these past few days, I¡¯ve got a feeling that if I stopped a pack of wolves would definitely find me, guess the only way is forwards.¡± With a tired sigh, Daniel picked up his pace continued onwards. Making sure to keep his eyes peeled for anything moving in the shadows. Daniel had always made a point of not being in the forest after dark, so the stillness of the forest unnerved him. Gone where the noises of birds and crickets, instead the only noises he heard where the echo of the wind, and the sound of his own breath. Every twig he stepped on seemed to echo outwards into the forest, making him tense with fear. He froze as he heard the sound he¡¯d been dreading, a howl sounded off in the distance, still far enough away that he didn¡¯t have to worry. But the answering howls that followed where much closer than he would have liked. Daniel readied his bow, and proceeded with even more caution, moving at a crawl as to not make any noise.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. His luck held for far longer than he would have thought. He¡¯d been travelling for an hour in almost total darkness, with only a sliver of the moon to guide him, when he came across a glade with a lone rock in the centre. Atop this rock slept a wolf seemingly made of pure darkness. It was easily noticed as the light in the glade seemed to be sucked into this dark creature. With deep thickets and bushes surrounding him, the only way Daniel could continue forwards was through the glade. He placed one foot in front of the other so slowly it seemed like he wasn¡¯t moving at all. After what seemed like an eternity, but was closer to ten minutes he¡¯d only traversed half the glade. Sweat poured down his head and his breathing sounded like thunder in his ears. The heat in his chest seemed to fluctuate and shift around, it seemed scared of this creature, amplifying Daniels own fear. Suddenly a thunderous crack was heard throughout the glade, echoing off the surrounding trees. Daniel looked down to see the branch he¡¯d broken, and swiftly turned his head to look at the wolf. Its eyes had snapped open to reveal twin orbs of white, and contrary to before it seemed to be radiating darkness now. Daniel quickly raised his bow and fired off an arrow towards the beast. His aim was true and it sailed towards the wolf¡¯s left eye, but seemingly as thought the wolf had never existed, it passed through without doing any damage. Daniel turned towards the exit of the glade and ran, a deep growl followed him as he burst back in to the trees. He ran without a care for the noise he was making, desperate to get somewhere, anywhere this thing couldn¡¯t follow him. dodging between the trees Daniel swiftly made his way forwards, flying across the ground. He spared a glance behind him to see the wolf seemingly deform with each step, turning more and more bestial and blending in with the shadows. Confused and scared by this new sight, Daniel ran even harder, his lungs burning, legs shaking. The heat in his chest seemed to be fuelling him to run faster, to escape. Up ahead Daniel saw a light between the trees, and made a beeline towards it, headless of who may see him. His only hope that someone there would be able to deter this wolf of darkness. Bursting into the clearing Daniel only had time to spot a man clad entirely in black, with a familiar obsidian mask on his face. Daniel swore he could see a smirk underneath that mask, the merchant he¡¯d been chasing after turned his head towards him, before he crashed into his cart. He fell backwards, collapsing onto the floor, his vision clouded red by agony. ¡°Help, Demon!¡± Daniel manged to gasp as the man turned to look at where he¡¯d come crashing out of. He had time to turn his body to look at the forest before the wolf came running out of the same hole he¡¯d crashed through. It looked like the man¡¯s body tensed for a second before a blast of darkness arose from him to meet the wolf own. All too quickly the darkness was gone and the man alone stood there. He turned a curious head towards Daniel. He could feel himself slowly slipping into what had become a familiar black abyss of sleep, but before he had fully submerged himself in the darkness he managed to make out the man¡¯s words. ¡°Took you long enough boy¡± As the abyss took him he could only hope the man had good intentions towards him.