《Savage Worlds》 FIRST CHAPTER - SEA OF SAND Please give me criticism if something is lacking or there are typos and what not. :) ---- SEA OF SAND He woke, coughing. A sea of red sand swam into view as he opened his eyes, bright suns overhead scorching him. He hurt all over. He spit out sand, and placed one chubby arm underneath himself, in an effort to stand. As he got to his feet, he tripped over his own foot and fell flat on his face... And began rolling down the giant dune. Sky, sand, sky, sand - This is the scene that repeated, at least when his own body wasn¡¯t blocking his vision, as he rolled down a giant dune. He noticed the sky was a bright blue-green on his way down. The edges of his vision began to blink red the moment he stopped rolling, and damn, did he hurt. ¡°Where am I?¡± Only a slight flow of air answered his question, not even enough to be called a breeze, and it did nothing to alleviate his suffering. Sand stuck to him as he sweat profusely. The edges of his vision drove him nuts. ¡°WHERE THE FUCK AM I?!¡± He screamed this time, slamming his fists into the sand. Sand spread out from where his fists hit, but there was nothing gained from the action. Small dents in the sand merely showed him he was weak. He stumbled to his feet, panting after finally standing. He wasn¡¯t in the best of shape, after all. He sighed to himself. The sky was too bright to look at for long; It was clear, and both suns were shining brightly. There was sand in every direction. The colors all seemed wrong. The blinking on the edges of his vision faded away. He inspected his clothes, and realizing he was wearing some kind of uniform. It was stiff, uncomfortable, and heavily torn. He was also barefoot. He glanced at the dune, deciding he did not want to climb it, so he stumbled away in the opposite direction, attempting to use his arms to shield the back of his neck from the sun. ~~ 14 hours later ~~ Four moons decorated the sky, brightening the world as if they thought they were suns. The sand around him glowed and danced in strange colors, the sky an ever changing sea of silver, blue and red. Too many stars to count waved at him with their starry light. The view should be amazing, breathtaking - at least, to someone not dying in a desert. He was on his back; Earlier, he had decided to cover himself with sand, and use his uniform top to block his face from the suns. He probably dozed, but he didn¡¯t remember. When it was noticeably cooler, he unburied himself, got to his feet, and continued to trudge on in what he assumed was the same direction as before. He had no reaction to the view before him, just that he had to get¡­ somewhere. ~~ 6 hours later ~~ After six hours of trudging, tripping, and crawling, he finally noticed something in the distance, a glowing expanse of violet. He continued on, hoping it wasn¡¯t sand. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ~~ 3 hours later ~~ He reached a point where sand and water met. He dropped to his knees, then flopped over into the violet mass of water. Dipping his fingers into the water, then bringing them to his lips, he prayed it wasn¡¯t salt water. Fortunately, it didn¡¯t seem to be. He immediately tore a piece off his uniform, soaked it in water, and began sucking on it. He didn¡¯t understand why he was doing it, why he didn¡¯t just dip his head under and drink deeply, until a thought floated into his head - ¡°If I drink too much, too fast, I¡¯ll get sick.¡± He then remembered how when one is dehydrated, they need to hydrate slowly. Once he was hydrated enough to where he thought he could take it, he dipped his head under the cool water. Some time later, he sat staring at the purple waves. ¡°This water is so clear¡­¡± he said to the waves. For the first time since waking, his heart wasn¡¯t hammering in his chest, attempting to break his ribs. He realized he had to decide where to go. If he stayed here forever, he would starve. At least he had a lot of fat to burn, he hadn¡¯t seen any vegetation or signs of an animal since first waking up. He stood, wiggling his feet in the cool sand under the liquid, and wet his finger. Then he held it high in the sky. Another thing he didn¡¯t remember why he was doing, but he did remember that this could indicate something. Nothing happened, and he felt nothing. So he turned to his left, and decided to start walking in that direction. Day came, then night. Day came again. This cycle repeated many times. He seemed to have lost a lot of weight, and though he knew he should be starving, he felt very full. He knew this was a bad sign. He stumbled, tripping over his own feet, but he managed to keep his balance. He squinted hard, because he spotted something different from sand and sea. Getting closer, he saw gates, and outside those gates he saw two figures with long, pointy sticks. At least, thats what he could make out from this distance. They seemed to have wolf heads and tails, at least, until he got close enough for them to poke him with their spears. He realized it was armor. ¡°Who are you, and where did you come from, stranger? No one travels the deserts.¡± This came from the guard on his left. The stranger sat, remaining silent and blinking at the guards. It looked like he was oblivious to everything, but his mind was racing. After a long stretch of silence, the guards were visibly angry. The guard who spoke lifted his spear, and readied it to impale the stranger. Finally, the stranger said the only thing he could say after racking his brain, failing to figure out an answer to the question. Tears fell from his eyes. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± CHAPTER 2 - CAPTIVE Please give feedback if stuff doesn¡¯t make sense or there are typos¡­ thank you :) ------ CAPTIVE ¡°Who are you, and where did you come from, stranger? No one travels the deserts.¡± This came from the guard on his left. The stranger sat, remaining silent and blinking at the guards. It looked like he was oblivious to everything, but his mind was racing. After a long stretch of silence, the guards were visibly angry. The guard who spoke lifted his spear, and readied it to impale the stranger. Finally, the stranger said the only thing he could say after racking his brain, failing to figure out an answer to the question. Tears fell from his eyes. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Wrong answer.¡± Growled the guard, as the back of the spear collided with the back of the stranger¡¯s head. ~~~ A small boy is in the woods with his father. The surroundings appear to be a lot like a forest from Earth. ¡°Daddy, why we hunting with spears and traps and stuff? Can¡¯t we just use guns?¡± The boy tugs on his father¡¯s sleeve, looking up to his father with wide eyes. ¡°Well, kiddo, one day you may need to know this stuff. Besides, this way is more fun. You¡¯ll see. Once we get dinner, you¡¯ll feel a sense of pride.¡± A father ruffles his boy¡¯s hair, then continues his explanation to his son about how to track animals. A baby deer jumps out in front of the boy and the father. Surprised, the boy throws his spear as hard as he can at the animal. He manages to impale the small creature. ¡°Daddy, look, I got it!¡± The boy jumped up and down. ¡°Yes, yes you did, kiddo. Looks like I¡¯ll have to¡­¡± The world fades into sepia, the color of an old photograph, as words become a murmur. ~~~ The stranger opens his eyes, hunger gnawing at him. His eyes water from pain radiating at the back of his skull. He feels sick. He rolls over, his hand hitting a bowl of some sort of soup. Luckily, it doesn¡¯t get knocked over. Slowly the stranger sits up, focusing on nothing but the food before him. He eats slowly, hunger spicing the dish so much that it seems as if it were a gift from the gods. Forcing himself to chew it slowly, he relishes the texture of the soup, the flavor of each vegetable, each chunk of meat. He realizes a sweetness in it, and it seems there is some kind of fruit in the soup. A chunk of something that he assumes is bread is eaten with the soup, and it is the fluffiest, most delicious bread he has ever eaten. The only problem with the meal... There is not enough to fill him. After licking the bowl clean, he sets the bowl back on the floor. He finally looks around to gather his surroundings. His walls are smooth and cool to the touch. They look as if they are made from stone. The floor looks to be made of the same material. The ceiling is something else entirely, the entire thing glowing blue; But the room is lit with a clear light. And near the door¡­ two wolf head guards watching him. He jumps, noticing them for the first time, and realizes with shame that they watched him lick crumbs off the floor. ¡°Stand.¡± Growls one of the two guards. The stranger follows the order, not wanting to be hit with the back of the spear again. That hurt! ¡°Where are you from stranger?¡± Growls the guard. The stranger didn¡¯t know the answer to this question, and could only respond that way. He wipes his sweaty palms on what was left of his uniform. When one of the guards take a step forward, he drops to his knees, holding out his hands, screaming. ¡°Please don¡¯t hit me! Please don¡¯t! I¡¯ll come, I¡¯ll follow, I¡¯ll do whatever!¡± His face is hot, and he cringes inside, the feeling of having to beg this inhumane creature to not hit him is not sitting right with him. The original guard who ordered him to stand pokes his stomach with the back of his spear. ¡°I said, stand, stranger. If you don¡¯t comply, it won¡¯t be the back of this stick I hit you with.¡± The stranger slowly gets to his feet again, as the second guard stands behind him. The stranger observes the uniforms of these two¡­ He isn¡¯t sure if they are human, because of the helmets and the tails. Their uniforms are black, neat, and clean. Along with the spears, each of these two guards have swords at their waists. Rather than claws or hooves or anything, these two guards wear a thick black pair of boots and have gloves covering what seem to be humanlike hands. He snaps out of his observations when he is pushed from behind. ¡°Walk.¡± The stranger walks out of his cell, in between two guards. As he walks down the hallway, he attempts to take everything in that he can. Every cell door lays open, and it every cell is empty. They all look the same. Glancing at the ceiling, he realizes the stone has two blue strips running down its length - the same stuff that made up the ceiling of the cells. ¡°These must be some kind of lights¡­¡± the stranger thinks to himself. He observes how the guard in front of him walks. The guard walks with confidence, with authority. The stranger innately knows that he is no match for his captors, should he ever have to fight. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Thinking about it¡­ the stranger wonders if he even knows how to fight. Even though the stranger notes numerous cells, the hallway itself somehow seems short. It is almost as if¡­ space warps itself to create all of the rooms. The stranger¡¯s head begins to hurt thinking about it. An ominous looking door stands at the hallway''s end, a scene depicting the sunlit sky and the moonlit night adorning the door. The stranger sweats more as the first guard walks up to the door, and raps three times with his fuzzy glove. The doors open slowly, smoothly, to reveal¡­ a stairway. The stranger sighs with relief, his heart calming down slightly. As he passes through the door, he watches two more wolf headed guards join his procession, one in front, and one behind. One of these look female, but despite the shorter stature and obvious physical differences of a female, she still has the same wolf head and tail. With nothing to look at walking up the lengthy spiral staircase, the stranger observes the tail of the guard in front of him. While it did sway as the guard walks, the stranger notices it seems to be more decoration than actual tail. Not wanting to find out what would happen if he pulls on it, the stranger keeps his hands to himself. They arrive at the top of the stairway, which bisects another long hallway. The stranger notes the door''s position is in the exact middle of the hallway, and they turn left immediately after entering the hall. This hall looks to be made of the same stone, the same blue strips running down the ceiling, as in the dungeon below, the difference being a black carpet that feels extremely soft against the stranger¡¯s feet. They arrive at an open door near the end of the hall, which displays a large, circular room. Inside sits a woman. As the procession fans out in front of the woman, the stranger takes note of every detail about her that he can. Unlike the guards, she does not wear a wolf helmet, but instead has a mask displaying no features. Her hair is a mix of colorful feathers and a million, messy woven braids, falling to the floor. He can¡¯t tell if the hair is hers, or part of the mask, because there are a multitude of colors, just like the night time in the desert. She, too, wears the standard black uniform of her guard compatriots, but, she does not have a tail, as far as the stranger can see. In front of her lay a giant staff, and stuck into the ground stands a giant sword, one the stranger thinks he would not be able to lift much less move. ¡°Sit.¡± The guard behind the stranger pushes him, and he falls down face first in front of the woman. Blushing, the stranger gets into a sitting position in front of the woman. ¡°Where did you come from?¡± The voice is gruff and melodious at the same time, and the stranger realizes it is from this woman. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± The reply comes out like a squeak. The woman¡¯s focal point shifts to one of the guards. ¡°He came from the sands, grand chief.¡± The guard growls back. Her gaze slowly observes the stranger, at least, that''s what it seems like to him. ¡°The only thing in the deserts are the factories of the off worlders. You are dressed like an off worlder. Are you an off worlder?¡± The stranger wants to crawl and hide. But every attempt to scuttle himself backwards, even an inch, is met with a prod from a spear. ¡°M...maybe?¡± The woman stands up, and only then did the stranger realize she was tall. With an ease and fluidity that the stranger¡¯s unshapely body would never match, she draws the greatsword out of the ground and has it floating millimeters from the stranger¡¯s neck in a heartbeat. He is mesmerized by her braids as they brush the ground in their dance. ¡°You¡­ You are quite the cowardly one, aren¡¯t you? Off worlder, speak. How do you know our language?¡± He desperately wants to answer these questions. He wants to live. But how could he live if he doesn¡¯t know anything? ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know anything! I want to live! Don¡¯t kill me!¡± He does the only thing he thinks he can do. He begs. ¡°Tell me, off worlder, why should I spare your miserable life? Your kind is not welcome here.¡± Even though the sword is held rock steady by this chief, he feels it getting closer to his neck. ¡°IwokeupinthedesertandwalkedhereandIdontknowwhoIamandIdontknow..¡± In the middle of his hysterical story, he feels pressure leave his neck. A smack in the back of his head makes him stop squeaking. Walking back to her original spot, the chief calls over her shoulder to the guards. ¡°Take this¡­ off worlder, and get him cleaned up and some clothes. Even though he looks to be a glutton, make sure he has food. We¡¯ll let the town decide tomorrow whether he lives or dies, since I don¡¯t think he can pose a threat to us. I''m sure they would love a good festival.¡± A guard steps in front of him. ¡°Stand.¡± He stands slowly, carefully watching the guards around him. After standing, he is forced to turn around. ¡°Walk.¡± With those two commands, his procession makes its way back to the dungeons. CHAPTER 3 - FESTIVAL OF FIRE Please give feedback if stuff doesn¡¯t make sense or there are typos¡­ thank you :) (Sorry, I didn¡¯t have a chance to do any writing/etc. Moved, and had no inets.) ------ FESTIVAL OF FIRE Walking back to her original spot, the chief calls over her shoulder to the guards. ¡°Take this¡­ off worlder, and get him cleaned up and some clothes. Even though he looks to be a glutton, make sure he has food. We¡¯ll let the town decide tomorrow whether he lives or dies, since I don¡¯t think he can pose a threat to us. I''m sure they would love a good festival.¡± A guard steps in front of him. ¡°Stand.¡± He stands slowly, carefully watching the guards around him. After standing, he is forced to turn around. ¡°Walk.¡± With those two commands, his procession makes its way back to the dungeons. ~~~ This time there were no dreams, no influx of random knowledge. The stranger sits up quickly, gasping for breath. And sweating, it is hot. "Urgh" On the ground next to him lay a badly woven brown robe. He studies himself as best he could, wincing in pain as he poked and prodded himself to determine if anything is broken. They¡¯ll pay¡­ His fist shakes in anger as he tries to calm himself down, his mind replaying the beating the guards gave him after the procession left the woman¡¯s room. ~~~ They shoved his face into the cold wall, and cut his clothes off roughly with a knife. Each guard takes shots at him, fist after fist raining down on him¡­ Inhuman laughter can be heard around him. Pain flares in every limb. Please... let it end.. He isn''t able to even call out, due to the gag in his mouth. A blow lands at the back of his head... ~~~ He stands up, the ugly brown thing in his hands. Donning the robe, he walks to the door. I hope they''re not paying attention... Pushing on it lightly, he checks for the guards. He doesn¡¯t see any. Good, maybe they''re having an orgy with each other or something. Studying the door more closely, he notices that even though the door is sturdy, it is made badly. The stranger walks over to the hinges and quickly takes them apart. Hm. He''s able to dismantle them. He doesn''t remember or know why he knows. The stranger pulls on the wood around the opening in the door, and it begins to slowly come towards him¡­ He realizes almost too late that he is far too weak to catch it. Just barely jumping out of the way, he watches the door slam into the ground, a loud sound echoing into the hall. I could have died... how the hell am I so pathetically weak? Was I always weak? His heart beats so fast, it feels like his ribcage is going to break. I need to be more careful next time... Motes of dust float into the stuffy air. After what feels like an eternity, but in reality is closer to three minutes, the stranger peeks around the corner. Empty! The hall is empty. The stranger slowly steps out of the room¡­ and trips on the door at the last moment, falling flat on his face. Feeling a prick in his palm, he picks up a random bone knife. It looks like something more ceremonial than useful, but he gladly takes it just the same. Beggars can''t be choosers... isn''t that the saying? Or maybe it has something to do with bread... At least I can stab them with this.
Congratulations, stupid human! You¡¯ve discovered a quest!
Don¡¯t look so shocked! It was bound to happen sometime. Oh, by the way¡­ you¡¯re supposed to investigate the disappearance of the sand wolves. Bet you didn¡¯t know that¡¯s what they called themselves, eh?
Normally there¡¯d be like, rewards and stuff, but I¡¯ll just say¡­ it¡¯s a secret! And there are heavy penalties!
You can not refuse this quest.
The random window appears in front of him, causing him to almost have a heart attack. ...? The stranger stares at the table for a long time, longer than he had waited after the door fell. Who knows how long his jaw hung open, or how long he sat in that half crouched half standing pose of someone interrupted in the middle of his actions. ¡°What the fuck¡­¡± What the fuck... Just as the words leave the stranger¡¯s mouth, another box appears before him -
For contemplating an imaginary box that no one can see, the Gods have decided that you are an idiot.
Congratulations! Your wisdom has decreased by 2!
He tries to grab the floating box, but it randomly disappears, revealing the empty corridor and a cracked door at the end of the hall. Snapping out of what he thinks of as hallucinations, he tries to get to the door stealthily, to not alert the guards. (It¡¯s definitely not stealthy at all.) Arriving at the door, he sees paint smeared on the floor; Kneeling down, he dips his finger into it. It¡¯s warm. The smear on the floor resembles something some sort of smiley face. A warm smiley face. What is this, arts and crafts? Creeping silently, he shuts out thoughts of what the paint may be, and while clutching the small knife tightly, he slowly creeps through the door, up the stairs. The climb this time is uneventful, and definitely not as interesting as the last time. Can''t even follow the bouncing ass this time... This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. At the top of the stairs, he peeks into the room, and observes this room is empty as well. Stepping forward not so lightly, he nearly stubs his toe on a helmet that his captors wore. He picks it up, noticing that while it is hard and sturdy, it is also strangely soft and warm, and feels like it has a life of its own. Wonder what these guy''s looked like underneath this mask... He makes a decision to make a right this time, since the guards chose the other direction when he was with the procession earlier. Following the hall to its completion, he leaves the large building, and enters the burning village. Thick coils of smoke waft up into the sky. I guess I... won''t get to stab them. Fires rage around the building, eating the structures that existed in this small town. Residents and charcoaled bodies are pinned with long spears to the burning buildings, their faces very human masks of terror. *clang* It was then that he hears the loud clash of metal. *cling* Running to the source, but mostly out of the necessity of finding a way out of the flames, he sees a scene of the chieftain woman fighting with everything she has against a man in a blue suit. He quickly hides behind a pile of rubble. He is mesmerized. The sword swings impossibly fast, and is met with a small, thin stick at every turn. Steel screams against steel. She kicks, he simply moves. She cuts the moon, he simply taps her sword into the ground. Her braids dance, her sword draws art, she radiates power. As for the man in the suit¡­ he checks his watch. He looks bored. The fight ends in mere moments; The man¡¯s silver rod touches the woman¡¯s neck, her muscles tense, her stance broken. She freezes, then collapses as the rod leaves her neck. The man with the suit walks over, using the rod like a cane, and deftly picks up the giant sword. The man studies the sword. ¡°This is¡­¡± The man in the suit chuckles, leaving the town through a giant hole in the fence, the sword resting on his shoulder. A giant spaceship lifts from the ground, and exits into the sky. The stranger steps out from behind the pile of stone, and it slowly dawns on him that he never caught the man¡¯s face. Racking his brain over what the man looked like, he walks over to the woman¡¯s body. Removing her mask, he notices that she is both old and definitely dead. She looked way better earlier... Was it that guy? He stands, looks back on the burning village, then exits through the hole in the fence. ~~~ Hours later, he is back to walking the sand, following the curve of the ocean. A bit disturbed by the events that happened in the village, he hasn¡¯t realized he is wearing the braided mask, nor that he tossed the wolf helmet into the ocean. He simply stumbles along, his hand tightening and clenching the ceremonial dagger, his feet digging into sand and water.
Quest Complete!
You saw what happened to the tribe, completing the quest! Hey, bet you didn¡¯t know that aliens existed? Did ya? Did ya?
As part of the agreement, I¡¯m supposed to give you a reward¡­. So here¡¯s a lollipop! Enjoy!
The stranger jumps back immediately, startled by the sudden window in front of him. Reaching his shaky hand to touch the box, he watches a lollipop drop into the sea, and his eyes follow it as it floats away.
Just kidding! As a reward, you are now able to access your very own status window! Just think, you can actually like¡­ progress, and stuff.
Just shout, ¡®Open Status¡¯ at the top of your lungs! *snicker*
The stranger ignores the new window, and begins walking again. I¡¯m hallucinating. They drugged me with something, beat me, and I¡¯m still sleeping. This all didn¡¯t happen. I just don¡¯t know why I won¡¯t wake up. The status window flashes annoyingly in front of him. He still ignores it. What the hell, is this like, some kind of game or something? He stops dead in his tracks. If I¡¯m in a game, I wonder¡­ Can I log out? The window in front of him disappears. He glances at the sky, and instead of shouting, mumbles the words ¡®Open Status¡¯.
Stranger
Level: 1Notoriety: 0The Fool
Strength: 1Agility: 1Vitality: 20
Intelligence: 11Wisdom: 9???: 6
A man trapped in a game, this person doesn¡¯t even know who he is. So, we won¡¯t tell him.
Skills are currently non viewable.
Inventory is currently non viewable.
After reading over the screen, the stranger feels even more depressed. His stats just feel¡­ low. But he still has hope, and he wills the window closed. It closes. Please, please please please... He excitedly whispers the magic words... ¡®Log Out¡¯. ~~~ 10 minutes later ~~~ A slight breeze gently nudges his loose robe. A lazy cloud gazes down on the stranger, its blue puffiness almost like a knowing smile. The ocean laps at his feet. A silence fills the air...
Sorry! You¡¯re unable to log out. Why not enjoy the game?