TheJoekster
Dungeon Spirit
Heya! This is my fourth short story here, so far. I've divided it into two manageable sections, but it really isn't too long. Hope someone enjoys it.
As always, feedback is welcome. Ciao.
I'm afraid I don't have much time. The end seems to be near - for real, now. Very bad timing. As my life appears to be drawing to a close, let me tell you about it.
I couldn't tell you how I came into existence. I don't remember a birth, or simply plopping into existence into some miserable excuse of a house. As far as I could tell, I was never born.
And the same goes for all of the people I've met in my (very short) life. You see, I am a merchant. My name is Edmund. The first thing I remember is having a fellow with wooden shoes on burst into my room, asking if I had any throwing knives. Sadly, I appeared to be fresh out of throwing knives, and he rejected my discounted offer of torches.
I familiarized myself with some other people who supplied for this man. One of them was pretty antisocial - his name was Andrew. He kept to himself and had a nasty habit of leaving doors open. Later I met Kaitlyn, who would be our nurse for the duration of our client's travels. She seemed like a nice woman.
And so it was the four of us. Kaitlyn, Andrew, me, and the man. I asked him his name once. He said he didn't have one. That makes this a bit more complicated, so I will call him Ludius. Yes, that seems quite appropriate.
Ludius had a knack for abandoning us for several days at a time. He would always come back carrying an innumerable amount of resources with him - but interestingly, that would never be enough for him. Back and forth, back and forth, slowly becoming more and more geared up. I can't really complain, can I? He had a roof over our heads and was relentless in defending us. That is, until the Hellforge appeared in our base.
It just sort of happened? Ludius came in and replaced the furnace we had with this thing that looked like it came right out of the depths of Hell. Andrew became infatuated with the Hellforge, it seemed - that room became his own. I didn't really care, I was paying attention to the amount of power Ludius was getting so quickly. Whenever he saw something to kill outside, he would get this look in his eyes - like he had a craving urge to send his sword right through its body. And I think that was ultimately his - no, our - biggest downfall.
I couldn't tell you how I came into existence. I don't remember a birth, or simply plopping into existence into some miserable excuse of a house. As far as I could tell, I was never born.
And the same goes for all of the people I've met in my (very short) life. You see, I am a merchant. My name is Edmund. The first thing I remember is having a fellow with wooden shoes on burst into my room, asking if I had any throwing knives. Sadly, I appeared to be fresh out of throwing knives, and he rejected my discounted offer of torches.
I familiarized myself with some other people who supplied for this man. One of them was pretty antisocial - his name was Andrew. He kept to himself and had a nasty habit of leaving doors open. Later I met Kaitlyn, who would be our nurse for the duration of our client's travels. She seemed like a nice woman.
And so it was the four of us. Kaitlyn, Andrew, me, and the man. I asked him his name once. He said he didn't have one. That makes this a bit more complicated, so I will call him Ludius. Yes, that seems quite appropriate.
Ludius had a knack for abandoning us for several days at a time. He would always come back carrying an innumerable amount of resources with him - but interestingly, that would never be enough for him. Back and forth, back and forth, slowly becoming more and more geared up. I can't really complain, can I? He had a roof over our heads and was relentless in defending us. That is, until the Hellforge appeared in our base.
It just sort of happened? Ludius came in and replaced the furnace we had with this thing that looked like it came right out of the depths of Hell. Andrew became infatuated with the Hellforge, it seemed - that room became his own. I didn't really care, I was paying attention to the amount of power Ludius was getting so quickly. Whenever he saw something to kill outside, he would get this look in his eyes - like he had a craving urge to send his sword right through its body. And I think that was ultimately his - no, our - biggest downfall.
Eventually, something happened that would change my view of the world and Ludius for the rest of my life. He said he was going to gather more resources. I'm still not sure what he meant by that, because we had every resource in abundance at the base. Anyway, about a day later, we heard a scream from Andrew's room - the room with the Hellforge. Kaitlyn and I rushed into his room, only to see it empty with the forge sitting in the corner.
Inside the hellforge lay a doll, a doll which looked very similar to Andrew. Moments later, there was an earthquake. As the ground shook uncontrollably, the hellforge crumbled to dust. A few minutes later, the earthquake died down, and we gazed outside to an unfamiliar landscape.
The sun beamed down on us, yellowing the earth. In the sky, I saw a dragon flying away from us. On the earth, a horned stallion galloped across a hallowed landscape. The world had changed, and we both knew exactly what caused it.
More times than one, I thought it was the end. Moments where the moon eclipsed the Sun, and unfamiliar creatures knocked on our front door. Moments where metallic beasts appeared right over our roof, and Ludius went out, sword-in-hand, to fight until either he or the enemy were killed. We knew that if Ludius died, so would Kaitlyn and I. Even so, I couldn't help but have a deep sense of hatred directed at Ludius. He killed Andrew and now put the two of us in permanent danger. My biggest fear was that he would see the two of us as a liability, that he would be better off not having to fend for us.
That never happened. I guess it was mostly because of Kaitlyn and how she always unfailingly healed Ludius, no matter the injury. Without her, he would definitely be dead right now. Thinking back on it, I guess I was the dead weight out of the three of us. Ludius didn't seem to care about me; he never accepted any of the offers I pitched to him. He sold plenty of goods to me, but for what? There was nothing to buy!
All issues aside, let's get to the heart of the matter. After a day of Ludius killing an entire invasion of pirates single-handedly, I sat in my excuse of a home and thought for a long time. I wanted this to end. I didn't want to have to wake up in the morning and have to blindly hope I wouldn't die today. I wanted the world to be fixed. I wanted Ludius to not have to protect us, and preferably to have him wiped off of the face of the earth.
But this? This isn't what I wanted. The sky is dark. The stars are blood red. All the trees around me are burned to charred stumps. And in the air, a looming figure with eyes in the palms of its hands, bearing the face of an octopus, is engaging Ludius in a battle I was sure he couldn't win. A brilliant flash of light floods my eyes. I look back, and see no Ludius. Retreating back into the base, I go to look at Kaitlyn. A spearhead is in her side. Ludius' spearhead. "Is he dead?," she asks. "Yes," I reply. She simply nods. I look outside. The being that killed Ludius is now staring through the window at the two of us. An eye on its forehead opens, and starts to glow a familiar silvery light.
I close my eyes and brace for death.
Inside the hellforge lay a doll, a doll which looked very similar to Andrew. Moments later, there was an earthquake. As the ground shook uncontrollably, the hellforge crumbled to dust. A few minutes later, the earthquake died down, and we gazed outside to an unfamiliar landscape.
The sun beamed down on us, yellowing the earth. In the sky, I saw a dragon flying away from us. On the earth, a horned stallion galloped across a hallowed landscape. The world had changed, and we both knew exactly what caused it.
More times than one, I thought it was the end. Moments where the moon eclipsed the Sun, and unfamiliar creatures knocked on our front door. Moments where metallic beasts appeared right over our roof, and Ludius went out, sword-in-hand, to fight until either he or the enemy were killed. We knew that if Ludius died, so would Kaitlyn and I. Even so, I couldn't help but have a deep sense of hatred directed at Ludius. He killed Andrew and now put the two of us in permanent danger. My biggest fear was that he would see the two of us as a liability, that he would be better off not having to fend for us.
That never happened. I guess it was mostly because of Kaitlyn and how she always unfailingly healed Ludius, no matter the injury. Without her, he would definitely be dead right now. Thinking back on it, I guess I was the dead weight out of the three of us. Ludius didn't seem to care about me; he never accepted any of the offers I pitched to him. He sold plenty of goods to me, but for what? There was nothing to buy!
All issues aside, let's get to the heart of the matter. After a day of Ludius killing an entire invasion of pirates single-handedly, I sat in my excuse of a home and thought for a long time. I wanted this to end. I didn't want to have to wake up in the morning and have to blindly hope I wouldn't die today. I wanted the world to be fixed. I wanted Ludius to not have to protect us, and preferably to have him wiped off of the face of the earth.
But this? This isn't what I wanted. The sky is dark. The stars are blood red. All the trees around me are burned to charred stumps. And in the air, a looming figure with eyes in the palms of its hands, bearing the face of an octopus, is engaging Ludius in a battle I was sure he couldn't win. A brilliant flash of light floods my eyes. I look back, and see no Ludius. Retreating back into the base, I go to look at Kaitlyn. A spearhead is in her side. Ludius' spearhead. "Is he dead?," she asks. "Yes," I reply. She simply nods. I look outside. The being that killed Ludius is now staring through the window at the two of us. An eye on its forehead opens, and starts to glow a familiar silvery light.
I close my eyes and brace for death.
As always, feedback is welcome. Ciao.