Haven't done one of these in a while!
In an effort to pull my mind out of staring blankly at my Scrivener document and literally doing nothing, I decided to force myself to play a game and immerse myself and create a story from it... just like old tiiimes, as Garrus Vakarian would say.
The game is Enderal: Forgotten Stories which is freeeeeee if you happen to have a valid installation of Skyrim -- Oldrim, to be specific.
Get it on the Steam Store; https://store.steampowered.com/app/933480/Enderal_Forgotten_Stories/
You won't regret it. If you loved Skyrim you will love this. It has a more linear story and when it ends, IT ACTUALLY ENDS. But seriously. It's amazing. Skyrim x 10,000. It's challenging. It has more than 3 voice actors. Companion likes/dislikes. It's freakin' beautiful. Can't recommend enough. Except for one annoying chick with the worst voice ever. But let's just ignore her.
ONWARD!!
Fire shot up from the floorboards and surrounded Kaelyra. Father flung himself to the freshly killed moose and tore at its flesh, thrusting chunks into the fire before shoving them into his drooling mouth. As he ate, he demanded more meat, more and more, the crispier the better. Behind her, terrified screams rose up and encased her.
Frozen in place, the fire licked at her flesh...
Her eyes snapped open. It was only a dream. The same dream she had almost every time she slept. Would it ever end?
Sirius, her closest friend, raised an eyebrow. "Again?"
"Again," she muttered.
Kaelyra forgot what she looked like, so whilst Sirius complained about her recurring nightmares and how her screams would one day be the ruin of them, she tried to imagine, just for a minute, how she had appeared the last time she looked in a mirror.
Soon after the image popped into her head the lantern went out, unfamiliar voices spoke, then a woman wearing a veil punched her in the face.
Kaelyra blinked, slowly coming to as an unfamiliar voice cursed and screamed. Behind the fog of her thoughts, Sirius knelt before a woman captain, pleading for his life. The woman did not listen, whipped out a dagger, and stabbed him through the chest.
"Oh, look. His friend is awake. Tie her to him and chuck them overboard."
Unable to move, to protect herself, arms grabbed at her and tied her to her friend's corpse, the shock of water knocking her out once more as the sea embraced them.
It was sad it had to end this way... may she never dream again...
When she came to, again, Sirius was nowhere to be found. A loose rope hung around her waist where he had once been tied against her body. She was alive.
She blinked.
That seemed impossible.
The beach was unfamiliar. Where was she? What was she supposed to do now? Sirius always made the decisions. Cold, wet, and mindless she turned around and walked into the overgrowth.
Cold, sodding wet and bereft of all sense, she picked up a rusty pickaxe and whacked it against some rocks without a thought.
"Ouch!"
She dropped the pickaxe and thrust her finger into her mouth, easing the sudden pain with her saliva. A bit of blood, no fracture, but it bloody hurt.
Stirred by her own pain, Kaelyra snapped out of her fog and took a proper look around.
Long grass led the way towards a tunnel encased by vines. Intriguing. It looked familiar...
She wandered towards it.
Through the ancient tunnel and into a secret lair, Kaelyra picked up a conveniently placed bow and hid in the shadows.
There was a monster ahead. She had never seen such a thing before! Made from mud and sticks, it looked as though it had been birthed by the ground itself.
It released a cavern-shuddering wail. Small pebbles fell around her and she braced herself, preparing for the ceiling to fall onto her head.
It didn't.
She could go no further with that muddy beast in her path. Drawing the bow, she aimed for it's one gleaming eye and prayed the ancient arrow would strike true.
It did not. After several failed arrows she ran around the cavern, kiting the beast, then found an old rusty sword and flailed wildly.
Soon the beast lay in tiny piles of stinking mud.
Kaelyra wandered over to see if it had been guarding something. It had! A fresh corpse lay upon a pile of bones... it was not Sirius. That was a relief.
She narrowed her eyes. It was clothed! She could use new clothes. Quickly removing her freezing saturated garments, she reclothed herself in those of the dead man's.
"Nice," she muttered, riffling through the pockets. Grabbing an old crusty loaf of bread, she shoved it into her mouth and relished the healing power of mould.
Stumbling further through the ruins, Kaelyra was warm, satiated, and feeling pretty proud of herself after defeating a muddy earth beast.
She opened a great gilded door, apparently unopened for centuries, and stepped out into the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.
"By the Gods," she whispered, marvelling at distant mountains, bright blooms, and the gentle glow of the setting sun.
The ancient door closed behind her and she stepped into a vibrant new world.
Clothed and warm with a bow on her back, she was ready to face what lurked within the beauty of this majestic place. She and Sirius had wanted to be treasure hunters, sellswords, adventurers!
Maybe she could still find some solace in that dream.
There was a campfire in the distance. That meant people. Hopefully they weren't bandits... but maybe they had food that wasn't wrapped up in a corpse's pocket and covered in mould.
Kaelyra slowly made her way down the winding path but then stopped, drawn by another ancient look ruin.
Treasure.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea..." she muttered beneath her breath, staring wide-eyed at the sheer amount of spider web that coated the entirety of the tunnel.
She continued on, regardless.
She froze.
Look at the size of that bloody spider! she inwardly screamed.
She couldn't turn back now. She had come too far. Drawing her bow, she hoped for the best.
MANY SPIDERS SCURRIED TOWARD HER AND MURDERED HER, SEVERAL TIMES!!
But apparently she had a newfound magic and merely slept for a few minutes before trying again. And again. And again.
At last she drew deep within herself and summoned a red glow about her fingertips. Those spiders would pay -- PAY!
Guided by her glowing red hand that swept enemies back and forth with little effort, she found herself in what appeared to be a nesting chamber.
"By the Gods! How am I supposed to get past this??" she yelled. There were seven spiders in there.
They all turned in unison towards her voice. She readied her newfound magical red glow and waved it threateningly at the beasts. They turned and ran.
She blinked, then laughed. And laughed some more. This shiny red glow was the greatest of boons!
Too bad she didn't have it when the captain murdered her friend, she grimaced.
Free from the tyranny of the ever-lasting spider webs, our protaganist tripped over another corpse on her way out of the spider's lair and shrugged into the heavy leather armour it wore.
"Thanks, buddy," she saluted as she waltzed out of the cavern.
Somehow still alive, and now decently armoured, she kicked a confident step into her gait and at last wandered towards that campfire she had seen.
It was time for some food!
Until next time,
Thanks for stopping by! 🙃
and are from the game: Enderal: Forgotten Stories