[Story] Furrae Chronicles: First adventure - chapter 2

[Gareeku]

Hey guys, as a little sort of spinoff from Furrae Chronicles, I'll be putting up a short story of Gareeku's first adventure. There is a reason behind it, in fact it was requested by someone, but anyways, here's the first chapter:

Chapter 1
Throughout the village, the citizens were beginning to stir. The sun had just risen over the distant horizon, turning the rolling hills in the distance a shimmering gold. In one house in particular, a family had awoken to prepare for something their son was about to undertake for the first time.

"I hope he'll be ok..." A female voice from the kitchen could be heard saying with a concerned tone. The voice belong to a vixen, standing at 5' 8" in a dark red dress and looking to be in her early 30s, whose fur colour was a mixture of the vibrant red and white one would expect, although the tips of her ears and tail as well as her head hair were black, tied in a braid and extending all the way down to her hips. This wasn't the most distinctive feature, however; sprouting out of the vixen's back and head was two sets of feathery wings, the pair on her head being much smaller than the pair growing out of the top of her back. Sporting two sets of wings like this could only mean one thing; she was a succubus.

"I can't say I'm all that impressed either, Alicia, but I suppose he can make up his own mind." Another voice replied. Unlike the vixen's, this voice was much deeper. The owner of the voice had since walked into the room; a male white-furred wolf, standing at 6' 2" and looking to be in his mid 30s. Wearing a short-sleeved black tunic top with blue trousers, unlike the vixen he was a being, running a hand through his dark brown head hair, which was spiked backwards and extended down to his shoulders. "I was his age on my first outing too."

"I know Siriso...but I can't help worry myself sick..." Alicia replied, clearly not feeling any better about the situation. "What if he gets seriously hurt...or worse...?"

"Hey..." the male wolf said, a reassuringly smile as he wrapped his arms around her in a gentle hug. "He's a good kid. He'll be fine. I've taught him all I could."

"I don't mean to sound rude, but when we're quite finished discussing how I'm going to die on my very first adventure, I'll be getting myself some breakfast." A younger-sounding voice suddenly said from the kitchen doorway. Standing there was another male white-furred wolf, dressed a tunic and trousers similar to Siriso. However, this one was younger and shorter than the older one, standing at 5' 8" like Alicia and at 14 years of age. The younger lupine sported hair that was somewhat similar to Siriso's, but was shorter and also had bangs of hair which cascaded over his forehead in a middle-parting fashion. The younger one also possessed similar fur markings to Alicia, in that the edge of his tail and ears had black furred instead of being all white.

"That's not what we meant, Gareeku." Siriso replied, disapproval clearly evident in both his tone of voice and facial expression. "We're just worried about you, that's all. This is your first adventure, after all."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Look, like you just said yourself, you've taught me everything you know, Dad." Gareeku replied, rolling his eyes as he walked over to the other side of the room, reaching into the cupboards to find something to eat. "Besides, I won't be the only one. There are a few others too."

"I may have taught you all I know, Gareeku...but there are some things you will encounter which I cannot teach you." Siriso explained with a sigh, sitting down with Alicia as Gareeku continued to get himself some breakfast. "Yes you will be helping people, but you will also encounter pain, suffering...and death."

"Yes, I know, you've said that plenty of times already Dad..." Gareeku replied with a sigh of his own. Having made his breakfast, the young wolf walked over and sat at the table with some toast and a variety of spreads.

"Yes, and I've said them plenty of time already for a reason." The older wolf replied with a stern voice and facial expression. "You need to be careful. Take it from me son; you will be the one dealing death yourself. You may think that it'll be a walk in park. If you continue to think that, you will be sadly mistaken."

To that, Gareeku didn't reply, choosing to remain quiet as he ate his breakfast. To him, he didn't know why his father was being so stern. Surely it wouldn't be that bad, right? It was going to be nice and simple; get to the town, meet up with the party, slay the evil murdering demon, easy. He hadn't been trained all these years by his father for nothing. He had always wanted to be an adventurer ever since he was small, just like his father. Now was the chance to try and prove himself, to put all his training to use in the best way he could.

A little while later, Gareeku was up in his room, getting his equipment and attire together. He was now dressed in a different outfit to before; a gi top and pants with a black belt, both dark blue in colour, together with a pair of black sandals and black fingerless gloves. Checking he had everything, the young wolf then grabbed his weapon; a short katana-like sword, before heading downstairs, fastening the weapon to the side of his waist as he did so.

"Now are you sure you have everything?" Siriso asked as he watched his son come down the stairs. "There's nothing worse than setting out on an adventure only to find you haven't got something which you may need."

"I've checked, rechecked and rechecked again, Dad. I've got everything." The young wolf replied. "I better be going, I don't want to be late. The town's a good half-day walk from here."

"Heh, well take care then, son. We'll be waiting for you to tell us all about it." His father said with a smile, giving the younger wolf a hug as he did so. It was then that a thought struck him, disappearing into another room for a minute or so, before returning with a sheathed katana in his hands. Seeing that Gareeku was about to protest against what he was about to do, Siriso raised his hand up to stop his son from speaking. "I'll hear none of it. I want you to take my sword as well. It will be more useful to you on your adventure than it will to me. I'm not going on one for a little while."

"Promise me you'll take care, hon." Alicia said as she then hugged her son tightly. It was evident that she was greatly worried about her son's first adventure. She was used to her husband going on adventures, but she knew that he was an experienced and extremely skilled warrior. Her son, on the other hand, had never been adventuring before, and only had what his father had taught him to go on.

"Don't worry, I will." Gareeku replied to his mother with a reassuring smile. "I'll be home soon. I need to start sometime."

"I know, son. We'll see you soon. Good luck." Alicia replied, giving the young lupine one last hug before letting him go off. Standing at the door of their home, Gareeku's parents watched the young wolf head off down the road to leave the village and set off on his first adventure. Watching his son head off, Siriso frowned. "You might just need it..."


Chapter 2
The town of Alovan was bigger than the quiet village of Lathun from which the young wolf had travelled from. Much bigger, in fact. The sun had long since passed its highest point in the sky, and was now slowly making its way towards the opposite horizon from which it had risen. Looking around as he entered the streets of the town, Gareeku looked from one side of the road to the other, observing the bustling crowds going about their business. It was hard to imagine what had been going on here; the reason why he had taken this "job" in the first place.

Tales of blood...murder...fear...rumours of vicious killings in Alovan had spread far and wide, and the village of Lathun was no exception. The young wolf's father had initially volunteered to take part in rising against these sinister killings, and whoever was behind it. There had been sights of a winged creature appearing in the shadows, before seemingly disappearing; a demon, no doubt. Gareeku had wanted to begin his adventuring career for some time now, and in his eyes this was as good as any opportunity to do so. Initially the young lupine had been met with some protest by his own father; mainly out of concern that his son might not be quite ready to take on an adventure just yet. However, after Gareeku had argued his case, Siriso gave in.

"Excuse me...can I help you...?" a voice suddenly said in front of the young wolf. Looking up, he found a blonde-haired female panda, who looked to be in her late-twenties, looking at him with a somewhat amused smile on her face.

"Oh...um...maybe..." Gareeku replied, somewhat embarrassed that he had been caught daydreaming. Reaching into the pouch that was attached to the black belt tied around his waist, the young wolf pulled out a leaflet which advertised for adventurers and bounty hunters to deal with this menace, promising a handsome reward if the threat was eliminated. Looking at the leaflet, the panda's eyebrows raised as she looked back at the wolf.

"Well you've certainly got guts, kid..." she commented with a slight smile on her face, though the tone of her voice gave away a slight concern. Looking down the street, she pointed to a distant building. "People who are signing up are meeting down there in that tavern. You'd better hurry if you want to join the party."

"Oh, ok. Thank you very much." Gareeku replied politely to the stranger, before dashing off down the street in the direction of the tavern.

Stepping inside, Gareeku's eyes had to adjust somewhat, due to the inside of the tavern being very dim-lighted compared with the much brighter light of the outside. Looking around, the young lupine found that the tavern was quite quiet. Only a handful of people were in the tavern from what he could tell; certainly no evidence of a group of adventurers. Gareeku had started to wonder whether he was even in the right tavern when he decided to ask the bar staff about it.

"Excuse me...is there a meeting being held here for adventurers who want to take part in stopping the killings?" the young wolf asked the bartender; a middle-aged feline. Looking at Gareeku, the feline raised an eyebrow, setting down the glass he was drying on the side of the bar.

"You lookin' to join the party, huh?" the bartender asked in a gravely voice. "You do realise this ain't no outin' for fresh meat..."

"I'm not 'fresh meat'..." the young wolf replied defiantly, staring the feline straight in the eye. "Now is there a meeting or not?"

"Why yes there is..." the bartender replied with a smirk on his face as he listened to the lupine give his own reply beforehand. "Alright then...follow me..."

Watching the bartender come out from behind the bar, Gareeku followed the feline through a door that was situated next to it, making his way up the stairs that the feline had just walked up. Finding himself now in a narrow corridor, the young wolf walked up to the bartender, who had stopped by a particular door and was knocking on it.

"Hey Tylan! I got another one for the party!" the feline bellowed loud enough so that whoever was in the room on the other side of the door could hear him.

"Alright...bring 'em in...." a voice coming from the room behind the door replied. Turning to Gareeku, the feline nodded his head in the direction of the door. "In you go, kid."

Opening the door, the young wolf stepped into a somewhat small room filled with people, who had all turned to look at the newcomer. Sat at a desk in the room was a male tiger, looking to be in his late 20s with long black head hair, falling down in a middle-parting style. It was easy to see the various swords, bows and other weapons which each person in the room possessed. After all, every one of them was an adventurer.

"So...you got a name? Or am I going to have to refer to you as 'kid' all the time?" the tiger asked with a raised eyebrow. Clearly he was in no mood for pleasantries, especially when there was business that had to be dealt with.

"My name is Gareeku..." the young wolf replied to Tylan, somewhat nervous around all these seemingly seasoned adventurers. "...Gareeku Manoko..."

"Heh...Manoko, huh?" Tylan replied with a smirk on his face, while the others in the room had expressions of curiosity on their faces, having heard of that name before what with it being well-known in adventuring circles. "Quite a heritage you got, kid. Hope you can live up to it. So what experience have you got in line of work?"

"Well...I...don't really have any experience..." the wolf replied, thinking that it was starting to sound more like a job interview than anything else. "...but I've received first hand training from my father and I know I'm ready."

"First lesson from me, Gareeku; you might have the necessary skills, but as far as actual battle experience goes, all the training in the world ain't gonna do shit." Tylan commented, his gaze not moving as he looked straight at Gareeku. "I hope you'll have your wits about you and be able to hold your own during this. I don't want your premature death on my conscience."

Having gotten his "greeting" out of the way, Tylan looked around at the others in the room, picking up the sheathed long sword that had been lying on the desk in front of him.

"As I was saying, we've seen that whatever is carrying out these killings is using stealth, speed, and the shadows. Therefore, in order to combat this, we'll have to get on the killer's level. We're going to set up a trap and ambush the killer using the exact same elements that the demon has been using to end these lives. It doesn't seem as though the demon is going for specific figures, but rather those who are on their own and when there's no one else around, so it'll make it easier to set up an ambush." Tylan explained to everyone else in the room, rising to his feet as he fastened the sheathed sword to the side of his waist. "This piece of shit isn't going to claim another life. The trap is going to set up in the town square. Let's get moving."

[Aisha deCabre]

Wow, it's a great chapter and a most awesome start, Gar! ^^  I definitely can't wait to see how this goes. 

[Yugo]

I like it! Awesome intro. I'm looking forward to reading more. 

[James StarRunner]

Awesome, it gives me something to work with now! Keep it coming!

[Paladin Sheppard]

MOOOAR I say MOOOOAR! Me likey Gar

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

I liked it so far. I'll reserve comment until I see the second part, though. ;-]

[Mao]

MOOOAR I say MOOOOAR! Me likey Gar

Indeed. POAST MOAR!  HURRY N' MAEK POAST!

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

... If you hurry the writer, you get crappy writing. I'd rather wait and enjoy the output.

[Gabi]

Oh, I hadn't seen this before! It looks quite interesting. I'll keep reading it.

Minor detail, but I like being told these things, so I do the same unless I'm asked not to: when you wrote "Siriso raised his hand up to stop his son for speaking", I think you meant "from" rather than "for".

It's good to see you write again.

[Gareeku]

And after a period of time which was much longer than I thought it was going to be, chapter 2 is up.

[Paladin Sheppard]

Heheh good stuff "Kid"



Awesome story Gar good to see the muse has returned!

[Aisha deCabre]

As I said on MSN, a most awesome continuation.   The characters and the setting are very well-done.  I can't wait for more! ^^

[Gabi]

Nice chapter. Tylan seems wise.