Lore/Story Province's Meeting - Ocean Collection

Greetings, adventurers of all kinds!
My name is Katoshii, an ambitious writer and somewhat active player on WynnCraft where my main goal is to create writings that is enjoyable for both myself, the writer and you, the reader!

As I said in my latest addition to my Wynn Province collection going on, here is where I shall start the third and final collection of WynnCraft Quests
"A Province's Meeting".
This set of posts will be ONLY for quests dealing within the ocean that connects Gavel & Wynn.
So, without further distractions, here is Quest 1, Cluck Cluck!
(Color Key If This Is Your First Time Reading My Writings.)
(Quick Links)
Province's Tale - Wynn Province
Province's Journey - Gavel Province​

"Text" - Author Notes
"Text" - Author Notes (Additional Information)
"Text" - Dialogue Text
"Text" - Separation (Secondary Text)
"Text" - Action Text
"Text" - Separation (Secondary Action)
"Text" - Quest Title / Author Notes (End Of Quest)

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Act I - The Adventurer's Party

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Ocean - Quest 1 - Cluck Cluck

*The boat bobbed on the dark blue water of Nemract’s port, ships already seeming to have settled against the wooden pathways as sailors began to heave out large crates of trade goods from Llevigar. Two groups were both walking towards the bridge leading to their ship, The Crystal Flask, when they suddenly met each other at the start of the port bridge. The groups both took the other in, sensing how they were adventurers alike, and began to converse as they began to enter the ship.*


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*The main leader of a group, a woman with long silver hair and a spear strapped to her back, looked down at a short yet meaty man who she could barely see his eyes through his iron helmet. He gave a grunt as the ship began to move out of the dock and grumbled as he took off his helmet, letting the sun dance its rays off of his sweat and his dirty blonde hair.*


“I despise ships…”


“You and me both, knight.”


*The knight gave a chuckle and gave a sly grin at the woman, offering his hand as the ship began to sail more peacefully across the water.*


“Drato. Knight in training and a man of his word.”


*The woman arched an eyebrow but still gripped his hand with hers, giving it a firm shake and a grin of her own. She didn’t appreciate company most of the time, but thought of how this man could be worth of her time.*


“Sylvania. Warrior of courage and a woman of her loyalty.”


*Drato gave a taunting smile and gave a nod, looking out to the sea as Sylvania settled herself in a chair besides him and gazed out at the diminishing port of Nemract.*


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*Several dozen feet away, an assassin and a rogue made small talk, pleased with the company but not very grateful for the time being.*


“Relin. A pleasure….”


“Apria. The honor is mine….”


“Travelling towards the Rooster Island..?”


“Indeed...what a pathetic name.”


*Relin smirked and even allowed himself a laugh, catching Apria off guard. She was surprised that the man seemed to have a sense of humor and smiled in return, gazing off at the light blue sky.*


“Quite true. Well, what do you suppose that man would want?”


“That I do not know. To be frank, I wish not to know, I only wish for whatever this…”task” is supposed to accomplish, it can be resolved quickly. There are errands to run that have my name on them.”


*Relin rolled his eyes and gave a sarcastic yawn at Apria, who in return punched his shoulder. Relin smirked and continued to sharpen his daggers while Apria decided to take out an orange from her satchel and enjoy the trip and free time while she can.*


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*A female archer shot an arrow at an apple that sat atop a male hunter’s head. The arrow landed with a thud against the wooden panel above the man and apple juice began to seep through the puncture of the arrow’s mark. The hunter gave an approving nod and tossed a couple of emeralds in the air.*


“Kolt. The hunter so to say of our group. You are?”


*The woman caught the emeralds in her satchel and went over to the wooden panel, giving a heave at the arrow to free it which caused her to collapse to the ground. The man hurried over to her and looked down at her as she held the arrow sheepishly in her hand.*


“Flarena...It’s good to meet you.”


*Flarena gave a hiccup as Kolt offered her his hand, pulling her back up and away from the apple juice. He went to where the apple was and picked it up, tossing it up in the air; birds began to peck at the airborne fruit and Kolt smiled as the seeds fell to the ground in front of Flarena, who held a shocked expression on her face.*


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*A Mage caught the attention of a Dark Magician as he played around with a small flame of fire in his hand. He took a quick glance to the side and caught her eye; he offered a smile and she approached him, leaning against the wooden railing of the ship.*


“I see you’re joining us to Rooster Island. May I ask why?”


“...We have a contact there, Nohno. He asked us for our aid and we decided to seek him out.”


“Ah, same as us. Perhaps we received his call as a message of fate? Trention, by the way.”


“Perhaps….Orine, a pleasure.”



*Trention continued to experiment with his arcana while Orine went back to her own business. She hadn’t thought about this; this group of adventurers along with her own party. She couldn’t quite place her finger on it, but something tugged at her that this wasn’t just a plain coincidence…”


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*The ship docked at the Rooster Island, a small land mass that held a rudimentary barn and a cottage beside it. A farmer was frantically running around with a bucket of seeds in his hand as The Crystal Flask departed back to Nemract. The party creased their brows after the farmer finally acknowledged them after a few moments.*


“Oh! Didn’t see ya’ll there! Nohno, a pleasure fellows! Say, y'all wouldn’t mind help a fellow like me wouldn’t you?”


*Sylvania gave a scowl while Apria adjusted her gear. Trention, Orine, and Drato gave confused looks while Kolt, Flarena, and Relin crossed their arms with slight agitation.*


“Excellent! Well, there’s a real feisty chicken within my basement of the barn, Cluckles. The darn thing is a hazard to everything, so I lock him up there in hopes he’ll calm down. I’m sure y’all will be able to...treat him well.”


*The group raised their eyebrows in surprise at the man’s request. This human desired them to take care of a meek animal?! Sylvania and Drato, slightly cross from the voyage, headed towards the barn and opened the hatch leading to the basement. The rest of the group followed in suit as Nohno continued to rush about the area, chickens scattering in fright of him.*


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*The glow of Trention’s palm was the only light available to the group as they descended down the basement stairwell. Orine attempted to conjure her dark magic into another form of light, but the darkness consumed it as soon as it was made. Suddenly, an echo of a chicken’s running could be heard from the other side of the basement room. The group hastened into a run, Sylvania and Drato leading them as the duo both kicked a door open.*


*A lone chicken turned itself around to face them and gave a horrible squawk, the eyes of the chicken seeming to have gone completely black. It charged at the group and all eight members scattered around the room, encircling the chicken to be in the center of the room. It gave another squawk and charged at Apria, who held her shurikens in a defensive position. She threw one at the chicken’s legs and clipped the ankle of the right leg, causing the chicken to trip and tumble to the ground. Drato, seeing the opportunity, sheathed out his spear and sliced the chicken across the back, causing it to squawk a final scream and wither away in black ash. All that remained was one of the coppery feathers of Cluckles, floating several inches above the ground with an orange aura surrounding it. Flarena went over and collected the feather, turning to look at the group with a grim expression. No words were said as the party traversed back up the stairwell to talk to Nohno, slightly worried about what the farmer would say…*


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“You did what?!?!”


*Nohno’s face was a raging red when he heard the news of how Cluckles had to be slayed. He took several deep breathes and turned around to face the ship, spitting at the ground with both a mixture of anger and sorrow.*


“Leave this island...and for your own sake and mine, please never return. Keep the feather. Maybe it’ll remind you of what you have done.”


*Flarena, Orine, Kolt, and Trention were the only ones who gave a silent nod to Nohno. Apria, Drato, Sylvania, and Relin continued their silence as the party boarded back the ship to Nemract. The feather was within Flarena’s satchel and still seemed to provide a pulse of warmth as the ship began to set sail.*


*The group of adventurers hadn’t realized that this was just a test of their cooperation with one another. There were still errands to attend to from the multiple islands that dot the ocean connecting Wynn and Gavel. Still, these two groups of adventurers still had much to learn from these errands and from each other before they could be truly united as one main party of heroes.*


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Total Words For Quest 1 - 1482 Words
Thank You For Reading Quest 1, Cluck Cluck.
I Will Attempt To Write Quest Chapters Mostly On The Weekends For My Schedule.
Again, Thank You For Your Time!
From An Aspiring Author,
~Katoshii​

 

nice!
(didnt even read)

 

Alright, my last bit of writing that I'll actually post for this time period.
Thanks to all of you who take the time to read these Chapters I'm writing, it means quite a lot to me!!
So without any hesitation, here's Quest 3 of my Ocean collection, Sister City!
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Ocean - Quest 2 - Sister City

*The Crystal Flask sailed slowly through the waves as the large group of adventurers decided to get to know one another. Kolt threw apples into the air and Flarena attempted to shoot them down while Apria, Orine, Trention, and Sylvania discussed their plans for when they’ll reach Detlas. Relin and Drato continued their sleep in the shade of the ship as the sailing made them feel uncomfortable and nauseous.*


“Who are we supposed to meet again, Sylvania?”


“Some woman named Lil, Apria. Apparently, she has an urgent request for us and pleaded an audience with us.”


“Huh, seems like she’s desperate for something, probably something that’s not important.”


“Apria! That’s uncalled for! Surely it must be for something, or she wouldn’t have bothered!”


“Yeah, sure Orine, we’ll go with that idea.”


*The Crystal Flask docked at the port of Nemract and the group disembarked with a drowsy Drato and Relin. A caravan pulled by two white horses drove up to the group, the driver being a man in a green and tan overcoat with several colorful necklaces hanging across his neck and rings that matched the style.*


“Lady Lil has requested your transportation. Please, we shall make haste to Detlas as fast as I can.”


*Sylvania, Apria, and Orine entered the caravan while Kolt, Trention, and Flarena attempted to pull Drato and Relin towards the carriage. After several grueling minutes, the group was finally traveling down Nemract’s trail to Detlas. The driver whistled a tune while the group looked out the carriage’s windows, enjoying the calm stillness of the woods around them.*


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*A woman in a simple dress that touched her ankles stood impatiently beside the Hourglass Tower in Detlas, tapping her foot and glancing up at the hourglass with worry that time may be running out soon. She gasped as she saw her caravan strolling towards the main courtyard and waved her hand towards it,*


“Alfonse! Over here!”


*The caravan pulled up beside Lil and Flarena looked down at the woman, feeling slightly shy that this woman was such a prestigious figure to Detlas. She offered her hand and Lil shook it, glad that at least this adventurer knew the courtesy of manners.*


“Flarena Bolinia, it’s an honor to meet you.”


“Lil Atri, the honor is mine. Please, you must help me. The Hourglass is running low on sand. It is the essential fuel for the capital so that it wouldn’t fall ill to any monsters that may weaken it. There is another hourglass at an island, Selchar, that is a partner to Detlas’s trading contacts. Here, take my Selchar Pass, it’ll let you dock the V.S.S. Seaskipper, one of the fastest ships Nemract has.”


“I see...thank you.”


“No, thank you, for you are the first ones who have heard my plea in the past several days. Talk to the scroll merchant Breo, he’ll provide you a scroll to come back to Ragni. Now go!!”


*Flarena nodded and took the silver and green pass from Lil, the inscription of the card read,*


“This Card Grants Access To The V.S.S. Seaskipper Along With One Companion.”


*Underneath the card was a signature by the Nemract bank and dock with several branches and leaves detailing the edges. Alfonse whipped his reins and the horses neighed loudly, clomping down the pathway back to Nemract with Lady Lil waving her light pink handkerchief, hoping that they will be swift for Detlas’s own sake.*


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*The carriage halted beside the port of Nemract, the V.S.S. Seaskipper bobbed slightly as it was a marvelous ship of both structure and decoration as it held green and white sails. Banners and fabrics adorned the ship and Alfonse smiled as several flashbacks of stories and memories were pictured in his mind. The group stood at the docks and looked at the ship as it began to leave to Selchar,*


“Flarena, just go! Breo already gave you the scroll for Detlas, just get the sand back!”


“It’s not that simple Relin! What if something happens along the way? What if the sand’s not there? What if-”


“Oh, for the King’s sake, I’ll go with you Flarena, how about that?”


*Apria and Orine raised their eyebrows in surprise at Kolt’s suggestion, shrugging their shoulders as they looked to the group.*


“Well….yes, I suppose that’s a good idea.”


“Good, now let’s go!”


*Kolt grabbed Flarena’s wrist and ran to the Seaskipper, Flarena stumbling after him as the remaining members of the group piled back into the caravan and went back to Detlas, wondering what Selchar would be like.*


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*The V.S.S. Seaskipper seemed as if it flew over water to Flarena as the ship was already several miles away from Nemract’s docks. She held the card for several more seconds and pocketed it into her coat, feeling thankful that the captain allowed for her and Kolt to sail with them despite the restricted cargo of food and goods that the ship was carrying. Kolt was leaning over the railing that faced the way to Selchar and Flarena stood beside him, looking up the darkening night sky,*


“I wonder what Selchar looks like…”


“I heard that the sand there actually glows.”


“Really?!”


“Nope, just a guess.”


*Flarena scoffed and Kolt stifled a laugh, enjoying the company of Flarena for the first time since they met. He couldn’t understand it, but he felt like the people of this group had a cold persona; Flarena’s was more warmer, he thought. Looking back up across the horizon, both of them gasped at the wonderful awe Selchar was.*


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*The island was a grand mound that looked as if it had erupted from the Earth itself with two smaller ones around it, the hub island having a small port that escalated a stairwell towards the main part of the city. As the V.S.S. Seaskipper docked and dropped off the items, Flarena and Kolt ascended up the stairwell to the main plaza of Selchar. A fountain sprayed water at several small children that squealed with laughter while other adult villagers roamed around the plaza for their own businesses. An elaborately decorated bridge connected Selchar to a smaller island where the hourglass tower Lady Lil spoke about stood, the glass filled to the brim with the magical sand that protected the island.*


“Perhaps we should go over there? Maybe someone can help us.”


“Hmph, worth a shot.”


*The duo crossed the bridge that looked over the ocean and stepped onto the smaller island. Inside the tower, several villagers were organizing emeralds into compartments from previous events, placing blocks and bottles in ender chests that had cursive signatures and names drawn onto them. One of the bankers, a woman with curly brown hair and small spectacles, noticed the duo and approached them,*


“Welcome to Selchar! It seems you two are new, correct? May I ask why you have stopped by?”


“Lady Lil told us that Selchar’s Hourglass Tower held sand for Detlas? We were wondering if we could perhaps use some of it for Detlas’s hourglass?”


“Oh, certainly! Please, that hourglass is constantly making sand, it even leaks onto our counters!! There are several leather sacks in the glass itself that should be enough for Detlas.”


*Flarena smiled and Kolt gave a curt nod, already heading towards the ladder leading up the tower. Flarena quickly followed him and the banker shrugged her shoulders, going back to the stacks of emeralds that laid clustered across her counter.*


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*Kolt coughed against the gust of sand that fell over the duo as he opened the trapdoor leading into the hourglass itself. The banker was right, there was indeed multiple layers of sand around the hourglass with a much larger amount above them. Flarena and Kolt began to tie together sacks of sand together from where they stood and occasionally yelped when a small scorpion would dart across the hills of sand.*


“Hmph, I’m not surprised the sand is from Almuj, the desert is crawling with such disgusting creatures!”


*Flarena laughed and she didn’t realize that the glass around them echoed her laughter all across the island, causing some villagers to look up in the air with confusion. Finishing the last few sacks, Flarena took out the scroll from insider her satchel; the paper was tied with a dark green ribbon and even glowed with an aura of white that looked like the color of the moon. She played loosely with the ribbon’s bow and Kolt sighed, stepping towards her,*


“What’s wrong?”


“What if it doesn’t work?”


“Flarena, I’m sure the scroll works just fine.”


“Yeah, well, what if it doesn’t lead to Detlas?”


“Well, one way to find out.”


*Kolt snatched the scroll from Flarena’s hands and untied the ribbon. Flarena picked up the small sacks of sand around her and shrieked as the scroll began to erupt into a green and white light. Kolt’s and Flarena’s eyes widened as the scroll swirled a green smoke around them, teleporting them away from the tower with a shimmer of white sparks leaving in their wake.*


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*Lady Lil and the other adventurers rushed over to the front entrance of the Hourglass Tower where Kolt and Flarena stood, the sacks of sand still in their hands. Lil clapped her hands in glee while Flarena wobbled around the stone pathway, trying to figure out how to balance herself again. Drato patted Kolt on the shoulder and Kolt resisted the urge to stop Drato despite him actually being generous for the first time in a while.*


“Oh, the tower sand! My dearest regards, adventurers! You’ve saved this city’s precious Hourglass Tower! Please, take this and help yourselves!”


*Lady Lil pulled out from her coat sleeve a small piece of yellow parchment with her signature scribbled on it. Sylvania took the paper and stifled a screech of happiness from the amount of emeralds the parchment held. Apria and Orine openly talked about what tavern to stay in while Trention and Relin went to the bank to collect the emeralds Lady Lil wrote them. Flarena was still wobbling around, but gave Kolt one last smile before tripping on herself and landing against a bush. Kolt rolled his eyes and stood back up from the bench he sat in and went over to help Flarena, who continued to move around as if she hadn’t fallen down at all.*


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Word Count : 1731
Thanks for reading this Chapter! More will come soon in good time!!
Enjoy your day!
From an Aspiring Author,
~Katoshii​

 

This is probably the largest chapter I have done so far? I was very immersed into the atmosphere this quest offered!!
I know these chapters are bursting with reappearances all of a sudden, but I hope no one minds!
I really wanted to make these have an impact to a reader, so I hope I did my job well? Please, let me know!
Enjoy Quest 3 of my Ocean Collection, Craftmas Chaos! (Yes I know it's summer, don't judge >.<)
(I know this quest takes place in the Wynn Province, but it's mainly in the Ocean. ^.^)​

Ocean - Quest 3 - Craftmas Chaos

*The eight adventurer party decided that a trip to Selchar would be a nice change of pace for them. They had constantly been running around the Wynn Province doing favors for peasants and more royal folk, so a quick break from all the calls of adventure wouldn’t hurt them too much. There’s always an escape from it, isn’t it true? Well, these adventurers originally thought so…*


*A man in simple garbs and robes approached the group of adventurers, his clothing flapping against him as the strong breeze blew around the island. Sylvania and Flarena were the first ones to notice him, Flarena offering a smile while Sylvania giving a quick nod…*


“Greetings adventurers! It’s about time you came, I was almost worried you wouldn’t show. Oh who am I kidding, of course you would!”


*Sylvania raised one of her eyebrows, sensing that maybe this man was too old for this kind of conversation. She had always kept herself isolated from civil conversation. It wasn’t like Sylvania was displeased by the man, but she much rather would talk to someone who actually has a clear mind and conscious. Giving her head a small shake, she returned back to reality to see Flarena happily chatting to the man, her smile as radiant as the sand in the hourglass tower. Sylvania looked over her shoulder and saw the rest of the party of adventurers were still browsing the merchant stalls, oblivious to the man before her and Flarena.*


“Tell me, do you two believe in Santa?”


*Sylvania turned back around with a slightly bewildered look on her face. Santa? She had always thought the man was a myth, something to keep children’s mind busy with thoughts. Flarena on the other hand felt as if she could burst with excitement. Finally, someone who might actually believe in him!*


“Oh, most certainly yes! He always came by my village and dropped off multiple presents for my brother and I. Such a kind man!”


“My my, so you do believe in him! Might I ask for a favor? Santa hasn’t been to Selchar in the past thirty years and I have a sick feeling that this may lead to something dire. Could you look into it? These people deserve to have him back, it’s the least I can implore for Selchar.”


*Flarena glanced over her shoulder and saw Sylvania’s cold stare directed at the old man. Sylvania hadn’t realized it at first, but getting a closer look, this man was actually one of the elderly in Selchar. His grey hair was combed in a fine manner and a walking stick was behind his back. Her eyes darted to Flarena and she felt herself stiffen; Flarena’s eyes were full of hope and wonder. Sighing, Sylvania stepped forward to the two of them…*


“Very well, we shall see what we can do. Do you know where to point us?”


“Absolutely! There is an island filled with candy canes to the east of here. Perhaps you and your party could find a boat and sail out to there? Oh, where are my manners, my name is Tom! A pleasure to meet you two.”


*Flarena and Sylvania both knew that they couldn’t fit their eight member party in one simple boat. However, they still thanked Tom for the directions and went to collect the rest of their group. As they were heading towards the docks, Flarena tugged at Sylvania’s sleeve…*


“Why’d you give Tom such a harsh look, Sylvania?”


“None of your concern or business, Flarena. I was just taking precautions, that’s all.”


*Flarena gave a simple nod and went ahead to Apria and Drato. The duo looked as if they were in a heated conversation about whether or not this is a waste of their time. Drato simply refused to believe in such a legend while Apria believed it’s still worth looking into. Flarena attempted to pry Drato away from Apria while the party of adventurers were sailing east, but before they knew it, the red and white island was in their sights…*


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*A small cluster of buildings sat on top of the island with beautiful and festive decorations. There was snow on the ground and yet it wasn’t snowing at all, making Trention crease his brow in confusion. Something was certainly not right, but the party of adventurers were already walking down a stairwell leading into the mountain. As they walked, multiple strands of snow began to whirl around a spot on the ground. Relin was already reaching for his dagger when the snow gave a final shimmer and a large red and white clothed man dusted the snow off of him. All of the adventurer’s eyes went to this man and several of them, such as Flarena, Apria, and Trention, felt a sudden flood of joy wash over their minds. It was really him!*


“Ho ho ho! What do we have here? A small group of adventurers stumbling across my island? To what do I owe the pleasure?”


*Flarena felt like exploding with holiday cheer as Santa talked. She knew he was real all along!*


“Santa we could really use your help! Selchar hasn’t received any presents in the past thirty years and we want to change that. Do you know what to do?”


“Selchar? Ahh, I know of that town! Shame, however, that some magical barrier has surrounded the village. My reindeer wouldn’t stand the evil presence surrounding it....wait, maybe there is something you can do!”


*Santa turned around and with a snap of his fingers, the fireplace combusted into a fiery portal. The party of adventurers stared in disbelief at the thought of walking through fire, but Santa sensed this feeling and gave a dismissal wave at them.*


“It’s only a chimney, nothing bad will come out of it! This’ll send you back thirty years in the past when Selchar was free of the barrier. Maybe you can stop it from happening! But be careful, don’t try to change anything of the past. Who knows what will come out of it.”


*Santa’s figure then dissipated into the same snow swirl that brought him here, leaving the group alone in the room with the fireplace still roaring. Each member didn’t feel like stepping through the portal first, but a sudden gust of window from an open window launched them towards it. They screamed in both fright and excitement as one by one they toppled into the portal. After the last adventurer went through, the portal gave a final burst of red and green light and disappeared, the fire still crackling low as if nothing happened to it.*


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*As the portal reopened behind a building, it spewed out the adventurers in the same order as they ‘entered’. Sylvania gave a displeased grunt as she fell out last, the portal still twinkling at them. The portal gave another flurry of red and green light and dissolved away, leaving the adventurers stunned at where they were at now.*


*Selchar seemed to just have begun to resemble the form the party of adventurers were accustomed to. Villagers were still bustling around to do their own businesses and children were still playing near the fountain. The fountain was much more cleaner than the present one and Kolt and Flarena swore that the woman walking past them looked exactly like the one that was in charge of the Hourglass Tower when they went to collect sand for Detlas. A small boy them bumped into Relin and gave a small squeal as Relin swirled around to face the person. Apria quickly rushed over to soothe Relin from giving the boy a stern glare and Orine approached the small boy, kneeling down so that he wouldn’t have to stare directly up at her. The child was playing with Orine’s decorated robes, giggling as several puffs of magic poofed up at him...*


“This is so pretty! Oh, I wish Wendy could come look at this too, but I don’t know where she went? She’s so good at hide and seek! My name’s Tommy, who are you? Do you wanna play hide and seek with us?”


“I'm Orine, little one. I’m not here to play hide and seek, but, I think you can still help me. Do you know anything about a magical barrier?”


“Barrier? Umm...no, not really. Sorry! But, I think I can still help! There was some people with scary black robes like yours, but they were actually scary looking! They spoke of crystals and other magic stuff, saying something about summoning? I don’t like that one bit. I tried to see where they were going once, but I stepped on a twig and had to run away. They went underneath the island and into a cave which my father calls the ‘Heart Of Selchar’. Maybe you can find them there still! I’ve got to go find Wendy, but there’s a stairwell somewhere that’ll lead you into the cave! Bye bye!”


*Tommy turned around and dashed towards the bank, calling out Wendy’s name as he ran. Orine straightened back up and sighed softly, missing her own childhood. Granted, she rarely had one. She was always learning from some old tome or practicing dark magic with her trainer back in Fruma. Orine didn’t gave it much thought, but now she realized how much of a child she rarely ever resembled…*


“Hey Orine, you alright?”


*Orine gave a surprised gasp and spun around, facing Trention. The mage gave a nod of his head at the other adventurers who were still roaming around Selchar. They didn’t mind that they were still here, but Trention had a look of slight worry across his face…*


“You found out anything from that kid?”


“As a matter of fact, yes, yes I did!”


*Orine gave a soft laugh and skipped her way towards a staircase beside a cliff to their right. Trention nearly felt his jaw drop right to the ground. Orine? Skipping?! He hadn’t thought he would see such a sight, but I guess this was the ‘magic’ of the holiday season. Trention sighed and rushed after Orine, waving at the other adventurers to follow them…*


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*As the party walked inside of the cave, the happy and magical feeling they experienced was drained quickly and ruthlessly from them. From the barely lit torches carried by Apria and Kolt, the cave was pitch black. Orine didn’t understand why Tommy spoke of this as a ‘heart’, but didn’t bother to question it as the group stepped right into a large and open room. A small curved relic sat on top of a pedestal in the middle of the room. When all of the adventurers were halfway between their entrance and the pedestal, a low rumbling groaned all around them and the entrance crumbled into a rock barrier. Sensing trouble, Sylvania, Relin, Trention, and Drato drew out their weapons while Flarena and Orine stayed close to Apria and Kolt. A voice resonated to them from the other side of the pedestal…*


“So, it seems we have a pesky rat here? Hah, I shall dispose of you with this relic of mine!”


*The relic gave a bright glow of black and purple glitter and sent a strike of lightning at the group. It collided several feet in front of them and the cave sent down several rocks in a free fall. The party of adventurers fanned out across the cave and Sylvania yelled out to them…*


“The relic! Destroy it!”


*Sylvania charged towards the relic and ducked gracefully as another blast of lightning was sent flying towards her. Trention ran towards Relin who was leaning against a wall, his hand barely able to contain the blood that dripped on to the ground. Chanting a few words, the wound began to slowly mend itself back to skin, earning Trention a scoff of a laugh from Relin. Trention gave a modest wink at Relin as a sharp scream echoed across the cave. Apria felt the singe of the lightning slice through her sleeve and the fabric was caught on fire. She desperately tried to fan the flame away but Drato gripped her arm and slashed away the burning piece of cloth off of her. He stomped it into ashes and gave a roll of his eyes with a small mischievous grin as Apria stared at him in shock. Before she could give a whine of protest, Sylvania finally reached the pedestal where the relic stood and smashed the dull relic with her spear…*


*The relic cracked and gave a final purple pulse before shattering into multiple pieces. Almost all of these pieces puffed into black smoke before hitting the ground, but Kolt shoved Flarena towards one, causing her to suddenly trip and catch it with her hands. The small piece still gave a pulse of purple light, but was very faint as if it could give out at any moment. The voice groaned in agony as he felt the pieces drop to the ground…*


“Uaaghh!! Alright, you win! Keep that pathetic piece, I don’t need it anyways! You’ll see soon adventurers the consequences for your actions.”


*The voice gave a final maniacal laugh before slowly fading away, a portal at the other side of the room opening. This one was dark red and black and grew larger and larger as the adventurers stepped towards it. All of a sudden, the portal gave a burst of red light and appeared at the adventurer’s feet, causing them to fall into the portal. Their screams echoed throughout the cave as the portal swallowed them up, the torches still burning as the portal disappeared with a sudden spark of black magic.


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*The red and black portal appeared in front of a grizzled old man who gave a surprised gasp. As the adventurers poured out of the portal, the old man gave a sigh of relief and hobbled over to them. He wasn’t surprised at the looks of horror and fear that shown on their young faces. All around him, flames, ashes, and blood red crystals filled the once beautiful island. Replacing them were large and pointy ended towers that were carved with black and red runes. The towers emitted an aura that felt both devilish and sinister to Tom, an instant he knew would scar him for the rest of his life...*


“Adventurers! Oh, what a welcome sight you all are! I had thought I would meet my end before seeing you again.”


*Sylvania still gripped her spear with fierce determination before speaking to the old man. She wasn’t taking any chances - whatever caused this was surely intending on sending doom to those unsuspecting of it. She wouldn’t allow that to happen to them.*


“Who are you, elder?”


“Me? It’s Tom! I met that lovely lady over there when I was just a mere ten years old!”


*Orine felt as if the wind inside of her was brutally punched out. Tom? She had thought the boy would forget about her! Orine tugged at her robes in a sheepish way, slightly taken aback from the boy’s memory. She tried to conceal her surprise, but glancing to her left, she saw Apria’s look of disbelief.*


“In any case, what you see around you wasn’t caused by any magical user. It was from Santa himself! He appeared before us with a look of pure evil and dark red eyes as he sent his elves down upon us. Buildings burned and people died in front of me as I ran away from those crystallized demons. Why didn’t I leave? This is my home! I refuse to let it fall into any more despair than it already has experienced. Please, adventurers, go to the cave from where you once went and slay Santa. Bring me a piece of cloth from him and I might be able to send you al-”


*Flarena began to cry softly to herself and Tom felt a guild of sorrow fill him. He hadn’t meant to be so dramatic, but it seemed that the young girl has a sensitive heart. The woman who spoke to him walked over to the younger girl and gave a tight hug to her, slowly patting her hair as the girl cried in her shoulders. The male archer of their group looked behind him and saw the still intact stairwell leading into the cave. Turning back around, he gave a simple nod to Tom...*


“Very well, we shall deal with this at once.”


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*The party of adventurers delved down the same path they took when they were searching for the group of people Orine was told about. Upon entering the same room, a large man in dark red and black clothing turned around to face them. His face was scarred and had crystals jutting out of his flesh, making him look as if he had been a creature growing in this horrendous environment…*


“Ho ho ho! Well, I suppose you won’t be receiving any presents this Christmas for this act of intrusion!”


*When he finished speaking, a cluster of elves bounced around him and flew towards the adventurers. Sylvania rushed forward with her spear and swung at an elf, sending him tumbling into the cave floor with a burst of red smoke. Drato and Kolt busied themselves with a pair of elves with candy cane swords and Apria and Orine struggled to dodge the blasts of red magic sent by a cluster of elf mages. Relin looked behind him as he dug his dagger into an elf and saw Flarena standing still in the middle of the cave, her eyes lost in thought as she stared at ‘Santa’. He shook his head and ran towards her before suddenly stumbling to the ground. A band of red and black magic tightened around his feet and ‘Santa’ stood in front of him, a black sword in his hand as the crystals in his face reflected the fear in Relin’s face.*


“Merry christmas, pathet-”


*His voice was cut short by an arrow that pierced through his neck. Black ooze gushed out of the wound and ‘Santa’ crumbled to the ground, the magic surrounding Relin’s feet fading. All eyes went to Flarena’s stance with her bow, a face filled with fear and meekness was replaced with grim determination and focus. She stepped forward to ‘Santa’ and tore a piece of his coat off from his sleeve. ‘Santa’ gave a final glare of anger at Flarena but was subtly shocked that the girl stared back at him, her own eyes burning with a fire of hatred. As the man disappeared, the elves felt their weapons vanish from their grasps and were suddenly exploding in red clouds of smoke. Flarena felt a shiver run through her body and she gripped the fabric with more intensity, willing herself to regain her normal self. Apria took a step towards Flarena, but she shook her head slowly…*


“I’m okay. Please...let’s just go.”


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*Tom’s face was a mixture of relief and gloom as he saw the young girl holding the red cloth in her hands. When the girl placed the cloth in his hands, Tom looked up at her and his eyes shined with a tiny sense of pride.*


“I can not believe this. After twenty years, his torture has finally come to a close. I will tell the other cities of your acts of heroism, adventurers, but it won’t be any good for me. It seems that fairy tales could be true…”


*As Tom spoke, the Hourglass Tower gave a sharp sound as if glass had cracked. The party of adventurers looked up at shock as the tower’s sand glistened softly and the glass capsule turned back into a silver shade instead of dark red. Tom’s eyes widened and he tucked the fabric into his pocket, turning back to the adventurers…*


“That is your escape. Go and return home, you don’t want to live here in such a-”


“But what about you?!”


*Orine’s voice cut through Tom and he sighed softly, taking the young magician’s hands in his as the old man looked up at her. Several tears were streaming down Orine’s face and she wanted to wipe them away, but the man’s grip on her hands was fierce.*


“I will be fine. Please, just go. You still have a life to live. Mine is nearly up, but I will always remember the conversation we had, magician.”


*Tom dropped his grip on Orine’s hands and pointed to the Hourglass Tower. The windows were struggling to retain their normal composure and were slowly being replaced by the same red coating.*


“Now go before it’s too late!!”


*The adventurers stumbled into a mad dash towards the tower, the bridge connecting the main island to the bank was filled with the same red crystals that were imbedded into ‘Santa’. As they approached the bank’s entrance, a silver portal opened before them, snow whirling out to them. The party jumped through the portal and Orine gave a final look back at Tom, his old face giving her a small smile. Orine gave a nod and her own small grin before jumping through, the portal closing and the tower’s windows returning to the same red as they once were.*


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*The portal opened back in the room that held the fireplace and all the adventurers were thrown out at the same time. They groaned in pain at the portal’s abrupt disposal and Santa opened the door to find them like that. He gave a boom of laughter and settled the plate of cookies and glass of milk in his hands on a table near him.*


“Well adventurers, it seems you have done quite the adventuring today? Today marked the thirtieth year which I would’ve sent Selchar presents. All thanks to you! They hadn’t thought anything different, but we’ll keep that to ourselves shall we?”


*Flarena gave a sharp squeal of joy and Drato brought his hands to his ears to muffle the sound, earning another spark of laughter from Trention. Sylvania gave a playful shove at Relin’s shoulders and the assassin rolled his eyes, his scarf concealing the smile he had. Apria and Orine hugged each other and Kolt gave a simple nod, content that they had done a successful job. Santa waved his hand up in the air and the relic fragment that was in Flarena’s tunic floated in the air towards Santa…*


“I’ll keep this for now and store it somewhere that won’t cause us anymore ruckus. I’m sure you know not to tell anyone of what has happened for the future can always be dangerous with whatever it may throw at you. This won’t be the last time you’ll face such works, adventurers, but I still believe you earned a reward.”


*With a clap of his hands, several pouches of emerald cubes were floating in front of the adventurers, each one with their own name on it. The pouches opened and the emerald cubes flew to each of their satchels, filling the space with the cubes and earning from the party shouts and cries of happiness.*


“Consider this an early Christmas present. Oh, I almost forgot, someone should be stopping by any moment-”


*A knock at the door caused Santa to jump in surprise and as he swung the door open, a man in gray robes and garbs entered the room. He barely had enough time to look around at the adventurers before a woman in black robes gave him a hug, her laughter buried into his clothing.*


“Tom!! Oh bless the magics, it really is you!”


“Umm, I suppose it is…?”


*Orine couldn’t contain the happiness that exploded out of her. She had thought that what they all had done would be for nothing, but it seemed she was corrected. Drato eyed a branch tied with mistletoe on it and reached out for it, but his hand was struck down by Flarena. She gave him a displeased frown and Drato rolled his eyes, annoyed that he couldn’t have just an ounce of fun.*


*Santa gave a bellowing laugh and with a wave of his hand sent the adventurers away in puffs of snow. As they disappeared, he gave a wink to Sylvania and earned him a wink back, the snow covering her figure and sending her away. Santa had always thought everyone deserved some holiday spirit and he was content that he could do just that. Taking a cookie from the plate, he dipped it in milk and bit into it, relishing the moment as the fireplace continued to crackle happily. Santa knew that the next day would bring memories of happiness to villagers all across the provinces, but he was even more glad knowing that he brought much more to a party of eight adventurers.*


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Word Count : 4119 (O.O)
What a journey it was to write this! I think this was the most work I've put ever in one of thee writings.
I still hope you enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to more!
I try to catch up as often as I can, so I hope this makes up for everything I've not done over my month and a half break.
Happy Adventuring Wynncraftians!!
From an Aspiring Author,
~Katoshii​

 

It seems a bit excessive to have a party of eight on these simple quests, it's almost comical, and very difficult to remember who everyone is. Still, it's very well written, well done.

 

Y'know Kato, I think this might be your best writing piece yet! The detail was there and the emotional connection I had with each character exploded! You put SO much development in with this chapter that it's almost overflowing!

I advise you to please not do this every chapter, my heart went for an emotional rollercoaster with Orine and Flarena especially... With 'Santa' and Flarena and then Tom and Orine... I must have been reading a while, mg eyes are beginning to sweat. WHEW!! :P

But no in my honest opinion I thought this was very well done. It sounds like you put a good amount of time into planning this out and having fun with it. THAT'S what makes you so good, keep up the excellence! XD

 

I see what you mean!! I meant this to be a reading after you read my two other projects, A Province's Journey & A Province's Tale. I'm sorry if this isn't the most organized reading you've read before, I'm still learning! I'm glad you enjoy the writings however :)

I'm always flattered by your compliments!! I try to put as much strength as I can into writings these chapters, both for emotion and for enjoyment. I'm glad to see that my patience has been paying off and people are enjoying them to their full potential :D

 

Really nice work