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"All I remember hearing was the sea. The openness and the calm could always be heard once the land was out of sight. I heard the sea but then the clamor of the port became louder and louder. Before long, I could feel the silent desperation of the town again. Which town? Which nation? Which continent? I neither knew nor cared. All I knew was that I had come from afar and that my family name was Aerenthal."
-The Journal of Aerenthal, Day 1.
Brothers!
Chapter 1: Each Pace is but a Feature
"I wandered to get to where I was and I continued to wander once I got there. The unfortunate side effect was that I had wandered into a slum not soon after leaving the boat and the calm sea. It was time to draw steel."
[Unbeknownst to Aerenthal, the "bandit" was not part of the local crime scene; he had been on the boat with Aerenthal and had followed him off. He was waiting for the perfect time to strike. Once it came, he ran at Aerenthal brandishing weapon and shield.]
[He quickly bashed Aerenthal with the shield, knocking him to the floor.]
Attacker: You!
[Aerenthal ignores the attacker's shout and scrambles for his sword. The attacker stops him from doing so, hitting him with the shield once more as he tried to get to his feet.]
Attacker: You...
[The attacker pins Aerenthal against the wall, clearly not intending on killing him...yet]
Attacker: So here we are, a world away from home.
[Aerenthal seems legitimately puzzled, he has no recollection of the man. He is pretending to entertain the mans notions until he can figure out a solution]
Attacker: Why aren't you saying anything? I would think that one such as you would never be at a loss for words. Do you not yet re--
[Before the attacker could finish Aerenthal manages to get enough space to draw his sword. A fight ensues and Aerenthal hacks the attacker to death.]
Aerenthal: [Aerenthal looks down at the corpse] Poor bastard...
"It was not until I walked away from the body that the face began to look familiar. Each pace brought about a feature I recognized. Where did I see him before? I drew a blank and finally turned around for good, leaving the body behind me. After that I was thirsty...I was off to the tavern."
Nice story, nice amount of pictures, and a reasonable length in the posts to keep me interested. Nice job all around, hope to see more action. :)
I havent ever read a Mount and Blade AAR, but ill read this one.
Thanks! I hope to update again soon. I picked a bad week to start because I have to finish the rough draft of my honors college thesis, revise my history department thesis and write another paper all in this week! I'll definitely update towards the end of the week though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nikolai II
I actually thought the short posts would annoy people, but I guess I'll keep them that way.
Thanks you. I hope I make it worth your time.Quote:
Originally Posted by Boris ze Spider
nice change after your last AAR ... count me in, & a nice intriguing start
Loki! How's it going? Thanks for following another one of my AARs! I too like the change. It is refreshing to be able to tell a story and have more control over the world and whatnot.Quote:
Originally Posted by loki100
Brothers!
Chapter 2: The Tavern
"And so I stumbled into the tavern hoping to find some answers or, at the very least, a drink..."
[A weary Aerenthal walked into the tavern, the roaring sound of the creaking floorboards seemed as though it would bring the shoddily constructed building down and would have alerted the patrons to Aerenthal's presence if the place wasn't so noisy and crowded.]
Before Aerenthal could even make it through the crowd and to the barkeep a belligerent drunk bumped into him.]
Belligerent Drunk: What are you looking at!?
Aerenthal: I'm not sure...some sort of animal clearly.
[The belligerent drunk retorted by drawing his sword; this was Aerenthal's second fight in minutes. This skirmish was significantly easier than the first. Aerenthal easily sidestepped the drunkards attack, disarmed him, and finally ran him through. At this point the attention of the crowd was on the body.]
Patron: He's dead! Njal is dead! [points at Aerenthal] This stranger killed him! Someone call the guards!
[Men from the crowd began to chase Aerenthal, who was already well ahead of them. However, some of the guards heard the ruckus and were coming his way.]
Guard: Halt! In the name of King Ragnar!
[Aerenthal managed to sneak away from the commotion.]
Aerenthal: *sigh* What now?
[Unbenknowst to Aerenthal, a stranger had seen him kill the drunk and flee from the guards.]
Merchant of Sargoth: What now? Come with me and I can tell you.
Aerenthal: [draws his sword] Who are you?
Merchant of Sargoth: A concerned merchant. Do you not trust me? I could have easily called the guards over and had you impaled like you did to poor Njal back there. Please, just come with me. I can offer you relative safety...at least for now.
[Aerenthal did not have a good feeling about the stranger, but in his calculations he saw no other choice.]
Aerenthal: Lead the way...
thats a bar to keep out of then ... but I like the way you're setting this up
Thanks. I was going to include the content that would be in the next update but, truthfully, I was exhausted from research/prolific essay writing so I just couldn't do it coherently. The tavern thing was easy enough to do so I just did that. Things will pick up soon story-wise (I hope).Quote:
Originally Posted by loki100
Did guards actually chas you, cuz that hasn't ever happened to me before.
No, I'm using "poetic license" with the game. Guards didn't chase because in the game they don't but in the story they did, the screenshots from the game exist as visual aids to the story (and the story is in turn partially influenced by what I decide to do (or not do) in the game. It can get complicated haha.Quote:
Originally Posted by Boris ze Spider
Thanks for reading/following!
Great start, and I love your use of imagination to turn the tide of the beginning merchant quest around.
If ever I write and ARR (Which I doubt I will do, I would proberbly have just skipped it hehe.)
Keep up the good work, i'll be watching out for future updates.
This is a very cool start! I like how you wrote it like a play. Overall, I was left waiting for what would happen next. Great job!
Thanks so much! I took a risk with it and I guess it payed off because people liked it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kamoba
Thanks! Writing it like a play makes it SOO much easier for me. I would be stuck and frustrated if I had to constantly keep doing dialog like "Aerenthal said "X." The belligerent drunk replied "Y." etc. It is difficult and boring for me.Quote:
Originally Posted by Knight Errant
I hope to update Thursday or Friday.
Brothers!
Chapter 3: The Merchant of Sargoth
"So there I was in an unknown land, in the house of a man whose intentions I had not the slightest idea. I could not have guessed all that would come from this meeting..."
[After a walk that seemed to last forever, Aerenthal and the mysterious merchant finally arrived a the merchant's home. The Merchant lit a fire and was the first to break the silence]
Merchant of Sargoth: You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you? I can see it. In all my years of traveling around Calradia I can sense when a man has suffered and you, my friend, have suffered.
Aerenthal: [Aggressively] Who are you? Why have you saved me?
Merchant of Sargoth: I am the Merchant of Sargoth. I sa--
Aerenthal: [Annoyed] You don't have a name?
Merchant of Sargoth: If I did, what would it mean to you, someone who is clearly an outsider and knows no one here anyway? A name only means something when it is connected to something else and you, for the time being, have nothing else in Calradia to connect to.
Aerenthal: ...Fine. Just tell me why you saved me. I assume that you want something in return? Do I even have a choice?
Merchant of Sargoth: Well, I won't force you to help me. I'll just say that if you decide to aid me I'll help you sneak out of the city unnoticed. If not, you can handle the guards on your own.
[Aerenthal considers his options and realizes that since he has no other options he has to help the Merchant. If nothing else, he could use the Merchant's help to get out of the city and then never come back.]
Aerenthal: What do you ask of me?
Merchant of Sargoth: Excellent! A brother of mine has been kidnapped by a group of filthy, greedy looters. All I ask is that you find my brother and return him to me safely.
Aerenthal: Do you know where they are?
Merchant of Sargoth: Ahh you have a warriors heart, asking where and never how many! They are scurrying somewhere around the outskirts of the city. You will not be able to take them alone, I suggest going to a nearby village and offering to recruit any young men there who seek to take up arms. There is a village nearby, Fenada, that you may want to try going to first.
[The Merchant hands Aerenthal a note stamped with a distinct seal.]
Merchant of Sargoth: Present this note to the village elder at Fenada. It will signify that you are working under my supervision. The peasants in this world will not work for just anyone. I just so happen to be more...well connected than other merchants and can get some recruits.
Aerenthal: And then what?
Merchant of Sargoth: Come back once you have enough men. You must come back at night. There is a place where I can sneak you back into the city and you can avoid the guards.
[The Merchant goes into detail about how to sneak back in.]
Merchant of Sargoth: Well, it will be morning soon and I really can't keep you here during the day. Ready or not, I have to escort you out of the city.
Aerenthal: Then let us go.
"The Merchant lead me out of the city. I began to look his crudely drawn map towards the backwater village of Fenada. I rode my horse along the road to the village but was unsure if I would stop there. Along the way I began to wonder: Had I met with a terrible fate like the Merchant said? Did it matter? Before long I stopped wondering about it. I wanted to know the Merchant's name...I wanted something in "Calradia" to connect to. Thus, I decided I would recruit men and help the Merchant. I had to root myself in this world.
you're doing a great job with the standard opening sequence, really well presented
Thank you!Quote:
Originally Posted by loki100
Very good job, i have always loved the opening of the game.
Thank you! Hopefully an update tonight.Quote:
Originally Posted by Boris ze Spider