a short one

[Auteur]

The fire gently lit the room, cloaking the corners in darkness and warming the chair where the old man sat. The soft heat eased the aches in his bones and comforted him on a lonely night. Outside the rain pattered on the leaves of the trees and the jingle of a harness announced his visitor.

A blast of cold, wet air stole into the room as Donnel entered. The old man shook his head and pulled the blanket tighter around his thin frame.

"'Ello, Uncle." Donnel muttered as he pulled his cloak from his shoulders and hung it on one of the empty wooden pegs by the door. Catching his uncle's mood he bobbed his head towards the door. "Sorry about that, you want me to heat some water for tea?"

"No, no, no, not your fault. This weather just makes me ache." Donnel settled into the only other chair in the room, a rickety wooden thing, as his uncle continued. "I wish it would clear, but wishing does no good. How's your father?"

"Fine. He sends his greetings." The young man shifted to dig through the pouch on his hip. "And this." He pulled out a small package and gently handed it to the old man. "It's a bit wet, but shouldn't be the worse for wear."

The old man took the package from his nephew and gingerly undid the bindings that held the wrappings in place. A ghostly smile played across his face. "And here I thought he'd forgotten." He pulled away the last bit of damp cloth sat silently, huddled over the small silver locket in his hands. It gleamed in the light of the fire and reflected light played across the ceiling. The old man brought his hand up to stifle a cough and the blanket slid from his shoulders. "Boy, why did you never go find yourself a locket like this?"

"Uncle, I'm far from a boy. I have a wife, and children. Hell, my youngest is almost old enough to be a man now." Donnel grinned "He's a spry one too. I caught him trying to kill the scarecrow with a stick the other day. He told me it was a bandit." He shook his head as he chuckled. "I told him he might want to find another target for his beatings, that poor scare crow had it's stuffing coming out everywhere. I made him spend the rest of the afternoon putting it back together."

Donnel's uncle hitched the blanket back up and smiled at him. "He's a good boy, you shouldn't make him spend his days working."

"Maybe if I did, I'd be able to go find myself a locket like that one, but I don't think Shem could do work like that."

"Bah, of course not." The old man dismissed the town black smith. "He's like a farmer when you need a dancer. Good man, but no sense of subtlety or beauty." He gazed into the fire. "No, no sense of beauty. Ask your father about the time Shem broke the Duchess' tiara. The duke nearly killed himself laughing." The old man shook his head. "We were all much younger then..."


Ok, I've run out of time, that's all for now

[lochinvar]

Very nice start! I'm impressed.

[Sabresque]

Wow, very well done.

[Auteur]

is there anywhere that you would like to see this go? or any ideas that were conjured in your head about the story line as you read this? I just kind of set my fingers to the keys and let the words spill out. I'd like to continue, but I don't know where to go with it.

Suggestions please!

[Rayen]

I guess it all depends on where you WANT to go with it, Auteur. Do you want this to be a part of the Arconia thread that is popular here, or are you starting a new one? Either way, have fun with it! <img src="graemlins/jester.gif" border="0" alt="[Jester]" />

~*~Lady Rayen Montella!~*~

[Iwant2bafencer]

I with Lady Rayen (Nice name btb). Where do YOU feel like it should go. think up a few basics, and then if you want any help feel free to ask. You can pm me if you'd like as well.
Lady Rosaline
Head of Arconian Military

-------------------
Carpe Diem

[Fencing Angel]

You're the writer here.. Your story, your job, and it looks like you're haveing Fun with it..
its really a good story and you have left it open for more..

Just my two cents on the matter..

<img src="graemlins/jawa.gif" border="0" alt="[Jawa]" />

[Moonitic]

::ahem:: I know of a certain writer's group that is hosting a writing competition. Open theme, except for violence, language & sexual content. $1 entry. Submit up to three. 1, 500 word limit.

Great prizes include publication (& a possible anthology), non fiction & fiction books donated by other talented authors, a web design package & more.

Oh yeah, I know about it because I'm the owner of the group.

<a href="http://www.marygibbs.com/writingcontest.htm" target="_blank">www.marygibbs.com/writingcontest.htm</a>

It's open to all members of Writer's Arena. I'd say everyone on this board has a decent shot at winning (except for two of us...& we know who we are).

[Fencing Angel]

ahh yes the Holiday open.. Hehe.. interesing choice of a title.. oh well it comes from being a fencer doesn't it??

[Moonitic]

Ok, so you guessed why I called it what I did...lol

Hey, if I can't participate in fencing opens, I might as well host my own!

[Fencing Angel]

thats right.. The Duel of the Words eh?? hehe...

well if you can't go to a open.. bring the open to you. you got this figured out real well don't ya..

[Rayen]

Duel of words? Not so much fun as a duel of blades, but slightly more descriptive.

[Iwant2bafencer]

the Battle of the arts. That suits just fine. You could have it be anything from writing to painting to hey what do ya know Fencing! hehe

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Carpe Diem

[Swordsman]

Too bad those old threads got buried or deleted with the forum switch...I had an awesome duel of words with Space_cadet shortly after the founding of Arconia. Man, Ledge was still alive back then! Never imagined I'd find myself reminiscing about Arconia...

[Fencing Angel]

happens to the very best of us man.. hard to belilve but arconia has been around for almost 2 years now.. *note the almost*

and ya know what?? i think that it'll stay about for as long as there are people writeing fantasy......

<img src="graemlins/fett.gif" border="0" alt="[The Fett]" />

[Swordsman]

What? It's barely been around nine months!

[Fencing Angel]

ok.. ok.. You're right.. My Bad. Anyways.. Lets get back the story..

[ 12-30-2001: Message edited by: Fencing Angel ]</p>

[Auteur]

ok, i was on vacation, so I return with quill and parchment... or keyboard and screen, but that is SO much more boring.


Shem was sick.

Not with a cold, or with the flu, or anything that could be cured by his wife's foul tasting concoctions. No, Shem was sick because he had been told to do the impossible, and he had said he could.

The tiara sat on his work bench, it's delicate silver strands and fine jewels looked out of place next to his crude tools and the rough hewn furniture of his forge. The fire was banked, but sweat still beaded on his brow as Shem stared intently at the empty jewel socket. The tiny saphire was in the same velvet pouch the duchess had given it to him in, tucked away in one of the rows of cubby holes he used to store the smaller pieces of scrap iron he used to repair wheel rims, plows and any of the hundreds of things the local farmers brought to him.

Shem felt the sweat on his forehead. Felt it bead up and slowly roll down his face. He wanted to wipe it away, needed to, but he couldn't take his eyes off that tiny hole where the saphire went. It was barely noticeable, but the duchess wasn't known for overlooking things. She had come rolling into town last week, cocooned in a ridiculous dress in the back of a fantastic carriage.

***********

"Master Shem, you are the town blacksmith are you not?"

"Yes Ma'rm, I am." Shem nearly grovelled in his workshop. He had never in all his 30 years been this close to the nobility.

"And you do work with metals, do you not?"

"Yes, Ma'rm, all kinds." He stammered, bobbing his head with each word. What could she want with him he wondered to himself? The duke usually just sent a messenger with whatever needed fixing and then sent the same messenger to pick it up and pay when he was done. And now here was his lady wife, in all her finery standing before him, asking questions he could barely find the words to answer.

"Excellent, then you will be able to fix this." She gestured and the coach driver stepped forward and handed shem a large bag. He took it with nearly shaking hands and cradled it gently in his palms, terrified he would break whatever might be inside. It felt fragile, whatever it was.

"Of course, I'll certainly do my best for your worship." He barely got the words out of his mouth. His tongue felt like it was stuck to the roof, it was so dry.

"Very good, I shall return in a week to collect it. I assume a gold Kroner will be sufficient?" Shem nearly dropped the bag. He had only been planning to charge a few silvers, and now she offered him an entire gold coin!

"Ummmm, that might be a bit, ummm, high..." He desperately tried to wet his mouth.

"Nonsense, for good work a little more is well worth it." And with that she spun on her heal and seemed to skim out of his shop and into her carriage. As soon as the driver had scrambled up onto his seat he released the break and urged the horses forward, leaving Shem standing in the large, open barn doors of his forge letting go of the breath he didn't even realize he'd been holding.

When he could finally breath again, he went back to his bench and gently undid the strings that held the bag shut. Inside he found the little velvet bag and the tiara that now sat in front of him. A small groan escaped from his white lips as he felt his stomach jump into his throat. What had he gotten himself into?

ok, once again, back to work... I'll try to pick this up again. Sooner than the last time, perhaps even this afternoon.

[ 01-02-2002: Message edited by: Auteur ]</p>

[Swordsman]

Alright, I'm liking this. I just want to know, do you have any intention of throwing in with Arconia? If so, I've got a character I'm thinking of introducing who might work well with you.

[Auteur]

I must admit to a lack of knowlege in regards to Arconia. I've tried to read the threads, but I was not present for the commencement and so I often find myself lost in the threads of the stories. I suppose if you'd like to introduce a character here I'd have no problem with it, simply pm me the details so that i can see how you would do it.