Adventurer's Correspondance School
The sun blazed in the bright blue sky, shinning through patches that the
green leaves hadn't covered. A slight breeze flowed through the branches
and leaves of the towering trees, sending creeks and whistles all through
the forest. We're almost there, we must be,thought a young man, his brow
knotting in concentration.
"This is hopeless," said another young man, slightly older than his
travelling companion.
"No it's not, the school has to be around here, somewhere," the first young
man replied. They travelled the trail in silence, battling their own inner
turmoil. The two young men had been travelling for days on the same trail,
and tempers were running short. They were in search of the famous
Adventurers Correspondence School. Rocksford, the younger of the two, had
convinced Terin, his slightly older friend, to come with him to the school.
Rocksford wanted to be a real adventurer, and to do that he needed an
diploma from the School (Besides, no good Hero could get through life
without one). He was a good fighter, and had a handsome face (which was
almost essential to life as a warrior Hero). He was tall, about 6'5", and
well built, he was unusually strong for his age. His most outstanding
feature, though, was his hair. It was a golden yellow, and seamed to glow
with an inner light. Terin was slightly older, being 18, but was smaller,
about 5'9", and not built to be a warrior, He was nimble and dexterous, and
quite intelligent. He had grown up as a thief, stealing food to feed his
mother. He had become very good, not many were better. He, like his
friend, had blond hair, but it wasn't the golden color of his friend's.
"Hey!" Rocksford shouted.
"What now?" Terin, who had fallen behind, grumbled as he tried to catch up
with Rocksford.
"The sign, we're finally here!" Rocksford said excitedly, barely
suppressing a joyful scream. Terin stopped to read the old, weatherworn,
faded oak sign.
It read Adventurer's Correspondence School signup, 1 mile or so.
"Well I'll be an Ogre's mother," Terin said, still staring at the
sign. "Come on, what are you waiting for, let's get moving," Rocksford told
Terin impatiently. They moved off quickly, eager to find the school.
After a short while they found a clearing, which was bathed in sunshine.
They stopped for a moment to admire the beauty of the area, but were off
quickly, hoping to find the school soon. They had gained only half of the
sunny glade when they heard a deafening roar! They both twirled to see what
had made the horrific noise, and there, standing where they had been only
moments before, stood a huge Ogre.
"Uh oh," Terin muttered while staring in awe at the monstrous beast only a
short distance away.
"Do...do you...have any weapons?" Rocksford asked, trying to contain his
fear.
"Only...Gulp!...a few daggers." Terin fearfully answered.
"Get ready to throw one," Rocksford told his friend as he gathered his
courage and drew his own weapon, a small shortsword. The Ogre snarled
viciously when it saw the human, only half his size, draw his tiny weapon.
The Ogre gripped its huge club and started towards its prey. With one swing
of its gigantic club the human who approached it would crumble in a heap of
broken bones.
"Now!" Rocksford shouted at his dagger wielding friend. Steel flashed and
thick green liquid oozed from the huge creatures side. The Ogre let out a
tremendous roar of pain and fury. Sword raised above his head, Rocksford
charged the distracted monster. The Ogre detected Rocksford's quick
movements too late, and his sword bit deep into its neck, severing the
spine. The Ogre disappeared in a puff of smoke, and all that was left was a
shining pendent of gold, inlaid with precious gems.
They both stood, wide eyed, staring at the space the gigantic Ogre had
been, only a moment before.
"We did it!" Rocksford screamed,"We killed an Ogre!" He excitedly scooped
up his prize, the gold medallion.
"Ya, but where did it go?" Terin asked, still staring at the place where,
only a moment ago, the beast had been. Rocksford was dumbstruck, and for a
moment could only look at his friend.
"I...I dunno," Rocksford said, stumbling over the words, and wracking his
brain to find a reason for the monsters disappearance.
"Rroaaarrrr!"
The two young men twirled around just in time to see another huge Ogre
disappear in a puff of smoke. They both stared at another gold medallion,
unable to comprehend what had happened. They were both completely unaware
of the approaching figure.
"Hello?" Said the stranger, now standing directly in front of them.
They both jumped back, startled, and almost tripped over each other.
"Who are you?" Rocksford blurted out, being to startled to think of
anything else.
"Crysanthia," she said, bowing slightly. She held a bow, with a quiver of
arrows strapped to her back. She was stunning beautiful, with dark black
hair, worn short, with deep brown eyes, which were magnetizing, and a light
complexion. She had an air of self confidence about her, and wasn't someone
to antagonize, for she was quick with her bow. Her body was well muscled,
with tight, sinewy muscles that identified her as someone with real
strength, but her body was also very womanly. "I'm Terin," Terin said,
introducing himself,"and this is my friend, Rocksford." Both young men
bowed, and for a moment there was an uneasy silence.
"So, what's a pretty girl like you doing all alone in the forest?"
Rocksford asked, trying to win her over with his charms.
"Well, I don't seem to be alone now, do I? And, if it's any of your
business, I'm on my way to the Adventurers School. My turn, where are you
going?" She asked, not moved by Rocksford's comment at all.
"We're on our way there, as well. Would you like to accompany us?"
Rocksford asked politely, hoping she would say yes.
"No." Rocksford's heart sank, he had not expected such a outright
declination. "But, I will allow you to accompany me, for your own sake."
Rocksford's face brightened visibly, and she smiled inward to herself.
"It was your kill, madam, so the amulet is yours." Terin said, being polite
as possible.
"No, you take it, I already have one." Crysanthia told him.
"I wonder why all the Ogres around here disappear when they die, and leave
behind these medallions." Rocksford said, examining his own prize.
"I don't know, maybe they're some kind of test, and the amulets are proof
that we passed this test." Crysanthia offered.
"Hmm, sounds reasonable. That's probably it." Rocksford said,
unconsciously staring at the beautiful Crysanthia. "Well, we should
probably get moving Miss Cr..."
"Call me Crysy," she interrupted him,"I mean, umm, sorry. My friend's
call me Crysy."
"OK, Crysy, let's get going." They found the trail through the meadow and
followed it into the woods, never talking, and all three thinking something
else.
They travelled on the trail for another 15 or more minutes, sometimes
having to hack brush from their way, or avoid a hole that had been dug in
the trail by some animal or another. They soon came to another, smaller,
clearing, only about 15 feet across, with a large tree in the center.
"Hey look at that tree," Crysy said, pointing at the tree in the clearing.
It had a large red box nailed to it.
"What's that?" Rocksford said, looking queerly at the box. They walked
cautiously toward it, and when they mutually decided it posed no threat,
walked to it so they could read the lettering that was scratched out on the
face of the box.
"What language is that?" Crysy and Terin asked in unison.
"It's Shepierian, I think." Rocksford told the others.
"Can you read it?" Crysy asked, astonished.
"I can't make any promises, but I can try. It says If you have made it this
far, who are a worthy fighter, but now, you must read this aloud, to prove
you are intelligent as well. If you can read this, the box will open."
Rocksford read aloud to his friends. Magic flashed, and two slots appeared
on the front of the box.
"Huh, what's going on?" Terin asked, feeling flustered.
"Hey, there's more writing now, and it's in common." Crysy said, " Put your
prize for a fight well fought here. It must be the amulets." She quickly
took off her medallion and stuck it in the slot. After a tense moment, a
single sheet of parchment slid out of the second slot. Crysy quickly caught
it, and looked it over carefully.
"Well?" Terin asked expectantly.
"It's, umm, some kind of form. It's title is Adventures Correspondence
School Beginners Form. What's that mean?"
"Here let me see it," Rocksford said. Crysy handed the form to Rocksford,
and after a minute he said,"The School isn't a place we go, it's just where
the books are written. This form is a signup type thing, so they'll send us
tests and books and stuff. We came all the way out here to get this form,
now we have to have the Mail Wyvern take it to this address," he pointed to
the address,"and then wait for a reply." After a moment of disappointed
silence he continued,"They give us tasks to perform, like learning a certain
spell, or killing a certain monster. Here you go, this is your's after all,
not mine," he said, handing the parchment to Crysy.
"So, I fill this out, send it to where ever this is, and that's that!"
Crysy said, practically yelling.
"Damn! I can't believe I let you drag me all the way out here for this!"
Terin yelled.
"It didn't take much persuasion, and watch your language, we're in the
presence of a lady," Rocksford put his amulet in the slot, and caught his
own form. "I don't know about you, but I'm doing this, whether it's at home
or in Merete!"
" 'Spose I may as well, since I'm here." Terin put his medallion in and
grabbed his own paper, crumpling it. "Well, I'm on my way then, good-bye!"
Terin started walking off into the forest.
"Wait, where are you going?" Rocksford asked, stunned.
"You didn't expect me to go back home, did you? I'm a thief, and that's
all I'll ever be. I can't survive as a thief in Tristram, now can I.
Good-bye, fair lady, and good-bye Rocksford." With that he abruptly turned
and disappeared into the woods. Rocksford just stared after him for a
moment, then turned to his beautiful, and now only, companion.
"Well, that was unexpected, but I should have known. I can't believe it,
we've been best friends since we were tiny babies. Well, whatever's best
for him." Rocksford shuttered, know that he would probably never see his
friend again.
"I'm sorry, it sounds like you two were very close. But look on the bright
side, you still have me," she said, trying to cheer her up. To her surprise
she felt two strong arms wrap around her and pick her off the ground, in a
smothering hug.
"Promise me you'll never leave me, please!" He said urgently, as if his
life depended on it,
"Of course, I'd love to stay with you, all my life, I am with you." She
replied, to his great relief. He slowly set her down, not quite willing to
let her go.
In the end, Rocksford and Crysanthia went back to Tristram, sent in their
forms, and passed with flying colors. They both became world renown Heroes,
going everywhere together. Terin travelled from town to town, building his
wealth a little bit more in every place he stopped. He eventually settled
down on the island of Merete and became the master of the Thieves Guild.
Now, you may be wondering if they every told about the school. They didn't,
it was part of The Agreement. All their grate deeds and fantastic feats of
daring and cunning have been lost through the passage of time, but all who
read this will know the real story, and the memory will live on.
This nice short story was written by QfG Kid, I in no way attempt to take credit for writing the story. This story is posted with QfG Kid's permission. I enjoyed it, I hope you did too.
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