The Adventures of Merls

[Merls The Sneaky]

Merls The Sneaky sat on the hill and watched the slew of adventurers leaving ascalon heading for lions arch. The King was trying to rally troops for the war against the char, but most smart people were moving on.

Merls had just returned from the wall, but things looked bleak. The initial char onslaught had started many fires in ascalons surrounding forests. There was no sign of any bears, Merls had so much wanted to tame a bear for his journey. Perhaps the bears had headed west aswell. It came as no surprise to merls, beyond the wall was a devestation none of natures forces had dared to abuse the earth with.

Merls got to his feet, picking up his bow. It was a nice longbow with good grips, a plague devourer, had it hanging over its tail, although it had a badly damaged bowstring. Merls had aquired another from traders in ascalon. Merls smiled, some things could still be relied on.

Merls attatched the new string to the bottom of the bow and placed the end on the ground. He expertly bent it over his knee and removed the old string whilst attatching the new one. It felt good, much tighter than his last bow, Merls knew it would pierce armor now.

"Help!....Please!.....No too many!" Said a voice from behind Merls.
Merls turned around, he saw a lone elementist initiate, and three rather healthy looking char. Things seemed to be in hand as a warrior was sprinting in, although if they didn't have backup soon there would be big trouble.

There was no way to go directly down there, the only path was back down was the mountain pass, and it was a throng of people heading in the oppisite direction. But with this hieght, and the new bow he might just be able to intervene from here.

Merls picked a rocky outcrop to get the combination of hieght and position. Pulling back on the bow he called out "Take the bugger to the north west". Merls summoned his strength and pulled back on the bow extra hard and aimed for the called target, he released, and missed. Merls cursed under his breath. This time he summoned all his concentration, this shot he knew would hit, and wouldn't be blocked.

The warrior and elementist had taken the first char down a peg or two, and it appeared things werent as dire as first was thought. Our elementist had some healing skill aswell.

Merls released his arrow, direct hit, the char swayed, looked around and dropped. The arrow had pierced through its armor. While the warrior and elementist finished off the second char, the third was making a run for it. If he escaped, he would bring others to stop the fleeing masses.

Merls, refocused his aim and fired. The arrow went straight through the char's hoof, a few seconds later the warrior and elementist were on top of him and he too was a fallen foe.


Want to find out what happens next? wait for the next instalment.

[Merls The Sneaky]

Xian followed the lonely road ahead. His tattered robe flapping gently in the breeze and his worn sandles dragging slightly. Far off in the opposite direction he could just make out the ruins of what had once been his home. The monastary where he grew up was destroyed, there was no sign of the monks that raised him. Trying not to dwell on all the memories of those who had once lived there, now he was on his own, determined to find out what had become of them.

"Where did they go?" He asked himself. The char were not known for taking prisoners, yet there had been no bodies to be found. The vineyards and orchards were all blackened stumps, where there had once been fields of ripe vines. Even the contemplation glade had been defiled, not knowing what to do Xian followed the road to Ascalon.

He knew the road was to Ascalon, brother Matzu had taken him there for elementist training, Matzu said it was his true calling even though Xian had become rather proficient with healing. The trainer in Ascalon had told him he had " A knack for the elements and would likely master the skills in half the time that it would take the average pupil"

The Brothers had raised him after his mother had become ill with a sickness the monks could not cure. She had held onto the last strings of life just long enough fto make sure that her son would be cared for and tutored by the monastery monks, her husband having died fighting for the freedom of ascalon in the guild wars almost a decade past. Life in the monastery had been quiet., the only monk Xian was permitted to talk was Matzu instructor in the devine arts. Matzu regularly made trips to Ascalon, to trade the fruits and soft velvet wines that only they had been known to produce, Often there had been times when Matsu had asked Xian to accompany him to help with setting up and running the store. Xian knew the road from these frequent trips and knew that the Great Northern wall would lead into Ascalon city silently cursing once more for the feelings of loss that had just accompanied those fond memories.

Xian was contemplating his situation when he heard a familar growling sound, it was unlike the growl of a dog, more gutural and deep. Xian ducked behind a tree, heart pounding he had heard the char on the other side of the wall before, but here it was broken down. Xian peered around the edge of the singed bark he spied a lone char as it sniffed the air and looked around. Futher north Xian had battled a lone char and won it wasn't easy but he had done it this one had spotted the gap in the wall. Xian knew that as soon as the rest of the char found out the wall was down here they would be coming with little in the way of resistance. He called on his elementist training not for the first time on this journey calling the ancient forces that slumbered within, Xian felt the power surge through his body, moments later flames started falling from the sky. The char roared in anger, Xian started throwing fireballs when he noticed two other char cresting the hill he turned and ran shouting for help in the vain hope that someone was nearby that could help him in this now perilous situation.