Skip to main content

Vagrant


CHAPTER 1
         The Vagrant         

         The tavern was mostly empty.  Not unusual for the early afternoon.  Most men were working the fields, dreaming of a few short hours from now, when they would be able to end their day with a mug of the finest ale in all the town of Rookwood.  But Van was making his dream come true.  Sitting at the bar, he finished off his third mug.  There was no work for him today.  Truth be told, there had been no work for him for quite a few days.  
“Another?” he heard Cecily ask.  
Van looked up from his mug then.  He had been daydreaming; but no dream could be lovelier than Cecily.  He had known the young barmaid all his life, and she had never ceased to impress him with her beauty.  Her red hair always unkempt and loose, while her green eyes probed into him searching; always searching.  
“Indeed, my lady,” Van replied with a smile.
“Will you be able to pay for this one?” Cecily teased.
“Have I not paid for the last three?” Van asked genuinely.
“You have.  But I’ve seen you in here everyday for a week now.  I assume the well of gold must run dry at some point,” Cecily said.
“Yes,” Van said wryly.  “Being a hunter is much harder than it seems.  In case you ever think of changing jobs, it is not something you can pick up in a few days.  Perhaps I should have learned a trade, eh?”
“You mean something other than fancy swordplay and drinking yourself into oblivion?” Cecily asked sardonically.
“You must admit,” Van smiled.  “I am very good at both.”
“You are,” Cecily smiled coyly.
“Tell me Cecily,” Van leaned in.  “Why is it we never got married?”
Cecily stopped smiling then.  She picked herself up off the bar, backing away from Van.  “You’re drunk.”
“Not yet,” Van reassured.  “However, I am getting there.  Which is perfect.  I’m honest when I’m drunk.”
“Meaning you are not honest at any other time?” Cecily asked genuinely.
Now it was Van’s turn to sober.  He backed away from the bar and absently picked up his mug, bringing it to his lips.   It was empty.  Cecily had not brought him another ale.
“What was so hard about being a hunter?” Cecily asked.
“Shooting, mostly.  Tracking actually wasn’t so bad, although stalking a beast was remarkably difficult.  Especially if you’re not light on your feet.  But it was the shooting I found the hardest.  I’m not made for a bow and arrows,” Van said.
“I remember the day you were told they had accepted you into the hunter’s fold.  You were very excited.  Came in here to celebrate, as I recall,” Cecily said.
“Yes, well that’s when I thought the job would be easy.  Hunt deer, kill them, bring them back and sell the meat to the butchers,” Van said as he absently took another swig from his mug, only to be disappointed a second time.  “But not only is the actual hunting difficult, but the butchers are a tight knit group.  They buy from who they buy from and can’t be bothered doing business with a new hunter looking to make his mark.”
“You have to prove yourself,” Cecily said flatly.  “Like in any job.”
“Who’s got time for that?” Van asked, unable to look her in the face.
A hand slammed hard onto the surface of the bar, echoing loudly in the empty tavern.  Van and Cecily were shaken out of reverie and looked up.
“Two ales please,” said a bright, smiling face.
Van smiled right back at the pale young man who was looking down on him.  Not to be outshone, Van stood up himself.  He was taller than the young pale man, which gave him no end of satisfaction.  Now the tables had turned.  The young, pale man was looking up at the boyish, sun kissed features of Van Orel.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

OF GODS AND MEN Chapter 41: Pleasing to the Eye Adulatio sat in his golden throne, looking out in all directions at the isle that extended out from beneath the high hill on which his holy seat rested.   Supple palm and fir trees shone green in the golden sunlight.   As his eyes passed over them, they came to clear, grass-laden fields where lambs, dragons, and everything in between, sat beside each other on perfect harmony.   And further still; the white sands of the coast that gave way to the most opulent blue waters the world of men would never see. “For it is mine,” Adulatio said, in answer to his own thought.   “It is all mine.” The old god closed his eyes, reveling in this land: his land.   The power emanated from him, and the island responded.   The trees bent low, as if in bow, toward the seat on the high hill.   The animals in the fields sent up their voices in what should have been a cacophony, but was instead a beautiful harmony of unifi
1 comment
Read more

Aid

              The stalwart knight quickly rolled out of the way as two gargantuan masses of vines, branches and bare earth came crashing down upon him.   The creature they belonged to was comprised of little else, and it used these appendages as arms.             In frustration, the monster grew to its full height and threw back its head, as if to roar.   Instead of noise, however, the earth underneath it shook.   The young knight had been dodging the giant’s attacks for some time now, but this new development caught him off guard.   He fell on his face, still clutching his sword, and as he looked up at the beast before him he was finally able to see it in all of its horror.                It stood ten feet tall; a giant borne of the earth with a torso as wide as a tree trunk and legs that did not end in feet, but instead were grown out from the ground.   The tangle of vines and foliage that made it up did not fully cover its innards, and deep within the chest and
Post a Comment
Read more
EXT. SHUSTER HIGH - DAY We see the font of the school, pulling back slowly to reveal a lawn bustling with STUDENTS. They're laughing as they meet up at the start of a new, beautiful spring day. We travel back farther to see more students coming in off the sidewalk in front of the school. We're in the street now, as oblivious kids on bikes ride haphazardly in the middle of the street.  Huge smiles are on their faces. Not so with the drivers of the stop-and-go cars piling up behind them. We move further back until we land... INT. PARKED CAR - CONTINUOUS We settle behind CLARK, 16, just shy of obese, as he watches the bustling lawn with a growing smile, behind glasses too big for his face. CLARK This is gonna be good. WOMAN (O.S.) Yeah? Clark turns in the passenger seat to look at JOYCE, his mom who's 40, rail thin, and who sits up anxiously in her seat as she locks eyes with her son. CLARK Yeah.  I'm gonna make friends here mom.  I have a good fee
Post a Comment
Read more