Passion's Beginning: Part 1

A Forest (On the Outskirts of Aechir Village)

Carelessly venturing into the forest a young girl was in search of food. She was fair skinned with green eyes, and had red hair that lay just under shoulder length. Armed with little more than a simple bow and a knife

*Sigh*

"How did I manage to end up in this situation? And it was such a peaceful day too, I really wanted to enjoy the scenery a bit more."

An innocent walk in the forest in search of some fruits and vegetables with only a simple bow and some makeshift arrows for her defense, this young girl has found herself surrounded by a pack of wolves.

"I've been hunting you all for weeks who would've guessed I'd find you so close to home."

The wolves formed a circle around her in an effort of cutting off any means of escape the way she came. Growling with fangs bare, each one was ready to strike.

"You know to be honest my quarrel isn't with all of you." She looked around at the pack as the circle around her grew tighter.

"You can stay and do all the hunting you like in these woods. Only one of you owes me his hide."

Her gaze shifted and fixed to one wolf poised elegantly on top of a rock. She could see it was no ordinary beast, standing a few hands higher than the rest with a thick coat of snow white fur.

"Ah, you must be the one I'm looking for. The head."

Releasing the arrow it flew past the pack faster than any could react. Striking the leader in the eye, it fell off the rock howling in pain. A few members of the back made their way over to the head and attempted to console it and nurse its wounds before turning back to the girl with bare fangs and sharp claws.

*Sigh*

Reaching back into her quiver she drew another arrow taking aim at a member of the pack. The growls and snarls rang out across the forest as the wolves charged at her in defense of their wounded leader.

Aechir Village -

"Here you go old man."

The girl slung a wolf's head off her shoulder and onto the table in front of her.

"The head of the beast that took your son."

The old man stood staring in shock, passerbys continued down the roads of the market but stopped to gaze upon the trophy whose fur was as white as mountain snow. One eye had an arrow tip lodged in it and the dried remnants of blood underneath.

"Y..You actually managed to find them."

"I caught them hunting in the forest on the outskirts of the village when I was out foraging.

An old woman came from inside the small market cabin with a wooden stick for walking in hand and raising it up lightly struck the old shop owner to wake him from his surprised state.

"Well, pay the girl Dear she accomplished her task."

"A-Ah yes...R-Right away."

He fumbled around the stall like a confused child searching for the funds he had set aside for the charge.

"Now where did I put those...Aha! Now I remember."

The old man turned towards the doorway and shifted a rug over out of the way and lifted a small door open from the floor. Inside the secret compartment was a drawstring pouch of decent size. Picking it up and giving it a few tosses in his hand the old man drops it on the counter beside the wolf's head.

"There, 150 baeryl as promised. I wish I could give you more Scarlett."

She scooped up her fee and tied it around her waist before giving a slight bow to the old couple and turning to take her leave. Heading towards the tavern she checked the weight of the coin purse with her hand.

"Hmm this ought to be enough for an afternoon meal and still have some left-over."

Though she stopped just shy of the steps to the tavern and glanced over her shoulder at her bow. Worn down from many years of hard practice and use it was clearly on its last limbs.

The wood was chipped and split in many sections and the bow string was frayed and liable to snap.

*Sigh*

"As much as I want a lavish meal I can't be much of an adventurer if my equipment breaks."

"The life of an adventurer is a hard one."

The Salty Scabbard -

"I'll have some juice."

She leaned her bow up against the counter and reached into her pouch and pulled out a few notes to drop on the table.

"Did you finish another quest?"

A woman dressed as a waitress asked as she wiped down a mug to put the beverage in. She had long dark brown hair which she kept tied in the back while letting her bangs hang down in the front. Her eyes were a deep blue like the oceans just off the port.

"Hey Riry it's been a while the old man that runs the butcher hired me a few weeks back to track down the pack of wolves that killed his son."

"I remember hearing about that, if I remember right he was walking through the fields that night checking on the livestock when they surrounded him."

"How is the family holding up after that?"

"They appeared to be doing well. I'm sure knowing that the pack is dead will help them move forward with their lives but it won't be the same for them."

Scarlett sat back in her chair chugging her juice.

"Speaking of moving forward, have you decided what you're doing yet Scar?"

She placed her mug down on the counter and started shifting it around.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you are eleven, not much longer I figured until you were done in this village. I mean your brother set out as an apprentice when he was about that age."

Scarlett stared down at the cider in her mug lost in thought. It was true that her brother had left the village and set out on his path by his eighth birthday. By the time he was her age his name was already known and revered throughout the lands. Compared to that she felt that she was already far behind.

The average age when someone decides to leave home is around seventeen. However some gifted individuals are able to venture out far ahead of that being sighted as exceptional individuals in the world.

She looked up from counter at Riry with a big grin on her face

"That may be true, but I'm not Asher. I have to do things at my own pace, and someday my name will be more known than his."

Riry laughed coyly while she wiped down the counter.

"You're right you're not your brother. It wouldn't have taken him nearly as long to deal with a pack of wolves."

"Hey, they were a crafty bunch."

"I'm sure they were."

After a few more drinks and several moments of conversation and laughter Scarlett decided it was time to start heading home.

"You sure you can't stick around for a while longer?"

"Sorry, but I can't because mom is looking for me. I should have been back ages ago."

Setting down her drink Scarlett turned away from the bar to see a group of men clad in uniformed armor. Armed with various weapons and equipment standing at the front of this band was a tall man with fair skin complexion and bluish white eyes underneath which were pronounced tear troughs. He had grayish-white hair that dropped down to his shoulders and parted in the center extending down the side of his face.

The armor he wore stood out as well. Ebony plated with an insignia intricately etched to assert rank and a blue fabric woven in between.

"I see you still haven't changed, still the same trouble maker." he commented looking over at Scarlett. "It's good to see that this place is still in one piece with you adventuring around here."

"It's nice to see you can still come home to visit your mother and sister." she shot back.

"What can I say, work keeps me busy." He looked over towards the counter and gestured a smile. "It's good to see you again Riry."

"Yea well I'm just glad you haven't forgotten about me."

"Well isn't this a joyous reunion?" The soldiers all stepped to the side allowing an older looking woman to walk towards their leader.

"I was starting to wonder if you'd ever come home again, Asher."

"Mother you know I always visit when me and my men pass through the territory, but a better question would be what are you doing out here at this time of night?"

The elderly woman looked around him to the little girl still sitting at the counter.

"I'm here looking for your little sister Scarlett. Who I had a suspicion would be out here. Maybe you could help me do something with her. She still has this notion of being an adventurer."

"I will be a great adventurer just you wait old hag!" She snapped back, sticking out her tongue at the elderly woman.

"Scarlett, that old hag is your mother."

The woman sighed in annoyance. "What am I going to do with her? Why can't she just grow up prim and proper and marry into a decent family?"

"You can't really blame her ma, it's not like you married rich sitting in this heap."

"Oh shut up you dolt!" The old woman threw an empty tankard at one of hersons companions who was lounging in a corner telling stories of his travels and exploits to a few of the waitresses in the tavern.

Klonk!

"Hey watch it!" He started rubbing his forehead where the mug hit. "All I'm saying is that the world is a big place where you can find adventure around every turn. And there is no greater feeling than freedom and the ability to choose your own path."

"Hey, don't go filling her head with any ideas."

"Come on Captain, at least take her back with us and let her join the academy."

He looked angrily at the two men who were arguing in Scarlett's stead. "Fine, then when she graduates she can take one of your jobs."

The two men looked at one another and immediately walked back to the other side of the tavern to continue with their merry festivities leaving the contents of the previous conversation behind them.

"Hey that was a dirty trick Asher and you know it."

He picked up a small glass of booze, easily downing it with one gulp. "Oh yea? So sue me."

Upset Scarlett jumped down off the counter pouting and began walking off from the bar mumbling under her breath.

Sorry kiddo, but you're still too young for the ways of this world.

Scarlett sat on the floor by the door making faces and exclamations at her brother from afar still visibly irritated by his apparent lack of faith in her.

"You know you shouldn't do that your face might get stuck that way." Riry one of the waitresses in the tavern came and sat down beside her.

Riry had been one of the longest working members at the tavern having been there for almost as long as Scarlett could remember. She was like an older sister to her and the complete opposite of her brother Asher.

"You want something to drink?" Riry offered a drink. 'You have to understand that your brother just cares and is only looking out for you."

Scarlett gulped down the juice in a frenzy. "But he needs to know that I'm not a kid anymore. I can do lots of things and I train really hard everyday."

"Oh yea? Can you pay for that juice cause last I checked you don't have any money and drinks aren't free." Asher exclaimed to her from the bar.

"I can too pay." She stood up and turning to Riry put her hand over her chest. "I promise when I become a great adventurer I'll come back and pay you for all the food you've given me with the money and treasures I find."

"Ok, I'll hold you to that promise." Riry laughed at Scarlett's promise of compensation.

Just then the tavern's doors swung open as five men stormed inside. They wore rags covered with coats of leather one of the adventurers had the head of a ghoul hoisted over his shoulder with one arm while brandishing an axe in his other hand.

"Who are they?" One of Asher's companions asked the waitress next to him.

"They're adventurers. They arrived a little over a month ago in response to a job posting we had about ghouls in our fields. But…"

"But what? What's the matter?"

"They haven't really done much. Up until now they had only killed one ghoul the rest of the time they spent in here demanding booze and women and raising the price on the job."

The man at the head of the group walked over to the bar leaning a sword against the counter he took a seat.

"Aw come on, don't let the festivities end on our account. We just took out the second ghoul we should be celebrating."Everyone sat silently eyeing the group

"Suit yourselves, we'll just have our regular and be on our way. Eight cases of your finest hooch."

"I'm sorry we only have two cases left." Riry gestured over at Asher and his companions. " These men were kind enough to buy cases for all the workers in the village. We still have a few bottles of cider here, it's not as hard as liquor, but it's still tasty ."

The expression on the man's face changed from one of pleasantry to one of disdain.

"What is this piss?" The adventurer threw the bottle, shattering it on the wall behind Riry. "You think that some low-cut cider is enough to quench our thirst we work hard everyday hunting your monsters. The least you could do is hold up your end of the deal and provide us with decent booze."

One of Asher's companions stood up and started walking over to the counter before being stopped by him holding up his hand. Asher placed his hand on the man's shoulder looking at him with a smile on his face.

"Those darned bottles sure are slippery aren't they? Tell you what how about I buy you those last two cases and call it even, you know since we bought the first six."

Another one of the adventurers slowly lowered his axe down to the collar of his neck.

"If I was you I'd let go of our boss, unless you wanna lose your head."

The man at the counter stood up snatching his way out of Asher's grip. "You think that's enough to cover our efforts for this dump?" He picked up a lone tankard of cider and started pouring it on Asher's head then dropped the mug on him.

"We used to run with a group of raiders from further inland. We were feared all throughout our region and I amassed a bounty of over a thousand baeryl don't insult us."

"Come on boys let's get out of here this bar is trash, I'm not even thirsty anymore."

The waitresses started wiping down the walls and mopping the floor as the five men left. Asher's companions stood over him staring in concern for a few moments before bursting into laughter.

"They sure got us good." one of them began.

"A bounty of a thousand? I was practically quaking in my boots."

The tavern returned to its symbol of normality with the patrons indulging in the usual drunken laughter and merry as Riry continued to clean the wall from the shattered bottle.

"It's not funny!" A loud yell broke out over all the laughter in the bar.

A man looked over at Scarlett hanging her head down trying to hide the tears coming from her eyes. "Look kid we all know how you feel, but a broken bottle is nothing worth anyone losing their head."

"Shut up!" She pointed over to Asher who was just sitting at the bar covered in cider unfazed by the events that just took place.

"You're men. Men aren't supposed to back down from anything, I don't care how big or strong they are or what weapons they have you should still fight."

"Look Scarlett it's no big deal he just threw a drink, no one got hurt."

"I don't care, I used to look up to you. People would tell me stories about your exploits, but you're not a warrior."

"Scarlett… wait."

"Just leave, we don't need cowards in this town."