"Ah! You'll help us?" The old man's expression brightened as Jim watched.
"Sure, but first I need information. Who's this Dekalamon?"
"Dekalamon is evil. He is a wizard from the North Mountains. One day he arrived with a horde of monsters demanding that we surrender to him. We refused, expecting death. Instead, he cursed us and rode back to his keep. He took away all the feminine and masculine traits to our village. Women are flat chested and barren, men are *cough* not what they used to be. We've sent many heros to match him, but none have returned. You, uh...forgive me, what's your name?"
"It's Jim."
"Ah, Jim. Are you a knight?"
"Not exac..," Jim saw the look of hope on the man's face, "Yes. Yes I am."
"Good. Our warriors will fix you up with equipment and supplies. You must hurry Sir Jim, time is running out for us."
Jim spent the day learning the layout of the village. He got a sword from the blacksmith, a horse from the stables and was given all the supplies he could need by the townsfolk. His only problem was armor. He'd read plenty of fantasy stories where heroes had ended up in alternate worlds to save the day. In the stories, the armor had been a simple issue. Now he found out that wearing forty or fifty pounds of armor was too tiring for him.
Eventually they found a light set of leather armor that Jim could wear without tiring, and within hours all of Jim's material was gathered. Through all this, the old man had been telling him of all his options. To the north lay the cursed lands that Dekalamon ruled directly. Someplace to the west lay a Temple that may hold magic Jim could use in his quest. East, someplace along a river, lies a ruin that may also have the power Jim needs to save this village. The Empire lies to the south, and they may possess the magic to free the town. The choice is up to Jim, since the villagers haven't actually seen any of these locales, they can't advise at which is the best course. After an exhausting day, Jim finally drifts off to sleep.
The next morning rolls around far too quickly for Jim. He drags himself down to breakfast. After a quick meal, he heads off to save the village. Just over the rise, the redhead from earlier is sitting on her own horse waiting for Jim.
"Hail Jim. I thought you'd wan't some company on this. I'm Deanna, and I've been wanting an excuse to get out of that village for my whole life."
Jim looked her up and down. She was about 5'8" tall, and was carrying a similar amount of gear to himself. Her face was framed by waist length, firery red hair which she had tied back in a tail. She had deep blue eyes and tanned skin from working out doors her whole life. Her smile conveyed an innocence that Jim found both disarming and welcoming.
"What?" Her smile quickly vanished as she blushed and turned away, "Don't they have cursed freaks where you came from?"
"Freak? How do you mean?"
"I'm flat as a board. That damn Dekalamon has ruined all of us. I'd like to die with at least some curves. I mean, I like being tall, but not when you look like a toothpick." Jim could tell she was crying.
"Well, then you'll have to help me. I'm new at this anyway. So anyway, we're burning daylight let's continue on. We've got a long way to go before we reach..."
Go back - Go to the parent episode.
Fri Jul 10 17:58:47 1998