A Story - Section 1: The world of K'Grafin

Chapter 1: Swan Islands

Palderon, awakening from the early sun beaming in his eyes, sat up in his bed of grass. He was slightly damp from the dew of the morning. "The fairies had been dancing last night," he thought, for when the fairies danced, a gentle mist surrounded them, which then settled to become dew drops on each blade of grass within the area. He looked to his left where his sword lay, the blade stained with a crimson red and dulling from use. "I guess I shall have to trade my furs to get my blade fixed this time back," he said to himself. Sighing casually, Palderon arose from his position and bent over and put his sword in its sheath. He then turned to face the morning sun rising to greet him, casting shadows across the field and bringing new warmth to the cool air.

A rustle came from a bush behind him.
Palderon stiffened, "No one would be out here at this time of day…" Slowly and quietly he redrew his sword from its sheath and gripped it tightly. Standing as still as he could, he listened carefully for any sound of movement.
Suddenly, a swift crack echoed through the stillness of the morning
Quickly, Palderon turned around and pointed his sword towards where the sound came from.

"Ack, watch what you're doing with that thing."
Relieved that he didn't have to fight some fiendish beast while sleep still lingered in his eyes, Palderon sheathed his sword. "What are you doing out here Duncan, you should still be at your home, asleep."
"I heard you were back from the east part of 'The Wing' and came to see you"
"Why not just wait, you know I would've come to town"
"Well, I came to warn you as well"
"About what?"
"The T'Forgde guards finally made it here."
"How long's it been since the T'Forgde took power?"
"16 years, even I know that."
"And they just made it here?"
"They claim to have been lost for some time, though it's a mite hard to believe them"
"But what has it to do with me?"
"Not as much you, but your furs, I know you bring back a lot of furs. The guards are ordered to let one person carry three furs across the city limit, any more will be confiscated, I'm here to help you smuggle them in, for the price of two furs of course."

Furs were hard to come by unless you were a serious hunter, but there wasn't that many hunters left as when the T'Forgde took to power they created many daemons. Most hunters either gave up or were killed in a battle with one of the beasts. They were used to make many items that were valuable to both king and peasant. Furs were valuable in many ways other than just goods, they could be sold for much money, or traded to pay the taxes, usually one fur was good for twelve days tax. Palderon hunted for furs, he used them to pay for the repairing of his sword then gave the rest away to the people of Relm, a small remote village on what was known as 'The Wing' of the Swan Islands. Many of the towns' people thanked him with morsels of food or a cup of wine once in a while.

"You have a plan I take it." Palderon stated, eyeing Duncan.
"Who needs a plan, isn't it obvious? All you have to do is distract the guard while I sneak the furs past him."
"Okay genius, how am I going to distract the guard?"
"Umm… well I hadn't thought that far ahead yet."
"Just what I thought."
"Hmmm… well, just get him to spar with you. Keep his back to the entrance and I'll sneak in with the furs, if there's any other guards there, they'll be too busy watching you to notice me."
"Fine, sounds easy enough, though you know if you take off with those furs yourself, it'll be your head coming off. How many guards are there anyway?"
"There's uh…"Duncan raised his head with a weird look on his face.
"Use your fingers if you have to."
Duncan lowered his head, "Just 'cause some of us were working while others were learning don't mean you have to ridicule me."
Palderon shook his head. "Hey now, you have me wrong! You're thrice the business man I am, learnt or not your at least successful, it's perfectly alright to use your fingers to help you…" there was a short pause between his words, "it's just you don't have to look so stupid while doing it." Palderon laughed as Duncan threw a punch at Palderon's arm, then chuckled himself as he childishly stuck out his tongue.

The two then took off towards the town of Relm, Duncan chasing after Palderon. Both were hoping their plan would work. At the rate Palderon was using his sword, he would need his furs to pay for repairs. Palderon was carrying 14 furs with him, he worked hard for them and wasn't about to give them away to the T'Forgde. Giving two to Duncan was much better than eleven to the guards.

Page Two

(back to Prelude)

	Section 1: The world of K'Grafin Chapter 1: Swan Islands Palderon, awakening from the early sun beaming in his eyes, sat up in his bed of grass. He was slightly damp from the dew of the morning. "The fairies had been dancing last night," he thought, for when the fairies danced, a gentle mist surrounded them, which then settled to become dew drops on each blade of grass within the area. He looked to his left where his sword lay, the blade stained with a crimson red and dulling from use. "I guess I shall have to trade my furs to get my blade fixed this time back," he said to himself. Sighing casually, Palderon arose from his position and bent over and put his sword in its sheath. He then turned to face the morning sun rising to greet him, casting shadows across the field and bringing new warmth to the cool air. A rustle came from a bush behind him. Palderon stiffened, "No one would be out here at this time of day…" Slowly and quietly he redrew his sword from its sheath and gripped it tightly. Standing as still as he could, he listened carefully for any sound of movement. Suddenly, a swift crack echoed through the stillness of the morning Quickly, Palderon turned around and pointed his sword towards where the sound came from. "Ack, watch what you're doing with that thing." Relieved that he didn't have to fight some fiendish beast while sleep still lingered in his eyes, Palderon sheathed his sword. "What are you doing out here Duncan, you should still be at your home, asleep." "I heard you were back from the east part of 'The Wing' and came to see you" "Why not just wait, you know I would've come to town" "Well, I came to warn you as well" "About what?" "The T'Forgde guards finally made it here." "How long's it been since the T'Forgde took power?" "16 years, even I know that." "And they just made it here?" "They claim to have been lost for some time, though it's a mite hard to believe them" "But what has it to do with me?" "Not as much you, but your furs, I know you bring back a lot of furs. The guards are ordered to let one person carry three furs across the city limit, any more will be confiscated, I'm here to help you smuggle them in, for the price of two furs of course." Furs were hard to come by unless you were a serious hunter, but there wasn't that many hunters left as when the T'Forgde took to power they created many daemons. Most hunters either gave up or were killed in a battle with one of the beasts. They were used to make many items that were valuable to both king and peasant. Furs were valuable in many ways other than just goods, they could be sold for much money, or traded to pay the taxes, usually one fur was good for twelve days tax. Palderon hunted for furs, he used them to pay for the repairing of his sword then gave the rest away to the people of Relm, a small remote village on what was known as 'The Wing' of the Swan Islands. Many of the towns' people thanked him with morsels of food or a cup of wine once in a while. "You have a plan I take it." Palderon stated, eyeing Duncan. "Who needs a plan, isn't it obvious? All you have to do is distract the guard while I sneak the furs past him." "Okay genius, how am I going to distract the guard?" "Umm… well I hadn't thought that far ahead yet." "Just what I thought." "Hmmm… well, just get him to spar with you. Keep his back to the entrance and I'll sneak in with the furs, if there's any other guards there, they'll be too busy watching you to notice me." "Fine, sounds easy enough, though you know if you take off with those furs yourself, it'll be your head coming off. How many guards are there anyway?" "There's uh…"Duncan raised his head with a weird look on his face. "Use your fingers if you have to." Duncan lowered his head, "Just 'cause some of us were working while others were learning don't mean you have to ridicule me." Palderon shook his head. "Hey now, you have me wrong! You're thrice the business man I am, learnt or not your at least successful, it's perfectly alright to use your fingers to help you…" there was a short pause between his words, "it's just you don't have to look so stupid while doing it." Palderon laughed as Duncan threw a punch at Palderon's arm, then chuckled himself as he childishly stuck out his tongue. The two then took off towards the town of Relm, Duncan chasing after Palderon. Both were hoping their plan would work. At the rate Palderon was using his sword, he would need his furs to pay for repairs. Palderon was carrying 14 furs with him, he worked hard for them and wasn't about to give them away to the T'Forgde. Giving two to Duncan was much better than eleven to the guards. Page Two (back to Prelude)

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