A New Beginning: A Fantasy Adventure (The White Chronicles Book 1)

by J. E. Thompson

  “Uh…yeah, sure,” Vexx stammered, and the elf let go with a smile.

  The barkeeper frowned at them, smoothing down his salt and pepper mustache. “I’m really not sure about you two. You,” he said, pointing an accusing mug at Vexx, “are wearing the most peculiar pajamas I’ve ever seen. And you,” he continued, ignoring Vexx’s protests about Academy Initiate clothing, “must be the clumsiest elf I’ve ever met. I thought you elves were supposed to be nimble and graceful or something.”

  “Eheh, well…I’m very lucky…” Kaylin stammered, looking down. She sniffed. “Decently charismatic,” she added, wiping away a tear.

  He gave her another dubious look and shook his head. “Listen, I don’t think the two of you are up for the job. Hell, you can barely stay on your feet, elf girl. I’m not going to send you to your deaths.”

  Vexx felt a surge of sympathy well up in him and he approached the bar. He pulled out his coin purse and slammed it on the counter. “There’s ten silver pieces in there, old man. In two days, we will come back with proof that we’ve killed the goblin, and we’ll take fifteen pieces in return. If we don’t make it back, then it won’t make a difference to you. What do you say?”

  “Old man, am I?” the barkeep muttered, clasping a hairy hand around the coin purse. “The name’s Pollander. You know, you could learn a thing or two about charisma from your friend here, boy. Still, it’s an acceptable enough deal. Bring me the fiend’s ear and I’ll get you your fifteen pieces. And, why not, I’ll sweeten it up with a mug of ale for you both.” Pollander took the coin purse along with him, moving behind the bar. “Might be the last ones you get,” he muttered, just barely audible over the controlled chaos of the tavern interior.

  “Oh…oh, I don’t drink,” Kaylin said, as Vexx took a seat at the bar. He raised his eyebrows.

  “Really? Why’s that?”

  “I just get too carried away,” she said. “Trust me, it’s not good.”

  Vexx grunted. “Two for me, then. I’ll need all I can get, with all the shit I’ve been through lately. And one lousy goblin…”

  The mugs slid over and the barkeep moved farther down the counter, shouting at a group of barbarians who were howling with laughter at one joke or another. Kaylin gingerly slid her ale across to Vexx, who was downing his eagerly. He slammed his mug down, wiping the froth from his lips.

  “So, what have you been through?” Kaylin asked. “I should get to know my new healer sidekick, after all.”

  “Healer?” Vexx frowned, and then a second later, blanched in horror. “Sidekick?”

  “Yes, well…you said Vexx White after all. And your robes? You must be some sort of apprentice healer.”

  “This again? I’m a healer because my last name is White? That’s borderline racist, you know.”

  “It’s not a human thing,” she said. “It’s because you’re, uh…well, you have robes on.”

  “And you have…” Vexx trailed off as he glanced over. Kaylin was clad in tight leather armor, and not much of it. Her bow was strapped along her back and a knife rested in her belt, but her long, shapely legs bore no protection whatsoever. He glanced away after a second. “Not a lot on,” he finished lamely.

  “Well, I’m just starting out,” she huffed. “And I want this mission to go right. There’s still plenty of daylight left. Will you be able to back me up after those ales, Vexx?”

  “Get this straight, elf. I’m no healer, and I’m nobody’s sidekick,” Vexx said, slamming his empty mug on the counter and picking up the second one.

  “Mmm,” Kaylin answered noncommittally.

  5

  Goblin Hunting

  “One goblin,” Vexx muttered as they walked down the road. “Talk about small stakes. I’ll never be a renowned dungeoneer like Dred Wyrm by doing little jobs like this. What I really need to do is go big.”

  “Who’s Dred Wyrm?” Kaylin asked, her strides hurried as she tried to keep pace with him. She had her bow out and strummed the taut bowstring, nodding to herself in satisfaction.

  Vexx raised his eyebrows in surprise. “What, did you grow up under a rock?”

  “No, just in a forest. It’s only been a few days since I’ve left to seek my fortune.”

  “Well, he’s only the most legendary dungeoneer around. Dragonborn, and he never fails a quest. They say he won an arm wrestling contest with an ogre, a drinking contest against a dwarf, and then a battle of wits against an arch sorcerer—and that was after the drinking! He’s the strongest, toughest, and smartest person there is.”

  “Really…”

  “Really,” Vexx said firmly before stumbling over a rock in the road. He gathered himself up with ruffled dignity. Those ales had hit him a little harder than he had expected. He patted his stomach. He could use something to eat…

  “The barkeep said it was just to the left, right?” Kaylin asked as she took the left fork in the road just outside Cloudbury.

  “I believe so…” Vexx replied. “I wasn’t really listening.”

  “Two hundred paces, I think he said. Ah, that farmhouse just to the right. He didn’t mention the fire, though.”

  Vexx blinked and the two continued strolling up in silence. The farmhouse was fine, but not far away, a barn was set ablaze. They watched as smoke rose into the sky, the reddish orange of the flames merged with the setting sun just behind the mountains.

  “No…he did not.”

  “Is…” Kaylin leaned forward, staring intently. Then she turned to Vexx with a smile. “That’s our goblin! Just there, to the right of the burning barn?”

  “Really?” Vexx squinted. “I can’t see that far.”

  “Oh, that’s right,” she said, already nocking an arrow to her bowstring, “the elders always said you humans were astoundingly shortsighted.” She pulled it back to her long ear, breathing out slightly, and then the bowstring twanged as the arrow sped off.

  In the distance, Vexx saw a small shape moving to the side.

  “Agh, I missed it! Vexx, do you think you can—”

  “I’m on it,” Vexx said, already sprinting ahead, his boots splashing as he ran through the mud of the farm. The barn was just up ahead, and he snapped his fingers, a spark bursting into life at the tip of his pointer finger.

  No point in worrying about starting fires at this point.

  He saw the shape bolt out from behind the barn; a squat figure clad in hides. A goblin.

  Vexx slowed, whipping his right hand up, firing a firebolt and then following it up with another. The first burst on the goblin’s left shoulder and it shrieked as it staggered to the side, the second firebolt just barely missed and landed in the mud behind it, smoldering away. An instant later an arrow sprouted from the goblin’s chest and it fell to the ground.

  “I got it!” Kaylin squealed as she ran up.

  Vexx frowned. “No, I got it.”

  Kaylin peered over. “Never mind that. We got his goblin problem sorted. Vexx, do you think you can put that fire out?”

  He grimaced as he looked over. “You know, I…kind of specialized in fire magic. But…” he concentrated, and then ice grew around his fist. “I’ll see what I can do,” he grunted, already tiring from the effort, as he fired a concentrated burst of ice at the barn. The flames licking the side puttered and then faded away as he steadied his aim.

  “Uh, Vexx?”

  “Yeah?” he said, straining as he blasted the barn with cooling, icy winds. “Kinda busy here!”

  “So, uh…the barkeep said ‘goblin,’ right? Not ‘goblins’?”

  Vexx gritted his teeth, moving over from a charred window to the doorframe, the burning fire already receding. “Yeah. He said just one goblin.”

  “Well, it’s just that. Uh. There are…a lot of goblins around.”

  With a final burst of effort, Vexx extinguished the last of the flames and whirled around. “I don’t see any…oh.”

  A half-dozen goblins in an assortment of rough hides and furs glared at them, their beady l
ittle eyes glowing red in the fading light, and the one at the head of the pack pointed a jagged scimitar at the two of them. Vexx licked his lips before glancing at Kaylin, who was nervously nocking another arrow onto her bowstring.

  Distantly, the old warnings came to him. Dungeoneering was no way to make a living. For every Dred Wyrm, there were a thousand corpses rotting in a cave somewhere. Most dungeoneers don’t even make it past their first couple adventures…

  Vexx felt the exhaustion in his body as he sidestepped close to Kaylin. She stood there beside him, arrow nocked and readied, her arm twitching with the tension.

  “You and me,” Vexx said, despite the fear. “Together. We got this.”

  Kaylin made a small sound. And then, with a chorus of menacing bellows, the goblins charged forward.

  6

  Charge

  Shoving his fear aside, Vexx raised both his hands, frigid mist drifted out of his left hand as fire burst from his right. He fired left and right, bolts of ice and fire crashing into the charging line of goblins, the closest brandishing a spear before it stumbled when Kaylin’s shot buried itself in the goblin’s leg. An axe whirled at Vexx and he took two steps backward, throwing his head back as the axe head swung past. Vexx grasped the haft of the axe and sent a surge of fire magic outward, charring and burning it until the axe head fell to the ground.

  The goblin blinked, its eyes boggling in confusion, and Vexx fired flames into it at close range. The goblin squealed as it fell to the ground and Vexx turned, his eyes wild. Most of the goblins were downed, but two others were hemming Kaylin in, the elf desperately parrying a scimitar with her knife. She screamed as another goblin raked her side with its jagged spear.

  Vexx surged forward, his exhaustion forgotten, firing firebolt after firebolt into the spear-wielding goblin, who staggered to the side before finally falling. Kaylin slashed the other goblin, and Vexx’s last fireball put an end to the fight.

  Kaylin and Vexx stood there for a moment, panting in exhaustion, glancing at each other as they recovered in the eerie silence.

  “You alright?”

  “I…” Kaylin took an unsteady step forward and collapsed onto the dirt. The elf took labored breaths in and out. “Agh...that last one really got me. Can you take a look?”

  Vexx glanced over. A few of the straps were ripped, a reddish line traced her side, and a small trail of blood trickled down from the spear cut. “It’s not that bad. I have a bandage in my pack,” he said, reaching back and rummaging through his satchel.

  “You really can’t heal, can you?” she gritted out, teeth clenched and eyes squeezed shut.

  “No,” Vexx said, tying the bandage tight. “Look, I’ll buy you a healing draught when we get back, alright? Can you walk?”

  “May…maybe.”

  He shook his head, hefted Kaylin up and held his arm behind her. “With me, let’s go. I know a place where we can stay, it’s not very far away.”

  The elf clenched her teeth and threw an arm around Vexx. Together, they began walking away at a slow, steady pace.

  “I was clumsy,” she said after a while. “Too clumsy.”

  “Hey, we got them in the end,” Vexx replied with a reassuring pat on her shoulder. “You weren’t half bad, you know.”

  “Yeah, you too,” Kaylin said, the silence lingering as they made their way down the quiet road. “So, you’re from here?”

  “Kind of…I grew up just down the road. It was my parent’s house, but my mom died some time ago. And my dad…well, he died recently. But anyway. We can hole up there tonight, but that’ll be it. No, I think I’ll be hitting the road from here on out.”

  “Ah,” Kaylin said. “I did that myself, not too long ago. I thought it would go easier. But…still alive, right? Still alive.”

  7

  Partners

  Morning came, the old house chilly and damp as Vexx came to his feet. He groaned, still feeling the exhaustion of his depleted magical energies. Vexx looked around and couldn’t stop himself from reminiscing about half-remembered routines in his father’s old house. It felt bizarre to be back after all those years. And especially bizarre knowing he was no longer welcome here.

  As Vexx readied himself, he periodically glanced outside the windows. There could be guards from town coming, as far as he knew, or perhaps prospective buyers. He’d placed Kaylin in a different bedroom to rest over the night and now hesitated at the door of the guest room.

  Finally, he rapped his knuckles against it twice. The door creaked open after a few moments and Kaylin smiled at him. Her leather armor was resting on a chair, her skintight underclothes leaving little to the imagination.

  “Good morning, Vexx! How did you sleep?”

  “Ah…well,” he said, mustering all the willpower he could to avert his eyes. “And you?”

  “Oh, just fine! I’m just cleaning up now,” Kaylin responded, her voice cheery as ever. “These human houses are something else! Nothing like a treehouse.”

  Vexx grunted. “Well, we need to leave soon. There’s no coming back here.”

  “Don’t worry yourself, Vexxy, I’m just about ready.”

  Vexx frowned. Vexxy? Still, at least she seems to be doing fine. The cut didn’t look bad, but sometimes weapons can have poison effects. “How are you feeling?” Vexx asked.

  “Much better,” she said with a half-convincing smile. “I’m ready for the next one, partner. Did you turn in the bounty?”

  “Partner?” Vexx asked with a sniff. “That’s assuming a lot,” he muttered. Still, it was a good deal better than ‘sidekick,’ and they had fought together well enough. I suppose even Dred Wyrm fights in a party from time to time.

  Kaylin shrugged and padded over to the adjoining washroom.

  “No, I was waiting for you,” Vexx said, examining a fresh tear in his apprentice robes. If business picks up, I'll have to upgrade my look. “I don’t think he’ll be too pleased about the damage to his barn.”

  The splash of a wash basin was his only response. Vexx turned away, walking to the main window and looking out. It was a fine view, the tops of trees visible in the distance, his father’s house secluded some distance away from Cloudbury. I doubt I’ll be returning, though. One way or another, I’ll have to earn room and board.

  A hand grasped his arm and he jerked away in shock. “Let’s go!” Kaylin said, tugging him forward before letting go, already pushing the door open. “I want that bounty turned in.”

  8

  36 Hours

  “You know what I saw last night, dungeoneers?” Pollander asked in a profoundly disappointed tone as they approached the counter.

  Vexx and Kaylin exchanged glances. This wasn’t going as expected. Vexx cleared his throat.

  “The barn was already—”

  “Another dead sheep. And, oh yes, I heard Farmer Henderson’s barn burned down over the evening. He was very puzzled to find a band of dead goblins in his fields.” The barkeeper inclined his head. “Was that your doing? You didn’t burn his barn, did you?” he asked with a glare. “You’re no fire magician, right?”

  “Me? No,” Vexx said with a laugh. “I’m just a simple healer. That was all the goblins.”

  “Ah…so it was you two! What were you doing over there?”

  “Got a bit…turned around, is all,” Vexx said with a weak smile.

  “Like I said, follow Tower Road past the end of Cloudbury, straight to the farms just below the Lifeless Hills. Then, just to the right on Alabaster Avenue, the location is three houses down.”

  “I knew it was to the right,” Kaylin said, tapping her finger on her cheek thoughtfully.

  “I don’t recall you mentioning it,” Vexx said with a grimace. “Damn. Any chance of a reward for killing those goblins?”

  The barkeeper snorted. “Henderson had a quest listed, as it happens, but I would never have given it to you two. So no rewards, besides the loot you left behind.”

  “What loot?” Vexx and Kaylin asked together.
>
  The barkeep grinned as he checked off the bounty. “Word to the wise, my new dungeoneers,” he said, moving across the bar counter to refill a mug. “Go over the bodies later. A bit of loot like that can make you more than a bit of profit.”

  Vexx groaned. “So all that was for nothing?”

  “Gave you a bit of experience, didn’t it?” the barkeeper asked, moving back over to them. “Anyway, the job’s still on. Just one goblin, and the blood trail is still fresh. You have 36 hours, dungeoneers, and I suggest you hurry.”

  Vexx and Kaylin exchanged pained glances. “Fine,” Vexx muttered, and the two of them made their way back to the door. “Damn it all,” Vexx muttered to himself as they stepped back out into the shining daylight. “All that for…” He trailed off as he saw Kaylin stripping off her leather armor. “Uh…Kaylin?”

  “What?” she asked, pulling her bandage free, the stained white cloth fluttering in the breeze. Across from them, a startled merchant swore as he smacked into a lantern pole, his attention fully encompassed by the half-dressed elf, who was now shrugging her armor back on. “My wound is healed, so I don’t need it anymore.” Her huge green eyes looked over at him. “Could you strap me up, partner?”

  “Ah…right,” he said, stepping closer and cinching her armor tight. Her hair smells like pine trees, he thought to himself. “Speaking of which, we’re out of bandages now, and I don’t have a whole lot else. A few mixed healing herbs just in case, a rusty dagger I found along the road, and a bit of iron ore I’ve been meaning to sell. What I’m saying is…we need to get some supplies. What do you have with you?”

  “Besides my bow and knife?” Kaylin asked, turning around to face him and adjusting her armor. “Well, fourteen arrows and seven arrenroot flowers.”