Runefell: Crossroads

by Shawn Sodman

  Runefell

  Crossroads

  Book One

  By Shawn Sodman

  Copyright 2014 Shawn Sodman

  Kindle Edition

  Kindle Edition, License Notes

  Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

  Dedicated to David Sheathelm.

  Thank you for sparking my imagination.

  Acknowledgments

  I would like to give special thanks to Ami and Kristen. They read all of my material as I wrote it and kept me going as they waited for more. I can honestly say the book very well may not have been completed if not for them.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1: The Lady of the Red Dawn

  Chapter 2: Just to be Clear

  Chapter 3: Lunch With the Captain

  Chapter 4: Visit From the Past

  Chapter 5: Letters from the Heart

  Chapter 6: The Scouting Party

  Chapter 7: Storm on the Horizon

  Chapter 8: Eye of the Storm

  Chapter 9: Lost Innocence

  Chapter 10: Years Lost and Gained

  Chapter 11: The Common Foe

  Chapter 12: Backfire

  Chapter 13: Morning till Dusk

  Chapter 14: Watchful Eyes

  Chapter 15: The Eighth Sister

  Chapter 16: First Blood

  Chapter 17: Reviled

  Chapter 18: Restless Night

  Chapter 19: Stirring Passions

  Chapter 20: Intermission

  Chapter 21: Cold Sunrise

  Chapter 22: Treasure Hunt

  Chapter 23: To the Mountains and Over

  Chapter 24: Frostbite

  Chapter 25: Good Morning

  Chapter 26: Over the Edge

  Chapter 27: Burning Bridges

  Chapter 28: Heart to Heart

  Chapter 29: Ithil Pandrel

  Chapter 30: Sanctuary

  Chapter 31: Off Limits

  Chapter 32: Eternal Night

  Chapter 33: Not a Little Girl

  Chapter 34: A Matter of Trust

  Chapter 35: Encampment

  Chapter 36: Downpour

  Chapter 37: Warmth of the Light

  Chapter 38: The Wait

  Chapter 39: Coldrock

  Chapter 40: Littlest of Giants

  Chapter 41: Return to Bastion

  Chapter 42: A Little Pick Me Up

  Chapter 43: Midnight Run

  Chapter 44: Reputation

  Chapter 45: Who's Following Who

  Chapter 46: Crossroads

  Chapter 47: Rain of Fire

  Chapter 48: The Mysterious One

  About the Author

  The Birth of Runefell

  Stay Connected with Runefell

  Prologue

  It has been thirteen years that peace has reigned throughout the continent of Bruen. It has been even longer since Ariella Stormrage last laid eyes on the capital city of Sheathelm. Raised by the renowned dwarven privateer, Red Beard, this human female has returned to the eastern waters in search of the lost fortune of her adoptive father. An attempted mutiny claimed Red Beards life just over a year ago, and now Ariella captains the Red Dawn, a ship that she has lived her entire life aboard.

  The timing of her return could not be more unfortunate as several ships have gone missing recently in the area. The king of Sheathelm—a human by the name of Arioch Ravenguard—has charged his friend and most trusted adviser, an elf by the name of Chance Na'Moon, to look into the matter. A hero of the Dragon War and the Second Orcnea War, Chance is about to set forth on an adventure where he will confront his past, find new allies in the present, all while setting in motion events that will affect Runefell's future.

  Chapter 1

  Day 1

  The Lady of the Red Dawn

  Cloaked in the darkness of night, the ship known as the Red Dawn waits just off shore of the eastern capital city of Sheathelm. Though not much larger than a small galleon, the Red Dawn is still one of the most feared ships in all of Runefell. The ship's deck and hull are built with finest totara wood. It is stained so deeply that under the night sky the Red Dawn appears as black as coal. Only in the light of day is the red blood-like tint, hidden within the wood's grain, revealed. This coloration is one of the inspirations behind the ship's name.

  Like other ships of this world the Red Dawn is without cannons, as they have not yet found their way to these lands. Instead, magical spells and flaming arrows are the weapons of choice on the high seas of Runefell.

  Thunder is heard off in the distance from an approaching storm as the crew of the Red Dawn wait patiently in the unusually calm waters for a few of her crew to return from Sheathelm. Two dozen of her forty man crew look out over the dark waters.

  High up among the ropes and the sails, near the top of the center mast, a man in the crow’s nest calls down: “They're coming! I see them! Directly off the port bow.” Several men scramble to the side and lower ropes in preparation to haul in the approaching row boat.

  The first mate, an old gray haired dwarf named Torgus, looks out over the water. His long hair is pulled back into a tail, and his thick beard is tied into two braids and hang down to his waist. A flash of lightning from the approaching storm allows him to see the boat. He calls out to a young man, “Allen! Go fetch the Captain, tell her they have returned.”

  “Aye, Sir!” Allen answers. The clean shaven man with a boyish good look about him, almost seems out of place with the seasoned veterans of the sea. He rushes to the Captain's quarters and stops at the door preparing to knock, but hesitates. Then he takes a deep breath before knocking and says, “Captain, the crew has returned.” He then quickly steps back away from the door. A few moments later the door opens and the beautiful Captain, Ariella Stormrage, steps out.

  She wears a white ruffled blouse with long sleeves. A long leather vest is kept tightly around her waist by a brown silk sash. The tops of her tall leather boots meet with her pleated trousers just below her knees. From underneath her black tricorne hat with a single white feather, her long crimson hair flows as she walks past Allen. She makes her way through the officer's quarters and out onto the deck. Compared to her crewmen, she looks diminutive as she storms across the deck through the sea of men who scramble to get out of her way.

  She walks over to the edge of the ship and looks down over the railing to see four of her men in the small boat. They have with them another man. He wears a long dark blue coat over his white shirt. His hands are bound behind his back and there is a bag over his head.

  With a dwarven accent, almost indistinguishable from an Irish one, she yells out, “What the hell took you so long? You should have been back an hour ago. There is a storm on its way.”

  The crew works to raise the small boat up. The four men, along with their prisoner, board the ship. Ariella says to one of them, “Drake, you were sent to get a map. Who the hell is this?”

  The tall muscular man named Drake towers over the Captain. He has a scar on the bridge of his crooked nose. Somehow this menacing looking man is humbled by the much smaller Captain. “I'm terribly sorry Capt'n. We did as you instructed and went to the Silver Gauntlet Tavern. We saw the goblin with the red hat who you said would have the map, but when we asked about it he told us that he had already given it to this man.” Drake points to the well-dressed prisoner.

  “So he has the map then?” Ariella asks.

  Drake looks at the other three men who went to
shore with him. They all look down, and Drake then turns back to the Captain and says, “No, Capt'n, he—”

  “—He what?” Ariella snaps as she takes a step firmly towards him.

  Drake flinches as he looks down and explains, “He ran from us, Capt'n, and by the time we caught up with him he no longer had the map.”

  “Perhaps, my lady, I may explain what happened,” the bound man says with a smooth Spanish accent. This grabs everyone’s attention including the Captain’s.

  A flash of lighting from the approaching storm illuminates the ship as Ariella walks over to him and pulls the sack off his head revealing a handsome dark haired man with a thin mustache and goatee. If she is impressed by his appearance, she does not show it. Ariella stares up at the man and asks, “And just who might you be?”

  A smile crosses the face of the handsome captive and he says calmly, “Buenas noches, Captain, I am Fernando Greythorn Hernandez, and it is an honor to be in your presence.”

  “Well, Mr. Greythorn,” she says sounding a bit intrigued, “my name is—”

  “—Ariella Stormrage,” Fernando says, interrupting the Captain's sentence. “You are the daughter of renowned dwarven privateer, Red Beard Stormrage. You are the Lady of the Red Dawn, are you not?”

  “Yes,” she answers, sounding surprised, “but no one uses my first name. Understand?”

  “Lo siento, Captain, I am sorry,” he replies. “You know, the rumors of your beauty is a thing of legend. I see now with my own eyes that these legends are true.” He grins as he continues to look Ariella in her eyes.

  A hint of a smile begins to appear on her face. The crew seems unsure what to make of this when finally Torgus says, “Captain, the map?”

  Then as if from out of a trance her smile disappears. She walks up to Fernando and says, “You have something that belongs to me. Where is it?”

  Fernando, with an innocent smile, replies, “I am afraid, my dear, I have no idea what you are talking about. I believe that your men have simply confused me for someone else.”

  Ariella looks at the man holding Fernando and asks, “Leon, are you certain this is the man the goblin told you he gave our map to?”

  The man named Leon, whose height rivals that of Drake's, answers, “Yes, Captain. There is no mistake. He either still has the map or knows where it is.”

  Fernando, seemingly not intimidated by his situation, calmly replies, “Well, it certainly is not on me, but by all means feel free to search for yourself, por favor.”

  The crew begin whisper among themselves. Ariella looks around at the men and they quickly silence themselves as they look down or away nervously. The winds now start to pick up as Ariella stares at Fernando for a moment without saying a word. She steps next to him and begins to pat him down. When she reaches his groin she does not hesitate. She firmly checks the area causing a bit of discomfort to him. Many of the men on deck watching this wince a little as well.

  She completes her search and stares at Fernando frustrated. He smiles and asks, “Did you find anything interesting?” A few of the crew cannot contain their laughter.

  This outburst is quickly subdued as Ariella glares at them. She looks back at Fernando and replies, “No, Mr. Greythorn, I found nothing interesting.” Then with a grin she adds, “As a matter of fact, I found nothing at all.”

  Now the crew laughs freely at their captive. More lightning flashes as the Captain turns to leave. Fernando asks, “My lady, if the rumors of your beauty are true, as they clearly are, may I ask if another rumor of you is true?”

  A silence falls once again over the crew. Made curious by the question, Ariella slowly turns and walks back. “And what rumor might that be?” she asks.

  “Well, it's kind of personal,” he answers. “Come closer and I'll ask you.”

  She hesitantly moves closer as he leans down and whispers something in her ear. A look of pure hatred overtakes her as she takes a step back before backhanding him across the face. Storming off she yells out, “Drake, Leon! Take him below and make sure he cannot escape!” She then turns back to her men then adds, “Do NOT harm him in any way! I want the pleasure of breaking him personally. I'll send for him when I am ready. Everyone else prepare to weigh anchor!” The crew springs into action as they scramble to the three masts and prepare to get the ship underway. Ariella walks up the stairs to the quarterdeck. She then says to her first mate, “Torgus, get us out of here now. That storm will be here soon.”

  “Aye, Captain,” Torgus responds as the sound of thunder can now be felt reverberating along the ships planks.

  Ariella walks back down the stairs and returns to her quarters. She enters her room slamming the door behind her. Leaning back against the door she takes a deep breath to calm herself. She stares ahead and quietly says to herself, “I don't know who you are, Fernando Greythorn, but I promise I am going to find out what you have done with my father’s map.”

  *****

  “When you said you were going to tell them a story,” Danielle says to her cousin, “I didn't think you were going to tell them about Ariella Stormrage.”

  High up in a modern luxury apartment, a small group of people are gathered in the dark with only the light of a few candles to see by. A storm rages outside the large windows and there is no power.

  “I'm sorry,” Kyle replies. The man with medium curly blonde hair then adds, “Ariella Stormrage is important to the story, and I figured they were old enough.”

  “Come on, Aunt Danielle, we aren’t little kids anymore,” pleads Haley who is not quite a teenager.

  “I know,” Danielle replies. Then looking down she adds, “I just don't know if your parents would have approved.”

  Josh, who is only a little older than his sister Haley, replies, “It's just another story like the ones you told us when we were younger.”

  “It's alright guys,” Kyle says, “Danielle is your legal guardian now, and if she says that you are too young then perhaps I should tell you a different story.”

  Laura, the older sister of Josh and Haley, has been quietly lying on the couch reading texts. She looks up from her phone and asks “Wait, is it really that bad? What kind of story is this?”

  Kyle smiles and answers, “Just a tale of adventure, treasure, battles, and some romance as well. Have you been listening so far?”

  Laura, in her later teens, smiles and replies, “Yes, Uncle Kyle, I have been. I like the Captain already.”

  Danielle rolls her eyes and says, “You would like her.”

  “No offense, Aunt Danielle,” Laura replies, “but the stories I remember from Runefell were from when I was ten years old. They were good and all, but they were more for kids.”

  Danielle laughs and replies, “Fine, Kyle can tell what ever story he wants, but that could be a very long story. Are you sure you have time?”

  “Of course,” Kyle replies looking out the window. “Look outside, where else am I going to go?”

  “Oh, that reminds me,” Danielle says, “I am sure you didn't come here just to tell stories while the power is out did you?”

  “No,” Kyle says with a laugh. “There's something I need to talk with you about, but it can wait until later.” Then he looks at the kids and asks, “For now though, would you like to hear more about the Red Dawn?”

  “I do,” Laura answers as she puts down her phone. “I want to know what Ariella does to get her map back.”

  “Keep it clean,” Danielle warns, “and be aware that some of your listeners are still a bit young.”

  Kyle grins and says, “Okay, I'll make sure that I'll keep it PG 13. Now then where were we?” Kyle continues to tell the story in an appropriate way for the age of his audience while the original story went a little more like this...

  *****

  The Red Dawn begins to sail away to avoid the oncoming storm while below deck, Fernando is thrown into a cell by Drake and Leon. It's a small room with two cage cells made up of iron bars. There is a desk and two chairs. Along the
walls of the room there are iron shackles. John and Jacob are the two men left to guard him. The two men, in their forties, have brown beards with patches of gray.

  After Drake and Leon leave the room the man named John asks Fernando, “Hey you, can I ask you something?”

  Fernando sits down on a bench in his cell and asks, “Of course, what is it?”

  John looks to make sure the door is closed and asks, “What did you say to the Captain right before she hit you?”

  Fernando lightly laughs to himself and replies, “If I tell you, can you keep it a secret?”

  “Yeah, sure I can,” he answers. “Tell me.”

  “John,” Jacob says interrupting the conversation, “Don't talk to him. The Capt'n wouldn't like it.”

  “I can't help it,” John replies. “I just want to know what set her off like that.”

  “It was nothing really,” Fernando says to them.

  “It really pissed her off, whatever it was,” John says. “I haven't seen her that mad in a long time.”

  “Really?” Fernando asks. “John, is it? What do you think she will do with me?”

  Jacob interjects, “You will be lucky to be alive if you don't give her what she is looking for.” “I see,” Fernando says, sounding a bit concerned. “And your name, sir?”

  “The name's Jacob,” he answers.

  “Well, Jacob,” Fernando says, “what will your Captain do if I do not have what she is looking for?”

  “Then you better know where it is. You see, my friend,” Jacob explains. “The Captain, she is fair and treats us all well when we do as we are told, but,” Jacob pauses for a bit, “she does not tolerate disobedience. If she believes you have something of hers, you can bet your life she will do everything in her power to get you to turn it over, and if you don't have it, you better be able to get it or I fear for your safety, Mr. Greythorn.”

  “So, I just have to know. What did you say to her?” John asks again.

  Jacob also looks at Fernando and says, “Have to admit, I am a bit curious myself.”

  Fernando looks around to make sure they are alone, and says with a smile, “Well, my friends, you know the Captain first hand. I have only heard of her though stories and rumors. So I asked her if the rumors were true that her sexual appetite was as great as her beauty.”