Anthony's Saga, Part IV

(Sorry for the delay. I was busy.)

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The cold wind scythed through the bones of the adventurers, sending waves and waves of shivers down their spines. Goosebumps rose on their skins, partly from the chill, partly from the empty wilderness that surrounded them. The group of adventurers had traveled for the past few days without incident and without rest, through the thick forest that massed under the feet of the Beast’s lair.

“Wah wait!” cried Kull the Scabby, dwarven master of the battleaxe. He sat on a nearby rock, and pulled out a boot. A strong stench filled the air, and the rest wrinkled their noses. “Wah shiok!” exclaimed Kull, as he scratched madly at the itch.

“I give up!” sighed Enddy, dropping his backpack and dropping himself onto the floor. As his head touched the ground, a strange feeling struck him, and he pulled himself quickly up again. “Did you guys feel that?” he asked.

Jinx nodded. So did Kull, in between intermittent scratches. Anthony stared at Enddy puzzledly. “Simi?” he asked in the local dialect.

Enddy rummaged through his robes, and pulled out a small rodent. He stroked its head, and then let it free into the bushes. “Go Megarat!” he egged his familiar on.

A few long minutes passed after Megarat was lost in the bushes. Then, the leaves parted, as a large gangly emerged, holding Megarat by her tail. The newcomer had huge hands and feet, and a thick mane of gold hair. He also had a long stringly goatee that grew from the edge of his chin, and was bare-bodied, except for an intricate pattern of dark tattoos. “Nice pet,” he said, appreciatingly.

“Return Megarat to me!” cried Enddy.

“Ho ho ho… What if I don’t want to?” asked the tall man mischievously.

“Who are you?” asked Jinx.

Without warning, the newcomer did a few quick twirls with his hands outstretched, in a manner that looked graceful and at the same time extremely comical. “DO MO HAADO-JOSHU DES!!!”

“Is he thrusting his crotch?” asked Kull, in between scratches.

“I think that’s an Elvish form of greeting,” replied Enddy academically, cradling Megarat that had escaped the grip of the tall man when he did his pirouette. “Are you an Elf? You don’t look like any Elf to me.”

Haado-Joshu looked a bit fallen at that. “I was adopted by the Elves lah. I used to be a woodcutter, but have since learnt the error of my ways, and now live with the land. I am an expert at hunting without tools. Come, the druid has been expecting you.”

“Eh, how you hunt without tools? Sounds impossible leh,” asked Anthony.

“I stalk my prey for a long time, then I creep up really closely. When it senses me, it will run. Then I run after it. My acceleration is damn cui, but I can tahan running many many days without stopping. In the end the prey gets shagged, then I catch it. But enough boasting, come with me!”

“Eh! Wait” cried Kull as the party moved off. “My leg damn pain now! I pai kah!”

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And for the first time, a group of adventurers were allowed to step into the mystical Elven city of Rrul-Angg. They were greeted by majestic towering trees, that were linked by bridges that spanned the empty air. A sense of calm came over the party, and for the first time they felt at peace. Haado-Joshu waved a hand to beckon them over.

The party stood before a huge tree, old and gnarled with age. The tree was surrounded with beautiful mayflowers, that filled the air with a sweet scent. In the middle of the tree was a huge door, that looked like it was grown from the tree itself. Haado-Joshu knocked respectfully on the door. After a while, the door opened, and a man dressed in green emerged. He held a wooden staff in a hand, and appraised the adventurers.

“Good evening gentlemen. I am Kiftri, the druid of the Elven city of Rrul-Angg. I bid you all welcome. I have heard of your journey to the lair of the Beast, and have followed it with much concern. For the end of the Beast would bode well for our land, both human and elven. And to that, I shall aid you in your quest. Haado-Joshu shall accompany you, for he is well-versed in the lore of these lands, and is a recce leader in our city. I shall also offer you some elven bread-“

“Oh, they’re nice triangle-shaped breads,” interrupted Haado-Joshu.

“Uh no. They’re square-shaped. Anyways, one bite of the elven bread will nourish you for hours. They will prove most helpful, in case you run out of food-making spells. Rest well gentlemen, you will leave early tomorrow morning.”

As Kiftri spoke, Enddy was distracted by a movement beyond the trees. Turning his head, he spied a beautiful figure hiding shyly behind a cedar tree. His heart flowed inexplicably with joy, and he turned and tried to make his way towards the beautiful figure. She had to be the one he was looking for!

“Eh Enddy!” cried Anthony, who tugged at the wizard by his collar. “Let’s go koon already!”

At a loss, Enddy could only watch as he was dragged farther and farther away from the love of his life. Nevertheless, he made a silent promise in his heart, that he would return to see her again…

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The next morning, the party got up early and packed. They bade the beautiful elven city farewell, and continued on their way. As they walked, Anthony removed the iron ball from his pockets, and toyed with it. “Eh guys, I think we should come up with a nice name for ourselves…”

“Since this orb has brought us luck so far, I think we should name ourselves after it,” suggested Jinx.

“Good idea! I move that we call ourselves the “Fellowship of the Orb”!” said Enddy enthusiastically.

“I prefer the name MIB – Masters of the Illustrious Ball!” suggested Haado-Joshu.

“No no!” interjected the guileless protagonist. “We should call ourselves… The Ball Brothers!”
And so the party came to be known as The Ball Brothers.