Part 2: Road Work
The boy, identified as Ash, wakes up right after that strange dream. He finds himself clothed by a large dirty-white pajama top, which might belong to that "red guy" he saw earlier. Ash climbed out of bed, but stumbled on the floor, since he stepped on the overgrown shirt. That quickly earned him a bump on the head.
Ash quickly surveyed his surrounding. On the wooden drawer table beside the bed, is a large, red book. There is an open drawer below it as well. Ash surveyed the contents, and found a map of the Dauna Region.
While reading the map, Ash was walking in circles. He tripped again, and rolled towards the back door and out. Ash rolled again and again, down the stairs leading around and out of the treehouse, until he stopped at the foot of it.
Shaking the cobwebs off, Ash stood back up. Map in hand(he didn't have pockets, of course), Ash walked south. The map says that the nearest town, McNeil, is located there.
On the southern exit, a middle-aged human carrying a large rucksack caught his attention. "Hey, what's a kid like you wandering around alone here?" the man asked. "Be careful; a couple of troublemakers, named Rei and Teepo, live around here. Better not get into trouble with them is the best advice I can give you. be careful, now, boy..."
"Hey, kid! Wander around like that, you're liable to get eaten up by dogs or somethin'."
Ash nodded at the stranger's warning, and continued onward. In the next area, the forest has thickened a bit, and the place is a bit dark. North is a ridge, and, according to the map, it leads into Mt. Glaus, the largest mountain in the Yraal region, up north.
At the middle of the forest is a small creek. There were two humans there, one male and one female. Ash unwittingly listens in to what they were saying:
"There's an old man named Samson who lives here in the woods... He's kind of strange-- why else would he want to live by himself in the woods like that?" the female wondered.
"Well, he used to be a soldier of Wyndia before retiring, " her companion was saying. "I hear he's pretty sane; the villagers hire him to help with the farmwork once in a while."
Ash ignored the rest of nthe conversation and went on his way. The nature path forks south and east, and he decided on the latter. He found the eastern(also the main) exit of the forest. Nearby, was a small wooden hut.
From the east exit, a giant of a man entered. He had graying brown hair, a very muscular build beneath a brown, weather worn vest and white plain shirt. To complete his mountain man look, he also had a very thick beard to match with his hair.
The giant ignored the pajama-clothed boy, and headed south, towards the lone wooden hut. Ash, for a few seconds, stood admiring the size of the stranger, before finally heading out of Cedar Woods.
Following a dirt path, Ash headed around the thick forest and to a small valley a little way south. In this valley is Mcneil, the small farming village.
The valley surrounding Mcneil consists of four small hills surrounding a natural intersection. Lining each of the hills were the houses of the farmers who tend to the fields directly south. Southeast of Mcneil, in the corresponding hill, is the manor, which, according to the map, belongs to Mayor Mcneil, the village lord.
Ash headed inside the village. At the northern exit, just as he was walking down the mountain, a loud noise could be heard at the northeasternmost house, which he just conveniently passed.
From out of the house sped Rei, and jumping off the edge of the hill's ledge, landing right in front of Ash. Teepo, also bolting from the house, meanwhile ran all the way downhill, stopping right behind Ash. A woman could be seen from the door, waving her fists furiously at them.
"Out of my house, you punks!" the lady shouted."
"Ha ha ha! You'll never catch me!!" Teepo taunted.
When the woman disappeared back inside, Teepo turned to Rei. "It's no use, Rei. Everyone's watching out for us..."
"Nobody's got much food, what with the poor harvest and all... Hey, Teepo," Rei said, realizing they were not alone, "look at this..."
"Hey! You finally woke up, huh?" Teepo ran around Ahs to get a good look at him.
"Doesn't this beat all," Rei muttered. "Now we've got another mouth to feed..."
"What if we get him to help us, Rei?"
"Good idea... But I think we need to get him out of his pajamas first."
"C'mon!" Teepo said, taking Ash's hand and helping him up. "We'll get you fixed up with some equipment!"
Rei and Teepo ran south, towards a weapon store, at the southern section. Ash, lagging behind, Rei poised, ready to act quickly, and Teepo behind him. Ash approached the latter.
"You just wait, Ash," Teepo said, as the older thief sneaks inside. "Rei'll get you set up with something in no time!" Ash blinked. "Huh??...Did I just say Ash? ...Is that your name?"
Ash nodded. "Funny...how did I know that? Maybe I dreamed it...?"
Loud banging noises came from within the shop. At thaty moment, Rei flees from the door, bolting south. Over his shoulder, Rei shouted,
"Uh-oh! Let's scram, you two!!" Teepo ran after Rei, and Ash, hearing heavy cursing from inside the store, ran after them in alarm.
The three boys sped out of the village, and into the farm down south. There, the fall season sees the color of the crops a fading yellow. half the fields, mostly on the western side of the road, have already been harvested. Still, a few farmers, male and female alike, are loitering around. Cows also littered, but on the pasture to the east.
At a y-fork in the farm road, one path leads east towards Mcneil manor, and the south continuing to the Yraal Road. There is a small, unused cabin at the island created by the branching paths.
Rei directed Ash to use the cabin to get dressed while Rei and Teepo waited outside. Ash finally steps out, but the armor on his clothes were a bit new to him.
"Guess he has to get used to wearing clothes for a change," Rei said. "It's better than pajamas, anyway."
"What do we do now, Rei?" Teepo asked.
"Well..." Rei thought for a moment. "Everyone in town's in a bad mood over the poor harvest... I know! Let's hit the road! We can do some work there!"
Teepo turned to Ash. "There's a road up ahead called the Yraall Road..." He pointed to the road leading south. "We go there sometimes and, well, mug people."
"It's not like we hurt people or anything," Rei added. "Just steal from 'em... I'm not into hurting people, you know..."
"That's right!" Teepo said. "Even a beginner like you can do it! C'mon, don't worry... Let's go!"
"And, oh yeah, here." Rei took Ash's hands, and gave him a dagger. "A lot of monsters have been lurking around lately. Teepo and I can't look after you all the time now, can we? Now let's go."
Before Ash could stop them, Rei and Teepo raced on forward. Being the only people he knew, Ash has no choice but to follow them. He placed the dagger in the sheath that was also given to him by Rei, hoping he won't have to use it.
The next section was a junction shaped like an upside-down letter T. The main portion branches out at the end of the road, to east and west. From the former, the path leads to a broken bridge. From the latter, another barren mountain blocks the way. There are still a few pastures and farm lots here, and a few trees. Otherwise, there are no points of interest.
Teepo went into something like a tour guide spiel. "This is where we work. The Yraall Road... This road goes all the way to Wyndia..." He pointed to the path going around the mountain.
"Someday, we're gonna blow this place and head out to a big city like Wyndia... right, Rei?"
Rei shrugged. "Well... instead of worrying about that, let's think about getting something to eat today, OK?"
Rei surveyed the road keenly. His eyes fell on a clump of trees southeast. It has a good elevation from the main road. "We should go hide and wait for someone to come by... Behind that tree up there looks good to me... Come on, Ash, right? Let's go."
Teepo led the way to the hiding spot. Ash found that it was indeed a good hiding place. Rei, being tall, crouched behind a small berry shrub, while Teepo and Ash simply stood. Their sizes make it easy for them to go unnoticed at the spot.
"All right, let's wait here..." Rei turned to Ash. "When someone comes by, we jump out..."
"Like this!" Teepo said, brandishing a rapier. At the same time, Rei revealed his weapons, two short swords.
"What's up, Ash?" Teepo asked. "Don't get all soft on us now..."
"Don't worry," Rei added. "We're just some poor kids trying to get some food... Whoever it is will forgive us... right?" Ash sweatdropped at the comment.
"Hey! Here comes somebody!" Teepo said.
All three quieted down, and crouched behind the shrubs. Coming from Mcneil, was none other than the giant "mountain man" Ash ran into earlier. He turned, and headed east, right towards the spot where the thieves are hiding.
"He's alone..." Rei turned back to Ash. "OK, Ash, show us what you're made of... Go get him!"
Teepo ran behind Ash. "Just run into him, like this!" he said, kicking Ash and sending him forward.
Ash, losing balance, toppled over the ledge, and slid down to the road. He crashed right into the giant. The giant bent down and helped Ash up. "What are you trying to do, little one? Mug me, hmm?
"We've got enough trouble around here already with those rascals Teepo and Rei... Listen to me... If you run into them tell them that if I catch them... they'll be sorry!"
The man goes on his way.
"Whoops," Rei said, standing up once the man was out of sight. "Figures it would be Samson...
Teepo sniffed. "Who does he think he is, anyway?"
Ash re-joins Rei and Teepo at the hiding spot. At that point, Rei had an idea. "Hey... wait a minute! If old man Samson's out here, that means there's no one at his house, right?"
"You're right!" Teepo agreed. "Let's go and grab some of his food! That'll show 'im!"
Ash knew better than to argue with these two. He knew this would be a bad thing, but he has to keep them in line, however hopeless it will be. Together, the three sped back towards Cedar Woods.
To Be Continued
Another character tie-in. Can you guess who? Someone who will be a mentor of sorts to Ash and his friends later.
I know it's not advancechipping material yet, but May doesn't come into the story until later. But I promise to make it all up to you then. Please review.
