Ruveneska, Chapter 3: Everyone's Problem, One Man's Quest by Darro

Shuren snooped around the house, letting his curiosity lead his path. There were many fine artifacts. Shuren even found some things to be even more valuable than his own home. There was a clay blue and white vase that held a small tree. A very slender blade was on display on the wall. The blade was arched, and the pommel was a blood red color. The guard of the blade was a cross that had a design of vines on it. It seemed to be a very fancy and expensive mansion. Shuren gazed at the pictures that hung from the wall. Many were awards and certificates and others were paintings, such as mountains, plains, and even him in an officer outfit.

Shuren heard faint footsteps, closing in on his location. Shuren began to look innocent as Bastian walked in the room. “Well, what do you think you should receive for punishment?” asked Bastian wickedly.

“What for, disturbing a farm?” inquired Shuren.

“That and kidnapping Rollan Canona!” accused Bastian.

“What? I never did anything to Rollan!” Shuren implied. He was beginning to lose his temper.

“You were the last to see him! That night you were caught snooping about the village! This morning he was missing! What did you do with him!” demanded Bastian.

“I didn’t do anything!” Shuren found himself screaming. He really had no idea what happened to Rollan. Was that Rollan who was running, or was he kidnapped by that man?

“Of course you say that you didn’t.” Bastian gave Shuren a smug look.

Shuren was ready to through a fit. He did not say anything; he waited until he was calm. “It’s always me! Why me? I never did anything wrong! It’s always Shuren!” “Alright Bastian, I’ll be honest with you.”

Bastian raised his eyebrows, creating wrinkles on his forehead. “What?”

“I was the last person to see Rollan, but I did not do anything to him. I was wide awake last night and thought I saw thieves, so I chased after them; I was attacked by a Reza and ran. It chased me back into the village.” explained Shuren in his most honest voice, neglecting to inform Bastian what happened with the man.

Bastian merely gave a sinister laugh. “How pathetic,” he muttered to himself. He went into deep thought before saying, “Alright Shuren, since Rollan isn’t here, that means I am in charge. I am assigning you a rescue quest, to go find Rollan and bring him back here as soon as possible.”

Shuren was shocked. For once, Bastian did not do something completely horrible. Shuren thought this over; thinking of a way to benefit out of this. “Okay, but you have to make a deal with me,” bargained Shuren, “you have to let me read anything from the library I want.”

Bastian smiled. He did not say anything to counter this proposal. “Fine, you have to be out of here by tomorrow, so get you filthy self out of here!” Bastian shouted.

Without argue, Shuren left in a hurry. A web of thoughts ran through his head at once. He would need supplies for survival. He did not have any idea where Rollan could be, the only clue was last night. Was he able to fulfill such a task? Shuren was perplexed on how unprepared he was. Mentally, he created a check list of things to do. First, he was to find proper equipment for the quest. Second, he would need to gather necessary rations. Third, he would need to decipher his direction of travel. He was exhilarated at the thought of traveling away from the village.

He reached his home momentarily. Shuren gathered anything that seemed to be of use for his journey. He was not surprised of how scarce the pile was. There was his new hunting knife, his new torso, his hunting sack, his bow and arrows, flint, and scraps of leather. He placed all of these into his leather sack. Shuren scurried through his hut, taking anything edible and storable. Only salted meat and dried vegetables were found. “Not enough, this will only last for a few meals,” reflected Shuren. He thought for some time, until a thought hit him. “I’ll just hunt before I leave, that should leave me with more than this,” he concluded. He was complete with his first two tasks, but now he needed to figure out where he was even headed. Shuren had difficulty staying on subject, many times he found his mind sidetracking off into other subjects. Suddenly, he was struck with a thought, “Last night, that man ran north, that may lead me to Rollan, but it will be dangerous . . . What if I encounter him?”

There was soft knock at the door. Apprehensively, Shuren answered it. There were three Gippy men. Shuren have never seen these three before, but he assumed that they meant trouble. Shuren asked, “What?”

Alarmed, the middle Gippy answered, “Whoa, calm down Shuren. We are here to help you.”

Shuren studied this man closely. He was tall, but not as Shuren. He had dark hair the length of Shuren’s. His low brows were matched with a pair of bold brown eyes. His face appeared smooth, making his overall appearance neat. On his body he wore a flaming red torso, along with a pair of plated legs, as if he were to battle.

“Is that so?” remarked Shuren, “do you know how unbelievable that is?”

“We do a bit,” answered the one on the left. This one had light blonde hair past his shoulders. His armor was much lighter than the others. On his body was tidy hides stitched neatly for an archer.

In disbelief, Shuren shot them a suspicious glare. “What do you want?”

“We want to help you,” said the last Gippy. This one had a deep gruff voice, very fitting for his build. He was lean, and muscular. He had short brown hair and his face was wrinkled with knowledge.

These three were the least stereotypical of all Gippies, other than Shuren. “Why? Who are you?” Shuren asked.

“Excuse us. I am Cotoz,” said the man in the middle.

“I am Lorica,” said the one on the left.

“And I am Blurton,” said the gruff one.

“What is it that you want?” Shuren asked puzzled.

“Listen Shuren, not everyone hates you. The four of us do not.” explained Cotoz.

“Four?”

“Rollan included. Listen, we mean you no harm. We wish to help you on your quest, though we cannot join you.” said Lorica.

“We will train you as much as possible before you must leave. I will train you in survival,” said Blurton.

“I will help you on hunting and archery,” said Lorica.

“And I will train you in combat.” said Cotoz.

Shuren was stunned, but flowing with energy. People that don’t hate him! “Wait, how come before, I have never seen you guys?”

“There was a law, that we were not able to interact with you,” said Cotoz.

“What, a law against me? That explains a lot.” Shuren thought of Bastian, no one else hated him more.

“Though we could not interact with you, we did as much as we could to help you. From time to time, we would leave you gifts in your path, helping you anyway possible,” explained Lorica.

“Why is there a law against me?” asked Shuren.

“We cannot say, just not now. . .” said Cotoz.

“Well, why is it that you are interacting with me now?” Shuren wondered out loud.

“Rollan is missing, and we know why,” Cotoz began.

“Tell me why!” Shuren exclaimed.

“We cannot reveal that at the moment, but Bastian thinks he will die, so he sent you on that meaningless quest, but you will fool him,” said Blurton with a smirk.

“We must get to work now!” yelled Lorica.

“But-”

“No time to explain, just trust us!” they said.

Somehow, Shuren felt that he could trust them. Without another word, they prepared. Lorica first helped Shuren with his archery while Cotoz and Blurton created supplies for him. Some of Lorica’s great archery skills were passed on to Shuren. He was now successfully able to predict where a moving object was to be and react positively.

Shuren pulled the string of his bow back as far as his arm would allow. He aimed the tip of the arrow directly at the head of his dummy. He let the string go and the force of the string sent the arrow through the air. It glided in the air for less than a second until it pierced the head of the dummy. His aim was decently growing along with his swiftness. Lloyd than instructed him how to rapidly shoot arrows at once. He jumped to his left. While in the air, Shuren was to pull out an arrow and place it on the string quickly before touching the ground. It was incredibly hard for Shuren could not jump very well. After a few attempts, Shuren still could not do it, though Shuren was enjoying himself, a very rare occurrence.

After Lorica was through teaching Shuren, Blurton was eager to pass down his survival skills. Shuren was fascinated by Blurton’s wisdom. He was able to find enough water to drink from grass! Early in the morning, the collected dew from grass could be enough to fill a canteen. Shuren could create a fire with wooden sticks and dried leaves by rubbing one stick quickly on a bigger wooden log. Under the spinning stick, was surrounding leaves. The heat generated from the sticks would burn the dried leaves. One he had smoke from the leaves, he would gently blow on it and fire would rise. He also learned to fight with bare hands. When using his fists, he would have to strike quickly and swiftly. When he punches, he would have to quickly draw his hand back to avoid a counter. Shuren knew it would somehow be useful.

Cotoz was the last and the most difficult. Shuren was given a wooden sword to spar with Cotoz. Shuren was to show him his current skills. Cotoz aimed Shuren’s neck, and Shuren barley blocked it. The force of Cotoz knocked Shuren off balance. Lorica and Blurton laughed in the background. Shuren stood up and ran at Cotoz and took an obvious strike at his gut. Cotoz turned to the side and whacked Shuren in the back of his knee, causing to fall. Cotoz taught Shuren strategies in different situations. Cotoz instructed Shuren on how to dodge and counter properly. When a person of the same scale was his opponent, Shuren had to predict where he would strike, usually from the person’s eyes. Though it seemed like he was not going to strike there, he had to dodge instead of counter. With these new strategies, they battled for hours; Shuren grew reluctant to train, also tired and sore. Cotoz was strict, but when Shuren made a mistake, he corrected him. Shuren’s combat skill dramatically sharpened.

The sun began to set and the sky turned from a tint blue, to a burning red. Shuren was exhausted, but pouring with excitement. For the first time, he had friends. Shuren sat outside on the grass along with the trio. They got to understand more of each other. They were once part of a rebellious group during the Gippy and Grundell war. They gazed at the sky as it gradually grew darker, resting. Soon it turned late. Hesitant to depart with them, Shuren went to bed, as he would need energy to travel the next day.

Shuren entered his dark house. The silence made Shuren feel lonely again. He became accustomed to friendly voices within the past several hours. He had a feeling, though, it would not last long. He jumped on the mattress in his hut. His soreness made the mattress feel comfortable. His exhaustion helped him fall asleep.

Shuren was in a cloud of darkness again. He searched around, hoping to find that girl. He knew that she was around. “Hello?” Shuren called, “are you there?”

In the distance, he saw a white figure appear, and once again, she was out of reach. Shuren tried to run to her before the wall closed on him. Quickly he ran, and he actually got closer. She turned around and smiled at him as he ran towards him. Surprisingly, she began walking towards him, slowly. When Shuren was a few steps away, she stopped walking. She raised her hand and kissed her two fingers. When Shuren was close enough to touch her, he was forced to stop. His limbs were immobilized. The woman placed her fingers on Shuren lips.

There was a thunderous pound at the door. Shuren jolted out of his bed and his arm was reached out. Flashes of the woman appeared before him, and his arm was still out, as if he were reaching for her.

He heard the very loud pounding once again. It seemed urgent, from the loudness of knock.

“Shuren, wake up! It’s us!” screamed the voices of the trio.

Shuren shot off of bed woken by the intrusion. He ran to the door, and opened it, revealing the trio. “What’s wrong?” he asked worried.

“It’s Bastian. He’s going to burn down the library!” Lorica said.

“Why would he do that?” Shuren asked, frustrated by the very thought of Bastian.

“So you can’t get those books!” exclaimed Blurton. “He isn’t keeping his end of the deal.”

“He must really hate me to go that far,” Shuren sighed panic-struck. “What should I do?”

“Get dressed; we will help you save as many books as possible.” Cotoz explained.

Shuren did so. He rapidly put on his leather pants and his new tunic. He brought his leather sack to carry the books. They walked out of his house. They crept silently through the village to the library. There, stood a crowd of Gippies with torches and staffs. It seemed as if they were ready to demolish the building with magic. Shuren spotted Bastian and anger struck through his body like a raging fire. He struggled to keep his temper under control. The trio walked up to the crowd, hoping to create a diversion.

Shuren ran through the back entrance of the library. He immediately scurried through the ‘Shuren Restricted’ sections, stuffing his sack with as many random books as he could. From outside, he heard the Gippies reject the trio. He sped up his paste, hoping that his sack would not tear. Shuren ran to another case and stumbled over a fallen book. He crashed into a bookcase and it collapsed knocking several other cases, creating an earsplitting ruckus. Shuren dusted himself off, discovering his torn sack along with a pile of books. He cursed, and lifted an armful of books. Shuren heard footsteps run inside They grew louder as Shuren realized people were getting close to him. Shuren crept along the wall behind the ruble and dust. He ran out the back door as fast as he could with an armful of books. Shuren ran back home, as fast as his legs would allow with such extra weight, where he saw the trio from a distance.

“Shuren,” Lorica shrieked, “they’re coming after you! You have to leave Hogony before they catch you and kill you!”

“What am I supposed to do out there?” Shuren asked terrified.

“Your quest,” Cotoz answered tranquilly.

“Shuren, you have more than enough skill to survive out there, here. Take this,” Blurton began as he handed Shuren a new leather sack, “You must save Rollan! We do not have time to explain, but you must!”

“I understand . . .” he said tentatively. Shuren ran inside and dropped his books on his mattress. He ran back out with all of his quest supplies. “Well, I guess this is goodbye.”

“No, not now, you will be back, and with Rollan, I trust you will,” said Cotoz firmly. Shuren smiled. He turned around and ran off in a hurry. He suck by the village gate unseen and crossed the bridge quietly.

Shuren broke free of the village’s boundaries and into the hunting forest. The forest was big enough to keep Shuren hidden, but he knew he was being followed. He kept traveling about the forest. He walked straight and turned right at the center tree of the forest. He continued to walk north and reached the other side of the forest. He was now outside in the open. He could see plains as far his eyes would allow. He recognized this place; the place he followed that figure last night. He searched the area thoroughly; he found no trace of the figure. Though he knew it was not a bright idea to camp in the middle of a plain, he was too tired to camp anywhere else. He set up his camp sloppily, and fell asleep.

There was loud roar, followed by another. Shuren, disinclined to wake, opened his eyes. He could not see anything; his vision was still adjusting. He was able to make out darkness; it was still night time. His eyes cleared up. Nearby where Shuren was, stood a group of trolls. Shuren was terror-struck. He instinctually grabbed his bow and arrows. They did not yet notice him, he quietly packed up his camp; hoping to escape undiscovered. They seemed to be fighting amongst one another.

Shuren dropped his knife on a rock, creating a blunt sound. Trolls noticed him now, and they were coming after him. He pulled out his bow, and hoped that it would scare them. That did work, so he shot some arrows, they did not damage the skin, it was in vain. They roared even louder. Now they were angry. “Can I ever get any sleep?” Shuren complained in his mind. The trolls ran after him, causing the ground to shake with each step. They were monstrous, and dangerous. Shuren dropped his things and armed himself quickly. All he had was his bow and arrows, and his hunting knife. “Longkoth! What do I do?”

The trolls circled around him. Each one of them had a blunt weapon. He futilely shot arrows, one after another, until he was left with one. Somehow, they did not attack him yet. One of them laughed, but Shuren stood there petrified.