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The Red Creeper: A Malc Farsom Mystery
Pizzafreak5
I felt something. Something tugging me away from bliss. I slowly gained conciousness. Reluctant to take the final step, I slowly opened my eyes. My room was brightly lit by the mourning sun. At least I thought it was mourning. Who really knows how long I slept in? :: I groaned. It never ceases, the constant cycle of day and night, of sleep and work, of warmth and cold. I pulled myself out of my warm, soft bed and shuffled sleepily across the cool cobble floor of my home to my chest of clothes. I rummaged among the rags until I found a clean pair of pants, a slightly damp shirt, two stockings, and my old boots, one of them with a hole in the heel. I threw on the assorted scraps of fabric and leather, grabbed scraps of last night's dinner and walked out of the creaking wooden door of my home. :: The first thing I noticed was that it was not mourning, but noon, the sun hovered straight overhead, throwing down waves of heat as if it were trying to cook the world. :: The second thing I saw was the large gathering of the townsfolk by the fountain, all talking with excited, angry, or worried tones. I walked to the fountain to find out what was going on. When I got there, Suse, the town's one and only barmaid, winked a large brown eye at me and said, "You're up awful early, aren't you?" Then she turned her attention back to the man speaking and standing on a crate. :: "Friends, I know your worried about Kyril, But I'm sure there's no cause for alarm. After all, he is a merchant. Perhaps he left early for Kal'rog while everyone was asleep." With that said, Harnokk stepped down from the crate and retreated into the mountain Kal'Bryst sat behind. Suse approached me and said, "I'm still worried about Kyril, but I'd wager Harnokk is right," she fixed me with those stunning eyes, "Stop by work tonight?" :: No matter what kind of man you are, you can't refuse those eyes. "Sure," I said. :: After the sudden town meeting, I walked down to the butcher's, mostly to stare at the delicious cuts of meat I couldn't afford. The butcher looked goaded at my presense. :: "Ya gonna buy anything terday, Farsom? Or are ya jus' 'ere ter drool?" He asked pointedly. I checked the menu. The cheapest cuts were labeled 'Unknown' and looked pretty suspicious. But they were only 2 minas, and that was all I could afford. :: "I'll have one of those assorted bits there," I said as I eyed the fine cut porkchops and ribeyes and flank steaks. :: The butcher slopped some of the mystery meet onto a piece of parchment, wrapped it, and tossed it over the counter as I handed him the couple of Minas. :: "Thank ya an' come again," the butcher said boredly before tacking on, "if ya can afford it." :: "At your prices, Bregg, the King Charles couldn't afford it," I said as I indignantly walked out of the store. :: Times were tough, particularly for me, seeing how I can't hold a job for more than a week at most. I was on my last handful of minas, and that wouldn't last me three days. I needed a job, bad. Perhaps the tavern owner, Darelock, would need a hand to wash bowls and ale buckets. Working with Suse wouldn't be so bad, and the Dwarves never stop drinking. :: I walked down the town's main road and entered the tunnel which lead to the main section of Kal'Bryst. Darelock's tavern was at the end of the tunnel. When I arrived, Darelock was cleaning his bar, and Suse was serving Belin and Kilgrim, both town gaurds, bowls of mushroom stew.  :: "Oi, Malc! Yer 'ere awful early," Darelock said, "What'll ya 'ave?" :: "To be honest with you, I realy can't afford anything," I said. :: "Empty pockets eh?" Darelock said, "Well, I'm afraid I can't 'elp ya, but the overseer, Lukas, might 'ave a job fer ya." :: "Thanks Darelock," I said, distracted, as I looked for Suse. She was serving another patron. I decided to go hunting, to see if I could find something worth a couple Minas. I wasn't very good at hunting, but if you can bash a pig with a rock, you could make a day's wages without too much difficulty. :: When I reached the gate, it was open. The gaurds, lately, haven't been to attentive to the gates. I walked out into the forest in front of the mountain. I heard a russle in the brush to my right, and I crouched low. I began to move forward slowly to keep quiet. The russeling stop, and there was a breif moment of silence. :: Then a man jumped from the bushes at me :: :: :: Chapter 2 :: The man lunging at me had an insane, animalistic look in his eye. I threw myself out of his path and hit my head on a tree branch. Ignoring the pain sweeping through my head, I got to my feet and broke a stick from the tree as a weapon. The man has turn to me, and again lunged. I sidestepped and struck his head with my stick. I struck the man again across his left arm, and again across his right arm.