Shortie Thread, Cameos and unconnected brief tales Options

[Adella]

Hello everyone

This thread is for short pieces or tales which are not necessarily part of anything larger, but standalone as is. I invite any participation and comment upon content is welcome. I would make a plea for sincere works please and not jokey one liners hmmm.

Please also just include ‘End’ at the…end of the piece. So that others may know it is safe to start adding comments without unintentionally interrupting your creative flow.

Adella



Let me include an example of the kind of intended content. I wrote this following a battle in Falskaar. There is no more, no lead in, no continuation. You enjoy what it is (or not) as it stands.

“Hmmm, I just had a thrilling fight. I had returned to a camp where some bandits had respawned. The fights were so so with largely straight kills.

Most were already dispatched when this enraged regular Thug caught up with me in the courtyard. We engaged with the usual swipes, power attacks and blocks suddenly he made an over arm power attack which I dodged by moving left, and before he could complete his swing, I brought my sword across in a waist high flat arc from right to left
My razor sharp Dragonbone blade slashed a line right across his bare gut. The rent flesh opened like a vomiting mouth, spilling his intestine at his feet.

The vile pile of green and red bile sat there steaming in the chill crisp morning air.
His trembling fingers released his redundant sword and his confused questioning eyes locked with mine for a second before he dropped to his knees.

In slow motion it seemed, he looked down at the mess of guts and in his delirium he vainly tried to scoop them back into his gaping belly. I twisted my boot into his oozing entrails ending the fruitless attempt. He looked up at me with water filled eyes, the anger replaced with a deep sadness. Perhaps he was thinking of some loved one he knew he would never see again, I can’t know. He seemed to be trying to say something, but the shock reduced it to a stammering “I..I..I” and he began to wobble.

I took a brief pity upon him. “Shsh baby” I cooed to him, bending down and smoothing his greasy hair back from his dirt and blood smeared face. In a moment we both reached an unspoken understanding. A courtesy between combatants.
“Th..th..thank y..you” he managed with a grunted whisper.
I stood. My sword sank into his pain and it was over.

It was one of those special moments we occasionally face in the heat of battle. A few seconds which extend out of time and remain with us always.””
END

This post has been edited by Adella: Jul 2 2021, 06:56 PM

[Acadian]

Nice job of highlighting that even a bandit fight involves snuffing out lives. Each with hopes, dreams, failures, perhaps loved ones and ones loved. . . .

[macole]

Jeez, what a guy must do to get a gentle touch and his hair brushed. Good very intense shortie, held my interest.

This post has been edited by macole: Jul 2 2021, 07:34 PM

[SubRosa]

My sword sank into his pain and it was over.

This was a nice line in an otherwise harsh snipped of reality.

[treydog]

Most gruesomely descriptive. But also a moment of humanity in the midst of the violence. Excellent. Continuing the tale (if I may?)

-------------------------
I searched his pockets, doing my best to avoid the gore. When I had first set my feet on this path, I would have recoiled at the idea of "robbing the dead." But what use to him now, the things he had carried to this meeting? A few coins, a bit of food (which I tossed aside- I was pragmatic, not a ghoul). And a much creased and handled letter, with an address I could barely make out, a street in Anvil. I shrugged. Anvil was on the way to where I was going in any event.

Anvil- Several days later

The bell outside the door of the modest house rang once, and the old woman rose from her chair, the pain in her joints making everything take three times as long. Still, she smiled. "That'll be my Jem," she told herself. "He's a good boy, and I knew he would come back to me."

But when she opened the door, there was no one in sight. She sighed, thinking perhaps it was the children down the street having their little joke. About to close the door, she glanced down and saw a worn pouch lying on the doorstep.

END

This post has been edited by treydog: Jul 3 2021, 01:11 AM

[Adella]

Hee hee! Nice extra ending! As it happens…In my playstyle, I do take from bandits, but not from fallen soldiers or the honoured dead (including Draugr, cos like…yuk!). Thanks for the additions guys.

Working on another little one with a different flavour….not TES
Something a bit….Raymond Chandler’esque

A.

This post has been edited by Adella: Jul 3 2021, 11:33 PM

[SubRosa]

That is a nice little addendum to the tale o' Hound of the Three.

[Adella]

I mused this cameo piece whilst watching rain in a sombre mood…kinda reflective and cosey.

Anyhow…So, here I am in this little city night club at the end of the evening….


Closing time at the Aprés Noir

The booth was warm and comforting like a mother’s arms, low lighting made it hard to focus or was it one glass too many at end of the long evening? I didn’t care and the timeless moment could have drifted forever.

A deep voice rumbled at my ear in a gentle tone “ Club’s ‘bout t’close miss”. The huge bouncer moved on, fading into the gloom and I attempted to climb a rung of consciousness, opening a heavy eye. A no name performer shuffled at the mic, his rendition of ‘Still Crazy’ slow, garbled and messy fitted the mood perfectly.

My clutch clung to the far edge of the table like a desperate man about to jump. A crowd of empty cocktail glasses, sad and pointless filled the space between, while rafts of soggy umbrellas and small sticks floated in the spillage. I reached through the forest and rescued the clutch, within lie salvation, the number of a cab company I could never recall.

The after work drinks crowd had abandoned me at some point to continue their boozed up club crawl, but I like it here just fine. This old haunt is a familiar friend with forgotten memories of worse times past laid to rest for the cost of a bottle of sin. At least I felt safe here, and protected from the unscrupulous who prowl the neon streets and shadow filled alleys.

This city has a habit of swallowing up those who spend the night staggering from one cheap joint to the next. The morning paper tells of the stragglers who tried to catch up with party friends and took a wrong turn of instant regret.

Here’s my cab...time to go home!”
END

This post has been edited by Adella: Jul 4 2021, 12:45 AM

[Renee]

Aw. I remember clubs. That brought back a lot of fond feelings & memories. Being smashed. Wandering around in half-dark, dancing with friends or strangers. Getting flirted with (back when I was actually flirtable, ha).

There was a disco night in Baltimore way back in the '90s. Remember how each new decade would start to look back 20 years in the past? Like, during the '70s, there was Happy Days and Grease? Media and trends had this habit of going back 20 years. Maybe not. But the idea in the '90s was this resurgence of disco at this one club. I had two sets of friends back in those days: one set were more like rockers & hippy-types who would DIE if they had to go out on a disco floor. The other set were a few who loved going dancing, just wanted to have fun.

Anyway, brought back memories.

A million ways to spend our time...
When we get back
I'll drop a line

Where is Aprés Noir?

[Adella]

Snip
Where is Aprés Noir?

Aw Renee…You sound like you would like to see the place, share a cocktail evening, half listen to the swaying crooner and sink into nostalgia.

Sadly it doesn’t exist beyond being a brief diversion from reality in the style of Chandler.

But…If you liked it, perhaps there is more in there. Somewhere between the worm and the bottom of the bottle! Perhaps the cab never made it back to my sad second floor apartment or perhaps a rainsoaked coat under a trilby was waiting under a street lamp for me to return….

Adella

[Renee]

Sadly it doesn’t exist beyond being a brief diversion from reality in the style of Chandler.

That's okay! Your shortie brought back some memories, and I've certainly been to places like Aprés Noir before. One extra memory from those days is cigarette smoke. Smokers used to smoke in those days, inside of clubs. Though this sounds gross (and my 50 year-old self would agree) back when I was younger I used to like the smell of smoke the next morning, even though I don't smoke ciggies. It'd be on the clothes I wore, reminding me of some epic adventures the night before.

I'll eventually add an actual shortie to this thread.

[Lena Wolf]

Lena was asleep and her dream tasted of honey. Honey and rose nectar was what she tasted and smelled, and bright butterflies were fluttering all around her, softly touching her with their wings. Slowly the dream faded replaced by a shimmer of candlelight seen through closed eyelids, and a feeling of closeness and warmth. Hauk was wrapped around her, slowly and rhythmically moving, pulling her deeper into his embrace. He too was asleep. She didn't try to wake him or to wriggle free, instead she helped him in.

"Mmm..." - he moaned, his sleep fading away. He kissed the nape of her neck, his movement and embrace becoming stronger and more deliberate.

They moved in perfect harmony, pulling away and coming close with absolute synchronicity, their hearts beating as one. They could feel each other's heart beat as Hauk's embrace was tightening around Lena, pressing her back against his chest. Their hearts raced, then with a jerk their movements stopped, and they were one.

They felt their bodies relax and Hauk loosened his embrace somewhat, still not letting go of Lena. He kissed the nape of her neck, and was asleep before his lips left her skin. Lena felt the butterflies again and tasted honey and rose nectar. The candle was burning softly by the bed. Was that all but a dream?

[Pseron Wyrd]

A million ways to spend our time...
When we get back
I'll drop a line

The Doors! I had the privilege of seeing the Doors once. They were my favorite band when I was a teen.

Anyway, back to the topic....

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

This is a great idea for a thread. Convenient spot for those of us writing series to put in little tidbits related to our worlds we have created/used. I plan on doing that for Fallout: Florida, though a bunch of my ideas will require a lot more of the regular story being written, as they will contain some spoilers for what happens much later.