An Ashlanders Tale Chapter 3 Options

[jonajosa]

Some of you may have read my first two chapter in this little adventure and enjoyed it. Well i've got alittle twist for yall. Let me introduce to you another charcter that is very important to this story. Her name is Johannes.


Chapter 3

[size=18]Johannes's Story

Here we come to a part in this adventure when another character’s plot begins to unfold. This character’s name is Johannes. She is a young female nord who grew up in the new settlement of Dagon Fel. So far her life has been completely unscathed by the war that was going on right outside her small village. However, as we all know nobody can escape war when it is already at your own doorstep. Let us begin Johannes’s story.


“Father.” Johannes asked when she saw her family rushing past them in the streets of Dagon Fel.

“Father!” He turned to look to see who was calling. When he saw Johannes his face lit up and he hurried towards her.

“Hurry daughter. A army is marching this way and I fear they have death and destruction on their minds.”

“What army? Who would want to attack our village?”

All I know is I saw a large group of soldiers coming this way and that I need to get my family out of here before the reach us.” He said in a very urgent tone.

I stared at him in disbelief but his face should too much worry and strain for him to be lying. “Ok. I must get home to gather my stuff.” I started to walk off but he grabbed my arm.

“No there isn’t enough time for that. They will be upon us at any moment we must hurry.”

I nodded and began to follow him through the village. Several people stopped to watch us in our hurry to leave but nobody looked too suspicious of us. I wondered why my father was not telling the others about this approaching army. Thy must know about them. My father would not condemn them all… would he?

[Soulseeker3.0]

hmmm interesting good job with keeping it alive.

[jonajosa]

Tears began to form in the corners of my eyes as I watched the mass of soldiers begin to pour into the very town I grew up in and begin to burn it. I watched as the people spent so many years with get cut down while trying to run. Gratefulness, hatred and sorrow all bombarded me at once. I was mad at my friend’s killers, I was sad at my friend’s deaths and I was thankful to the Gods for saving me from this terror. What was I to do?

“Johannes.” I turned around at the calling of my name. It was my father standing behind me with a look of sadness splashed across his face. He sighed before he began again. “You do understand why I didn’t tell anybody else about the soldiers right?” I shook my head no. My father walked towards me and laid his hand across my shoulder. “If I had told anyone else where we were going and why-“ He paused. “The soldiers could have tortured the villagers and made them tell where we were.”

“They still could have come with us.” I said.

“No. Others coming with us would only increase our chances of being caught and killed. There was no other choice for us.”

I understood why he did what he did but… It was hard to grasp. It was hard to accept that they were all gone and that they were never coming back. How could my father accept what he did? How could he live with that? I asked myself the same questions repeatedly until I fell asleep.

When I woke up the next morning, I found my father dead. Apparently, he could not live with it like I thought he could. IT was a day of sorrow for all of us.

[Soulseeker3.0]

crud that sucks... good job Jonajosa

[Fuzzy Knight]

Yupp! Good job JonaJosa keep it up.. :goodjob:

[minque]

[quote] This character’s name is Johannes. She is a young female nord who grew up in the new settlement of Dagon Fel[/quote]

Johannes is a male name.......but if you remove the s it will certainly be a sweet female one... On the other hand...it may be intentional, how would I know?


Anyway it´s a very good part, so I´m eagerly waiting for the continuation of this......just you keep it up huh?

[jonajosa]

Yes johannes is a male name but i like to prnouce it Jo-han-is. It is a female name also. I got the name from johannes Kepler. a late 15trh century philosopher. I liked it and searched around about it. i founf that many women like to use that name for their own. Its just a matter of pornouncing it right.

[minque]

ok....then it´s even more interesting.....so keep writing :goodjob:

[Dantrag]

I love this story. Glad you didn;t give it up.

[jonajosa]

I got a long one this time.


“There is no time to morn for him.” I looked behind me to see my mother standing there staring at me with pain stricken eyes. “ We have to go before those soldiers find us.”

“I know… It’s just hard to believe that he would kill himself after doing what he did. I thought he would be able to stuff down his pain and get over it.”

“Your father was a good man. The decision he made was in the best interest of his family. I don’t think he knew though how high the consequences of his actions would be.”

I sighed. It would be awhile before I would finally get my emotions back to normal again.

“Come on. The others want to leave.” She walked away slowly and disappeared around the rocks ahead of me. I grabbed my stuff and looked out over the cliffs edge and stared into the valley below me. All that was left of my home town now was a bunch of smoldering pile of ash. I forced myself to look away.

“Come Johannes.” My mother called. I walked away from the edge thinking I would never see Dagon Fel again.

The path through the mountains was hard. We were constantly fending off attacks by wild nix hounds and trying to stay warm. On the second day of travel a strong storm struck. The wind was so powerful that we all had to sit down on the ground to avoid being shoved backwards by the violent gales. It was that night when disaster struck.

“Johannes!” Someone was shouting my name but I could barely hear it because of the wind and rain. I looked out into the waves of rain pour down and saw a figure coming at me.

“Johannes!” The figure shouted.

“What is it?” I asked when the figure got closer. I saw it was my cousin Apal.

“Your mother sent me to tell you that they found a cave we could stay in for the night!” The sound of a nice dry cave sounded very nice to me. I would do anything to get out of this rain.

“Take me to this cave!” I shouted. He nodded and gestured for me to follow him. On the way to the cave I saw a group of nix hounds run off into the rocks to my left. They could mean trouble later on. Especially if they found the cave and decided they wanted to stay with us.

“There it is!” Apal shouted. I looked ahead and saw light coming out of a small opening in a cliff face a few feet away. Fire! Someone had made a fire. The sight of that made me double time it over there to feel its warmth. As I entered the small opening I saw that this cave was actually larger than I thought it would be. There was enough room for everyone to fit comfortably without being smashed up against each other.

“There you are.” I saw my mother stand up from beside the fire and walk towards me. “I was wondering when you’d get here.”

“The wind is picking up and it slowed sown are walk here. All I want to do now is sit down and dry out my cloths.”

“Of course dear. You take care of what you need to do and when you’re done come over here and sit down with the rest of us. We all have a little talking to do.”

I shook my head ok and walked over to a corner of the cave where someone had laid some hot coals down to fry out the cloths. I stripped my clothing and put another set of cloths on. I had to use the bathroom. I grabbed a large blanket and walked over to the group fire.

“I’m going to go use bathroom. Ill be back soon.” My mother nodded and returned to her conversation with another family member.

As I walked out into the rain I put the blanket over my head. I looked around for a place where I could take care of my business and saw a rock ledge a few feet away. I went to it and was about to sit down when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I looked up and saw the entire side of the mountain opposite of us start to slide off. It was coming strait at us.

I started to run back to the cave when two Nix hounds appeared from behind a group of rocks. They moved closer and started to growl. I looked around and found a dead tree branch laying on the ground. I picked it up and started waving it back and forth trying to scare off the nix hounds. Apparently the nix hounds could see my lack of knowledge of how to use a weapon and used my pauses between swings to leap at me.

My branch collided with one of the nix hound’s head and it reared back and scurried off. The other however got through my wild swinging and was able to scratch me with its long nails. I fell back and lost my branch. I knew my end had come and I waited for the nix hound to come and finish me off but nothing happened. I opened my eyes and looked around only to see that the hound had left. Why would they leave a perfectly good meal? My question was answered when I looked ahead of me. The mudslide was picking up speed and still coming at me. I looked to the cave but it was to late. The mud wall splashed into the opening and filled the cave.

[minque]

Holy crap Jona!......What an awful fate for the folks in the cave....brrrr this one got me right to my belly..

Poor poor Johannes, what will become of her, in a very short time she lost everything, and that in a rather violent way.Of course I feel for her, there is a faint resemblance emotionallly with my Serene who also lost everything..

So if you would continue in a near future I would be very happy, becuse I can´t wait to hear about how this young girl will handle this gruesome situation of hers!

:goodjob: :goodjob:

[Soulseeker3.0]

dang that must suck like Minque said

[jonajosa]

I started to move towards the cave but the sight of the mud still coming at me made me falter and stop. I turned and ran up the hill behind me and climbed on top of a rock just before the river of mud ran past me. I stood there in the rain watching the mudflow pass me. It was washing away parts of the rock I stood on with it. I realized that if I did not get off my butt and move to another place of safety I would be washed away very soon.

I looked around me for a place to jump to but I saw nothing. Finally, I saw something floating down with the mud river. It was a group of trees caught together by the branches. I knew this was my last chance for escape from this rock so I got ready to jump when the trees got closer. I counted the seconds until I had to jump. Five…four…three…two…one. I jumped with all my might, sailed through the air, and landed right on top of the group of trees. I had made it.

I was filled with relief because right after I jumped the rock I was standing on got washed away under a sudden rush of water. I looked for the source of this sudden rush and saw that a rockslide had caused a large wave to come up behind me and push me faster down the river. I held on tight to the branches and prayed to the gods for mercy. Suddenly I ran aground. I looked around and saw I had been lodged on some sort of steep hill.

I had to climb it if I was to going to escape this deadly river. I jumped up, grabbed a small ledge, and tried to pull myself up. However, my upper body strength was not very good and it proved unsuccessful. I was about to drop down when the group of trees below me washed away.

“No!” I cried. “Come back!” The trees continued to float downriver until they were out of sight. My arms started to ache and I knew I could not hold on much longer. I was about to let go when a rope dropped beside me. Not thinking I grabbed onto it and held on with all my strength. I started to rise away from the river. When I looked up, I saw a white tattooed face looking down at me. He grabbed me and pulled me up over the edge. I looked around me, I was completely surrounded my nords and they were all glaring at me.

[Fuzzy Knight]

Nice! Great work JonaJosa :goodjob: Now who can those Nords be...? :ashamed:

[minque]

Thank you JJ for posting that soon again.....Hmm in my head there are images from Jean Auel´s books about Ayla, and also .....the tsunami-catastrophe.....

You are very good at describing thrilling events like that, and I´m very much looking forward reading the next part so if you would be so kind.....

:goodjob:

[Soulseeker3.0]

yes good and whos Nords are they, hmmm.

[jonajosa]

Small part to finish this scene. Then we can get on to the next ones.

I laid there not moving staring right back at them. For a long time they just talked to themselves. Several seemed ready to kill me as soon as their leader decided I was not worthy of living. Finally after a few minutes of sitting and trying to listen one finally broke away from the others and came towards me.

“What is your name?” I flinched at his very deep and scratchy voice. It was a voice of authority and wisdom.

“Johannes” I responded quickly. I was afraid that if I had drug myself into some long speech about myself he would have killed me for not being able to shut my mouth.

Again he drew back towards his group and they began talking about what they would do next. I sat there impatiently wondering if I should try to run. I looked around me and decided that if I even made the slightest wrong movement one of the nords behind me would swipe my head clean off my shoulders. I looked back towards the ones that were talking and saw the man that talked to me before was coming back.

“You are to come with us.” He said. I nodded back at him and got up. Before I could start walking though somebody came up behind me and tied my arms together. I was pushed in the direction they were walking and blindfolded. Off we go I thought.

[Soulseeker3.0]

good job Jona. i wonder what will happen to Johannes

[minque]

Great! An addition about Joannes, I like that you know... So now she will follow those swedes..ehrrm Nords I mean.......hmm please do not let me wait too long for the next part....you won´t let your supporters down will you?

I think I will say S.G.M......it seems the most suitable expression just now.. :goodjob: :goodjob: :goodjob: :goodjob:

[jonajosa]

It was sometime before I had the blindfold taken off. The sun was shining bright and my eyes needed time to adjust to the light. But once I could see well again I could tell I was some distance away from the area I grew up in. The barren mountains and dry air were gone. I looked around me only to see an endless plain of grass.

I had heard of this place once before. A traveler had told me that just south of our town was a giant area of rolling hills and a variety of wild life just waiting to be discovered. I guess I had finally made it there, but under the circumstances I preferred being in… someone else’s company right now.

The pull to being exploring this place was so strong that I found my self walking away from my captors and into a waist high field of saltrice. However that pull was suddenly ended with a smack to my back. I fell forward and landed face first into the ground. Someone grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back up to my knees and twisted me around.

“Trying to leave are we?” The man snarled into my face. His breath was terribly smelly and the sight of his rotten yellow teeth was enough to make me gag. “I’m gonna teach you not to try to run again.” He pulled out his dagger and was about to being my “punishment” when he suddenly stopped. I looked up at him only to see him with an expression of pain across his face. He collapsed atop of me and muttered his final words before dieing. “Chimer…”

I pushed him off me, got up and saw that the dead man had an arrow sticking out of his back. I heard a shout of alarm and the rustle of men moving around me. In front of me I saw a large group men of black plated armor running towards me. I guessed they were the chimer the dead soldier had had talked about. I stood there wondering what I should do next. I can’t run and I can’t fight. So I just waited there looking at the men approaching.

Suddenly a hail of arrows came flying past me and collided into the group of warriors in front of me. Then a swarm of half naked nords came running past me wielding large two handed swords. They collided with the other group and forced the chimer to halt in their advance. But the small group of nords didn’t last long against the large group of Chimer. But their deaths were not in vain because the force behind them had time to organize their own charge.

The two groups of soldiers met right where I was standing. Arrows whistled overhead and swords clanged all around me. Strangely enough everybody ignored my presence there on the battle field. It was like some shield surrounded me keeping the warriors at bay. I looked around me to examine the fight.

Neither side seemed to have gained the advantage. Men died equally for both sides. This was going to last a long time and that was time I didn’t want to waste by watching people die. I ran ahead seeking a way out of the carnage. I jerked left and right trying to avoid the separate fights going on between soldiers. I saw the end of the fighting in front of me and was about to break through the soldiers just ahead of me when in was snatched up by a man on a horse.

“Let go!” I shouted at him, but he didn’t pay any attention to me and keep his attention on his surrounding. He blocked a thrust and killed a nord before finally breaking out of the fighting. He galloped ahead and dropped me off in front of a small group of men watching the battle.

“ I see you have brought us some company Sergeant.” A man said as he walked towards us. He bowed in front of me and kissed my hand. “And who might you be?”

“My… My name is Johannes.” I said. The man was dressed in a complete set of iron armor and had a fairly large sword hanging form his belt. The medallion hanging from his neck was covered with gems and strange symbols. I stared at the Medallion for a while thinking. I had seen that before… somewhere, but where?

“You like my trinket?” He said after seeing that I was staring at it.

I looked up at him and smiled. “It is very pretty.” I hoped that was a convincing enough reason. He smiled back at me and gestured at one of his aids.

“Take this woman to the camp and give her a tent to stay in.” He said once the aid got to us. He then turned back to me. “I’ll see you in a couple of hours. I hope we’ll be able to have dinner together tonight.”

“I believe that would be nice…” I paused waiting for him to tell me his name.

“Forgive me. My name is Marit.” He said.

“Well I shall see you then Marit. Farewell.” I turned and followed his aid towards some horses at the bottom of a small hill. On the way down I saw several more columns of soldiers just waiting to be ordered into combat with the nords. I was shocked. Was I to be eating with a general tonight?

I had been sitting in my tent for about an hour before the first of the Chimer columns began filing back into camp. I walked out to see where Marit was and saw him riding with his lower commanders near the entrance. I stood there and waited for him to get closer before I went to him.

When he got closer I could tell he had seen some combat. His sword had blood on it and his shield was dented. He dismounted slowly and began walking towards me.

“Hello again Johannes. I hope you haven’t waited all that long for me to return?” He tried to smile but all he could manage was a small twitch at the corner of his mouth. I could tell he was exhausted from the days fighting.

“You look very tired. Maybe we should call off our dinner until tomorrow.” I suggested expecting him to completely agree with me.

“No. It must be done today. I must leave tomorrow for Tel Vos. The nords are advancing towards the city there.” He stopped and took a breath. “Let us go eat now. I am hungry and after today I need all the food I can get.”

I laughed to myself as he walked away to change his bloody cloths out for a clean set. This man will never give up. I can tell by his attitude and his actions. Gods forgive me for saying this but… I think I was starting to like this Chimer.