Esme on 30/11/2005 at 22:27

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Bessie picked up the broom and started to sweep the bar again, "If we don't get a customer soon I may as well close up!" she thought.

Replacing the broom she looked out of the window at the rain pouring from the leaden sky "cats and dogs!, no one'll be out tonight" she muttered.

The door creaked open and a hooded, rainsoaked and bedraggled figure entered, nothing could be seen of his face save one glittering eye.

"Please, I need food.. I I I can work for it ... I have no money" said the man staring at the puddle of rainwater he'd walked in.

Now Bessie was not an unkindly soul and the sight of this poor creature softened her heart, she directed him to a seat by the fire and gave him some water, bread and a little cheese. Gruffly she said "it's not much I know, but if the master knew he'd have my hide and yours. Now eat it quick and be gone afore some one sees, and don't be coming again nor your friends neither, this is a business not a charity" embarrassed at her own genorosity.

She turned to return to the bar and nearly leapt out of her skin at the man standing right behind her watching her charitable transaction.

He was tall, handsome in a worldly way, carried a cane, wore dark clothes and a long cape nearly reaching the floor, his silver hair shone in the torchlight and his smile was wide and hearty, "LORD! you gave me a fright sir, I didn't hear you come in" said Bessie bustling round to the serving side of the bar.

"Fair lady, I would like some food and a small brandy to keep the cold at bay" said the smiling man, proferring a gold coin as payment.

Bessie was flustered by his charming manners, no one had ever called her "lady" or "fair" before, that and the gold coin that held her gaze being equal to a weeks pay.

"I'm afraid I can't change this sir" she said staring at the coin, "no matter" said the man "one so fair as yourself may keep the change"

Bessie flushed "I I have some stew, it's only mushroom but it's warm" she stammered at this outrageous flattery, thinking of ways to prevent the coin from reaching the till.

"That would be wonderful" said the man still smiling, he turned and went to sit at a table leaving the coin on the bar which Bessie swiftly pocketed.

She fetched the stew she was saving for her supper, and a measure of the second best brandy, "after all the coin might be a fake" she thought, and the man ate and drank in silence while Bessie returned and watched from the bar.

When he finished eating he stood bowed towards Bessie who smiled, he arranged his cape and hat and strode noiselessly to the door disappearing into the night.

Bessie sighed thinking of what she would do with the gold coin, it was some time before she realised the man by the fire had disappeared, and he had left some of the bread and cheese, "odd .. he seemed so hungry" she thought, "oh well waste not want not, especially as I just sold my supper"

=====

It was dark and wet in the street, a tall figure in a wide hat and cape strode down it's centre ignoring the near torrential rain and humming to himself.

Behind him a figure flitted almost noiselessly from shadow to shadow one eye glittering from within the hood it wore.

A watchman rounded the corner, looking for somewhere to stand out of the rain "Good evening officer" said the tall man beaming at him "I trust all is well".

"Aa yes sir, thank you for enquiring, not a fit night for man nor beast but there's rarely any trouble on such nights, might I enquire as to your destination sir" responded the watchman blinking the rain from his eyes.

"As you say not a fit night, I'm just off home after a warming supper at the inn, and I must say I feel much safer knowing the streets are still patrolled despite the inclement weather, I admire your dedication" the smiling man beamed at the watchman.

The watchman quite forgetting his search for shelter visibly swelled "Nice of you to say so sir, there's not many that do, I'll not detain you any more and I'll bid you good night".

"Good night officer" said the man turning as the watchman resumed his patrol down the street, completely missing the hooded figure crouched in the shadow of a doorway.

As the guard passed the crouched figure he almost noislessly set off in pursuit of the figure in the cape.

Reaching a corner the smiling man turned and disappeared into a side street, the hooded figure quickly followed readying a blackjack as he did.

The side street was very dark, one figure came up behind another, there was a muffled thump, a grunt, and a body lay unconcious in the gutter.

"Not you then" said the smiling man sadly, and seemingly taken by pity placed a gold coin in the would be thief's pocket and dragged him to the shelter of a doorway.

=====

Garrett watched from a rooftop bemused, "Hmm now there's something you don't see every day", as the smiling man continued to walk, Garret driven by curiosity more than a desire for gold followed along the rooftops and walls occasionally leaping soundlessly across alleyways in his pursuit.

From his vantage point Garrett realised the man was taking a very circuitous route to his destination almost as if he wished it kept secret, but puzzlingly he made no attempt to conceal himself as he traversed his route.

The rooftops became congested and difficult, blocking sight of the man, fearing he might lose track of his curious prey garrett dropped soundlessly to street level to continue the hunt.

Finally they arrived at a door and the man entered, Garrett waited and a light illuminated an upstairs window, "there you are" he murmured and grinned, "now let's find out what you're up to" and planted a gas bomb just in front of the door the man had used.

Firing a rope arrow into the gable of a nearby building he swiftly ascended to the rooftops, retrieved the arrow and crossed to the building containing the object of his curiosity and hopefully there would be some gold involved too.

Leaning over the edge Garrett found an upper window he could force open with his knife, a little more noise than he would like but it couldn't be helped, jamming a rope arrow into the guttering, garrett lowered himself and forced the window, swinging in he found himself in a small storage room, he stood in the darkness and listened to the sounds of the house for any tell tale noise of discovery, ready to climb the rope to safety.

A rat scrabbled in the attic but otherwise all was silence, Garrett checked through the contents of the room, nothing of value came to light but it was always worth the effort, he crossed cat like to the door and finding it locked, picked it open, the hallway outside was deserted and a light could be seen flickering faintly up the stairwell, Garrett smiled thinly and moved towards the stairs.

Crouching as he descended he could see the man through the bannister sitting on a sofa by the fire, reading, still smiling at some private joke only he was aware of, his hat and cape were draped on a hatstand opposite him where they steamed gently, a bed had been made by the window but apart from this the room was unfurnished the door locked with the key in the lock, the bolts set and the cane leaning against the door set to fall should it move.

Garrett paused, this was getting very strange, the man could obviously afford better lodgings than these and yet seemed to take great stock in security, getting through that door silently would be a challenge, well it would be one of the things he'd ask when it was safe to do so, once the man was subdued and tied down that is.

He readied his blackjack and glided down the stairs, keeping out of the direct line of sight of the reading man, checking the bare floor for tripwires and loose objects he closed on his quarry.

A floorboard moved slightly under his weight, there was a popping noise and gas engulfed him, Garrett tried not to breathe but it was too late, he turned for the stairs but they were leagues distant, as he crumpled he saw the man stand and clap his hands together "It IS you" he exclaimed joyfully as Garrett lost consciousness.

=====

Slowly Garrett became aware of his surroundings, the chair was comfortable, the fire warm, the decoration rich and well appointed, the large man with the glass of water was smiling, the paintings looked expensive, the golden candlesticks probably real, smiling?!, Garrett tried to fling himself from the chair but merely managed to flop into a less comfortable position.

"I am sorry, the gas hasn't quite worn off yet, please drink some water it will help and be assured I mean you no harm, I needed the services of a master thief and and it's not as simple a matter as putting an advertisement in the news sheets now is it? Please forgive me Mr Garrett ... er it is Mr Garrett isn't it?'

Garret drank the water and considered his options, curiosity had got him this far without actually killing him so he might as well see what else was going to happen "Yes thats me, but it's just Garrett, not Mr, and whom do I have the pleasure of being gassed by"

The man looked hurt and said "I did apologise, and I do need your ah, rather unique services, but I had to be sure I had the right person, hence the ah interview, which you passed splendidly I may add"

Well a paid job didn't sound so bad, though the nature of the interview irked him somewhat.

Garrett looked at the empty glass and at the rain outside coming to a decision he said "Get me a drink and tell me more. Oh and don't forget to include who you are"

Passing a decanter of brandy the man began his story, "I am the Necromancer", Garrett dropped the decanter staring "WHAT".

Retrieving the decanter before all the contents spilled the Necromancer said reproachfully "this is two hundred years old you know, please don't waste it", he continued "I said I am the necromancer" and poured the brandy sighing to himself "maybe I should have waited longer for the gas to wear off"

Garrett had visions of a certain tower he had stolen from "You mean you want..." Garrett began, trying to remember where various items had been pawned.

"No Mr Garrett, let me tell the story and if you agree to aiding me at the end of it, I will reward you handsomely on success for the dead know many secrets men have forgotten, on failure I promise to use my arts to bring you back or make sure you are truly gone if that is your desire, if you do not wish to aid me you may leave ... subject to certain precautions, I have many valuables as you no doubt have noticed and I would like to retain them"

"Sounds reasonable" said Garrett accepting a generous measure of the two hundred year old spirit as the necromancer began his story

"Some years ago in Forton, a small town a day or so up river from here, there was a spate of abductions and disappearances. The local city watch were flummoxed and the whole town was in uproar, things came to a head when the young daughter of the town mayor, a pretty young thing she was, disappeared as well and external investigators were hired to find the missing and their abductors. What they found horrified the townsfolk, evidence was uncovered that implicated Lord Leyton, one of the local landed gentry, in a scheme to abduct townspeople, turn them into zombies and sell them into slavery in foreign lands. The mayors daughter was herself found imprisoned in the cellars of the house already undead. As punishment the townspeople decreed that the Leyton family should suffer the same punishment, they were stripped of their lands and title and given to the tender mercies of the Necromancer"

"I thought you were the Necromancer" interrupted Garrett.

"I am, it was my predecessor who did this foul thing" said the Necromancer, "To cut the story short, the Leytons became undead and were sold into slavery, the investigating officers were given their lands and title as reward and no further abductions took place."

Garrett said "Interesting story, no annoying loose ends, where do I come in or you for that matter ?"

"Well the Leytons were innocent of the crimes for which they were punished for one thing and for another .. they had a son, studying the occult in a far off land, he heard of the wrong done to his family and swore vengeance, he managed to kill my predecessor the original necromancer and now seeks revenge on those who caused this abomination to his family" the Necromancer said.

"You still haven't explained your part in this" said Garrett although he was beginning to suspect he knew.

Walking to a side door he opened it and gestured to the occupants, two people entered, obviously zombies but well cared for and dressed in fine clothes.

"My parents Mr Garrett, the late Lord and Lady Leyton", the zombies bowed, "we beg your help to right a great wrong, to restore the Leyton estate and title to it's rightful heir, and to expose those who committed this crime"

dlw6 on 1/12/2005 at 03:36

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Agreed, keep it going.

Don

Pitch on 2/12/2005 at 13:19

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Interesting. Continue!:thumb:

Esme on 3/12/2005 at 13:03

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Cool thank you I didn't expect such a good reception for my first effort :D

I reckon I've worked out the main plot so I'll start on it shortly, I'll probably do it all in one go and rework the bit I've posted already, it's a bit clumsy in places. I don't seem to be able to find the end of a sentence with both hands and a torch at times plus I've a few more ideas to incorporate that will help the story later.

It may take a week or two so please bear with me :D

And thanks again I'll try and make it a good one

Esme on 4/12/2005 at 17:19

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would anyone have a problem if I produced it as a pdf and linked to it ?, the post is likely to be massive and I don't want to get in trouble with the mods or swamp the board