A Tale Chapter One written by Joat

A Tale Chapter Three

Nuil finally recovered from the shock of seeing Joat transformed into a man before his very eyes and began to speak. "We have to go, and quickly." he said to Joat. "Another party, or worse a necromancer, will come by soon to see what has happened. This time, they won't send incompetent skeletons though. You must quickly gather what supplies you will need for a two week journey."

Nodding dumbly, Joat turned from his dead family and began to gather his supplies. First he took the backpack his father had given him two years ago for camping. He put a fresh change of clothing in the bottom, along with his extra pair of boots. On top of that, he put his cooking gear and a length of rope.
Then he put in a few salves and bandages, in case he was scratched or injured on his journey. Finally, on top of it all, he placed his food provisions. Then, he took his hunting knife from beside his bed and placed it in its sheath, which he attached to his belt.

All this took about 5 minutes. When he returned to the main room of the house, Joat saw Nuil spreading kerosene from the lamp around the room. Perplexed, Joat asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm preparing to burn the house down." replied Nuil

"Why? We could come back and get other things if we leave it intact."

"So could the enemy. More importantly, unless you have holy water with you, this is the only way to keep your mother and sister from being turned into zombies. Now go outside while I finish up here."

Upset, but seeing the logic of it, Joat went outside and waited on the front porch. Several moments later Nuil came out, carrying a large book with him. Behind him, Joat saw the beginnings of red tongues of the fire licking the ceiling of the main room.

As Nuil passed him, Joat rose and began to follow. Neither spoke, however, as Nuil was deeply engrossed in the book he had found. As they approached the forest, Nuil turned to Joat with an odd expression on his face.

"Joat, what did your father do?" he asked.

"He was a farmer of course." Joat replied. "Why do you ask?"

Ignoring the question, Nuil persisted. "What about your mother?"

"She was the village's doctor. But, why do you want to know?" Joat asked.

"Because Joat" Nuil replied "this is not an ordinary book. This book contains spells, prophecies, magical recipes, maps to far off places, and technology we couldn't dream of. This book is not the property of an ordinary doctor and farmer. This book is the property of a mage."

Nuil handed the book to Joat. "This is yours by birthright and my brethren will honor that. However, do not show this to others. It contains great power in the right hands and many would kill for it."

Dazzled by the implications of the elf's words, Joat slipped the book into his pack. He then turned back to look at his home one last time. He said his good-byes, turned his back, and left his past in his wake.

Written by Joat

A Tale Chapter One A Tale Chapter Two

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