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A Hero Tale: Jeff

Jeff's kick missed yet again, and he was launched out of the air, but something stirred around his body when he least expected it, cushioning the blow when he struck a nearby stone.

"Choofa? What that?" The Choofa chief questioned, tapping Jeff's head in confusion. "Hey! Human! Do Again!"

A Hero Tale: Ren

~ Chapter Log ~

Prologue
Chapter 1 - Lament
Chapter 2 - Found By The Lost

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Phil rose his hands and pushed at the air in front of him helplessly. "No, no! I'm not a crook no more, kid!" He pleaded, pointing at Jenso. "After you took out my crew and whooped my ass, we were picked up by another carriage that left to discover Arcadia's ruin. Thank God Those folks were there to confirm that we weren't responsible for that massacre..." Phil paused and looked over his shop. "They threw us all in lockup, cept for me. No jail cell can keep me cooped up... But.."

A Hero Tale: Ren

~ Chapter 1 ~

_Lament

Haze surrounded the landscape as you lay half-naked on the ground, covered in a mixture of dirt and blood. Your abdomen burned and stung like fire and ice had torn through your flesh. Something was weighing you down, as if your body had been exhausted of all its energy. The haze grew thicker, blocking out your vision with a neon blue cascade of faded lights. "I am very sorry," Somebody called out, standing over your body as nothing more than a shadow. It was a man's voice, smooth and welcoming. Who was he? His hair hung loosely behind his shoulders, and his face was obscured. But one thing stood out beyond everything else. His shining blue eyes...

Ren awoke to silence in his quaint little cottage. The dream had left much to be desired for a good night's sleep. Just what the hell was that? Something about the experience was all too familiar. But he'd never seen that man before, right? There was no such thing as blue mist. Bah, there was no time to think over it too critically, Ren hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon! Surely his stomach would soon beg for nourishment.

"Eh, Ren," A voice called out to him again. Was he still dreaming? No, of course not. "Oi!" It was Ralph! Today was supposed to be the great unveiling of Laura's new book! What was it called... Upon a New Horizon? It was supposedly a fantasy that took the reader on a trip through the unforgiving void. "Are you coming or not? I brought you breakfast and everything!"

A Hero Tale: Jeff

The image dodged Jeff's punch and returned his blow with a kick to the stomach, launching him several feet.

"Less talk! More Hit!" The Choofa shouted.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

As Jenso entered the shop, he saw all sorts of gadgets. Grappling hooks, armored gauntlets, strange looking artifacts, and of course, the bag that the butcher was talking about. It looked like a normal backpack, except, it was awfully small.

"Welcome to Phil's!" A familiar voice called to Jenso from behind a Junk pile. As he moved around to discover its origin, he noticed something he might soon come to turmoil over. "...You!!" Phil hissed. It was the bandit leader from early on his journey, albeit well dressed and all alone.

A Hero Tale: Oswald

Zelriane seemed to stop before Oz even began to move his hand, as if he'd known that his path were to be block. His eyes shot up at the man as he called out to Joshua, and he crossed his arms impatiently.

"Ey??? I aint Runnin' a Library ere! Bring the goose-Gobbler out front!" Joshua shouted, followed by a rousing laughter. The sound of snickering and hollering made the intruder's dark green eyes narrow to a pair of venomous looking slits. He followed after Oz silently, periodically mimicking his gaze.

"Hoo! Issit Charlie?" Joshua shouted as zelrian approached the group and left Oz behind him. "Or mebbe it's lil'ol Tom? Where'd yeh get that there costume, Tom?"

"I am not a child. I would like to know where you keep the book, Fallen Under The Deep," Zelriane asked. The men around him continued to snicker at his ridiculous getup, barely able to hold their outrageous laughter back. "Is something funny?" Zelrian inferred, spinning his head round as far as it could go, and granting each farmhand a sharp glance. They returned his inquiry with smiles and silence.

"Fallen Under The Deep? That's Angie's mom's book, if Aym 100%! 'Fraid it aint fer sale, partner."

"Where is it?" Zelrian asked, looking up to Angelica's window, where she glared down at him with a book nestled closely to her bosom. "Ah, never-mind. I've found it. Thank you." The bare-footed intruder quickly strode right past Joshua, who's expression melted to one of disbelief and shock. Big Bobby, who'd been resting against the building's wall, stepped in his path. Once again, Zelriane stopped before Bobby had even made a move. "Move," He demanded curtly.

"Get a load of this fella!" Bobby grunted, "thinks it'll be easy to outright trespass in Mister Kario's home and steal lil' Angie's book!"

"Move," Zelriane said again, more forceful this time. Joshua turned to Oz with a quizzical glare.

"Why don't you go on and get 'fore I find it necessary to-" Bobby's sentence was cut off as something caused his stomach to sink, quite literally. The once rounded belly that Bobby lugged around proudly, vibrated and rippled like it'd been struck by a wide nosed hammer. Moments later, he toppled over by the the side of the house, and Zelriane scoffed at the defeated farmhand.

"What in Blazes?!" Joshua shouted, as Zelriane made his way inside his house. "Wait! Angie, Angelica!!" Joshua stood up in a hurry, but almost fell forward, caught by one of the nearby workers in the nick of time. "Who in the hell!?" Several of the men launched towards the front entrance after Zelriane, but were promptly launched back out as fast as they'd gone in, some bleeding from their ears, others with limbs bent backwards. Joshua and the man holding him turned to Oz with grand expectations. "Erryone! Grab somfin' Sharp!!"

A Hero Tale: Oswald

"Present myself?" He wheezed from the depths of his tar-ridden lungs, "I am Zelriane." His voice almost sounded as if it were choked out by a haze of smoke and barbed wire, similar to the voices that Old man Kario gave the serpent beasts in his tall tales. Was he a smoker? "I was told that this village holds a tome depicting a unique nature of void energy. Fallen Under The Deep," he asked cordially, just before dropping the corn in his hand and walking over to Oz, who towered over him in stature. Fallen Under The Deep... The fiction novel that Angelica always read? Why was this guy interested in a fairy tale? "I'm in a hurry. Please advise, or get out of my way."

Straight-forward little pipsqueak, wasn't he? Where did this guy get off acting so formal while trespassing? And what was this nonsense about magic??

A Hero Tale: Oswald

Oz's stride saw him out of Old man Kario's gaze in minutes. Joshua wasn't exactly fond of Oz's interest in his daughter, but if anyone was going to be looking over his head, he'd prefer it to be him over any of those other louts. Angie wasn't particularly against the attention, anyways! He chuckled heartily, sunk into his chair, and glanced at his workers with another hint of Nostalgia grasping at his throat.

Later in the day, as the sun was getting lower, everyone was grouped up around Joshua for payment, but not before the old guy had a few rounds with the crew. Oz found himself trailing a little behind that day, though. Just as he was dropping off his last payload of corn, something caught his eye. The drop-off point was a giant Silo near the back of Kario's cottage. Oz just had to attach his wheelbarrow to the pulley on the tower's side, and life it to the deposit hole near the top, but somebody was standing in his way. It was a short man, hardly 5 feet tall, with dull green hair, and a matching Kimono that covered most of his body. certainly not somebody Oswald had seen before, unless it was one of the kids dressed up all fancy for some sort of prank. He couldn't tell, though, the intruder's face was completely covered up with a black mask that clung to his skin like tightened leather. He could only see his neck and ears, where the mask's blackness ended. The green-clad man turned to Oswald as he approached, holding a piece of corn in a curious manner, but didn't say anything to him.

"Ey, Ozzy!" Joshua called out from the porch on the opposite side of the house, "Where are yeh?? Me an' tha boys are 'bout to drink this 'ere brew by our lonesome!"

A Hero Tale {Complete}

"25 eh? That's quite a bit! You'll certainly be able to afford more meat than you can carry, but that backpack? Ahaha..." The man went into the back and shouted back at Jenso. "I'll prepare you a road trip pack! Come back later! Check out Phil's in the meantime, kid!"