Tale of the GameChildren

[Draconus297]

Act I: Friends in Adventure

Chapter 1: Swordsman's Call

 

Swordsman had his friends all rounded up- everyone.

 

Well, his friends and Black Mage. Swordsman still didn't know why White kept covering for Black- the girl was a creepy little know-it-all. Really, really helpful in a fight, admittedly, but still a creepy know-it-all.

 

"Did you guys grab everything we need?" Swordsman asked the question in hushed tones- he didn't want to wake any of their parents.

 

Lancer nodded. "I've checked everything with everyone," he whispered back. Lancer really was Swordsman's best friend.

 

"Are you sure it's a good idea to do this in the dark, when we can't see?" Summoner complained.

 

"I can see just fine," Evil smirked, "and Skeleton and Dragon would agree with me."

 

"Dragon doesn't count," Summoner's whining voice made it clear he was pouting. "He's just an animal."

 

Dragon made a variety of chuffing noises and clicks, making it seem as if he objected to this statement.

 

"Roll call!" Archer yelled, eliciting a quite emphatic shushing from the entire group. "Sorry," she said sheepishly.

 

"Swordsman and I are here," Lancer said.

 

"Of course I showed up," Summoner said, as if it were obvious, "and our favorite little dragonfly is asleep in my ether bag," he added, meaning Pixie.

 

"Evil and I are here," Hero's already-deepening voice said, lingering on Evil's name.

 

"I- I'm here," Black said quietly, "and I have Slime. She's sleeping." A light, baby-toned murmur came from over Black's shoulder, confirming her statement.

 

"Gardna and I are here," Knight's voice came out of the darkness. "I woke her up when I passed by her house." Gardna mumbled something indistinct, apparently not having fully woken up yet.

 

"I went and got dumb and dumber over here," Vespid called out contemptuously, her violet butterfly-like wings casting a mild light over Skeleton and Doppelganger, who had went back to sleep while everyone had been talking. "Oi, wake up," she said, poking them with the long-handled kitchen knife she used as a halberd.

 

White's voice was somehow smiling. "I am here, and I managed to wake up Bard on the way!" he whispered excitedly.

 

"Yo," came a voice that could only be Thief.

 

"Alright, everyone," Swordsman tried to be quiet as he gave one of his big rallying speeches, "we help out here all the time, and our moms and dads never give us any credit. WE stopped that swarm of bugs, WE have been the ones patrolling the edge of the forest, WE take down all those crazy animals that jump out of the forest-"

 

"-which, half the time, are our fault," Evil interrupted.

 

"-but no one takes us seriously!" Swordsman continued. "But I- with White's help," he said, turning to where he heard White's voice from earlier, "have figured out a way for us to finally be treated like grown-ups!"

 

"Um, that was-" White started.

 

"We find and do a quest, just like our parents!" Swordsman finished, making a dramatic gesture for effect that couldn't really be seen in the dark.

 

Almost everyone who was fully awake cheered.

 

Evil pointedly made no comment.

 

"Let's go!" the twelve-year-old said, leading a charge into the forest with his friends (and Black) at his back. "Onward, to victory!" he said, mimicking his father's famous battle cry.

 

"TO VICTORY!", the other children cried in unison.

 

{{AN: The first chapter. We're going to be mostly lighthearted here seeing as, well, everyone is just a kid- I don't think I'm cruel enough to put little kids through too much crap. However, don't get me wrong- a lot of my inspiration will come from classic RPGs, meaning this story will have its darker moments. Enjoy!}}

[.Rooster]

Kinda short but it seems interesting what could happen on their adventures...

[Draconus297]

Act I: Friends in Adventure

Chapter 2: The Quest

 

"We've been walking for days," Summoner whined. "When are we gonna get there?"

 

Vespid smirked. "You might have been walking, maybe, but Pixie and I have been on the wing." She put her hand on her hip. "However, I too wonder when we will reach our destination."

 

"I don't know, I got my directions from Summoner," Swordsman shrugged.

 

"Er, right," Summoner said nervously. "What I meant by that was that I could've gotten on Dragon and teleported everyone there. Summon magic."

 

Evil laughed. "Psht. Dragon can't fly that far."

 

Skeleton, however, shot Summoner a look of rage. "Are you saying we could have stayed at home?" He brandished his axe dangerously.

 

Gardna quickly leapt into place between Summoner and Skeleton, her twin tonfa-shields at the ready. "Don't you dare touch him, you pile of bones.Or do you want to feel these in the ribcage again? We need him, and White is too worn out to use his white magic right now. Basically, we can't afford to fight each other."

 

"No," White panted, "I'm . . . good . . ."

 

Hero put a hand on his shoulder. "White, you can't do everything at once. We need to improve your stamina before you start casting like crazy again. After all, you won't be much help if several of us go down, and you're worn out. I'll help you on that, starting tomorrow."

 

"Thank . . . you . . ." White panted.

 

Black looked up from her bag. "Has anyone seen my red spellbook? I was reading it last night, and now it's just . . . gone."

 

"Nope, can't say I have," Evil said, nonchalant.

 

White shook his head.

 

"Red . . . red . . . red . . . I don't know," Slime said from Black's side.

 

Black sighed. "And I was just about to start reading up on Raigeki, too. Now I'll be stuck with Dark Hole if we're backed into a corner . . ." she began to mutter to herself, planning something.

 

"We're almost there!" Pixie said, returning from her scouting above the treetops. "There's a town not too far ahead!"

 

Vespid raised an eyebrow at Pixie. "It's types like you that give our kind a bad name y'know. Way too cheerful."

 

Bard fell into step beside Vespid. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

 

Before Vespid could begin her argument, the whole group came upon a town not too much larger than their own hometown. Just like home, there were no gates, and the market square was open in plain sight.

 

"Hey, Thief," Lancer asked conspiratorially, "You think you can swipe some food? We may need some 'emergency provisions', if you get me."

 

Evil, Knight, and Hero all smacked Lancer on the head. "We're not stealing food."

 

Thief smirked. "Wouldn't have done it, anyway."

 

"Sure you wouldn't," Evil said sarcastically.

 

"Look!" Sworsman yelled. "There's a guy just standing there, apart from everyone! He has to have a quest for us!"

 

"I'm not sure that's how it works . . ." Black said nervously.

 

"Sure it is!" Hero said cheerfully. "My father has all kinds of stories on how he did quests, and that's exactly what he said to look for. Well, that and exclamation points floating in midair, but I think he was making that up," he added.

 

Swordsman had already dashed over to the man, and most of the group ran to catch up.

 

"Wait!" White said, struggling to run in his heavy robes. "I . . . can't . . . run!" he panted.

 

"I gotcha," Black said, supporting the boy. Slime tried to help him up, too, but all she accomplished was making the aforementioned robes damp, and thus even heavier.

 

"Thanks, Black. You're a great friend," White said, smiling.

 

"Nah," Black said dismissively, "just a half-decent human being. Besides, shouldn't you be yelling about how girls have cooties or something crazy like that?" she smirked.

 

"I- that was two years ago!" White yelled, blushing furiously. "I'm a grownup now."

 

"Sure you are," she grinned. "Mr. teach-me-how-to-use-Sparks-so I-can-have-a-nightlight."

 

White turned to Slime for backup, but she was mimicking Black's wide grin. "Why me?" he asked in defeat.

 

"DO YOU HAVE A QUEST FOR US OR NOT?" Swordsman yelled as they approached.

 

The man sighed. "You want a quest? Fine." He pulled a small scroll from his pocket and handed it to Swordsman. "That scroll will lead you to wherever Castle Deen is at the moment. There have been problems with a Necromancer King recently."

 

"Castle Deen?" Evil asked, confused. "I didn't think anyone had found it since my dad got kicked out."

 

The man shrugged. "Things happen."

 

Swordsman opened the scroll, and made a face. "These aren't words!"

 

Evil peeked over his shoulder. "Yes, they are. The words are in charm runes, I think, but they're words. I can't understand most of it, but I can tell that there is a language here."

 

Archer pointed at Black. "She can read charm runes!"

 

Everyone looked at Black expectantly, and she shrunk back. "Well, yeah, I can read them, but from what I read about Castle Deen the place is somewhere different every day. So, either the scroll is dead wrong by now, or-"

 

"Or it's enchanted," the man said, excited now. "That little piece of paper changes every day to match where Castle Deen has moved to. If you can read it, you can always find the castle."

 

Black took the crumbling sheet of paper, and scanned it. "Yeah, today it's down south, in the venom swamps. We should wait until tomorrow, when it moves again."

 

Everyone nodded simultaneously. "Agreed."

 

Swordsman raised his blade in the air. "We . . . are on a quest!"