ADRPG: The Re-write and Character Chart.

[Mushroom_king]

Here is the character chart for my second story project, ADRPG. I'm currently re-writing the first six chapters (very very slowly). I've finished the first chapter and it will be up in the second post. In the meantime, here is the character chart for the story (subject to change as I add/remove new people)

 

Name: John Espada

That Means: Sword in Spanish

Weapon: Broadsword

Element: Life

Uses: Magic

Lives: Goldinya

Notes: Leader, Will's best friend.

 

Name: Will Shpikës

That means: Inventor in Albanian

Weapon: Inventions

Element: technology

Uses: Inventions, Skills

Lives: Goldinya

Notes: Can grow arms (based off Nico Robin)

 

Name: Katie Mahiya

That means: Magic in Belarusian

Weapon: Scythe

Element: Spirit

Uses: Magic

Lives: Densetsu

Notes: Corbin's apprentice

 

Name: Corbin Pyna Taikuri

That Means: Holy Magician in Finnish

Weapon: Keystaff

Element: Holy

Uses: Magic

Lives: Densetsu

Notes: Old friends with Alex, Nik, Fals, & Sen

 

Name: Caitlin Ostöðug

That means: Unstable in Icelandic

Weapon: Meat Cleaver

Element: Unstable

Uses: Skills

Lives: Mt. Hendricks Asylum (abandoned)

Notes: Dark Puppeteer-controls severed limbs

 

Name: Stom Konijn

That means: Stupid Rabbit in Dutch

Weapon: Bombs

Element: Unholy

Uses: Magic

Lives: Traveling Nomad, briefly takes residence in Usagi Town

Notes: Is he really a rabbit?

 

Names: Cody Agua Lobo

That means: Water Wolf in Portugeuse (sp)

Weapons: Claws

Elements: Ice/Water

Uses: Alchemy

Lives: Homeless, but lives in Loopim Woods.

Notes: Plausibly werewolf?

 

Name: Stahl Schroflinte

That means: Steel Shotgun in German

Weapon: Shotgun

Element: Steel

Uses: Alchemy

Lives: (Unknown)

Notes: Antihero

 

Name: Corey Seiyci

That means: Sad in Thai

Weapon: Double-sided, detachable bladestaff

Element: Dark

Uses: Magic, some alchemy

Lives: Sabre

Notes: Obligatory dark past

 

Name: Corinne Morfí̱ Pti̱nó̱n

That means: Bird Form in Greek

Element: Poison

Weapon: Fan

Lives: Outskirts of Densetsu

Uses: Magic, Summons

Notes: Turns into a bird

 

Name: Calvin Pisek-Vedec

That means: Sand scientist in Czech

Element: Sand

Weapon: Chemicals

Uses: Science!!

Lives: Haruka (an island)

Notes: Dislikes fighting, typically only defends.

 

Name: Haldjas

That means: Fairy in Estonian

Element: Love

Weapon: Wand

Uses: Magic, obviously

Lives: Roadriver forest

Notes: Tiny, slightly bigger than a butterfly

 

Name: Maskest Tyu

That Means: Masked Thief in Norwegian

Element: Illusion

Weapon: Whip

Uses: PSI

Lives: This is complicated: her birth home is unknown, she mostly travels, but her semi-real home is at the Thieve's Town.

Notes: As her name may imply, she wears a clown mask and that isn't her real name. I'd love to tell you who she really is, but I can't.

 

Name: Alex Rosu

That Means: Crimson in Romanian

Weapon: Walkingstick

Element: Blood

Uses: Alchemy

Lives: Twy

Notes: is a vampire. has a good sense of style.

 

Name: Neil Ruzgar

That means: Wind in Turkish

Weapon: Katana

Element: Wind

Uses: PSI

Lives: Born on Myopia.

Notes: No relation to Cheesemaster from Invision. Probably has a New England accent. rockin' hair. VERY sensitive psychic powers.

 

Name: Dalton Okand

That means: Unknown in Swedish

Weapon: Kabobs

Element: ????

Uses: ????

Lives: Unknown.

Notes: Nobody knows anything whatsoever about him. A lot loopy. Has two friends who follow him everywhere named Hướng dẫn (guide in Vietnamese) and Branič (guard in Croatian), based off Max Gemmill and Logan Stanfill respectively.

 

Name: Mike Kornjaca

That means: Turtle in Serbian

Weapons: Staff

Element: Emotion

Uses: PSI

Lives: Born in Positune, lives at Thieve's Island.

Notes: The most powerful psychic in Warudo, and can predict everything. The only time he speaks is in battle (he whispers attack names), and often uses his powers to talk in unison with people.

 

Name: Svinčnik Sleparstvo

That means: Pencil Fake in Slovenian

Weapon: Pencil

Element: Wood/Emotion

Uses: PSI, though he doesn't use it offensively

Lives: Born in Yesstown.

Notes: Old friends with Corbin, Alex, Nik, and Sen.

 

Name: Destral de Foc

That means: Axe of fire in Catalan

Weapon: Axe bigger that his head

Element: Fire

Uses: Magic, PSI, Alchemy, and Skills

Lives: Birth home unknown. Lives, currently, somewhere in Roadriver Forest.

Notes: Can turn parts of himself into fire. One parent was a magician while the other was psychic, so he can use both. Rather arrogant because of this fact.

 

Name: Mertelo de Luz (Nickname: de Lulz)

That means: Hammer of Light in Galician

Weapon: Winged hammer

Element: Earth

Uses: Skills

Lives: Thamesenburg Mines

Notes: Friends with Destral and Dakota. Likes corn. His hammer allows him to fly and can grow in size.

 

Name: Dakota Kristal-Sayap

That means: Crystal Wings in Indonesian

Weapon: Flail

Element: Gem

Uses:Alchemy/Magic

Lives: In a house outside Thamesenburg Mines.

Notes: Obsessive miner from the mines of Mt. Hendricks. Has built a non-functioning pair of wings made of gems as his names implies.

 

Name: Sen Sytri-Zbrane

That means: Dream Four-Weapon in Slovak

Weapons: Glaive/Scythe, Syringe/Pitchfork

Element: Dreams

Uses: Alchemy/PSI

Lives: Born in Sabre. Lives in the fields just outside of that town.

Notes: Old friend of Fals, Corbin, Nik, and Alex.

 

Name: Skikkelige Lodden

That means: Well-behaved Furry in Danish

Weapon: Spear

Element: Animal

Uses: PSI

Lives: Noir

Notes: A half-wolf type creature. Friends and foster brothers with Darlig Lodden. Wears a wolf necklace always that acts as a rosary, holding in his wolf side; when removed during a full moon, he becomes uncontrollable.

 

Name: Sna'i Yeled

That means: Squirrel boy in Hebrew

Weapon: double-ended spear

Element: Animal

Uses: Magic

Lives: Noir

Notes: Foster brothers with Skikkelige. Half-squirrel creature. Turns into a girl.

 

Name: Nikoli Jaloers Lig

That means: Jealous Light in Afrikaans

Weapon: Twin Daggers

Element: Light

Uses: Magic

Lives: Cirque City. I know that sounds like Circuit City. shut up.

Notes: Starts as a bad guy but SPOILERSOMG becomes good.

 

Name: Macksa Buzogányt

That Means: Cat Mace in Hungarian

Weapon: Mace (spikes make it shaped like a cat face), Leaf Shurikens

Element: Space (Outer Space)

Uses: PSI/Alchemy

Lives: Bearlin.

Notes: Catgirl. More cat than girl. Probably lives in a forest.

 

Name: Drewno Lucznik

That means: Wood Archer in Polish

Weapon: Bow&Arrow

Element: Wood

Uses: PSI

Lives: Mako.

Notes: An elf.

 

Name: Llawer o Offerynnau

That means: Many Instruments in Welsh

Weapons: Instruments (Triangle, Kazoo, Keyboard, maracas, maybe some other stuff too)

Element: Sound

Uses: PSI

Lives: Nowhere and Everywhere.

Notes: probably a crazy traveler.

 

Name: Heather Klen Matthews

That means: Maple in Russian

Weapons: Gun that shoots swords.

Element: Ice/Regional

Uses: Alchemy, some magic

Lives: New Tonson.

Notes: probably a Mountie

 

Name: Parker wIgh

That means: Genius in Klingo

Weapon: Tasers & Lasers

Element: technology

Uses: Alchemy

Lives: New Tonson.

Notes: Even though Will's element is Tech, he doesn't use magic, so I wanted a Mage/Psychic/Alchemist who used Tech

 

Name: Morgan Mandarambong

That means: Pirate in Filipino

Weapon: Staff with daggers on both ends

Element: Water

Uses: Skills

Lives: Homeless, but tends to take residence in Myopia or Hyperopia.

Notes: Since we have a ninja (Will), I wanted a pirate character and Morgan is the name of a famous pirate. Her skill is that she turns parts of herself into water.

 

Names: Nick Kopja Wren & Wesley (Wes) Pejst Wren

That means: Copy & Paste, respectively, in Maltese

Weapons: Nick's is a staff; Wes has a sword (different than John's though)

Elements: Space (Nick) and Time (Wes)

Uses: Skills

Live: New Tonson with all the other freshmen losers.

Notes: Twin brothers. Nick can teleport; Wes walks through walls.

 

Name: Jūn Shì

That means: Military in Chinese

Weapon: Grenades, Rapier, & .99 Caliber Revolver

Element: Time

Uses: [none]

Lives: Birth place unknown, resides near Uncanny Valley.

Notes: rockin' trench coat. not Roy Mustang.

 

Name: Alexis Marbh-Deas

That means: Dead Pretty in Irish

Weapon: Club

Element: Death

Uses: Magic

Lives: Uncanny Valley.

Notes: Turns into a zombie somethetimes.

 

Name: Chota

That means: Short in Hindi

Weapon: Knives

Element: [?]

Uses: alchemy

Lives: Manteau.

Notes: Hobbit.

 

Name: Soro

That means: Fox in Tagalong

Weapon: Spongy Snow Shovel

Element: Unstable/Animal

Uses: None

Lives: Near Newtonson.

Notes: a Kitsune (nine tailed fox spirit)r. Delivers pizza.

 

Name: Krov

That means: Blood in Ukrainian

Weapon: Hatchet

Element: Lust

Uses: Magic

Lives: Michiru. Yea, the islands are named after Sailor Moon characters. Sue me.

Notes: A succubus.

 

Name: Colin von Neige

That means: Colin of Snow in German/French

Weapon: Umbrella. Like the Penguin!

Element: Ice

Uses: Alchemy

Lives: New Tonson

Notes: A snow monster who works as a functioning, but eccentric, member of society.

 

Name: E-123/Hal Davidson

That means: Nothing. It's a 2001 reference. You could say this name is in English.

Weapon: Rocket Ears!

Element: Steel/Tech

Uses: None

Lives: New Tonson

Notes: An Astro Boy-inspired Android. Pretty good friends with the twins.

 

Name: Inu no Surēbu

That means: Dog Slave in Japanese

Weapon: Scissors (can grow in size)

Element: Dark/Pain

Uses: Skills

Lives: Escaped/Homeless

Notes: Very good reflexes and super speed. an escaped prisoner.

 

Name: Jazmine Griaučių

That means: Skeleton in Lithuanian

Weapon: Saw

Element: Death/Love

Uses: Magic

Lives: Uncanny Valley

Notes: Skeleton Girl!

 

Name: Plurrimi Decorus oculus

That means: The Most Beautiful Eye in Latin

Weapon: Giant Hammer

Element: Body

Uses: Skill

Lives: Born in New Tonsen, resides in Uncanny Valley.

Notes: I haven't given it much thought yet, but there's probably some backstory about how his eyes are magical orbs of POWAR. anyway, his skill is that he can grow extra eyes on any surface.

 

Name: Mul Beesley

That means: Water in Korean

Weapon: Spiked staff

Element: Mystic

Uses: Magic

Lives: Nomad, settled down in Lake Amie, found in Positune

Notes: a Merman, and can change into a human for brief periods.

 

Name: Hailee Chakula

That means: Food in Swahili

Weapon: Spatula

Element: Food

Uses: Magic/Alchemy

Lives: Densetsu

Notes: The obligatory 'klutz chef' character.

 

Name: Ms. Insegnante

That means: Teacher in Italian

Weapon: Stake

Element: Spirit

Uses: (All ex. skill)

Lives: Yuss

Notes: The teacher at the academy in Yuss who takes a liking to the AD. Like Destral, her parents were a mage and a psychic, so she can use both, as well as Alchemy, and as a result teaches a number of classes. She gives the teenagers advice on using their powers.

 

Name: Sakura Perso

That mean: Cherry Blossom in Japanese, Lost in Italian

Weapon: Futuristic Bow. "the shape is the handle, and when you press the button it makes a bow shape with 2 lazers. you touch the handleand pull back to make a lazer arrow. you get the point." (from description given)

Element: Technology

Uses: PSI

Lives: Outskirts of New Tonsen.

Notes: From description given:

the girl is emotional, abandoned by her parents and was raised by her older brother. (he died too) shes kinda slutty, wears a lot of miniskirts long hair and darker skin.

 

Name: Vegas Eachtra

That means: Not sure how reliable my translator was, but it SHOULD be Adventure in Gaelic.

Weapon: Mostly a fist fighter, with hidden daggers in sleeves.

Element: Steel/Water

Uses: Magic and Alchemy

Lives: Yuss.

Notes: Fairly basic in his powers. Likes to drink, and gets irritable about his tobacco. Makes his own weapons and armor. Likes to make plans for fighting. He's trained himself his whole life for fighting. (All from description given to me)

 

Name: Kat lnfjbsdgvfjg;nbd

That means: Awesome Cat in Gibberish

Weapon: Two-handed Claymore (with lasers)

Element: Unstable

Uses: Skills

Lives: Hobo on Michiru

Notes: Catgirl whose power is creating objects.

 

Name: Jefferson (Jeff) reeH

That means: Wind in Arabic

Weapon: "Two custom magic handguns" and a sword.

Element: Wind/Fire

Uses: Alchemy/Magic

Lives: New Tonsen

Notes: Though fairly powerful, he's not as respectfully treated by the rest of the group. He's a big fan of adventurers, and is excited to meet John and the group.

 

Name: Masina

That means: Car in Latvian

Weapon: Refuses hand-to-hand combat, and instead prefers to charge into battle with an automobile of any sort.

Element: Steel/Fire

Uses: [None]

Lives: Cirque City

Notes: A mechanic-mostly for cars, but he helps the others fix up inventions and weapons.

 

Name: Kapetan Newkirk

That means: Captain in Macedonian

Weapon: Guitar

Element: Sound/Earth

Uses: Skill

Lives: Hindenburg

Notes: Will's old friend (he used to live in Goldinya). A rock person.

 

Name: Nesboim Matthews

That means: Maple in Yiddish

Weapon: Laser sword that shoots other laser swords

Element: Ice

Uses: Alchemy

Lives: New Tonsen

Notes: Heather's younger fraternal twin brother.

 

Name: Mary Buto

That means: Dark in Fijian

Weapon: Scepter

Element: Dark/Spirit

Uses: Magic

Lives: Twy

Notes: A witch from Densetsu city, living in Loopim to study the vampires & werewolves there.

[Horatio]

[ This is going to be grrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeaaaaaaatttttttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!! ]

[Mushroom_king]

[Chapter one...]

 

ADRPG: Chapter 1

 

Day Zero

Goldinya, Warudo

 

This is a country called Warudo; and this is a range of mountains called the Smitus Mountains. The Mountains make an almost-perfect circle in the very northwest of Warudo. Very few people live in the Smitus Mountains, as they are

Dangerous and inhospitable. However, the mountains have a rich supply of minerals and lumber, and towns for salvaging those supplies have been built. Only one has remained over the years; a small town called Goldinya. it is a town

few people in Warudo have heard of. And this is where our story begins, in the dimly-lit bedroom of a young man known as John Espada.

 

John Espada did not have many friends, as most of the people in his town were adults, and they were always chopping down trees or mining for minerals or delivering those things to the nearby city Nomsville where in turn they were

delivered through the thick Road-River forest to the capital of this country, called Densetsu.

 

John was lying in his bed, which had been made neatly the night before and was now a mess of sheets, blankets, pillows, and any objects that may have been on the bed when he slept the night before. His closed eyes squinted as the sun

finally made its way up over the mountains and shone intrudingly through the windows above his bed. He rolled over onto his stomach so the light wouldn't get in his eyes, when a black shape shrouded the window. John half-opened a sleepy eye.

 

"Get up, John!" Shouted the voice of the only other boy, and the only other teenager, in town, whose name was Will Shpikes. He was John's best friend, and they had been for several years now. He prodded John with his foot; John groaned, and

Will sighed as he jumped into the room and rolled across the floor. Will's parents worked every day for long, long hours in the mountains, and cared little about where their son went; as a result, Will had taken a liking to inventing things

and also to martial arts. He was tall, thin, and incredibly agile; he simply had to watch for his thick, filthy glasses that he wore. His greasy hair was always a mess. Will was not always in town since he made frequent trips to Nomsville

to get supplies.

Being an inventor was odd enough to the residents of the town, but along with being an inventor Will had the curious power of being able to grow hands; no one, not even his parents (who had no powers of their own) could explain why Will

had this power. He claimed he evolved the power due to his inventor's need for many hands when he worked.

 

Will poked John's head again and adjusted his glasses. "...John?" He asked again, and John, groaning, rolled so he was facing away from Will. Will heaved, and closed his eyes.

"Guess I have no choice," Will sighed, as two arms slowly grew from his back and extended out towards John. The newly-grown arms, along with his two standard ones, grabbed his friend-who screamed, rather loudly, and fell out of the bed.

Will jumped back, retreated his limbs, and John laid on the floor, at the feet of his best friend, breathing fast and heavy. John stoood up, yawned, and rubbed his eyes.

 

John Espada was tall, especially for his age, and had thick brown hair. To match his hair, he was wearing brown leathery-looking pants and shir; his clothes he had worn the day before.

"OK, Will," John said, as he reached for his big brush and opened a drawer to get out some new clothes. "What is it?"

"I came over because I heard your mom calling for you and decided to wake you up. Plus, I have something cool to show you!"

John finished brushing his hair and ran to take a quick shower, with Will sitting on the messy bed.

 

After the shower, John followed Will, saying goodbye to his mother in the process, and followed Will across the village to his house.

Will's house was far across Goldinya, though the town wasn't all that big. It was a town where everyone knew everyone. John was well-liked throughout the village for his pleasant mannerisms, and his good manners. He said hello to everyone he knew, and they smiled and nodded to him.

Will, on the other hand, was not as well liked; though he was a nice boy, he was unkempt, smelling like cigarette smoke (for his mother smoked in the house), was frequently late for appointments as well as school, his clothes often had holes in them (from being worn frequently, as well as his power of growing appendages).

But, he was as nice, if not nicer, than John. That, and a town of miners and loggers, with men who grew muscular from working in the woods and mines all day, a scrawny scientific type was looked down upon.

So Will would nervously say hello to everyone, and they typically just looked away or scowled at him.

 

The duo walked across until they found Will's house. It was about the same size as John's house, though it had less rooms-John's house had room for John, his older brother, two older sisters, the boyfriend of one of his sisters, and his mother-plus a dog and three cats. Will only lived with his parents (never home) and his older sister (always in Nomsville shopping)

Will took out a rusty key from his coat pocket, and unlocked the door to his house.

 

Will's house was an utter mess. His parents, much better at cleaning than Will or his sister were, were almost never home. Usually it was just Will in the house.

The boys walked through the mess (with Will playfully warning his friend to beware any garbage or discarded food that may have become sentient) as they made their way over to Will's room. His door was scratched up, with a few nails in it and holes where you could see nails, staples, and other such objects had been torn out.

Scratched into the surface was a giant eye and the words "WILL'S ROOM-DO NOT ENTER OR NINJAS WILL GET YOU." Below, in black marker and John's handwriting, was 'unless you're John, then come on in.' Will pushed the door open, to a room dimly-lit by a few single lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling-a few of which were actually experiments Will had done where he built his own lightbulb.

 

Around the room were assorted bits of machinery, wires, screws, tools, and cardboard boxes filled with stuff. The spare bubble wrap from boxes was strewn everywhere, and Will often popped it when he was in an inventing rut-or even when he was just bored.

Will had a big, wooden desk in one corner of the room, a wooden dresser, and a wooden bedframe with a plush mattress. The dresser drawers, when opened, would reveal several matching shirts and jackets, each jacket with inside pockets for more storage of little tools. The top of the dresser was mostly more storage for inventions and larger tools.

The bedframe was a stained brown, and had been etched into many times when Will would wake up, get an idea, and need to etch it into the side of his bedframe so he would remember. The writing on the bedframe was messier than it was on the desk, dresser, or door, since typically when Will etched into it he had been sleeping and didn't have his glasses on.

 

The desk was something to see-a musty computer was on top of it, with sticky notes attached to the frame of it.

the rest of the desk, aside from the moniter, keyboard, and mouse, was a huge mess of thick books, tools, small useful inventions, pencils, and dozens and dozens of papers covered so thickly with formulas and ideas. It was probably sorted well to Will. There were even dried glasses wipes with things written on them.

John was used to such a mess, having been over to the house many times; and every time he came over, he always noticed some new papers, or a new etching somewhere. He rarely read them, since they were always confusing to him.

 

"So, Will," John said, sitting down on the bed. "What do you have to show me?"

Will shifted through old papers until he found a shoebox. He picked it up, causing a few papers to fall to the floor. Will gave them a glance, but didn't pick them up. He sat on the bed next to his best friend, and opened up the box. Inside were several gloves.

Will took out one of the gloves and put it on his hand, where it fit snugly.

"What is it?" John asked, and Will looked at his hand. John looked too.

"Well, it's a taser glove." Will said bluntly.

 

John stared at him.

"A what?"

"A taser glove."

John looked at his friend in disbelief.

Will sighed, and using his free hand, rolled up the sleeve of his jacket and shirt. On his arm were dozens of red spots. John gasped.

"As you know, I'm home alone almost always. I didn't have any pets to test it on, so...I tested it on myself."

John looked at Will in disbelief.

"Here, I'll show you." Will flipped a small switch on the glove, and poked himself with it. A spark flew out, and a new red lump began to appear. John gasped.

"Wow, it works!"

"John, most of what I build works."

"Your catapult didn't."

Will began to giggle, and soon the boys had erupted into laughter. Will took out the rest of the gloves, and after explaining that he had made multiple gloves for his multiple arms. He put the gloves back into the box, and then put the box inside a knapsack where he kept all his weapons.

"Well, I guess we should go back to your house now," Will said. "I'm sure your mom is wondering where you went."

"But I haven't spent THAT much time here. Have I?"

"I don't know," Will said. "But I need to go to Nomsville soon. Think your mom would let you come with me?"

John shrugged, and the two boys made their way back towards John's house.

 

The duo got back to John's house, and went inside. John's mother was in their living room, and upon hearing the door open, turned around to see them walk in.

"I'm home, mom," John said, "And Will said he's going to Nomsville to get stuff for his inventing. Can I go with him?"

"Actually, I was just about to ask if you could go down there and find your brother. He went there early this morning and still hasn't come back."

John was excited-usually his mom was strict about letting him go far outside Goldinya.

"Really? So...I can go?!"

She nodded.

 

"Alright!" Will shouted, doing a dance, and John's mom, worried, forced him to bring a knapsack with food, a bottle of water, and a first-aid kit that mostly consisted of bandages.

"Be sure to come back alive," She said as John headed out the door. Will was about to follow, but John's mom grabbed his shoulders and said, in a very serious tone, "Be careful. Unlike most people, I trust you. Take care of him-You have powers, he doesn't."

"Don't worry, John's mom," Will said. "Besides, we're always getting each other out of trouble."

"Alright, then. Thanks, William."

Will cringed. He really hated it when people called him by his full first name.

 

------------------------------------------------

 

Before the two left, Will grabbed his own pack from home-a backpack that was had already begun to fall apart. One strap was broken, and Will, while a good inventor, wasn't so great at fixing the strap-so he just wore it with the one working strap.

"I store all the stuff I buy in this pack," Will explained. "I have another backpack at home, of course you know already, if I ever go on a trip it'll be the one I take with me."

In John's satchel, along with the stuff his mom had forced him to bring, he'd brought a sum of money in case he saw anything cool in Nomsville, plus a book of maps, one of which was solely of this region of Warudo-Goldinya, the mountains, Nomsville, and Lake Amie. There weren't a whole lot of towns in this section of Warudo, and John felt it to be very lonely when he looked at the map.

 

 

The Smitus Mountains formed an almost-perfect circle around the large expanse of land where many small villages like Goldinya had once existed, but now, the plain held only that small town. An opening in the mountains led to the outside world, and a lengthy dirt path led from the mountains to the RoadRiver forest, a forest that took up most of the country. The path had been worn by travelers from the Smitus Mountains, residents of those old mining and lumber towns that had moved to other cities, or people from Nomsville.

Nomsville was a lot larger than Goldinya, and more well-known; traders from other cities like Densetsu, Bearlin, Yuss, and even New Tonsen trekked there. People also came to the region for Lake Amie, an enormous body of water that was dangerously cold even in the summer. There were legends that something, a monster or water spirit, lived in it, but the lake was too cold to check.

John & Will walked towards the opening in the mountains.

"Will, how far away is Nomsville?" John asked.

"It's a long walk, but the land is flat, so it shouldn't be too difficult. If I leave too late in the day I sometimes stay there overnight. Depending on how long we spend looking for your brother, we may end up staying the night tonight."

"But my mom..."

"Listen, if the need arises, you still have that machine I built you, right? And no one's broken it...right?"

 

Will was referring to an invention of his, a telegram machine of sorts. Will had a small portable version, and built a second one for John. It broke easily and didn't work quite as well as other stuff Will had made, so it was only for emergencies.

"Yea, it's in my room, on a shelf. It makes a loud enough noise someone is bound to hear it."

Will smiled, and the two were quiet for a little while.

 

They neared the edge of the plain, and soon, they were out of the area entirely, and for the first time, John saw what the world looked like when huge black mountains weren't on all sides. The sky that day was a pale blue, with a few clouds here and there. It was mid-day now, and in the distance, the boys saw other mountains-Mt. Gaia, and Mahogany Mountain. Beyond those mountains there was also Mt. Hendricks, but they couldn't see it from so far away.

Just on the horizon there was a faint green line, the RoadRiver Forest-so named because the Amie river, as well as the road from Goldinya, went through it.

John gazed in wonder at everything, and Will had to violently shake him in order for him to snap out of it.

"What, you've never been out of Goldinya before?"

John shook his head.

Will shook his head quickly, and said "Come on. Nomsville isn't too far from here."

They continued walking, the sun high in the sky by this point. As they walked, the city of Nomsville began to appear in the distance, a black speck that got bigger and more detailed as they walked closer to it.

 

An hour passed, and then a second, and soon the two were (finally) in Nomsville. It was a sight for John to behold, having never seen anything like it. The city was huge, and while not bustling to the brim with people (a sight he was soon to see, though he didn't know it yet), but it was still a lot more than he had ever seen in his hometown. Nomsville had stone-paved roads, which he had never seen in his hometown-Goldinya had only dirt roads. Big stone or brick buildings were in the town, while he was used to houses made from wood (it was partially a lumber town after all).

"This is amazing," John said, looking around. Will adjusted his glasses, and folded his arms. "Come on. No time to waste."

"But Will-" John started, and Will, arms still folded, sprouted an extra to drag his friend along. "Will, don't tell me you weren't amazed the first time you came here."

Will shook his head. "I was a little shocked seeing it for the first time," He said, "BUt Good Smitus, you act like you didn't even know towns like this existed! I'd read about them long ago-mostly about New Tonsen in the very North-East. That's a really big city, though not as huge as Densetsu City, our capital."

John sighed as he followed Will.

 

To be honest, it had never really crossed his mind that there WAS 'more' out there. His entire life had been shrouded by the pitch-dark Smitus Mountains, and his entire life had just been him and his family living in a small mining adn lumber town-with dirt roads and log buildings, where every child born was destined to become a miner or logger, and if they were lucky, they would travel to Thamesenburg to mine in the Gaian Mines. What a life.

John hadn't read as much non-fiction and science fiction as his friend-actually, he had spent his life mostly reading fantasy stories of heroes with swords and armor slaying dragons and devils with their swords to save the damsel in distress. That seemed like a good life, John had always thought. He would be the hero, and Will his sidekick, the inventor. They would save a princess, and then she would give them both a kiss on the cheek and be John's girlfriend. That had been his fantasy.

But John knew in his mind that Princess Julia was just too far away. The closest he could get to the beautiful teenaged girl he saw in a book was hearing about her from Will, who heard it while in Nomsville.

Julia was a pretty girl, probably around John & Will's age. In every picture they saw of her she was wearing elaborate black dresses with ruffles and lace. She had beautiful, forest-green eyes, and long, brown hair. She and her parents all lived on a floating island just above Densetsu City. Practically no one could travel to that floating island, and John assumed that even if he traveled all the way to Densetsu City (impossible, he thought), he would never even catch a glimpse of that island in the sky.

 

John and Will walked through Nomsville, and John never seemed to tired of just looking-he saw shops he had never before seen in Goldinya, and lots of houses (barely anybody lived in Goldinya, and most of those who did were store owners). They passed by several grocery stores and clothing stores, until they eventually found the electronics store. It was a brick building with the one lit-up sign in town, stating it to be an electronics store.

Will adjusted his lapels and walked on in, followed by John.

 

When the bell above the door jingled, two men with thick glasses behind the counter looked up, and began to talk to the customer.

"Hey, it's Will Shpikes! Our best customer-How're you doing? Who's your buddy here?"

"This is John Espada, my best friend. He came along because he was bored and he's never left Goldinya before."

One of the men said 'Aaaahhh,' and then said "That's good. You have to go out and see the world. You wouldn't wanna stay your whole life in a little mining town, doomed to do the same thing your grandparents did. Eh?"

John, not being shy, began to speak. "Will's right, this is my first time out of Goldinya. Everything is so different, I'm amazed."

Will and the shopkeepers made some small talk, and then Will went off with a small, crumbled up list from his backpack of what he needed to buy.

 

John followed his best friend, not sure what to do while Will browsed and bought things. He looked awkwardly around, and then decided to see what Will was even buying.

He peeked over at Will's list; his friend's handwriting, like his own, was sloppy, even moreso when he had been busy or in a hurry. The list had more than likely been written under both situations. So, John looked at what Will was buying: Nails, ropes, and some random junk-a box in one corner of the shop was filled with found objects that cost a bronze piece or less. Many of the bits in the junk box were even free. Will took advantage of the junk box, and soon, had his hands full with assorted objects.

 

"What are you building, Will?" John asked innocently. Will dropped the objects onto the counter, and threw some silver & gold pieces on the counter with them.

"A grappling hook, mainly," Will said. "It'll be easy to build one, but hard to build one that actually works. I need a lot of rope for it. The rest of this stuff is for future projects. I don't really know what I'll build after the grappling hook though."

"But you just finished the taser gloves."

"So? I need stuff to work on or else I get bored."

"What if we went on a journey?"

"Still."

 

John said nothing, as the stuff Will bought was dumped into a burlap sack and handed to Will.

"You ready?" He asked, and John nodded. The boys walked out of the shop, not sure what time it was.

"Do you think we have time to walk back home?" John wondered.

Will shook his head. "Probably not. Traveling at night is dangerous near the mountains. Nobody's really explored the Smitus Mountains and we don't really know what might be up there. And they say the entrance to #### is up on top of Mount Gaia."

"I knew that," John said. "Mom taught me and my siblings about it."

Will shrugged. "Not me," He said. "Come on. Let's find a place to stay for the night. And contact your mom soon."

 

John reached into Will's backpack, and pulled out the sorta-telgram machine, and sent a quick message to his mom, saying they were fine and would find a place to stay.

 

"Come on," Will said, tugging at his friend's shirt sleeve. "Here's an Inn. We can stay here for the night."

 

Will and John walked into the Inn, a large wooden building with a sign that said "INN" in recently-painted letters, though it was obvious it had been painted over many times before.

The boys walked into the Inn, a two-story place with a tavern below and sleeping areas above. It was a weird place for Nomsville, Will thought.

"This building is from years ago, when more people came through Nomsville. Lots of people probably came in here for a drink and then sleep. But now, since nobody really comes around here anymore, it's a little dusty. But we could get some water or something."

"What about a soda?" John asked.

Will walked over to the counter, followed by John. The bartender, who looked ancient, peered at the boys.

"Do you have any soda, sir?" Will asked, nicely.

The man said nothing, but lifted up a bottle of a foaming beverage. A label was on it, stating it was soda; John smiled, and asked for a cup of it.

 

"I myself will take a glass of water."

The man poured a glass of soda and water for the boys, and asked them if they needed a room for the night.

"Yes," Will said. "Please."

"Alright, then," The man said as John downed his soda in a flash. "I'll get two beds set up for you two young men."

"Thank you, sir." Will said, smiling. The man said nothing in return, but trudged upstairs to set up beds for them; the boys relaxed with their drinks (well, one of them relaxed with his drink), and later went to bed in the comfortable yet old beds of the Nomsville Inn.

 

 

 

 

[And a new character. If you would, add this to the original post?]

 

Name: Pa Enterese

That means: Not Interested in Haitian Creole

Weapon: Trident

Element: Poison/Sand

Uses: Alchemy

Lives: Born in Yuss, but found on Haruka.

Notes: Wears an eyepatch and is generally intimidating; he only joins the group because he likes the Astronomy Domine. Like Jun Shi and Nikoli, he is a miliary man.