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DONNER AND THALIA

Episode I

The Lair of the Rat God

Robert C. Gemmell

Coptyright 2020

1.

Young Donner McClure strode through his hometown of Hillshade with his head high, and his broad, young shoulders pumped. All the hours in his father's smithery working with scraps and the clumsy hammer strikes of a novice had finally paid off. His brand new, handmade sword swung proudly from his belt in the cheapest sheath he could find from a local tradesman.

Hillshade was a modestly sized town named for the shadow cast at noon by the large hill overlooking it. That hill was famous, the scene of Sir Clifton’s first charge against the Elves over three hundred years ago. Well-made stone buildings traced along cobblestone roads leading to the main street stocked with traders visiting for the coming harvest season and other usual business.

From the day he could read, Donner had been obsessed with the history books telling great tales of victories of Knights like Sir Clifton and other brave heroes. It was Donner’s intention to follow in that grand tradition of Knighthood, modernized as that tradition had become. He longed for the day he could be held in the same regard as his heroes. Men like Sir Clifton, the victor of the Elf War, and Sir Theodore, the hero of the Battle to the Last, or one of the Gang of eight, the defenders of Corner Castle in the war with Diritan.

He was finally sixteen, and allowed to register as a Knight, though at his entry-level rank he could only take on bronze level jobs, things that would be only simple chores. Get rid of some pests, deliver a package a few towns over, menial work like that. It was likely that most jobs he could find wouldn’t need him to draw his sword to get done. But if Donner was going to be a Knight, the first thing needed was a sword of his own.

As Donner strutted past Wizard Vibrus’s lodge, The Wizard’s apprentice Lenny threw down his broom and almost tripped over the porch as he rushed to Donner. “Is it finally done!?” he asked, catching himself as he stumbled up to Donner with his clumsy chubby frame.

“It is indeed,” Donner said as he whipped his blade out to show it off. Considering the skill level of its crafter, the blade was evenly balanced. It had a shine that gleamed in the mid-day sunlight, a long double-sided edge that came to a slanted tip, “Months of welding scraps, and it’s finally done. I started out trying to make a standard long sword, but it wasn’t balanced. As a finishing touch, I had to make it a little longer and get a heavier hilt to counterbalance it. My Dad says it’s called a Bastard sword, halfway the length between a long sword and a great sword,”  he smiled as he held up his project of passion.

“That is long,” Lenny said, admiring a weapon he could never hope to have the skill or agility necessary to wield himself.

“How’s Wizarding? Find any good spells lately? Donner asked.

“You should see my fireballs. I can almost hit the center of a target with them. Vibrus works me hard in the shop, but I’m learning so much, being a real Wizard’s apprentice is amazing,”

“I don’t see how anyone can make heads or tails of the language of those Elven tomes. Last time I tried to summon a fireball, I froze the target solid,”

“So, where are you taking the sword?” Lenny asked.

“I’m about to embark on my first adventure,” Donner said, puffing his chest out and holding his head high, “Heading to the job board,” he said.

“Well let me know how it goes, if you ever need some magic to back you up if things get hairy, remember, I can always almost hit the target,” Lenny said, beaming with pride.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Donner said, before patting Lenny’s chest with the back of his hand, “Hey, when I become a Knight and earn my name, you can be my Wizard. All great Knights are known to have a Wizard in their aid.”

“It would be my honor, Sir Donner. I just might be able to. My mom sent a pigeon with my application to the Anastasia Academy. I should be hearing back from them any day now.”

“Young wizard! The roses need attending, don’t think I’ll let you use all my stash of petals to practice, you need to grow them yourself!” Vibrus scolded from the Town Wizard’s hut.

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“Coming master,” Lenny said, “Good luck Donner,” he patted his friend’s shoulder before rushing to get back to work. He almost tripped on the porch again as he got ready to go back to work.

Continuing through the town, Donner passed the church, “Afternoon, Brother Paul,” he said, waving to the preacher’s son.

Paul wiped some sweat from his head and put his hammer down, climbing down the latter with a careful step before approaching that reckless would-be hero, “You actually finished it, you’re mad,” Paul said as shook his head at Donner’s beaming smile and can-do attitude.

“Yes, Paul, I did finish it, and I’m going to go have my first adventure, and maybe someday you’ll read about it in one of your books.”

“Reading books doesn’t get you killed, what you want to do is going to get you killed,” he said.

“It’s a Bronze ranked request, when have you ever read about a Knight dying on a Bronze ranked request?”

“Sir Charles of the Cursed Blade, Spring 64, Year 278 AE, hired to eliminate some weeds from a garden. He took the job while he was drunk as a joke and was poisoned by the Serpent Duscel flower and died two weeks later from toxicity.”

“I would accuse you of only having one example, but I know you have more,” Donner said.

“I have all of them,” Paul said, pointing to his head.

“Fair enough, but I’m going to be fine. Have you seen my sword?” Donner said as he pulled his blade out and showed it off again.

A voice came out from behind him, “Nice blade, blacksmith,” Donner turned to the mocking as he heard that unmistakable voice he had known since he was a child.

“Hello, fair lady,” Donner said as he turned to and took a deep bow in front of her.

Thalia rolled her eyes, her dark black hair tied in a ponytail falling off her shoulder, “You know it takes more to be a Knight then just a sword, right?”

“I’m heading to the job board for a contract. It will be the first adventure in the epic tale of Sir Donner I’ll-figure-out-a-name-later.”

Donner waved his hand triumphantly, standing back up and grinning at his childhood friend. “You should come with me, this is going to be written about in the history books, you’ll want to have a front-row seat, trust me.”

“Fine, can’t wait to see the epic battle of Sir Donner What’s-his-name getting rid of some ant-hills in the local flower garden.”

“I’ve read much about the ants. They can be mighty opponents, what they lack in size and power, the ants make up for in numbers, they can swarm you and all bite at the same time leaving a man paralyzed with pain. It will be a truly epic battle,” he nodded his head.

“You’re such an idiot,” she said, laughing and shaking her head as she joined him on his epic journey to the town bulletin board.

“Let’s see what’s available,” Donner said as he looked over the mostly empty board. He saw tons of tacks with just scraps of paper hanging from them.

“Okay, here’s one” Donner reached for it, careful not to tear it away as he read it, “Wow, it’s from the capital.” Donner looked to Thalia and raised his eyebrows with an excited smile on his face, “Says it’s Diamond Ranked, Assassinate Borter Tremane of the Hexiegal Order,” he looked to Thalia, “That’s all it says, who in the Gods is Borter Tremane?”

“Are you serious, you don’t know who Borter Tremane is?”

“No, why does the capital want him killed, they’re offering…” he looked back at the pamphlet, “Fifty thousand gold, are you kidding me! That’s enough to buy every building in the town, and a few in the next one over. Whoever does this could buy a whole town for one job,” he said, jaw-dropping as he imagined that kind of reward.

“It’s printed not handwritten, the capital has probably put this flyer on every board from here to the coast,” Thalia said. “I’ve heard about Borter Tremane. He’s the leader of the Church of Hexiegal.”

“Why would they want to kill a Church leader? All the Gods exist. We have literal proof they do. Clerics and healers of every religion call upon their gods to heal and protect, they have even come down to our plane a few times. There are records of it. Who would be foolish enough to cause problems because of religion?” Donner asked.

“Well, the Church of Hexigal claims that their particular god is the mightiest and the one true God over all others, and he’s been on campaign in the Mainland destroying churches to other Gods. The Mainland armies have stopped his forces, keeping him on the edge of Diritan, but with every defeat, his numbers still grow. He could become a real problem if this keeps up, I could see why the capital would want him dealt with.”

Donner released the contract. He was nowhere near ready for a Diamond rank request. “I’m sure the more experienced Knights can deal with him,” he said.

“You mean the real Knights?” Thalia said, hands on her hips as Donner turned back to the board.

“Here’s one, handwritten, Bronze ranked. Okay, we’re in business,” He smiled at Thalia as he ripped it off its tack. “Miss Gall needs a rat problem cleared out of her cellar,” he read the contract, then turned to Talia, raising his eyebrows. “I think I can work with this one,” he said.

“That’s the start of your epic adventure. You’re going to catch a rat?” Thalia said, rolling her eyes as she did so often when talking to Donner about adventuring.

“It could be a rat of unusual size,” he said. “The important thing is, it’s a problem, and as a Knight, it’s my job to solve problems.”

“Problems so petty no other Knight even thought to take the flyer. And by the way, this is a rank Bronze request, and anyone can do it. You’re not a Knight yet.”

“Yet, that’s the keyword in that sentence. I’m not a Knight, Yet. It’s a Problem, everyone has problems, and everyone deserves a chance their problems solved. I am going to solve this problem. And for doing this I will make,” he looked at the flyer again, “Twenty-five gold,” he looked up at Thalia, “Miss Gall has twenty-five gold just lying around, your jokes aside it sounds like I might need the sword after all,”

“It’s a rat problem, and your dad has made rat traps before, just get some of those from him.”

Donner thought of the idea of completing an Adventure with the same tools his father told him a much more sensible line of work offered. “No, no I’m going to use the sword,” he pulled it out of his sheath and admired it for what had to be the hundredth time since he finished it, “I worked hard on this, I’m not going to go on my first adventure and not use it,” he said with defense in his voice.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Thalia asked.

“It’s just a rat. How hard could this possibly get?” Donner said, shrugging his shoulders.