Chronicles of Holthorn

By Andy Bendle

The Chronicles of Holthorn is a series of short stories that take place in a settlement originally known as Boarder Hold. In the story An Unwanted Change, a group of fizdicuns, ( a race I created that are avid wanderers, grow to be no taller than three feet, and have a natural habit of causing mischief and harm to members of other races) is imprisoned for past crimes, and is all about the changes the main character Javrin Colliroot goes through during his incarceration, and eventual escape once he becomes a goblin magus.

Donning the mask: this story starts six years after the beginning of An Unwanted Change. Its the story of Duke Nathan Holthorn, a young Mage warrior, and why he becomes a tyrant and changes the name of Boarder Hold to something that suits his vanity.

Unfortunate Beauty: this story starts four years after the end of Donning the mask. It is about a sixteen year old girl who is married off to a rich merchants son and goes to live with him in Holthorn City, once known as Boarder Hold the blossoming city. After a year of not being able to get her husbands attention, she seeks a way to free herself from the bonds of marriage.

Death for a Purse: this story takes place eighteen years after the end of Unfortunate Beauty. It is about a young thief who has lived in Holthorn city his whole life, and eventually has to leave all he knows to survive.

Bonus feature. The unknown Source. This story follows a twenty year old man named Jake, who learns that vampires are real, and also about the true source of their existence. Be warned, its a little erotic, and the main character lacks certain common morals and ethiics.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Dec 23, 2014
• ISBN: 9781496960856

Andy Bendle

Andrew Bendle was born in 1983 and has always enjoyed making up stories. When he learned how to spell his first word, he said to his kindergarten teacher, knowing how to make words is going to make it easier to make stories. That's my favourite thing to do after playing with toys. A few years after that he read his first fantasy novel and has been hooked to the genre ever since. He has eight college credits in creative writing and hopes to expand his education in the field of writing very soon.

Book preview

© 2014 Andy Bendle. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 12/22/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4969-6084-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-6085-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014922651

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and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

An Unwanted Change

Donning the Mask

Unfortunate Beauty

Death For A Purse

The Unknown Source

The Unknown Source

About the Author

An Unwanted Change

T HE AIR WAS HUMID in these parts of their migratory journey in every season. Despite that, Javrin Colliroot liked this area best of all they traveled. It went up and down, and they had to swim, climb, scale, and grapple, to reach a nice grassy plateau, which was part of the small mountain behind a human occupied town known as Boarder Hold. Its name didn’t matter much to Javrin, just the fact he and his fellow fizdicuns had enjoyed their time in town during each of three of their circular runs around the small mountain. He knew the mountain had a name, even some of his kind cared of things like that, but he wasn’t among those types.

He put the tip of his water skin to his lips, and took a gulp of refreshing spring water. Then he laid his head back and enjoyed a playful nudge from his wife Holiru. She was the first female he had ever been attracted to, and would be the only. It happened one day, a few hours before they went through Boarder Hold from the other side on their last journey. Javrin had tripped, and then looked up to find Holiru, with her hand extended toward his. After that they became pared, and all knew she was his, and he was hers. Some of the others in their group were eager to continue to the settlement, which from their vantage looked like a scattering of hovels, with a few large buildings, in front of the fort itself which rested in a backdrop directly behind high walls of thick metal. Javrin never understood why humans and many other races made such constructs. His kind preferred to live outdoors, and travel continuously. This would be the last time they ever saw Boarder Hold, for they planned to travel through the yellow plains to the south, a scant patch of which Javrin could see at the limit of his sight.

All he wanted at that moment though was to gaze into his loves eyes, and enjoy the occasional chill breeze from the mountain which cut through the humidity like a knife. The chattering of those who wanted to leave became urgent though, and he sat up and took a deep breath of humid air as a thin cold current stabbed him in the back. Through his travels he learned that some people of some races would have taken that as an ominous sign, but not a single fizdicun he had met ever would. Time told them to move, and everyone in his small group looked forward as one and wordlessly began down the slight incline to where it dropped off. Excitement buzzed through the air between them, and together they jumped.

Javrin’s body dropped like a pebble, and was knocked in several directions by the wind as he descended. He collided a few times with Holiru, who as always, was shouting with glee during this part. His only hope was they would find something as exhilarating within the next realm they traveled. Their quick descent came to an abrupt end as their thin, light bodies plunged a meter or less into the perfectly warm water of a fresh water lake. Without thinking, he breathed in a bit of water as he swam to the surface, and was momentarily tempted to let the gills within his nasal passages take over. Once he did that though, he knew it would be difficult for him to use his lunges. Some of his kind were born under water and lived there throughout their lives, but Javrin had only heard of them, so he hadn’t been able to ask what life was like when you were always wet. Still though, most of his kind could live in the depths of a lake, and walk freely onto land without trouble. Holiru was one such, for her gill system wasn’t incorporated into her lunges, and started with two vertical slits in her armpits.

His head bobbed to the surface, and a small wave enveloped it. He resisted the urge to take another breath of water as he swam to the muddy shore. Despite his perseverance, he coughed and sputtered as he took his first breath of air, and choked up some water. Though his chest throbbed he propped himself up on his elbows and looked over the shifting water with contentment. The view he beheld was among the reasons he liked this area so much. Beyond the shore the entrance to a vast cavern hung like the maw of a sea dragon that was losing its teeth. Further in, the system of caves opened up into the cavern itself, which was naturally illuminated by blue stalactites or gems in the high vaulted ceiling.

As the others of his party came to the shore, a rock, big enough to crack a fizdicun’s head, fell away from the deteriorating entrance to the cavern and made a splash. Every single one of them looked around urgently for their mate, and all were satisfied. After Holiru spotted him, she lifted her bare arms and a spray of water shot from her gills. She rushed over to him as he stood, and she hugged him warmly, still excited from the jump.

We should climb back up and do it again! Holiru exclaimed. It wouldn’t take very long, and Boarder Hold will still be here when we drop back down.

Many in the group approved of this idea, so as one, they giddily climbed a near vertical path around to the right of the lake. By the time they reached the grassy plateau many hours later, the group was tired, and all concurred that a few hours rest before they made their quick descent again was called for. Javrin curled his body around Holiru, and ignored his achy lunges as he drifted off to sleep.

A crescent moon hung overhead, its usual greenish radiance bringing the untrimmed grass of the plateau to life in multi hues. Fire flies beaconed for each other’s attention, and Javrin woke with just enough time to watch Holiru’s eyes flutter open. Some of the others were up already and enjoying night on the plateau, while also wondering when everybody else was going to wake. It was nice to hear nobody had mentioned taking the jump, but that changed as soon as Holiru got her bearings. Her first words upon seeing him were, are we going to jump now Javrin, she said in a dreamy voice that made him want to say yes.

Those who weren’t awake already were roused by her words, and it was immediately decided they would jump as soon as all were ready, which took less than a minute. Again as one, they made their way down the plateau, and before they jumped, Javrin thought he heard soft echoes, like something falling and harsh whispers. Holiru jumped first, and Javrin followed. Her screams of delight were more beautiful than any bird’s song, but he heard those odd noises again as he fell, and felt a strange chill up his spine before he hit the lake again. This time he didn’t take a breath of water before he swam to the shore. The ache in his chest was gone when he emerged from beneath the now still water.

Javrin kept low and cringed when one of his party members sprang from the water a ways in and let out a triumphant yowl. It wasn’t Holiru, but Javrin was still perturbed. Then silence and a feeling of relief fell over him as he thought his misgivings were for nothing. Those in his company made it to the shore as before, but Javrin was still tense and hadn’t retreated fully from the water. When everyone was settled down and Holiru plopped herself in front of him so his head was between her feet, he still felt unease.

Come on Javrin. Boarder Hold waits. His body responded to her words, but his mind still screamed to escape into the water. This kind of panic was something he had never felt before. He had heard of it once, and the story had gone good for the fizdicun who lived through it, but Javrin wasn’t so sure he or Holiru would be fine at the moment. Humans were near, and smelt of sweat and steel. Among his company, he was of two who had been near humans at arms, but the other, a male named Unchin, enjoyed the after plummet excitement with the others.

He wanted to tell Holiru to come with him into the depths of the lake as he crawled over her body, but did nothing beyond kissing her cheek. She took to her feet beside him, and simply nudged