The Ark of Pelor

By Keith R. Cox

In an ancient time of magic and dragons, Sam leads a small group of teenagers that have been brought together by fate. They must first fight for their own freedom. They learn to trust one another as they are sent on a mission for a god, an epic quest of its own. They must travel over land and sea and across the front lines of a war to fulfill their quest.
Sam and his friends meet many on their journey; some who help them and others who seek their lives, and still others who need their help because no one else will. Sam grows from an orphaned young teen to a quiet, confident leader of a small community.
Throughout their quest, they must be ever vigilant for dangers around every corner, including traps, men and monsters that they had never heard of. Plus they meet face to face with both a dragon and a vengeful god.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Mar 11, 2013
• ISBN: 9781481722452

Keith R. Cox

Keith has had a lifelong interest in the realm of fantasy ever since reading the Lord of the Rings in Junior High. He has played Dungeons and Dragons at every opportunity he has had; both as a player and a Dungeon Master. He even wrote his own campaign, designed to bring level zero characters to level ten. He currently drives a Semi Truck over the road, and in his spare time converted his campaign into this book, by developing characters and imagining them running through the campaign. The main character in this book is named after his first grandson. He is currently working on a second book with a character named after his second grandson. As of now the series will consist of four books, unless his daughter calls again and says, “Dad, guess what?”

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KEITH R. COX

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AuthorHouse™

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Bloomington, IN 47403

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© 2013 by Keith R. Cox. 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 03/06/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4817-2244-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-2243-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-2245-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013903785

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, 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

Chapter One       Growing up Suddenly

Chapter Two       Unexpected Freedom

Chapter Three       The Ark of Pelor

Chapter Four       The Oracle

Chapter Five       Danville and Beyond

Chapter Six       The Road to Jincheng

Chapter Seven       Sea Voyage

Chapter Eight       The Fort

Chapter Nine       Leaving the Cave

Chapter Ten       The Inn of Nightshade

Chapter Eleven       The Return to Danville

Chapter Twelve       The Return to Pelorsburg

Chapter Thirteen       The Mine Fortress

Chapter Fourteen       The Road to Noinesburg

Chapter Fifteen       The Road to Bentonville

Chapter Sixteen       A Chat with Pelor

Chapter Seventeen       The Return to the Mines

Chapter Eighteen       The Last Day

Epilogue

Dedication

This work of fiction is dedicated to my oldest grandson, who the main character is named after. It is my prayer that you will grow up to have the character and success of your namesake—without having to face the trials and hardship that he does in this story.

The author must acknowledge many friends and family who read the manuscript and helped weed out errors and inconsistencies in the story. Special thanks also go out to Malachi Parker for designing the cover art.

Foreword

This is a work of fiction; and any similarity of persons, places or ideas to those actual or fictional may be coincidental. They may also be intentional and complimentary, just for fun. This work was completed while driving a Semi Truck around the country, so if a character or place has a name similar to a town near you, there is a probability that that character was named while the author was parked in or near your town.

The timeline for this book is approximately 2400 BC using a strict creationist timeline as established by Archbishop Usher. The times are described in Genesis 6:4-5 {King James Version} as follows: "There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. (5) And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." (Fear not, wary reader, this is the only scripture reference in this book, and it is not repeated.)

The gods described in this book are pictured as the sons of God who came to the earth. The various races of people (Elves, Dwarves, goblins, etc.) are the further results of these sons of God coming in unto the daughters of men in the writer’s imagination. The magic used in this book was first taught to men by these gods and further expanded through their own thoughts and imaginations. The only thing present in the book that is disallowed by scripture is the fact of weather: rain, snow, etc. This has been added by Artistic license. Whether you agree with the author’s beliefs in chronology is irrelevant to this work, as it is written solely for entertainment, and not to challenge the reader’s beliefs.

Credit is also due to Wizards of the Coast and Dungeons & Dragons. Much of the original framing of the story is based upon a campaign written to fit their work. Many of the races of men, monsters and gods named are taken from ideas based in their work. The outline of this book was written as a campaign designed by the author to be used in conjunction with their work.

Chapter One

Growing up Suddenly

I have come to tell you the story of dragons, spoke the man on the stage. His voice was bold and he commanded the attention of everyone in the room. The dragons were here before the gods came to the world and took wives of the daughters of man and created the elves, dwarves, goblins, orcs and other races. The dragons were here from back at the time when there were only two people in the world, and they lived in a garden. He paused for effect. The room was spellbound.

The great creator created the world with seven continents and seven seas. On each continent and in each sea he placed three dragons. Forty and two were the number of dragons created. Philosophers and sages since antiquity have known that the number of dragons is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the world and everything. They however have not yet discovered the correct question. Laughter filled the room at the ironic joke.

In the crowded room was a man named Samuel. Samuel was considered a good, quiet man by all who knew him. He was tall and muscular with wavy blonde hair just starting to show some grey. Samuel was a devout follower of Pelor, the god of the sun. Although he would do nothing to offend any other gods, he prayed daily to Pelor for sunshine for his crops and protection for his family. He ran a small farm on the edge of a small town in a rural region of Simsburg. He lived on the farm with his wife Mary and his son Samuel Jr., or Sammy as he was called.

Samuel was a well-liked man in his community. He and his family were held in respect by all, and he was considered a leader of the small community. He was usually a quiet man, and known for keeping his opinions to himself. His son was growing into a fine young man as well. He had his father’s blonde hair. He was not as thick and well-built as his father. He was thin, but far from frail. He was surprisingly strong for his size. His father jokingly told him that he had sinew made out of steel instead of muscles. In many ways he emulated his father. He worked the farm alongside his father, and had picked up his father’s strong work ethic. Sammy was also determined in anything he did, even more than his father was. His father would spend evenings and long winter days teaching him to read and write, and about the legends of the gods, especially Pelor. Many in the small town assumed that Sammy would take over the family farm, and make a fine husband for a lucky young lady.

The town was mostly a farming community. Its unique location on the King’s highway a day’s ride in either direction from a larger city gave the town an unusually large inn and store. Thusly, it was a way stop for travelers, who would stay at the inn. The storekeeper would bargain for wares from any merchants who passed through town and sell these wares to travelers and townsfolk alike.

It was this inn where they were sitting. Sammy’s fourteenth birthday was the next day, and he begged his father to come hear the bard.

The bard continued his story, Legend teaches us that three of the dragons died in the dragon war almost a thousand years ago. True also is the tale of the king who hired the three most powerful wizards in the world to rid his kingdom of a dragon that had been plaguing it. The three wizards set a trap using the most difficult and powerful spells for the dragon. They indeed killed the dragon. But in the process, two of the wizards and half of the kingdom including the king himself died in the battle. The remaining wizard had been so damaged in the mind that he spent the remainder of his days searching for his tail. Again, everyone laughed as if on cue.

Another dragon was taken down by a volley of trebuchet fire while raiding a city. Many a man has asked, ‘if it worked once, why not keep doing it until the world is free of dragons?’ I will tell you why. The dragons have learned to link their minds. Therefore, anything that one dragon knows, they all know. Some dragons resisted the idea, and this brought about the dragon war. But since the war, all the dragons share the knowledge and experience of one another. They have learned from their mistakes. They know the range and potency of our weapons. They know not to fight with each other. Finally, they have learned to stay out of the affairs of men as much as possible; for they have learned that determined men can do anything they set their hearts to. It seemed to Sammy that the room swelled up with the pride of being a man; not only his own pride, but the pride of everyone in the room.

The bard concluded his tale, As far as I know, there are still thirty and seven dragons in the world. I do know that they live as easily in the depth of the ocean as upon the heights of mountains. When a dragon is killed, the others will each expand their territory and spread evenly around the world. These days they keep to their selves. But, I’ve heard tales of how they have been known to work with man and gods; but this is a story for another day. For now, I believe the innkeeper owes me a tankard of ale. The bard stepped down and the room filled with cheers for a well told story. As soon as the bard walked past, Samuel led his son out of the room and to home.

Samuel disliked the idea of sitting in the inn. He felt that it was a great waste of men’s time to sit and gossip and tell stories. But Sammy would sneak to the inn every chance he could. He enjoyed hearing stories of faraway places and the days long before he was born. Stories of battles with dragons and other beasts, stories of oceans so big it took days to cross on huge boats, and stories of great armies and wars. But, there were few dangerous beasts around and the country had not been at war for nearly fifty years. The town was too small to be bothered by any outside government, except the annual visit by the tax collectors.

Sammy had heard grumblings about the weather for as long as he could remember. It seemed that every winter was colder and longer than the one before. The talk in the tavern on many cold nights would begin with someone claiming that it was getting colder each year. Then it would be countered with the idea that some winters were worse than others, and they just happened to have two or three bad winters in a row. The argument usually ended with the prediction that next year it would not snow at all.

Samuel, Sammy’s father would quietly confide to Sammy that he believed that men were turning from the gods, and that Pelor was gradually removing his light from the world. He had charted the first and last snowfall of the winter, and the amount of snow each year. He even measured the thickness of the ice on the lake once a month. His calculations showed that the winters had been progressively growing harsher for seven years. Perhaps if more people would turn to the gods, he assumed, the gods would once again favor them. It did seem to Sammy that their farm thawed before the others, and their crops grew better than any in the town.

Sammy’s fourteenth birthday came in the early spring, a day his father chose to start preparing the fields for planting. It would be another good year for their farm. Samuel had been praying to Pelor more than ever. On the night before his birthday after hearing the bard; while Sammy was in bed, with thoughts of dragons forcing away sleep, he listened to his father’s prayers. His father was especially fervent in his prayers this evening, and praying aloud that Pelor would bless his son greatly, and he was willing to offer all that he had—even his very life—that Pelor would make his son a great man. Sammy was stunned to hear this, but following his father’s example, he said nothing the next morning at breakfast.

After breakfast Sammy went outside with his father to see if the field was thawed and dried enough to start plowing. The sun was shining, but a storm was on the horizon. Sammy looked up at the sky. He looked for the edges of the storm, and realized the clouds surrounded the farm on all sides. He pointed this out to his father, who looked up to see. He was puzzled as well. The clouds swirled and stayed all day, and the smell of rain was on the air. But the sun shone on their farm, and they began to break up the soil. Late that afternoon, Samuel decided to rest the horse and took his son to the town for a visit. As they left the farm, the rain began to fall, a cold drizzle at first that grew into a steady cold rain the further they went into town. In town, they heard grumblings about the heavy rains that had been falling all day, and delays in planting the crops. Sammy started to mention that it had not rained at their farm at all, but a nudge from his father and a stern shake of the head silenced him.

Samuel took his son to the store and instead of the trinket for his birthday like he planned, he purchased some incense and they quickly returned to the farm, where the sky was still mysteriously clear. He explained to his son that Pelor had chosen to bless them, and they should keep it quiet as jealousy could bring them trouble. Sammy knew that his father had often chosen to tell less than all he knew, but marveled at his silence about this miracle.

Samuel called his wife and son together and explained that Pelor was responsible for the miracle that had happened on their farm. He announced that he was going to make a burnt offering to Pelor in thanks. He instructed his wife to clean the altar in front of the house, and his son to go gather wood for the fire. He would pray, put the incense on the fire then light it.

Sammy went to the woods, full of pride that Pelor would choose his birthday to bless his family. He carefully picked branches for a fire worthy of Pelor. He was just starting back to the house when the lightning struck. He dropped the wood and watched the lightning streaking down to the small altar his parents were at. It seemed to Sammy that the lightning stayed for an incredibly long time. He saw his parents fly through the air, their clothes and hair on fire. The rocks of the altar glowed red, then burst into red hot shards and flew for yards igniting fires in whatever they landed upon. Sammy stood there in shock as he watched sparks fly through the air and land in the house. He was still frozen in shock as the first plumes of smoke came out of the windows of the house.

After what seemed to Sammy as a lifetime, his body became unfrozen and he ran to his parents, but in his heart he knew that they were dead. In disbelief, he pleaded to his father to wake up for several minutes. The crash of a beam brought his mind back to the reality of the situation. His head snapped to the sound, and in horror he realized that the roof of the house had collapsed in the flames. He looked to the sky and cursed Pelor. He held the look in amazement as the smoke curled up through the hole in the blanket of clouds. Before his very eyes, the hole closed up. Moments later he heard the hiss of raindrops on the burning farm. Within a quarter of an hour, the fire was gone and the ruined farm was covered in a steel cold rain.

The family horse was unharmed, and Sammy climbed on his back, wiped tears and raindrops from his face and rode towards town. He tied the horse up at the tavern and stepped inside. The innkeeper was surprised at his arrival. Sammy told him that the house had caught fire in a lightning strike and that his parents had been killed. Taking after his father, he chose not to mention any of the peculiar circumstances of the fire. The innkeeper offered him a room for the night.

Sammy went straight up to the room and lay down on the bunk. He wept for his parents as well as for himself. Then he recognized that there were decisions that needed to be made. Like his father, he thought the decisions through one at a time, and made up his mind. Once he knew what he was going to do, fatigue took over and he soon fell asleep.

When Sammy awoke the next morning, it seemed the whole town knew of his misfortune. He had offers from half of the families in the town to live with them. He also had countless offers to help rebuild the house. Sammy quietly thanked them all, and said he would consider their offers. When he said he was going to the farm to bury his parents, he ended up leading a solemn procession of nearly thirty people.

The barn was still standing, and still full of the small assortment of animals that needed caring for. He offered to sell the animals for half the value. The offer was quickly accepted, then counter-offered. An impromptu auction took place and soon the offered price was twice the value of the animals. Sammy closed out the bidding at this point by accepting the offer and refusing any further bids.

Sammy’s father had always worn the symbol of Pelor on a silver chain around his neck. The symbol was a solid gold image of the sun with long rays going out all around it. Sammy found this still on his body. It was blackened, and the rays were drooping where they had started to melt in the intense heat of the lightning. Sammy slipped this inside his tunic. He took a last look at his parents and knew it was time to dig a grave.

When he looked up, he saw that someone had anticipated this, and a crew was already digging. He walked to them, thanked them, then asked them to go ahead and bury his parents. He walked to the ruins of the house, burnt to the earthen foundation. Sammy sifted through the ruins for a few minutes and found a small pile of coins, his father’s life savings. Nothing else from the house was salvageable. He pocketed the coins and walked back to the gravesite.

They were finishing the burial, and everyone was milling around quietly. Sammy pulled aside the man who owned the neighboring farm. He told him that he wanted to sell him the farm, but did not want to start another pity bidding war. The neighbor agreed to buy it. However, he did not have enough money to cover the cost. Sammy told him that he would take whatever he could afford to pay. The neighbor refused to pay less than full value, and said he would be able to raise the money by the next day.

Sammy thanked those who came with him for their kindness, and mounted the family horse and left the farm for what he knew would be the last time. He rode slowly back to the tavern, careful not to outpace the crowd that was walking with him. He returned to the inn, paid for two nights stay against the protests of the innkeeper and retired to his room. He cleaned up the coins and his father’s image of Pelor. The next day he sold the image at the store. Once the neighbor came to him with the payment for the farm, Sammy had close to two thousand gold in a small pouch tied closely to his waist.

At noon, he walked to the center of the highway trying to decide which way to go. He had determined to leave the town. His anger at Pelor prevented him from asking the gods which way to go. He no longer had his father to advise him. He decided to go with the first traveler on the road that would take him with, and go the direction they were going.

That evening, a merchant with an overloaded cart being pulled by a single horse rolled in from the east. Although Sammy was not overly familiar with horse carts, he was certain that this cart was designed for two horses. The horse was laboring with this heavy and awkward load. Sammy walked up to the wagon as it pulled in and greeted the driver. The driver looked to be in his mid-forties, short and heavyset. Sammy sensed malevolence in the man’s eyes, but dismissed it as his own distrust of strangers.

How far are you going? Sammy asked.

Noinesburg, it should be another day’s ride but I’ve lost a horse, he replied, Know where I can buy one cheap?

Sammy thought for a moment before deciding, I’m heading that way myself. How about if we hitch my horse to your cart and I ride along with you? He chose not to mention that this would be the third time in his life that he left the town.

Aha, said the merchant, Archibald is my name, so are you heading to the carnival? I’d be glad to have you along. I’m doing some advertising for the carnival, and for helping me, I’ll get you set up good at the carnival.

Sammy admitted that he knew nothing about the carnival, but decided that it might be a place to meet contacts to start his new life. It was settled, and they agreed to leave at first light. That evening, Sammy announced that he was leaving and said goodbye to everyone in town. He also went to the store, and with advice from the merchant purchased traveling supplies. Meanwhile, Archibald announced the carnival, and found excuse to offer out several of his special passes.

As they prepared to leave in the morning, Sammy mentioned that the pass he received for the use of his horse seemed to be less valuable than he first thought. He watched Archibald as he digested this information. The older man looked like he was going to argue, then let a sly glint in his eye slip before regaining his composure and saying, You are right, my boy, you are right. A day’s work for your horse is worth two coppers. Then again, a day’s ride is worth one copper. It seems fair that I owe you one copper coin. Since I tried to pay you with a carnival pass that came to me at no cost, I’ll let you keep it. Does that sound fair?

Sammy agreed and they hitched up the horses to the wagon. As they got underway, Archibald opened a small purse and fished out the copper coin and handed it to Sammy. Sammy withdrew his pouch of coins and added the copper to it. Archibald noticed the size of the bag and commented that it seemed to be a large sum of money for such a young boy. Sammy told him that it was an inheritance and quickly put the pouch away. He hoped that Archibald assumed it was mostly copper and a few silver coins, and maybe some other small trinkets, and not guess the real value.

All through the day, Archibald chattered on, bragging about his exploits, vices and virtues. Sammy quickly grew bored of this and amused himself by listening to him talk and noting to himself each time the portly man contradicted himself. As the sun set behind them, they crested a hill and the city of Noinesburg came into view, shining in the sun’s last rays.

Sammy was amazed at the size and construction of the city. From this distance he could only see the stone wall. As the cart rattled towards the city, he was able to distinguish two walls; the outer wall was twenty foot tall and sat fifty feet outside of the inner wall. This inner wall was thirty feet tall, and wide enough for a man to walk on. Sammy also noticed black stains on the inner wall. He asked Archibald about the construction.

Well, my boy, Noinesburg is in the border region. When the countries were at war, many a battle for the city took place. See the guards on the inner wall? During an attack, the inner wall is crowded with archers. From there, they can easily pick off attackers coming over the outer wall. If attackers do take the outer wall, they must contend with the dogs that live between the walls. During peacetime, criminals are executed by being thrown to the dogs. Plus, the town has oil on the wall that they can pour between the walls and set aflame, Sammy my boy. Many an army has tried and failed to take Noinesburg. But the carnival is on the other side of the town, that’s where we are heading.

Sammy asked about going into town, but was denied with an explanation that the town was closed to outsiders during the carnival, to keep unsavory carnival goers from causing trouble in the town.

My boy, Archibald continued, we will spend the night at the camp outside the carnival and we can go in tomorrow.

As they reached the eastern side of the city, Sammy could see the tapestries covering a wooden fence around a twenty acre carnival ground. Sammy noted people coming out of the exit by the wall, and saw the clearly marked entrance. Beyond the carnival was a crowded campground. Several fires were burning, and the people they passed were eating and laughing. One group of people with a pig roasting over the fire recognized Archibald and insisted that they came by for dinner once they set up camp. A guard came up to meet them, momentarily changing Sammy’s wonderment to fear.

Welcome, the guard said with a broad grin, There is an empty campsite right over there. We will keep an eye on your wagon for you. It will be safe. You can take your horses to the stable. There are booths set up over by the stables to buy any food or drink you may want. Thanks for coming and enjoy the carnival.

With that, Sammy was greatly relieved. Archibald helped him set up his new tent, and soon they were sitting around a fire with a crowd of strangers, all laughing and drinking ale. Sammy had his first taste of ale that night. He did not enjoy the taste, but what he really disliked was the way it made his head feel. He stuck with the fruit juice which was sweet and plentiful.

It was well after dark when he decided to go to sleep. His companions, now filled with ale, bid him good night and continued their intense celebration of nothing. His sleep was interrupted a few times through the night by loud laughter, or the sounds of occasional fights that broke out.

The sun was fully up when Sammy crawled out of the tent. He could see Archibald sleeping under his wagon. The campground was quiet. He could see a few people moving around, and others sleeping where they had passed out. Not certain where to go, he headed back to the fire, where one of the guards was sitting with a cup of tea. Sammy greeted the guard and sat down beside him. He accepted the cup of tea that was offered. The guard explained that the carnival would not open for a few hours more, but the camp would soon be stirring.

Sure enough, by the time Sammy had finished his second cup of tea, there were a dozen people around the fire. A lady started cooking some bacon, and the aroma caused the whole camp, even Archibald, to come to life. Before long, a breakfast to feed an army was prepared and consumed. A line was forming at the entrance to the carnival. Sammy headed back to the tent to clean up. Soon Archibald met him.

Sammy, my boy, Sammy was growing tired of being called boy but decided not to mention it. Archibald continued, I feel that I must warn you. There are people in the carnival that might take your little pouch of money. I have a secret compartment in my wagon here. It’ll be safe in there, my boy.

Won’t I need money in the carnival? Sammy asked.

Nah, the pass I gave you is worth a hundred carnival coins my boy, good as gold in the carnival, even better. And you keep the pass as a souvenir. Then his voice took on a conspiratorial tone, If you run out, you can always come out the exit and re-enter and get another sack of coins.

Sammy looked in the compartment that Archibald had opened under the seat. He saw that it already contained several items that looked valuable. He decided to trust Archibald and placed the pouch inside it. Archibald closed the compartment back again and they headed towards the entrance. They fell into a long but quickly moving line. Sammy watched as the people in front of him each spoke to a guard. Most were sent forward, but some were sent off to a building off of the side. He saw people coming out of the building and joining the rest at the gate. As they neared the guard, he recognized that the ones going to the building had weapons, and correctly assumed they were checking their weapons in the building. Sure enough when it was his turn, the guard asked him if he had any weapons. When he told him he did not, he was sent directly to the gate.

At the gate, he showed the lady his pass. Behind the lady was a large sign filled with small writing. In large letters at the top of the sign, Sammy read, Carnival rules and regulations. The line was moving too quickly for him to read half of it, but what he gathered was a bunch of instructions requiring good behavior. The lady gave him a pouch full of coins and told him to enjoy himself. Sammy walked past the sign and into the carnival. Once inside he saw several stalls selling trinkets and poorly made brightly colored clothing. From one tent, he could smell the aroma of food. From another tent, he could hear a band playing and laughter like the night before in the campground.

Sammy looked into the pouch and pulled out one of the coins. It was poorly pressed tin, with a letter N on one side and a poor resemblance of a face on the other. Suddenly, he was startled by a hand clasping on his shoulder. It was Archibald. My boy, enjoy yourself. I’m going to taste the liquors of the world, he said pointing at the tent with the music. Then I’m going to spend some time with the elven ladies, he said with a wink pointing at another tent.

Sammy was relieved to be without his companion. He wandered toward a row of booths that had simple games to play. Although the games varied, they all cost one carnival coin to play and prizes were paid in gold coins. Some of the games paid up to ten gold coins for winning. Sammy played some of the games, and did well. Soon half of his carnival coins were spent, and he had gained nearly forty gold coins. For the price of one carnival coin, he had a superb meal. He had heard tales in the tavern back home about places in far off cities that sold meals for a gold coin each. The description of such meals matched the one he was eating. He savored the meal and lingered over tea and watched the crowd.

He next decided to head to the arena and watch the contests. As he walked in, they were starting the wrestling matches. Two men were matched up in a ring and at the sound of a bell they fought. The first bout featured a large ugly young man who won easily. Sammy overheard the man seated next to him tell someone that the contestant was half orc. The half orc won easily and the announcer assured the crowd that he would be back in the next round. There were seven more bouts, more orderly but less exciting than the half orc’s battle. Then the announcement came that it was time for the second round.

Sammy cheered with the crowd as the half orc was announced in the third bout of the second round. The half orc’s opponent grabbed him around the waist and tried to knock him over. The half orc lifted his fist and brought it down on the other man’s head. He immediately slumped to the ground. Undaunted, the half orc continued to pound his opponent, until pulled off by several guards. The opponent was picked up out of a puddle of blood. The crowd roared it’s approval. The half orc won the third and fourth round as well. The announcer pumped the crowd up for the final round. Unfortunately the half orc’s opponent refused to enter the ring, and the half orc was crowned champion.

When the fights were over, Sammy milled around the carnival for a couple hours more. Finally, he decided he had had enough fun at the carnival and headed towards the exit. Sammy noticed several people milling around the open area before the exit sign. As he approached, a man came up to him and asked if he had any spare carnival coins. Sammy lied and told him no. A few paces later, he saw a man with a sign offering to buy ten carnival coins for one silver coin. Sammy decided to sell him twenty, leaving himself a dozen as souvenirs.

He thought it was odd that there was a guard at the exit. As he walked past the guard, he noticed that the exit was through a doorway cut in the outer wall of the city. Ahead of him was a small queue of people waiting. At the front of the line were two more guards, only allowing one person to proceed at a time. Sammy could not tell where the line led. All he could tell was that when someone was sent through, they went down a passage to the left, into the city.

Soon enough, it was Sammy’s turn. The passage only went ten feet to where two more guards were standing. These guards were noticeably armed. Another passage went off to the right. The guards guided Sammy that direction, then stood blocking the way back. Blocking the passage ahead were two more armed guards. To his right was a small barred window. A stern looking woman sat on a stool behind the window. Do you have a waiver? she demanded.

Umm, a what? Sammy stammered.

A waiver; apparently not. So, you received a hundred carnival coins, correct? Did you spend them all? Did you read the notice at the entrance? Can you read? She fired the questions so fast that Sammy did not have time to answer one before the next was asked. Did you ask anyone to read the notice to you? Do you understand the cash value of the carnival coins? Did you agree to the fee for using the coins? Are you prepared to make full retribution at this time? With this, she paused and looked at Sammy with an accusatory glare.

Sammy held his composure. He now recognized that he was being swindled, and hard. He also recognized that he could do nothing but pay. He opened his pouch and retrieved the twelve cheap tin coins he had left and laid them on the counter. Here are these, ma’am. Please tell me how much more I owe. He held his small pouch with the gold coins he had won. He might still have a profit.

The lady gave a knowing grin over his shoulder at one of the guards behind him. She then made a great pretense of calculating: One hundred carnival coins at ten apiece. Sammy was startled that they had valued the tin coins at ten copper coins apiece. He calculated quicker than her; ten coppers for a silver, ten silver for a gold, he had just spent ten gold—his family lived three months on that much. He then listened as the cashier continued, That will be one thousand. Plus one quarter in taxes, that is one thousand two hundred and fifty. You have returned twelve, so you owe one thousand, one hundred and thirty. Do you have it?

Umm, yes ma’am. He said as he opened his pouch. The cashier gave him a startled look and he heard one of the guards behind him snicker. He pulled twelve gold coins out of his pouch and laid them on the counter, and regained his composure. Here you are. Thank you very much. I had a wonderful time. You can keep the change. He took a step towards the exit. The guards in his way held their position, and put their hands on their swords.

What is this? the cashier demanded.

That’s twelve gold, the same as one thousand and two hundred coppers, it was once again Sammy’s turn to be confused, you said that the carnival coins were worth ten coppers apiece.

Indignantly, she replied, I most certainly did not. The carnival coins are valued at ten gold apiece, as posted on the notice at the entrance. If you cannot pay, you will serve the city or you and your belongings will be sold to cover the expense.

Sammy again took a moment to regain his composure. He really doubted that most travelers carried that much gold. He realized that the carnival had been set up to recruit slaves. Then he remembered the money in the wagon and decided that being broke was better than being a slave. He emptied his pouch onto the counter and counted out the gold coins, all forty-three of them. These plus the twelve carnival coins I gave you are one hundred sixty-three. I still owe you one thousand and eighty seven. I have those at the campground if I may go get them.

The cashier was startled at this announcement. She was also amazed how he had done the math so quickly. She assumed he was right, but would of course check; just not while he was watching. At the campground, you say. She seemed to be stalling, trying to figure out what to do in this situation. Very well, a guard will escort you to the campground shortly and you can retrieve the money. Then to the guard she said, Place him in a holding cell until someone can take him to the campground.

Sammy was quickly taken down a hallway. One last glance at the cashier, and he saw her sweeping his coins inside her cage. He realized that he again was being shorthanded, and would have to pay the full amount. An iron door was opened, and Sammy was shoved into a dark crowded room. He bumped into someone who slapped him away roughly. The room was lined on three sides with benches, and Sammy sat down. The guard who brought him in pointed him out to another guard.

This one says he left his money at the campground, he said with a chuckle. See that he can go get it when you can spare a man. If his money is not at the campground, see that you spare a man to whip him. The other guard looked Sammy over, then the door clanged shut.

The moment the door shut, one man in the room began hollering and complaining loudly. Sammy looked around the room. There were four grouped together, two boys a little older than him and what Sammy had guessed to be their parents. Also in the room was a man Sammy’s father’s age, so drunk that he fell off the bench as he watched him. Next to him was a thin man that had been yelling out to the guards constantly. He told them how unfair they were, and how he would tell the governor, and the king, and the gods. Just as he took a breath to continue, he was silenced by a fist to the mouth. Not buy a guard, but by the man next to him. Sammy turned to him and recognized him immediately as the half orc that had won the fights. He was sitting there looking quite sullen, with blood running down his arm from a sword cut.

Sammy sat there not speaking. Except for the sobs of the woman and the occasional grunt from the drunkard, the room was