Samual's Tale: Into Zure, #5

By Paul Springsteen

Samual was a man that loved to read. He loved to learn. He loved to dream. With a focus on Tellurik as a god to worship he thought he would have a purpose. There was a thought that there was much unknown knowledge in the world.

 

Join Samual as he uses and develops methods to learn more of his world of Zure. He wants to learn more of problems that happen around him. However it isn't always so easy. Even though he was born of a noble family that made money easy, there is a political aspect of things that could cost him his life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paul Springsteen
• Release date: Aug 16, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393368564

Paul Springsteen

Paul Springsteen is someone that grew up in a medium sized town in Texas located in the united states. He went into the military upon graduating high school.  Though it didn't last long he did get an honorable discharge because of medical reasons. After this he went to the local college of his home town.  There he got a master's degree in physics. Due to illness he had a hard time in the job market before he discovered the joys of writing and wishes to spend his time writing stories for the forseeable future.  This came about from a strange origin.  From D&D of all places.  He kept feeling like he was getting shafted from playing stories.  So he pushed himself to write his own stories and enjoyed it. His stance on writing though is that he doesn't write to whatever is the it thing in the market.  Instead he has a particular way the story is supposed to go in his head and follows that.  So the reader should be aware that even killing the protagonist and having the bad guy win is a possible way things could happen in the story in the future.

Book preview

Disclaimer:  This is a work of fiction.  Any similarity to any person or group is entirely coincidence.

Chapter 1

Samual Helsmith didn't spend much of his time bored.  There simply wasn't enough time.  Within his private library, he was pouring over text after text.  Book after book.  It simply wasn't enough to just read them. You must write your own treatises on them.

However, that wasn't what he should be doing right now.  He remembered that he needed to attend a dinner between his house and that Gertrude Blemy's house when he heard a knock on the door.  They were terribly drab, having affiliated themselves with the gossip of the town.  How they were able to maintain their wealth was something of a mystery indeed.

The knock was from his prime servant Atin.  A servant that had been with his family since Samual was a little boy and since Atin was a little boy.  Atin walked into the house.  He had white skin that was slightly tan from spending more time outside than Samual ever did.  He had a good amount of muscle.  Atin, who only had the first name that was his, he also had the last name of Helsmith as he was adopted into the family proper.  They were probably around the same in height of around 5'6".

Atin had blond hair but brown eyes.  He was particularly muscular in build having done much physical labor on behalf of Samual here and there and throughout the house.  He was white but had tan skin.

Atin Helsmith said.  Sir, should I bring in the garments that I have picked out for you to attend Gertrude Blemy's house party?  Or will you be going into the changing room.

Samual Helsmith said.  Oh, Atin, I wish to finish this chapter that I have been reading lately.  So if you could bring it here for me, I would be ever so grateful.

Atin Helsmith said.  Yes, sir.

Atin left the room.  Samual turned back to the books that he had been reading.  This particular book has been going over someone by the name of Tual Cobsworth.  The book was on the flora of the area and suspected helpful properties of the plants in this area.  However, much of it was speculation.  They needed something more rigorous, Samual thought.  It was very easy to provide weak evidence and insight into events and phenomena.  In particular, was eldik root, which Samual was already well acquainted with.  A seemingly magic plant that could aid in the healing of wounds, and that would keep away certain ailments like gangrene. 

It wasn't long before Atin started to bring in the moving coat racks and various outfits.  For another nobleman, something like this would be highly unusual.  Obviously, you would not take the outfits out of the changing room except to fix, clean, or wear them.  However, Samual didn't much like to leave his study unless for some sufficient purpose.

Ahm.  Atin cleared his throat to get the attention of Samual, who was engrossed in a book.  Sir, I have brought 3 outfits for you and a mirror in which to see yourself.  I have written down what you have written before, so you will not commit the offense of wearing the same outfit to a formal dinner.

Why is there that rule?  There are non-nobles everywhere that do not have to have these bizarre clothing rules.  Sometimes I wonder if nobles created more rules for themselves just because they needed rules to keep themselves busy.  The fact that I have to go to a dinner and hold my own is very tedious Atin.  It takes me away from my studies.  Samual said.

Atin said.  Sir, I believe that you would do well to keep up with appearances.  No matter how tedious you find them remaining in good standing is important for the survival of your house.

Samual said.  I suppose that at some point I will have to be wed.  Find some noblewoman that is willing to let me stare at my books all day.  Has Gimble come back?  He was supposed to find me even more books.  Or obtain for me a bust of Tellurik.

Atin said.  A bust of Tellurik, sir?

Samual said.  Yes, the god of invention, innovation, and knowledge.  A god whose domain is just so wonderful.  Perhaps if I fill the house will busts of Tellurik, they will aid me in my studies.

Atin said.  A superstition, sir.

Samual said.  Perhaps, but I have been reading books of people's recounting of them given miraculous abilities by the gods.  That they do exist.  The most obvious is when you say Zetrigul's name.  With the name, a collective shiver went down the spines of Atin and Samual.

Atin said.  Sir, I will remind you that it is considered bad manners to say the destroyers name in polite company like your dinner.

Samual said.  Don't you see Atin Helsmith.  That is evidence of the divine.  Here and now.  Why else would there be such an effect?  Tied to a word.  I could say Zetrishul and nothing will happen.  It is tied to a word.  Collective across all cultures and nations the collective effect of saying that name.  I wonder how atheistic society would become without such proof, but we have the proof.  Also, book after book of strange dreams and accounts of meeting the gods.  I think that having such busts is a bare necessity Atin.  Despite whatever mother or father would say.

Atin said.  They just wish for you to carry on the good name of Helsmith, Sir.

Samual said.  There is the beauty Atin.  It is better to have children or to stamp your name eternally into the history of the world.  There are great things that need doing Atin.  I believe that I can find them through careful observation and thought.

Atin said.  Your clothes, sir.  Even if you stamp your name into history, you must attend your nobleman dinners.

Samual sighed in exasperation.  Alright, Atin.  For you.  Truth be told, I think that I will stop attending when mother and father stop forcing me too.

Samual took a look in the long length mirror.  Samual had brown locks of hair.  He had not gotten a hair cut in some time.  His eyes were blue, and his skin extremely pale.  Having spent most of his time indoors, he didn't have anything in the way of a tan.  Though he didn't care about not getting a tan like some of the other nobles did.

He looked at the three outfits.  One of the blue.  Another green and another purple.  Perhaps he should take more of an interest in the various fashions of Tamten.  That was where he was.  Tamten in the city of Aversk.

He was around 16 years of age at this time.  Perhaps that was why his parents were trying to set him up with various women.  However, that didn't really concern him.  What he wanted to learn about the world around him and maybe discover new things.  It was a central concern of his.  Something which he probably wouldn't get over.  He always wanted to when he was young, but his parents only started to buy him books about 8 years ago.

Before him was the moving coat rack.  It was a coat rack with wheels on the bottom so that it would be able to be moved.  His parents got it for him because he was remiss to leave his study.  It was where he spent so much of his time as a child and when he grew older.  Ever since he found his first book at the age of 3 and taught himself to read.

Staring at a book, there was a pattern within it, within the words.  Samual thought to himself that perhaps Tellurik helped him then.  Perhaps he gave him the ability to read even earlier.  The book was something that a man left on the doorstep.  A book about the gods of Zure: his parents didn't answer the door for him, but Samual saw it for himself.  The page of Tellurik laid bare and telling him of the god that lay before him.

The first that he laid his eyes on was one that was blue.  It had an array of brass buttons on it.  The brass buttons had the insignia of his house.  It was a little bit large on him.  It belonged to his dad.  The buttons were like little half spheres.  The blue was some kind of felt.  The coat itself came down midway between his knees and hip.  It clasped together in front of him with the use of the buttons of the coat.

Within the blue coat, there was a variety of pockets all throughout it.  Within the blue coat, there was still an unused handkerchief.  The handkerchief was slightly showing on an outside pocket.  This was slightly fashionable, but Samual didn't really know why or how it became that way.  The insignia on the buttons bore the crest of his house.

His house crest was that of a shield.  On the shield were a hammer and a sword.  There was some kind of language on it that was unknown to time.

Next, there was the green outfit.  It was an entire outfit.  The outfit was that of a coat and suit pair.  On it was various fastening.  Where the blue coat had visible brass buttons, the green suit was more nondescript.  When fastened together, you couldn't see the connectors that tied the coat together.  It made an attempt to look as plain as possible.  However, the coat itself was made out of dyed silk.  So the material in an of itself was valuable.  Perhaps the lack of other features was meant to highlight the material of the outfit.

The pants of the outfit were slacks that came down past his feet and slightly dragged on the floor.  When Atin saw this, he said, I have pins that will keep up the leggings of the suit so that they don't touch the floor sir.

Then there was a suit of purple.  Made with expensive purple dyes.  On it, there was a golden string that wrote out an image of the crest of house Helsmith.  The hammer and sword.  Again the strange language appeared on the purple suit.  Perhaps it was written in some language long since forgotten.  Samual didn't have any way of knowing at this time.

On the slacks of the purple suit, they were purple as well but had long streams of the golden thread that came down the length of them.  Cloth that was dyed purple.  It was a beautiful piece if Samual could truly value such things.

When it came time to decide, Samual went with the green suit.  It was easy and nondescript.  Samual didn't really want to stick out.  Such was not his persona.  He would have to try to make an appearance in another way.

Atin nodded at this choice.  Perhaps he knew that Samual would choose this to be his set of clothes.  For the blue jacket, it was his dad's.  Even though it would allow him to wear poorer clothes, he didn't want to potentially ruin it.  The purple suit was much too extravagant to be worn anywhere.

Sometime later, Samual was excited because they finally were moving the bust of Tellurik or perhaps a statue of Tellurik into the house.  He wanted for it to become the patron God of house Helsmith.  They didn't really have a patron god, and not many of the other houses did either.  However, that is what he wanted, he decided.

The sculptor that he paid was paid handsomely curiosity of his dad that handled the expenses.  He had to convince his dad to hire the best sculptor in Tamten.  Aversk wasn't that big compared to some of the other towns in the area, so they needed to actually get the sculptor from Testenvald.  He remembered that the sculptor wanted to be paid rather handsomely but more in that Samual's father, Hectin, would introduce him to other nobles within the city.  He also wanted to be paid rather handsomely.  The introductions would be after the work was completed so that it would be justified.  You didn't want to build praise off of nothing.

The sculptor couldn't make it at this time, but his name was Jemual Prin.  A native Tamten.  He was known throughout the world.  Well, at least among the circles of nobility for his ability to create such works.

For this time, Samual's mother, Eve Helsmith, wanted to remain in a different area and didn't care much for the unveiling of the bust and sculpture.  So it was just Atin, Gimble, Hectin, and Samual. 

Gimble was 6'8" in height.  So he is a little taller than Samual.  He was brown in skin color.  He had green eyes and blonde hair.  The hair was strange in that it was curly.  Samual and Atin have commented on the rare combination of skin color, eye color, and hair color in the past.  He was muscular, just like  Atin, as he had to do work around the house.

Not to speak for the whole country, but Servants within house Helsmith were treated differently.  They were expected to do what was asked of them, but they were adopted within the house.  This meant that while they were to do such tasks, they were considered nobility if a lesser form of it.  As such, even as servants, they got days off and were paid rather well.  They both swore an oath to protect and serve Samual Helsmith and took it to heart.  Their offspring would be of house Helsmith.  Their offspring would just be nobility and didn't have the expectation of service that Atin and Gimble possessed.  Hectin found that this trade-off for power